Proofreading a Book: Paid Freelance Work
TV's, Tarot Cards
and
George 'bloody' Clooney |
| The book cover; I was e-mailed a draft prior to this one for my feedback, & I advised on the colour, layouts & items, & recommended changes. |
I was approached by an author friend to proofread a few of his books. He has written quite a few that sell on Amazon, including other mad-life fictional stories, celebrity Auto/Biographies & heartfelt factual stories.
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| I have a copy signed by the late Stuart Cable. |
I agreed to take on one book, & see how I managed to fit it in with my studies. At first, I found it difficult to sit & read, with my mind wandering to what I should be doing for my studies, however this was paid work & could lead to more; & it did!
I wasn't sure of the 'going-rate' for copy/proofreading, & therefore carried out some research online, looked at various copyreader sites & associations, & contacted my friend Augusta, who is a copyreader/translator. We met on a Freelance Academy course I attended at Bangor Uni in September 2012, & is one of the people I kept in contact with. I wanted to ensure I was pricing myself within current market, but also needed more knowledge on length of time it would take etc. Augusta e-mailed me her rates, & how she calculated the time it would take, & reviewed my job, & gave advice. I also knew I would be carrying out research as I went through the book, to check on facts, spellings, things I didn't know about etc, & thus incorporated this into my price, as this would be an additional time than my calculated minutes-per-page. I created a 'time-sheet' in Excel, with formulas to calculate my hours/minutes where I added my minutes spent on the book, which totalled it into hours/pages etc & then a total of cost & time. I designed & created a new invoice, & tried to do this in MS Word, but eventually moved back to Excel & created more than 1 scenario; using different formulas to calculate & double check all was correct, it evaluated the pricing to ensure all my time was covered. (Previously creating my own costing sheets & invoices etc, for my fashion business, was a far more complex task, but I still spent time to making sure it was correct & easy to use once created.)
My search for current rates took me to:
My search for current rates took me to:
The SfEP suggested minimum freelance rates:
From 1 March 2013, these suggested minimum rates are:
| Type of work | Suggested minimum hourly rate |
|---|---|
| Proofreading | £21.40 |
| Copy-editing* | £25.00 |
| Substantial editing, rewriting, development editing | £28.80 |
| Project management | £31.00 |
| Indexing | £22.40** |
Further website guides & advice on forums offered rates between £15 & £24, & according to Trevor Horwood's website, who is an Advanced Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders, £15-16 is the usual proofreading rate:
"...as a freelance, you can set your own hourly rates, which, according to the Society for Editors and Proofreaders' (SfEP) 2013 guidelines, should be a minimum of £21.40 for proofreading and £25.00 for copy-editing. Before you get too excited, though, I should warn you that, as usual, theory does not always correspond with practice. In my experience, most publishers have their own set rates for freelance work, and it's up to you to accept these or not. Rates vary from company to company, of course, but - again only in my experience - a figure of between £15.00 and £16.00 for proofreading seems to be roughly the going rate, and about £17.00 to £22.00 for copy-editing. Rates-of-pay surveys I have come across in the profession's literature would seem to confirm that these figures are a fair reflection of the current situation." T Horwood Copyediting.co.uk
Although I have proofed & edited all my own copy for my business, & studies, etc, this is the first time I have been paid to proof-edit a book, & so, I also looked at what qualifications the industry required & what knowledge was needed.
I was sent a draft copy of the book cover prior to my proof-reading/editing, & once I had completed the book I then felt more qualified to offer feedback on the layout, colours, style, objects etc.
I have since proofed another book, this was a much longer book & so I re-calculated the time & my costs, & once confirmed the authors budget negotiated a price; once my degree is finished there may be more books to follow.
After a couple of days filling my head with all the newness of the gaming industry, I gained so much from attending this event...initially wondering what-on-earth I was doing there when my knowledge of this industry was pretty minimal! However, after a very early start to my day, my inquisitiveness kicked in, & desire to learn more followed through; I was enjoying listening to what these guys were saying, & gaining so much more knowledge & being inspired too, albeit far more by some than others, but that is what makes us all unique.
My notes, thoughts & ponderings, & a couple of doodles from attending BAF:
My notes, thoughts & ponderings, & a couple of doodles from attending BAF:
Tomek Zawada of Projekt Red; (Blog) was impressive as soon as he made his presence on stage with his long blonde hair, & although very entertaining, was also full of new knowledge for me. He even offered advice on what to include in a cv, which I thought was extremely apt for the students who had never compiled a cv before, & refreshing to hear him tell the audience to be 'happy' don't be sad in an interview! A creative, yet customer focused approach even down to the psychology/behaviours of the characters; something I had been thinking of, & was very encouraging to the game developers to get out there & socialize with other creative, passionate & fun people... I connected on LinkedIn & sent my questionnaire over to him for my Dissertation.
David Bennett of Faceware Technologies, gave me a totally different view of another side of the games industry, & how it can realistically merge & aid other areas of the creative/media industry.
The face mapping was extremely impressive & is available for educational purposes. David explained how they are helping Portsmouth University, which in turn helps this industry grow.
The face mapping was extremely impressive & is available for educational purposes. David explained how they are helping Portsmouth University, which in turn helps this industry grow.
A test shot for the feature film "Stina & the Wolf". Presently in production by FOAM Digital at the University of Portsmouth.
He also explained how they help charities; their technology was used in the Galiwango video to help the plight of gorillas, & gave me an idea for a local charity, which in turn gave me an idea I investigated for my Neg1, albeit not that viable.
Galiwango
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| I saw Christine Phelan of Valve twice; she stood in for someone as there was a major hold up on the roads. Her relaxed & approachable, & real, approach to her presentation was both fresh & relaxingly entertaining yet informative & really opened up the reality, but also the hard work & personal/professional development, required. Reminded me of how hard & dedicated I was when I ran my own company with small team, & how focused I can be. |
TT Games; they made me laugh, smile, & want to go & play their Lego games & work with them! Their presentation also ignited an interest in creating 'cut scenes', however after further research & discussion, this desire has dampened, & other more appropriate roles have taken priority. I have a contact in TT Games, Chris, who I met at Creative Futures & who has been very helpful in his advice when needed. He gave me their recruitment email & I check their Jobs Page, but have not seen anything for my level of capability.
This may have been the last session, & an hour long, but this was one of my favourites, alongside TT, Sony & Lucas Hardi, & kept me captivated right to the end. He opened my eyes to the processes, development & possibilities in the gaming industry that maybe I had not thought about, & the progression. From my contacts made in the UK prior to this event, I had already heard/met people who had worked for companies that Neil spoke of/had worked for; unlike most of the games. I have to admit to not knowing what to ask at some of the other sessions, quite unlike me, but I had some strong questions after this session. Unfortunately, even in my bright & patterned shirt, I was not selected to ask a question &, due to the last train I could possibly catch, I had to depart without getting the chance to introduce myself to Neil. (I did however, follow up by trying to connect via LinkedIn & such, but was unsuccessful at that time.)
ffresh: Glyndwr University
I visited 'ffresh' today February 21st, & 22nd' the Student Moving Image Festival of Wales, now in it's 10th year & being held at Glyndwr University. Showcasing student work, hosting masterclasses, workshops & panel sessions etc, from industry leaders & practitioners, & announcing the winners of 'ffresh' awards to students from around the world.
This is the ffresh Blog, still feeling new to this industry I thought it would be a good idea to follow, & which also kept me up-to-date:
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| My programme & badge for 'ffresh'; I read through & selected/circled the sessions I thought would be most suited to my games career & study. |
ffresh Blog Day 1 by Jennifer PerkinThursday 21 February 2013First day at ffresh and already so much has happened here at Glyndwr! Things got going around midday with a musical performance from local band Camera, which was recorded live for TV at the very slick studios on campus. There …Continue reading
Change to Programme: Chris Auty steps in for Nik Powell
Tuesday 19 February 2013
Nik Powell has unfortunately had to cancel his appearance at ffresh but he’s found us a fantastic replacement in Chris Auty who’s worked with a long list of renowned directors including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pavel Pawlikowski, David Cronenberg, Michael Winterbottom, John …
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And the winner is…
Tuesday 18 December 2012
Graphics student Joe Stark from the University of Glamorgan has won the ffresh 10 Design Competition with his carefully researched and beautifully executed artwork, which incorporates elements of the festival and the host institution. Joe’s entry received over 320 votes …
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ffresh 2013 programme announced!
ffresh 2013 Trailer!
I attended sessions, but didn't really gain what I had hoped for from a lot of them, but after attending BAF maybe my expectations were a little higher; I did not really know what to expect, but thought some of what I attended & viewed online were targeted more to the younger 'creative/film' audience. However, I am glad I visited, I may not have learnt as much as expected, but I saw a different creative avenue than I usually entertain, & even if I felt that most was not where I wanted to benchmark myself; not my own personal style, I always wish to remain open to other creative mediums & styles.
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| ffresh: Tomato Masterclass Dylan Kendle from Tomato creative agency gave a real insight into working for a 'collective'; no hierarchy & they actually pay to be part of the 'collective'. From listening to Christine Phelan at BAF, & her stories of the various hierarchical systems in companies she had worked for, this seemed slightly different & pretty unique. In my own company, I always worked as part of the team & led from the front, & listened to my staff. I loved some of Tomato's creative work, & was actually enamoured by their lily piece. |
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| 'Getting Into TV': I asked for advice on getting a book made to film & who to contact. "The person who doesn't know the possible, will ask the impossible & can get there!" |
Creative Futures Week: Glyndwr
I attended nearly every day of Creative Futures Week at Glyndwr University, March 2013, & gained quite an insight into various creative companies, & of course some new contacts. Although I found a couple of sessions not applicable to what I had hoped to glean from attending, I actually found 'Creative Futures Week' far more appropriate & informative for myself, than 'ffresh'. I have considered this may be an age thing due to being a rather more mature student & 'ffresh' targeted at the younger academic!
Printing off the schedule, & perusing over it sat outside a cafe...with a couple of coffee's due to it's length, I was able to plan my schedule! Being able to do this ensured I could make a more informed, & thought out, decision of what to attend, & which presentations would benefit me career-wise, rather than for my simple enjoyment & curiosity. I also carried out some research prior to the week, & so understood more of what to expect & what objectives I should be aspiring to achieve, & Agcas Article Creative Futures simply stated it:
"The main objectives of the event are to provide students with the opportunity to develop their professional skills, help build their confidence and raise their aspirations.
Creative Futures is run over four days:
• Day 1: How to sell yourself, CVs, job search, etc (8 sessions)
• Day 2: Becoming self-employed, entrepreneurial skills, etc (8 sessions)
• Day 3: Alumni day (8 sessions)
• Day 4: Meet the expert"
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| Source: Facebook Glyndwr University The stats given were apt & concise, & will prove very useful when I come to look at setting up & compiling a business & plan, but will ensure I know exactly what areas these stats cover, ie: industry/sector/location/country to ensure it is appropriate to my business & market research. |
I also found some videos uploaded online, which is a great reminder:
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| 2nd Session Dr Stuart Cunningham (video credit nwsad) Being introduced to Skillset Cymru, who I had actually previously dealt with when I had my own company. |
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| I introduced myself to Skillset on my way in when I registered, & after chatting, was given some information on what they now offer. |
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| 2nd Session Dr Stuart Cunningham (video credit nwsad) & more information & stats of the industry. I was not surprised to learn that the average income in Wales was lower than the average income in England within the creative industries, but had not expected it to be nearly £4k lower. |
My Notes, Thoughts, & Ponderings From My Visit to Creative Futures, with a Couple of Doodles Along The Way...
Tim Makin was one of my favourite sessions, & one of the seminars I gained a lot of new knowledge of the industry from. Although he started off a tad apprehensive, his knowledge & passion for what he does & his company, kept the audience captive & generated a lot of questions; especially from myself. I introduced myself afterwards:Wink Nudge: I followed Tim, from wink;nudge on social media Twitter. I left a message/Tweet & he said there would be a linkspage up soon:
@wink_nudge learnt a lot - thanks Tim
— Tracey Valliere-Evan (@Frocked) March 6, 2013
@frocked glad you enjoyed! We'll set up a page with links soon ;>
— Wink Nudge (@wink_nudge) March 7, 2013
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| Chris Woodworth of TTGames gave me lots of information on working in the gaming industry & more insight into creating for Lego & being employed in a large company. It was insightful, fun & I got to see parts of games I have not seen. Chris' passion & enthusiasm for what he does was infectious, & helped me understand more of how working for a larger company can be; we connected on social media, & he has proven so helpful in answering my questions at the end; a truly nice & helpful guy. |
Training & Development
Being one who advocates self-development, I have tried to keep abreast of what courses are being offered that could benefit my career, & receive e-mails & offers, some from companies I have attended courses with before. Shillington College is a college I nearly attended, & am looking at again for further training in specific software for graphics & also their Web Course; albeit expensive, I have actually spoken to someone who has accomplished the course, & tutors, & still feel the course is viable, just the cost is extremely high to take another chance on. I need to research & analyse whether this is truly viable, or not.
Symbiosis is a company in Leamington Spa where I attended a couple of courses in digital design, & learnt a lot in a short space of time, it was just unfortunate that I was unable to carry on/implement what I had learnt after the course:
Symbiosis is a company in Leamington Spa where I attended a couple of courses in digital design, & learnt a lot in a short space of time, it was just unfortunate that I was unable to carry on/implement what I had learnt after the course:
Did you know that 76% of mobile/tablet visitors to your site will leave if it doesn't optimise for their device?*
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| Wink Nudge |
After attending a seminar at Glyndwr University Creative Futures, with Tim Makin from Wink Nudge, I noted, & asked questions, about where he saw the markets going; mobile! Hence why the course with Symbiosis appealed, as it could stretch my knowledge in an area of work that seems to be growing.
Researching into my next step in my career & personal/educational development, I have been looking at postgraduate studies at Glyndwr: Postgraduate ‹ north wales school of art & design. The dedication for another year & financial commitment are, obviously, my concerns. More research is needed before I make another major decision in my life.
A seminar that I missed, & saw posted in the Glyndwr group on LinkedIn: Taster session for new Glyndŵr University Executive MBA provides insight into irrational and emotional consumer behaviour... | LinkedIn. I was the only student to achieve a 'Distinction' on my HND, & went on to market my own company, hence I have a passion for marketing; generating & creating solutions from a myriad of ideas, the brand development, & the psychology behind customers actions/buying patterns. "By understanding and tapping into these psychologies and consumer buying behaviour, said Savva, companies can harness the power of their customers –their most important asset." (George Savva) This has prompted me to look at other Masters programmes, including business MBA's at Glyndwr University, & with my business background, & speaking to others who have done/doing an MBA, I will follow up with more research.
Formerly having a business in Wales, I still receive emails from various 'bodies' & agencies, & Business Wales is one. I was extremely 'hands-on' in the design of my own company e-commerce websites, yet commissioned design agencies to build them, & I managed & marketed; achieving number 1 on Google.com! Even so, it has been some years since I had to design a website, & mine needs re-designed & utilised to display my work. I am also out-of-date & on any new legislations & this article has some relevant pointers & links, including the Equality Act 2010, which came out after I closed my business. Displaying if I use 'Cookies' on my website is also something which was not relevant at the time I had mine.
Researching into my next step in my career & personal/educational development, I have been looking at postgraduate studies at Glyndwr: Postgraduate ‹ north wales school of art & design. The dedication for another year & financial commitment are, obviously, my concerns. More research is needed before I make another major decision in my life.
A seminar that I missed, & saw posted in the Glyndwr group on LinkedIn: Taster session for new Glyndŵr University Executive MBA provides insight into irrational and emotional consumer behaviour... | LinkedIn. I was the only student to achieve a 'Distinction' on my HND, & went on to market my own company, hence I have a passion for marketing; generating & creating solutions from a myriad of ideas, the brand development, & the psychology behind customers actions/buying patterns. "By understanding and tapping into these psychologies and consumer buying behaviour, said Savva, companies can harness the power of their customers –their most important asset." (George Savva) This has prompted me to look at other Masters programmes, including business MBA's at Glyndwr University, & with my business background, & speaking to others who have done/doing an MBA, I will follow up with more research.
Formerly having a business in Wales, I still receive emails from various 'bodies' & agencies, & Business Wales is one. I was extremely 'hands-on' in the design of my own company e-commerce websites, yet commissioned design agencies to build them, & I managed & marketed; achieving number 1 on Google.com! Even so, it has been some years since I had to design a website, & mine needs re-designed & utilised to display my work. I am also out-of-date & on any new legislations & this article has some relevant pointers & links, including the Equality Act 2010, which came out after I closed my business. Displaying if I use 'Cookies' on my website is also something which was not relevant at the time I had mine.
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| Home Page of my company website: 2009-10 |
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JOBS/RECRUIT
I receive emails with recent job vacancies available, & this helps me stay up-to-date with what the industry is looking for & requirements for specific roles. After talks with Sonia, & searches for game industry specific roles suited to me & my skills & experiences, I am now concentrating on a UI role, & texture artist for my portfolio, with fashion of course. Here are some job adverts & websites that I am registered with, or have been looking at.
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| They have their own unique brand image, which is carried through into their recruitment marketing! |
- Digital Graphic Designer (UI/UX Designer) 1948483 | UK jobs | Hays - Recruiting experts worldwide - (I am aware that I do not have the relevant skills or portfolio.....but I am working on that!)
- Design Wales Forum - Recruitment/Jobs. A variety of jobs in Wales; my location & lack of any ties makes me more flexible to relocate, & although I would rather have reason to stay where I am, I am very aware to be as open-minded about location as I can - the world is my ocean, as I say!
- EA Technology, Capenhurst: Marketing Campaigns Executive based locally to me, this was the only suitable post on their recruitment page, as I have experience of marketing my own small business, & developed the brand online also; reaching number 1 on Google.com at the time. I have previously applied to this company, & have an old business contact in their Marketing & Graphic Design.
- Prodo: Digital Designer required, but I can see that I do not have the experience required, both in software knowledge & time in a similar role. The post requires HTML/CSS, & although I have used HTML when designing & creating for my own business, it is something I need to update myself skills in. I have looked at learning CSS, & was actually given a book from a member of staff to help, however, prioritising my studies, this was 1 of the skills I deduced would not be as beneficial, & be very time-consuming taking valuable time from my major project, thus I have shelved the book for the time being.
- http://bangor.prospects.ac.uk/jobseeker/vacancy/alert/view?id=823268
bangor.prospects.ac.uk
An exciting opportunity to work for NaturalMotion travelling around the world visiting highly renowned video games companies and being able to experience a variety of exciting upcoming games all the while helping customers use our technology to make these games even better. Like · Remove PreviewTracey Valliere-Evans This was 1 of a few jobs sent to me via my personal Facebook account; this link had to be sent, & re-sent, as it would not open; resulted in an error page. However, I persevered & we managed to find the page; I do not have what they are looking for, having no scripting/coding experience. I forwarded the links to other students, & also searched for, & found, the companies website. They had other posts being advertised:
Natural Motion: Community Manager I have managed projects & a team, working skills in social media & marketing, however, again I do not have any coding or working in games experience.
Natural Motion: Art Lead This post has opened new ideas for me, to see further what roles there are in the games industry. I was creative director in my own small fashion company, overseeing all creative development & production; from my sketches to fabric/colour selection, through to marketing, & mentoring the team to ensure quality was maintained & deadlines met. Thus the requirements for this post most definitely attracted me, but my lack of games experience is obvious:
Come and join our London Studio as an Art Lead.
Key Responsibilities
• Lead and maintain the art vision throughout the project lifecycle
• Provides artistic direction and guidance to the art team and animators.
• Work with the key stakeholders to help visualize and develop the game style and look and feel in it’s initial stages through to its in-game realisation
• Assist the Technical Project Lead and Senior Artists in defining appropriate art pipelines and workflow.
• Collaborate with the Product, Producer and Art team to improve game content while evaluating risks, scope and quality
• Oversee outsourcing art concepts and assets to ensure quality of art produced
• Making sure the art is completed to quality and artists have clearly articulated briefs and requirements for art creation
• Assist the art staff with guidance and mentoring on particular techniques to raise awareness of quality
• Capable of identifying and recommending needs to the code team enhance or control visual aspects of the game
• Provide a benchmark in modelling and texturing in-game artwork quality improvements.
• Run weekly art reviews & retrospectives with the art team
Key Qualities
• Ability to generate well thought through and creative ideas
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, approachable and decisive
• Pro-active approach to work with ability to deliver quality on time
• Go the extra mile to ensure art is competed to the highest standard
CLICK TO APPLY FOR THIS ROLE
- At present, I don't have strong ties to keep me local & thus have also looked overseas. Looking at the latest update with New Zealand, I can see they need University Lecturers, but you need a Masters or Doctorate; I would need to investigate to see if a Welsh/UK Masters is recognised at Level 9 in NZ & if I deem it worthwhile to proceed; if I decide I would wish to move to there that is.
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| Immigration New Zealand: Area of absolute skills shortage |
Software & Tutorials
I have used various versions of Photoshop since 1999, have dabbled in Illustrator & attended a 2/3-day course in InDesign. However, I am aware I need to update my skills in the software required for my degree, & this project. A in-depth research into what software I would need to successfully carry out my studies, technical/computer requirements, costs etc. I investigated Adobe's Creative Cloud, realised it would benefit me by having access to all the packages as & when I needed, & could pay a monthly (student subsidised) subscription. Through this, I have become aware of other packages that can help. I have downloaded, or reviewed:- Adobe Illustrator This is paramount to creating a clear logo as it is vector-based & easy to manipulate & enlarge, & work on files/pages in the workspace. Photoshop files do not create/display text as well; enlarging bitmap files creates pixelation/rough-edges (although I have since been introduced to Photoshop's 'bezier curve tool' through my contacts from Glyndwr, which helps create smoother curves).
- Adobe Gaming SDK I may not be in the position/the level to use this packages as yet, but am aware of it & saw that it had a tool for compressed textures; requires further research.
- Adobe Photoshop I originally downloaded version CS6, but having since learnt about RAW files (a format to save my camera images in, to achieve higher quality), & saving my files using Adobe Bridge in this format, I needed to upgrade to the CC version; I sought advice from some photographers I know, & they informed me I would need this version. (I have since found out, after looking into it further, that my camera does not take images in RAW format, & thus do not need to upgrade at present.)
- Adobe Bridge I have so many images for my project, that I wanted to 'batch' edit & organize, have easier access to, & be able to edit without actually having to open the 'memory-hungry' Photoshop etc. My online research in tutorials & Adobe Products led me to Bridge, which should simplify my workflow, & in future, be financially/productively beneficial to my work.
- Adobe Flash I might not be making movies, or websites - yet, but I had an extremely illustrative tutorial in Glyndwr that showed me how I could select & crop images, & create really smooth edges. I should have downloaded it straight away as by the time I had it downloaded A lot had been forgotten. There was a lot to take in & remember the process, & have since attempted, but even with notes, I became stuck & decided this is something I will have to revisit due to time, & I know I can do in Photoshop.
These are a couple of the websites & online tutorials I found, in my search & hunger to grow my knowledge on Adobe. Although the lessons are not all apt to my requirements, or already know, I have selectively skipped over that which is not suited to me, & learnt that which I can utilise to develop my own creative pieces & designs.
Apparel Pixel Training / Adobe for Fashion Textiles Graphics
Adobe TV Refine Edge Command: "Learn how to make any selection better with the Refine Edge command, particularly on tricky subjects like fur. Adjust the radius it picks up to remove rough edges and create a mask that has a gentler blend."
This tutorial illustrates using the pen & creating a smoother edge when 'cutting/drawing' around objects. I have 'cut-out' items a lot for my own company's website; from full-of-fabric dresses to intricate corsets, & so do understand some of this tutorial, yet if I had known all this previously it would have saved me a lot of time. It will, & already has, proven extremely useful when editing in Photoshop.
Correcting Tone And Color With Levels In Photoshop
I have used 'levels' for many years now, but mostly being self-taught, I always know there are bricks missing in my wall of knowledge. This tutorial actually took me back to basics, & 'settings' of 'levels', & thus I gained more whilst only in the 1st section!
Crop Images In Photoshop With The Rule Of Thirds
Not one to follow rules, I do like to be aware of them as I think it helps to know how/where to break them; Rules of Thirds' is one. I shoot with my camera or mobile phone, &, at times, when shooting with my phone, I simply cannot see fully where my frame will be once taken; this has led to some interesting shots, & ones I love & which most definitely do not follow the rules of 3! However, on some images I have taken, there the rules of 3 are showing, although I did not shoot in that way, & of course, there are times when I have remembered the rule & applied it.
I also use the 'rulers/guides grid' in Photoshop, but had no idea I could set up an 'action', to save my settings to be easily accessed for all my images I work on. Once again, I have looked at something I thought I knew, & have learnt yet another new skill/tool.
I like to be different....
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| My photograph taken with my mobile phone; thirds need not apply |
CS6 Camera Raw - How To Open Raw, JPEG And TIFF Files
Working With Camera Raw In Adobe Bridge vs Photoshop
After reading this tutorial, & discovering that Adobe Bridge does not use the same percentage of memory as Photoshop, I am know downloading Bridge & going to look at 'Camera Raw'. This should help my workflow, as with working on a lot of open docs at one time; I run Photoshop with a lot of image files, whilst also working on my Blog on Chrome etc, my laptop can run rather tediously slow at times!
"...improve the speed of your computer, while the other can speed up your workflow. Photoshop, like all programs, uses up some of your computer’s resources while it’s open. Even if you’re not working in Photoshop at the time, as long as it’s open in the background, it’s still using up resources.
"Camera Raw offers such a complete image editing environment that it’s entirely possible to do everything you need to do with your photo in Camera Raw without ever needing to open it in Photoshop for further editing. That’s why Adobe gave us the ability not only to select our images in Bridge but also to open and process them in Camera Raw without leaving Bridge, and without needing to open Photoshop. In other words, Camera Raw is perfectly capable of running in Bridge itself, or another way to put it, Camera Raw can be "hosted" by Bridge, just like it can be hosted by Photoshop. It doesn’t need Photoshop running in the background, and that means Photoshop won’t be hogging any of your computer’s resources for no reason."
I will still be a user of Photoshop, but maybe this will help reduce the time it takes, & was of use when doing simple tasks such as resizing.
MAYA
These tutorials look quite apt for what I am looking for, & as I do need to learn Maya but they charge for these illustrated, & thus will 'bookmark' for another day, & look at their 'free' tutorials.
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| Simply Maya.com |
Per-Face (Ptex) Textures
"RenderMan Studio 3 and RenderMan Pro Server 15 have support for per-face texture mapping. Also known as Ptex. RenderMan Studio can both read and write Ptex files. Ptex was developed by Disney to simplify texturing subdivisional surfaces with Prman Ptex Overview Ptex is a texture mapping system that uses the intrinsic per-face UVs of a polygonal mesh; no explicit texture parameterization is required. In other words, it is no longer necessary to use UV maps on polygon objects when painting textures.(hurrah!) Both Polygonal and Subdivisional surfaces are supported (although differences exist between Loop and Catmull-Clark schemes) Ptex stores a separate texture per quad face of the subdivision control mesh, along with a novel per-face adjacency map, in a single texture file per surface. It then uses this map to perform seamless anisotropic filtering of multi-resolution textures on the surface.""For example. Here is a section of a polygon model, made up of quad faces. Each FACE is numbered with a faceid shown with large white numbers and each EDGE is numbered with an edgeid small blue numbers These faceid and edgeid values are stored in the adjacency map. So the faces with faceids 17 and 84, share edgeids 3 & 1 faceids 84 and 85, share edgeids 2 & 0 A texture, stored for each face, can be independently sized, and any surface can be mapped with a single Ptex file containing all of the per-face textures regardless of mesh complexity. The Ptex file also contains mesh adjacency data that is used to filter across faces. Seamless filtering is particularly critical to avoid lighting artifacts when using displacement maps. Ptex in RenderMan"
Advice & Links from friends & Contacts
I have made a lot of new contacts since deciding to venture on this new path, both in & in out of the games industry since starting my degree. Some through speaking to friends & following up , some in/via University, others from visiting trade events, social media & contacting companies. All of which have proved most useful, enlightening me to this industry, alerting me to options & opening doors I would not have considered otherwise. This is not only local, but national & overseas.
I have corresponded via Facebook, email LinkedIn, over coffee & telephone.
Sharing with other people what it is I am studying, working on, looking for, etc, I have friends/colleagues messaging items to me that they think will be of interest or beneficial to my studies/career; from images & news articles, to companies & games, in addition to jobs (as stated earlier above). I presume I have communicated myself rather articulately, due to the fact I receive quality over quantity.
I have corresponded via Facebook, email LinkedIn, over coffee & telephone.
Sharing with other people what it is I am studying, working on, looking for, etc, I have friends/colleagues messaging items to me that they think will be of interest or beneficial to my studies/career; from images & news articles, to companies & games, in addition to jobs (as stated earlier above). I presume I have communicated myself rather articulately, due to the fact I receive quality over quantity.
My ideas for games are not compiled of only 'a-game-to-play', but also for the design, layout, overall feel & emotions attached or evoked in the player/player-to-be, & the psychological aspect of the target market, & from the game's play. This can emanate simply from the branding, colours, the aesthetics; UI/UX, the storyline & narrative, the tasks, the achievements, & of course - the beautiful imagery. This is a known fact; my love of images, & that is probably a reason why I was sent this:
Recent games concerned with mood and psychology rather than tasks and thrills have been likened to art house cinema. But is it a helpful comparison?
However, as it was sent from overseas, I discovered I was unable to open it within the UK. I searched to see if I could access it via other means, but Yahoo & Google did not provide me with the answer/link to help me. I thus I had it copied & e-mailed to me. To save filling up this page further, you can see it here: The Rise Of Art House Gaming Article & My Views:
I was sent a link to this article by a friend, but was unable to access it, & so I asked for it to be copied & pasted into an e-mail for me; see below. I have a vast range of game ideas, & some of these rely in beautiful images/imagery; an integral part of the appeal to the game, but I am not sure 'ArtHouse' games is really the tag I would want to attach/categorise some of my games in; they are not deep or abstract, but have beauty to look at. (Well maybe 1 does have a leaning more toward the abstract; Vice Versa, but nothing too 'high-brow/art-scene', that's not my intended 'niche' market.) As Sunni Pavlovic, studio manager for thatgamecompany (developers of Journey) said, "The problem here is that the term ‘art house’ is not without emotional baggage. "[art house] implies a kind of sophistication and elitism that may feel irrelevant to the mass audience,...That turns off potential audiences who feel a product is ‘not for them’ or comes with some kind of cultural barrier of entry to be sufficiently entertaining or meaningful." My thoughts too, but could not have phrased it more eloquently! However, the article states "...borrowing the language of other art forms may be the best way to describe what we’re playing." but I can only tend to disagree, & see what terminology will successfully describe this newer style of game. I do however take into consideration, the emotive appeal & psychological reaction, of my games, & how they can benefit the user in a positive way too. I have also been reading on the 'Narrative' of games , as I do like to write, hence I found some of this article extremely apt to my studies, & in the way I am growing.
Professional Profile
- LinkedIn - professional online network
- CV
- Portfolio on Behance
- Frocked.co.uk website - awaiting development
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