15 février 2009
We used to... (start again)
Hi :)
sorry I've been disappeared from a while, but this weekend is my first month working for a new company, an airline in my country. I have to say that changing jobs is one of the most difficult things to do, saying good bye to your job mates and friends, the people nearby that sells food, the neighbors near the company's location, etc. Somebody one day said to me, that "humans lives as usual", we used to like that chair in front of our computers, that special brand of pencils to draw, the brand of beer or drink, and in this case that past job... maybe is not the job by itself, but all the things that surrounds it, the workmates, the discussions and jokes at the office, the coffee, the workplace, etc.
Let me remember some funny things in my last job, we used to:
- In the first months (I worked for like 1 year and a half), we (the guys in the IT office) decided that we would follow the example of Chuck Norris, so in any situation that could cause some controversy, we said "What would Chuck Norris do?". The discussions got interesting because in the office worked one girl (that never asked for help or suggestions, and many times founded herself contradicting us in almost everything), so it was like a battle of genders and Chuck Norris was always our argument to win all the discussions.
- We have one hour for taking lunch, and always after the lunch we got a little rest (many times we locked the door, so the boss won't caught us)
- In my last days in that job, we organized a soccer tournament, but it was played "within" the office, because the space was reduced, we played one vs one, buy still was pretty fun!!
- The squirrels in the garden, eating almonds from the tree.
- The workplace, we used to say that more than an office we worked in a garage (like Google in his beginnings), so we decorated the office with cans of beer, the calendar girl of the month (courtesy of Sports Illustrated, I think), an empty bottle of tequila, etc.
- The discussions about everything: the soccer, women, the situation in the job, music, the boss, etc
Finally one of the things that I miss in the same way as the previous list, is what I used to do... I used to be a Web developer and some times I did the artwork for some banners and another graphic stuff (using Gimp and Inkscape), many of the tutorials that I posted here (and some that I'll post) was inspired after that.
Now in my new job, I'm not a Web developer anymore and less doing graphic stuff, yes I earn a better salary, the company is more established so the economic recession maybe is not a big deal, but at what cost.
Finally (and this time is true) I think that many choices we made in our lives are a trade-off, there is always things you gain, now I can invite to dinner or help in another things to my family and friends. But also consider very carefully the things you lost. I don't know if I made the right choice, after a month, I think the answer is no, but when I think in my family and friends, I would try to wait a little bit more...
* Now after my first month, I'm finally seeing some light, because finally I'll start doing some stuff related to E-Learning
** About the Chuck Norris thing, don't take me wrong, I'm not a sexism fan, all the opposite, I think there is a lot of smart and creative women out there, actually some of them inspired me, and I'm very grateful and honored in learn from them
27 octobre 2008
Being a Jack of all trades...
Hi :), the other day I was reading about the English phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none" (and really was a new phrase to me, in Spanish I've never heard something similar before) and I felt some how identified with this description, although a little bit later I found in Wikipedia something like this:
"The 'jack of all trades' part of the phrase was in common use during the 1600s and was generally used as a term of praise, rather than disparagement, as it is often used today. 'Jack,' in those days was a generic term for 'man.' Later the 'master of none' was added and the expression ceased to be very flattering. Today it is used to describe a person whose knowledge, while covering a number of areas, is superficial in all of them"
And now I don't feel that much of being a "Jack of all trades ...", and instead pursue being a focused person, but I can't...
And I can't because I got too deep in this sea of Web technologies and stuff, I can't because is what people pays me money to do and some people considers that is what I'm proficient at.
Somehow the last paragraph become true... I remember when I was 16 and attended to some art classes (I've learned a little bit of many techniques: pencil, pastel, watercolor, acrylics and oil paintings), I used to have a lot of fun in those classes, then 5 years later I stopped doing most of my art stuff and instead I started to do some tutorials in Macromedia Fireworks and then I applied some of this teachings in my own stuff. Then I started to learn programming things deeply in the university and then I got more comfortable doing programming stuff than things related to art. My brain switched sides of the force and it's not what I intended in the first place.
If I analyze this, it seems like I've lost a lot of my artistic side in the past 9 years and with a very pronounced exponential graphic curve in the latest years.
And nowadays something change, I've found Inkscape (thanks to Rore) and Gimp, and I saw what people can create with this cool graphic programs, and now I feel really enthusiast again! I like both programs but Gimp is somehow special to me, it's a program that for me is one of the closest experiences to my traditional art background, and I really like it because of that.
Finally I know that my designs and drawings (computer graphics and traditional ones) are not the best looking ones, but like Anne Frank said:
"And if I haven't any talent for writing books or newspaper articles, well, then I can always write for myself...I want to go on living after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me"
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Coche (72% Web developer, 16% computer graphics artist, 6% Watercolor painter and 6% Animator)
* I'll try to grab some percentage of the Web Developer thing and distribute it in the other 3, it definitely haves too much
** Like some of my previous posts I liked to add my tutorial after my "quick" introduction but this time I've written too much. The day after tomorrow, I'll post my Inkscape's Antenna tutorial, stay tuned!!
31 août 2008
Cochesaurus Crazy Tricks
I would like to introduce formally the "Cochesaurus crazy tricks", these are tricks that I've discovered using some of my favorite graphic programs, animation programs and programming languages. The graphic programs include: Gimp, Inkscape and Adobe Fireworks. The animation programs include by the moment only Adobe Flash. Finally the programming language that I like the most is PHP.
If you've read some of my previous posts, maybe you've noticed that I've already added some tricks, tutorials and workarounds, so why a Cochesaurus crazy tricks? well the answer is quite silly. I just want to give a "name" to my contributions, jeje. Well before anything else, let me clarify some things:
- Some of the Cochesaurus crazy tricks are not the best ways to achieve something but at the time the trick's post was written, that trick was the perfect solution for me.
- Some of the tricks are old ones but I would like to release them until now.
- Some of the tricks are very easy and maybe silly but I don't care, I'll post them anyway
- The Cochesaurus crazy tricks usually are not advanced ones. They'll aim the intermediate and beginner user like me :)
Finally the main purpose of my tricks it's for maybe help some people out there. The other purpose is due to my bad memory. Some times I do something and then some months later, I need to do something similar, but I don't remember how I did it before, so this blog will help me to remember how I did the things in the past.
06 juin 2008
It's since a while
Well maybe you have checked my blog recently and noticed that I don't post anything since a while, well the main reason is that in this month - Juin (I'm trying to learn French, jeje) - I have to deliver some project in my university, and I've been very busy lately, but soon I'll be back and with a lot of free time to try new things and share it with you.
The past 5 years have been full of lot of things regarding the university (I studied computer science), but in my free time I discovered my real passion and enthusiasm for things related to graphics and my motivation to become an animator. I have to say that I'm not very good in those fields (graphics and animation) but I'm learning.
Finally thanks to everybody for your support and for taking the time to read this, thanks to all the people that inspired me - Chris Georgenes, Aurore, Juliux (I know I've forgotten to mention some people and to them I apologize) - I hope one day I'll be as good as you.
Bye
:)
** I decided to focus this blog in graphics, animation and stuff alike, so I've deleted the previous entry about Web Development (and the JavaScript YUI editor) and moved to my other blog where I post things regarding my project in the university. So here is the URL of the blog, maybe you find it useful:
http://mudjungle.canalblog.com/
17 mars 2008
Elephpant arrives to El Salvador
It just arrived a few days ago and although I'm not sure but I think that my Elephpant could be the first Elephpant in El Salvador :D
Here is Elephpant joining forces with Cochesaurus (me) and Guayo (the baby Ram)
Now I think that I'm a better PHP Web Developer :)
18 janvier 2008
Wise Marketing Team
I introduce to you the Wise Marketing IT team:
From Left to Right: Mauricio (KmuNino), Robert (me), Veronica, Henry and Max
27 décembre 2007
Battalion Wars 2 Wallpaper
Hey!
I just finish to retouch this wallpaper, well if I'm sincere this wallpaper it's not done by me but give me some credit :) I resize the original image (taken from ign.com) and put the Battalion Wars 2 logo on the top.
By the way this is a great game! if you have a Nintendo Wii go and get it!!
My New Blog
Hey!! this is my new Blog
I don't know exactly about what I'm going to write, but I'll try to put interesting things here. I'm considering write things about Web Development (my current job), animation (my favorite), traditional arts, graphics and other stuff.
So try to visit my blog, I'll try to update it often, a little often at least :)
Thanks
Coche