Drawing with my third hand

Flash CS5.5 is great but it's not a drawing tool! Third month on the new job, totally in the zone and still fiddling with the tools. They seem primitive. No point size for a brush? Common guys. Can't join two nodes nor put 'no cap' on a dashed line? Yet there are other features that are way more sophisticated than anything I've seen to date in Illustrator and Photoshop. How I'd love to be able to have a short cut key in AI to stretch the line as I do with the black selection arrow in Flash. It reminds me of the power of nurbs in 3D. It seems there is always a trade off when working with design software. Couldn't one have it all? I know, I know; it's all for money. That will be a whole separate post ;)

Sugah!

I was just blown away by these websites.
http://www.linkedin.com/news?actionBar=&articleID=777763942&ids=0Qc3sOdjgMe3sIcjwSejsTdzoTb3gTdjwMd30UdOMOdPcMczoNe3sIczgVcPoTdPsT&aag=true&freq=weekly&trk=eml-tod-b-pic-99&ut=2-DT9Uv-k0TAU1 and http://www.linkedin.com/news?actionBar=&articleID=781620372&ids=0Qc3sOdjgMe3sIcjwSejsTdzoTb3gTdjwMd30UdOMOdPcMczoNe3sIczgVcPoTdPsT&aag=true& They were part of LinkedIn's automatic newsletter and I  rarely have time to look at those, you know how it is! Anyways, I just couldn't get over how gorgeous web design is becoming. It's awe inspiring. Even though my new path is taking me beyond the web design circuit, it definitely touches upon it and there is always room to grow.
I recently did a trial website on weebly (http://inviteus.weebly.com/index.html) to get my designs out there, maybe try and make some sugah (money that is not all that much but is made from sweet contracts) before my short bout of job tweening is over. It's was pretty easy to use. You can only get so creative but sometimes you just gotta get done the crazy things going through your brain and see what happens. I'm pleased with the outcome of the site and the new job offer which is completely unrelated to my weebly site but I have a feeling it's all interconnected with the sugah sweetening up you creativity and then it trickles into your interview and TA-DA, all hired!

Focus

I've always tried to stay open to new ideas and technology. I figure this is how you propel yourself forward. Lately, I think it could be hindering my progress. I have to focus on focusing. My new path is split in 3 focal points. I don't want to get into details right now but these 3 focal points have many little branches as well. These branches have twigs, leaves, flowers, bee hives, birds' nests and so on and so forth. In essence, they all come from one tree which is supposed to be a focal point. So why do I feel I'm going out on a limb?

Return just to Go Away

I returned to work only to discover there was not enough work for me and I have to do something different, closer to the heart, closer to home. Everyone tell us creative people not to take our work to heart, we are after all, just prostituting our craft the best way we know how. I refuse! My stuff comes through me and takes the energy of a thunder bolt to pass through the conduit of a pencil, paintbrush or a keyboard and manifest itself into the medium of choice. How could I separate myself? N E ways, I hope find my thunder again.

summering

Yes, I've been away. It's vacation time after all, time to unplug and gather inspiration for the tough and challenging winter ahead. The weather was great and made wonderful pictures of every snapshot. Can't wait to paint again. Hopefully like the attached link... but of flowers, oceans and clouds...with the same fervour and richness of colour. Before that, I was working hard on contracts in order to be able actually take a vacation. It's not like I've been away since my last post but after the wonderful people we met and the fantastic scenery, I wish I had been.

Digitalization!

Uber busy these days. It's not enough to promise 2 dear friends of mine logos for their own businesses, I volunteered myself for the poster of an elementary school English play. I look forward to it as it's probably the most creative I can possibly be in the next month. Work is work and family has it's challenges all the while digitalization is exponential. How do we "graphistas" make sense of it all? Very creatively!

Dark Chocolate for the Eyes

Just more gorgeous designs at Deco Decouvert captured on my cell phone while shopping. Who are you magical elves spinning these wonderful colours and patterns on random pillow cases and other textiles? I wish you could sign your name and claim your glory but alas, I know what it's like to be the silent creator behind the branding. Anyways, keep on shining, whoever you are!

More of Paris, ENCORE POTIRON PARIS!

http://www.potiron.ca/Today, a friend of mine told me to have a look at this website : potiron.ca!  Well, little did I know, it seems that my brother in law gave to my love and I for Christmas, a Potiron.ca tea mug set from Potiron Paris!  Oh yes!  From Paris!  I fell in love with this website!  You don't just fall in love with PARIS, you fall in love with everything else that comes from PARIS!  Ah oui!  Toujours Paris!  Talk about creativity!  They have such a great selection of different items for bathroom (one of my favourites...), kitchen (MY favorite!), bedroom (lets not go there, shall we...), all the rooms you can think of!  I am now addicted to POTIRON PARIS!  Oh!  And don't look for expresso cups, it's in English here, so you have to look for ESPRESSO CUPS! hihihi!  Everything you need or dream of to decorate your house!  Well, they are suppose to open a boutique in Montreal, so lets go crazy here!  Lets go spree shopping on the website or at their boutique and I'm pretty sure they will come up with even more very soon!  Aaaaaaaah Paris!  Je ne me lasserai jamais de toi!  http://www.potiron.ca/

Dearly Beloved,

We are gathered here today to announce the blessed union of 3D and CS5! The perfect marriage of rendering your 3D models directly in Photoshop while considering their materials and everything! Click the link in "labels" just below and go crazy!
Thanks Guillaume, bless your Parisian accent and your will to save my 3D skills from dying at work. I read it and haven't had a chance to play with it yet because my computer was lagging as it is not 64 bit and I have a feeling this requires performance with all the capabilities I saw in the tutorial. I should try my Mac Book and see if I have better luck. I must push my side projects aside, rent the kids a nice 3D film this Friday and try illustrating something more girly than a car. It even Ray Traces apparently. Oh the possibilities.

Please! Log Me In!

Pour faire un retour à la langue française, mon opinion sur LogMeIn devrait être brève.  Je voulais m'inscrire à LogMeIn me disant que si jamais j'avais quelques soucis à effectuer certaines choses dans quelconques logiciels, je pourrais demander à des amis de m'aider par internet à appliquer certaines manœuvres.  Je m'inscrit donc à la version gratuite de LogMeIn.  Rien pour démontrer que c'est une version  30 jours d'essais, ça dit que c'est bon pour plusieurs années.  Bon.  Pour une fois qu'il y a quelque chose de gratuit, vaut mieux en profiter.  Après quelques jours, je reçois un courriel de technicien de LogMeIn offrant son aide à l'utiliser, je trouve ça bien gentil de sa part, enfin un service à la clientèle!  Les jours passent, je n'ai toujours pas utiliser LogMeIn, je reçois un nouveau courriel me disant que j'ai seulement 30 jours pour ma version et que je devrais payer sous peu si je veux poursuivre le service!  Ah ben là là!  Finalement, j'ai réalisé que vaut mieux communiquer avec ses amis de la bonne vieille manière par téléphone ou par MSN (Facebook est aussi une option) pour nous aider!  Je n'ai toujours pas utiliser mon 30 jours de LogMeIn et finalement, je vais le désinstaller! ;o)  Je me suis mis à l'idée c'est un outils beaucoup plus intéressant pour les techniciens informatiques que pour les artistes.  Petit conseil d'amie, ne faites pas comme moi!  N'installer pas n'importe quoi pour embourber la mémoire de votre ordinateur! ;o)

Real Faces Real Places

This weekend was great just getting together with old friends chatting up a storm over brunch. It's incredible that with all this technology at hand how disconnected we really are. Real faces and human contact cannot be replaced by social networking. Let alone I learned so much about the industry just by a live conversation which I couldn't do in a million years by chatting or texting. And I got hugs! For someone who builds their career behind a desk or a computer, I highly recommend meeting up, old school. MSN'll always have a place in my heart, FB has redeemed me...but there's no substitute for real reunions.