IMP! I Make Pretty - The Blog of Justin B. Evans

Refresh

2008-06-08T08:45:00.005-04:00

So I've been kinda busy with work and 2weeker and kind of ignored this place. 2weeker 2.0 is almost finished (Total makeover!) and I've gotten redesigns on the brain. I recently launched a refresh of BWISH Studios which I urge you to check out. Once 2weeker is finished (It should be done tonight and ready for launch) I can proceed with work on The Rain Thief and the preview seen in the above image above. I got the idea for the refresh while working on 2weeker and decided to mock it up quickly as a little break.

Ok, back to 2weeker...

2weeker

2008-03-29T21:28:00.002-04:00

And now 2weeker is live! Check it out! Let me know of any bugs or issues you come across.

And don't miss my previous post which contains equally important... stuff.

Artist Spotlight: Jason R. Talley

2008-03-29T11:30:00.005-04:00

Maybe I'll start a new "feature" on this thing where I occasionally spotlight an artist I particular like, know, or admire. Maybe not. Regardless I just finished updating a site I created and maintain for a friend of mine from the Corcoran, Jason Talley. You can view his site right here.

There's not really much to say about him, because his work speaks for itself. Here's an example of what he does:

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Next on today's agenda... finish 2weeker!

Passion

2008-03-09T11:01:00.002-04:00

The transition from tablet to mouse feels... unnatural. But whatever, at least I'm drawing! I've been working on a drawing for my friend Jon that I've promised him... 2 years ago? I am awesome. This will be my first official completed... anything by using a tablet. The learning curve wasn't as bad as expected. After using it for a good day or so I'm able to move around without hesitation which is neat.

I had always been put off by tablets, mostly because of the disconnect from the actual work. I always thought that the experience with paper/canvas/whatever was essential, interesting and helpful to any work. I still think that way you can't ignore the power of erasing with degrading your surface, and the history window. Oh my God, the history window. I love you.

I've mentioned this before but I always feel like I lose the passion for drawing and art in general when I'm not doing it. I always have a hard time getting over that initial bump to start working on something, but once I do I can't stop. Passion is the most important thing anyone can have for, well, anything. Without passion for what you do what's the point of doing it? What's the point of looking at something that had no passion going into it? There is none.

Passion is something I need to work on. I know it's there, but it's just hard to bring out for some reason. I feel like something holds me back. Maybe it's the pressure to create something great? Maybe it's the intimidation of letting myself down? Maybe it's the fear and frustration of having the inability to create what I imagine?

Working on this drawing for Jon was fairly emotional. This was the first drawing I've worked on extensively in... a long time, and I'm using a tablet really for the first time too. There were learning curves everywhere. I eventually fell into a frustrated funk last night and went to bed. I ended up waking up this morning and starting the drawing over. Again, I ended up frustrated. I ended up taking a step back and thinking about what I was trying to do.

Art should be fun, not a chore. I let go of hesitation and fear and just started drawing again. I got excited. I was happy. I was actually making something that was turning out, dare I say, well thus far?

I'm on an emotional art high (What the hell does that mean...?) but unfortunately I have to stop and take a shower and eat some breakfast and get out and do some stuff today. I'm looking forward to working on it later tonight.

Once again I am excited about art... AND actually following through with making it!

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2weeker status: 35%

BRAWL

2008-03-09T10:55:00.000-04:00

1976 9839 2754

Anyone care to Brawl?

2weeker Screen Shot

2008-03-07T09:11:00.003-05:00

Here's the more or less final mock up of the 2weeker site, which includes the updated logo based on feedback from Mike. Besides a few textual changes and perhaps some color "2weeking", what do we think? Yay? Fail? Whatever? Heartburn?

2weeker Logo

2008-02-17T09:02:00.005-05:00

This is my first mock up of the 2weeker logo. I really like the colors of it. It's very modern/Web 2.0. Blue is a very calming color and green helps represents change, growth, money... all that good stuff.

What do you think?

Deery Lou Loves You

2008-02-16T22:12:00.005-05:00

Well, only Friday can be technically called my lazy IMP day. Wednesday had be fighting for my life during a random ice storm (I broke a nail!) and Thursday of course was Valentine's Day. So those are viable excuses for not updating.

Operation non-lazy Justin has been a success this week as I've washed the dishes at least once a day. Today was spent doing a super cleaning of the house, minus the upstairs bathroom. That can be the wife's job.

I put my Verizon Blackberry Pearl on eBay (Bid on it!) as I received my iPhone on Thursday; apparently as a Valentine's present to myself- Speaking of which, Cat sent me a large arrangement of pink cookies to my work for Valentine's. Yes, I took that photo with my iPhone. It is the single greatest gadget ever created. Now if only my headphone adapter would arrive in the mail (most headphones won't fit in the recessed headphone port, which kind sucks) I'll be totally set.

Tomorrow will be spent running a couple errands and working on 2weeker/Rain Thief. I'll post some progress art tomorrow to prove I'm not lazy on that front because really, that's what IMP should be about, posting pretty things.

Infrequent Panic

2008-02-11T22:38:00.000-05:00

Today I got a new check card from my bank as my current one expires this month. Getting a new card suddenly fills me with a lot of stress. Why? Because you have to sign the back of it. You only have one shot and if you screw up... too bad. You have to live with it for 2, 3, sometimes 5 years.

Bah!!

I wonder if anyone else hates signing credit cards like I do? It's not like my fears are totally unfounded, I've ruined a couple signatures before. Hopefully I won't do it again...

Time to be a hero...

2weeking 4 Life

2008-02-10T23:37:00.001-05:00

Mike and I have been discussing a project that would allow for his 2 week projects (A term we coined as 2weeking) to be accessibly and shareable by a group of people rather than have it limited to Mike's blog. We're currently in the process of working out the details of how the site will work and look.

So what is 2weeking? 2weeking is a two week project an individual takes on to do something to better their life or simply try something different. A few examples include read every day for 2 weeks, cut out all processed/"fake" sugar for 2 weeks, draw for 30 minutes a day for 2 weeks, etc. The purpose of these is to show there is more to life than waking up, going to work, eating dinner, watching TV and going to bed like too many of us do nowadays. It allows for a scheduled shake up of ones routine and provide a little something extra to ones life. You don't have to stop doing these things for 2 weeks, you can keep doing things if you take a liking to it.

Mike has been doing these 2weeks for a while and I've been anxious to try them out. Although this weekend I've had a different idea about these 2weeks and decided as great an idea as they are I don't think I'll be participating actually in the project (Besides helping constructing and maintaining it... don't worry Mike!). I've decided to do something else and try doing things that will not be restricted to 2 weeks.

Today I started my new attempts to better myself. Basically, I've gotta stop being lazy. I tend to put things off too much and I want to stop that. I want to have the energy to do things immediately. The biggest immediate impact I see happening are the dishes. I don't do the dishes as often as I should. I'll make sure the sink is empty every night.

But that's just the beginning. I did a lot of things today that I had been putting off. I filed away all my emails sitting in my inbox into their respective folders. I made some much needed SEO and general site improvements to both BWISH and this site. I organized my "To organize" folder of photos that I've put off for nearly a year.

Like I said this is just the beginning. Lack of laziness will lead to better things (Like making more art! Which will lead to a more aggressive Rain Thief schedule and release. I also started a work out program today that will have me on a 4-5 day a week schedule. A better body leads to better energy which leads to less laziness which leads to a better mind.

Hurray for better Justin!

I Blog Pretty

2008-02-09T19:31:00.001-05:00

So it would seem I accidentally lost my IMP images directory during some behind the scenes work changing servers... Oops! Oh well.

So I'm having a blogging dilemma. I guess my biggest problem is... What is a blog? Who cares about a blog? A blog seems almost "selfish" to me for some reason. Who's really going to care about some schmuck like me has to say anyway? And anything interesting I'd have to say I'd just talk directly with certain people and have no reason to "blog" it.

That's why I don't want to all IMP a "blog", per se. I've pretty much let this thing rot despite being so gung ho about it a month ago.

I am going to use IMP to better myself; not necessarily develop an audience. I want to write and express certain ideas better, and the only way I'm going to do that is if I practice. I also I want to really get myself to draw more, especially with The Rain Thief about to kick into production, so I'll be posting art here much more frequently.

So I've decided to use IMP more, not for the sake of having a blog, but to better myself and my craft. I'll refer to IMP as a digital sketchbook, or perhaps an idea book. It's not a blog. I'm going to try a daily thing but Lord knows how well that's worked out for me in the past.

PS. The BWISH Studios film archives are totally back online.

Awesome

2007-12-26T16:41:00.000-05:00

OK, so it's taken me 2 months to post something new. Shush. This "blog" will be experiencing some retooling entering the new year as I am a sucker for strong dates and schedules.

Coming over the next week:
1) A post titled "Anime Sucks"
2) A post titled "Blogs Suck"
3) Experiments using my new tablet

Mmm... Monthly Blog Entry

2007-10-20T15:02:00.001-04:00

Food can be art, right?

Is this Yu?

2007-09-18T22:39:00.000-04:00

Rain Thief: Day 1

2007-09-15T23:47:00.000-04:00

Sinking Heat

2007-09-10T23:07:00.001-04:00

The latest road block to Rain Thievery involves a busted PC. Basically it shuts down within 30 seconds to 5 minutes of turning it on unexpectedly... Just out of the blue. I hadn't used it in like, a day. Nothing new installed (hard or software). Nothing. I inspected the insides and discovered somehow the heat sink fan was loose (two of the motherboard connector pin dealies were not connected...?). An attempt to reattach them revealed that those clips were actually broken. Whaaaat? So weird for this to appear out of the blue especially since it hasn't had any problems for months and all of a sudden it feels like overheating (maybe)?

Well I ordered a new fan and should get that in a couple days... So... Blah.

Blargnst.

Week 2 Picks

2007-09-10T10:05:00.001-04:00

HOU @ CAR
BUF @ PIT
IND @ TEN
GB @ NYG
NO @ TB
ATL @ JAC
SF @ STL
CIN @ CLE
SEA @ ARI
MIN @ DET
DAL @ MIA
NYJ @ BAL
OAK @ DEN
KC @ CHI
SD @ NE
WAS @ PHI

Are you wearing... galoshes?

2007-09-06T11:40:00.000-04:00

Waiting for my various buses this week has been quite painful. Stupid WMATA...

Rain Thief is coming! I swear! Blame my laziness, inability to talk to Mike, phantom sprains, freelance web design work, having to work on a Sunday, wedding stuff and soon to be sister-in-law visits for the delay. I'll start the blitz of preview content this weekend which will lead up to the debut of Rain Thief later this month. In the meantime though...

Football!!! Today is a one of the best days of the year, the start of the regular season. It's time for predictions.
Super Bowl: Ravens & Eagles

And now my picks for Week 1, which will be a new Thursday morning tradition here at the blog! Let's see how this goes... I challenge Mike to do the same!

Week 1:
NO - IND
KC - HOU
ATL - MIN
PHI - GB
MIA - WAS
TEN - JAC
PIT - CLE
DEN - BUF
CAR - STL
NE - NYJ
CHI - SD
TB - SEA
DET - OAK
NYG - DAL
BAL - CIN
ARI - SF

The Rain Thief

2007-08-28T11:09:00.000-04:00

I am kicking off an even which will last a couple weeks which I will call... I don't know. I'm just going to be posting a bunch of Rain Thief stuff over the coming weeks all leading up to the actual comic which will begin its run in September. Gasp!

I'm gonna do my best to post daily progress and art but we'll see how that goes. I am lazy after all, and Metroid Prime 3 comes out today. I'm also now hooked on Heroes and blazed through 18 episodes over the weekend. Only 5 more left in the season so I won't be too distracted for much longer.

See you tomorrow hopefully!

Lost Heroes, p.2

2007-08-24T09:47:00.000-04:00

What's worse than getting stuck behind a wheel chaired person on the Metro? Getting pincered by two people in wheelchairs on the metro. I also left my phone at home today. I'm gonna be so lost today without it.

I finished the first season of Lost on Wednesday night. Holy crap am I hooked. That... explosion in the season finale caught me totally off guard. I heard season 2 is relatively disappointing. At least I have the benefit of being able to blaze through all 3 seasons in a matter of weeks. I wonder if Season 3 is on DVD yet... Better check Netflix later.

And last night I watched the first episode of Heroes and... I am not as immediately hooked. It's just weird right now. The acting is kind of stiff/forced "How are you flying?" "I don't know." and the directing and camera work is just awkward at times. It's not "refined" I guess. Oh well.

Watching the indestructible cheerleader made me think of something. Being indestructible would only be useful if you couldn't feel pain. Does she feel pain? I can't tell. She grimaces and squints but... It's generally indifferent.

But anyway, yeah I dunno. I'll watch a couple more and see where it goes. So far I am not as impressed, although I do love Hiro (and apparently, who doesn't?).

And now a list for my own personal benefit...

Things to do this weekend
1) Complete website mock ups for Hedieh and Jason
2) Clean out/organize the study
3) Mail package to Mike
4) Lightly clean the house (Vacuum & dust)
5) Complete mega surprises for Sunday. One should make Mike happy. :D
6) Fix my necklace and find out what battery I need for my watch
7) Figure out when to get my haircut
8) And some more things I cannot think of

Orange Julius

2007-08-23T22:04:00.000-04:00

This morning I checked the status of the BWANGFL, Amiri and I's annual fantasy football league (Much better than previous iterations involving names like "713 league" and such) and sure enough the draft is completed. I made one mistake in immediately dropping Julius Jones immediately (My only rule for Fantasy Football is to never use anyone but Washington players from the NFC East. Go 'skins!) when I should have traded him to Amiri for his entire team (Amiri is a failure of a football fan for liking the Cowboys).

Oh well. I really need some assistance with my running backs and my wide receivers are slightly weaker than anticipated. All is well though! I seem to alternate between dead last and champion in our league, and if the pattern holds up I should be the champion this season regardless of depending on Chester Taylor.

Bioshocked and Dissapointed

2007-08-22T22:23:00.000-04:00

So I can't play the Bioshock demo on the PC because my computer sucks. Despite the 2gb of ram and 2.13 dual core processor, my video card is apparently just too old (Geforce 6600). I need at least a 7600 ($100ish) card and while an 8600 would be ideal... but $500? Screw that. I figure I just won't be playing that. I've also decided to eventually go the PS3 route over the 360 when the time comes. Mostly in terms of games, the unlikelyhood of the PS3 hardware failing, and for the backwards compatibility. There aren't enough 360 games to justify it's purchase when most of the games I want are on the PS3 (Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, etc.). So there ya go.

Shattered Bowls

2007-08-21T22:45:00.000-04:00

So the plate saga came to a close today. Cat received a call from World Market on Tuesday morning who told her they don't make those plates anymore and therefor could not ship her the rest of the set she paid for. They refunded the price of the dinner plates. Annoyed, Cat drove over to the World Market by our house and found the plates hidden in a corner of the story and got them. But now we have 6 dinner plates and 4 salad plates and 4 bowls. GASP! They are UNEVEN!

This is where I came in. Cat calls me at work and asks if I can stop at the World Market in Friendship Heights and see if they have 2 bowls and salad plates there. I obliged and after work took the bus over there and was greeted with quite literally a wall adorned with about 100 of each type of plate; they were even used in the displays. So I grab the required items and a couple other things and go to check out.

I should have anticipated something awry when the cashier seemed to be moving at an unusually speedy pace because he eventually dropped a bowl, shattering it. At this point I'm beginning to think someone doesn't want us to have this set, but I go and grab another bowl per the cashier's request and proceed home where all items arrived intact. So now we have a new set of plates.

I understand it's weird to have not posted any images of this set, but who cares, the new cow cup I got is cute.

BWANGshock or BioBWANG?

2007-08-20T21:27:00.001-04:00

The postal service is funny.

I am currently 43% into downloading the Bioshock PC demo. Must kill time with blog entry...

Mini-Movie-...Meviews...?

1) Children of Men: I finally got to see this thanks to Netflix. Within 30 seconds it depressed me, per Mike's prediction. It was a very intense movie but the ending was such a cop out. I'll avoid spoilers here but... I hate when stories don't "finish". If you are going to tell a story, finish it. That's the reason you wrote the story in the first place, so TELL THE STORY. If I wanted to make up my own ending I'd be writing my own crap.

2) Death at a Funeral: Saw this on Sunday. Quite possibly the funniest movie of the year. Highly recommended if you like seeing British people act weird at a funeral.

Got any Halle Berry donuts?

2007-08-18T21:24:00.000-04:00

Thursday marked the second time in my life I had gone to a concert. The first was "Coming out of their Shells", the Ninja Turtles concert tour. This time, it was Weird Al Yankovic at The Warner Theater.

My good friend Alex had bought some tickets a few weeks ago and invited me to go with him. All in all it was fun. Mental note for any future concerts: bring ear plugs. Weird Al was much smaller than I thought he was. He's not a short guy (6'0" or so), but regardless, I imagined an accordion clad titan with curly hair and instead got, well, something weird.

The concert was much fun. I was surprised to see the amount of 30 year old couples I did (One of which was sitting in front of us and once every half hour or so would break out into a mini-make out session. When they weren't locking lips they were singing along and flailing with giddy excitement when they recognized a song... which was every single time.). As the night came to a close and a thunderous applause caused Weird Al to come out and perform an encore (After having just performed Fat, complete with fat suit), he was changed into his normal weight and promised to sing one final song because it was getting late. That song was an extended version of Albuequerque (Normally it's a 12 minute song).

All in all the night was fun, that is, until the metro ride home. The ride was fun until I reached White Flint, 2 stops before where I wanted to get off. I was dosing off since it was 11:30 and the Metro always makes me sleepy when I was awoken by the sound of splattering and the feeling of little splashes of... something were hitting me. That's right, the woman next to me threw up, both into the aisle and into the seat in front of us causing a ricochet effect. It only got on my bag and pants but... it was still gross. This throw up was... quite different.

1) It had absolutely no smell. That's messed up.
2) It was mostly saliva and these weird... purplish fleshy chunks. Almost like chunks of lipstick that had been sitting in water for a few days, but, fleshy.

It was gross. I threw my pants into the wash first thing when I got home which turned out to be of no avail because when I took them out they were stained with purple. I soaked the spots in some Tide for a few hours and washed them again and that did the trick amazingly enough.

So... That was my Thursday.