hsapiens - I'm back -- and updates

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11 June 2007 @ 10:20 am

I'm back -- and updates

Car show was yesterday and it was amazingly successful. Lots of raffle tickets sold and attendance continues to increase. FedEx was a new sponsor this year (they have a branch that does things like move cars) and they're excited to increase their involvement for next year. That's crucial because it's a new show and getting spectacular cars from around the country is easier when transport of some multi-million dollar car is no cost to the owner. I wasn't certain I'd make the show when I woke up with a headache bad enough to provoke vomiting but I managed to make it and I'm so glad. Joe works really hard on the show and it shows. The car owners love him and the show -- and I know he's passionate about cars.

I'm glad he has that show because he's not sanguine on the chances of getting Black Tie and Boots again this next go-round. I'm sorry for that because it's a huge, high profile event and pays well but there are some good reasons to forgo it. And I'll be happy if he doesn't disappear for - literally - the entire month of January 2009. We'll see.

~~**~~

I worry that I'm becoming a paranoid hypochondriac but I have this sinking feeling that Sunday's difficulties might be due to Saturday night's party, where I met and shook hands with dozens of people who'd been gnoshing on shrimp cocktail. That level/type of blinding headache is something I associate with my response to seafood so I'm wondering if that's the cause. I wish I knew for certain because it may be that I need to look into some sort of medically supervised desensitization just for my own safety. Or peace of mind. Something to add to my research list.

~~**~~

LIMS competitions are fabulous for icon makers looking for real feedback. I made it through Round 3 of the

lantis_lims (whew!) but the feedback is invaluable. Not everyone is as lucky as I am to have had

paddies take the time to dissect and discuss one's work so if you're looking for a place to discuss icons and get honest feedback, I recommend checking out a LIMS community. I really wish there were one for SG-1.

After the winners and losers are announced each time, there's a post where people can show their alternates. This is my favorite part because people who are interested in getting/giving feedback hang out there. I've gotten some invaluable advice and been given new things to think about.

I didn't set out wanting to "win" this competition - my goal was the more modest one of not being eliminated in the first round - but now I find I want to stay in for as long as possible because the feedback is addictive. Knowing what someone likes -- but more importantly what they *don't* like -- is instructive and helps me develop an eye.

~~**~~

I've missed a metric ton of stuff on LJ. I'll be delving back into my flist as soon as possible.

Tags: pride, real life

19 comments | Leave a comment

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paian on June 11th, 2007 04:09 pm (UTC)

Glad to hear the car show went well! And the LIMS competitions sound wonderful -- it would be great if there were one for SG-1. I just opened the most recent 'alternates' post in the Atlantis one and I can already see that it'll be fascinating to poke around. Lot to learn from the fb other people are getting.

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 11th, 2007 05:01 pm (UTC)

I'm very glad for him; the car show is his baby and I'm happy to see it succeed.

I was convinced to try the LIMS mostly for the feedback and it has been exceptionally helpful. I should edit my original post and add a link to alternative entries for those who want to see what I'm talking about, I think.

I've been wishing I had a way of talking the mod of this LIMS to run one for SG-1 as well because she's a great mod and she has assembled an OMG-so-talented group of participants, but I think she'd rightly tell me to jump off a cliff. Doesn't stop me from dreaming, though!

I haven't had a chance yet to write you feedback for the Aliens Made Them Do It story that wrote but I DID read it last night and um, well, holy moly but it was hot and made me sad for the characters and I loved every single word of it. I have you and

niamaea on the top of my list for LJ-spelunking/commenting when I get the opportunity.

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paian on June 13th, 2007 04:23 pm (UTC)

Oh yay, so glad you liked the fic! Thanks for reading! And that's fb right there. Thank you! :-)

niamaea is just writing the most wonderful things. I am so happy she came into SG-1 fandom. She just blows me away time after time. And then she's charming and funny and down-to-earth and clever, too. ::happy sigh::

I'm still exploring the Atlantis LIMS -- thanks again for linking to that. Even just watching from the sidelines is really instructional.

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 13th, 2007 04:51 pm (UTC)

Well, it isn't the fb I wanted to give. I want to go back and give more detailed and (hopefully) thoughtful fb because it is a powerful piece and I wanted to spend a little more time with it.

I am going to be meeting

niamaea in real life at the NJ con in November (if she isn't smart enough to hide first)! I have no idea where you are in this world or if that sort of thing interests you...but I thought I'd pass that info along for your consideration. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am about my flist. I have the most amazing women on it.

You don't have to be a participant to vote, if that sort of thing interests you. I found that being forced to look at a batch of icons and articulate what I do and don't like about them is a good tool for improving my icon making. Having to decide, "do I vote against this one because I dislike 'x' about it or do I vote against this other one because I dislike 'y' about it," helps me see what it is I value most in making an icon.

Of course, if you're writing more excellent fic or making that smoking hot icon you discussed, just ignore me entirely. :)

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ireth-e.livejournal.com on June 11th, 2007 05:14 pm (UTC)

You can be certain that for every someone that likes a certain thing about an icon, there's at least one other someone that doesn't like exactly that thing :) But getting real feedback might be addictive, I suppose (and I see two of my most favorite icon makers in the list of participants, so it's gotta be helpful)
Why don't you create it- a lims community for SG1?

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 11th, 2007 06:28 pm (UTC)

Oh - absolutely. Last week's feedback had one comment about thinking the texture use overwhelmed the subject while the other comment loved the texture use. This week, though, I received 2 comments and both talked about the texture overwhelming the subject. OK, I see a pattern and that tells me I need to step back, look at it with a fresh eye, and figure out what *I* think. I appreciate frank feedback, even if I end up disagreeing with it. I've found that just being forced to address an issue makes me pay attention to an area where perhaps I've been neglectful.

Oh yes, the participants in the LIMS are stellar; I almost decided against participating because I'm nowhere near their "league." Once I'd decided that winning wasn't my goal, though, I could see a lot of benefits from participation. Also? I've been wanting to work on a couple of skills, namely the aforementioned texture use and blending images. Those two skills are highly prized along with composition/crop in that particular LIMS so I'm forcing myself to work on them by participating. It's also instructive to see what talented people at whose altars I burn incense come up with given the same set of caps that I have. I love caps challenges. :)

Why don't you create it- a lims community for SG1?

ME?!? [/squeak] I suppose I didn't consider that because I'm lazy and I like for other people to be the mods. :) I'll have to give it some serious thought but I feel as if participating in

oneill_icontest and

lantis_lims fill my icon time very nicely. Mod'ing would take a whole lot more time than simple participation, I love that those two comms run on time and would feel a lot of pressure to stick to schedule if I were in charge, but maybe if I had a partner it would be manageable?

(I'm struggling with the caps for this week's

oneill_icontest. I'm just lacking in icon fu at the moment because O'Neill + Beer Bottles = Very Happy Mental Images but I'm just totally flat in color and, honestly, ideas. I am so very, very bummed.)

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paddies.livejournal.com on June 11th, 2007 06:57 pm (UTC)

Welcome back! :D:D:D *clings*

Not everyone is as lucky as I am to have had paddies take the time to dissect and discuss one's work so if you're looking for a place to discuss icons and get honest feedback, I recommend checking out a LIMS community.

I'm glad you find the LIMS experience useful (and hopefully fun)! :-) I usually don't like them (or any kind of competition, actually), because to me it's truly all about personal opinion. More often than not, I find myself liking icons that the majority of people don't like, so it's kind of frustrating to me.

I do like the idea of showing the alternates and giving/getting feedback, tho. :-)
Still, aside from some technical aspects (wrong aspect ratio, icon too dark, oversharpened, text without anti-alias, etc), in the end it's all about personal taste.

/ramblings

♥

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 11th, 2007 07:32 pm (UTC)

That's a HEROES icon you have there!!!! *extreme excitement* You're iconning Heroes. When may I look forward to a post from you on that? :) :) :) Not to pressure you or anything.

~~**~~

I can only participate in something like a LIMS because I truly do not care about "winning." I'm normally an overly competitive person, to the point of not participating if I think I'm unlikely to win. (I'm talking here about life in general rather than icons specifically.) I don't think that's healthy and I'm trying to wean myself from it. Because I now feel comfortable with making icons even though I have areas I wish to improve, I'm not hurt by not winning and I'm able to enjoy participating for the sheer joy of doing the best I can and then looking forward to being blown away by other people's creativity.

You're absolutely correct that it's all about taste. All too often in voting communities the outcome is not in agreement with my own. In fact, sometimes it's the exact opposite. Then again, I'm a politically liberal vegetarian living in Texas; I'm used to being outside the mainstream. :)

What I like about LIMS as opposed to regular competition is the requirement for *reasons* for voting. I'm confident enough in myself to be able to read feedback and make my own decision as to whether I agree with it. It helps that I respect my fellow participants for having a good eye and good taste. But I do believe that if a preponderance of the comments agree on a particular point, then it's time to take a hard look if it's something I've previously kind of blown off. I might *still* disagree but at that point it's a stylistic choice rather than blindness.

Also, for me, it's incredibly instructive to see what talented people do with the same caps I had to turn them into gems. It's all well and good for me to look at a page of, say, gorgeous

paddies icons, and to say, "wow! she picks the most incredible, dramatic scenes to icon and I love her work." I get a different sense of

paddies icon if, faced with the same "ho hum" cap I had, she turns it into a stunning work of art using colors and textures to extract the drama/beauty/whathaveyou from something that I only thought was "ho hum." People with real talent can make a stock photo of a paperclip into a great icon. If that makes sense.

It's one of the reason I love the alternates posts. You can see some of the struggles that went into making a great icon as well as the ones that the icon maker thought weren't quite up to snuff.

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paddies.livejournal.com on June 11th, 2007 08:04 pm (UTC)

That's a HEROES icon you have there!!!! *extreme excitement* You're iconning Heroes. When may I look forward to a post from you on that? :) :) :) Not to pressure you or anything.

Eeeeeeeeeeh. I just finished making the Heroes animated mood theme and I started working on some static icons... :-)

To be honest, I'm not really happy about those icons...I made around 30 so far, and the ones I actually like aren't more than 6-7... *iz bummed*

I just, I don't know. I think I have to be "in love" with a character to be able to iconize it well. And even tho I like pretty much every single character on Heroes, I don't "passionately, madly, deeply" love anyone.

Or maybe I just lost my icon mojo, dunno... :(

It helps that I respect my fellow participants for having a good eye and good taste. But I do believe that if a preponderance of the comments agree on a particular point, then it's time to take a hard look if it's something I've previously kind of blown off. I might *still* disagree but at that point it's a stylistic choice rather than blindness.

That's quite true, and I definitely see your point, here. :-)

Also, for me, it's incredibly instructive to see what talented people do with the same caps I had to turn them into gems.

Also very true. Seeing the way different people work with the same cap can be quite interesting and it can make you look at your pics from a different point of view... :-)

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 11th, 2007 08:26 pm (UTC)

HIRO! I'll tell you right now: I love, love, love, LOVE that coloring and the crop is great and it just captures the moment. "Do not worry New York! I will save youuuuuuuu!"

I don't think you have lost your mojo. Especially since I'm looking at two nice Heroes icons. :)

Moving into a new fandom involves transition. There's the obvious difference in the show ethos but there's also differences in lighting, differences in camera work, and, honestly, I think it DOES take several rounds to get a feel for the characters. I hate, hate, hate my first batches of icons in any new fandom I've delved into. They're stock, they're bland, they're "eh." I think it's one of the reasons I haven't developed much beyond SG-1. But if I do a second and third batch, I tend to find I get a feel for the show and I am less embarrassed by those. It sounds as if it's the same for you, perhaps.

And let's face it, after you've had Brian and Justin, who can compare? ;-)

I'm sorry that you're not happy with what you've produced for Heroes but I hope you keep at it. I think you've got a lot to offer that fandom. (Of course, I hope you don't forget Brian and Justin. Their love shall never die and neither shall my love for them.)

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paddies.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 10:14 am (UTC)

HIRO! I'll tell you right now: I love, love, love, LOVE that coloring and the crop is great and it just captures the moment. "Do not worry New York! I will save youuuuuuuu!"

Eeeh...thank you so much, darling! I actually like the few icons I uploaded here...it's the other 20+ that I'm not satisfied about... :(

Moving into a new fandom involves transition. There's the obvious difference in the show ethos but there's also differences in lighting, differences in camera work, and, honestly, I think it DOES take several rounds to get a feel for the characters.

Very true. Maybe I'll just have to make 200+ icons to find 50-60 icons worth posting...*sweats*

And let's face it, after you've had Brian and Justin, who can compare? ;-)

Also very true. Their prettiness alone make for a good icon...:D

I'm sorry that you're not happy with what you've produced for Heroes but I hope you keep at it. I think you've got a lot to offer that fandom. (Of course, I hope you don't forget Brian and Justin. Their love shall never die and neither shall my love for them.)

Well, I'll post the mood theme soon (as soon as life will give me a break) and maybe I'll even post some of the static ones I made, maybe people will like them...who knows? *ponders*
And I'll never forget B/J...I'll start iconizing them again pretty soon, in fact. *nods*

:x:x:x

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 04:47 pm (UTC)

I actually like the few icons I uploaded here...it's the other 20+ that I'm not satisfied about... :(

You know, I can completely understand that. However, if your objections are not about technical issues (aspect ration, too dark, etc.) I would urge to consider publishing them anyway -- so long as it wouldn't be a source of deep embarrassment to see them pop up on your f-list.

I regularly publish icons I don't really like (in the sense of they aren't something *I* would adopt or use) and I'm often shocked at how many people like the icon that I thought was marginal. It's all back to personal opinion. :)

Besides, I'm being very selfish. I'd love to see your work.

I think keeping the QaF alive is good not only for your flist's happiness but to convince you that your mojo is, in fact, alive and kicking.

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mrkamikaze.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 04:00 am (UTC)

pics are up in two posts at www.baldheretic.com

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 04:41 pm (UTC)

YAY!!!!!!!!!! I love the details you chose, most especially that first one. I loved that car and your shot is fabulous. And the panorama blew me away. That's the sort of shot I always wanted to take but never captured. I know you put together a bunch of pics to get it. I'm VERY glad you came and shot the show. Thank you!

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 05:22 pm (UTC)

BTW, I just tried to comment at your blog but it generates errors (error number 145) in trying to open wp_comments.MYI and ends with a note that it's aborting Spam Karma. Maybe something got screwed up in the server change?

So...here is what I tried to put there:

I know exactly what you're talking about. I see a cool detail that I really want to capture but I want in the context of the car as a whole. It's frustrating. I like what you've got here.

I'm especially loving the first detail. Not only because it was one of my favorite cars - though I'll admit it biases me - but I think the cropping captures much of the car's spirit. I like the compromise between detail/whole car.

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mrkamikaze.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 06:39 pm (UTC)

I appreciate your observations!
Do me a favor, I think I have the site working again. Would you please go back and see if you can leave that comment?

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 06:55 pm (UTC)

Done. Of course, I was flagged as a spammer but it is working now. :)

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wive.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 05:53 pm (UTC)

Glad that the show did great!
And that your head decided it would be fun to go. LOL

Oh those LIMs look hard. You did good!
I love how you get feedback on your alternates.
WOW that is a though crowd!

HUGS!

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hsapiens.livejournal.com on June 12th, 2007 06:16 pm (UTC)

Hey you! Thank you. :) The money raised all goes to charity so that's a bonus. The fact that my head decided to cooperate was a happy thing.

The LIMS *are* hard. I don't know that I'll be around for too many more rounds but I'll try my hardest to stay in the game. The feedback, though, is proving very useful to me so I'm willing to slog through even my current lack of icon fu. It is a very tough crowd but kind of like the hardest classes in school taught me the most, the toughest crowd inspires me to try my hardest and teaches me the most.

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