In the busy world of computer tablets, many of the leading manufacturers are continuously fighting for control over the consumer population, with most tablet users heading for the extremely well known and popular iPad's. In recent months however, tablets running different versions of Android (an OS created and run by Google) have become increasingly popular taking back some of Apples market.

The most popular Android based tablet to date has been the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which has a fairly decent price tag of around AUD$579. This is where Asus' new 7-inch tablet will take podium. The tablet will be running the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 and will sport Nvidia's Tegra 3 chipset, which is a quad-core processor. At 7-inches it won't be too bulky or heavy and at the same time, will still feel like a tablet. It will have a resolution of 1200x800px, will contain and 8MP rear camera and will have micro USB and micro HDMI ports.

Considering how powerful this tablet is, you would expect it to have a hefty price, but no. At US$259 it should arrive in Australia with a price tag just under $400 in the second half of 2012.

They are also saying that changes may be made to Facebook once it goes public. Changes may include a paid premium paid for use service and may also extend to more invasive advertising. Currently Facebook users who access the social networking site on mobile devices don't have to put up with advertising, however that could change. With Facebook users who access the site on their mobile devices now totaling around 50%, Facebook may include advertising and sponsored stories on their mobile apps and mobile websites according to the filing document.

Check out the Channel 7 snippet below. It maybe worthwhile keeping an eye on this one to see how things may change in your social media campaigns.

Do you think the Facebook IPO and any changes it implements could effect your social networking campaign?

1. First up is Melanie Delon, who creates stunningly realistic images. Melanie's artworks often appear in the digital art magazine, ImagineFX for workshops and tutorials, this one is titled 'Age'.

2. Anna Dittman (also known as Escume on DeviantArt) was recently picked as one of the top 10 Rising Stars of the ImagineFX digital drawing competition. Only 17 years of age and her artworks are already known all around the world. This artwork is titled 'Coral'.

3. Cryptwalker (as known on DeviantArt) created this extremely amazing image for a new Magic the Gathering expansion. It features all of the characters and was created to be a life size printout. This is titled 'Planeswalkers Pantheon'.

4. Chen Wei (also known as Lorlandchain on DeviantArt) is a well known digital artist and has also been featured, surprise surprise… in ImagineFX magazines. His artwork is always beautifully detailed and tells an interesting story. This artwork is titled 'The Queen of Ultima'.

5. Alexander Tooth is a member of the online community for ImagineFX aspiring artists. He often helps people out with their artworks and is extremely talented. His artwork can also been seen on DeviantArt under AlexTooth. This piece is titled 'King of the Mountain'.

I hope you've enjoyed our inspirations for the week!

If you have been on the internet today and gone to Wikipedia you would have noticed something a little different to normal. The 24 hour 'Blackout' is underway to protest against SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). Hundred's of major websites have protested in different ways against these two acts including Wikipedia, Wired, Reddit, WordPress, Twitter, Facebook and Google.

The most notable of the blackouts would have to be Wikipedia, one of the most visited sites on the internet being completely blacked out. Most sites used interesting methods in which their content was still able to be viewed (see the Wired.com screenshot below) but Wikipedia was completely shut down.

SOPA is a massive issue in America, but it is also going to effect anyone who uses the internet regularly. PIPA, if passed, will give corporations the right to get other website showing their material shutdown permanently and have their domain blocked. This means social networking sites, in particular Google+ and Facebook, will become liable for any content that their users' post. If they fail to remove infringing content, they can become subject to shutdown.

Even though these acts are in America, if passed, will effect Australia too. If you are interested in discussing SOPA further, check out the Zise Facebook Page. Also, if you are interested in learning more about SOPA and PIPA check out Stop Online Piracy Act | Wikipedia

Share

Hi-Tec Oils specialises in producing high quality lubricants, greases and specialty products. To see what they have to offer you can visit the online store and view their range of premium products.

The team at Zise has been working hard to make the new website look clean, sleek and easy to navigate. Take a look at our before and after shots to see the difference yourself!

Dont forget to check out their website at www.hi-tecoils.com.au

No one likes working in a boring workspace, no imagination, no freedom, creativity blocked out by the mess scrambled over your desk. Having a tidy, simple and well designed workspace can be extremely helpful in your productivity and the amount of creativeness you have. Get out of the boring and get into a functional and creative working environment.

The most important part of a good workspace is the functionality. There is no point having a beautiful space to work in if there isn't enough room for your keyboard to fit amongst your screens, no point having an awesome wall mount for your desk if its too high off the ground. Make sure when designing your workspace that you leave ample room for all of your equipment, suitable places where cords can be run out of sight and finally, make sure you leave enough room for books, paperwork and anything else you are likely to place on your desk as you use it.

As I mentioned above, one thing that greatly improves both the look and the functionality of a workspace is having every single cord, no matter where it is running to, hidden and out of sight. Having them hidden does not only make the whole space look much tidier but it also helps to avoid cords being knocked, pulled out or tripped over.

My last piece of advice before I show you some inspirational workspaces is; Simplicity is Creativity. The more simple your workspace is, the more freedom you have to move both physically and mentally. Having a tidy workspace leaves nothing to distract you from your work and will greatly help boost your productivity.

Finally, Lifehacker Australia is a great resource for workspace inspiration as once a week they showcase a featured workspace. Here is a list of my favorite workspaces from the Lifehacker Australia Website. Enjoy.

• Elevated Workspace
• Wood and White
• Basement
• Sleek White
• Chalkboard
• Deskbed
• Spacious Office
• Elegance Basement
• Compudesk
• Monitors & Fireworks
• Makeover

Google+ is the new social network from the internet giant Google and at the moment there is a lot of hype surrounding the upcoming Facebook alternative. Now you may ask, what features does Google+ have that will benefit my business/company? Well, here's why.

Only recently has Google+ been open to the public as it went through a long beta stage where only people who received invitations were able to sign up. Upon release to the public however, a wave of new features were added including Video Chat, 'Hangout' and an Android App. These are the three main features that put Google+ on par with, or even above Facebook. The most innovative feature is Hangout which I'll explain below.

Hangout This is where Google+ shines. The Hangout feature is basically an easy to set up, group video which people can join and leave at will. When a user starts a hangout, they choose who can join the hangout by selecting people from their friends 'circle'. Once selected, a message will appear on the selected individuals streams asking them if they would like to join the Hangout.

Most of the other features of Google+ are very generic and would resemble any other social network. Instead of a News Feed from Facebook, it's called a Stream and does basically the same thing. Instead of Friends you have 'Circles' which is really just a cool way to organize the people you add into categories. And finally, instead of 'liking' pages and/or posts, you +1 them.

So far, you may be thinking that there isn't really a point to making a Google+ page because it's so similar to Facebook. That's where your wrong.

Google+ is different from all other popular networking sites for one major reason; it's run by Google, the number one search engine in the world. When you make a public post in Google+ it is quickly augmented into Google search engine. This can be of great value when trying to improve your websites rankings in Google. If you want to get your business known, Google+ may be one of your solutions.

If you are interested in creating a Google+ business page, start here!

Another year has passed, and how quick has it gone! With Christmas drawing close the cheer in the office is slowly rising, all eager for the break and the Aussie Christmas feast.

Zise will be closing our doors from 4:30PM Wednesday 21st December for a merry three week break, our doors opening again on Monday 16th January 2012.

If there are any emergencies please email info@zise.com.au and we will contact you as soon as possible.

We would like to thank everyone for a wonderful year, wish you all a merry Christmas and hope to see you all in the new year.

Depending on how complicated or detailed the mascot needs to be, we will usually create the image as a vector. This way clients can resize and reuse the image without any hassles.

To start with, we get a general idea of the character that is wanted (a human, animal or anything in between) and what it should symbolise, and we begin with 2-3 sketches.

In this case, the company specifically wanted a bull with a cowboy hat and a rope. It needed to be simple enough to print on a shirt, but also to incorporate into a logo design. The initial sketches are very rough as this enables the client to make suggestions without the artist having to spend a lot of time on something that might not get used.  

Sometimes the client might combine ideas from each sketch, or they might pick one without wanting any changes. We encourage our clients to put forth their suggestions in the sketch stage as much as possible so they will be 100% happy with the end result.

Similarly, our illustration process starts off with the same amount of sketches and is then finished off in Photoshop as bitmap image. This allows for much more complicated figures and colour, however bitmaps cannot be enlarged in the same way a vector image can be.

When deciding which format to use, consider what the image will be used for, and if it is for one use only. A vector image can be easily resized without losing any details, so it is easy to incorporate into other designs. A bitmap will lose quality if it is resized and is usually used for posters, or web.

Sometimes a client will ask for a change, and then decide that they preferred how it was before. We are happy to make these changes but we strongly encourage customers to inform us of any major changes they would like before we get to the colouring stage.

In these vector examples, flat colours have been used in order to keep things simplified. The more shading we put in, the more detailed the image looks. This isn't necessary for all mascot designs as oftentimes simplicity is key.

If you would like to find out more about our Mascot, Logo or Character Designs, feel free to contact us and get a free qoute!

Cintiq 24HD | Key features

• Large 24" (61 cm) widescreen display provides a perfect workspace for creating digital content
• Superior display fidelity with full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,200) and high colour gamut (92% Adobe RGB) to bring your creative ideas to life
• Supports HDCP protocol to view copy protected materials e. g. Blu-Ray videos
• Impressive industrial design with flat drawing surface and unique display stand
• Display transits between low/flat and upright/angled with the assisted lifts and intuitive breaks
• Enables unique off table edge positioning
• Work directly with the pen on screen with intuitive hand-eye coordination
• 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity and Wacom Tip Sensor produce a precise and detailed reflection of your ideas

The main differences:

The Cintiq 24HD offers more flexible working positions, unlike the Cintiq 21UX. The new Cintiq can be moved to a comfortable position on your lap while still docked to the table. The designers have clearly taken into consideration the habits of the users and have given them exactly what they want.

It's the largest tablet screen display ever released by Wacom, with 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. The second version of the Cintiq21UX was released with the same upgrade, however the lack of maneuverability and pure weight makes for a less comfortable design.

Along with the key extra modifiable keys on each side, the Cintiq 24HD is designed with a help button at the top which brings up a help screen to remind you what the key settings are. The second button brings up a keyboard for quick easy to access keyboard shortcuts.

At last we come to the major difference between the two tablets… and that is the price tag. $2500 for this state of the art tablet, compared to the 21UX, which sells for $1999. All in all, while both of the tablets are incredibly useful, if you can afford it, we recommend going for the Cintiq24HD, for an extremely flexible and comfortable workspace. And then there's the bragging rights too.