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Webdesign & contents
by ClaireWorks.
Copyright 2000-2001
Beverly Claire L. Fangonon.
All rights reserved.
All graphics & photographs
by ClaireWorks,
unless otherwise indicated.
Sister Sites
Other Websites by the Maker of ClaireWorks.net 01 May 2001
Welcome to the introductory page for ClaireWorks.net's sister sites. They are "sisters" because they were born of one mother (me). =) Read on about how they came into being. I must apologize that most of them are incomplete and/or no longer updated, but they are a good source of design history: evolution from clunky frames and huge, slow-loading graphics to sleeker, tabled layouts and fast-loading graphics. The websites are presented from youngest to eldest.
Software used:
All graphics created with Paint Shop Pro.
All pages hand-coded using Notepad.
Coding debugged through CuteHTML.
Graphics plugin filter: Blade Pro.
Animations created with Animation Shop.
Image slicing done with Shoestring Picture Dicer.
Image maps made with CuteMAP.
Inspiration from God, Michael Chang, Carl Chang, Ernie Reyes Jr., Sharon Fangonon (my sister), and my friends at the Nagoya International PC Club, who gave lots of encouragement and constructive criticism.
Game, Set, Match--Chang! (2000) A tribute site to the greatest tennis player to walk the face of the earth. The only website I made that I'm satisfied with. It's actually been visited by The Man himself, Michael Chang, and before that, his big brother and coach, Carl Chang. Genesis: Started from a single page, and grew into a tribute site, inspired mostly by Carl, who wrote some very kind words regarding the page. Design Elements: I finally got rid of my frames overkill tendency and got groovy on tabling. GSMC makes use of nested tables--a pain to hand-code, but which I did anyway, because I couldn't imagine doing otherwise. Nested tables resize accordingly with the viewer's browser window, so one can expand and reduce the window size without losing the "tabled" look. Also, the whole thing is cross-browser, meaning it looks exactly the same in the two major browsers, Internet Explorer and Netscape (quite an advancement for me, since I have the tendency to create IE-only pages). Favorite Lesson: Learned how to create nested tables, a real gem in the layout world. Best thing about the site is that I made good friends with Michael fans from different parts of the world who contributed to the site's contents. Hugs for Spence (New York), Carol (Singapore) and Phoebe (Hongkong/Singapore).
Completely Claire (2000). Status: Stillborn. Reason: Got tired of the clunky frames, and especially the pink marble tile that I based the graphics on. Genesis: Saw a block of pink marble on a free backgrounds site, fell in love with the tile, and unwittingly created a full websuite based on that single tile. Later learned that this is not a good thing to do, as one gets tired in the long run of such monochrome-ish designing. Also, I'm not the "lavender" type of person. Found that in the end I couldn't live with that many shades of pink. Design Elements: Layout done in frames. Too many frames. Unreliable mouseover script. Webdesign actually inspired by an old version of the Miami Herald. Favorite Lesson: Too many frames is bad for you. Also, Netscape doesn't handle frames all that well (at least in my case). As for site naming, "Completely Claire" is such a boring, egotistic name and not one to attract visitors.
Classical Music Per Diem (1999). Status: Incomplete/Under Construction. Reason for delay: My sister, to whom the site is dedicted, objected to having her photo (or more acurately, that particular photo) enthroned in a purple gem. Genesis: One day I thought it was about time to build a website in honor of Baroque music and J.S. Bach, my favorite genre and composer, respectively. A few days before that I stumbled upon Mardiweb's absolutely fabulous Paint Shop Pro tutorials site, and just couldn't sit still until I tried my hand at creating the "royal drapes" look myself. Unfortunately, I went overboard, and created a purple-and-gold concoction that the good ol' Johann himself, austere Lutheran that he is, would object to for its extravagance. I think that my sister, who is a conservative Baptist, also balked at the garish purple curtains and shiny gold trimmings. Design Elements: Frames layout, image maps. Favorite Lesson: The power of Paint Shop Pro! I love this graphics program and can't live without it.
Journey of the Dragon (1999). Warning: This site is Internet Explorer-only. Reason: I hate Netscape Navigator (although of course I am always thankful to Marc Andreesen for creating the world's first full-featured browser). Genesis: I've been an Ernie Reyes Jr. fan since I was a wee little kid, and when I found out that he had an official website, I thought I should make a fan site for the sake of it. However, soon afterwards Ernie disappeared from the entertainment/martial arts scene, and my fan site gave up on itself. Design Elements: Clunky frames layout, image map, browser-dependent mouseovers and scroller. Favorite Lesson: Using Blade Pro (a really cool graphics plugin filter). The beauty of gold-on-black. The downside of unwittingly creating graphics for a 1024x768 resolution screen.
So there you have it, folks, my other half-baked, incomplete websites. Someday I hope I can get back to them and make them worthwhile contents-wise, but until that fine sunny day comes they will pitifully sit abandoned in cyberspace. Fine website mother that I am!
Ultimate Favorite Lesson: I firmly believe that if you are incapable of taking real good care of a child, then you shouldn't give birth to one. Fortunately, creating websites and abandoning them is all part of the process of becoming a better web builder/designer, so it doesn't fall under my firm belief on mothering.
Analyze Me: In real life, I have a terrible, troubling tendency of abandoning things midway, be they part-time jobs or relationships or projects or commitments or promises. I just can't seem to stick to anything for long. All of a sudden, one day, I just up and leave. Without a proper goodbye, without making sure I wrap things up as best as I could. Leaving the other party confused and angry with my sudden, impolite, unexplained disappearance. I was hoping that the older I grew, the less I'd do this, but even until now I'm still quite irresponsible and totally lacking of perseverance. I'm sure that if my poor websites had hands, they'd give me the finger.
Related Links JASC Paint Shop Pro - official site of this amazing graphics and photo editor. PSP is full-featured, easy to learn, and best of all, a bang for the buck. Includes Animation Shop. CuteHTML, CuteFTP & CuteMAP - by GlobeScape Inc. Some of my favorite tools. ShoeString Picture Dicer - a neat, free little dicer program by Bill Philips. BladePro - affordable filter plugin ideal for Paint Shop Pro. Paint Shop Pro on a Budget - by Mardi Wetmoore. Her awesome tutorials changed my life!
