Can I call you Betty?

To Tide Us All Over

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:23:53 -0400

Sorry for the delay.
Back in March, I was going to
round out the winter season
with more hands-on craft stuff,
but that will have to wait until the next post.

In the meantime, here are my most recent logos.
Enjoy!

Short and Sweet

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:49:00 -0500

Here’s a recent type project for my home.
A great way to start February!

progress

I saw that after the fact. Oops!

The X vs. The XX - XXX (mashupper: Hawkins) I’m bringing...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:11:14 -0500

The X vs. The XX - XXX (mashupper: Hawkins)

I’m bringing tangiblecard-sending back.
YEAH!

Similar pose as the drawing from the post “Write Now!”
It was too good to let go.

New Year? Mine ends in April.

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:36:00 -0500

From my first white hair to my last client,
2011 was a surprising one.

bolon, an Ecuadorian staple

A window in my schedule afforded me the
opportunity to go to Ecuador early in the year.

With one of my clients in Playas, Ecuador. Business meets vacation

When I returned—even while I was there!—
my own frothy mixture of networking and hustling
led to some rewarding clients.
Odd for a year of financial downturns across the board.

(Speaking of which, look out for the progress of my next commission!)

Given the hyper-awareness we have acquired
due to these shifting economic times,
the groundwork has been laid for
the independent artist to thrive.

even babies with three hands are getting in on the action

There is so much mistrust these days, not to mention instability—
there’s no job security anymore.

(…the entertainment industry nonwithstanding. I reunited with my Cali friend,
who informed me that video editing jobs are pretty steady there)

For those who began their businesses with fits and starts,
keep the momentum going.

That includes YOU, Ruth! Good seeing you again by the way!

For those on the brink of starting but are hesitant for whatever reason, let me assure you: NOW is the best time to create independently and make money off your creations. If it’s fear that holds you back, kick that fear in the ass, light a fire up your own ass (I mean it in the most encouraging way!) and do it. I’ll start you on the right path: If you no longer wish to constantly divulge your SS# on every timesheet/invoice, and not have that dreaded audit looming in the unforeseeable future, go here and apply for an EIN.

You’re welcome.

my light a fire drawing

Here’s to what will be….Here’s to ‘12!

A baby retrospective.

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:03:00 -0500

I’ve been a lot thinking about
cover letters lately. About
honesty and how much,
if any, should go in one.

The following is from a cover letter
~~to a book-publishing company~~
I drafted years ago:

Though I was formally trained in graphic design alongside fine arts, my experience began as a three-year-old, illustrating my own stories and binding my own books. Whether the subject matter was rhinoceros families eating cheeseless pizzas or dishwashing competitions, expressing on paper whatever my imagination dictated was priority number one.

Endearing? or off-putting?
And that’s presuming that I’m being honest.
Well, let’s just see.

Spanish yeah! TRANSLATION: The Damned Clown.
I have my cousin to thank for this fantastical idea.

Wow. I can actually crop these and use them
as reference for color schemes and mood boards. Again, fantastical.

And as a special treat, since Christmas is coming:

And no girlhood would be complete without

NOTE: I did Little Mermaid II first. :P

Tim O'Brien

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:51:00 -0500

I was super fortunate to have had
Tim O’Brien for a professor.
Today is his birthday,
and what better way to honor it
than to honor his work?

Mr. McFeety (alternate title: HIRE THIS MAN!)

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:51:00 -0500

To 2D and 3D animation employers:
Consider this a public endorsement /
reference for Jared Johnson, AKA McFeet.
This goes with my whole premise of
art inspiration, relations, and creations.
I don’t fawn easily. It takes a lot to impress me.
It’s merely an added bonus (coincidence, really)
that I know him. Incidentally, he’s a good guy.

NOTE: His videos have no music so I took the liberty of adding a song.
To hear the music with his stuff, click on the vid directly below.

Jared Johnson Animation Reel

And the world needs artists who can do Spongebob justice.

This is an example of what not to do.

Oh, and on the subject of delicious finds
that make your life better,
If you need text filler and
Lorem Ipsum no longer takes your fancy.
SAMUEL L. IPSUM YEAHHHHHHH!
Jared would approve.

Subway Series, Part 1

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:10:00 -0400

Inspired by James Jean’s sketches,
I began my first cohesive series:
the New York City subway.
Other sketches in similar format followed
(see the post Countdown with Keith Olbermann?).
Here is a first taste of the series,
which I’ll be posting in installments.
Keep an eye out for them!

Rise-in-the-Fall Playlist

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:55:00 -0400

Without music, no art gets produced.
Simple mathematics, really.
Here’s some of I’ve been working to recently.

For my aunt:

To honor the 20th anniversary of “Nevermind”:

Yes Logo No? Three in a Row!

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:18:00 -0400

I had another post planned. Next time then.
After a long drought (odd spelling that word out),
the logo muscle is flexing overtime this September!

The client heads her own social media agency.
Fashion-forward and classy. That I can do [too! haha].

Out of many different treatments,
three similar ones made it through the gauntlet.

She’s full of fun, brand-building musings.
Twitter her out here.

No Logo Yes

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:53:00 -0400

Too soon for another logo?
Whatever comes my way, I post.
My uncle in Ecuador flaunted
his company logo/signature.

?!?!

His “friend” designed it for him.
First and only instinct: Re-do it, stat.
Pro-bono if need be. But STAT.

Yes.
I cannot associate our name with badly ripped-off work,
albeit brought home by an unaffiliated third party.

He wanted to keep the color scheme overall blue. Fine.
He also adored the original concept of the arrows, and didn’t think
I could put a different spin on it (bad pun not intended, sorry).
Poor, ignorant man. Said lovingly, of course.

Lo quiero mucho tio, ¡suerte!

Old Type Sketches

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:43:00 -0400

I am proud to say that I’ve recently
changed my position regarding C.

Write Now!

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:32:00 -0400

Must I? Yes you must, Allison!

There is a huge difference between California culture and New York culture.
It’s not just weather, though recently there hasn’t been much of a difference.
It’s what we were given to watch as grammar / elementary school students.
You know, movies to shut us up and to keep us distracted while
the teachers had a smoke somewhere.

Not one New Yorker I know was exposed to this in school:

And that’s sad.

I would love to take a stat poll and see if crime
in certain parts of California is directly correlated
to not having been shown this film as a child.

(by the way, if you see this film you’ll understand
why I am not a huge fan of the movie “Up”)

If every child on Earth watched The Red Balloon,
there would not be any wars, and our government
(the alleged “adults” who should have seen this film as kids)
would be 100% focused on the job and health care issues
plaguing our great nation.

Thus ends my required “political rant” for the year.

Yeah Logo Yeah

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:16:04 -0400

I am a sucker for logos.
I created a logo for an indie company this week.
Here is the process from sketch to final.

PHASE 1

PHASE 2

PHASE 3

If this was my last post on Earth...

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 17:30:00 -0400

then I should briefly discuss how allisonruiz.com 2.0 came to be.

(To all on the east coast, stay safe!)

brainstorm

Years before, I purchased my domain name from
sitebuilding-for-dummies webs.com.
Wanting to explore sitebulding on my own,
I experimented on tumblr while the first site was active.

Business with webs.com would end
when my domain name expired.
When it did, they decided to keep my
domain name hostage for many months.

In the meantime, I was slowly shifting my stuff from the 1.0
to the tumblr, which would soon become what you see now.
Eventually webs.com freed my domain name and I re-bought it,
only to have my site hacked.

So after setbacks and delays,
and with fundamental support,
the site was finally re-launched,
and the 2.0 officially launched.
Here is a re-enactment of my process:

Some have respectfully asked me to
activate the comment section on the blog.
For aesthetic reasons, it will not be activated.
However, for those who have tumblr accounts,
you can follow, reblog, etc. if you so choose.
To those who do not have tumblr accounts and wish to comment,
given how interconnected social networks are becoming,
add me on Google+ and comment there.
Or simply click on the heading banner to email me.

Final Countdown (Last Related Post)

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:54:00 -0400

cue Europe song

A look at true-story family banter,
drawn by my sister, comic-strip style:

in 3 years, search her name in the Pixar credits: megan-ruiz.blogspot.com

A pre-emptive adios to her now.
Because after this post,
We will return to our regularly-scheduled program.

OMEGA[N]

Countdown with Keith Olbermann?

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:18:00 -0400

No. Not today.

If Keith wishes to
count*mysistersdeparture*down along with us,
he is free to do so.

Sketch involving our favorite past-time. Indecisive with face. (she, not I)

unfinished mixed-media piece, mostly oils

I still can’t believe it’s less than two weeks now.

Mid-August Break

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:40:15 -0400

I saw this years ago and
had a cerebral pant-creaming.
Given the recent saturation of
WAAHHHI’llmissyou! posts,
I’ll break the month up a bit.

Blood is thicker than water...

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 23:36:41 -0400

and shoe-dropping is thicker than name-dropping.

Over the years,
I have used this poor
human being as a model,
for better or worse.

This image was in an early post: “Sincere Apology.”

With her own formidable art,
The proverbial “other shoe”
would drop eventually,

karmically or otherwise.

as the countdown continues, this is her overall demeanor

Less Than Three Weeks

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:08:00 -0400

before my girl goes west.
August will be peppered
with such posts,
accompanied by a gif.

Christmas 1993

if you love someone, set them free (Pacific Ocean)