Ken Underwood has worked as a digital retoucher, scanning technician and Art Director at Advantage printing since 1991. As a long time resident of Spokane, Washington, Ken stuck his foot in the door of digital imaging by getting involved with Advantage Printing when it was just a startup. As the first hire in a new company, he had the opportunity to learn every job in the building. His broad experience in everything from bindery to art direction give him a real world view when retouching in 2d, and allows him to get the most out of images for print.

Ken's work has been on display in thousands of retail locations all across the United States. It has included images for point of purchase literature, large format banners, display advertising, television, newspaper and magazine campaigns and much more. The advent of FTP and Next Day Air has rendered the location of this artist irrelevant; the only thing that matters now is talent.

Photoshop is his primary application and the tool he is most fluent in. He received his Adobe® Certification and is an Adobe® Certified Expert in Photoshop®. He has years of experience scanning and color correcting images as well as doing difficult compositing work. Photo manipulation is a passion for Ken and he has been learning tricks and techniques for years.

As times changed it became clear to Ken that media diversification is not only recommended but required for long term survival. As a result he has dedicated himself to becoming proficient in a broad spectrum of applications and mediums. Starting with video and audio production through a few agencies and production houses in the Spokane area, Ken soon found the next logical step in his artistic development. Adobe After Effects enabled him to leverage his extensive knowledge and love of Photoshop into the world of motion graphics. This was soon followed by gaining experience with 3D using Newtek's Lightwave and Ssontech's Syntheyes. This fusion of real life and 3D elements is a particular favorite of his, and something that he is becoming increasingly adventurous with.

In addition to this media production skill set Ken has also recently added Steadicam to his arsenal. As an Owner / Operator of a Steadicam Flyer, Ken is able to support cameras from 3 lbs to 15 lbs for that much sought after "camera on a string" look. For just a liitle more than the cost of a conventional camera operator, every production can now benefit from this value enhancing production technique.

On the fun side of things, Ken has had the opportunity to experiment with Voice Over work through his dealings with the agencies and production houses he assists. With a bright friendly tenor read, Ken is perfect for the lighter side of corporate production as well as educational projects. But where he really shines is in his character work. With many dialects and characters at his disposal he can be a valuable multi-voice addition to any production.

Employment History
1991-2008
Advantage Printing
Spokane, WA.