Office... Upgraded for Small Spaces: Add-Ons For Artists

If you missed the original post, check it out... here!

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 Add-Ons For Artists 

I couldn't forget about artists when it comes to office upgrades, but if you're not an artist... stay tuned!

A place for your sketch pads should definitely be considered. One of which allows for vertical storage so that you don't have to pull from under others and potentially have a spill or a sloppy look.

This organizer is 9.25"L x 8.26"W x 7.28"H

If you're a concept artist or something similar and you work from home, add a pinboard/corkboard or another type of board that allows you to attach images on the wall space. If you need them directly in front of you, but you don't have the wall space... or it's a window, consider stringing them across from wall to wall with clips for the drawings. 

Think of how the festival flags are hung up from strings that run over carnivals and party spaces, you can just clip the art for a temporary period. Folders w/ sleeves will certainly be a requirement for the loose images if you want organization, but this is a "Duh of the Day" for most of you. I still recommend a vertical storage option for easier access.

If you're a traditional artist or you start on paper, keep the printer/scanner in a convenient area.

Oh yeah, speaking of paper... a place to store your printer paper is a must, it's something that gets used and doesn't pile up in the form of waste. Find a place to store the paper that keeps it clean and flat for your printing needs. A number of us use different types of printing material (myself included), so you can even use stackers or a multi-slot solution to store these print materials.

A number of artists go into detail with various tip sizes and colors when it comes to pencils, pens, and such... so storage for these items is a must. Tossing them loosely in a container might work, but fishing through them isn't going to be as efficient. Verticle or slanted storage/holders work great so that you can grab what you need quickly. You see the size of the pen and color at the tip when it's stored that way, and if you place them according to size and even have them listed based on colors... knowing what's what and where it's located will become second nature. 

There are multiple office storage solutions, so don't stop at one.

This organizer is 7.48"D x 5.71"W x 8.5" H

If you're a digital artist, or you do both traditional & digital, definitely consider a digital drawing tablet. I highly suggest one with a screen... especially if you don't have experience with screenless tablets. This can go on your desk if you utilize it daily, or... place it on the shelf until needed.

If you wish to go... green, I highly suggest a digital drawing tablet because it will reduce paper usage down to 0 as far as drawing is concerned.

By the way, for artists... I recommend getting a glass desk if you can get it to fit in the area. The reason is... if you need a lightbox (for traditional art), all it takes is a little DIY to turn your entire desktop into a lightbox.

Here are 3 ways to pull it off:

• Use standard paper and tape it to the underbelly of the table + Sit a lamp on the floor that won't burn the paper. A lamp might not cover the full area, but you can move it around as needed.
• Static Cling Frosted Glass Window Film
• Frosted Glass Spray Paint for a more permanent solution

If you aren't going with the cheapest option of using standard paper and a small lamp, you can even use a ring light with a tripod and tilt it up at the underbelly so that you get the lightbox effect. There are also other options like the 360-degree flexible gooseneck light you see below. You can actually turn this upside down and cover the underbelly of the table nicely. I'd recommend this for the static cling and spray-painted options.

I hope these add-ons allow you to make a positive productive impact with your space.

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Microsoft Surface Laptop Go... pen compatibility?

Surface Laptop Go is Microsoft's budget-friendly Surface option. It rocks a 12.4" touchscreen display, comes in at a lightweight of 2.45 pounds, full-size keyboard + good size precision trackpad (watch those palms) and... all the etceteras you see below:

720p HD camera
Fingerprint Power Button
One Touch sign-in on select models
USB-C + USB-A ports
Surface Connect (which could've been the more cost-friendly Thunderbolt 3 or something)
Headphone jack
1536 X 1024 (148 PPI)
3:2 Aspect Ratio
10 point multi-touch
4GB or 8GB LPDDR4x RAM
10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 Processor
13 hour max battery life
Intel UHD Graphics
eMMC: 64GB + SSD: 128GB or 256GB storage
Dual far-field Studio Mics
Omnisonic Speakers w/ Dolby Audio
Bluetooth 5.0
Aluminum top + Polycarbonate base

1 Year Limited Warranty

In the box you get the (Duh of the day) Surface Laptop Go, 39W Power Supply, Quick Start Guide,
and documents for Safety + Warranty.

What you don't see is a (dun dun dun)... a pen, but is it compatible? That's what I was wondering when I initially saw the Surface Laptop Go reveal, so I did some digging and came across this road to nowhere (I'll come back to this).

There are 3 different options for the Surface Laptop Go, starting at $549.99 w/ the best specs chilling out in the $899.99 option. You would think that $899.99 would come with a little something extra outside of the ram and storage increase, but... from what I've seen... there isn't.

Now we're back at that... road to nowhere. Maybe it's just me, but where in this video do you see products specific to the... Surface Laptop Go?

It's annoying when companies come out with products and will not go that extra mile to spell out what's actually compatible with that product. How helpful would it be for Sony to release the Playstation 5 and list accessories for past gens in a link meant to be for the PS5? Imagine the good intentions of your parent(s), significant other, friends, or whoever...  resulting in a gift that's not compatible... that would suck for the both of you. 

Just to be clear, this isn't a company vs company comparison, that was only an example of incompatible products. The person in charge of what's presented on Microsoft's site... has to get it together. Microsoft isn't the only company guilty of this, I've had a similar problem with HP. 

It's not that hard, spell out what's compatible with your product... don't even have a link labeled "Shop Surface Laptop Go Accessories" only to have everything else for everything else tucked in there. WTF? If there aren't many compatible products, list the compatible ones on the same page as the product... that's a win-win.

Overall, I don't know anyone signing up to buy something knowing that it will end in disappointment. Money isn't as easy to come by for a lot of people, especially right now... so it's imperative to spell things out or you may find that your potential customers are going elsewhere to buy a similar product that delivered. Your product probably delivered too, but who knows that it actually delivers if you don't showcase it?

Going back to the specs, I don't think that this product is compatible with a pen... because they don't list that the product is Pen enabled (unlike the Surface Laptop 3). This doesn't mean you can't buy a drawing tablet to connect to the Surface Laptop Go in order to do your thing, but... it's safe to assume that you'd be wasting your money on a Pen thinking it will work with this product. 

Doesn't make the product good or bad, and I'm not saying it's right or wrong to buy it... but if you're looking to buy a product that gives you the ability to draw on the screen... it's better safe than sorry not to buy unless Microsoft says the product is compatible. 

Yes, in the accessories area they show pens, but... as you see under the compatibility area under these pens... the Surface Laptop Go is nowhere to be found.

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Are you ready to develop your own games?

The recent game development bundle... is one of the prime examples of why you shouldn't count yourself out if you were a student at one of the past or present schools that went... poof or not!

The difference between something like this and college, is no tuition, and no debt.

Don't miss out on this bundle, it expires 07/31/2019... get it for yourself or an aspiring game developer in your family!!!

If you get the chance, check out... "The Art Institute is done, but you aren't".

Brought to you by the... Baby Fu Clothing Co!

The Art Institute is done, but you aren't

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (which includes the online division) shocked students recently with its sudden closure, but it's actually been a long time coming. Luckily... its not the end of the world, and i'll tell you why.

Grab some popcorn... because you may be here for a little while. Oh yeah... its going down!

So the news dropped of the closure, which was effective ASAP and... students staying in dorms couldn't just stay there and figure things out. They had to go. This includes students from out of state who didn't have the luxury of just going back home with the help of family in the area, some had to scramble to get a place to stay (whether they were able to afford it or not).

A local college has stepped in to try and help... but i'm sure the minds of many of the AIP students are still racing, just like some of the AIP graduates.

The bright side is that the loans should be washed away, but make sure you don't suffer the consequences of having that loan forgiveness taxed as income.

For some... the downside is not knowing what to do next, but... I've been there. Literally, I graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Online Division) in 2010. I'll get to why you should smile in a few minutes, but let me give you a little back story about this last domino (aka AIP) that actually kicked the whole thing off by way of my experience.

I was enrolled during the time when EDMC owned Art Institutes around the country and deceptive practices were in full swing (based on my experience).

Yes... I was one of those students who enrolled in 2005 based on deceptive practices by one of their recruiters. I was excited, but as time went on... I began to realize that the curriculum was just... horrible (and old). Feels like I fought from start to finish to get slightly better than the worst experience.

There were lots of "NOs" to all sorts of things... which included the use of a free whiteboard for better comprehension in a certain class. I totally didn't understand that (it was FREE), but I kept fighting because I was the one paying them.

I fought to try and get my team to the Game Developers Conference during a particular year, (I was appointed the project manager on the project) and the school wasn't willing to cover the trip. There were no opportunities... and it was just frustrating, regardless of what was advertised. I also found out before graduation that they weren't doing job placement (which was the reason why I enrolled).

So we get to graduation, and I'm just so annoyed by all of this crap and... I realized that online students can't even have our portfolio in the showcase if we don't travel to the school to be in attendance. There was no way in the world I was going to let that slide. I contacted certain faculty members to find out why that was, and my argument was sound. Why pay similar or more than on-grounds students if... we can't get a similar experience?

I believe they had to have a meeting about it. A meeting! It was approved. Anyway, my 2010 graduation had come and gone... and it was time to see what the school was actually going to do since they weren't going to honor what I was told. I was in contact with my designated career services adviser... which was actually a data collector so that they school could take credit for any gained employment to use with advertisement, and it was pointless.

It wasn't the fault of the "Adviser", but I didn't take on debt for that. So I told her how I felt about it all and how the school's big wigs should be ashamed of the deceptions they allowed recruiters to deploy for financial gain.

My "Adviser" was named, Kathleen Bittel. If you're familiar with her name, then you'll know that she's the woman who blew the whistle on EDMC with her damaging testimony. Did I push over the first domino? Maybe.

Anyway... the domino effect had begun as EDMC came under fire. It was sued by the government, and... school after school began to close. Granted... jobs were cut, but its the fault of those who promoted deceitful recruiting practices to increase their bottom line. I believe the recruiters had to bring in a certain amount of students at a particular time in order to remain employed.

I went from being excited about enrolling, to being anti-college for anything that didn't require it. I'm not the only one, because that experience left a bad taste in the mouth of many students... and what happened from there? Word got out and enrollment dropped. Unfortunately the current AIP students didn't see or didn't take heed to the protests, but... you should smile.

Why? You're off the hook for that debt, and... you don't need school for the things you enrolled for. Utilize the course requirements to find out what materials you need for certain classes and... learn from the text books, software, and the wealth of information at your fingertips via your phone & PC. You literally don't have to worry about that cloud of debt sitting over your head, you lucked out.

If you're still not convinced, look at the lives of some of the past students and graduates trying to get rid of college debt. Paying the interest alone won't get rid of it, and the balance will ultimately go up to a ridiculous degree.

Lenders will do little things like give you a low price for a certain time period, and after it passes they'll expect you to pay these crazy payments ranging in the thousands at times. So you go from a manageable payment (if you're lucky to have a job) to being under water.

If you go into default, it will affect your credit and they can garnish your wages and take your tax refund. Certain banks won't hesitate to take the money out of your account if you have a loan with them... whether you like it or not. Sound fun? It shouldn't.

Lastly, I strongly advise that you continue forth with your goals, but... improvise. The money you will save paying off a student loan can go into funding your dreams. If you like or at least appreciate this post... share it, subscribe and support through one of the links below.

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Calling all Photographers + Graphic Designers

This bundle is good... very good, I've sent it to photographers, graphic designers, and fellow artists I know. It starts at $1 (USD), with some great options, but... the top in this range is PhotoMirage:

PhotoMirage is $69.99 alone.

In the $15 (USD) range... the one the jaw dropper is easily PaintShop Pro 2019. I have been using Corel Paintshop Pro software for years:

Corel PaintShop Pro 2019 is $79.99 alone.

One may say that crappy software can also be in these price ranges... but, for me (which is why this post exists) this specific program is the #1 reason to get this Pro Photography Bundle. I know some of you may see the software in the $25 range (which includes everything in the lower tiers) and think i'm crazy for saying that... but I haven't used those. I know that Imerge Pro works with green screen, so if its something that you find an interest in... get it while the getting is good for $25 (instead of $149.99). You can give more... which supports SDGT, but it also benefits the dev teams, and charity.

Imerge Pro is $149.99 alone.

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