sketch bySusanLin

Is that a dust bunny in your indie game?

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:48:13 -0500

Yes, yes it is. Up and coming. When design blocked.. Work on something else! Because good ideas don’t come sooner if you pursue them, ironically.

Also, starting with neutral midtoned canvas makes for amazing color schemes.

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Don't like this question; it needs iterating.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:01:40 -0500

A popular interview question as well as one which close friends may ask.. “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

I’m going to take a step back. 22.. 17.
So, if you asked me where I’d be seeing myself as a 22 y/o, as a 17 y/o, my answer would have been “Pursuing a masters degree in.. technical animation. Then applying for PhD.” Something wishy washy like that, aligned with the fact I thought pursuing the rote of degrees was the key to success.
I definitely wouldn’t have said, “Just finished my masters degree in HCI and have an awesome job in the user experience design field with no intention of returning to academia anytime soon. Living in the SFBA with a 3x6ft whiteboard in my apartment trying to figure out something worth making for the long run.” That’s the tl;dr. There are so many details worth mentioning that would have never crossed my 17 year old mind. Like,

With that in mind, I need to stop asking myself this question. It really does yield no results. It’s not to say one shouldn’t have goals, but that the outcome of the future is unpredictable in the details. Instead of wasting time pondering about the future, more time needs to be spent actively working towards it.

22.. 27.
Who knows what and where I will be then.
I sure don’t.

And that’s all right.

tl;dr Having a vision is good. Just don’t sweat the details. Then you’ll never get there because you’re too busy wiping away the sweat.

Snapshots of Taiwan & Singapore.

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:50:01 -0500

Overdue from September 2011.

Astroboy giant figure and Blackjack cosplayed from the Osamu Tezuka exhibit back from the summer held in the Chiang-Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

Found the cult of apple in a subway hall of Taiwan. Shares a space with Vera Style.

Awesome view of Taipei from atop of the 101 after going up the elevator with pretty lights. The building hosts some nice graphic design to boot. The giant ridged sphere is the counterweight that prevents the wind from taking the giant down.

Typography in the Singapore National Museum.

Looking out onto Sentosa Island.

Black lights from the Merlion tourist attraction.

In front of the fun house mirrors in the Salvador Dali exhibit.

While unable to work at complete cognitive capacity, blogging is productive without being too intensive. Scheduling posts is also a way to go. Hope to travel again soon.

a bunch of january snapshots

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:15:09 -0500

More of putting birds on things, of course. iPad sketch done on a flight.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Teeny tiny pencil sketch.

Jar of stars.

Making use of the giant whiteboard sticker.

Scratchy pen.

Early game idea. Still thinking about this one. Plus many more pages of chicken scratch.. Too many to post.

Palette.

Canvas.

Build It & Ship It.

Something lighthearted and stupid. I’m suggesting this to...

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:35:46 -0500

Something lighthearted and stupid.

I’m suggesting this to daddy as his next restaurant. Fry like a G6. Everything is so fry like a G6. “Runch special all $6!! Do you want fry chicken or fry pork?!” “G6.. Y NOT A1??”

Please don’t take this as a serious representation of my design capabilities. ;)

A belated post on a project I did last year @ Vast. (No trade...

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:57:00 -0500

process shot with some flukes!

here's mine!

brick-and-mortar and in a row!*

A belated post on a project I did last year @ Vast. 
(No trade secrets here, so go away competitors.)

I had the opportunity to work on a then secret project to put everyone’s mug on a mug. Now the SF team has their name on a mug, but better. (Though I guess nothing stops you from using someone else’s.. but that’s awkward.)

All-in-all: a nice swag project to kick-off as a (then) new hire. Putting those double-tipped sharpie sketch skills to use. Also, it was a month of illustrating lots of facial hair. I don’t think I’ve drawn that many beards before in my life.

Responsibility & pet ownership rant, for those who will lend their ears.

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:55:25 -0500

Let’s get this straight: VERY FEW forces on earth can wake me up early.

One of them is lovesickness.
And I suppose this makes the second: 6 hours of straight crying from a baby something. In this case, a 2 month old puppy.

A few things.

Don’t get a puppy for Christmas. And especially don’t give YOURSELF a puppy for Christmas.
The bloody thing is cute, but you need to train it. Don’t spoil the puppy and expect to be able to train it, without serious effort, later.
Don’t get caught red-handed by your landlord with the puppy you weren’t suppose to keep in your apartment.
Finally, don’t burden someone you know into adopting the puppy you spoiled to hell because YOU WERE IRRESPONSIBLE.

Okay? Got it? This is in the book of human decency. You just don’t do this. If you do, you’re a bitch. And if you disagree with these four heuristics, we can’t be friends.

…

Also, I hear dog is tasty.

Just kidding.

Pages from my MUJI sketchbook. Happy New Year, again folks.

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:11:00 -0500

Pages from my MUJI sketchbook. Happy New Year, again folks.

First sketch of 2012: Stanley’s Screen.

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:09:23 -0500

First sketch of 2012: Stanley’s Screen.

2012 will be about simplifying.

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:23:09 -0500

Less of…
Hacker News. Only consume digest and links recommended.
Twitter. Only consume via mobile. It is distracting otherwise.
Pinterest(?). Pin, do not visit site unless looking at a board for a specific task.
Reddit.
Facebook.

Use that time instead to…
1. Read books, actual books.
2. Make things.

More concretely…
Mobile sites, games, apps, sandboxes.
Paintings.

Finally…
Make a point to unplug for 7 days / every season. Refresh the fact that the world goes on without you.

Paintings in progress & last post of 2011.

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 01:43:37 -0500

Dear internet -

I’ll be spending the last few days of 2011 on the road along the west coast. In the meantine, please enjoy your holidays and a few work-in-progress shots started yesterday shortly after finishing Birds of a Feather.

See the full gallery on Posterous

<3,
Susan

A study / piece very much inspired by Marumiyan’s work....

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:27:13 -0500

Birds of a Feather

A few minutes in and waiting for things

My new babies: Marie's Goauche. Imported

A study / piece very much inspired by Marumiyan’s work. I’ve literally haven’t painted in gouache since 2006. This is the best gift I can give myself really. Expect more now that I finally have time, space, and money to do these things! ;)

Post-grad life metaskill of 2011: Scaling.

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:08:04 -0500

One thing I’ve never paid much attention to while in school were milestones in school. They are neatly cut-off by semesters, tucked into smaller deliverables determined by weeks.

It was fairly easy to know when to pump it up and when to slack a little. For example, the strain of powering through finals is met with a period of complete relaxation at the end, without that, it’d be hard to sustain that level of intensity.

My first 3 months out of this, I realize how it is really up to you, yourself, to scale life. Whether it’s about work, side projects, outings, budget, whatever, it’s up to you to manage that metric.

It’s a freedom and a curse, and something I will aim to master consciously now and throughout 2012.

Just a quick thought and realization today while having instant ramen.

Found a few sketches on the bedside while cleaning up. These...

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:33:00 -0500

Found a few sketches on the bedside while cleaning up. These extreme on-surface shots look pretty good, will post full on shots when I get a chance to reshoot in daylight.

Also, while I will not have my nyancat facebook hack anymore, I can now selfishly put my art up in the top box like so. ;) Originally painted “Ode to Watercolors” two years ago. Wow, how time flies (like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana).

Early new year's resolution: a goal & a barrier.

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:56:13 -0500

Amongst all the great things which happened during my company design retreat, the greatest meta benefit for me personally was that the experience sharpened my focus for choosing the path I walk. I’m sharing this one piece specifically because it concisely puts out there, and serves as a reminder for myself, what my intentions are for life. [1]

Some context: the task was the choose 2 images. One which represented the goal, the other which represents a barrier which stands between you and goal.

Goal. I’m interested in creating something. But I have no idea what. Hence, here’s a blueprint sketch with a blackbox and a question mark. All I know now is that it needs to be of good, positive impact on the world.

I drew this in a few seconds using Sketchbook Xpress for mobile.

Barrier. And, the first step is to shed my baggage. There are just so many things from the past I still admit to having the hardest time getting over. I will eventually dispell these inhibiting experiences which prevent the fullest. On a good course - the first step: Knowing I deserve better, so each experience from here on out are in my control.

p.s. this painting is I’ll Take You to the River by Lora Zombie.

—

1. Subject to change, of course. But I doubt it’d stray far from this.

Sharpie Sketches | beautiful people & red ink

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:27:05 -0500

In which I use my secret weapon [1] to draw things.

This what happens when I like you: You occasionally, okay - often, end up in my doodles. Some are better than others. FOREVER immortalized. ;)

Now, featuring the gorgeous girl behind Behind the Seams, one of my favorite fashion blogs. I have an immense girl crush on Trang.

& now, a red, coral, & pink Copic comp.

—
1. It’s a double-sided sharpie. Honestly, this thing is way better than many of the expensive artsy inking pens I’ve tried.

Love, love, love.

Illustrator'd: Totoro, Totoro hats & Self

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:52:29 -0500

See the full gallery on Posterous

In the search for a highres photograph of myself that I could stand, then coming up empty handed, I decided that I’d stick with the illustrated route. And with my newly found option+click skills, this is what became of that experiment.

It’s not often I add the blog url into the image, but when I do, I think it’s when something actually turns out better than expected. This is refreshing - Haven’t been producing at my best as of late.

Look! The body and hat shape are the same! I can still do negative space proper! Art majors!

—

Last note, the texture in the presentation image is “Old Wall” via Subtle Patterns: Best. Design. Resource. Ever.

Analyzing How I Work

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:08:53 -0500

Lately, I’ve been frustrated with myself, mostly over nothing.

When you were graduating high school, you felt like the shit: getting into a college, preparing to leave home, embarking on a new adventure. Then, once arriving, it quickly becomes clear you are, once again, at the bottom of the food chain.

“What the fuck am I doing? I don’t know what I’m doing.”

That’s the sentiment.

It takes time to figure out how to manage college life. Pick the right classes. Eat and sleep just enough to get by. Capitalize on this freedom while still not sinking.

And, by the time college senior year rolls around, you were once again the shit. Your resume plump and perfected after many iterations. Your class schedule awesome, sleeping in to the minute becomes an easy science. Then you get a job.

Now, I am there at the beginning of the job phase. And sometimes, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, once again, thrusted from the high throne to the lower ranks.

If it were illustrated via flowchart, it might be like this.

I find that this is how I progress in picking up skills: the beginning is always the hardest. And then there’s a moment where I figure out that one stupidly silly thing which was hampering me all along.. [1]

I wrote this as a reminder to myself that it takes time to learn the ropes, get the hang of everything, optimize for success in every period of one’s life. I should really stop beating myself up for things like not knowing how insurance works and being unable to effectively squeeze in side project time. Also, just to admit it. I think this blogsketchthing has too much gratuitous advice wrapped in anecdotes. I am human too.

—

1. This - Stop Doing Stupid Shit.

Instagram'd Sketches

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:27:57 -0500

Just some sketches I instagram’d. They’re all automatically Dropbox’d too. Thank you ifttt! Though honestly, that’s the only ifttt flow I’m finding useful so far.

Clash of Ideals.

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:26:40 -0500

My parents have always, and still, measure success by prestige. [1]

They would’ve loved to say “My daughter go to Harvard.”
Now, they would love to say “My daughter work at Google.” [2]

But I actively rejected both paths.

My mum always makes a point to tell me the latest funnies in explaning me to other parents. It usually involves: statement, confusion, attempted proof, disbelief.

“Blah, blah, Carnegie Mellon.”
‘Gua she me?’ (Melon fruit what? for nonspeakers.)
“Blah, Pittsburgh, blah, snow, cold, blah, masters in 4 years.”
‘I don’t believe you.’

It wasn’t until both degrees were in her hands any of the others really believed her. It irks me that it has to be this way. Not the fact that other parents like using me as a prime example of weirdo, but that my mum has to expend all this effort into proving these things are true. She can’t just talk about it. If it were Harvard and Google, then it’d somehow be taken as true. That’s how it is for everyone else.

I despise how prestige is how things are measured in this world [3], how it is everything. But, in the end, it’s my life, I only get one, and I shall spend it the way I wish. You should too. [4] I’m telling you now because it took me 20 years to realize this. I turned 22 less than a month ago.

I don’t know how to solve, persay, this clash of ideals, but I felt like writing it out.

I wish I could say my parents supported my creativity at the ripe age of 6 or are technologists themselves, but it isn’t the case. I can’t write an about page bio full of enriching childhood stories like all the others or post a picture of young me next to an old machine. [5]

Again, I just wanted to say to anyone who’s growing up with this clash of ideals: You should really pursue what you’re passionate about and all will follow. Do it.

—
1. Sorry, I know I talk about this a lot.
2. Grammar is wrong on purpose.
3. Tiger parent world.
4. Yes - A one person audience was in mind as I composed this.
5. This post may be a byproduct of recent portfolio stalking of some designers and developers I admire. I’m honestly jealous of their childhood stories. It gives me the fuzzies to read them. And the jellies.

sketch bySusanLin

Is that a dust bunny in your indie game?

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Don't like this question; it needs iterating.

Snapshots of Taiwan & Singapore.

a bunch of january snapshots

Something lighthearted and stupid. I’m suggesting this to...

A belated post on a project I did last year @ Vast. (No trade...

Responsibility & pet ownership rant, for those who will lend their ears.

Pages from my MUJI sketchbook. Happy New Year, again folks.

First sketch of 2012: Stanley’s Screen.

2012 will be about simplifying.

Paintings in progress & last post of 2011.

A study / piece very much inspired by Marumiyan’s work....

Post-grad life metaskill of 2011: Scaling.

Found a few sketches on the bedside while cleaning up. These...

Early new year's resolution: a goal & a barrier.

Sharpie Sketches | beautiful people & red ink

Illustrator'd: Totoro, Totoro hats & Self

Analyzing How I Work

Instagram'd Sketches

Clash of Ideals.

A belated post on a project I did last year @ Vast. (No trade...