the "ANIMATORS"

Drew Europeo, 24, has been able to make a name for herself with her multiple engagements in the Internet industry.A graduate of Fine Arts, majoring in Advertising, Europeo has been a Netizen since 1998, when she joined Infodyne, Inc. as a Web designer. "Before I became a Netizen, it was hard for me to meet people in my particular field (arts) and there was no other way you could easily promote yourself to possible clients and be known by the community. Unlike today, I can easily get and meet clients and other designers/artists through my portfolio site and my electronic address. Sometimes you don't have to be there physically, you just have to communicate and come up with projects like what I have today."gra-Fi-KAS is Europeo's own portfolio site which she has created and maintained alone as a gallery for all her art works. With her eagerness to have her works displayed in a gallery and her lack of connections with people behind those physical galleries here in the Philippines, she decided in 1998 to put up a Web site instead. "It's a good thing I thought of it because I was able to meet the right people and even became friends with them.""I like the Net because it enables us to communicate easier with other people, especially those outside the country," she says. "I use a lot of Internet programs, depending on what kind of work I have to do. For graphics, the main application I use is Adobe Photoshop because it easily allows me to manipulate images. [For] elements or effects which Photoshop cannot handle, I like 3D software, 3D Studio Max, Infini-D, and vector-based software like Fractal Painter, and Macromedia Flash for complex animation and Image Ready for simple animation."But for Web site development, Europeo's main application is Macromedia Dreamweaver because of her particularity with the layout. "With this application, you can see the immediate layout at the same time that you are seeing the code. This is very helpful if you are adding some scripts to your pages. Sometimes I also use Allaire Homesite for coding alone and Net Objects Fusion for layering and other stuff."With the current trend that a lot of women are getting into the Net, Europeo believes that this is a good sign. "Before, as we know, the Net was considered as a man's playground, but nowadays, you can see that a lot of women excel in whichever field they choose to enter. I think it's not only a trend but rather a fact that women are now playing a big part in this industry." On the Net, it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, it depends on the amount of effort you give which eventually is reflected in your work output, she adds."The Web industry is a fast paced one," Europeo observes. "So, if you really want to pursue a career in this industry, you have to learn fast, work fast and gain as much knowledge as you can. Creativity is also important; whoever thinks of a bright idea wins the game. The industry has a lot of ideas already but if you are very keen and can innovate those ideas into something else, then that's a big plus! Always remember, if you find a site that really inspires you, it should lead you to create something unique and copying it should not be an option. Also, avoid complexities, instead, make the Net a friendly place where people can actually do their transactions and communicate without fear."Some of Europeo's top women's sites are Spacegirl.org, Design Portfolio of Carolynn Helton and Portfolio of Diane Fenster. "All these women's sites display their own works online and I am very impressed with their output and they all inspire me to create more of my own stuff.""I also visit men's sites a lot," she addeds. "Many people have thought that I'm a guy because according to them my work style is not feminine. The reason behind it, maybe, is that men's work have strongly influenced me in so many ways. I gain a lot of skills just by looking at how these men designers do their thing but sometimes I get lucky by actually having conversations with them and discussing things related to design. I usually visit designers' sites and just look at their works because they inspire me and from there I challenge myself to work harder until I reach satisfaction and fulfillment.