Rest in peace, old layout. I knew you well:

And if you teleported to this post via some inexplicable means (link, RSS, black magic, etc.), here’s a link to the current layout.

*This might not be the last change to the website, and I do NOT swear.

Smell that? That's the manly aroma of progress.

Though my grainy cellphone picture might suggest otherwise, I’m very satisfied with the print quality, especially considering I paid $15 + shipping for 100 double-sided cards in full color. The Staples up the street wanted my first born (or an additional $10, depending one who’s telling the story).

Now I’m just WAITING for someone to ask me if I have a card. Being able to hand them one will be a welcomed change from scrambling to find a Sharpie and a napkin.

Am I finally satisfied? Probably not.

First, a brief history lesson: When I was in high school, I came up with a mascot/logo with which to brand all of my creative work. He was known as the Blue Yeti, and I love him dearly. The first personal domain I ever purchased was www.blueyetie.net, which currently points to this website. A few years later, that additional “e” on the end finally sent me over the edge, spiraling in to dark, psychotic depression.

Well, not really.

What DID happen was me taking my first steps towards being a creative professional and wanting a URL I didn’t have to spell out. With that, www.epichippo.com was born. Unlike the Blue Yeti, I had never drawn what the Epic Hippo looked like. Whenever I did think of it, I’d either imagine some truly epic hippopotamus standing on the edge of a cliff at sunset, cape blowing in the wind as lightning struck in the background or a more ironic approach of a very regular looking hippo in the middle of eating some grass, barely aware his likeness was being captured (do hippos even eat grass?).

Well, a few days ago, I decided to finally render the hippo. Before I even got started, however, I thought to myself, “Why hath I forsaken thine Yeti of yesteryear?” because that’s how I talk in my head. At that point I decided they would be Best Friends Forever, and both be my logo(s).

Started off with this:

Ended up with this:

Introducing Epic the Blue Yeti, and Hippo the… Hippo.

I’m so satisfied with how they came out that I’m considering making a comic about them. I fear that Hippo is a little too generic at the moment, though. Maybe I’ll give him an eye patch or something.

I DO AND IT’S TEARING ME APART, LISA!

So right now I’m jumping back and forth between having a background image and not. One second I want it, next second I don’t. Right now, I do.

First iteration:

Hit the jump for two more.

Second major iteration:

What’ up right now:

I’m satisfied for the moment, but it never seems to last. The next task I’ll likely tackle is theming this blog.

My goal was to have a clean and simple design. I had initially planned on getting those awesome CD business cards, but figured I should save the fancier cards for when I have fancier card money to spend. The QR code links to a redirect which is currently pointed at a detailed copy of my resume. Obviously, both the code and the phone number are unobstructed in the final version.

I have to applaud the developers for the remarkably clean visuals in this game. They did a great job differentiating units from the terrain, an area the original DOTA and Heroes of Newerth fall a bit flat at times. The spectator view and replay system (from what I’ve read) seem superb to say the least. If you’re a big DOTA player, I don’t see how you could NOT be in love with this game.

At least until we know how much it costs.

When I was younger, I drew CONSTANTLY. I drew every waking hour of every day I wasn’t required to do something else (food and sleep are overrated). That all came to a crashing halt when we got our first Internet-enabled computer, and my neighbors across the street taught me how to use AOL…

Since then, I’ve never really drawn by hand much. I’ve made countless rough sketches, sure, but it’s been quite some time since I’ve attempted to fully render an original drawing from scratch. After being inspired by the League of Legends Art Spotlights, I decided to try my hand at digital painting and create a character. Right now her name is Coat Lady, and she was moderately inspired by Michonne from the The Walking Dead series. This one still has a long way to go, but so far I’m pleased with the progress.

See? I’m great at this.