Facebook Emoji v2

In 2017 Facebook released a major update to their old, outdated set of emoji. The new set brought everything in line with the latest Unicode standard, including support for Fitzpatrick Scale skin tone variants. I provided all of the people and body parts, as well as many of the animals.

Facebook Emoji v3

In 2018 Facebook released a massive update to their previous emoji update. The new version added more depth and detail throughout, an ambitious undertaking in a relatively short amount of time.

GarageBand-Chinese Instruments

After leaving Apple I came back as a contractor to work with one of my favorite Engineering teams. They were preparing to add the first set of international instruments to GarageBand for iOS.

In a nod to the growing Chinese user base, these new instruments were the Erhu, the Pipa, and a set of Classical Chinese percussion instruments. All visuals and materials were painstakingly researched and vetted with Chinese musicians and Chinese musical experts for maximum authenticity.

Everything in this scene was part of a 3D model.

The Pipa. Grandmother of all stringed, guitar-like instruments. Traditionally played by women and passed down to daughters and granddaughters as precious family heirlooms. Our Pipa performer/consultant and I took great care to give ours the right color, age, and wear to resemble what we envisioned as “your Grandmother’s Pipa.”

The Pipa in Chords View.

The Pipa in Notes View.

The Pipa needed a background that spoke to its strong association with Springtime. There are many famous Pipa songs about fresh bamboo, singing birds, and the resurgence of new life. When I couldn’t find the right silk design, I created my own from scratch. The green silk fabric is composed of several dozen layers in Photoshop. The pattern comes from two sketches I did of a swallow and cherry blossoms, both symbols of Spring.

The Erhu. Traditionally played by men. Has a beautifully mournful sound.

The Erhu in Chords View. Chinese language version. For the background we went with aged and yellowing silk. In Chinese culture yellow is associated with the moon, and the moon and moonlit scenery is a common theme in Erhu songs. The shabbiness of the silk is a nod to the Erhu’s historic connection with street performers.

The Erhu in Notes View. Chinese language version.

GarageBand-Taiko Drums

After completing the Chinese instruments, I came back once again to work on a set of Taiko drums for GarageBand for iOS. These drums hold a revered and special place in Japanese culture. Great attention was given to the modeling and texture of each individual item in the ensemble.