Current State of Charfish Affairs

Current State of Charfish Affairs

written by Charlie Pabst

The last post I wrote on Charfish was dated 19 May, 2008. That’s almost 3 months ago. Shameful, I know. Because of my absence, I think it only fair I tell you where I’ve been and where I’m going with this phenomenon called Charfish.

Where have I been?

I’ve been right here. Yup, the whole time.

There. Wasn’t that fun?

In all truth I’ve been busy. Insanely so. 18-hour days sort of busy. At the current moment I’ve got 16 projects cooking all at the same time.

They say if you need something done, give it to a busy man. Well, that’s me. In the past couple months I’ve done everything: album covers, book covers, book design, some writing gigs, about 8000 website/blog designs and about triple that in headers and banners.

I haven’t blogged because, well, I’ve been busy with the things that pull in the dough.

That’s not totally cool to you readers, though, is it? From the comments and emails I’ve gotten here at Charfish, I know a small number of readers (zero) care about how much money I’m making or how busy I am. The more popular posts here are about how to run a business, how to design, things like that. Having realized that, I can start cranking out some more content for you.

Where is this blog going?

To the moon, that’s where. What I’ve got planned for the next couple months:

A brand new design

Why a new design? Because it’s time, that’s why. For a design blog, Charfish is a bit subdued. The new version will also be subdued, but subdued in a way that totally kicks subdued ass.

Want to see a preview? Here you go:

That’s all you get.

Cinema 4D experiments and tutorials

I’ve had some questions about how I’ve done certain 3D models and designs, and in response I plan on releasing a series of tutorials about just that. The tutorials will cover not only software specific workflows and such, but will also discuss why certain decisions were made compositionally. A 3D model still has to be captured properly and with an eye to final layout.

After Effects experiments and tutorials

There seems to be a growing fascination with After Effects and I’m a victim of that myself. I try, every day, to at least do a little something in After Effects. It is a limitless program with which you can create some of the most insanely interesting effects with just a few minutes. I’m going to be sharing some of the experiments I’ve been making as well as creating some tutorials around them. The tutorials will be created if there seems to be interest so be sure and comment.

More frequent blog posting

Yay! One of the reasons I haven’t posted much is that, frankly, the upcoming blog design will house the blog posts I have in mind much better than the current one. Charfish is going to be more of a multimedia experience with tutorial videos, animation experiments, etc. and the new version will do them justice!

Case studies of real-life projects

Another type of question I get quite regularly is, “How did you start?” or “What’s your background?” The answer, which I won’t get into here, would certainly surprise a good 90% of you. The new blog will answer all those questions.

And so will my book.

Wait, what book?

I’m writing a book about how to run a successful design business. I will probably call it something really appropriate, like:
How to Run a Successful Design Business

Running a design business is about 10% design and about 90% other things, like workflow, bookkeeping, marketing, customer relations, etc.

I love the business I’m in because I’ve figured out how to extract maximum happiness from it. And the income is good. And the clients and connections you make are great. It’s not just another job.

BUT, it certainly could be if you do it wrong, and that’s where the book comes in. There’s really no reason to be self-employed and stressed out beyond belief. I mean, why not just get a “real” job? You’ll be just as stressed, but at least you’ll have a steady paycheck, right?

There’s an art to running a design business. Especially when you’re doing about 90% of it yourself. I’m hoping my new book will help shed some light on the subject and help out newcomers to the field as well old-timers who may be feeling the stress.

Another book about design

Another book? Yes, another book. Why? Because you all keep asking for it!

“What do I need to know to get started in this career?”
“Do I need a portfolio or diploma or something?”
“Am I a failure if I don’t know about the golden proportion?”

These are the real questions that prompted the book.

Here’s the thing: I don’t have a background in graphic design. Nor am I all that smart. I couldn’t develop a software application if my child’s life depended on it, which makes it very fortunate that I don’t own a child.

My design career started the very second I got a client and no sooner. Everything I’ve learned about design and websites and code and all that stuff was learned on the job. What’s the point? The point is that I’ve learned through fire and brimstone how to deliver.

Now…I’m not perfect. I’ve been fired by a client before. I’ve had a client drop completely out of communication with me for reasons that I can only assume are my fault. But…the percentage of happy customers is a mile long and the list of the latter type is, as of this writing, 3. Long story short, I know how to design, but it’s not because of any schooling or formal training.

I put off this career for a LONG time, thinking I didn’t have what it takes. That I was too inexperienced. Or a thousand other excuses. Once I started, everything I needed to know came very quickly.

I’m hoping my book will shortcut this process for you. It’s really a distillation of everything I know. Honestly. It’s probably going to sell for about $10,987 because of all the info I’m putting into it.

To the future

I have to thank you for your patience so far. I haven’t posted in a while, but despite that, my RSS numbers are on a steady increase. That means someone’s doing a better job of spreading the word than I am. Thank you.

But your patience will be rewarded with an all new, improved beyond all recognition, Charfish Design. It’s only a week or so away (crosses fingers) so…just a little more patience, please.

I’ll see you on the other side with some insanely great and useful content.