Friday, July 24, 2009

Quick Fly-By

Hi all.

I know, it's been a while. Life is kind of crazed at the moment. Last quarter was so much easier with not having a job! Work is taking up a lot of my time, which is okay because they are giving me money. :) However, it cuts into having time to blog and such. I do still plan to get on here this weekend and post some of my stuff. Lots is going on.

First and foremost, let me tell y'all that I am in a Drawing Design and Art Theory class with world-class artists and illustrators and it is KILLING me!! These people are so f-ing talented and I am the weak link fer sure!!! I'm working on getting better, but in the meantime, you'll have lots to chuckle about when I post some of my sketches.

Intro to 3D animation is awesome! Loving that class. We're already working toward our final project and laying the groundwork. We cover so much in that class each week! And I can only do my homework at school since that's where the $3500 3ds Max software lives. But I will get stuff up - promise.

E-Commerce and Intro to Business are boring as hell! No real shock there. This week is all about micro- and macro-economics. Bo-ring! Quite the snoozefest. I don't even remember what E-Commerce was about this week, I just know I finished my assignments.

So far, and we're going into Week 4 here, I have straight A's. Yay! Let's hope it stays that way.

Also - I'm thinking about trying to double-major in both Digital Design and Animation and Game Design. I'm going to the school to talk to my counselor tomorrow.

Also also - tomorrow is my birthday! Yay me! Already bought the booze!! :)

So....that's the latest. I will return - promise - watch this space! Laters!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Well.....fuck.

Hi all.

Sorry it's been so long here since I've posted. Life has gotten incredibly busy! But, I wanted to take a moment here and relay all the news from the first week of Summer Quarter.

First, my new job is going well. They seem to like me and are being very flexible with my hours around school. Tuesdays and Wednesdays make for really long days, but I'm hoping I'll get used to the schedule soon.

My online Intro to Business and E-Commerce classes are going okay. Unlike last quarter where the instructors basically just monitored the discussions, my Intro to Business instructor is all over there asking questions you have to answer. It's really annoying. But, so far I'm managing to keep up. The lessons aren't too bad so far. Just kinda dull.

On the other side of the spectrum, my E-Commerce instructor is a ghost. Took forever for him to attach his name and contact info to the Syllabus. I've sent an e-mail challenging a grade I got on a question on our first quiz and still haven't heard back and it's been a few days. We'll see if he surfaces. The subject matter so far is incredibly boring and the chapters in the book are interminably long. The assignments require more effort than I honestly care to expend on this subject but - whatever. The process continues.

My Drawing Design and Art Theory class on Tuesday night was interesting. I suppose that's the best word for it. Unfortunately I was fighting an hellacious sinus headache that night so - that impacted things a bit. Turns out we paid for two books the instructor has no intention of using and got sent supply kits not containing everything he wants us to have. So - had to go and drop another $60 at Hobby Lobby for supplies. All I can say about that is I better use this shit so much I'm dancing-in-the-aisles-happy I bought it, know what I'm sayin'? He showed us how to draw one-point and two-point perspectives, then told us to draw a self-portrait. WTF??!!! I CAN'T DRAW!!!! So - that was not a fun class. I am reading the books hoping for some kind of help. The Drawing from Observation book was absolutely useless, but the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain book has promise. Our assignments were to complete two pages of sketches and our self-portrait before the next class. Think I have mine done? Surely by now you know me better than that! (I have until Tuesday night at 6 - leave me alone about it already!)

Introduction to 3D Animation did not start well. Our instructor was an hour and a half late to class. On the plus side though, it's a small class of about 7 people and those people are cool. Very snarky and fun. So - that was one positive. When the instructor did finally show up, we were all on the fence about him, but by the end of the class, I think we were mostly cautiously optimistic. We did one small little exercise playing with the 3DS Max software and that was cool. My little ball bounced and everything. Unfortunately, the only place I can do my assignments for that class is at school as that's where the software lives so - going to be relishing some on campus computer lab time. Luckily I get off of work at 3 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so I have three hours before classes those nights to get work done. Our homework is an exercise in the book, and then we have to come up with a general storyboard idea with model and material information for our final project. We have some vocabulary homework as well and he is big on class participation. We have to get up in front of the class to present our vocab homework and our storyboards. He also rotates us all as "guinea pigs" to be the signed in people on the computer projected on the screen. I'm going to have to come out of my observer shell in that class, which is not my favorite way to be. I'll keep y'all posted on how that turns out.

So - that's the news so far this quarter. Nothing to post so far, but watch this space y'all, it'll come. :) I'm looking forward to my 3D class, dreading a bit that Drawing class, and suffering through the online classes. Not my favorite quarter by any means, but I'm hoping once I get more into the quarter and subjects that things will look up. At any rate, that's where we are. Back with week two next weekend probably! Laters!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Summer Quarter Has Begun!

Hey everyone!

So....just a little bit relating to last quarter before we move on: I made the Dean's List and the Perfect Attendance List! Yay me! Yes, I'm still a bit bitter about that A-, but I'm dealing with it. 3.95 is not a bad GPA. I keep telling myself that - I'm sure it'll sink in any time now. :)

More non-school related news that affects school - I've acquired employment! Yay! It's a part-time job right now. I will be working 4 5-hour days every week, with Fridays off. This is good as new assignments come out on Fridays, so I will have the weekends free to focus on my schoolwork - which I will need!

Which brings us to Summer Quarter! This is going to be a challenging quarter. My Intro to Business and E-Commerce classes are very similar. There is a lot of reading (very boring reading) required for both classes, and lots of lecture notes. I learned my lesson last quarter about taking notes - I am printing those suckers off rather than writing them out. Which is good, because there are tons. Also - both classes have a quiz every week (didn't I tell ya so?) and both classes have a 5-7 page paper due at the end of the course. Oy! So those classes are going to keep me on my toes. The reading and concepts are all very similar (and did I mention boring?) so that will hopefully help reinforce the concepts rather than confuse them. So far, so good.

As far as posting information from those classes, we'll have to play it by ear. Mostly they are going to be written assignments that may not be of much interest - we'll just have to see how it goes. It will depend on how interested anyone is in business topics. However, both coursebooks are very up-to-date on current trends and I will be posting interesting/useful information I learn so - watch this space! :)

Tonight is my first on-campus class, which is Drawing Design and Art Theory. I have access to a scanner so I will be posting the results of my endeavors in this class for your amusement/mockery. :) Tomorrow night is my first Intro to 3D Arts & Animation class. That class uses the 3DS Max software so I don't know how much I will be able to post, but I'll post what I can.

So - - that's the latest. Summer Quarter has begun and it's very interesting and very busy. My postings here may be a little more sporadic and more along the lines of once-a-week at the weekends, but I'll be here.

Cheers!