ARCHIDISIAC

Whoa whoa whoaaaaa it's 2013!!!  How did that happen?!  Time flies when you're having fun.  My blog is now threeeeee years old!  And of course keeping with tradition here is my annual recap/resolution post.  If you're at all interested here is 2010 and 2011 and 2012.

So to recap my resolutions from last year.

Draw everyday, post to blog...write something MOSTLY FAIL
Exercise more...cycling WELL IM DOING YOGA REGULARLY
Cook and eat healthier...fo real this time FAIL
Read more...or at least listen to more audiobooks FAIL
Watch more old movies MOSTLY WIN
Shower everyday and get dressed....which is surprisingly difficult when you work from home N/A
Beef up portfolio WIN
Improve storyboarding skills FAIL
Do more freelance WIN
GET A FULL TIME IN HOUSE JOB SUPER WIN

So all in all not too bad a year??  I looked through one of my earliest blog posts and it talked about how working on a production/concept team for movies would be the coolest job ever.  Well, two and a half years later I've gotten into the entertainment industry and am designing for a new children's television show that will come out this year.  I am thoroughly enjoying my job and my life.  I've had a ton of new experiences out here in LA and met some really great friends.  I've learned a lot in these past years and I know I still have a long way to go but I feel pretty solid about what I've done so far. So without further ado, here are my resolutions for 2013:

Draw everyday and update this blog
Stay fit - take a dance class?
Cook more and bring lunch to work more often
Read more...or at least listen to more audiobooks
Learn Maya
Improve drawing/design/painting skills...specifically environments, mecha, and vehicles - more classes
Practice my Chinese
Make that website I keep telling myself to make

WHOA another year passed by...dang did that go by fast.  My blog is officially two...thats right, count 'em, TWO years old.


Last year I wrote a nice little blog post about 2011 so I guess I'll keep with tradition and post again. Before we move forward, however, lets recap my resolutions from the beginning of this current year:


Resolutions for 2011:
Draw everyday, post to blog.....FAIL
Find mechanism to motivate self when unmotivated......SEMI-FAIL
Avoid riding feelings of frustration and annoyance for too long....SEMI-FAIL 
Exercise more.....FAIL
Cook and eat healthier......MAJOR FAIL
Read more.....OK
Bring lunch to work.....WIN....see below
Cut back on coffee......ANOTHER MAJOR FAIL


Spectacular, now that we got that out of the way, I'd say that 2012 is already looking MUCH more promising.


As most of you have probably figured out by now, I'm living in LA.  I decided a while back that I was becoming quite settled in my job and that it wasn't such a great fit anymore.  Don't get me wrong, architecture still has a special place in my heart and I think the idea of it is still appealing to me but it's the actual in's and out's of the job that started to really wear on me.  So after a year of heavy contemplation and finding my balls, I turned my back on my completely finished IDP hours and left my job...hence the I no longer had to bring lunch to work because I work from home resolution.  Since then I've done a lot of freelance...including coloring for Marvel and Cartoon Network, completing two book designs...with a couple more on the way hopefully, took a bunch of classes honing my skills, updated my portfolio which looks pretty professional now...and most recently, full time freelance for Nickelodeon.  BOOM.  IN YO FACE.  WHAT.  THATS RIGHT.  JAZZ HANDS.


Of course I couldn't have done it without my awesome dude, my mostly supportive asian parents who are really coming around, all the new friends I have made this year, and my puppy who keeps me sane and provides mandatory breaks.


Aight, hopefully this year is EVEN better.  I will attempt to update more and actually write about the new field I'm in.  I will also try to post stuff from work but most of it is under confidentiality agreements and what not.  So when that expires, I'll put it up.


And before I forget...


Resolutions for 2012:
Draw everyday, post to blog...write something
Exercise more...cycling
Cook and eat healthier...fo real this time
Read more...or at least listen to more audiobooks
Watch more old movies
Shower everyday and get dressed....which is surprisingly difficult when you work from home
Beef up portfolio
Improve storyboarding skills 
Do more freelance
GET A FULL TIME IN HOUSE JOB

A note from the desk of A. Li:

New Year's is one of those holidays I always forget about until right before it actually occurs...more specifically its only in those last 10 seconds of the old, used, soon to be discarded year that I am finally reminded of how much I love it.  I don't know if it's because Christmas decorations distract me in the weeks leading up to its Eve or if I've just come to realize the night will never live up to expectations but on the morning of New Year's Day, I am suddenly aware of how new things become.  All my actions become the first of an unused year and that thought is surprisingly optimistic for my collection of not so positive borderline masochistic philosophies.

Part of me thinks that Jan 1st is simply another day and no different from the 24 hrs that came before and after it.  Another part is also pretty convinced that calendar years may well just be arbitrary ticks dividing a sequence of events in our lives to give some kind of order.  Whatever inkling is left though does believe in the promise of a new year and the ability to start anew, plan, improve and change.

I started this blog a year ago with the resolution that I would have 365 drawings by Dec 31, 2010.  I have 108 images today.  Not bad considering the year before I had maybe ten.  I learned to hold myself somewhat accountable.  I learned that unrealistic goals can be helpful and self destructive all at the same time.  I also learned that doing a little and repeating repeating repeating ends with a lot more than you would expect even though it really feels like nothing at the time.  Perhaps most importantly, I've begun to understand that doing is what separates a person from the rest of the pack.

Anyways, enough looking back, 2010 was a great year and I learned a lot...there are a multitude of things I also failed to learn.  Thank goodness there's another year ahead yeah?  So here's to another 365 in the new year...I'm already two behind.  Dammit.

Resolutions for 2011:
Draw everyday, post to blog.
Find mechanism to motivate self when unmotivated.
Avoid riding feelings of frustration and annoyance for too long.
Exercise more.
Cook and eat healthier.
Read more.
Bring lunch to work.
Cut back on coffee.

Ok, so the reason I haven't posted...uh, anything lately is because I have been employed by the Division of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University. Above are some sample pages from the project I am working on. They were looking to revamp their image/graphics and wanted a new print/web document to distribute to prospective students. My friend Altan is currently a grad student in the PFP program and was the coordinator for this project. He was responsible for content and I, the art direction. Together we banged this out in a little over a month...which is not a lot of time considering I have a full time job and he is a full time student and this was the first time both of us have taken on a project like this. Factor in personal summer plans, faculty schedules, multiple sources of input, the 1500 miles between us...and boom, major obstacles. We're finishing this week after crazy hard work, mad coordination efforts, and a lot of trial and error. Interestingly, we did everything digitally either through Google Wave (omg i know, and you didn't think anyone used it), Gmail, Box.net, Skype and cellphone calls which is really crazy if you think about it. Two people connecting via various forms of digital communication to get things done without ever meeting in person. There's no way this could have been done a few years ago. A-MAZING.

All in all, we're quite happy with what we created. Altan and I make a pretty bad ass team if I do say so myself. I am finalizing and getting faculty review this week and hopefully posting the final pdf here before the end of this week. Boom.

Edit: You may now find the full book at http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/pfpflip/

Ok, that's all I got. Sorry for the lack of updates. Will post what I'm working on when it's all done and finished! :)



Also, my business cards finally came in! Yay! You may recognize the image, its the first one I did for my blog which now is in the possession of my bf.

Apologies for not updating, we are getting ready for the big move from one apartment to another this week so I will be MIA for a while until everything gets settled. On top of that we have a couple deadlines at work. Combined with some freelance and late nights, it seems increasingly difficult to find time to post. Perhaps I should hire a personal (read HOT) secretary. :)

Anyways, I've been working on a friend's site. Chuck is one talented individual. The site is up and running save for a few tweaks, check it out at: www.chuckliuphotography.com

So ciao for now and I'll be back next week!

Ah yes, and for anyone who is interested in what I am working on lately here is a link to the building I am helping to design.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/05/the_glendale_new_press_reported.php

Sat and drew people at Panera today. Wonderful sunny weekends make me happy. Talked to my good friend Adam today, also made me happy. :) Good/productive weekend all in all.

Yesterday my team magically met our deadline at 3pm with only a couple minutes to spare. We were, in fact, printing up until the last minute before those drawings had to be on a plane headed to California. Nothing left to do but wait for upper management to present them and see how it all goes. A lot of stress, frustration and work went into those drawings, more specifically, all of my last week and weekend. If our high profile clients still aren't impressed I might have to go out there and punch somebody's face in. Seriously, our drawings are magical.

It also occurs to me that I write a lot about deadlines and working late but never explain what I do. I work at BCJ, an international architecture firm. I work hard and generally enjoy my work and my office. I intend to one day probably most likely perhaps be an architect. Late nights, high stress, and low pay are typical for my profession...all reasons which lead to my hesitancy in entering the field completely for the long haul. Lately I've added extreme frustration to that list. In any case, I do good work and get paid to do it...can't really complain.

So apologies again for my failure to keep up. I didn't go to the gym. I drove to work since I had to work late. We ordered take out every night. I drank a lot of coffee. And I didn't draw a thing...other than stuff at work. I pretty much broke all of my resolutions. Great.

TO DO:

- Draw one picture everyday; post it on this blog

- Read on the bus

- Cook real food - no take out

- Dress better

- Lose 10 lbs

- Keep a blog on items above