New Art...

So, lately I have been spending my time doing the usual....

Hanging out with the boyfriend
Cleaning my apartment, which I am still settling into
Reading about my political party
Keeping up with friends and family from back home
Work work work.
Watching Harry Potter
Sketch Sketch Sketch

But I have also started some random blogging, which I will put you all in touch with soon enough and also have started to do some painting (something I havent done since I moved here over a year ago).

Please excuse the horrible lighting, this was actually taken on my cell phone...

I will be posting more, as if I dont say that every time. As of right now there are a few things on my to do list.... i need to get back into my themed sketching... I have a fun Peter Pan bit that I want to play with and I want to continue with the Little Red Riding Hood theme. I want to get my blogs to be full wordpress ready websites, so they are easy to keep up with, I also want to be able to get my car and everything fixed up!

Agh! Wish me luck.

Update on the Lovely Life of Liz Davis

Well, this is my personal blog and so unfortunately it seems to always be the last one that I update. I am still working with GME, though have found myself at odds with my career as of late. There are a lot of great things going on in Portland and I may even look into traveling to another state. Maybe I am just getting restless? Probably. Haha, Im sure Nate would be annoyed with that one. We are still dating, almost 4 months now, he is a great guy. I miss my family and am finally moved into the Hawthorne apartment. Things are going well over all. I still need to catch up on quite a few bills and am reworking a few other things in my life right now.... Agh! I am startig a new wordpress blog, specifically for my professional work, so expect updates on that soon.

Google Stuff....

So lots is going on in Google, as usual. Its kind of funny to me how much I dont really care to pay attention to all of these changes, but working here I really cant help it.

Here are a few interesting articles and blogs about recent activities.

Google China looses one of its main men.

Gmail went out for quite a while the other day, causing headaches to people all over the internet.

This is a great rebuttle on an article posted on The Onion, regarding a fake account of Neil Armstrong claiming that the moon landing was faked.
Turns out that a newspaper from India actually printed the article, not realizing that it was a fake article. This was hilarious because I actually read the article yesterday and was completely confused by it, I cant believe that this newspaper would print something so absurd without checking into it.

All geeks should find this interesting, or at least hilarious.

LARPS have made it into the nightclub industry.

Having fun with my new favorite site
www.PopURLS.com
Lots of fun information in content, video, and photo form. This site has a great little hub started compiling of the interesting articles and posts from all of the other interesting sites. Wow... what an idea... its a website featuring other websites?! How novel... because you know that they are making bank off of it. They dont even really have much to do... I mean sure they could do reviews and articles about the top new, which is already being posted 40 milliong other times, so why not just point everyone in the direction of those other articles and make money in the mean time.
Considering starting one of those "free vector art" sites..., kind of along the same deal as brusheezy, vecteezy, or vectorjungle.
I mean, between the 3-4 of us, and adding some extra adspace, we should be able to turn all of our blogging into some actual cash... we could set up a donate page and seek out advertisers...
Its a thought, I mean heck, with everyone else making tons of money doing iphone apps and other ridiculous websites... I think that the vector design is the best route. We would actually be able to provide our own artwork on there as well, gaining exposure personally as well as using the basic vector packs that are already on all of the other pages.
Just a thought.

Top 50 Sites! Or at least a few of them.

Wow, Top 50 List is out and it is an interesting one....

Found an alternative to Pandora with last.fm
Etsy made the top list, which I know a lot of people I went to school with will appreciate. Even the Gamers love this stuff.
Speaking of games, a great site is OMGPop

I will post more later..
Something interesting was that CraigLook made the list. While craigslist was bashed for having lame graphics. Which actually is something that I admire about craigslist. I think that the simplicity of craigslist actually makes it less intimidating than other sites, and therefor a great tool for an older crowd who are serious about looking for work or to trade, without trying to get all computer savvy.

Google sued

Yahoo and Bing sue Google.

This is going to be interesting. I think that the company buzz around this office was originally that we shouldnt really have any issues with the merger between Yahoo and Bing. But it already seems like they are going to be pulling out the big guns in order to even the playing field. I dont know, with both parties tackling Google, we could essentially have a significant impact. Think about it. What does Yahoo and Bing have to offer individually?

Yahoo still has its name.. No doubt that Yahoo has usually trailed far behind Google, but having Microsoft backing it now can really set it apart.
The fact that Microsoft is so hell bent on being the best at everything else it does, I can only imagine that the Search engine BING will soon catch up to Yahoo and gain notoriety based on Microsoft alone.

Still, BING is relatively unknown, except for most of the computer techy world. Combining the name of Microsoft and the household name of Yahoo, they might actually make a huge dent in the Search World.

We will see how it goes, for now we might need to get in touch with Bing. Does anyone know if they are going to try and favor one domain over the other. I can imagine that Bing would want to push its name more than Yahoos, considering that they are the big investor in the merger. But since the merger is going to be reevaluated in a few years, I wonder how Yahoo is going to be able to bounce back, if they ever decided to leave the marriage.

SEO

Im a cheese, totally into the whole SEO deal lately. metatags and all that crap. I really wish I had enough of an attention span to actually do all of the coding. I seriously cant stand sitting here typing in code, trying to get the bugs all worked out. Ugh. The graphics are fun, but it still gets hard for me to sit in front of the computer and render them. I get pretty annoyed when I have to change the anchor points on vectors. Haha. Ive been the delegated "adobe illustrator" on the team... Probably only because I messed around with it in school, but I know Sam would be just as good with it if he used it more. Oh well, at least I have one thing that Im pretty good at.

Check out this blog... some good info...

District 9 and looking forward to 9 (The movie)

9

Other Fun Sites
BlackBook Stencils
Cardboard Robot

Working on developing a quick website layout for my friend Justin in Chicago. He has a screen printing company called 420 Church Street.

There are some interesting phenomenon starting up on the social networks... I personally was a member of a CCS student art challenge blog. Sadly, it fell to the wayside once we all seemed to get enveloped in career ambitions. I think that these types of sites are necessary to challenge yourself and see what other people create when given the same criteria... Similar to art class homework. Haha.
Back to the main point. CNN.com did a pretty interesting piece about these growing trends with interactive art and preformance websites. One in particular is a collaborative remake of Star Wars in 15 minute segments.

Having said that, I think it is necessary to find people whom you can work with directly and feed off of one another. Its really important to have a creative environment that you can thrive in.

My not so weekly update.

So, here we go, yet again, with my rambling about nothing in particular. I think maybe I should start to get some direction with this blog. But I figure that I cant really keep my head interested in one particular thing for too long, so I should probably just be thankful that I actually post on this at all.
So work gets increasingly silly with the addition of yet more bobble head dolls. They are essential to a creative and productive work environment.
I am a little bummed today. I created a pretty B.A. layout and logo for a local furniture company (at least I think they look good), after getting instruction from one of the co-owners, but was completely shot down on the idea from the other owner. It cracks me up how different opinions can be about the functionality of the site being insanely important, where as the look of it is not as important. Oh well, its just sad that we have the opportunity to really provide a great design and make the site work well, but this guy just isnt interested in it. Oh well. Ill get to use the design on another site.

Meh.

Ive got some contract work coming in, which should be nice, considering I am desperate at this point to get my license and plates updated. Im about to be a serious Oregonian! Haha, it only took me a year to get this all changed over.

The new apartment is going good. Though we still have Mars the Boxer living with us. He will be shipped off to Pennsylvania in mid september and I will be extremely glad to get the carpet steam cleaned and dog free.

Anywho, its lunch time. Later...

Random. Ethics in blogging?

Basically Im in love with Pandora, that is until it cuts me off at 40 hours a month. Im suffering from having to let someone else be in charge of the web department soundtrack. I require at least an hours worth of phil collins and rush a day. Things go downhill if I dont get my Genesis fix.

Found a pretty nifty blog today about ethics.

Worthwhile checking out. Definitely an interesting point.

Its funny to think about ethics when it comes to documenting anything, especially in a society that is so hell bent on having an opinion about everything, and especially as an artist, who relies heavily on criticism to fuel my creativity. It would be great to be able to trust that whoever is blogging has some code of ethics with their criticisms or judgement, but its more than likely that they dont.

In other news, I got the go ahead with the spice monkey website layout. He loved the design and the entire site is ready to go,we are just waiting for new picture of the spices with the logo. Im pretty proud of it, it was really nice to have someone be so excited about my work. I dont get to be too creative here sometimes. There is just so much client work and other random stuff that needs to get done, I tend to delegate most of the creative stuff Id love to be doing, to someone else. This was the case with one of our more recent websites, for Radio Gallery Kent,
www.AntiqueRadioCollectors.com
The idea came out of my head, "Lets make it look like a radio!" Then I got called to work on another local deal and had to hand the design over to Sam. Who is an amazing artist and way better graphic artist than I am, but I am so happy with how it turned out. We really do have a great team here. Check out their sites,
www.SamuelMiller3d.com
www.IamVietnamese.me
As for me, I really need to get my site up and running again, I have a lot of new work for it, but its just been on the back burner for some time now. It is nice to have the opportunity to keep my portfolio growing.

Alrighty, enough rambling.

Thought for the day: Should there be an ethical code for blogging, similar to that of journalists?

The coast this weekend! We were going to go salmon fishing, but we're saving that for the next trip. Im excited! Ill post pictures later.

Vectors

I am really excited to have had the chance to work in After Affects this past week, something that Ive really missed out on since I moved out here and finished school. Its just a few little "How-To" videos.

A few of the guys at the office and I have been discussing the opportunities behind the artwork and basic web layouts that we've created on our own time and the search engine advertising opportunities. It seems like the sites that get the most traffic are those that create communities of artists that are always uploading artwork. We use them all the time. Speaking of these sites.... I think I might ramble a bit.

Its funny how my ideas behind creating artwork have completely done a 360 since I started in this industry. I know that people are usually looking for a specific style, one that is not necessarily my own. Ive become more accustomed to really pulling inspiration from sites that I see and trying to use the ideas with my own flare. Apparently this is a tactic I should have been utilizing through much of school, instead of trying to be as original as possible all of the time. I actually like exploring new styles that Ive seen and making them my own. Its not necessary for me to start from a scratch idea every time. Though I do find it obnoxious when people simply change the anchor points on vector work and claim that it is now their own work.

It is nice that we have had some very interesting clients come into our midst in the last month. One of our clients, Spice Monkey is a guy we've been working with for a while now, but has been struggling to decide on a design. We originally had a lot of fun with the layout of the site and the idea of a monkey, with rich "spicy" colors. This wasnt exactly what he had in mind. Apparently he didnt have the same fun mentality that we did. Well, after a while I finally sat down and sketched out a few logo ideas, because he had never received his original design from a different artist. He decided on the TIKI! Which was super exciting. I had just thrown the idea in there and I honestly thought it was the most random and obscure and was positive he would not choose it. To my surprise I have had the chance to work on it for a few hours today and this is what Ive come up with so far.

We've kind of come to a happy cohesive blend between my obvious cartoony background and Sam's shiny and corporate styles. He has the ability to create things in all different styles, but has definitely mastered the art of the "shiny button" (something that I forced myself to learn.. oh how I hate chrome)Its nice to find someone who I feel comfortable asking for critiques. Haha.


Ive been digging some great vector sites lately. Vecteezy and Vector Jungle The vector jungle one isn't as extensive, but has a few more options when it comes to complete illustrations of humans and characters.





My Linked Profile
I am currently working on the logos for IAMVIETNAMESE.com, Idle Hands Designs, and Spice Monkey, which I have posted.

We are taking over....

Haha, we are taking over, on the internet anyways. I think Im in a very good position. As I start into the "industry/industries" I am getting the opportunity to work on many many different projects.

Personally things are going great.
I have finally completely moved into the apartment on Hawthorne, in an awesome Southeast district. This move is going to be big for me in many ways. I am going to have to rethink my ideas about living with yet another extremely different person. Mind you that Charlie and I were complete opposites in that he doesnt have much of a social disposition, while Jesse is extremely outgoing and forward. He works nights and usually doesnt go to bed until I am leaving for work at 7am. We will see how my sleep schedule keeps up.
The neighborhood is amazing. I am living just 10 blocks down from the entertainment district, filled withb theaters, venues, clubs, shopping, and markets. Its a slightly "urban/trendy" area. Haha, nobody seems to worry if their clothes are matching. But I think it will give me an excuse to get out of the house and walk, no drive. I want to buy a bike, and make it a point to use my sketchbook daily. I feel like this is something I have been neglecting for some time now. The apartment in Milwaukie was a decent size, but my bedroom was extremely small. With me, Charlie, the dog Obie-Wan, and usually Charlies girlfriend, it was way too crowded. I kept finding myself leaving the house just so I could breathe. But I wasnt leaving to places that were going to be creatively stimulating. I think being in walking distance from this community will change things a lot.
My life is changing as usual, pretty rapidly. I love the continuous change, but am also excited to see myself settle into my new home. Im not so afraid of the huge boxer dog, Martian, I tried to walk him yesterday, and he basically dragged me ten blocks instead. But it was fun. Now we just need the weather to get a bit cooler.. ugh 107 degrees!! Things are going good with Nate, a guy I have been seeing lately, who has his head on straight, good job, bills paid, opens my door for me, the works!! Im going to post a bit of work that we have been doing and soon will post some of the personal stuff Ive been playing with, once I get the computer set back up.

Basically... art art art...

The fact that I do so much social networking for SEO purposes, its good to see what kind of issues that those websites are having.

There has been some serious heat in the facebook world.
lawsuits

It is crazy that the entire empire of facebook is actually based on a lawsuit from a similar site called ConnectU. The legal battle seemed to never end, until finally in 2007, about the same time that facebook really took off.

Then there are the lawsuits that stem from abuse of facebook. Many of the issues come out of sheer ignorance to the number of people who have access to all of your information, while there are more serious cases. Read further about some here.


Ill be posting some new vector art that we have been working on. I am considering building a new site for myself. I am in serious need of an easily manageable site, without having to deal with the coding. I can code, but I tend to be horrible with procrastination. Of course, I am an artist.

Art Art Art!

Sam and I are making art!

I wonder how many links I can get away with in regards to citing things to Wikipedia. We are updating some of the definitions of things right now. Random terms like "conversion rate" and "impressions" "IDX" all sorts of things that relate to this industry. We will have to see how much we can get away with before we get flagged as spam.

We are enduring through the heat wave, barely. It reached 106 yesterday in Portland which was horrible. Luckily the city is surrounded by rivers and lakes to keep everyone slightly cool. We also reached record highs for the amount of electricity that was used. Which is sad considering that we try so hard to conserve energy, but to no avail. It is freezing in this office, but only in my departments area. It stinks to go from such extreme cold to such extreme heat. It doesnt do me much good, health wise.
I am moving to the Hawthorne district in the South East of Portland. I am extremely excited about it and am really looking forward to being able to walk to the store and being able to do my laundry in my apartment. I am moving this saturday and have yet to see the bedroom I am moving into. I think I should probably do that today. Nate is getting a truck for us to move with and it should go pretty quick. We are going to move in the morning to avoid the heat as much as possible. But I am accepting volunteers to help out. Haha. Its ONLY? supposed to be the upper nineties. Which is still ridiculous. Im supplying the beer and food for the day.
MY sister and baby brother were going to visit in late august, but that has been pushed back to november for thanksgiving, or possibly even december when I am planning on visiting Michigan.

Huge Deal In the Works.

Some quick sketches for one of clients logo, Spice Monkey. Site released soon.

Interesting fact-
Did you know that Google and the search partners dont count any hyphens when they crawl your site for relevancy? This includes the URL destination. Hence the name of our company website at Google-Placement.com and we have been abusing this info for our SEO sites and all other clients since we realized it.

The trick is to acquire URL's that relate directly to the search phrase that clients are purchasing. Then we place one of the other sites. With the click through rate improving drastically from placement and linking the sites together, it allows the site with the related URL to move forward organically faster. There are many more tricks to the process. But that is one of the best tactics for SEO and placement.

I love Terry. He is one of our number one salesman. He is an older guy who cant even email. He gets on the phone and asks for a credit card number within the first 30 seconds. You would never believe the number of people who give it to him immediately. It is ridiculous.

My job now and what I thought my job would be.

So Im out of school. Ive been out for a little over a year and my career is in full swing. I got the awesome opportunity to work with a company in Portland Oregon, a long way from home.

With all of my schooling, Ive realized that each and every bit was as important as the other. Some things I never thought I would be using are now so important to my success. I feel truly blessed to be where I am right now.

I will be posting a list of popular social networks that everyone should be taking advantage of.

Some work....

Personally things are going great, Im moving into the neighborhood of my dreams next week... It has a great culture there, something more in tune with my creative bugs, I think it is going to be really productive, despite the longer commute. My best friend Jennica had a babby boy, Aubin, and asked me to be the god mother, Im totally humbled and excited. I love that my friends trust me so much to bring me into the lives of their children.

Here is some of the work Ive been doing recently.

PIctures....

Thee are just a few quick things Ive been working on personally as well as professionally.

The posts from here on out will probably be much more content heavy, but I feel bad not putting some work up here.

Things are looking up.

Ive been getting into SEO like crazy lately and for some reason this seems to be the only site that I havent been abusing... Which may not be a bad thing. But that is all about to change, I will be posting pretty heavily from now on. Trying to put my new found skills to work.

New graphics....

Im keeping busy, learning how to code and building graphics for the websites. Im also working with clients directly to put their pages on the first page of Google. Its a great learning experience. Im learning a lot about SEO quality scores and other important networking strategies. Im pretty sure Im going to be a marketing genius if I ever leave this place.
Here is some of the work we've been doing...

update

Well, Im working in the web department, learning alot about web design and function, and even a bit of coding. We make our websites based on a quality score from Google, which requires a certain amount of relevant text as well as images to catch your consumers eye.... ok well, more about that later...for now, im going to head out the door for the night.