Global Game Jam 2014: Lost In Thought

This year I thought I'd try something different as a third year veteran. I conned my boyfriend to join me as a 2-person team rather than the 8 or 9 person team that I did in previous years. I've got to say, we're both quite pleased with how our game turned out.

We playfully named our temporary team Bad Wolf Studios because we're both Doctor Who nerds (as far as the new serials are concerned, Rose is still our favorite companion).

This year, the theme was a quote that said, "We do not see them as they are, we see them as we are." It's very cryptic to say the least. My boyfriend, Dr. John Watkins, was my concept and idea guy. I let him design the game's story and core concept. He'd come up with something, and I'd let him know if it was feasible for me within the 48 hours. Our premise was that the player had to navigate a maze to the center vortex, but the maze itself would be visible or invisible depending on the variables controllable by the player and their opponent.



Anyway, here is our game description from the GGJ website itself:

     Navigate your thought through the neurons to bring yourself into existance as a true thought. As a primary thought, you can see primary neurons (blocks in the prototype). Your Opponent is also a primary thought that can see primary neurons. Together, you can see secondary neurons. Controls: WASD or Arrow Keys to move your thought. 1, 2, and 3 to change your primary color. R to Restart Game.

If you're interested in playing the game or viewing the source files, you can do so here.

Pittsburgh Walk for ALS

Thank you for helping me reach my Walk to Defeat ALS® fundraising goal! This is an exciting opportunity for us to work together to support those affected by Lou Gehrig's Disease and to spread awareness of the urgency to find treatments and a cure.

Please consider walking with me or sponsoring me. With your help, we will be able to make a difference in the lives of people affected by this disease. I encourage you get your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers involved!

Why We Need Your Help

Often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of an ALS patient averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis.

Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries.

This crippling disease can strike anyone. Presently there is no known cause of the disease though support is bringing researchers closer to an answer. In the mean time it costs an average of $200,000 a year to provide the care ALS patients need. Help make a difference and donate or join a walk today.

If you think this page contains objectionable content, please inform the system administrator.

Click here to donate!!

New Web-Store!

Hello, everyone!  I'd like to introduce you to my new web-store, located at www.TessaLee.co/store!  There, you will find posters that I've made and/or compiled for sale.  I'll add to them over time, but you are absolutely welcome to purchase whichever one you want.  For now, only PayPal payments are being accepted.  Once you pay, I'll contact you for your shipping address, and off it'll go!

And I can do commissions too, but those prices are negotiable.

Aside from the new store feature, my portfolio got updated as well!  As you may have known, I worked with Carnegie Learning and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh to develop some wonderful, educational Flash games called Math Wonders.  I had my hand in the development of four different games:

Castle Constructor

Castle Constructor is an educational math game that focuses on getting the player to practice using their skills in counting, permutations, and combinations by building a three-story castle out of an inventory of blocks. If the player succeeds in building all of the possible combinations with the blocks available, they can choose to add another block to keep going, or continue for a higher score in permutations. With combinations, the order of the blocks used does not matter, only the types. With permutations, the order and type of block matters, so click wisely!

Fly Trap

Fly Trap is an educational math game that focuses on getting the player to practice using their skills in statistics by capturing flies to meet the challenge of a specific mean, median, or mode in a set number of trials. The number of trials per round vary from three to nine, so you're never playing the same game twice! Capturing a fly gives you a single coin, while winning the challenge gives you ten!

Poke The Animal

Poke The Animal is an educational math game that focuses on getting the player to practice using their skills in probability by testing the limits of various forest animals. Take your chances poking three animals based on their current moods. Will it bite you, or won't it?

Save The Garden

Save The Garden is an educational math game that focuses on getting the player to practice using their skills in quadratic functions by using a two wheel sprinkler system to keep the pests at bay. Spin the blue wheel, and you change the water's pressure; spin the red wheel, and you change the water's angle. Time is of vital importance!

Other minor updates include small adjustments to my resume, re-sized and re-positioned arrow buttons for navigating between portfolio pieces, and a new Store button for the main navigation menu.

2013 GA/GI Festival

The 2013 Geek Art / Green Innovation (GA/GI) Festival was held this weekend in Pittsburgh.  I had my computer system set up at the Most Wanted Fine Art gallery, and ready for passers-by to come play the game, Cell, that was developed by team No Brow at the Global Game Jam earlier this year.

Cell posters hung up inside the Most Wanted Fine Arts museum.

You can download and play the game from my website.  These are the three beautiful poster designs that came to fruition:

Cell Poster Design 1:  Victory Whitecell      |    Cell Poster Design 2:  Infected Whitecell

Cell Poster Design 3:  Environment Concept Art

The artwork was created by our Concept team, Katherine McLellan-Benedict and Amanda Wallenhorst.  I compiled the artwork into poster formats.  Each poster is 18" by 12", and will be for sale on my website soon!

Carnegie Learning Projects, Commence Beta!

I apologize for not posting in quite some time.  I've been shoulder deep in projects since two of my main projects are approaching their deadlines in March.  One of which is Modus Operandi.  You should check out the progress on its blog!

The other project are the four casual, but educational, games I've been programming for Carnegie Learning Inc.  Three of them have made it into Beta.  Please play-test them!  I could use all the feedback I can get!  Keep in mind that the art assets are still in development, so you'll be seeing a lot of wire-frames!

Alison Huettner, Carnegie Learning Project Manager
Patricia Huettel, Art Institute of Pittsburgh Project Manager
Jessica Leadbiter, Art Institute of Pittsburgh Junior Project Manager

Save The Garden - Beta Version 1.1
Tessa Liddington, Game Designer & Programmer
Amanda Wallenhorst, 2D Artist
Katherine McLellan-Benedict, 2D Artist

Poke The Animal - Beta Version 1.2
Robert Shilling, Game Designer
Tessa Liddington, Programmer
Alicia Thorpe, 2D Artist

Fly Trap - Beta Version 1.7
Theresa Drennan, Game Designer
Tessa Liddington, Programmer
Alicia Thorpe, 2D Artist

Global Game Jam 2013: Cell of Team No Brow

This weekend was the big weekend that hosted the long-awaited Global Game Jam 2013.  Every year, this event reaches game designers all around the world with the challenge of creating a game in 48 hours.  Sleep optional.

I was in a team of 8 people, including myself.  We called ourselves Team No Brow.

Back Row:  Kyle Hickey, Cody Wilcoxon, Matt Kline, Travis Kehler.
Front Row:  Katherine McLellan-Benedict, Amanda Wallenhorst, Jorden Jenkins, Tessa Liddington (me).

The game we developed is called Cell.  The player controls a T-Cell, named Whitecell, through the blood stream.  Help Whitecell navigate around cholesterol buildups and virus-infected cells to collect the much-needed red blood cells.  Collecting red blood cells increases the speed that Whitecell travels.  In order to defeat the master virus at the end of the level, Whitecell must be traveling at maximum speed (30+ red blood cells).

You can check out our game's Global Game Jam page here.
Click here to download Cell (UDKInstall-Cell.exe, 261.7 MB).

Cell was developed in Unreal Development Kit.  The environment and characters were modeled in 3D Studio Max 2013.  The menus and user interface were developed in Adobe Flash CS6.

My part in this project was integrating the custom splash and loading screen.  I programmed the interaction of the main menu and the in-game user interface in Action Script 3.0 and implemented them through Scaleform.  I also worked along our other tech guy, Kyle, in making the gameplay mechanics work through Unreal Kismet.

Gameplay screenshot of Cell.  Whitecell is swimming through the bloodstream and has collected 4 red blood cells.

Gameplay screenshot of Cell.  Whitecell has collided with a virus-infected cell and lost the collected red blood cells.

Friday

I was packing my computer and other belongings all day getting prepared for the event.  The site with which I was participating at would start at 7:00 PM, EST.  I arrived at the site minutes before 6:00 to unpack my vehicle.  We were given food at 6:30, courtesy of Buca's.  The opening ceremony started at 7.  There were speakers from Schell Games, Google, and more.  We dispersed around 9 to start working on our games.

Our team, later to be named "Team No Brow", discussed and brainstormed possible game ideas as I set up my computer.  I chimed in every so often and answered questions regarding the engine and mechanic possibilities, but I was otherwise not involved in the actual concept development.  Kyle, the engine pro on our team other than me, took the first shift in developing the first block-out with initial test mechanics.  I decided to go to sleep at midnight after the snack of pancakes and bananas.

Saturday

I didn't get much sleep.  The "sleep" room was a chorus of snores and people shuffling around.  I was in and out of consciousness for four hours.  I finally got up and rejoined my group shortly after 4 AM.  I went outside and moved my car to a free parking spot (it was previously in a paid parking spot, but they're only free after 6 PM) where it stayed all weekend.

By the time I got back, Kyle had laid down to sleep.  I took the files from Kyle and continued working on a few mechanics.  I created the Flash content for the UI and got it integrated into UDK with Scaleform.  I analyzed the work Kyle had done and worked on approving upon it - polishing it.  We paused production for breakfast at 9 AM.  A lot of my time went toward understanding the prefabs that Kyle made of the viruses and red blood cells, something that I wasn't familiar with in UDK.  This was something I learned coming out of the Global Game Jam.

After lunch, my time was spent fussing with the game menu, loading screen, splash screen, and UI.  Those were all quickly accomplished because of my knowledge of AS3 programming.  We were far enough along to have people playtest our game before dinner.

Kyle was starting to feel ill after dinner, and had called a cab to go home.  I kept working beyond midnight.  I was busy collecting the environment models from Matt and Travis and propulating the level with them.

I started getting dizzy around 3 AM, and Travis helpfully stepped in to finish propulating the level.  I crawled up with my blanket and pillow under the desk and passed out into blissful REM sleep.  My mind sure didn't take it's time in getting to that step.

Sunday

I finally woke up around 7:30 AM.  I'm not going to lie, I was truly amnesiac when I awoke, but quickly remembered where I was (I like to believe that that was the best sleep I've ever had considering I forced my brain to go directly to stage 4 in the sleep cycle).  The character team ran into a snag this morning.  For some reason, UDK did not like the eyes of our main character, and would fail to import them.  Jordan finally found a workaround after lunch and we got rolling with importing the main character and enemy into the game.

We entertained more playtesters and had a playable experience by noon, but we finally finished the game to a level of democratic satisfaction by 2:00 PM.  We started setting up for the big demo event at 3 and played out the rest of the afternoon talking to the other developers and discussing the games.

The closing ceremony started around 5 (I'm really not sure, I paid no attention to the time at this point).  Cake was served.  A couple of groups with people that I knew won the Audience Choice award and the GGJ's first penguin award.  We didn't win anything.  A lot of people on our team are competitive (myself included) so it's natural for us to feel disappointed about it.  However, the GGJ does not present itself as a competition.  All is well.

Monday

I was a pleasant person on Monday, despite my grogginess.  If anything, I went through Monday in a haze.  My dyslexia was rampant with every conversation I had that evening.  That's why I waited until today to write this blog.  Also, I only set my computer back up this morning.  The Global Game Jam was a wonderful experience, and I hope to participate every year!

Save The Garden (Alpha Version 0.8)

Play testing time for Save The Garden!

You have 90 seconds to get the most amount of points possible. This game is still in the alpha stage, so almost all of the graphics are still in development. You'll be seeing wire-frames of the game.

Controls:
Click a wheel (blue circle) to start changing the sprinkler's tilt angle or the water pressure. Roll the mouse wheel, arrow keys, or WASD to "roll that wheel" to increase/decrease the value of whatever wheel you're on.

You gain points for watering the plants, and you lose them if a pest eats it. The red "target" zone shows where the water is hitting in the garden.

Critiques Please!
I'd like to know the timing of things. Should the pests take a longer time to eat the plant? Are things spawning at a decent rate? Do you have enough time to save a plant if a pest comes at it? Is it challenging enough? Is anything getting stuck? Etc. Etc.

I suck at playing games, so I'm not sure if it's too challenging for everybody, or just me. If you don't have much to say on the game, at least tell us your score!

Click Here to Play Save The Garden.
Keep in mind that the webpage you're going to will continue to update the version of this game as it progresses in development. This post refers to the specific Alpha version of 0.8. If you're unsure what version you're playing, refresh the page until you see it on the bottom left of the game's screen.

Little Updates Here and There

Artificial Intelligence? I'm doing it right!

So I've been working on that Math Wonder game a lot lately.  I've got most of the functionality for the plants working, but it is time to start developing the behavior of the pests.  I first started with the bird.  Now I've made code to for the bird to find a garden plot with a plant, and to check and double check to see if it is already being eaten by another pest.  The bird flies down (in horror because it's not smooth yet, ha!) and lands on the plant.  So far, I haven't had two pests land on the same one since the double checking system, and it all works fine for a first prototype.

However, when I decided to go to bed, I was feeling kind of bummed.  I thought to myself, "wow, I'm totally faking AI.  I wish I could really program AI.  That'd be awesome."

I then took a moment to think about that word, artificial intelligence.  It's definition is practically faking intelligence.  So if I'm faking the fake intelligence, I must be doing it right!  I'm really programming AI.  I didn't feel so bad anymore.

Grand Paws Pet Sitting and Home Care

I've been diving really far into programming lately, and all of it has gotten my creative juices flowing.  I needed an outlet.  I currently work with Grand Paws as a Pet Care Professional, but their Facebook logo was so blurry, and (no offense) their website looked like something my mom would have designed for them when she was into the glittering doll graphics phase (the ones that were like a digital version of paper dolls with changeable outfits).

Regardless, I've taken it upon myself to redesign their logo and website to help give them a more professional appeal to potential clients.  So last night, I came up with this:

Julie, our coordinator in Arizona, liked it and will be transitioning to use it on their documents and company profile photos.  You can visit their website at www.GPPetSitters.com.  I'm currently working on creating wire-frames for the website, but I won't be showing them to anyone anytime soon!

Math Wonder Takes Shape!

One of my latest projects is between the collaboration of the students at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and their client, Carnegie Learning, Inc.  The students have formed groups and each group is working on their own educational Flash game, also known as a Math Wonder.

My Math Wonder is called Save The Garden.  I'll be working with Amanda Wally, my character artist, in making this game fun, functional, and pretty to look at (oh, how I love the pretties!).

While this game is not yet into the Alpha phase, it is still in development, I'll soon be inviting you all to play-test this game (:

Perception Versus Perspective

My latest Unity 3D project is now available via my online portfolio.  Click here to play it!

A 3x3 grid with two "distractor "blocks, and no target.

This project was brought to me by Jon Amakawa, my former instructor at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.  The client, Columbia University of New York, needed a program to assist in conducting their study on the response time when searching for the target block (T) among blank blocks, and distracting blocks (L).

The finished product was capable of being completely customized by the client.  They can control the grid size, number of  "distractor" blocks displayed per trial, number of total trials, how many times the target gets shown among the trials per session, and more.

Super Random!!! Ahhh!

• The order of trials in which the target block appears is randomly chosen.  It could be any two out of five, for example.
• The amount of displacement of the blocks' position in their grid are random.  Some are moved a little right or left, up or down, or tilted to the left or right.
• The block that displays the target (T) is randomly chosen, if it is displayed at all.
• The blocks that display the distractions (L) are randomly chosen.

Awesome results, you say?

The finished product also produced results that were hidden from the participant in the form of a CSV file.  Each file is individually named based on the subject number and session number.  The subject number is specific to each build, while the session number increments each time the participant chooses to continue on another session of the same build.

Other results include the response time of the participant per trial, whether or not there was a target displayed in the trial, and which button the participant responded with.  This information yields such information such as if the participant was correct in spotting a visible target, correct in deciding that there was no target when one was not displayed, incorrect if the participant thought they saw a target when one was not displayed, or incorrect if the participant did not find the target when one was displayed.

This project was a fun one.  Thank you, Mr. Amakawa for entrusting me with it.

A Medieval Christmas Carol

Tonight is the opening night for the live-performance show, A Medieval Christmas Carol!

Click here for more information.

I will be portraying the lovely Squire Tim each and every show.

We host a medieval dinner to our guests on Friday nights only!  We accept tips!

Wassail!  Drink hail!

Lifestyle Changes

Hello World! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday! I enjoyed mine as much as possible. Unfortunately, my domestic life is going under construction, so my interactivity on this blog and my website will be limited. I'd like to congratulate my previous photographer, Courtney Lynne Brush, on her success as an Airman and her recent engagement. She decided to move in with her fiance immediately, so I will be spending my time looking for a new roommate or a new place. Speaking of searches, I've had luck in finding a reliable, field-related job in the area. I've been scheduling appointments for interviews, phone screenings, etc. I hope to announce that I've gotten a job in the near future. Another new change has yet to come! I have plans on attending the Pittsburgh Technical Institute (PTI) for their Associate's Degree program on Computer Programming. While my Bachelor's Degree at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh exposed me to the wonders of game-play programming, I feel like I lack the classical training of a true programmer. Furthermore, I'd like to expand my knowledge in the subject so that I can work a job in what I truly love to do.

Fuck This Jam

Good morning, gamers!

Today marks the first day of the newest Jam I've discovered.  Provocatively named "Fuck This Jam" (wow, won't that be a great eye-catcher on the resume!) is about creating a game in the genre you like the least.  Personally, I really hate card games, but I guess it's not really a "video game" genre.  In that case, the runner-up for me would be those mindless Facebook clicking games.

Here is the introductory Keynote video for Fuck This Jam:


Welcome to Fuck This Jam!

"Fuck This Jam is a jam centered around the theme of making a game in a genre you hate. Through utter ignorance for conventions and hate for the established rules of a genre, beautiful things will happen. The jam lasts from Friday November 9th 18:00 until Saturday November 17th 18:00. "

If you're interested in forming and/or joining a team, or simply getting involved yourself, you can sign up here!  I'm not technically hosting a gathering for the Pittsburgh location, but you are welcome to come to my house to work!

Double Life: Music

The team and I at Olopezo, Inc. are trying to get the word out about our newest project, Double Life: Music.  I'd like to give a super thank you to Deana Carpenter, a writer for the online newspaper called the Almanac, for talking with the company's founder, Constantine Paliouras, and writing an article about this great project.

Double Life: Music is 20% funded so far.  The goal is $100,000 by November 14th.  Please help us by becoming a sponsor.  Even the dollar that's been wedged in your couch for the past month is worth it.

Click to enlarge and read the full article.

The article was published online on October 24, 2012.  You can download a PDF version of the full page here.  I did a search for "Paliouras" to find the specific page, but it's under "Community News", page B05.  Even includes a few coupons that don't expire until mid-November.

First Breath in the Real World

I haven't posted a blog in a while, but I sure have not been idle.  I graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science last month and I'm definitely showing it off!  I've been keeping up with Twitter and Facebook  with the more daily and weekly news in my professional life, but I think I've collected enough to warrant a blot post.

I received an email from a previous instructor, Jon Amakawa, the night of the Portfolio Show regarding a contract job for Columbia University of New York, NY.  I accepted the job, of course, and it's practically finished already.  I'm waiting on feedback from the client regarding the files I sent them.  I hope they like the progress!

I also recently signed a contract with Carnegie Learning in their collaboration with the students of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.  This project isn't paid, but they want to create educational Flash games (which uses my personal favourite language, AS3) for students of various ages.  This connection may provide job opportunities for students or myself in the future.  Regardless, it will look nice on my portfolio page.

Alongside that project, I'm still available to 7th Level Studios as a Consultant for their newest project, Modus Operandi.  While my work there was nearly finished, there is still more to be done and I'm not the type to just leave a team hanging.  You can watch the progress for Modus Operandi on their blog.

Oh, and I'm not done yet.

I also signed up to be a Pet Care Professional in my free time with Grand Paws Pet Sitting and Home Cleaning.  You can email them for services at GrandPawsPetSitting@yahoo.com or visit their website at www.GPPetSitters.com.  You can also call them at (412) 400-4531.  Not only do they visit your pet, but there are sitters available as a pet taxi service that can provide transportation for you and your pet to the veterinarian, airport, and other locations.  I have a diabetic dog to take care of at home, so the well-being of my little girl is important to me.

But wait, one more!

Today I joined with Olopezo, Inc. to work on developing their latest Kickstarter project, Double Life: Music.  We're creating an online, social networking game for musicians and music fans all over the world.  Imagine Facebook, The Sims, and Rock Band being smashed together inside a browser or your mobile device.  This game is an innovative way for musicians to get their music heard, collect income, and even get record deals IN REAL LIFE through a video game!  You can check out the company website or Double Life: Music's Kickstarter page for more information on them.

Don't feel shy, pledge some money to help fund this project!

Achievement Unlocked: Bachelor's Degree

I had a great time at the Portfolio Show.  My family came down from Brookville to help set up my booth in the morning and they were a great support system in the few hours before the big meet and greet with the field professionals.

I met many people including the friends and families of other graduates, continuing students from my own major looking into what's expected of them in the end, and several game studios that will surely be seeing my applications soon enough if they haven't already.

As promised, here are a few photos from the show (photography by Dan Dexter):

I am all dressed up to look professional next to my finish display.

This is the final product of my display at the Portfolio Show.  Look at my sexy mug.

My mother and my niece were caught taking pictures.  I love how supportive my family is.

Matt Gillmeister, the winner for the Best of Show award for Game Art & Design, still took interest in the prototypes I had on display.

Overall, I am very excited for the results that shall yield from the Portfolio Show.  Congratulations graduates!  We did it!

Preparing for the Portfolio Show

All this week, I'll been preparing for the Portfolio Show for Thursday and making sure I have everything I wanted to give away ready.  For starters, my custom pens arrived early this morning:

They're the twisting kind so you don't stab yourself in the pockets.

I also had gotten most of the printing done on yesterday (all except for the DVD labels that I had to go home and fix in Photoshop).  But this is essentially what I will be giving away!

Custom pens in my custom mug, DVD demo reels that include a resume insert, business card, and the DVD with a custom label and case cover.  You can find a total of five logos on a single DVD give-away.

I also got a really sexy logo printed that I'll be cutting out to display at the top of my booth:

Sexy logo by Catzi Lacerenza.

Wish me luck!

Deep Breath.

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend.  I had a lot of work going on for me, such as programming the HUD for Modus Operandi, trying to make Pretend a little more appealing, brainstorming for a better demo reel, and working on the construction of my portfolio booth.  However, the portfolio booth is the only thing that I have pictures of right now.  The rest have their own respective places on the internet and you can click on their links to learn more about them.  So without further ado:

Latest photo of the semi-assembled portfolio booth.

This is my portfolio as it sits in my bedroom, minus the top-middle piece of fabric.  I haven't quite decided how I want that part to look yet; but whatever I do with it, it'll need to be done at the beginning of the show because it wouldn't be able to fold up neatly otherwise.  The two on the sides have been folded and stapled nicely.

Also, I got the monitor to stay up!

My monitor staying on the booth wall like a boss.

Last weekend, I was having an issue because it was too top-heavy.  My mother thought it would be a good idea to make a lip in the front for the monitor to sit on, but it is actually too narrow.  Naturally, I asked my mom for help because she's the construction woman of the year, and this is what I got.

Yes, that is indeed crayon.  No, I didn't get my drawing skills from her.

So... It was pretty close.  I just made this instead.

Displaying my awesome girl scout knots (not).

Those are absolutely, without a doubt, lanyards.  Three lanyards, actually.  But unlike my mother's very detailed drawing, the monitor was top-heavy like I mentioned before.  So I had the lanyards pull down on the back of the monitor (reversing what my mother suggested) so that the screen would appear upright and correct.

The lanyard is clipped onto the screw-loop thing.

About a year ago, I wanted to buy a lanyard and two card holders, one for my school ID and one for the bus passes.  However, they didn't seem to sell just one lanyard, so I had gotten a pack of ten.  Over time, I've been finding different uses for them.  My roommate used two to makeshift a temporary strap for her camera.  I have one rigged up to the standing fan in our apartment because it sort of broke and it's holding the fan to face people rather than the ceiling.  Another one was cut and melted to mend a belt.  I believe only one is actually being used as a lanyard for a USB drive (that I don't even use anymore).  Go figure, when I got a car and a fancy purse, I didn't need the lanyard anymore because I didn't want the whole thing dangling from the ignition and tickling my legs like little spiders.

Anyway, I had felt like a genius when I pulled out the lanyards and tied it all together.  They're actually quite stable the way it all holds together.  And no, you can't poke them at Portfolio Review.

Checkpoint!

So the booth had a concept, was measured and constructed from plywood, and now the fabric has been bought and mostly applied.  There's still some things that need to be done, such as creating the anchor in the back of the monitor that hangs on top, a banner with my name (and maybe my logo, it hasn't even been designed yet), and the cutting of the fake, red velvet to place neatly along the top and sides.

Other than that, fixing up my missing website pieces (portfolio thumbnails and missing videos) are my next priority!  My first demo reel will be available this Wednesday.  But, avast ye; here are some updated photos of the portfolio booth thus far:

Pictured above:  How not to use a staple gun (my mother and Tammy).

My mother and our friend, Tammy, had gone to the local Jo-Anne Fabric's store on Saturday and was working right outside their front door to rush in getting the base, gray fabric all tight and stapled onto each board.  We needed to make sure we had enough materials, hence being right outside their doors.

I'm screwing in the hinges of the left wing onto the back base.

After all of the gray fabric was stapled on and I bought a large amount of fake, red velvet fabric, I strapped the portfolio stand to the roof of my car, we traveled back home to Pittsburgh, where I reassembled the pieces in my bedroom.

The reassembled portfolio booth after being covered in fabric.

Personally, I think I did an okay job for not being able to see the lines.

The portfolio as it stands now (as of this post, of course).

The decorative fabric, tassels, and whatnot haven't been fully decided yet, but that's where the project leaves off this weekend and will continue onto the next!

Save Before the Boss Battle

Although I haven't posted on here in about a month, I've not been idle!  I've been doing some reworking on Pretend, my website, and the newest project called Modus Operandi.

Portfolio Review is in just a few short weeks, and my mother (who's much better than me at carpentry) is helping me build and assemble my portfolio booth (actually, I'm more or less watching and sometimes holding something, she's the real deal).  At any rate, I spent Sunday and Monday at my mother's house, and it's quite a fun project.  Here's some fun photos of the project in progress (more pictures available on my Facebook)

A rough 3D model I made of  my portfolio booth I imagined (this was done back in December of  last year).  A keyboard and mouse is currently missing from the model.

My mother is measuring the board for where the monitor will poke through.

My mother and her cat, Squeakers, work diligently together on the hinges.

Pictured Above:  How not to use a saw.

The front base has the hole cut out to hold the lower monitor.

The stand is almost complete!

The skeleton for the stand is finished and ready for the next step.

I'll be visiting my mother in my hometown again next weekend.  We'll be sanding out the boards and painting them with Gesso, and then finally wrapping them in fabric for the big finish.

Looks like I'll need to design a banner or something with my name on it.  We'll see what looks good once the base fabric is on.

On another note, I've gotten 500 business cards printed out!  They have a glossy finish too.

My phone number has been blurred out for obvious reasons.  I also cleaned up the background in Photoshop because it was an ugly napkin, ha!

So keep the Portfolio Review date in your minds!  It's September 13th!