making some updates

I took my mind map and expanded on it. I looked back through really every single thing that I have done since September of 2009 (seems like forever). I went back and made sure that I included everything I possibly could and updated a whole lot of information...and yes, there is 1 typo on it at this very moment.

(There is like a 95% chance you will need to zoom in to read this properly)

So sit back and enjoy.  There is a lot of crap there ("crap" is a legitimate scientific term that can be used in place of "stuff," but you may only use it this way if you have studied Computer Science at Quinnipiac University) but there were many things that I held back due to lack of space
.

The PDT

This is just a piece I'm working on for a character I'm developing. I call it a PDT which stands for "portable data transmitter." Such an ugly name which is still not set in stone.  I will probably redo it but that's a detail I will deal with later.

This is just a simple shot.  As I develop it more I will post more detail.

1255 Quads/2630 Tris
Time elapsed: about 1 hour

First Step

Assessing my level

I have done a lot of work over a lot of mediums.  There are a lot of things but not all of them are necessarily "portfolio-worthy" pieces.  How do I choose the right ones?  What is my style?  I don't really know how to answer that at the moment.

Cynthia L. Baron writes about evaluating designers in her book Designing A Digital Portfolio.  Now I'm at the step where I need to take my skills and use them to create my brand; my identity.  I have no idea where to begin; I don't really know how to assess my skills.

What is a portfolio?

You would think after 3 years of school I would know the answer to that question.  I thought I did but I really don't.  A portfolio isn't just a way to display work, like I originally thought.  Sure, you display it but you also display your personality in it.  It says a lot about you much like a profile statement.  At the moment I don't really know what career path I want to go into but I will shape my portfolio around it.  I do need to get a job but I won't sacrifice detail just to fit the mold of the job I want to get.

What is not a portfolio?
I'm going to shorten this into two sentences:
A portfolio is not a chronological showcase of every single piece of work that you have completed since you started your career.  It is also not a way for you to be too critical of yourself and leave off some of the work that you think is not professional-grade.

I know for a fact that I am my toughest critic and I will be the first one to not include something if I think it's not up to snuff.  But I will need to swallow my pride sometimes because some things that have been done are very high quality but I may have disagreed.

Final decision-making

What will I actually put in there?  I have not the slightest idea what I will end up adding to my portfolio.  I do so many things and I think most of them are crap (this is a scientific term in computer science) and don't deserve to even be shown.  But like I said, I will have to swallow my pride sometimes so I can actually have more than like 3 pieces on my portfolio.  I like my work to speak about me.  The subject matter needs to match my personality and that is something that I am good at doing.

You want some help?

I help way too many people.  That is a terrible statement coming from me but I want to (at least for this class) not help people as much as I have.  I also need to focus on my own work.  Sometimes I get sidetracked on a problem with someone else's work and don't really do my own at a quality level.  For this class I'm going to cut back a bit.  Not to say that I won't help because I hate seeing people struggle, but I need to learn where to cut off the help and put myself first.

Out with the old, In with the new

Last year I had created a portfolio website to display all the work I had so I could apply for internships.  It was one of the more fun times I had coding up a site with HTML/CSS/Javascript, but I know it really lacks in aesthetics right now.  So I have a plan to completely gut my site and overhaul it.  My goal with any site is to challenge myself to go well above and beyond what I know I can do and this site will be no exception.

This time around I used a mind map to organize my thoughts for this class.  This isn't new to me but this is the  most comprehensive map I've done.  I used NovaMind to work out this mind map.  A decently intuitive software, it got the job done in the end.

I'm still undecided what I want to center my new portfolio's design around.  I do thoroughly enjoy working in Maya and I do my most consistent work in 3D, but I'm not sure creating a completely 3D oriented design will work for me.  I love web 2.0 design and I would love to show off my skills in web design and my 3D skills at the same time.  So what I am thinking of doing is a 2d take on 3d elements in Illustrator and making it all come together.  I can't explain what I mean yet but it will become apparent.  My goal is to create a responsive website in the end and I can't wrap my head around a 3D centered design that won't be graphically heavy and cause high load times.  I want to show off my skills but do it in a way that I'm comfortable with, and I think I can do that.

The current site will remain as-is for another week or so.  I will be dropping the current theme and placing more of a parking page while I develop the new version.  Links to my work will be available on the parked page.

Allow me to reintroduce myself

Congratulations!

You are now looking at what will become one of the most chaotic blogs on the interweb!

My name is Zach Freed and I'm a 2nd semester Senior at Quinnipiac University.  Never really thought I would say those words...kind of scary to see my college career is coming to an end.  My goal in this blog is to keep a weblog of my work, school life, and probably post some funny things along the way to keep my sanity (kind of important, you know?).

In school I study all aspects of grahic design that I can get my hands on.  I look at web design, 2d design, animation, typography, 3d design, more animation, and I have probably parsed somewhere around 100,000 lines of HTML/CSS within the past year.  I love learning and applying what I learn.  The reason I chose my major was because I loved seeing people's reactions to things I produced.

So buckle up, strap in, get ready, (insert another relative saying), and welcome to a new blog experience brought to you by your's truly.  Enjoy your stay.

Sincerely,
Zach Freed