Polytechnicast - Hunting for and Interviewing with Clients

In this episode of the Polytechnicast I share thoughts on seeking a job doing what I love, serving a community I care about, using tools and methods I believe in, to engage in a fair and sustainable trade.

Along the way I share observations on the process of job/contract hunting and some of the tools I find helpful.

Links Mentioned

• Comic - Independent Voice (the first place I published my “do what I love mantra”)
• My Illustration Portfolio
• My Interactive/UI/UX/Game Design Portfolio
• Prezi - a good tool to rapidly create interesting looking portfolios for online and print.
• Prezi Portfolio of Sample Work Products (available on request)
• Rob’s Video Application to Lullabot on Vimeo
• Search tools:
  • Combine Google with Glassdoor
  • Break out of your search bubble via Duck Duck Go
• Tools I use to manage reusable email sections and templates:
  • NvALT
  • TextExpander

Follow Rob on Twitter or his blog at Interactive-Storyteller.com and workshops at Lean Into Art

Polytechnicast_-_Hunting_for_and_Interviewing_with_Clients.mp3 Listen on Posterous

Polytechnicast - Preparing and Topic Potpourri

In this episode of the Polytechnicast I have “preparing” on the mind. Working on a few projects simultaneously I find myself in the cycle of preparing, making, and finding useful connections between my projects quite often.

In addition to "preparing", this episode is also a bit of Topic Potpourri! 

Links Mentioned and Links That Came to Mind While Writing These Show Notes

• Oxford Notecard Pocket
• Notecards
• Hipster PDA
• Moleskine Plain Reporter
• Web Comic Alliance
• Ira Glass on the Creative Process
• Ann Arbor District Library Comic Artist Forum
• Mac Power Users Podcast - Automating
• Sikuli - open source/free deskop automation via screen capture
• Rube Goldberg

Follow Rob on Twitter or his blog at Interactive-Storyteller.com and workshops at Lean Into Art

Polytechnicast_-_Preparing.mp3 Listen on Posterous

Thunder Punch Daily 145 - Thumbs of Terror

But when I start?I’m a beginner who knows nothing.Which, come to think of it, is a very good thing.⁰ — J.M. DeMatteis (@JMDeMatteis) January 24, 2012

Today I share some of my experiences in thumbnailing the new Front story I hope to start updating on Sugary Serials in February. I borrow some wisdom from J.M. DeMatteis to help make my points more lucid, but the big idea is that there's no escape from the terror of thumbnailing a story. Links mentioned in this episode:

• Lean Into Art Cast 09 - Look at my Thumbs
• Sugary Serials
• Thunder Punch Daily 98
• Comics Are Great! Episode 01
• Kids Read Comics
• Voice-Over Voice Actor: What it's Like Behind the Mic

Music for this show is by Eliott Drozd.

Voiceover by Tara Platt

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Thunder Punch Daily 145

LIA Cast 21 - Emotional Throughlines

Chances are you're familiar with the term "throughline" in regards to drawing, but this week on the show Jerzy and Rob explore how they can map that idea onto writing characters. Using examples from popular stories, and some of their own experiences, the Lean Into Art guys attempt to create a general map of what a character's emotional throughline might be.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Monsters, Inc.
• Roman Holiday
• Love Actually
• Star Wars, Episode IV
• Ratatouille
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• About a Boy
• The Karate Kid
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Social Networking

• Lean Into Art Google+ Page
• Jerzy on Twitter
• Rob on Twitter
• Lean Into Art on Twitter

Upcoming Workshops for February 2012

• Sunday Morning Comics + Interactive Clinic (4 seats available)

 

LIA Cast 21 - Emotional Throughlines

LIA Cast 20 - Working with CSS

So you've got a webcomic site set up, whether it's a Wordpress installation, a Tumblr blog, or you've hosted it on Posterous. But the notion of customizing it on your own creates a little bit of stress and uncertainty. Understandable, since most of us are artists, not programmer nerds!

Fortunately Rob Stenzinger likes to walk the imagined line between these two camps. This week he takes the time to take us through some basic ideas on how CSS works and demonstrates how to use these techniques by changing some elements on the Lean Into Art site and his own Tumblog. A great refresher course for those of us who are familiar with CSS, and a great intro piece for those of you who have never gotten under the hood to customize your website.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Jerzy's Thunderpunch Daily microcast
• Sugary Serials
• Posterous
• Tumblr
• Wordpress
• The CSS Pocket Guide
• CSS for Print Designers
• Smashing Maginzine

Social Networking

• Lean Into Art Google+ Page
• Jerzy on Twitter
• Rob on Twitter
• Lean Into Art on Twitter

Upcoming Workshops for February 2012

• Sunday Morning Comics + Interactive Clinic (4 seats available)

LIA Cast 20 - Working with CSS