Orders

I'll be sending out a handful of orders tonight and tomorrow...Sorry for any delays.  I've been very busy looking for a place to live.  It's hard to get a lot of work done when the housing clock is ticking.  

Display Woes

The orders having been coming in at a very nice pace-  Keeping up doesn't seem to be too much of an issue right now...

What IS (or was) an issue is my main monitor started to die last week and severly slowed down my work (Can't do a whole bunch when half the display is dark).  I quickly picked up a really cheap 20" off NewEgg and got right back into the groove today.  

I have to hand it to NewEgg.  A 20" DVI-D widescreen for $299 with no tax and free shipping had me thrilled-  But what sealed the deal was that I got the monitor in one day (Ordered Tuesday morning, recieved Wednesday afternoon)-  I barely had time to track the package.  All that with their free ground shipping!  Way to go NewEgg!

Open!

Both Shalimar and myself have re-opened for business.  Order away.

Some changes and updates...

Soon both Shalimar and myself will be reopening to orders.  (Horray).  With school over for summer, there's more a lot more time to devote to the icons.

I made a bunch of MUCH-needed cosmetic changes to IconizeMe.com, tonight-  most of which you all probably won't notice.  But, here's the rundown:
- Made the white divider "lines" not so damned distracting.
-Made the text be, like, ya know-  REAL TEXT.  Before, and I have no idea why, all the text on IconizeMe.com was done in PNGs.  I guess I thought it would be easier to layout.  What a bonehead move it was.  I'm amazed it took me almost a year to change that.  As a result, I'll be able to update the site so much more than I used to.  I also changed it from a mono-spaced catastrophe to a simple Arial.  
-All the pages line up much nicer with eachother.  Readability is MUCH better.
-Gave José a much needed Featured Artist page:  http://www.iconizeme.com/jose.html
-Little things not worth mentioning.  I cleaned up little bits and pieces of code and other things-  Nothing thrilling, the HTML still sucks and will never validate.  But I don't care-  it works.  

I think that sums it up.  If you're one of the billions of people that visit the site on an hourly basis...enjoy. 

Complete!

Ok!  Whew, I finally got all of my orders out the door.  According to my list, everything is completed and sent.

If you have ordered an icon and not yet recieved it, please do the following:

1) Check SPAM folders.  This happens all the time, especially because I'm sending these a ZIP files which are commonly filtered.  

2) Check for any emails from paul@dv-graphics.com.  The subject line should be "Your Iconize Me! Icon"

3) Nothing?  Drop me a line.  Either the email just didn't get through, or (worse case, and rare scenario) I've misplaced your order and not completed it.  If this is the case I will, as quickly as possible, finish your icon and get it out to you.

I hope everyone enjoys their icons.  It's always fun to see how people use them, so if you have it up on your blog/myspace/facebook/forum, I'd love to see it.

5/11 Update

Sent out a bunch of orders last night-  I'm on the home stretch of this backorder...I should be able to finish everything tonight.  I'll keep everyone updated here.

MacNation birthday

Hey, 

They're having a fun contest over at MacNation to help with their mascot redesign.  They're also celebrating 10 years online.  10!  You can win a LOT of great Mac shareware-  including an Iconize Me! icon.  

visit http://www.macnation.org for more information

Delays

I'm right at the end of the school year and have been working around the clock on my portfolio and final projects.  I'm trying REALLY hard to get icons out along with it, but I'm just not able to match my typical rate.  

I'm going to work on a bunch tonight and hopefully ease the delay.  Those of you who have contacted me with various deadlines, don't worry, I will meet those no problem. 

If you need your icon by a certain date (birthday, etc), then let me know....Otherwise, it will just be a little delayed...But I promise everyone will get theirs.

4/10 Update

Sorry for the lack of posts / action.  Been very busy getting my portfolio ready for the end of the year.  

While icons haven't been moved to the back burner, they have been shifted to the left a little.  Sorry.  But I have been getting a bunch done in the past few days....Here's a list of orders I'm currently working on (in various stages, between just starting and 99% done), listed by orderers initials:

JM
JS
PJN
JA
DL
SW
DM
SC
MS
WJ
LJ
JO

Cool tools!!!

Just found some great filters in Illustrator that I, frankly didn't know about. For all of you that don't know, Adobe Illustrator is the software we use to digitally paint the caricatures and icons we make. The filter is called, scribble, and I'm so excited about it, I had to tell the world. Can't wait to use it on you guys icons.

March 14th Update

I sent out about 1/3 of my pending orders today.  I hope to get the other 2/3s done over the next 10 days or so.

I'm Back

Hi:
It's been a while since I posted, but we've been pretty busy at IconizeMe. Currently working on Glenn's order, and as soon as I'm done with that, I'll get started on Herb's. You guys wouldn't believe the fun I'm having with these.;-)

Signing out!

March 9th Update

Been busy tonight working on icons. 

The following orders have either been completed and sent, or are in the final stages and are due out in the next batch:
(Listed by orderer's initials)
WH
AS
MS
JW
OJ
CG
LT
CB
LB
NW
MX

The proof is in the cake

I love it when people come up with fun things to do with the icons:

http://www.dv-graphics.com/temp/aaroncake.jpg

Testing

Just testing a new blogging widget.

2/20 Update

I sent out a few orders this afternoon. After I get back from class tonight I'll be working on more. A lot of orders are just on the verge of getting sent...They just need coloring or whatever.

2/15 update

The following orders are almost complete and will receive their icons within the next group:

(Listed by orderer's initials)
CN
CB
SW
WH
LS
JT
AS
MS

Call for Help...

Several months Back, Leo Laporte's show Call for Help had a small feature on Iconize Me!

Here's a transcript:

>>Amber: YOU KNOW, JUST-- AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S EASIER -- OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH USING, LIKE, PHOTOS OF PEOPLE AND JUST THOSE TYPES OF PHOTOS, THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO COMPRESS THEM TOO MUCH SO THEY'RE BLURRY, BUT THAT -- THAT -- THAT'S FINE AS FAR -- AND AS FAR AS COMPRESSING THEM TO 20 OR 30k. THE NEXT QUESTION HE HAS FOR US, AND THIS IS A PICTURE OF HIM. THIS IS A PICTURE OF MARTIN RIGHT HERE. IS HE WAS THINKING THAT HE WANTED SOME KIND OF MASCOT FOR HIS SITE. SO, HE WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, MA-- MAYBE IT COULD BE HIM BECAUSE HE'S ONE OF THE EDITORS OF THE SITE. SO, I FOUND THIS REALLY COOL PLACE WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO, AND IT'S CALLED ICONIZE ME! OR ICONIZE ME!

>>Leo: OH, THAT'S SO NEAT.

>>Amber: AND WHAT YOU CAN DO IS YOU CAN SEND THEM IN A PHOTO AND THEN THEY HAVE THREE DIFFERENT ARTISTS, PAUL, SHALIMAR, AND JOSE, WHO WILL ACTUALLY TAKE YOUR IMAGE AND TURN YOU INTO A LITTLE ICON THAT YOU CAN PUT ON YOUR SITE.

>>Leo: I LIKE-AZAY.

>>Amber: I KNOW. THESE ARE MY FAVOURITE.

>>Leo: YEAH.

>>Amber: AND I THINK FOR MARTIN THIS WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD OPTION BECAUSE IT FITS WITH KIND OF THIS MUSIC SITE.

>>Leo: YEAH.

>>Amber: IT'S NOT TOO REALISTIC. IT'S GOT MORE OF -- JOSE DOES MORE OF KIND OF A CARTOONISH LOOK.

>>Amber: RIGHT.

>>Leo: SO, HE CAN GO HERE AND HE CAN E-MAIL JOSE. LOOK, WE HAVE THIS GUY. THAT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE YOU, LEO. A LITTLE SHUFFLE.

>>Leo: YEAH. YEAH, I LIKE IT.

>>Amber: BUT HE COULD GO AND HE COULD GET A PICTURE OF AN ICON AND HE COULD --

>>Leo: HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

>>Amber: IT'S PRETTY INEXPENSIVE. ALL OF THESE ARTISTS CHARGE BETWEEN 40 AND $60.

>>Leo: I MIGHT DO THAT FOR ALL THE TWiT GUYS. IT WOULD BE KIND GOOD TO HAVE THOSE KIND OF STANDARDIZED ICONS.

>>Amber: IT REALLY WOULD BE GOOD.

>>Leo: YEAH.

>>Amber: SO, YOU CAN CHOOSE WHICH STYLE YOU LIKE OUT OF ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT ARTISTS. AND, LIKE I SAID, BETWEEN 40 AND $60, THAT'S LESS EXPENSIVE THAN PRETTY MUCH ANYWHERE YOU WOULD GO TO ACTUALLY GET SOMEONE TO KIND OF CUSTOM CREATE AN ICON FOR YOUR SITE. AND ALSO IT'S NICE TO USE YOUR IMAGE. IF YOU'RE -- IT'S, IT'S VERY EDITORIAL, THE SITE HE DOES, THE 80's MUSIC CENTRAL. SO, IT'S NICE IF HE ACTUALLY KIND OF NICE ASSIGNS HIS -- HIS FACE AND HIS BRAND TO THE SITE --

>>Leo: YEAH.

>>Amber: -- AND MAKES IT KIND OF CARTOONISH AND FUN --

>>Leo: I LIKE THAT, YEAH.

>>Amber: -- AND USE THE SAME COLOURS THAT HE USES ON HIS SITE.

>>Leo: YEAH. AND HE CAN CALL HIMSELF LIKE, YOU KNOW, Mr. HOT PANTS OR...

>>Amber: OR HOT STUFF. MARTIN HO-- OH, THAT'S MIKEY'S NAME.

>>Leo: OH, THAT'S TRADEMARKED.

>>Amber: [ laughs ] BUT HE COULD DO SOMETHING, YOU KNOW. AND, AND IT'S A GREAT WAY TO JUST, YOU KNOW, GET HIS IMAGE UP THERE AND --

>>Leo: I LIKE IT.

>>Amber: -- HAVE SOME FUN AND IT'S PRETTY INEXPENSIVE.

>>Leo: WHAT'S, WHAT'S -- ICON-- ICONIZE ME?

>>Amber: iconizeme-

>>Leo: ICONIZE ME, I LIKE THAT.

>>Amber: -.com. AND WE'LL PUT LINKS TO THESE ON OUR SHOW NOTES --

>>Leo: GREAT.

Saturday update...

I've been busy, and got about 10 icons sent out this evening. I hope everyone enjoys them.
I won't be able to get any done tomorrow (got school work and the super bowl to attend to :-)

...But the next batch isn't too bad...there are no "multi-orders" (individuals who order multiple portraits in at once)- which I have NO problem with (don't be discouraged, by any means) but it does tend to slow down the process of getting orders out.

That's all for now.

Feb 3rd

I got 9 icons drawn out tonight. The next step will be to color and send them out.

To be colored/sent (initials):
BC
JH
NE
CF
CG

To be drawn/colored next
CN
CB
JR
SW
DS
WH

Icon Update

Just wanted to post an update....Icons have been going well. I sent out a bunch last night. Another bunch will be sent out in the next few days.

Open

Hope everyone had a good break (if any).

I reopened my order page this morning, so everyone is welcome to send me money ;-)

Vacation

I'll be out of town starting tonight. I will return early January. I will have email access- but it'll be spotty. For now, enjoy the new DVG site and Signs 2 Icons.

New Site!

Finishing all my icon orders allowed me to concentrate on a project I've been wanting to finish for a while- A new site design for DV Graphics. Maybe this new one will last longer than a year! ;-)

http://www.dv-grahics.com/main.html

I had a lot of fun designing this one. You can read more about it on the main page.

Backorder Complete

I've finished all pending orders....Everything is sent out, and groovy!

If you've placed an order and have yet to receive it:
1) Check your spam bin, it may be lost in the mail. Nothing there?
2) Send me a message, I can resend it.
3) There's also the possibility that I've misplaced your order. Which is RARE, but could happen- If so, I'll see what I can do about getting out to you the same day.

However, as of tomorrow I'm starting my vacation until January 9th-ish. So no new orders until at least then.

Those of you who have requested so, I will email you as soon as I've reopened- so you'll have the chance to be first in line.