New Android App - Calchist - a calculator with history

I've been working recently on a new android calculator app called Calchist.  I've worked on all the UI/UX of the app as I'm the only designer in the team.  The rest of the team compiles of two programmers.  The goal of this calculator is to make a slick looking app that does the primary jobs of a calculator.  On top of that, it records your history of your previous calculations if you want to use them for future calculations.

This is from a recent company called Reveri, which I am one of the three co-founders.  If you would like to check the app presuming you have an Android phone, you can click on the image below to take you to the google play store page.  You even get to judge my ui/ux design skills.  Prost.

40/Hour a Week not What You Want?

So you have found your 40 hours a week job.  You're happy, you got a job and a safety net.  6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5, 10 years.  Some time later, you realize that 40 hours might not be for you.  Now this is likely due to one of two reasons (if not a bit of both).  You should trust my judgment because I've been working for over 3 years since I graduated.  That practically makes me an expert on anything related to jobs and I've seen enough movies/TV shows that is the equivalent of a PhD in Psychology.  Now that we've established my credentials, lets get to the two reasons.

One of the reasons is that you don't want to do a 40 hour job.  You want to work on your own time, you work better at night.  You might enjoy working for 14 hours one day, and then spend the next day with your kids.  You work 25 hours in two days and are able to leave for a 4 day weekend somewhere special.  Having a more flexible schedule and working when you're really in tune works out for you.  The other reason is that it's not what you really want to do.  You chose it as it was a good option when you initially started working or/and due to the safety of the 40 hour a week.  However, after some time you realize this job is not really for you.

Unfortunately, I am starting to feel that way with my current 40 hour a week job due to the latter option.  I originally signed up to work on a relatively split 50-50 design and front-end development.  As time moves on however, there is less and less design.  I love writing, designing and digital illustration, and I enjoy doing front-end development.  However for me to love my job, it has to have a sizeable portion on one of those three areas.  I know to many people a job is a job, but I do believe that you should love your job and a Monday shouldn't be something you bemoan when it eventually comes every week.  That's why I chose to go on a creative route, to do what I love.  One recommendation to people struggling for either of these options is that you do what you want on your spare time, something creatively that you yourself enjoy.  It unleashes pent up creativity, and it will help when you're doing your 40 hour a week as well. 

Professionalism

Ohh boy.  So the life of a designer, web designer, illustrator and anyone in the creative field, it's very likely you have done some freelance work.  You work for the client, you do the work and in exchange they give you money.  Simple concept.  I've done this since I was studying in school and have continued to do it after graduating for three years until now.  I generally do most of this work in Canada and very little has been international.  It's worked out well, and I make some extra cash when needed.  The last year and a half in particular, I have done almost no freelance work for anyone, since I've been working on a massively experimental project.  I've been writing this for some time, and I had no time to work outside of the generic 8-5 timeline that I do to pay the bills.  However, for the first time, I was the client and paid someone else for the work.

Ohh boy.  So I contacted a company about a job I needed for this project I've been working on.  Initially, things went well and the first steps of the project went mostly to plan.  Afterwards, it was like an inevitable crashing train that had no wheels nor a break.  Nothing would be on time, and it took weeks for work that should have taken one or two days.  I remember at some point, I got roughs for part of the job that I know did not take a full day's worth after a month and their response was a casual "ok so what do you think?"  Not sorry for being incredibly late, and this looking like something I would do as quick as possible once someone asked for an update.  I had to call the whole thing off after a constant barrage of failures from this company, and it's definitely been my worst experience in any type of deal whether I am a client or vice-versa.  At least, I got my money back which is about the only positive.  The downsize is that I lost the most important thing, time.  About half a year's worth.

I ended this relationship on a cold but professional note.  The mediator of the company did not want for this news to get out there in regards to his company's incompetence, and I am not doing it either.  What's happened has happened and I do believe they just weren't professional enough to take care of it.  For me to be vindictive when they weren't malicious would be a shitty thing to be.  So, we left it off to a "shit happens, let's move our separate ways" road.  Anyways to any youngins' out there (that would be 3-5 years younger than me...), be professional.  Have your work on time.  if you can't, fucking let the client know ahead of time so they aren't wondering what is happening.  Your client should always be in the loop with what is happening to their project.  A major mistake is also to take too many jobs at once and not have the time to properly do them, which is what I believe was happening to the previous company.  Now, I have found another company and they seem a lot better for now, so hoping this continues until this project is done and I can see if anything happens with it.  Once again, be fucking professional.

In The Creative World - Use Your Friends

Wait.. wait.. WAIT!!!  Don't run away, it's not what you think.  If you thought this was meant in a malicious way, you are a horrible human being.  If however, you're thinking that the title is a click bait title for the sake of pulling in 1 more viewer than I normally pull then.. yes, that's pretty much it.  This blog post's primary role is for you creative people to do something that seems like common sense, yet a ton of you still don't do it.  Ask other creative people for advice on projects you work for.

My work revolves around illustration, all related design work, web development, and some writing.  I have several friends that I use for all these creative outlets.  In regards to illustration, I use several friends.  Two of them being my good friends I went to school with, another is professional comic book illustrator, and another is my illustration teacher in college that is now my friend.  In regards to design, I use another friend that I went to school with along with the designer that taught me both design and front end development during my 2 month period where you work before graduation as a requirement.  Two of my best friends are programmers, so I can ask them for help on what I need to look for in web development, sometimes via hangouts while I'm at work.  My sister wants to be a professional writer in the future and has the grammar & vocabulary that an idiot like me does not come close to.

My point is use the people around you.  It's very likely some will come and ask for your input as well.  If they don't.. well then, you need to get better because they clearly don't think your input means much.  Before you start crying in a corner how you will never be good enough.. well actually go on ahead and do it.  A good cry as long as noone ever hears or knows about it is good for you.  Now I never cry because I am a man, and men don't cry.. but I have heard that it is good for you...

Recently, I was creating a mobile video game app logo for a company.  Throughout my creative process, I talked to one of my friends which helped me reach the logo to a level I don't think I would have had I not asked for her view on it.  Sometimes no matter how many hours or how long you look at a project, you need a pair of fresh eyes (that sounds creepy...) to take a look at it.  Having another perspective is huge and many times can give you a nice roadmap in telling you if you're going in the right direction.  This is something that sounds so simple, yet a lot of people in the creative world don't do it.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you get some nice gifts if you celebrate.  If you don't celebrate or noone loves you, then work on that for next year.  Happy holidays you creative bastards! :)

Talent or Hard Work?

He is talented. She is very talented. How many times do we hear this?  This term is used for people who excel at anything, whether it's sports, music or other examples I can't think of at the moment.  Well, I'd like to talk about this term being used as often as it is when it comes to illustrators, whether it's about 2D, 3D, concept art, all the way to traditional.  We see artists being labeled this term all too often, and I believe people are making a mistake when they say or write this.

The artists who are that good are at that level because they work their asses off.  They study and paint at a rapid pace, far more than others.  Illustration for me is certainly a skill that you can improve on the more you do, and I'd like to believe this applies to anything else.  10,000 of practice to become a master in your profession.  This quote that's overused makes a lot of sense.  I say this for people getting into the business or simply fans of these artists.  It's a backhanded compliment.  You don't have to take my word for it, you just have to take my word when I say that I've heard and read interviews of people far better than I state this.

Doesn't matter how good you are, everyone needs to work their ass off to succeed.

I'm not saying talent is irrelevant.  There are freaks out there that have incredible talent.  Tesla, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Musk are all freaks of nature when it comes to their fields.  But you can bet that they've worked their asses and engross their lives into their field.  Look at Romario or Ronaldinho for Brazil, incredible talents that could have been much better if they had a better work ethic despite being freaks of nature when it comes to football.  Now look at Cristiano Ronaldo, whose won every title for two of the biggest clubs in the world.  He doesn't drink and is the first in training and works his ass off given by many interviews of football players who have played with him.  What's my point?  That even talented people need to work their asses off. 

Jerry Seinfeld Hilarious Speech on the Clio Awards Ceremony

Jerry Seinfeld has given a hilarious design speech when he won the Clio award. I love design, but this was hysterical how on point he was for everything. Be careful when you give a comic an award when he's already won everything and doesn't give a shit, you might not like their reaction.

"I love advertising, because I love lying." - Jerry Seinfeld

Missing Champions League on Tuesday/Wednesday due to work

The hard life.  There's people in Africa that don't have enough food to feed themselves every day, but it's me who suffers more.  Me.  In my previous job, I worked from home and handed in my work via email.  It was great!  Horrible segue aside, I am a football fanatic.  By football, I mean the sport that the entire world calls football other America and Canada, who decided to be "different" (or self-centered douchebags, who am I am to choose between the two descriptions). 

The struggle is real.

The greatest club competition in Europe is the Champions League, where the games are played on Tuesdays and Wednesday.  Now in Europe, those games are played roughly around 5 or 6PM, after everyone has finished their basic 8 hour shift.  In North America however, all those games start at 2:45PM.  Now the conundrum is that my new job is the typical 9-5 job, which means I can't watch Bayern Munich play.  Sometimes, in the Bundesliga (German league) they also play on Tuesdays/Wednesdays when they have two league games per week, which adds to the burden of the tough life that I have to live.  What is the point of this post you ask, what's this have to do with design, or is this maybe some small piece of information informing students who read this of the unfortunate events of having a steady 40 hour/week job?  No, no, lets not be silly.  I just feel like venting and since no one actually reads my blog, I allow myself to write any nonsense that pleases me. It's also a good stress reliever. 

Bayern Munich will be champions of this year's Champions League (will edit later if it doesn't turn out to be true & if I don't forget).

Personal Projects & Freelance

So I'm officially back from Europe after two wondrous weeks.  My wallet is rather empty, due to buying a maxed out iMac a few months prior, then going to Europe for 2 weeks visiting 5 countries, and having to spend a decent amount of money on a personal project that I'm working on at this point in time.

Good news is that finally after so long, I am moving towards the end of this phase of the project.  I've been working on it for quite some time and the last few months I've been working so much, I have had 0 time for freelance.  I actually worked on it even during my vacation as sad as that may sound to some people, but I didn't mind much.  Now, the project might either go to another stage where I will be able to talk about it in the future, or stay likely as something that never materialized into anything.

The point here is as I daydream for a bit, it's time for freelance.  I need to make a bit of extra cash and the good news about the creative business, is that freelance work is always an option.  I also realized as I had a conversation with a friend of mine, as we discussed that working on a personal project, you will always give it a bit more than you would working on any other project no matter how much you're paid.  Of course there are people who are just as passionate and are completely ok with working on someone else's vision, I should generalize and pretend I know every creative human being in the world. 

But for the most part, it is the case.  I had to pay someone to work on part of my secret project, and my friend did warn me that no matter what, no one will work as hard on this project as you will, because it's your baby.  Saying that however, the illustrator I have working with me is doing a fantastic job, and I'm not just saying that because he might accidentally stumble upon this link.  If I have to say anything that isn't all about me, I'd say work on that personal project.  At worst, it's a great stress reliever even if nothing happens with it.  On the upside, you could be making money doing the job that you're most passionate about, your own, personal project! 

So get your ass to work on your personal project when you're done doing your 9-5 cubicle job.

European Trip - Backpacking

in 6 days, I will be going to Europe on a 13 days vacation with one of my best friends.  It's my first vacation in 2 years, and I can't wait for it.  Lisbon, Portugal to Barcelona, Spain to Copenhagen, Denmark to Munich, Germany and finish it off at Amsterdam, Netherlands. How do I feel about it you ask?

I wish I could dance like this magician

This should be a great time to relax and be away from computers.  I use a PC at work along with my Macbook, and use my iMac and my Macbook at home.  On top of this, I'll get to see new places, & meet new people.  I'm bringing my shitty old camera that has a decent lens with me, having recently bought a 2nd battery & 2 extra memory cards.  As an illustrator, I should have a lot of new content and references to use for future illustrations.  I will also be able to imagine more when I paint, hopefully due to being at drastically different settings than the one I live in.

So I urge fellow hard-working creatives, get your fucking ass out of the chair and go to a completely different place to enjoy yourself the earliest you can.  You need it, as I need to insert my ideologies forcibly onto you even though you're not asking for it at all.  In all seriousness, I hope and think I'll have a great time and urge others to go on some crazy/relaxing adventures of their own. :)

Office Politics

I'm a pretty straightforward kind of guy.  I tend to say things as they are, likely with some sarcasm added and tend to act like a child essentially everywhere other than any time when I work.  I believe that if someone is paying you money for any type of work, you are getting paid to do the work on top of being as much of a professional as you can be.  The two have to go hand in hand.  Anyways, where I am getting at is that the only place you can't disconnect all conversation or let issues escalate further is the work place.

The problem with getting in arguments or lettings problems with a co-worker escalate is that it's always there.  You can't come to work the next day, and the co-worker magically disappears because you don't want to see them anymore.  The problem is the diffuse the situation without acting like a bitch.  Just agreeing to anything, you may end up having a complete asshole co-worker who may take advantage of you being too nice.  Then they are there every day, like the stereotypical unnaturally big high school football bully that's dumb but lashes out their family problems and insecurities at you.  So you have to handle it delicately, like diffusing a bomb.  Have I ever diffused a bomb or been in such a situation?  No, but I've seen a lot of movies of people doing, that's got to be the same thing.  Plus, I have no better metaphor.

office politics

The less time you interact with a troublemaker at work, the less likely there's going any trouble.  However, do not try to ignore going to the washroom/water cooler/etc because that's when you look like a bitch, and they could sense it.  Use short answers.  Don't ask questions when addressing them that could take more than 1-2 words to answer unless it's work related.  Keep the conversation short.  I generally laugh at passive aggressive people when they talk to me like I don't understand what they're doing.  It's hilarious how angry they get, but this might rank in the asshole but deserved way of handling such a situation.  This should be obvious but if someone bothers you, being passive aggressive or insulting them will just make the situation worse.

Now I rarely ever get in confrontations work or elsewhere (not sure how to write that part without sounding like a high & mighty douche).  I have been fortunate to have awesome co-workers for the most part everywhere I worked at.  In real life, I instantly end it because I don't need high school negative drama and in the work force there's been two incidents that I remember which happened and I had to handle them as best as I could.  I don't like drama and therefore surround myself with people who don't either, and I'd suggest you do the same.. based on my imaginary PhD in psychology and a lot of movies that I've seen.  I really feel bad if people take my advice to heart or as law.  Here is a disclaimer that if things go horribly wrong, don't sue me because my opinion should not under any circumstance be taken too seriously.

Show Others Your Tricks in the Creative Field

This may be an area where it may depend if my advice is good or bad.  I don't want to superimpose my ideology on this subject since it isn't always the case.  When it comes to what you know, I always am of the opinion that you should show others your tricks.  I am competitive guy, but I think being competitive should be beating someone working your ass off rather than being the weird, I'm not going to show you anything since you're my enemy.  Friendly competitive creative work is always best, especially since you have a more positive attitude on this subject.

a really bad & cheesy helping hand photo

You know some Photoshop tricks?  Show them to someone you either work with or that asks for it.  Someone who could do the work a bit faster in AfterEffects if they tried using the hotkeys, show them.  In group projects, this will always be beneficial since your co-workers will know more and do the work more effectively (and likely better), which means you all benefit.  They will also appreciate you more and the working environment is much better.  If they are decent human beings, they will help and show you their tricks so you can also improve yourself.

The only situation that I can think of where it would be a bad idea to show someone your tricks is to an asshole.  Someone who has a metaphorical knife that they constantly try to stab you in the back with and will use anything against you.  In that case, the obvious answer is not to be so forthcoming in regards to showing your tricks.  Again, this is my outlook on this but there's plenty of professionals that are more reluctant to help others, and I can't put their ideals down.  That's their outlook on this subject, and this is mine.  You have to choose yourself what type of person you'd like to be in the creative world.

CG Hub down officially, potenially new website for designers, 2d/3d illustrators & more

CG HUB is officially down.

They have closed it and their reasoning is "because they feel like it".  One really has to question why they didn't at least sell it to several potentially, rumored suitors, but I guess they felt like it.  Exact reasons have not been given and a lot of this have been vague, but many artists are wondering why the fuck this has happened the way it did.  CG Hub for people that don't know was a website where artists in 2D, 3D, caricatures, concept art, and many more uploaded their work.  This involved anything from personal projects to movies, tv, videogames, and books.  Many of the best artists in the world uploaded their work there.

Besides CG Hub opining a "Pro" version which allowed many artists to pay for the full year and start to get a few extra benefits.  This happened roughly 2 months prior to the website shutting down.  So this if not illegal, is incredibly shady.  People paid money and got screwed over it since CG Hub decided to close the doors.

At the end of the day, it's their product and they have every right to do with it as they please.  However since part of freedom of speech has not been completely closed off by government officials on the internet, I'd say this is a pretty douchey and illogical move from them.  They could have at least sold it off to another company that would have kept going.

hope of a new website

However there is hope that there might be another website made in a very similar fashion to CG HUB, where they take the best design/UI aspects and take off the crappy variations.  There is a potential Kickstarter coming out soon, but until then I can just send you the link to the company creating the website, Shakuro.  I'm still skeptical, but at least it's something.

Link Here

Fontsquirrel, font website with free licensed fonts only

So if you are like me a lot of the time when you search as a designer, for fonts, you just want a free font. You don't want to go to the process of figuring out if a font is free or if it costs 40$ to use it. Well, there is the perfect website for this at Fontsquirrel.

Like many other font websites, you can search a font by name, category or the popular/recent fonts. However, you won't have to go through the hassle of figuring out whether a font is free or not if you're looking for free fonts only. It works like all the other font websites and has a filter for free fonts only, so why the hell wouldn't you use it?