pyrosarco

The last week or so has left me with little to write about.  Today I started a class on Adobe Illustrator which I am extremely thrilled to learn.  I am starting to look at pictures that people have created and am understanding which parts they used Illustrator for and in which parts they used Photoshop. I personally find it hard to stay motivated and inspired on my own, and have a hard time focusing on tutorials or reading the help menus of programs.

That is why I was not exactly thrilled today when I asked the professor teaching Illustrator, what he knew about InDesign.  He said he knew a lot about it and a good place for me to learn was the Adobe help files.  Granted I could take the InDesign class on Mondays and Wednesdays, but I would have already missed a session.

Which really makes me sad, because recently, my friends and I thought it would be a good idea to start putting together a PDF magazine.  Which means, I will be the one looked to, to do layout and spread the word via the internet.

I may also note, that spreading the word via the internet, will probably be hard, because this site doesn’t pull in more than several visitors a day right now.  I makes me sad, but what content am I offering my visitors?  I mean really, there is nothing of use on my site, just useless babblings.

That being said, lets continue.  I kind of want the new Samsung Instinct and because I have Sprint, I could get it for somewhere around 50 dollars when my contract has matured.  However, I do feel that it wont replace an iPhone an would probably be a waste of my time.  In which case, I can’t wait for Google to release Android.  I think I read that Spint is getting into that because they have dim future.  Oh well.

In other news, I was almost scammed the other day.  Some guy tried to get me to wire him money be sending a check that I knew wouldn’t clear and saying to send X number of dollars to some other person right away.  I didn’t and he hasn’t contacted me since, add another oh well to the list.

I might have a sprained wrist, and I have a semi-recovering ankle.  Both injuries are from skateboarding.  Plus I met some new people to skate with. Which brings me back to the post I have been trying to write all day and failing miserably at.  “Find People, Progress” was going to be the title.  My theory is this, find people who share the same interests, will help guide you and hold you accountable, and then you have to pursue a relationship or at least a correspondence with them.  In this way you will learn to your fullest potential because they will see to it.  If you don’t have anyone holding you accountable, or no one where you live shares the same interests, then you are going to find it hard to learn, progress, and become better at what you like.

So find some people who want you to do your best, exchange knowledge, learn and progress.

Soon I will be doing heelflips, making cool images in Illustrator, and getting a new car.  All because people are holding me accountable.  I just wish someone would hold me accountable for falling less.

Five days shy of a month ago, I posted some goals.  To keep on track, I am going to make myself accountable to you.  Here are the goals (reposted)–I put a two month time limit on them–and what I have accomplished.

1. Make a portfolio of art that will get me accepeted into another college.

I submitted my portfolio to RIT on the 6th, it went into evaluation on the 9th.  I talked to an advisor today, she said I will know in a week or two.

2. Read three more books about investing/business.  Read as many books as I want for pleasure.

I have completed one book on business by Robert Kiyosaki and am now reading a book by Ken McElroy on investing in Real Estate.  For pleasure, I have read Lirael, the book after Sabriel in a trilogy by Garth Nix.  I started Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood last evening.
3. Put another 30 hours into drawing to improve my skills.

Between the homework and out of class projects, I think I have racked up 30 hours.  I lose incentive when I don’t have to do it for a grade.
4. Do another 10 photoshop tutorials.

I am suffering in this category, I have only done one tutorial.
5. Read more about / do more web layout.

I was investigating MooTools for my new site design, I however, don’t know enough about javascript. I should learn more and am trying to convince myself that I feel like it.
6. Design a new layout for my site.

I really wish I could get MooTools to work, then I would have a lot of incentive. I have been messing around with ColourLovers.com to get possible color schemes.
7. Get a job???  If it is possible — but honestly I am learning so much with out one right now.

I don’t have a job yet, I am mowing my friends lawn and working for an old lady part time.
8. Do more work on my car in order to learn more.

Besides checking tire pressures and making sure my tires are tight, I have not yet done any work on my car.  I do think more oil will be necessary soon, but that isn’t really hard.
9. Take a trip to Philadelphia and Baltimore.  Not on the same weekend like last week.

I took a trip to Baltimore on Sunday with my friends Josh and Kenny.  We saw the Orioles play the Pirates, although we left early and spent little time in Baltimore outside the stadium.  I wish I could have wandered around more.  I am not even sure who won the game?  Anyone know?
10. Cook dinner for my parents once a week to help out.

Sadly lacking on this one, does picking up takeout count?
11. Run errand with my grandmothers.

I am completing this one a bit one sided, but I still have time.  I did wash my one grandmothers car and take the other out for some errands and lunch.

In my studies this summer, I have been trying to stay motivated.  I would just like to say thanks to Adam Hake for the motivation he gives me to learn.  I know I haven’t talked to him in person for almost a year, but when we were in school together he was always studying something on his own–because he was curious.  So thanks for the inspiration to learn, I aspire to your study habbits and inquisitive nature.

I am really kinda sad right now because I don’t know that I have a good enough portfolio to get me into RIT.  I am going through my stuff and am like crap, I really don’t know what I am doing because I really haven’t had any art classes.  So I was reading the guidelines that are in place and it said page layout.  I guess that means like a website page layout or magazine or newspaper or something.  I have done newspaper and decided real quick that I was going to whip up a magazine cover.  Who better to put on it than myself?

Yeah, I was looking at GQ on ColourLovers.  Get over it.

I was just going through some blogs and I believe I was on Computer Love when I found out about The Subtype Foundry.  Anyway its cool because they are giving away free fonts.  Get them while they are hot!  Below is a quick picture I made with the font called Quart.

Today was a rather boring day.  I tried to get in contact with some people only to find that they had meetings or that they could not help me.  I resorted to calling, once again meetings.  So I decided that I was going to further my education process by doing some Photoshop tutorials.  I love looking at Photoshopped images online and really wish I could make some good images, so today has been very beneficial.  I just found a tutorial by Abduzeedo and dived right in.  Sometimes it is a challenge because I don’t know what they are talking about, but I fake it until I make it and this is what I got:

With that, http://abduzeedo.com/ is quickly becoming my favorite Photoshop tutorial site.