Johanna Lievemaa PORTFOLIO & CV
Front Page Blog & News
Dear visitor!
Feel free to skip STRAIGHT to my portfolio!
Publications!
May 7, 2012
Beware! We are releasing our "Kuntoklubi" Game this Friday! Stay tuned! ***Edit: here it is!
I made all the graphics and animations. Some of the UI-screens will still be changed to more readable (and prettier) versions according to specs from how to write for disabled people. This game is supposed to teach disabled people (with different levels of disabilities) about healthy eating in a fun way.
I'm thinking of making an introduction animation for the game as well!
Spring
Apr 24, 2012
We have booked our flights, hotels and trains for our Tai Chi camp / France tour in May. The Chinese master of ITCCA, Chu King Hung, will be teaching the secrets of the Yang family Tai Chi from 25th to 28th in Grenoble (mountains!) and we will use the opportunity to visit Lyon and Paris on the way.
Before that I will have to finish my current animation projects. I'm doing a promotional video for TAMK for next summer's Assembly and a few other projects. The big thing I'm working on now with a team is a game (and website) for Kuntoklubi, a project for disabled people. I've been concentrating on graphics and animations for the game, but we do design work together, and it has been a real delight to work with the target group.
Revamped!
Feb 5, 2012
Yosh! Time to redo the portfolio and CV and stuff.. Well, a whole new layout is lurking in my sketchbook and I'm trying to decide on a new domain name. ^^; I've been drawing and drawing and animating and animating.. Frame by frame animation is quite addictive and I love how much there is to learn. I wonder if the 10 000 hours -rule works with animation? I want to become the best. Same as with Tai Chi, there's so much to learn it's not just a hobby, it's a way of life.
Class trip to Graz
Nov 21, 2011
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| Österreich |
Japan #2!
Sept 26, 2011
Another trip to our all time favourite location: Japan. This time half business trip for my husband, but I really could not let him go alone on our wedding anniversary, now could I? We spent the whole 10 days in Tokyo and experienced a typhoon and an earthquake and many different sides of the metropolis. Loved it! It was really hard to go back home, leaving the far east for the third time.
Media
Sept 4, 2010
Nowadays it's mostly media. I try to sew small things every now and then, I've even been yearning to do things with my hands, but school is so much fun I don't think I miss much. I wrote on the School Blog so you can find out more about that there. Of course everything's just starting and everything will become clearer with time. I feel like I've grown again, like I understand more (and know more about stuff I don't yet understand). I find being a Tutor a very pleasing job. Life is great and there really is little that could make me happier.
Tomorrow I hope to see our doll theater's play Sleeping Beauty for the last time. If I finish my home work in time.
JAPAN!
July 25, 2010
It was some time around 1999 when I got into anime and became a Japan fan. I'd learned some Japanese already and I'd always been interested in the eastern cultures and religions. It's been a long road since then with a steady increase of interest and now I finally visited Japan!!! It was our second honey moon and we were very happy for the long 10 days of travelling through Japan by train.
Doll crafts AND Media!
Jun 4, 2010
I got the training spot for the summer at Haihara Art Centre & Doll Theatre. It's been delightful, fun and educational. The place is a paradise of tranquility and the relaxed atmosphere has a tint of olden times and summer memories. I love it there and I would love to get to do things like this for a living for real. But I did get accepted to the TAMK school of Art, Music and Media, too. I'm hugely interested in what that degree programme has to offer. We'll see what I'll become when I grow up. Maybe I can do all of it and more!
Haihara Art Centre
Apr 29, 2010
What do I want to be when I grow up? What will I do? While I wait for the results from media school I'm giving crafts a second chance. It has always been my favourite hobby after CGI. Now I'm wishing to get a practical training place at a doll theatre for the summer. Wanting to show off my doll clothes!

Here's a link to the pictures. (Captions in Finnish, and the whole album list is here.) English captions are used in my Flickr-account.
Wretched.
Apr 13, 2010
Surely, I was not to mess up my entrance exams? Clearly it cannot be helped, I am no master of my speech, and I am sure to have to try again next year (though the results don't come until June) because I've been up all night mulling over all I said imperfectly in the entrance interview. I was terrified of the situation because of my weakness of being sometimes anxious, and yet I was there and didn't even faint. But now I'm trying to think of other things, I can always apply again if my fears come true. Then I'll be able to use this year in a constructive way and perhaps grow a bit stronger. Oh and yea, I was invited to the exam after all!
What I happened to find out during the interview is my love of books. I was asked about my hobbies and after my never ending list they asked if I read at all. It was like asking do I eat, sleep or breath. I thought I might re-upload my books page. Have I mentioned that I've started reading Stephen King's Dark Tower to my husband as a bedtime story? More art on that subject cooking.
And as I googled about web sites and usability again after a long pause because of the pre task 2 and realized how much is wrong with this site right now, I might as well promise to fix it. No more empty (promises) links and no more "coming soon" horsies. It'll get my thoughts off the school affair if doing my doll work won't. :) Happy still! Wretched only a little bit.
Admissions.fi
Feb 12, 2010
I've gone and applied for Tamk Media Programme. I forgot that though my flash portfolio is available, the portfolio inside this site is still under construction after the migration so I figured I'll link my biggest 3D / animation project here on the front page, in case the guys deciding who get to study Media actually come see what's up here before I can fix it. The application was such a last minute decision that I don't want to mess up the rest of it. So to show my potential, my first 3D animation walk cycle, once again.
It's here.
Housewives that are not desperate or even close to unhappy.
Feb 3, 2010
About the tiny dolls first. Oh dear. I've been making the tiniest little dresses and outfits and JEANS for that wee doll whose leg is thinner than my little finger, and I have lean fingers. Pictures are here (Flickr) and you really need to take a look. I'm amazed at how great they turned out (as are other hobbyists) and now I need to sew some for everyone and their grandmother's dolls. Yay! Otherwise I've been a happy housewife. This arrangement is refreshing and I have enough time for my hobbies and studies (started Japanese and continuing Mandarin Chinese and digital painting) and we get nice home cooked meals 6 out of 7 days a week. :) Happiness is really something I've stumbled upon and have since learned to feed and acknowledge. I hope everyone does.
But now I need to start thinking about school entrance exams and pretasks. Exciting and scary! What will I actually be when I grow up?
Tiny Dolls and Big Plans.
Jan 1, 2010
Happy New Year! I've been a good girl and so I got the best yuletide present ever. See pictures of my new tiny doll at my Flickr account. This is also my new years new start at a new LJ blog and I've established my own watermark referring to this site. You can also follow my developing photography skills at flickr. But what might the future bring?
Caffeine and candy
Nov 23, 2009
Okay I didn't update anything after that last post, I've been busy being a non-desperate housewife and doing my doll stuffs. ^^; But now I feel like putting that portfolio together and finishing my essays. Maybe I've had enough caffeine these last few days to keep me awake on the computer long enough. I bought my husband a small coffee grinder for his birthday and as I had hoped, it started an avalanche of interest and acquiring information about how nerdy coffee making can get and eventually new investments in that quarter of breakfast delights. We got a real grinder and an Aeropress coffee maker that brings caffeine intake to a new level and makes me purr with pleasure. It takes a while to get used to coffee that isn't bitter; I still frown after a large sip but the acidity just isn't there.
Umm..
Oct 5, 2009
Still updating and migrating and stuff.. But we've been busy with three separate wedding receptions (and planning another party!) and our first beautiful honeymoon trip! (Yes, there will be more. ;)) *goes back to updating*
Married.
Sept 18, 2009
:}
Taking a break.
June 29, 2009
Unfortunately, the site is currently migrating from one service to another and is slightly under construction at the time. Welcome back soon and I hope you'll enjoy your stay.
EDIT: The site has moved and information is on its way to new locations. In the mean time, check my DA account or try to find me somewhere else on the Internet. Alternately, keep surfing elsewhere and return later, I'll try to be right here waiting.
Onward
June 23, 2009
It's been two months of selling buttons and ribbons. I've learned a lot. Today I'm going to sort out some papers to continue selling buttons and ribbons for another month, so that in August we are free to book some cheap flights to some distant location. Call it a pre-honeymoon or simply a well earned vacation, I'm ready to go. Then I hope there will be time to sew the dress and do other last minute wedding crafts. We'd like to finish our interior decorations and go to Näsinneula before we've lived here for a whole year! But that is something I'm looking forward to. I'm thinking of buying my second doll today also. It's like Christmas!
New winds blowing
March 31, 2009
Soon I've been a repair seamstress for six months and it's time to move on to new challenges. I have really enjoyed this practical internship at Etappi but I should try other occupations too while I still have a chance. I have no idea what I will be when I grow up or what I even want to be, other than a happy and balanced human being. I doubt that I will be returning to the computer world anytime soon, as I enjoy customer service and "real work" meaning work which has immediate, palpable results. I'm even tempted to try and start my own business, but right now that needs a lot more thinking and analyzing and anyway I'm preoccupied by my slowly solidifying wedding plans..
But I promise to fix this layout today! To work with Internet Explorer. I've forgotten since they don't make that browser for my OS of choise. :)
The only thing I talk / think / dream about
January 12, 2009
Dear Santa!
December 4, 2008
I've been good all year, except for some tantrums and sulking and neglecting my friends and obligations.. But I don't need you to bring me anything, because I've ordered an Asian Body Jointed Doll for myself as a present. ^_____^ I can't wait for her to come!
Although, I would like a pin cushion that isn't a cushion but a magnet, like the ones we have at work. It suits my bohemian workflow / habit to hurt myself to be able to throw the pins somewhere to the general direction of the cushion and still keep them in a neat stack. :D Then I'd like another doll and wigs and a new computer and a desk and and and GoreTex boots and.. But really I'm totally happy just the way things are. Merry Christmas everybody!
New stuff!
November 9, 2008
Well, nothing new on the site. I've stopped developing it and basically haven't even touched the computer for a while. I got the training position at a textile workshop and feel like I've finally found something I really LOVE to do. Don't know how I've been so blind. I guess I thought work should not be fun, only hobbies could. :D Anyway, I'm loving it. Here's a picture of one particularly hard day at the shop! I'll get back to the portfolio issues some day when I start missing the cold glow of the computer screen on my weary eyes.
Updates..
October 14, 2008
I've been working on the portfolio what little time I have spent on the computer and not watching ImagineFX videos. I'm thinking about the navigation, about the subcategories on some of the main categories and on what to base my categorization anyways. Should I stick to different mediums, as I tend to use various methods expressing myself, or to base it on genre or purpose? Now the navigation is a bit confusing as there are assorterd subcategories on some topics and the first list of galleries is grouped by the tools of the trade and the second one is losely based on purpose.
My iBook is, again, starting to say goodbye, even though it has been working quite fine for a few months. I tried to paint with Painter and after a while all I got was the beach ball rolling every time I tried a new stroke. A few weeks ago when I had it with me at my aunt's summer cabin I reallized the power cord really can't bear any moving around anymore. It's a pain to get it to load when it's been disconnected for a while. *sigh* I hope I'll find a place to do practical training in so that I'll be able to start saving for the glorious iMac 24".
IE6.0 </3
October 8, 2008
There was a rather "amusing" incident with one of my "favourite" web browsers and this site. I say "amusing" instead of amusing! because I have had just about enough trouble from IE in the past and here we went again. Every other browser I try works, but the one that I can't test on my own (mac) computer f*@%ks it all up every time. :D Anyways, I have replaced a partly see-trough .png with an ugly transparent/opaque .gif and gotten rid of the grayness on older IEs. The funny part is I thought I'd surely replaced it earlier and was puzzled as to why the problem persisted.. :D
Ready to rumble
October 2, 2008
I'm happy to report that I have breathed life to the Online Potfolio and will be updating it regularly, but am now ready to send out job applications with this site as the base implicator of my skills.
Finishing up
September 24, 2008
No longer rainy but plenty foggy these days, the scenic view I have from my computer in our new home. I'm determined to have this new site published any day now, with only some minor adjustments to the graphics left to do and the assembly of the portfolio well planned but not really started. The house is coming along nicely after we got the rest of the missing furniture last week, only need to get a permit to paint a few walls and to rearrange the kitchen cabinets.
Doodling
August 7, 2008
These pages are still under construction! But feel free to browse and email me (until I find the energy to make a guestbook) if you have any notes, ideas or opinions. They would be very welcome!
I'm in the middle of packing my life into boxes and saying goodbye to the city I've lived in for the last 9 years. Still, I've had time to update some parts of this site and I've been sketching the background / layout pictures eagerly. I think there is light at the end of the tunnel! But I really need to find a job first thing as we move to Tampere. One can't just keep drawing fairies all days till the end of time, no matter how nice it might sound. :)
New sightings
June 21, 2008
Oh, hai! I've been spending this rainy day inside specsing my new layout. I'm posting some of the content from the old site and making most of it up as I go. Having an anti-web2.0 approach to me means drawing the layout by hand (and making up all the html+css by hand), so this will probably take some time. And that's the only way to go right now, anti-2.0 that is. Though I'm confident it'll be quicker than the earlier layout (which was never finished). I've started on the "mei-chan" section, which is about me, and worry about the portfolio when this site starts to have some kind of a look and feel. I'm so sure this will be beautiful some day! <3
To tell you the truth I'm sick and tired of my age old iBook 12" with its shattered power cord and so I'd rather just go out, play, or even wash the dishes than sit at the computer. But a new iMac 24" would cost about an arm and a leg, so here we are. Editing pictures and storing them gets more difficult by the day but I'll have to endure this until I have a job / know what I want to be when I grow up (the choice of the graphics card depends a lot on 3D). I think I'll forget about being a perfectionist and won't stress about putting up my old pictures on this site at first, even though they might be of a wrong size or lack the proper borders, as the background images are all still placeholders as well.
Info
June 11, 2008
I'm now a Bachelorette of Business Administration / Business Information Systems. I'm also moving from Jyväskylä to Tampere in August and at least until then unemployed. Time to polish the new site and make a smashing portfolio.. And to enjoy the summer!
New Layout On The Way!
April 1, 2008
I've started working on a new layout and basically a whole new site. I'm drawing backgrounds and designing an easy navigation, but I won't be able to concentrate on this now that my thesis deadline is coming so near. I'll launch the site sometime this summer depending on my schedule. A new and improved portfolio, both inside and out, will be my main motivation. After the thesis and graduation I'll be looking for a job and how would I get one without a nice portfolio? In the meantime my current flash portfolio and online gallery will be available for viewers.


