Hey y'all
So....allow me a moment here to brag, if you will. Remember my beautiful bridge from my previous post? (if not, go look at it - I'll wait.....back? OK!)
Well....turns out that I'm the only one in the class that got it right! We went over the architectural project and the instructor is all:
"So....let's go over our architectural projects from last week - YOU!"
He points at me.
"Want to come up and tell us how you did it?"
Well...I didn't get up, 'cuz I hate being the center of attention, but I did explain how I did it.
"Well....first, I went online and searched for pictures of suspension bridges to get an idea of what I was trying to do..."
"PERFECT! YES! EXACTLY! I highly recommend this - it's always good to have some background - next?"
"Well...."
And then I went on to explain how I did it.
"Excellent! This is definitely an A, you got an A. A+ really. This is a perfect example - the exact way I would instruct anyone in building this particular project - WELL DONE!"
Yeah, it's okay to be a little impressed with me - I sure as hell am! God knows I'm the red-headed stepchild of my incredibly talented Drawing Design class so....I'll take the kudos where I can get 'em kiddies!
So....I had to share that with y'all. Really made my week, let me tell you. :)
Onward.....so.....finally got my new schedule. It needs some tweaking (which will happen Tuesday morning at 8 in the bright a.m.), but I'm definitely scheduled for the next 3D Animation class. AWESOME! I really am enjoying this stuff. I can totally see being happy being paid to sit and model shit all day. That would be hella cool! I'll wait to impart any other schedule knowledge until it's all worked out so....watch this space, as always.
Other grade situations - online classes = A's, Drawing Design - I still think I'm holding my B there (I hope). I have sketching to do later today and then will try to post some newness soon. Our assignment for this week is 2 pages of sketches without using lines - WTF is that about??!! Apparently we're supposed to only use shading and cross-hatching and shit. What. Ever. I'm really just trying to survive this class y'all, for real. Just please let me get to the end of the quarter without an F is all I'm asking. I just need to pass. I'll have one other drawing class for my major - Figure Drawing - at some point. Oy! That's all I can say about that.
So....that's the latest. I shall endeavor to get back with sketches soon but in the meantime, marvel at that bridge why don't ya - my bridge is FIERCE!!! Yes it is! ;) Laters all!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Check out My Bridge!!!!
Hey y'all!
So I managed to make it into the school most of the day Friday and and yesterday to work on the 3DS Max projects. It took some time for me to get my suspension bridge the way I wanted it, but I think it came out pretty damn cool - check it out:
I'm now completely done with Week 7's work and moving on to Week 8. I have my sketching to do for Drawing Design class, but I'm going to try to get a jump on my online classes today before that. We'll see how it all turns out. Anyhoo - that's the latest. I will try to get some new sketch pics up later, after I finish my project for this week. Laters y'all!
So I managed to make it into the school most of the day Friday and and yesterday to work on the 3DS Max projects. It took some time for me to get my suspension bridge the way I wanted it, but I think it came out pretty damn cool - check it out:
I'm now completely done with Week 7's work and moving on to Week 8. I have my sketching to do for Drawing Design class, but I'm going to try to get a jump on my online classes today before that. We'll see how it all turns out. Anyhoo - that's the latest. I will try to get some new sketch pics up later, after I finish my project for this week. Laters y'all!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Welcome to the end of Week 7!
Hi all.
Wow - things have been really crazy busy here lately! My dog has been sick, I've been dealing with some work weirdness, and school is....school. :) On the plus side, I finally checked all of my mid-term grades and everything is A's except for my Drawing Design and Art Theory class, which is a B, which is better than I thought so - yay! If I turn in a really kick-ass final project, I may be able to salvage my GPA! Oh the joy!
Intro to Business and E-Commerce are pretty much dud courses. Incredibly boring and banal but....what are you going to do, right? It wouldn't be so bad if the books weren't so far behind the times. I think the E-Commerce one is from 2000 or 2001 - - don't they realize how much shit has gone down since then? Anyway, it makes reading them and juxtaposing all of that with the current state of things a little head-trippy.
In Drawing Design we have moved on to portraits and figure drawing. I need to take some pics of my new sketches and show y'all the mock-up of my final project but, honestly, it ain't gonna happen tonight. I'm about out of steam and still have homework to do. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow or Sunday.
On to 3D Animation, which is my favorite class this quarter. We've been doing so much cool stuff. We're still in modeling, but I like it. I definitely chose a good major for me, that's for sure. :) So - without further ado, more postings of the cool stuff we've been doing!
First off, we have a project called the Boolean Project, which was using Boolean Commands and Compound Objects. We had to build a claw-footed hammer, a mallet, a dagger, and a pillar. (yes - that's a dagger - shut up!)
Then we had an assignment to build a solar sytem:
Then our newest projects were using Edit Mesh commands. Here we had to make a flying saucer, a doorknob, and a lightbulb (yes - that's a lightbulb - shut up!)
Finally, our newest projects are to build a building like the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and a suspension bridge. I'm still working on the bridge, but here is my Capitol so far:
It's still a work in progress, but I like it so far.
Aside from all of that, it's just business as usual. Schedules for next quarter should go up any day now so I'm excited to see what I end up with. I'll be sure to let y'all know. So - - onward and upward. Again, I'll try to get some new sketches up tomorrow or Sunday for your amusement. Laters!
P.S. - we got sent an e-mail with a link to sign up for the Jeopardy College Tournament test online - I signed up. The test is Tuesday - this should be interesting! ;)
Wow - things have been really crazy busy here lately! My dog has been sick, I've been dealing with some work weirdness, and school is....school. :) On the plus side, I finally checked all of my mid-term grades and everything is A's except for my Drawing Design and Art Theory class, which is a B, which is better than I thought so - yay! If I turn in a really kick-ass final project, I may be able to salvage my GPA! Oh the joy!
Intro to Business and E-Commerce are pretty much dud courses. Incredibly boring and banal but....what are you going to do, right? It wouldn't be so bad if the books weren't so far behind the times. I think the E-Commerce one is from 2000 or 2001 - - don't they realize how much shit has gone down since then? Anyway, it makes reading them and juxtaposing all of that with the current state of things a little head-trippy.
In Drawing Design we have moved on to portraits and figure drawing. I need to take some pics of my new sketches and show y'all the mock-up of my final project but, honestly, it ain't gonna happen tonight. I'm about out of steam and still have homework to do. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow or Sunday.
On to 3D Animation, which is my favorite class this quarter. We've been doing so much cool stuff. We're still in modeling, but I like it. I definitely chose a good major for me, that's for sure. :) So - without further ado, more postings of the cool stuff we've been doing!
First off, we have a project called the Boolean Project, which was using Boolean Commands and Compound Objects. We had to build a claw-footed hammer, a mallet, a dagger, and a pillar. (yes - that's a dagger - shut up!)
Then we had an assignment to build a solar sytem:
Then our newest projects were using Edit Mesh commands. Here we had to make a flying saucer, a doorknob, and a lightbulb (yes - that's a lightbulb - shut up!)
Finally, our newest projects are to build a building like the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and a suspension bridge. I'm still working on the bridge, but here is my Capitol so far:
It's still a work in progress, but I like it so far.
Aside from all of that, it's just business as usual. Schedules for next quarter should go up any day now so I'm excited to see what I end up with. I'll be sure to let y'all know. So - - onward and upward. Again, I'll try to get some new sketches up tomorrow or Sunday for your amusement. Laters!
P.S. - we got sent an e-mail with a link to sign up for the Jeopardy College Tournament test online - I signed up. The test is Tuesday - this should be interesting! ;)
Friday, August 7, 2009
Update on the End of Week 5
Hi all.
Week 5 went pretty well. Things have been a bit crazy personal life-wise, but overall it's going good. Week 5 was mid-terms. The only class I had an actual mid-term in was 3D Animation - more about that in a minute.
Intro to Business is going well. There is one chick in that class that I have an issue with, but she's fairly stupid so - nothing to worry about. Woe be it to her if we ever meet face-to-face and she tries any of this trifling shit on me, however. I'm getting 100%'s on my assignments and discussions and quizzes and my A is firm in that class - yay!
E-Commerce: things here are going well too. Again, 100%'s and a good, solid A. It's deadly dull, but some of the discussions are nice and someone in one of my real-life classes is in there, so it's nice to know someone else.
Drawing Design and Art Theory: very much the Typography of this quarter. Ugh. As you can see from my earlier entry, my drawing skillz are not so great. I'm working on it, however. This class I really need to put forth some more effort in. I don't know what my grade is, but I don't think it's good. I don't have the guts to ask the instructor. I'm going to make a good, concentrated effort to perform better in this class for the rest of the quarter and really get my grade up as high as I can. This class, I admit, I haven't been doing my best, hardest work in - I'm going to remedy that.
3D Animation - got an A+ on my mid-term and I'm one of the people the other students ask for help and stuff. It's pretty damn cool. Again, good solid A in this class and it's my favorite this quarter. I love watching these things come into being. Right now we're still focusing on the different tools of model building, but will be moving forward into animation soon. I'm excited! And construction is already underway on the final project. Should be pretty cool.
Okay, as I said above, we've been working on modeling items and using modifiers to modify shapes and objects. So....one of our first assignments was to modify some objects using 3 modifiers on each and place them in a scene. I introduce, my futuristic highway, complete with car, tree, volcano, park and buildings:
My submission for our Spline Project: a cup, a lamp, a chess piece (yes it's a chess piece!), a bolt, a wine bottle, a nameplate, and a table:
My submission for the Logo Project - which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like - superimposing/incorporating text and a tagline onto objects:
Our latest Week 5 Skillz Test, which was a waving flag using NURBS, a screwdriver, and a chair with lathed legs:
My practical Mid-Term assignment, which was to create a traffic cone, a mailbox, a table with funky legs, and a spaceship:
And finally, our last project, which is half-done. We've started in on boolean and compound objects. I have a pillar and mallet here - I have to complete the claw-foot hammer and dagger still.
So....that's what's going on in the world of Introduction to 3D Arts & Animation. This is the way we learn! Do you feel educated now? Good! :)
As always, more to come later. Until then....PEACE!
Week 5 went pretty well. Things have been a bit crazy personal life-wise, but overall it's going good. Week 5 was mid-terms. The only class I had an actual mid-term in was 3D Animation - more about that in a minute.
Intro to Business is going well. There is one chick in that class that I have an issue with, but she's fairly stupid so - nothing to worry about. Woe be it to her if we ever meet face-to-face and she tries any of this trifling shit on me, however. I'm getting 100%'s on my assignments and discussions and quizzes and my A is firm in that class - yay!
E-Commerce: things here are going well too. Again, 100%'s and a good, solid A. It's deadly dull, but some of the discussions are nice and someone in one of my real-life classes is in there, so it's nice to know someone else.
Drawing Design and Art Theory: very much the Typography of this quarter. Ugh. As you can see from my earlier entry, my drawing skillz are not so great. I'm working on it, however. This class I really need to put forth some more effort in. I don't know what my grade is, but I don't think it's good. I don't have the guts to ask the instructor. I'm going to make a good, concentrated effort to perform better in this class for the rest of the quarter and really get my grade up as high as I can. This class, I admit, I haven't been doing my best, hardest work in - I'm going to remedy that.
3D Animation - got an A+ on my mid-term and I'm one of the people the other students ask for help and stuff. It's pretty damn cool. Again, good solid A in this class and it's my favorite this quarter. I love watching these things come into being. Right now we're still focusing on the different tools of model building, but will be moving forward into animation soon. I'm excited! And construction is already underway on the final project. Should be pretty cool.
Okay, as I said above, we've been working on modeling items and using modifiers to modify shapes and objects. So....one of our first assignments was to modify some objects using 3 modifiers on each and place them in a scene. I introduce, my futuristic highway, complete with car, tree, volcano, park and buildings:
My submission for our Spline Project: a cup, a lamp, a chess piece (yes it's a chess piece!), a bolt, a wine bottle, a nameplate, and a table:
My submission for the Logo Project - which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like - superimposing/incorporating text and a tagline onto objects:
Our latest Week 5 Skillz Test, which was a waving flag using NURBS, a screwdriver, and a chair with lathed legs:
My practical Mid-Term assignment, which was to create a traffic cone, a mailbox, a table with funky legs, and a spaceship:
And finally, our last project, which is half-done. We've started in on boolean and compound objects. I have a pillar and mallet here - I have to complete the claw-foot hammer and dagger still.
So....that's what's going on in the world of Introduction to 3D Arts & Animation. This is the way we learn! Do you feel educated now? Good! :)
As always, more to come later. Until then....PEACE!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Intro to Biz Interview Assignment
Hi again all!
So, as promised here is the interview I did for my Intro to Business class. We had to interview a small business owner, so I chose the exceptionally wonderful Amanda Swan of Sygnet Creations on Etsy. She graciously answered my questions via e-mail and here is the end result - enjoy!
Week 4 Written Assignment – Interview a Small Business Owner
Amanda Swan is an Air Force wife and mother of four. Sewing has always been something she has done for family and friends, but on the advice of one friend, she decided to take it a step further and use her talent for added income for her family. Amanda had been making mainly blankets, pillows, scarves, and hats for her friends and family, but with some pushing from her best friend, she decided to go into business and began her company, Sygnet Creations, in April of 2007. The name of her company comes from her husband’s name of Swan. In her words, “A cygnet is a baby swan and growing up my husband’s nickname was Sygnet with an ‘S’. With our household of babies it was a simple transition to bring that name forward, thus Sygnet Creations.”
When she first started her business, she was just making blankets, but soon expanded into her signature “neck nests,” travel pillows for infants, adults, and children. Since adding in the neck nests, she has branched out even further into offering pillowcase dresses; craft/waist aprons; full aprons/apron tops; pot holders & accessories; tags and bags (fabric bags, fabric wrapping supplies, fabric gift bags, purses, diaper bags); towels, pillows, scrap fabric, and baby slings. Her reasoning on the new additions is simple, “I actually started with blankets then moved on to the neck nests and other creations as my skills improved. You see, I am a self learner. My mother taught me basic skills of the sewing machine, but anything past that initial learning has been self taught. My children are my inspiration; they are the backbone behind everything I do. The colors I use are an expression of the joy I feel when I am able to create a piece of work dreamed up on a whim.”
Amanda chose to set up her business as a sole proprietorship, “I felt sole proprietorship worked best for me.” When asked how she got the startup capital for her business, she answered, “I am completely self financed. I used to have a free website on Lycos where I listed and sold my creations. It wasn't my best laid plan, but it introduced me to the world of Etsy.” On the e-tailing crafter’s site Etsy, Amanda seems to have found her niche. Billed as the “place to buy and sell all things handmade,” and featured on shows like Oprah and Rachael Ray, Etsy is the largest online crafting e-tailer. On Etsy, Amanda has been able to set up her shop, http://www.sygnetcreations.etsy.com, and also network to find new opportunities, such as being featured on LarkBooks.com for her winning Pillowcase entry.
http://www.larkbooks.com/article/pillowcase-challenge-winners
As far as being featured and published, Amanda had that as one of her goals with her business. “One goal I set when I started was to be published within the first 5 years. That goal will be achieved this year and that is wonderful. I have written a tutorial for an upcoming craft publication, and I am hoping it will give my business the push it needs to reach my 10-year plan of having more wholesale accounts with my products being featured in boutiques around the globe.”
When asked about a trend in her business that she used to make her shop more
successful, she shared the following, “The blankets I was making were not selling like I wanted, so I decided that the overall feel of my shop might be off. I needed more price points. I added the neck nests at this point. Once I sold a few in a week I realized they were going to be a big asset. The blankets stayed, I just down-sized; instead of making big twin-sized blankets for a higher price, I again made a smaller price point with the lovey and baby blankets. It gave my shop versatility and gave my customers a wide selection to choose from.” When asked how she competes with the competition or bigger business, her approach is simple, “I do not pay attention to what others are doing as far as competition, and I prefer not to compete. In all honesty the fact that I make everything by hand is more appealing than any big business assembly line. That in itself helps us stand apart.”
I asked Amanda how she feels as a female and minority business owner about the Etsy phenomenon and women such as herself choosing that option to generate income while taking care of their families. “Etsy is wonderful for all small business people, not just women. Although being over 70% women owned, I am happy to be a part of such a wonderful community. Without Etsy I would have closed up shop by now. There have been many ups and downs over the last few years and Etsy has allowed me to reach customers I couldn't have reached on my own. I am a very extroverted individual so I enjoy being around people. I have only sold my goods at one craft show and, of course, the BX. With comparison to Etsy, I do sell more in person in one day than online, but I prefer the flexibility of setting up shop in my night clothes.” When asked about selling at the BX on the Air Force base where her husband is stationed, Amanda said, “Selling at the BX has been a goal since day one. I actually applied over a year prior to being accepted. I am not interested in making it a full time gig, but I enjoyed the exposure of the day.”
I asked Amanda how she felt Etsy measured up to other sites such as eBay and Artfire, and how those sites differed from taking the direct approach of setting up a site on her own, which she has at http://sygnetcreations.com. She stated, “They are actually quite similar. When setting up your own website you need to pay for the site, shopping cart, any support you may need and so on. With Etsy you have all the above with a much smaller price tag.”
When I asked Amanda what she considered to be the upsides and downsides of owning her own business, she mentioned the freedom of being able to be there for her children as one of the biggest plusses of being her own boss. “I am able to stay home with my children and not spend a fortune in day care costs. With the profits I have been able to upgrade my computer system, buy glasses for my children, and contribute savings to our household. On the opposite note, I have spent a lot to get to this place. I still have months where breaking even is the goal. It is stressful when you have no financial backer but yourself and the long hours tend to make you loathe the Internet.” But, overall, she finds that she prefers the avenue she has chosen, and says the most rewarding part of small business ownership is “Freedom! I make what I want, set my own price, and work when I see fit.”
As someone who has been selling on Etsy for over 2 years, and who has made it a point to give back and reach out to help others there with her membership in the Etsy HomeFront street team for military families, as co-Leader of the EtsyFriends street team which encourages friendship and cooperative selling, and the Etsy Sellers Assisting Sellers (TeamSASsy), I asked Amanda what advice she would give to anyone wishing to start their own business. “First of all, have realistic goals, and a strong support system. You could have the best ideas in the world, but if you do not have a realistic sense of where you want to go and how you plan to get there, nothing will fall into place. The support keeps you going when you realize nothing is easy! Also, never give up. If one idea doesn't pan out, rethink and start again. There is always a diamond in the rough, you just need to know how to polish it up and make it shine!”
Since joining Etsy in August of 2007, Amanda’s Sygnet Creations has conducted 388 individual sales transactions garnering a 100% satisfaction rating with her customers. In addition to Etsy, Amanda has generated income from her own business site, sales on Craigslist.com, and sales in markets and the on-base BX. A central ethos of her success is taking pride in her customer service skills and her creations. Interpersonal relations, even over the Internet, are vital to the seller/customer relationship, and she maintains that going that extra mile to help a customer is another aspect of what sets her apart in the ever-growing Internet marketplace. From the small beginnings of making gifts for friends and family, Amanda has seen her own personal Sygnet grow into a profitable enterprise benefitting her family and offering opportunities to make her personal dreams and goals a reality.
There you have it! Thanks Amanda for helping me out with this assignment! I think it turned out pretty darn good! Off to start working on my Drawing Design and Art Theory sketches and final project mockup. Laters y'all!
So, as promised here is the interview I did for my Intro to Business class. We had to interview a small business owner, so I chose the exceptionally wonderful Amanda Swan of Sygnet Creations on Etsy. She graciously answered my questions via e-mail and here is the end result - enjoy!
Week 4 Written Assignment – Interview a Small Business Owner
Amanda Swan is an Air Force wife and mother of four. Sewing has always been something she has done for family and friends, but on the advice of one friend, she decided to take it a step further and use her talent for added income for her family. Amanda had been making mainly blankets, pillows, scarves, and hats for her friends and family, but with some pushing from her best friend, she decided to go into business and began her company, Sygnet Creations, in April of 2007. The name of her company comes from her husband’s name of Swan. In her words, “A cygnet is a baby swan and growing up my husband’s nickname was Sygnet with an ‘S’. With our household of babies it was a simple transition to bring that name forward, thus Sygnet Creations.”
When she first started her business, she was just making blankets, but soon expanded into her signature “neck nests,” travel pillows for infants, adults, and children. Since adding in the neck nests, she has branched out even further into offering pillowcase dresses; craft/waist aprons; full aprons/apron tops; pot holders & accessories; tags and bags (fabric bags, fabric wrapping supplies, fabric gift bags, purses, diaper bags); towels, pillows, scrap fabric, and baby slings. Her reasoning on the new additions is simple, “I actually started with blankets then moved on to the neck nests and other creations as my skills improved. You see, I am a self learner. My mother taught me basic skills of the sewing machine, but anything past that initial learning has been self taught. My children are my inspiration; they are the backbone behind everything I do. The colors I use are an expression of the joy I feel when I am able to create a piece of work dreamed up on a whim.”
Amanda chose to set up her business as a sole proprietorship, “I felt sole proprietorship worked best for me.” When asked how she got the startup capital for her business, she answered, “I am completely self financed. I used to have a free website on Lycos where I listed and sold my creations. It wasn't my best laid plan, but it introduced me to the world of Etsy.” On the e-tailing crafter’s site Etsy, Amanda seems to have found her niche. Billed as the “place to buy and sell all things handmade,” and featured on shows like Oprah and Rachael Ray, Etsy is the largest online crafting e-tailer. On Etsy, Amanda has been able to set up her shop, http://www.sygnetcreations.etsy.com, and also network to find new opportunities, such as being featured on LarkBooks.com for her winning Pillowcase entry.
http://www.larkbooks.com/article/pillowcase-challenge-winners
As far as being featured and published, Amanda had that as one of her goals with her business. “One goal I set when I started was to be published within the first 5 years. That goal will be achieved this year and that is wonderful. I have written a tutorial for an upcoming craft publication, and I am hoping it will give my business the push it needs to reach my 10-year plan of having more wholesale accounts with my products being featured in boutiques around the globe.”
When asked about a trend in her business that she used to make her shop more
successful, she shared the following, “The blankets I was making were not selling like I wanted, so I decided that the overall feel of my shop might be off. I needed more price points. I added the neck nests at this point. Once I sold a few in a week I realized they were going to be a big asset. The blankets stayed, I just down-sized; instead of making big twin-sized blankets for a higher price, I again made a smaller price point with the lovey and baby blankets. It gave my shop versatility and gave my customers a wide selection to choose from.” When asked how she competes with the competition or bigger business, her approach is simple, “I do not pay attention to what others are doing as far as competition, and I prefer not to compete. In all honesty the fact that I make everything by hand is more appealing than any big business assembly line. That in itself helps us stand apart.”
I asked Amanda how she feels as a female and minority business owner about the Etsy phenomenon and women such as herself choosing that option to generate income while taking care of their families. “Etsy is wonderful for all small business people, not just women. Although being over 70% women owned, I am happy to be a part of such a wonderful community. Without Etsy I would have closed up shop by now. There have been many ups and downs over the last few years and Etsy has allowed me to reach customers I couldn't have reached on my own. I am a very extroverted individual so I enjoy being around people. I have only sold my goods at one craft show and, of course, the BX. With comparison to Etsy, I do sell more in person in one day than online, but I prefer the flexibility of setting up shop in my night clothes.” When asked about selling at the BX on the Air Force base where her husband is stationed, Amanda said, “Selling at the BX has been a goal since day one. I actually applied over a year prior to being accepted. I am not interested in making it a full time gig, but I enjoyed the exposure of the day.”
I asked Amanda how she felt Etsy measured up to other sites such as eBay and Artfire, and how those sites differed from taking the direct approach of setting up a site on her own, which she has at http://sygnetcreations.com. She stated, “They are actually quite similar. When setting up your own website you need to pay for the site, shopping cart, any support you may need and so on. With Etsy you have all the above with a much smaller price tag.”
When I asked Amanda what she considered to be the upsides and downsides of owning her own business, she mentioned the freedom of being able to be there for her children as one of the biggest plusses of being her own boss. “I am able to stay home with my children and not spend a fortune in day care costs. With the profits I have been able to upgrade my computer system, buy glasses for my children, and contribute savings to our household. On the opposite note, I have spent a lot to get to this place. I still have months where breaking even is the goal. It is stressful when you have no financial backer but yourself and the long hours tend to make you loathe the Internet.” But, overall, she finds that she prefers the avenue she has chosen, and says the most rewarding part of small business ownership is “Freedom! I make what I want, set my own price, and work when I see fit.”
As someone who has been selling on Etsy for over 2 years, and who has made it a point to give back and reach out to help others there with her membership in the Etsy HomeFront street team for military families, as co-Leader of the EtsyFriends street team which encourages friendship and cooperative selling, and the Etsy Sellers Assisting Sellers (TeamSASsy), I asked Amanda what advice she would give to anyone wishing to start their own business. “First of all, have realistic goals, and a strong support system. You could have the best ideas in the world, but if you do not have a realistic sense of where you want to go and how you plan to get there, nothing will fall into place. The support keeps you going when you realize nothing is easy! Also, never give up. If one idea doesn't pan out, rethink and start again. There is always a diamond in the rough, you just need to know how to polish it up and make it shine!”
Since joining Etsy in August of 2007, Amanda’s Sygnet Creations has conducted 388 individual sales transactions garnering a 100% satisfaction rating with her customers. In addition to Etsy, Amanda has generated income from her own business site, sales on Craigslist.com, and sales in markets and the on-base BX. A central ethos of her success is taking pride in her customer service skills and her creations. Interpersonal relations, even over the Internet, are vital to the seller/customer relationship, and she maintains that going that extra mile to help a customer is another aspect of what sets her apart in the ever-growing Internet marketplace. From the small beginnings of making gifts for friends and family, Amanda has seen her own personal Sygnet grow into a profitable enterprise benefitting her family and offering opportunities to make her personal dreams and goals a reality.
There you have it! Thanks Amanda for helping me out with this assignment! I think it turned out pretty darn good! Off to start working on my Drawing Design and Art Theory sketches and final project mockup. Laters y'all!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Going Into Week 5
Hi all!
Okay, so - first things first - my birthday was good. Drank an entire bottle of pink champagne. Did some Intro to Biz homework after 4 glasses. :) Been getting 88% on all of my assignments - - assignments I did after drinking both got 100% - hmmm.... :)
Intro to Biz and E-Commerce are both still deadly dull. I'm still getting A's in both classes, but it's a snoozefest. I have an assignment where I had to interview a small business owner and I will be posting that lately. I chose an awesome Etsy person named Amanda Swan from Sygnet Creations so....that'll be up soon! ;) Especially since it's due tomorrow!
Intro to 3D Animation is going well. Unfortunately, all that homework lives on the school computers, but I'll try to get my JPEGs when I'm back in class and post a few here - some of it's kinda cool. I have a mid-term in that class this coming week so - gotta study for that. :)
Which brings us to Drawing Design and Art Theory. I know I've been promising/threatening to post my sketches and now (while I take a homework break), I will do so. I'm going to try to post these in the order they were done, so bear with me. And please try to keep the helpless laughter to a minimum, okay? My ego, she is fragile. Thx! ;)
Our first assignment was a self-portrait. It did not need to be "real", but a representation of how we see ourselves. So....here it is:
Next up was 2-point perspective. We were set the task to draw a house in 2-point perspective. My classmates, all of whom can draw circles around me I must note, drew these really amazing structures. I came up with these:
One of our course books, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, has these upside down line drawings that you can do that are supposed to turn off your left brain and turn on your right. Guess what? I can draw upside down stuff!!
Here's the drawing turned right-side up. I did okay with just focusing on the lines and not thinking about what I was drawing until I got to the fingers, then I had some trouble. But still pretty good, no?
Then we had to do some drawings from life. I had a box of Jujyfruits so I drew that. Here's the first angle:
And here's the second angle of the back of the box:
Then we had to draw chairs in class. This exercise almost brought me to tears, I must tell you. I could see the chairs right in front of me, and I knew what I wanted to do, but I just couldn't get from the image in my eye through my fingers onto the paper. Needless to say, the rest of the class's drawings left mine in the dust. :( In the first drawing, we were allowed to pick up our pencils:
In the second drawing, we were not allowed to look at our drawings or pick up our pencils while we were drawing:
Here is another upside down drawing from the book that I did - I LOVE the way this one turned out!
Here's the same drawing right-side up.
Our next homework assignments were to sketch some things from life, which I suck at. First drawings were an eraser and my pencil case:
Next sketch was my drawing/art supply briefcase thingy:
And finally we come to this last week's work. We were supposed to be focusing on positive and negative space and how you can use that space to create images. My final work was about honeycomb and hourglasses:
There are some random sketch pages that I went through to get to that, but this is a big enough post already. So....there you have it - what I've been doing in Drawing Design and Art Theory. I pitched my instructor my idea/topic for my final project and he approved it so - - now it's just time to mock it up. He said I could do it on the computer and then draw it so I'm going to do that. You better believe I'm turning that sucker upside down to do it!
So - so far maintaining straight A's in all of my classes. Oh! - spoke with my counselor and the dean and am going to segue from my Digital Design and Animation BS into the Gaming BS. Will add on about a year and a quarter to my schooling if I take 6 course per quarter, but will be so awesome when I'm done! So - starting next quarter I'm going up to six. This should be interesting!
Okay peeps, that's it for now. More to come soon when I get this interview essay finished so - watch this space! Laters!
Okay, so - first things first - my birthday was good. Drank an entire bottle of pink champagne. Did some Intro to Biz homework after 4 glasses. :) Been getting 88% on all of my assignments - - assignments I did after drinking both got 100% - hmmm.... :)
Intro to Biz and E-Commerce are both still deadly dull. I'm still getting A's in both classes, but it's a snoozefest. I have an assignment where I had to interview a small business owner and I will be posting that lately. I chose an awesome Etsy person named Amanda Swan from Sygnet Creations so....that'll be up soon! ;) Especially since it's due tomorrow!
Intro to 3D Animation is going well. Unfortunately, all that homework lives on the school computers, but I'll try to get my JPEGs when I'm back in class and post a few here - some of it's kinda cool. I have a mid-term in that class this coming week so - gotta study for that. :)
Which brings us to Drawing Design and Art Theory. I know I've been promising/threatening to post my sketches and now (while I take a homework break), I will do so. I'm going to try to post these in the order they were done, so bear with me. And please try to keep the helpless laughter to a minimum, okay? My ego, she is fragile. Thx! ;)
Our first assignment was a self-portrait. It did not need to be "real", but a representation of how we see ourselves. So....here it is:
Next up was 2-point perspective. We were set the task to draw a house in 2-point perspective. My classmates, all of whom can draw circles around me I must note, drew these really amazing structures. I came up with these:
One of our course books, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, has these upside down line drawings that you can do that are supposed to turn off your left brain and turn on your right. Guess what? I can draw upside down stuff!!
Here's the drawing turned right-side up. I did okay with just focusing on the lines and not thinking about what I was drawing until I got to the fingers, then I had some trouble. But still pretty good, no?
Then we had to do some drawings from life. I had a box of Jujyfruits so I drew that. Here's the first angle:
And here's the second angle of the back of the box:
Then we had to draw chairs in class. This exercise almost brought me to tears, I must tell you. I could see the chairs right in front of me, and I knew what I wanted to do, but I just couldn't get from the image in my eye through my fingers onto the paper. Needless to say, the rest of the class's drawings left mine in the dust. :( In the first drawing, we were allowed to pick up our pencils:
In the second drawing, we were not allowed to look at our drawings or pick up our pencils while we were drawing:
Here is another upside down drawing from the book that I did - I LOVE the way this one turned out!
Here's the same drawing right-side up.
Our next homework assignments were to sketch some things from life, which I suck at. First drawings were an eraser and my pencil case:
Next sketch was my drawing/art supply briefcase thingy:
And finally we come to this last week's work. We were supposed to be focusing on positive and negative space and how you can use that space to create images. My final work was about honeycomb and hourglasses:
There are some random sketch pages that I went through to get to that, but this is a big enough post already. So....there you have it - what I've been doing in Drawing Design and Art Theory. I pitched my instructor my idea/topic for my final project and he approved it so - - now it's just time to mock it up. He said I could do it on the computer and then draw it so I'm going to do that. You better believe I'm turning that sucker upside down to do it!
So - so far maintaining straight A's in all of my classes. Oh! - spoke with my counselor and the dean and am going to segue from my Digital Design and Animation BS into the Gaming BS. Will add on about a year and a quarter to my schooling if I take 6 course per quarter, but will be so awesome when I'm done! So - starting next quarter I'm going up to six. This should be interesting!
Okay peeps, that's it for now. More to come soon when I get this interview essay finished so - watch this space! Laters!
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