Good News! Yesterday I found out that I received a scholarship. I am extremely excited about that. It's for the Academy of Art University and can only be applied to them, which is fine. In a few weeks school will be over and I will be able to breathe again. Four classes, is A LOT of work, but I wouldn't have change it. Taking four classes actually made me more discipline (if that makes any sense).

I'm still research Full Sail. I'm very attracted to their Web & Develpment program. It has a lot of the courses I'm interesting, besides Illustrator and Flash, it includes understanding copyright law in order to protect your intellectual property and SEO (search engine optimization), web standards, psychology of human interaction (understanding what drove/how to drive people to your site), just too many to list off the top of my head.

A couple of cons is that it's an accelerated degree, which means I'll get my BS in 21 months. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get a BS that quick, but there's an insane amount of work that goes into achieving that. Each class is four weeks long, and I just wonder is it possible to retain that kind of information in that time frame. If you fail the class you can retake for free, but I don't plan on failing (that's if I go there).

The second con would be they are only national accredited as opposed to being regionally credited. So if I wanted to transfer my credits to another school, like here in MA, it might be difficult. I don't think I would want to transfer here but you never know. I didn't think I would be transferring out of AAU.

I'm not too worried about accreditation because in the web world, it's not what school you went to, it's more about what you can do and how strong your portfolio is.

Ok, went back and got the links for the courses ~> http://www.fullsail.edu/online/degrees/web-design-bachelors/courses/index.html

Well that's it for now. I'm going to plow through my school work. My goal is to get ALL my homework done in the next few days (wish me luck) so I can focus on Isabella and her little sis. Oh and Tim too, lol. OMG and the business too. It's been sooooooo weird not painting this long and tending to my website/online stuff. Although I miss acrylics, I also want to create some more art via Illustrator. Oh and I'm looking to see if I can have Persephone turned into an actual toy. I found this site www.shapeways.com, you can upload a 3D model and they can turn it a 3D object.

Ok, that's it for real. Sorry to be rambling.

For my Illustrator class we had to create a 3D character. I'm going to name her Persephone per the suggestion of one of my classmates. I like how she came out. I only had time to spend a day on her. Had I spent a week as suggested by the course materials, I'm sure I could have made her more magnificent. At anyrate, here's Persephone =)



I'm way behind in my sketch class.

I am totally rocking it in my design class, got 'A's for the last four assignment.

I'm getting by in Photoshop class. I'm averaging 'B's. I don't understand anything this guy/the teacher is saying and we kind of have a personality conflict but the semester is almost over, so I'm hanging in there.

Illustrator is my favorite class. I love love love Illustrator, to the point I'm seriously considering doing digital art as well.

Unfortunately, I'm not going back to Academy of Art University next semester. I'm exploring other schools. Although the teachers are nice, it's just not the right fit for me.

I'm having major issues with the Accounts Receivable department. Things weren't represented to me properly, plus I caught an error that they are refusing to correct.

I decided to do a google search and typed in "Academy of Art Reviews" and came across links such as:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/academy-of-art-university-san-francisco-2
http://www.yelp.com/biz/academy-of-art-university-san-francisco-4
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Academy-of-Art-University-Reviews-E115340.htm

There are tons more like this, but it was enough pros/cons to aid in my decision.

Not sure where I will be heading, still investigating.

Will be sure to keep you posted.

Until next time =)

So for the illustrator class we had to create five buttons: home, help, download, on/off, and login. I don't remember how to do the lj cut thing, so here are the links to the images.

http://pics.livejournal.com/jaishi/pic/0001fgdr

http://pics.livejournal.com/jaishi/pic/0001gtr0

http://pics.livejournal.com/jaishi/pic/0001hd4k

http://pics.livejournal.com/jaishi/pic/0001k94b

http://pics.livejournal.com/jaishi/pic/0001pfw9

I like how these turned out. Also I got the grade for my midterm assignment.



I ended up getting a B+. Which I'm happy with. Still going to bust my butt and try to get 'A's. The teacher said it was good. Just that he wish I added more detail and that the title was to much of a contrast in terms of color with the rest of the magazine.

With all my classes I'm averaging at a B. I think if I had taken these classes back in the day when single and life was less complicated I would be averaging at an A. It's all good though, considering everything that has happen, I good with Bs but still striving for As, lol.

Well that's it. I really really miss painting. Well homework never ends so off to go do some more. Hope everyone is doing well.

Me.

I just found out (well I found out a couple of days ago) that one of my paintings is going to be in the ArtWanted calendar for 2010. That was an exciting email to get. I don't remember submitting anything and have no idea which painting will be featured. I think it's the one featured in my icon ("be true to yourself").

Still plugging away in with the school work. Out of all my classes I seem to be vibing with the Illustrator and Design class the most. The sketching class was a lot tougher than I could image and the photoshop is eh, I don't always understand what the teacher is trying to convey. I get the online course part, but when he's pointing things out to me in the discussions 50% of the time I have no idea what's he's taking about.

Next week Tim and I find out if we are having a girl or a boy. I'm very excited. I was suppose to find out this week but my appointments got all screwed up. It's kind of weird that Tim and I are having another child. I just thought it was going to be the three of us. We'll now it's going to be the four of us and that's it, lol. I love children but no more kids.

I've given up on being an EA (executive assistant). I've been looking for work for over a year now and nothing has come of it. I was way beyond burnt in that field (been doing it for 17 years) and I think it's the universes way of saying find a job that's meaningful.

I'm working on putting together a portfolio. I had a few designers look at my work and I've been told that it's on a professional level. I even had one teacher tell me that as well o_O. If I could get a design job that would be hot.

I have read a few articles that stated that it's not imperative to have your degree to be a designer, the degree is the icing on the cake. It is important to have an outstanding portfolio. I absolutely plan on finishing my degree but if I can work in the field while doing so that would be hot.

One of my last homework assignment was to create some buttons. I'll upload them on a separate post.

Well that's what is going on with me. I had more exciting news to post but my brain is all foggy. When I remember I'll be sure to post.

...a good kind of busy though. I'm enjoying all of my classes. Learning a lot. This week is midterm week and I have submitted 3 of the 4 due. I'm fighting the flu so that's making things a little harder. I'll get it all done though. Below is my midterm submission for my Digital Technology class.



We had to take a photo of ourself and draw it in Illustrator. We then had to take that image a create a magazine cover. We were given the text we should use but the kind of font and colors was up to us. I like how it came out...considering I never used Illustrator before this class.

Bella is doing well. She makes me smile everyday. It's hard to believe when she was born I could fit her in my two hands and now I need both arms.

Hope you are all doing well!!

xoxoxo

I'm learning my Design Technology class is basically a class on how to use Illustrator and I have to say I am loving it. Prior to taking these classes I only used Photoshop.

I also have another class Digital Imaging which is basically a class on how to use Photoshop and I'm am learning so much about PS too i.e. how to scan properly, how to resize images without messing up the pixelation etc etc. Did you know the pixel is short for picture element? lol.

At anyrate, the Design Technology class is totally inspiring me to experiment with doing some art digitally which I never really considered before. I learned how to use the pen tool and I think knowing how to use that is going to help a lot.

I'm just really enjoying that class. I think I made one mistake though. I ended up turning in one of my homework projects super early (it's easy to fall behind with the workload). I was the first to submit my homework and one of my classmates totally copied one of my elements in my last project. It's really irritating. I'm going to bring it to the teacher's attention and see what he has to say. I'm going to continue to try and get my homework done asap but I may now submit it on the due date or after this dude has submitted his work. I hate copy cats. If I inspire someone that's different but don't do the EXACT same thing I've done, lol.

In my other class, Sketching for Communication, I have learn how to add shading and highlight to an object. Do you know how long I've been trying to learn this????!!!!! I haven't mastered it quite yet but it is soooooo exciting to know how to do. My last project for this class was drawing complex objects in one and two perspectives, then add shading. This class is super time consuming but I'm almost done. It's interesting to draw while Isabella's awake. It's even more interesting to watch the videos. She'll stop whatever she's doing and watch the videos with me =)

If time permits, I'm going to start designing websites for folks. I've gotten requests in the past but was unable to because of my workload at the time. I should totally build a template site....we'll see.

Well that's what's been going on with me.

Other than school, things are starting to look up. 2008 (and part of 2009) was sooooooo hellish. It feels good to know that things are getting better and to have hope again.

Hope you all are doing well!!!!!!

Off to go read my friends page (.(^,_,^).)

Today I received Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium in the mail. I'm soooo excited. It came early (.(^,_,^).) Later on I plan to get Contribute and Soundbooth. The Design Premium Package has Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Bridge, Version Cue, Device Central, Acrobat & a training video. Also, once you register you get your choice of a free gift i.e. fonts, free training or a book discounts.

I so can't wait to dig in. I'm doing one last sweep of my laptop to make sure it is in absolutely order before installing the programs/applications. I haven't used Flash since the 90s so I can't wait to start get going on that and the other programs.

Well I better get to reading. I don't want to feel swamp with homework like I did last week. I got my grade back for the cup and saucer I drew.



I ended up getting a C+. I can't even be mad, the drawing was a little wonky, lol. The ellipse on the mouth of the cup is way off. Should have brought the back in and it should have been narrower. It's all good that grade just motivated me to only submit my ABSOLUTE best.

Well that's what's going on with me.

Ooooooh wait, Bella's teeth are coming in. She has two tiny bottom teeth popping up. I'll see if I can take a picture.

Hmmmm...that's it for now. Hope you are all doing well!

I've been working on a few different things for school. More than I have posted below but it gives you an idea =)

For my sketching for communication class we had to draw ellipses and basic shapes (cones, spheres,cylinders and cubes). We also had to draw a cup and saucer. I should have spent more time on the cup and saucer before submitting...I'll know for next time.



For my digital tools class we had to put something together in photoshop with the concept of "floating world". This ended up being harder that I thought it would be...but the cool thing is I learned how to create a reflection =)



For my design technology class we had to use Illustrator to create some kind of insect. Before this I had never used Illustrator so I'm okay with how my project came out considering.



I also had a concept, design and process class. In this class we had submit an ad from a magazine, book, etc and explain why it worked or didn't work.

I really enjoy all the classes and can't wait to see how I progress over the years.

Well that's pretty much it.

I'm not feeling to hot today so I'm off to got make some chicken soup. I've been eating wheat thins hoping that will help. The only thing that seems to be helping is water.

ok, I'm starting to ramble....ttys =)

Just a lot going on!

Haven't painted as much as I would like to. I have a painting that I really would like to get done. It's going to be a gift for someone special and just would like this person to have it sooner rather than later.

I'm working on putting some kind of schedule together so that I can optimize my time. It gets a little complicated with Ms. Inoshi as she does not like when I multi-task.

I started school on Sept 3rd. I ended up switching majors. I was originally an Illustration major but decided to pursue Web Design & New Media. I still plan on taking Illustration courses but will do so with my free electives. That way I have best of both worlds.

This semester I'm taking:
- Sketching for Communication
- Design Technology
- Concept, Design & Process
- Digital Imaging 1

Each class is super challenging. There's a lot of work & reading involved; hence my disappearance from LJ & FB. I'm starting to get into the swing of things so I'll slowly be coming back.

In other news, I have been offered a job. I'm extremely excited. It's not what I use to do and I'll be making half of what I use to make but the position offers the flexibility I'll need to take care of Isa's needs as well as provide me time to study for my classes and continue painting.

Hopefully 4 or 5 years from now I'll be working as a website/graphic/new media designer. Maybe sooner.

Things look like they are finally turning around =)

Thank you to everyone who offered their support during the rough patches *cough ~ Jasmine* *clearing throat ~ Deidre*, lol. Words could never express how truly appreciative I am!

It's super late (3:18am) and I have a 10am appt so I'm going to head off to bed.

I hope to be back on soon and catch up.

So I'm trying to raise some funds to defer the cost of school. I have an LE Print that I'm only offering for 3 bucks!! You can't beat that! lol.

This is the print:






They can be purchased directly from my website here ~> http://www.jaishi.com/tuition_fee.html

Please spread the word!! Thanks!

((hugs))

I just recently found out that I have been accepted by the Academy of Arts University. Words CANNOT describe the level of excitement I'm experiencing. I was hipped to the school by one of my LJ buddies Krisgoat. She RAWKS!

I've been waiting to get my BFA forever and now it looks like it is going to happen *smile*

I've been a busy bee working on many different projects.

One of them is a jewelry line. It's slowly coming along...but it's coming along =)

I'm estatic to show you earring designed and created by me. They were soooo much fun to make and I have a cazillion more designs in my head.

As a product is completed, I'll be sure to upload to show =)



(bigger picture over at Etsy)


I have priced them super low. All the silver components are sterling silver which tends to be priced a little higher.

At anyrate, if you know anyone who would enjoy them, they can be accessed here...
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28053824

There will be more earrings on the way
(.(^,_,^).)

I have a brand new product to introduce. Now in my Etsy shop are art pendants featuring my art work.

I will be slowly integrating them into my website as well and (if possible) see if I can sell them at some kind of fair.

If you would like to purchase any they can be access with the following link:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5034643§ion_id=6164410
I have a special running, where if you purchase three, you'll get a fourth one for free =)

I'm soooo excited =)

I have litte wood pieces that I also plan on painting on, either that or paint on canvas then adhere to the wood pieces and offer those as well.

The possibility are endless.

I have other projects I'm working on as well and hopefully will be able to unveil them soon. *squeel*