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!?
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!?
posted by Uber Newbie at
01:44
1 Comments
