About Kina
My name is Kina (or you may know me as Christina) de Grasse Forney. I am an artist; namely an illustrator and graphic designer. Drawing is what comes most naturally to me, but I also really enjoy the world of design.
Throughout my life I studied visual arts and music on my own. I originally headed for the sciences for my post-secondary education, always having had an interest in plants, botany and nature. However, I was having a lot of fun with art at the time and was interested in seeing if I could make a career out of my favourite hobby; so I applied to university for fine arts instead.
I was born in Canada, and raised in both Ottawa and Montreal. I earned my bachelor of fine arts with a specialization in computation arts from Concordia Univeristy, Montreal.
I have a lot of random hobbies and interests. My most recent obsession is the art of crochet and knitting. I love seeing the transformation of strands into cute plushy toys, or cozy clothing. I collect stationery, stickers and fancy paper. I also have a large collection of notebooks and sketchbooks, as I tend to pick one up at every stationery store I go to. I also enjoy playing the cello and piano.
I currently live with my husband and my cat, in Charleston, South Carolina. I fill my time with drawing and designing websites free-lance. I do commissions of all kinds; see my commissions page for more details on what services I can provide. I'm always open for new projects or ideas you may want to discuss.
Feel free to contact me if you have any kind of questions. You may also ask me questions about the store or how things are handled. I'm always open to suggestions, such as for new tutorials or what you'd like to see more of. Or if you just want to say hi, I love getting mail and hearing from people who take the time to come by and visit.
For more information on my background and technical knowledge, please see my resume (downloadable PDF format) below.
About This Site
I first made a website back in 1999. I used it to show my artwork and my original characters. The first layout was entitled "Techno Shrooms" and then I changed it to "Soap Suds" and after that, it was "Urban Design" for a couple of years. I registered "Kina Ink" in 2001 and have had it ever since.
To make this website, I drew the background by hand with pen, and then scanned it in and did the rest in Photoshop. I normally do all my layouts this way; they start with sketches and then I plan them out in Photoshop. After that, I coded it using HTML/CSS using both text based markup programs as well as Dreamweaver. Some flash was used for the slideshow, and I also added some PHP, but only very basic scripts. (Such as for the random image on the front page, and the recent blog post area). I used the super handy Lytebox script for my portfolio and gallery images.
I modified a Wordpress layout for my blog, and restyled it to match my site. The rest of the site is coded by hand. Eventually I would like to make more tutorials to share what I have learned over the years with everyone. I'd also like to build a community of people with similar interests in the arts, graphics, and design. For now though, it is just a small place I call home on the the internet where I share my creations :)
