Another Week

Well another week. Nothing much new happened this last week. I am starting to be able to do things faster and faster. Its funny because I feel like I did the job wrong because I did it so fast but then after checking it 50 times I realize that I didn't do anything wrong I just actually knew what I was doing so it didn't take me as long as it used to. Thats always a good feeling! It was also a fun week because my other job (the tour of Utah) had me fix one of their designs and then fusion is going to print it. So when I get to work today It will probably be there waiting for me to do. Unless the new kid does it. If thats the case he is lucky because I already set it up for him. haha Though I had to laugh at the design I worked on because I swear the people trying to get me the artwork had no idea what they were doing. They were like heres a jpg, will you turn it into a vector? yeah no. Then they sent me the original illustrator file and man life was so much easier. So it was an interesting week working with both me jobs on design work. On to this week!

TIme is Flying By

Well I clearly rock at this whole blogging thing huh? Yeah no. So anyways, on to last week! It was a good week, It was the first week that I really didn't have to ask many questions. There were a couple but not like there has been. Only took 2 months. Too bad I only have a month left working there! Its also been interesting with the new kid working there. As he asks questions or they tell him things I either go "oh yes I knew that" or "crap definitely did not know that" haha But its nice to have a second chance to learn things! Its also been fun to see how much better I know the adobe programs. I mean I love shortcuts! and the Actions they have set up so you only have to push 1 button and bam the image is centered to the middle of the art board. I finally got started on getting my adobe programs set up to how I like them now that I am getting a better hang of what they can do. Well thats all for last week. Hopefully this weeks post will come tomorrow...

Designing

Something that has been really interesting about this job is seeing the way different designers design their products. And when I say interesting I mean its more like "what the crap were you doing??" For example. Clipping masks. I'll be completely honest, before I started this job I had no idea what a clipping mask was. Now I do. But I am also beginning to think that most people don't. I mean I will get a design in and it will have 4, 5 or more clipping masks on the file. Not a problem right? Except when I release the clipping masks nothing happens. Basically I am pretty sure that the designers are putting on random clipping masks for the heck of it. Quite annoying actually. You see when I need to add bleed to a design there are a couple different ways to do so. One it to increase the vector image if its a solid block of color, or take it to photoshop and content aware it or clone the image. My favorite option is when the client has already included the bleed, or when they have the bleed but have created a clipping mask so they can see what the finished image will look like. This option is great because I just release the clipping mask and boom! More picture becomes available. This brings me back to the fake clipping masks. Nothing makes me more excited than to click "release clipping mask" (or delete the clipping mask) five hundred times just to discover that there isn't a hidden image for me to use. I am far from being a great designer but I am definitely going to be paying attention to how I organize my files from now on!

Busy two weeks

Well I totally spaced writing last week, but since I was gone part of this week on vacation I'll just combine the two weeks. Well last week was good. But I got whats called a variance. Well I actually got 2 variances. Yay! Not. So a variance is when you build a file wrong and then we have to reprint it. The first variance was just stupid and fooled all of us but the second I wanted to smack my self. the client sent in 3 images on 1 file and I choose the wrong image. I have no idea why I didn't call the account manager to verify which one it was but I didn't. ( the job said "tent #1" so I choose "tent #1"  seems logical right?) Well no the actual image was "tent #3" So even though the client approved the proof we sent them we still had to reprint it. The good news is now I wont do that again! I also got to do some banners for the Layton City 4th of July parade. That was fun because I knew that I would get to actually see them since I would be at the parade. (pictures below) though these were a bit more difficult because most of the time the client sends in the artwork they want but layton didn't. They were like "oh go find the declaration of Independence for us" or "find a font that looks like the declaration" or the best was the one they wanted to say "one if by land, two if by sea" They were like "we don't want the same font as the declaration. So find an appropriate font.". Well that narrows it down! haha But it was still fun. I also got very good at the clone tool in photo shop this last week. We had a lot of old photo's that were sent in that needed like 4 inches of bleed added so them so they could be blown up into banners. That is not an easy feat. The content aware tool helps but still sometimes the image doesn't look right so you have to go back and edit it with the clone tool. I also got to work on some items for the Utah Jazz. That was also fun. A bit of a pain because at first they didn't send in vector files, just jpg's and those weren't going to work. So finally we got those but then they also didn't give a lot of instruction for a banner we were creating for them so I had to go back and forth with the account manager a lot. The last thing that happened this week is a new kid started working there. One day when I walked in R. had me sit down and help him. Its always a test to see if you know what you are doing  when all of a sudden you have to teach someone else. I came really close to helping him correctly! I just forgot the last step. Next time, next time. Over all it was a good two weeks though. Lots of learning experiences!
(I just realized my pictures are on my camera so those will be put up once I load them on my computer)

Whoops

I just realized I never wrote last week! My bad. So the thing I have loved about this internship is all the things I am learning about adobe illustrator and photoshop. I had no idea how many shortcuts there were! I swear by the end of the summer I might not ever have to tough a mouse. haha Okay I probably will but I probably won't have to go up to the menu bar for a different tool or action. One thing I learned about is a way you can change the color of multiple objects. So for example we print black that is 60 40 40 100.  So when a client sends in an image that has black we have to go change it. and instead of selecting each outlined letter or shape we just click one, go up to select, same, fill color/stroke color and bam all the object that are the same color are selected and all you have to do is go choose the new color. Its great! I really wish I would have known about that tool earlier because it would have come in handy with some of my school projects. Well another post will be coming shortly because now this week is almost over!

All Grown Up

Well this week I was informed that I didn't have to put things on the prepress task list hold if I felt confident in them. Putting it on hold just meant that before it was sent out to be printed it was on hold so that R. could look at it and make sure that it was all done correctly. Now this is awesome because that means Im doing things right. Also not awesome because what if I screw something else up? Guess we will slowly transition into this whole not on hold thing. This week was good, I am getting better at putting bleed on things and learning how to create documents so that they can be paneled. Oh I almost forgot! That project from last week that I was working on? Yep it was still there Monday morning. So I had to finish it. Oh well it has now all be approved, printed and shipped! It was a bit of a slower week, less jobs coming in, though around 430 they always seem to come through to us and make a longer list for us to do. But at least that way we stay busy! I guess we shall see what this week brings us!
Oh I have meant to include some pictures of the things Ive worked on so here they are!

Black and Yellow

Well this week was good! I actually got to work a few more hours because one of the girls was out of town so I got to go in on Friday. So far I have only been working small jobs, things that have 1-5 line items, But this week there was a job that had 49 line items and R. was like work on this one. So I figured I would work on a couple of the items and he would work on the other items. That was Monday. I was still working on it on Friday. Between learning to work with new materials, having to change the black to the black we print, learning to work with how they had designed their art and needing new artwork sent back it was seriously an adventure. However it was something that by the end of the week I was glad I had done. It really tested my skills and helped cement processes into my mind. I am also starting to work with the printers more, if they have questions on my jobs they come to me instead of going straight to R. Which is great, and terrifying. I am always terrified I am going to screw up a job but then again I guess its all in the learning process! Now hopefully I don't have to work that same job again tomorrow!
(oh and the whole time I was working on the job I kept thinking some of the designs looked familiar and so at the end of the week I googled the company. Yep. It was "Canvas" the very same canvas that all my college classes run through. Can't ever get away from Canvas apparently!)