Archive for the ‘General’ Category

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Painting Exercise: Blade Runner (30min vs 1 hr), and the lack of fruit.

May 10th, 2011 at 1:05 am No Comments

I said there’d be fruit exercises about 3 weeks ago.

There is no fruit.

I did buy the fruit and it’s been sitting on my desk for 3 weeks (note: plastic), but no painting of the fruit. Felt quite rusty when I picked up the pen yesterday so I did a few more screen cap replications. The other 45 minute one I did featuring Harrison Ford is going to stay hidden on my hard drive because there’s an embarrassing lack of resemblance. Luckily, I don’t know who the actress who plays Rachel is or what exactly she’s supposed to look like.

An example of the difference 30 minutes can make (…or the difference focused detail can make). Also an example of why I need to focus on maximum capture at minimal duration. Reaalllly need to get better with that. Also would like to repeat excuse of how long it’s been since I last tackled one of these. It’s tempting to work past the 30 minute mark because I don’t want all of my exercises to be hideous ._. Must remind self that they’re for learning.

Reasons for neglecting the tablet (aka “Plugs for awesome things”)

1) The CreeD series, which Trent began publishing when he was 16 (!!), is being released by IDW (probably best known for their Transformers and maybe Zombies vs. Robots comics) this summer. I designed a mini-site to promote that fact.

2) Boey was prepping to launch a Kickstarter campaign so I helped with some updates to his site.

3) Trent received invitations to both Long Beach and Anaheim Comic Con which kept us busy for two straight weekends.

4) The computer building (previous post).

Categories: Art, General, Web No Comments

The computer is done, but may suffer from an identity crisis in the future.

May 7th, 2011 at 8:49 pm No Comments

When shopping around for cases, built-in LEDs were kind of a factor. I’m not a fan of glowing blue cases — they just feel far too chilly and emotionless. Red, while potentially demonic looking, generally resonates with me better. (White would’ve been neat, but those seem to be pretty rare.) I ended up purchasing a case that didn’t come with any prominent colored lights so that made things easier, and since the case had no lights I looked for fans with no lights (my shopping philosophies are guided by powers beyond my own comprehension). Unfortunately, with fans I prioritized performance + price over visual consistency, and due to Microcenter having limited inventory I wound up with 1 red fan and 2 blue ones. I killed the lights on the blue fans, but the plastic itself is blue and my motherboard apparently has blue LEDs. I’m sure there’s a way to turn the mobo lights off… Starting to think the red/blue combination looks cool, though.

Stopped keeping track after these items. I believe the total, including monitor and fans, cames out to about $1050. Ran memory and CPU stress tests over the course of 1-2 days without any issues turning up, but haven’t done major overclocking and am still wary that some random component’s going to go kaput in a week or two. Most painful part about this entire project? Threading the plastic fans by hand using a screwdriver. Cursed fans.

Categories: Gadgets, General No Comments

Clean and bright!

March 7th, 2011 at 12:32 am No Comments

Aaahhh.

Finally, a look that breathes.

Don’t get me wrong, the old layout had its perks – a pretty, sliding navigation and a piece of art that really sold the whole package (I think I liked the artwork more than anything else, to be honest) – but the whole vibe was too dramatic.

I was going to push the new theme as a complete package until I realized that my Thailand trip is just around the corner, and I really (REALLY REALLY) want to be able to make updates about it to a fresh space sooo… the “work” page will come later.

Particularly because I’m going by my lonesome, good documentation needs to happen. As much as I would love to experience a foreign country with my boyfriend, this solo travel thing is something I’ve wanted to do for myself since college. There’s also the pre-departure part (packing lists! YEA!!) that someone, someday, could find useful.

[Add] I also need to find a replacement for my header font because it doesn’t display certain characters. Not awesome.

Categories: General No Comments

Camera Plus iPhone app

July 20th, 2010 at 9:58 pm No Comments

I recently succumbed to laziness/bandwagoning/marketshare and upgraded to an iPhone 4 from my 2 year old HTC Fuze. Goodbye keyboard :( Goodbye customization and free tethering even though I’m on the same carrier :( Goodbye nonexistent app development :)

Yes, one of the most compelling reasons to get an iPhone these days is for the numerous apps and games. (Yes, I hear Droid has a comparable marketplace but even now I am a slave to shiny, shiny products. If I didn’t still have 6 months on my AT&T contract Evo would’ve been a major contender.) So I’ve been hunting for good apps to fill my screens with. (Ugly icons are a major negative.) I hadn’t been planning on downloading any camera apps but Camera Plus came to my attention through the Blizzard photo club mailing list, and even though it costs $2 the idea of a lazy-man’s photoshop (and the pretty icon) compelled me to buy it.

Honestly, my ‘free only’ rule went out the door with Sally’s Spa and it’s been a slippery slope since.

Some experimenting with crappy photos:

The filters over night shots come out really grainy and the HDR effect has the tendency to generate excessive halos on most photos, but I admit that I like the over-exposed toy camera look and generic grunge effect. There’s also a ‘hipster’ filter which resembles the outcome of the Hipstamatic app, and a nice polaroid border in those moments when I’m yearning for trends of yore.

Categories: General, Photography No Comments

I don’t want it, but I want it to want me.

May 18th, 2010 at 9:34 pm No Comments

I’ve been debating the value of keeping an updated portfolio somewhere. Deterring factors are (1) time + creative investment for creating a portfolio layout (this one is too dark and blue and personal to be likable as a portfolio. And I want to make a site with a footer because they look neat), and (2) appearing as though I’m looking for work when I’m not.

About a month before the end of my temporary assignment for web, I was approached with an offer for an associate web design position. All of the projects I’d been assigned up till then had had their challenges which consequently forced me to learn a lot quickly, and verily I appreciated that. I’d learned how to use their water cooler, half of their break room is a bar, and their logo is a sprite of Raynor punching Murky…so of course I accepted.

Aside: A page I coded (the awesome designer on the mobile app was responsible for photoshop magic) for the new WoW Auction House which was just launched tonight: World of Warcraft Remote Auction House marketing page! (It may or may not be going through maintenance right now…) While the majority of the page was cake to put together, my javascript was super green at that time so I was very pleased with the pithy little jQuery sliding gallery dongle at the bottom. Don’t laugh. I’ve since written much more complex things using the jQuery :(

Anyway, the question of whether or not to maintain a portfolio for personal projects and work I’ve done for public Blizzard sites… I’ve yet to meet someone in the department who does keep one, so I have to wonder if it’s taboo in web. The exercise of it seems like a good idea – a way to feel as though I’m keeping in touch with the web outside of web team. I may not be able to take on freelance work, but I still want people to look at me!

Categories: General, Web No Comments
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