Sunday, January 22, 2006

Northern exposure. So, I've been working on my portfolio site again recently and I thought I'd share a little tidbit with you. I've had this general kind of shape in my mind for a while. I was also experimenting with the idea of "implanting" my logo into the head and playing around with some symbolism related to that. For example, I was thinking of giving it a stylized halo look, to imply some kind of inspiration or something along those lines. It's all still quite early, because I really don't want to rest until I'm very satisfied with what I've come up with. Right now I am thinking that each page will have a unique colour, but the entire site will be comprised of black, white and one other vivid colour. So the colours will be quite simple and everything will be part of the same general composition, but there will be individuality to each section of the site. The other issue is still naming. I feel like I've been stuck on this point forever and it's very frustrating. But I suppose that being busy with other things lately has meant that I haven't had the ability to really sit down and work on things. At the same time, I'm happy that I am finally starting to come to some conclusions about a general theme and stuff. Thankfully there's no real urgency to get anything done, even though I'd like to have everything going soon. As far as style goes, I think the intro image I have here on myOtaku right now is probably a bit more indicative of where I'm going with the final design. I'm really experimenting with different textures and lines at the moment. Shinji: Oh no, I could never ban Shy...he's like a part of the foundations of OB. We'll never get rid of him! CosmicSailor: Oh, did my sarcasm (and Shy's sarcasm) not come through? Heheh. Don't worry, both of us were joking. Besides, I own the community in question, so it doesn't matter if I tantrum about banning him (and do nothing about it). ~_^ I don't think I will ever really see Brisbane as "home", even if I stay for a while. But it does feel like a second home; when I'm away from it, I do find myself missing it. Deb: I think that having the new classes in PvE will actually encourage me to play through the game again with new characters. It's a good way of adding replay value and that's just with the original campaign. The idea of using these fresh new classes in a new campaign is very cool. RaR: *bows down to RaR's bowing down to my bowing down to John's bowing down to R@R's incredible image prowess* ...wow. Glad you like the theme. ~_^ indifference: Actually I went back to using Alan's code for this, although I made changes to all the imagery and stuff. No need to apologize about the conversation. I was pretty out of it too. But it was nice to say hello! I'm sure Sydney will be great, I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully we get the chance to have a longer chat sometime soon. SugarCone: I will post a link, yep. I don't think the portfolio site will contain any interactivity, so any comments about it would have to be made here or something anyway. I just hope it turns out well. I tend to be a bit iffy about blood as well, but it kind of depends on the context. Blood itself doesn't bother me, but there are certain things that really freak me out (for example, getting things attached to my veins at the wrist - I have a major fear of anything scratching/puncturing/cutting my wrists). Ouch. Congratulations on your new job, by the way! An office manager job sounds good, hopefully the staff are great to work with. I wish you the best of luck with that. As for Sydney, I can probably tell you more once I've been there again. Last time I only really spent a day and a night there. My impression of it was very positive though. The suburbs are pretty ordinary (nothing like Melbourne), but the city itself is quite nice. Although the general architecture of Sydney isn't as nice as Melbourne, Sydney does have the harbour and it obviously has some highly distinctive landmarks. The Opera House is absolutely breathtaking in person...I cannot possibly overstate that. When you approach it at dusk and see it lit up in a different colour each day, it almost brings a tear to your eye. It's just an incredibly beautiful building and it's really like a precious piece of artwork - although it's just a building it somehow has so much personality. I don't quite know how to put it into words, but I am really in love with that building. The same goes for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is quite breathtaking. The harbour in general is very nice and it's probably one of the most beautiful locations in the world, in terms of a city environment. Aaryanna: That line comes from the Mechanical Animals album. I sometimes use Marilyn Manson quotes, especially if they relate to what I might be thinking at the time. As for my page, thank you. The design is very simple, but I tend to prefer simplicity in the stuff I do anyway. I am definitely hoping to zero in on a more defined style for the portfolio site. My occupation is about to change again, too! I'm looking at a new job with substantially higher pay and it seems like it's very promising right now. I am currently working for Warner-Village (which is a joint-venture company between Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow). I would have liked to work for Village Roadshow, which has its world headquarters in Melbourne...but I've heard that the company's internal politics are a bit questionable (especially if you move into management). So that kind of turned me off a bit. I won't have Internet for a while after this week, because my living situation will still be up in the air for a little while. But that's okay, especially if I manage to get this new job. It's mostly just about having some security and being settled somewhere. The spider you are referring to is called the Funnel Web and it only lives in Sydney. Here is a picture of one. I'm not sure if that one is male or female, but the female can reach the size of an adult man's fist. They are enormous. And they are one of the world's most venomous spiders; they're also very aggressive (so rather than running away from you if disturbed, they will actually rear up and try to defend themselves). That spider is not the world's most venomous (I think that title goes to the Brazilian Wandering Spider - yes, I actually know that useless tidbit), but it would have to be right up there. If you are bitten, you only have about half an hour to reach a hospital. Thankfully bites are very rare and they only live in a fairly limited area of Australia. PvP and PvE are related to Guild Wars. PvE is basically a cooperative option where human players will engage in missions against the computer. PvP is "Player versus Player", which is basically where human teams compete against one another. I tend to prefer the former, because I really like cooperative gameplay. I do enjoy PvP, as there's an element of cooperative gameplay there...but it's not quite the same. I'll have to think about that recording and try to work out what to say. We'll see how that goes. As for car...I'm thinking of buying an older model Nissan Skyline, because I adore those cars. Thankfully there are still plenty around in Australia, as Nissan used to manufacture them here (Skylines were only ever manufactured in Japan and Australia - they used to participate in races here as local vehicles). A Beetle would be nice, somehow I think it would suit your personality...it's a bright and bubbly little car, hehe. Take care. ^_^ SunfallE: I'm glad you like the greenness. It's a colour I tend to rarely work with, so I thought I'd try it again. I also like green/black/white in the right shades, I think they make a pleasant combination. This colour scheme closely resembles one of the original designs I was working on for the new myOtaku, as well. I have no camera, but hopefully I can take my dad's or something. He never uses it, but hates when it isn't there in the house. So it's difficult to borrow it, as I don't know when I could give it back. Oh well, maybe I'll work something else out.

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