Catch up! - Mix UK, Podcasts, Expression blend

So it has been a while since I graced you all with my presence! - Here is what I have been up to. . .

Mix UK

There has been much organising going on for Mix UK. It is getting very exciting as we near the 11th and 12th September.

Expect lots of cool competitions, T-shirts, fortune cookie raffle tickets, inclusive refreshments and lunch, screenedit attendants to look after everybody and an array of exciting speakers.

There will be a community lounge with bean bags, refreshments, Wi-Fi, the opportunity to sign up to screenedit.com, and it will be an excellent place to network or even to just chill out!


Podcasts

I have come across an interesting podcast by Paul Boag called boagworld.com. It is a podcast for designers, developers and people running websites. I have only listenened to three but have found it very useful so far. As I am learning everything from scratch i find it very useful to be playing in the background while I work. Paul interviews, reviews, and is quite entertaining too. Sometimes he gets a bit carried away and reminds me of Russell Brand (don't let this put you off!) I think they should hook up and have a conversation about Octopig! If you don't know what I am talking about check out Russels's podcast too - it's hilarious!


Expression Blend


So i am still trying to find a big chunk of time to learn Blend. So far i have been doing the free lynda.com tutorials with Lee Brimelow. They are very good because they are only a few minutes each so i can fit them in when i have a spare few! From the tutorails I am feeling quite confident about finding my way around the workspace, and I think i could quite happily design some graphics. It is very similar to Photoshop and Illustrator which i am used to. What i did not realise at the start, was how big this tool is! (said the actress to the Bishop!) It seems it is a fair few programmes all rolled into one and as it becomes clear how much I can do, i am getting a little overwhelmed! In a good way of course. I have realised that finding my way around the workspace is just brushing the surface!


Hopefully Lee will continue to show me the way forward!


Features i am loving so far are; the corner radius control points on rectangles and squares; being able to put gradients on strokes as well as fills; using the gradient arrow tool, and using bitmap effects eg; drop shadow, bevel and emboss etc, with vector graphics. Also everything you do to your design is automatically previewed as you try different things which i find really helpful.


P.S. I was contemplating over lunch and have decided that Paul is nothing like Russell, let me know what you think!?