December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I wish I were at home back east but it’s not so bad here. For starters, the weather is in the 70’s. It’s time to make cinnamon rolls and get ready for dinner tonight. I hope everyone has a great holiday :)

December 22, 2011

Yup, I’m working on designing a set of pretty icons. Why? I was on the prowl for some eye candy but couldn’t find any that were just simple and nice. I came across a dozen of beautiful icons with their own theme and spin on them - but I just wanted something that could be used across the board.

I’m hoping to finish these over the holidays as I’ll have ample time then! If you can think of a program that you would like to see an icon for - please feel free to suggest them. This is for both PC and Mac as I will be providing both .ico and .pngs as well as the PSDs with the styles included in case you’d like to make one for that random program of yours that no one else uses.

It’s my holiday gift to everyone - thank you for all the support and wonderful comments!

December 17, 2011

I drew this about a year ago and finally got around to doing something with it. In my mind I was going to paint this in my little mini-office on a wall to remind me to breathe and take it easy. Instead I became frustrated with it because of how long it was taking and what a huge ordeal it was. Call me lazy, but I decided to give up. I think I’ll just print it out instead!

Check out a close-up of it to see the detail and texture: http://dribbble.com/shots/355431-Relax-close-up. I promise it doesn’t look as 3D as it’s coming up. I think that’s a result of the color choices I made for this - but it looks better bigger!

December 13, 2011

I’m not a traditional artist by any means but I am constantly amazed by the artwork of Sir Mitchell and his style. A lot of my co-workers also paint and I envy their skills.

Lately I’ve been trying to teach myself how to digitally paint by reading tutorials but my friend Tamar, a talented artist and programer, turned me onto Ctrl Paint where I’ve been absorbing the videos. Matt Khor, the instructor and artist, creates well-thought out and informative videos that teach you both the “why” and the “how.”

Below is what I’ve been working on by putting together everything I’ve learned so far. There is still a lot of practicing and finessing for me but it’s a start! I’m still trying to figure out my style and what I’m comfortable with though I’m sure this is something that just comes to you over time.

December 5, 2011

There had been rumors for a while that my company, Meteor Games, was going through some rough times. Little did I nor my co-workers know to what extent those rough patches were.

We had a round of layoffs at the beginning of October where we lost 26 really talented friends. It affected all the departments (with the exception of Systems) and it just felt like everyone lost an arm. There were a lot of tears but also a lot of strength because it brought all of us closer - even after the fact.

Fast forward to Nov. 30th when the rest of the company lost their jobs. The rumors started getting more aggressive and by the end of it all everyone knew what was coming. I actually had an interview that very morning and was given an offer. I sat there for about 30-40 minutes having an internal battle with myself whether or not I should take it. I should take it because I wasn’t sure of my future with MG but I didn’t want to take it because of my loyalty to MG. This was the first company that I truly enjoyed working for. This was the first company where my co-workers and I felt like we were more of a dysfunctional family. How could I betray them? I’ll tell you how. Rent still needed to be paid.

I accepted the offer with the new company (and gratefully because I really am excited of new beginnings). I came into the MG office with every intention of handing in my two-week notice but I couldn’t. I was trying to find excuses and stalling.

In the end I didn’t even bother because the news was finally announced. Desks were packed, papers were signed, hugs and goodbyes were given. There were some things that went wrong but nothing that could be blamed on one single individual. I love my time at MG and I definitely learned a lot and grew as a creative professional. I’m sad I won’t be seeing everyone every day but there are tiny clusters of ex-Meteorites forming in different companies now!

Not all endings have to be bad, right?