12 Angry Inches

Geek Girl Diva: Man Raises Concerns Over 'Serial Killer' Doll (and I must LOL)

2010-08-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Geek Girl Diva: Man Raises Concerns Over 'Serial Killer' Doll (and I must LOL)

historical anecdotes of the monstrous

2010-03-15T13:29:00.001-07:00

I was napping once a while back in Dallas on a gently sloping grassy knoll when I was rudely rousted from my erstwhile doze by the sharp Pop! Pop! of party favors nearby. I rolled over and propped myself up on an elbow ready to go sharp of tongue and terse when I spied the street carnival that had erupted nearby. With a heavy and exasperated yet benignly indulgent sigh I heaved myself up from that particular embankment for fear of being overrun by such an enthusiastic crowd and ambled my way out of town to find other, less well known parts to roost for a light slumber.

Another time...

I once left a hotplate unattended, utterly due to my impulsive haste to make the exit ramp with my patchwork carpetbag slung across my back. Unfortunately the plate caught the hem of the oily apron I’d cast aside aflame, and soon the entire air carriage were aflame, drifting and careening trepidatiously enough I nearly saw my lunch a second time. I found nearby window, shouldered aside the sash and made a dash through it that proved first steps are often doozies. I complete a full revolution, arse over teakettle, and land sprawled like a drunk cat to look up and see that the big balloon I’d been traveling in had seemed much smaller from the inside.

historical anecdotes of the monstrous

2010-03-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Another time...

I once left a hotplate unattended, utterly due to my impulsive haste to make the exit ramp with my patchwork carpetbag slung across my back. Unfortunately the plate caught the hem of the oily apron I’d cast aside aflame, and soon the entire air carriage were aflame, drifting and careening trepidatiously enough I nearly saw my lunch a second time. I found nearby window, shouldered aside the sash and made a dash through it that proved first steps are often doozies. I complete a full revolution, arse over teakettle, and land sprawled like a drunk cat to look up and see that the big balloon I’d been travelling in had seemed much smaller from the inside.

Angry about the handling of the Olympic Bonfire

2010-02-28T11:27:00.001-08:00

Sadly overly quarantined yet otherwise splendid like a fiery Fortress of Solitude bursting from beneath a polar cap.

There should be parents holding their children up to touch the skin of the massive thing, young eyes all spiraled up with wonder.

There should be cheery pickers parked discretely nearby that for a modest fee will raise ticket holders up to roast marshmallows and s'mores on the outlier flames.

There should be enthusiastic young Asians contorting bizarrely to best capture the dynamic leaping and victory V finger flailing of their friends with the multi-pronged pyre in the immediate background.

There should be huddled groups of amateur camera enthusiasts attempting to advise one another on the right mix of lens to aperture to exposure to while balancing to best capture the brute majesty of the thing.

tomorrow is the last day of the Olympics, so wanted to catch a peek before the officials extinguish the flames.

The Olympic Bonfire...

Should not feel as though it's about to whisk the elite and a few lucky lottery winners away to settle a brave new world elsewhere in the universe, leaving the huddle masses behind in a maze of fences, security forces, and the constant drone of helicopters overhead.

Should not resemble visiting a loved one in prison.

Should not appear exclusive or withdrawn.

Fences should not be a part of this memory.

A12I

The Tense 90 & WTF FTW and a long distance call with Chris Rock while watching live TV

2010-02-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

Ever see a game where nothing seemed like that big a deal until the clock runs down, and then suddenly everything is ball-clincher to turtle-up tense as what you though you knew and could easily, offhandedly take for granted turns out to be utter rubbish? Any rate, apparently my fever dream reaction to the final seconds of the metal qualifying match last night for Canada's Men's Team in the 2010 Winter Olympics revealed my increasing indoctrination into the institution of Canada's National Sport. Other than curling, which I'm also growing increasingly fond of. Oh, Canada indeed. More like Oh! Oh! Ohhhh... OH! OH! Oh, Canada, yes! Yes! Yes!

I walked by a shop yesterday that had a new, freshly printed sign taped up inside their cluttered display window, Olympic Special - All Swords Half Off! I had to pause for that one as if ingesting to comprehension the hefty meaning of the declarative and clearly non-VANOC sanctioned marketing promotion.

For non-attendees, VANOC will cite anyone displaying the Olympic rings or using the word to imply their goods are official Olympic merchandise as an effort to protect the sanctity of the legitimate Olympic vendors and sponsors. For example, athletes enjoying an energy drink on camera will be enjoying one with duct tape over the labels and logos, good thing the bottle shape and general Predator blood color doesn't give the non-sanctioned beverage away or anything.

This morning had a dream I was sitting on one of the squeaky faux leather couches in my parent's den, cigarette smoke wafting as a sanguine haze overhead through the open hutch that overlooks the recessed den from the cherry wood laden kitchen. My folks were making dinner, while I sat chatting with my good friend Chris Rock on the phone as we watched the live feed of a slow motion, sputtering car chase along one of LA's evening commuter traffic strewn highways reminiscent of the OJ Simpson chase except at night and with zombies intermittently getting knocked down or rolled over.

Apparently the brilliant plan Rob Lowe coerced Brendan Fraser into to better help fund their Weird Science style experiments to make the perfect recreational drugs for seducing underaged teen pageant queens had backfired and while Rob did manage to aquire and melt into a rather fetching collection of commemoritive Olympic coins a staggering amount of gold liberated from exhumed celebrity graves in Westwood Village Memorial Park. The plan occurred to Rob apparently after reading an article about how Richard Poncher's widow put his grave, adjacent to where Marilyn Monroe is interred, and discovered that Hugh Hefner owns a nearby plot as well. Unfortunately, while the rich and dead often do try to take it with them, they also tend to be open to and quite fiscally able to afford some rather extreme forms of protection, natural and supernatural alike. Not long after Brendan told Rob that this had gone on far long enough and quit the illicit scene for a surfing jaunt across Thailand, now exceeding cheap to do since the tragic anti-Swedish tsunami of a few years ago, ol' crafty Mr. Lowe and his foul weather friend Corey Haim cracked a tomb loaded with more that gold fillings, and also failed to adhere to the time honored truth among distributors everywhere: don't get high on your own supply.

Now the flesh craving former Teen Beat idols were meandering down an LA boulevard with a flock of helicopters overhead and Cory on a tapped cell phone feed shakily asking for authorities to send more cops, more parametics, more teenage beauty queens. And Chris, man, Chris is going nuts on this stuff. Then he'd get quiet, so quiet I think he's wandered off or fallen asleep, and then he'd explode again over something with that raucous barking laugh of his we all love so much and of course I can't help but think how different this would be if it actually was OJ down there in that SUV nudging it's way past startled commuters and bumbling old school infected or cursed or whatever the bleeding club goers are now that Corey and Rob have unwittingly unleashed on the world.

And like Milk Cult (or was it Propellorheads?) once sang, maybe California really does deserve whatever it gets. Southern California anyway. Or maybe I just mean LA? But I digress.

Then I remember that 2sisterscomics still hasn't sent issue #4 of Deadpool:Merc w/ a Mouth that I'd paid out the Buy-It-Now option on EBay over a month ago. And then I felt a stab of shame for buying a Marvel comic issue by issue instead of as a trade, then further shame that I'm buying a Marvel comic book at all. All because I read a panel from the series posted on Topless Robot that made reference I could commiserate with to how the newer installments of Star Wars don't speak to me so severely I feel nerd rage. And that line of thought shames me further and so I get up to feed the dog. Literally, not a metaphor.

FTW today? Elman's Pickled Eggs

12 inches of angry 27th of the Short Month, 2010 or the Year w/ Didn't Join a Joint USA / Russian Mission to Recover HAL After All, Much to My Disheartened Chagrin

Big 3 still planning on getting your money for free

2008-12-11T10:34:00.002-08:00

Someone summed up exactly why the US government should deny the Big 3 a dime and instead put funds into retraining, education, and relocation.

before you think I'm this clever, this is by the folks at buffalobeast

Kudos to them for nailing this controversial topic so perfectly, smack dab between the eyes! Now if only the US congress and senate would listen.

e

Happy Halloween from Toy2R Contest

2008-10-26T12:59:00.002-07:00

Check out the contest from Toy2R for Halloween!

e

2008-09-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

Angry About Politics 2008

2008-09-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

Watched Southland Tales last night. That project really should've been a Showtime mini-series instead of trying to cram an epic multi-planed yarn roughly bigger than a Presidential Campaign week into a single film ala Short Cuts, which also should have been a series had Altman the balls. Sure, the comic book addendums help, so do the web support elements, though overall those do more to support my hypothesis of a great social commentary being better served up cold, clear, and across several episodes rather than a solitary shark trailing pilot fish of other mediums and formats. Any rate, check it out sometime, it's surreal a bit like Brazil, but that abstraction really sucks out the venom the way Picasso might extract a particular shade of blue to give the viewer the truest form of expression of an emotional or psychological hue.

Word of warning, the film does over use high school English class a bit, perhaps what equates to the highest of literary tradition in the states these days. Robert Frost wrote other poems, but Road Less Travelled seems to be the one everyone recalls from back in class.

And speaking of quote-sampling clichés, someone should announce a time-out on use of Revelations from the Bible, and a moratorium full stop on quoting Johnny Cash’s “The Man Came Around” particularly the lyrics, “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts, And I looked and behold: a pale horse. And his name, that sat on him, was Death. And Hell followed with him.”

Sure, that’s one hell of a sweet bit of Biblically referential verse, pardon the pun, however after four or five films have used it, starts to lose it’s pungency, sort of like the way “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” has gone from cute to glib to ironic yet still keeps popping up on film scores like an angry blister of deep hurting sting after getting all hurried and forgetting lube.

Speaking of overused filmic shorthand, recently rediscovered Credence Clearwater Revival. Wonder if the churn of contemporary political events or the hurricane hitting the Gulf are related to that?

Not that Canada's politics are much better, three - four viable parties instead of two, but been following the campaigns with some high up eyebrows and a lot of "Mercy, mercy me" uttering.

Out of a nation of scholars and businessmen, the best candidates anyone could find are these cats? For sure, Obama and Biden seem less threatening than McCain and his zany gun toting cougar hockey mom sidekick, but none of them seem particularly effective or balls out bold enough to actually empower any much needed sweeping changes to the political or fiscal landscape currently collectively emulating a water ballet about drowning. Are they going to ravage the realtor legality landscape to root out the many far reaching culprits and hold them squirming up under the hot sun for judgment over the housing crash? Probably not. Will any of them loudly call for actual withdrawal from lose-lose wartime fronts or so-called policing actions? Probably not. Will any of them really use their 1/3rd governmental control to own up to global warming and enact worthwhile unflinching and uncompromising measures to change things in the short term rather than setting vague dates and goals that fall well outside the 4 year terms they'll win a couple huge states to get into office with. Will any of them separate church and state? Maybe Obama, since he couldn't even stand behind his own preacher as a human entitled to an opinion and that had been supposedly a family friend, although maybe not with a coffee-fearing VP.

Of course I hope for the best, whoever ends up in office, be they Mormon, woman, former prisoner of war, or non-white AKA “ethnically enabled” (who coined that expression, ugh), hopefully no one gets shot. Just wish any of them felt more like they were qualified and less like someone with a gimmick trying to emote all the nostalgic glory of Kennedy while sidestepping where his version of radical change got him. There's a bit from Bill Hicks about how upon being elected, on the first day of work, a new president is brought into a small room, a projection screen lowers from the ceiling, and a film of the Kennedy assassination plays out, expect this one is from an angle that the public has never seen and clearly shoes the shooter on the grassy knoll. The film finishes, screen sucks back up into the ceiling, and the head of staff for the Whitehouse asks, "Any questions?"

Not to sound completely disenfranchised, not completely, just damn close to almost completely. Electoral College should've been abolished after the Florida vote scandal. Paper ballets too, frankly. If Visa can sort out a fairly competent global accountancy, I'm sure have license cast vote track nationally system could be sorted pretty quickly if it served anyone's interests other than the common people.

Seriously, I do hope for the best regardless of who wins the upcoming elections. The institutions charged with providing leadership for our immense nation have been slacking, at best asleep at the wheel, at worst deliberately aiming their Thelma & Louise chariot at the nearest cliff they can find.

Website review and Q & A w/ another games industry hopeful

2008-08-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

From: Delano Taylor
Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 7:16 AM
To: Ian Christy
Subject: RE: portfolio critique
I was wondering if you could give my portfolio a critique if you have some time. I could really use some direction as to what I could be doing wrong or focusing on. What I should concentrate on showing, what my strengths are and what companies look for in a portfolio. I would also like to know what is the difference between what a graphic designer does and a graphic artist does in the gaming industry. I continue to get mixed information. I have attached my resume and it has my portfolio link. One more thing, could you also look at my résumé and give me some helpful hints. Since I don't have any direct gaming experience other than beta testing, could you help me make it look a bit more appealing until I get some experience.

My website is freewebs.com/taylormadedesign
Please be brutally honest because that is the only way I will learn and get better.

Thanks.

From: Ian Christy
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 2:49 PM
To: 'Delano Taylor'
Subject: RE: portfolio critique

Hi Delano,

I'm going to roll through the site and offer feedback by link and tab, and remember to take what notes I jot with a grain of salt, because it's totally subjective. That said, before we get started I'm going to include a link to a couple sites I think do a really good job of being clean, fast, and efficient.

Brit comedian Alice Low: http://alicelowe.net/index.php Although would be good if her front page loaded faster, or didn't refresh every time you back up to it, also needs fly out text to tell you what each area is, on the whole, love how succinct each sub section is, basically, how each area is blogger simple, clean, no ads or tiles, just navigation menu, content, and when needed descriptions.

Speaking of Blogger, http://kathieolivas.blogspot.com/ this is fine, although white on black is a bit grim, perhaps pick something lighter like http://susanrudat.blogspot.com/ or subdued color like http://www.creamdog.net/ . Any rate, what's good about these is they're fast to update, you can keep an on-going account of what you've learned or are exploring, and you can have one that is your professional one, as in static, while another is more casual and gets frequent updates.

I also really, really like Flickr for this, as it's awesome for networking with other artist types, without dealing with the networking BS of sites like facebook or myspace. Flickr is clean, friendly, and simple. Plus, you can uploads batches of content all at once and organize it into whatever sets you want, awesome. Mine for example http://www.flickr.com/photos/emonxie/ or another great one http://www.flickr.com/groups/secretlifeoftoys/

Or, if you want to really push your abilities, make a simple front page that affords people the option for the LITE or HEAVY site. Lite then could link to a blog that's straight up text and images, while heavy would launch a stand along flash player that could have a far more elaborate presentation like this one http://www.saturnobutto.com/ with all the artistic flourish you might want to do. It's heavy handed, but good is you intend to promote yourself as a someone able to build and maintain interactive menus and such, like front end and marketing artists tend too.

On to your site...
Home
Main page feels like a gamer's page, which might sound good until you realize most gamer's pages are fans, not developers. To point, fan pages tend to look like Gamespot, while people that make the content in the games at most will look like Gamasutra, though most tend to go even simpler. This might be a product of having limited time or patience for maintaining complex websites, I dunno. True for me, at least. I have this for professional, and I almost never get around to updating it because it's a hassle dealing with Dreamweaver http://www.ianchristy.com/ while flicker and blogger http://12angryinches.blogspot.com/ are SO much faster and easier. Also, did you do the drawing on the main page? If yes, you should be posting tons more of your illustrations up here. If not, it's not appropriate to have someone else's illustrations up on your portfolio page, especially without proper credits for whom drew the image.

Your navigation is clear and easy to find, but sitting on top wastes screen real-estate, consider side loading it like Blogger does by default. Most people are moving to flat monitors that have a higher resolution and widescreen composition, so OK to make use of the sides for menus and support links. Also, you're reloading your menus between pages, which is fine if they are different, but if they are the same, as they appear to be, break your page into frames and bind the navigation components into one of the framed areas.

Also, to be REALLY nitpicky, the text in the navigation box is all in caps, except for the word "Home". Consistency is a good thing, go all caps or not, unless everything is mix and match like a ransom note. Also, the TAYLORMADE text looks great in BLUE so why not use the same color for the rest of the menu text bits, since that color looks great on the warm gray you've chosen otherwise.

The drawing is awesome, and appears to promise more art to come. I felt disappointed when I didn't find loads of art right away, but more on that later.

Background tiles are gaudy, and sorry if that seems harsh, let me explain: nothing wrong with trying to spice up your page, however that tile means there's just one more element that has to load into cache to be rendered, and as game making is all about economy, unless your art is interactive, resist the temptation to throw in cheap bells and whistle flourishes, as they unfortunately just look scrapbook-ish. Same for the metallic frames.

Top blue bar is a nice graphic, did you make it? If yes, consider turning the blue into your default background color and slicing the reflective swirls up into your menu objects. If it's a "found" or "liberated" graphic, dump it, everything on your page should be by your hand, and yours alone as much as possible, because prospective employers will assume you did everything short of coding the pages, at least, they'll expect all non-host artwork (on Flickr of course the Flickr logos weren't by you) is by you.

PORTFOLIO
First thing is while I like your bio, I think it should live on a page called "Bio" or "About" or some such. Strikes me as weird as well that the text content is a larger font size than the menu, and in bold, which makes the menu header text seem diminutive by contrast. One way to help, make the header menu text blue as mentioned before. Then tone down the body text to not be bold, or so big that it seems to be screaming at the reader rather than maintaining a casually conversational tone.

Next thing is that I think you could get away with having the content you'd like to show visible on this same page instead of a bunch of subordinate pages. Especially when there isn't a lot of work to see on each page. If this page is your portfolio, it would include many of the elements currently clogging up your head menu bar. Portfolio is an all encompassing term, basically.

What I would suggest for your header toolbar:
Home. About the Artist. Portfolio. Contact.
Under Portfolio you could take subdivide a little, perhaps have a list in a frame that shows a box of thumbnails to the relevant work for each. I'll try to find a site example to show you in a bit. Would be something like this.

Title of page:
Portfolio. This would be in blue possibly. Eventually this will depend on what ends up being most legible and apt for your revised UI, per the encouragements and challenges to follow.

With a navigation list something like below:
Illustration. Here you should have sketches, inked work, paintings, live model drawings; anything to demonstrate your competence with foundational art skills. And only you can decide how far to take this aspect, though I can safely tell you that at 38 I've barely gone through the door of realizing my potential as an illustrator, and I've been getting paid for my craft for a while now. Just have to challenge yourself, be compelled to keep learning, and eternally strive to never go stagnant or complacent. Some fun links: http://www.brandstudiopress.com/store/ and http://ashleybambaland.blogspot.com/ and http://sgblogs.com/blog/toysrevil-like-toys-blogspot/460

Photographic Manipulation. photo edits, except these aren't really photo edits exactly. This is what photo manipulation is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_manipulation while fixing photos is called photo restoration, which long ago is a gig I had to first learn how to use and paint with photoshop, similar to this: http://www.heritagephotorestoration.com/ check out their gallery to see what I mean, as each is example there is EXACTLY the sort of exercise you should be challenging yourself with to learn the tools.

Graphic Design. The cd / dvd box stuff, text FX, flyers, what you have now under photoshop designs. You have a good start here, however you've one scratched the tip of the iceberg, and it's a big and robust iceberg indeed. Start here http://goodisdead.com/ for a good sampling of what's what in the current world of print graphic design. Don't stop there though, he's just a heavyweight for book jacket design. http://www.designiskinky.net/ is one of my staple blogs check ins, that and Boing Boing. Inspiration a go-go, and still, there are a thousand more great sites besides. Or at least three. Basically, dig into the foundational skills, then you'll find your style and voice and then you can begin to apply that voice to your UI or graphic design or posters or what have you. More http://rocketshipstore.blogspot.com/ and http://boingboing.net/ and http://zoomdoggle.com/

Interface Design // UI // HUD // Front End (FE). What you have is a start with King of the Streets. Unfortunately, with the exception of a handful of flash applet and DS games, UI and FE and HUD for consoles have gotten far more elaborate and require a clever mix of design skills. On one end of the spectrum, there is legibility, which you have, keeping things iconic and clear while appreciating preexisting contexts players of a genre of games likely already know, like health bars of collectible coins. Other end of the spectrum, making the UI come to life and feel fresh and new and be as eye candy as possible. EA commits MASSIVE resources to this with each face lift they afford their staple franchises, and that'd be a good place to start researching. Look at the commonalities, the differences, and frame your own perceptions of what does, what doesn't, and would could possibly work better than does. I liked Burnout: Paradise City for example, although I've heard their recent hockey titles have been great for UI. DS games do a great job since they have too, not as much screen real estate or rendering power on hand held machines. Rockstar has a good look for their stuff, kudos to cats like Brian Wood for that.

That's about all I have for ya. You have a good start, hopefully I've helped shed some light on where you can push forward to develop and hone your skills into the titan I'm sure you can someday be!

Cheers!
e

PS -
By the way, respect to you for putting yourself out there for review. That takes a lot of balls. And while I tend to be pretty direct and brutal with reviews, I intend to try to help you step up as much as possible, and I wouldn't have bothered if I didn't see telltale signs that you have potential.

Keep after this and if I left you reeling a bit, remember that I'm not trying to tear you down or dis you, nothing personal at all. I'm just hoping to encourage you to step you game up, simple as that.

From: Delano Taylor
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:31 AM
To: Ian Christy
Subject: RE: portfolio critique
Well I really appreciate the honesty, being that I am not working in any type of graphic industry or doing anything remotely related to my field of study, I have only been able to create things that might appeal to me. I think I asked you at GDC about what companies look for in graphic design portfolio. What I learned in school was that I should have letter heads and business cards, general graphic design stuff, but I know that is different for gaming. I am willing to take any criticism and do what ever it takes so that I can pursue my dream and get my foot in the door anyway that I can. Since I am unable to relocate without a job now I am trying to really use this time to perfect my portfolio. I do however have a question for you, I recently found a gaming company here in Memphis that is just starting out. I have sent my resume and my portfolio to the CEO. I have informed him that I am looking for a graphic design position and he recently gave me a task to create a character sketch, but I told him that I am not an artist. Could you tell me the difference in graphic design versus graphic artist when it pertains to the gaming industry? The CEO puts them in the same category. Thanks again.

From: Ian Christy
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:03 PM
To: Delano Taylor
Subject: RE: portfolio critique

The CEO is right, sort of. For games, graphic art and graphic illustration are synonymous.

Games have several veins for artists:
Concept artist - fine artists responsible for painting textures, character designs, background plates, and general concept art all around - these are essentially fine artists like drawing and painting sorts of people
Graphic artist - logos, HUD, front end, interface, up to and including programs like flash, photoshop, premier, after effects, and 3D applications like Maya and Max - these cats are digital and have backgrounds with web design, film / tv post production, etc. \Some of our guys come from TV, for example, and used to do interface and special FX compositing for shows like Stargate and BSG, while others come from advertising, doing ads and commercials for companies like Pepsi or Microsoft. Make stuff for in game as well as materials for marketing and sales, which is where box art, doctored screen captures, letter heads and identity kits come into it.

3D artist - world builder - architecture backgrounds abound here, these cats build the environments, as well as texture and otherwise empower the environments to work painting in things like collisions, surface properties, atmospheric FX, etc
3D artist - props
3D artist - SFX - special FX like hits, squibs, explosions, etc.
3D artist - character modeler - animation and modeling backgrounds, these cats build characters for the games
3D animator - may or may not build or tweak the models, may or may not rig the models, but for sure will animate them, whether for in-game functional animations or for cut scenes or non-interactive sequences.
3D lighting - the cats that bring drama and vibrancy and atmosphere to the environments and characters

I appreciate that you have a full time gig, however would you be able to take some classes for art, design, and web work? That would be a great asset for you, I think. Even better if you start getting confident with programs like AfterEffects and Premier, and even more again with Maya.

And I knew your drawing was familiar, right GDC! Noice, sorry I didn't recognize you sooner, right on. met a lot of cats on that trip, please forgive me.

e

From: Delano Taylor
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:21 AM
To: Ian Christy
Subject: RE: portfolio critique

Oh that's no problem, I know its hard to remember everyone that you talked to, I just appreciate the help. With my work schedule I cannot take classes but I am looking into Lynda.com. I got a lot of useful info at this year GDC that I didn't know or was prepared for the first time I went. I had previously been going to E3 to try and network and get direction since GDC was always around midterm time. I will say it is hard to stay in contact with people in the industry and I do tend to get discouraged not hearing back from people for 5 months or longer. I want to be persistent but not to the point of being annoying. I would have to say I am leaning more to a user interface type of graphic designer/artist. I really think that my portfolio shows some of those things;user interface, box art, and doctored screen shots, but maybe just not flashy enough I guess. So are you saying that graphic artist should also know how to model and render with 3d software? I guess what I was hoping for was more detailed direction as to what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. Maybe it isn't that simple though. I know I have the passion, creativity, imagination and drive for this industry, but I guess I just have to get my talent to match all those qualities.

From: Ian Christy
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 3:06 PM
To: Delano Taylor
Subject: RE: portfolio critique

A graphic artist is a hybrid of a lot of things, and able to scratch together mixed mediums to create something appealing, functional, legible, and economic. One I like a lot is the variety here: http://www.psyop.tv/o.php?id=78|0

You aren't doing anything wrong, you just need to do a lot more, if that makes sense. Instead of borrowing images, construct your own. Instead of accepting the fonts or typefaces in a program, scratch build your own. Instead of copying someone else-s layout, unless you're deliberately trying to parody it, devise your own. One of the key mottos of graphic design, AKA visual design, is "Fuck it up!" which means take all you know and reinvent it, or top it and come up with something better, by any and all means available, possible, or otherwise manageable. There is no hard and fast solution except whatever works to best serve to communicate for, or on the behalf of, the product you're supporting.

And beware of the baggage using "found" content brings with it. As long as you're aware of and ok with that baggage, ok. But just using something because it was convenient is never good enough, and will often undermine the intentions of what you're trying to accomplish.

BTW, skim // browse // traipse through ample loads of art books and magazines on occasion, stuff unrelated to games, because typically last year's art, film, and design vibes are next year's game interface flavors.

And don't get hung up on tools. Learn a diversity of them, yes, because tools is what they are. The more ways you know how to build a bird house, the more sorts of experimentation you can do getting crazy with the birdhouse action. However, tools are a means to an end. A well stocked cupboard of inspiration and historical precedent is far more key towards conceptualizing creative content.

e

From: Delano Taylor
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 4:05 PM
To: Ian Christy
Subject: RE: portfolio critique

Thanks, is really refreshing to hear. I have been on so many forums graphic design and game development only to hear that my work isnt good, which doesnt bother me at all, but if that is all they are saying and not offering any words of wisdom or tips on what i should do to improve, i tend to take it as just personal opinion. I have been told by someone in the graphic design industry that I am a techinal designer. I know how to push buttons to make things happen and add effects and things like that to art, but i dont have anything that shows my talent or personal style. I am constantly online looking for tutorials and I have plenty of books on software. Its just frustrating when you are trying to learn on your own and there is noone around you that can offer assistance. I sincerely hope that I am able to get my foot in the door, I have to know if this is really that path for me. I honestly cant think of anything else I want to do but be a part of creating games. Thanks again.

From: Ian Christy [mailto:ichristy@radical.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 6:10 PM
To: Delano Taylor
Subject: RE: portfolio critique

No problem, and best luck, definitely keep after it! I have been through that frustration, and took a long time before I figured enough stuff out to get a foot in the door. Art school helped, but most of the photoshop and related stuff I learned on my own doing independent studies. helped that I set goals for myself and plugged away at it until I figured out some half-assed way to get mostly there, and that in turn began opening doors to getting others to share tips and tricks. There is no better recipe than to mess around, experiment, burn down the kitchen a few times so to speak, and then suddenly you get it, and when you do, people will see that and help you all the more. Crazy, huh?

Cheers!
e

From: Delano Taylor
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 7:49 AM
Thanks I will definitely keep trying. I feel that I am getting closer to realizing my dream and I just need to stay determined and focused to achieve them. I do have some other questions to ask. I was also told at GDC that you should use your best strength to focus on when trying to get a foot in the door, so is it better to know a little about alot of software or just be really good at one particular program or talent. Also when considering a candidate for a position that is out of town, does a company usually do a phone interview or fly/bus/train them in for a face to face interview? And do they usually help with relocation, meaing helping to find decent housing or even offer relocationg bonuses?

From: Ian Christy
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:20 AM
You should develop your best talents, for sure, though you should also explore your general abilities, you might be surprised to find you're good at more than one thing. having a basic familiarity with the breadth of tools used in the trade is a good thing, gives you a sense of what other people would be doing if nothing else, which is also good to have. Collaboration with other people also helps with this, like cats in the independent game developers group, or modders, communities like that.

Second questions, phone interviews first, then if you're what they're looking for they'll fly you in, or sometimes come see you in person if they're on a recruiting drive, less common but happens. If they make an offer, you negotiate for the rest of that stuff, like salary, possible hiring bonus, relocation amount. Their HR may also be able to help with finding accommodations, or temporary ones until you locate permanent ones. The leg work though for finding a crib it typically up to you, as finding something suitable is so subjective. health insurance packages are also a key thing to find out about.

That said, generally entry level into games, unless you're entering games laterally from a related industry like film or television, will not relocate hires, as wouldn't be cost effective. Entry level positions have a high competition rate for the positions, and it's thus up to applicants to avail themselves for the positions. An illusion propagated by a lot of the so called professional schools is that finishing their expensive one or two year programs will have studios clambering to pay heaps of money and relocate kids all around the globe is unfortunate, inaccurate, and bloody unlikely. Why import unproven talent when there is invariable hungry, cheap, and willing talent right here at home? With the exception maybe being Edmonton, because it's very, very cold and miserable to live there, ha ha. I'm kidding, Bioware is very selective about the talent they make offers to as well. Edmonton is still very cold, though, that part is true. Gotta like wearing animal pelts on your head to live in an ice bound burg like that.

Hey, I'm going to post this Q & A on my blog, will that be OK with you? Think some of this advice might be helpful for other cats out in the intra-web. I can disguise your name and website if you'd like, or you can have the free publicity.

Last time I posted advice, Gamasutra picked up coverage of it: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/column_index.php?story=8598
Crazy, huh?

e

12 Angry Days of Birth

2008-07-27T20:57:00.001-07:00

There are some moments when a cheap foam Hawaiian shirt and giant cup of java are enough to help a person regain some clarity and focus on the impending day.

Never challenge a personage big enough to reach all the push buttons to a fighting game that requires reaching and pushing all of those same River's Edge lip hue blue buttons within a short period of time.

Never mix wine with Yoo-Hoo, pink flavor. How does a color have a flavor, you ask? You'll know by the aftertaste. Or more precisely, how it tastes after you throw it all back up. On someone. Probably someone nice. Like that lady that brought the tasty pastries with the frosting that wasn't pink, more of a rouge color really, sort of ruddy like a sweaty diabetic in a cake walk competition. Sorry about your sweater.

Also, never mix Mai Tais with corn flakes near an openly flaming BBQ pit (the fire kind, not the discoteque kind) regardless to what Mr. Wizard said.

No. Wait. Got that wrong. Mr. Wizard did caution that breakfast cereal could be explosive. Another cautionary tale tragically misrecalled. Sorry about your so fine sofa. Not so fine anymore. Unless you count what the rental place will charge when you try to return that smoke damaged big screen television set. The one with the head in it. I didn't have a hand with that aspect, though.

LAMENT OF YELLOW IMAGING UNIT NEAR END OF LIFE

2008-07-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

While trying to print a PLAYwrite email today, got this error message above. Promptly lodged a ticket with IT, as follows...

Issue: 7th floor south east phaser 7400DX won't print
Status: Request
Description: Entered on 07/08/2008 at 13:52:48

According to the pop up message where usually job status would appear, instead I'm seeing "Yellow Imaging Unit Near End of Line", haven't heard "End of Line" since Tron, but I digress. The message goes on to announce "Imaging Unit is Near the End of Its Life" which means better alert the Imaging Unit's grandkids in Toledo.

My print job is thus stuck somewhere on the back burner of this stalled machine, and I could use some help as I don't know how to resurrect Imaging Units or replace color cartridges which is another name for Imaging Units, or so my friend Copy Toner Unit tells me. Thanks!

IT replied:
Hi,I'll bring up a new toner right away.
Cheers, Larry

Followed up a moment later with:
correction make that imaging unit.

I love an IT department with a sense of humor! I sent this thread around to the usual culprits, and got some even funnier replies...

Jed replied:
I would had done something about the 5 faces of death, and how the printer seems to be stuck in denial. Which isn't particularly funny, but is a good use of 8th grade health class knowledge...

Eric replied:
We had an intervention back in February but South-E kept hitting the black toner pretty hard (nobody calls him by his full name except Mrs 7400DX). We all said it would kill him in the end, but he kept going through 4-5 cartridges a month, walkin around with his feed tray out, and just going through reams of paper of varying weights and sizes without any regard for their feelings.

Sad to see such a life fade, band, and then halt due to a physical toner dependency, but we are in the Downtown East side after all. Maybe if we’re lucky iTeam will patch him up, he’ll clean up his act after this close call, and we’ll see him printing 24 or Metro at the Skytrain station in a couple months.

Malcolm replied:
Hey! That's my line! ...

A pox on both your houses.Probably small, but given the context it was written in, pox is likely just a catch-all for contagious disease. The biggest problem I had is that I’m so used to hitting LT for targeting, because of Proto, that I kept accidentally wasting my special ammo.

I still have no idea what Malcolm was on about, but I'm sure it had something to do with pirates and dry patches.

12AI

2008-05-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

Anger Southern Style

2008-05-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

GETTING ANGRY AT GREED, POINTLESS LITIGATION

2008-04-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Good to see greed in action!

I'm on the fan's side this time. Cross referencing a large body of work is a time suck, and deserves to be rewarded by anyone that happens to give a sh@t about Potter drek.

As there is no way his version would dent her sales, only ride the shirt tales of it, or worse, require her own likely ghost written encyclopedia be better constructed as "official cannon" than his turned out to be, then so what?

So some kid thought to make action figures of characters other than Luke Skywalker because Hasbro didn't, so what?

So LCD spoofed the unavoidable cultural icon that is the Starbuck's logo as an act of social commentary, so what?

Why are the huge elements so litigation happy?

Why sue teenage Friendster users with the bad taste to appreciate Britney's dubious artistic merits and want to share them?

Greed & Insecurity.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7349913.stm

GET ANGRY, 12 INCHES OF ANGRY

2008-04-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

12 Angry Inches

2008-03-31T10:49:00.001-07:00