Finally Back!

Haven't been to this page in a little while...been pretty busy! After rebuilding the Art Studio and then the Web Studio and then the Art Studio again, I've put the art up on a couple of gallery sites and I'm going to do the same for the website templates as soon as I do a little bit of research and find some decent places to go. Someone left a comment on this blog about one a while back...I guess I'll check that out first. In the meantime, I also updated all my local "advertising".

That being said, once the web templates are up somewhere, I'm going to turn my attention to the Tech Studio. I've been kicking an idea around for quite a while now and I think it's time to try and make it happen. Well, a couple of ideas, actually. But I have to get some business cards (my wife laughs at me...she knows nothing)...and do up a little brochure. I'm hoping that if I can supply the paper she can print them up at work.

This has been a test to see if the wife is actually reading my blog.

Anyway, ya, I've got to get that happening. But I've got to remember...one thing at a time! And I still have a logo design to finish for an actual client...

Moving Forward!

So I have half of the new template videos done now...sometimes life cooperates, and sometimes not...but I decided to do all the videos at once and then post them all together, instead of one at a time. It will help me to maintain focus and stay in the zone, and get them all out faster in the end anyway, I'm sure. But don't ask...no more peaking until then!

I have to add some new links to the Infodesk too...give some love to Paul Irish and Jason Shaw...but it's too late and I'm too tired to do it properly now. I hope they don't mind waiting a few days.

After that, I hope to be able to slow down the frantic pace...once all the updating is done I can relax a bit and spread things out a little more...there's always something for me to finish....at least I have a nice new workroom now! Pics will come of the new setup once I clean up a bit in here...I get complacent in the winter—hibernation mode.

Anyway, on a completely unrelated topic...I'm on this job; client wants a logo done. OK, no problem. My go-to sketch artist is awesome. Trying to get together with him for the first two weeks was a nightmare...both of us have two kids and other jobs...and neither of us drive. I wanted to give him an extra scanner I had so we wouldn't run into this problem anymore. FINALLY we get together and the scanner is good to go...I get my first rough sketch....them boom, nothing for a week. I'm not too worried, but... Turns out he and his family were brutally ill. Sh*t happens. Anyway, client has kids, he knows; besides, he seems in no big hurry—he has some licencing research to do, I think...:) Hopefully I'll get something to work on soon!

This has been a small update. I am going to bed now.

Version 5.4 Coming Soon!

After the last big update to the Art Studio, the obvious choice was to turn my attention back to the Web Studio for a while. So I updated all the templates, created a new page on the blog to provide more information, and am dropping the purchase option and going strictly to licencing. Now I just have to revamp the text, do new videos, and I should be good to go.

I also whipped up another new offering in the genealogy series. Here's a preview for you.

    

It's a mash-up of the Family Tree (obviously) and a version of ASAW that I did years ago. Like version 3 of the Family Tree template, the grab-and-drag window is compatible with touch screen devices.

Current upgrades still include Legacy IE support for XP users, and Username/Password Protection for creating private sites. The next planned upgrade is full compatibility for mobile devices through responsive design via conditional stylesheets.

I started the mobile platform for the main site late last year before doing that Secret Santa piece for the pub xmas party that got me spending the next two months painting and redoing the Art Studio. It was kind of slow going...then I did the update for my Curriculum Vitae template and since it seemed like an obvious necessity, I designed it that way and everything just clicked for me...so I'll be using the same approach when I do the main site, and then the upgrade for the templates.

Well, on to the update!

New Artworks Coming soon to C2Kstudios!

Happy New Year Everyone! Things have been pretty hectic around here lately...now, I know I'm not the most prolific blogger; but with three jobs, and two kids, I would hope that you could hardly blame me...and you can always be sure that I'll keep you updated on all the BIG events happening here at C2Kstudios!

I also tend to hyper-focus on projects; sometimes certain things just have to sit and wait while other things are getting done...it's the only way I can really accomplish anything...otherwise, I try to do too much at once and have a bunch of projects on the go at the same time and then nothing gets done. That was a big problem for me for a while, until I got to ver.3 of the website and started getting into coding the HTML5 templates...after doing nothing but that for a few months back in the middle of last year, I just ran with it and now I'm at version 5 and soon, I will be going on to mobify the main site and the offer the option for the templates.

But as does often happen, I get distracted or sidetracked or something comes up and then I go on a completely different tangent for a while...that's what's happening now.

Now, I need a creative outlet; doesn't really matter what it is; as long as I'm creating and I enjoy doing it. Well, one of the things I really enjoy doing is cooking; as such I maintain a position as a cook at a pub around the corner from 24 Sussex, where the PM comes to eat sometimes. Anyway, for this past Christmas I got a bunch of new art supplies; so for our Christmas party, I did a piece for one of my colleagues as a secret Santa gift, and that got me the painting bug again.

Play On ©2013

So I built myself a workspace and since then I've gone back and finished a few works that had been sitting around for a while:

Vortex ©2014

Eddy ©2014

Then I went and reduxed a couple pieces that I thought were done, but that really needed something more...

At Right Angles ©2014(final)

Not A Perfect Circle ©2014(final)

...and started experimenting with different techniques:

A Painting of Ice and Fire ©2014

...all this is leading up to a major update coming soon to the Art Studio; I'm also going to scrap the Flash powered artwall in anticipation of the more responsive mobile design...I can't really believe I let myself use Flash in the first place...that was pretty dumb. So ya, once I get a few more pieces under the belt and I go back to updating the site, I'll probably jump back into the coding again. I want to do some more genealogy website templates...they're the ones that are generating the most interest right now.

5.1 Online Already and more Mobile Friendly

So let me preface this post by making a confession: I do not have a cell phone. Never really needed one. I've been home with the kids for 7 years, I have other interests (expenses), and, I live in Canada...so I simply cannot justify the cost.

My wife was issued a cell phone for her job but it was a POS Blackberry and because of security she couldn't really access the internet on it anyway.

So I guess I never really though about it. Well this week she started a new job and got a better phone...and before we see what kind of new rules are going to kick in about using the thing I got on it and had a look at the site...holy crap(!) I should have known about the fixed nav. If I had been more concerned about mobile viewing I suppose I would have. Responsive design just isn't something I've been able to take a hard look at yet, and I thought just offering the scalable viewport would be enough. Oops.

And so now C2Kstudios 5.1 is more mobile friendly. I scraped the fixed nav and added a more complete footer nav. At this point, the idea of making a separate mobile site just seems like overkill. Although at some point, it would be good to learn how to do it.

C2Kstudios 5.0 Online Two Months Early!

I was planning to relaunch the new site in January. I gave myself a month to do the rebuild; it took me about 10 days. I really didn't see any reason to wait, so she's now online. I realized that redoing all the graphics was foolish...you don't want to change too much and lose your brand familiarity (ha!) but I knew that I wanted to go dark with the new site and I knew that certain elements were being overused. Playing around too much with the structure and interface of the site is not a good idea either; it's better to implement changes like that more slowly.

Yet I feel justified in calling this a major version update. Not only has the styling changed markedly, but the update also included quite the back end rebuild. Every time I come back to a project I have learned more and more, and there was a lot of valid, but redundant or otherwise unnecessary code in the html and the css that was cleaned up considerably. Also, all the social media and merchant graphics were updated, as well.

Next up? I'm not sure yet...but I'll let you know!

C2Kstudios Media Design Factory v5.0

New Update Online for Winter 2014

So after re-vamping some of my older templates, I decided to move ahead with an idea I've been kicking around for a while...formatting and hosting online CVs for people. Here's the basic spiel:


Why fight the hassle of registering and searching giant conglomerate job sites that are rife with Cutco jobs, fly-by-nighters and scam artists?

Why offer a potential employer the chance to look at your CV alongside hundreds or thousands of others?

Why spend your precious time and money printing and handing out paper resumes?

Give your target audience a direct link to a clean, professional looking CV that is JUST YOU. Show your initiative, and spend your time researching potential employers to email directly; don't waste it digging through convoluted job sites for a diamond in the rough.

Just provide your info, and C2Kstudios will provide the format and a month of hosting for your digital resume. Supply your own domain name or use C2Kstudios.com/yourpage and start emailing potential employers right away.

Be the diamond. Get your CV hosted with C2Kstudios today, and start contacting those potential employers directly...today!

For more details, please visit:

C2Kstudios.com/web#cvs

I replaced the Fiverr aside in the Web Studio...I haven't completely dropped it yet, but it's definitely been more trouble than it's worth. If you don't visit your account at least once a week they suspend your gigs until you reactivate them and then half the time it doesn't work properly so you have to contact them to fix it. I don't have time for that kind of nonsense. I'm thinking of taking my three basic Fiverr templates and turning them into a 3-pack for the main site. After that, Fiverr is dead to me.

In the meantime, I'll be reduxing the rest of my older templates, and finding some more places to advertise...most of the local online business directories here leave much to be desired. Besides, I need to start making a broader reach. Once all the updating is finally done I'll be able to spend some time and do some quality research.