So the 2018-19 school year is finally coming to a close. Well actually this year went by extremely fast. Is that just me? Maybe it's just me. It probably is. Nevertheless, this year was a gold mine of knowledge, and some of that knowledge I actually wanted! Like in DDA class. I love this class. There is so much I have learned that I didn't know before. Like how to use [ANY GIVEN SOFTWARE FROM DDA I(ONE)] We started off the year by diving headfirst into Adobe Photoshop, a program that allows you to edit photos and/or images. It sounds basic, but in actuality it is a very powerful tool (if put in the right hands, at least). Next up was Adobe Illustrator, a powerful tool as well. Perhaps even more powerful then Adobe Photoshop because they are like the same yet Illustrator has many, many options that Photoshop doesn't have. It also uses Vector-based graphics as opposed to Photoshop's Bitmap. Bitmap uses pixels while Vector uses math (ew!) instead which means the resolution doesn't change if you change the scale of any given photo/image. Next is Adobe Animate, which I (and most of my classmates) did not like very much because it is not very user-friendly and it is hard to work. But then everything was OK because we were introduced to Adobe After Effects which is like a bajillion (billion) times better than Adobe Animate. They were made for the exact same reason but After Effects is so much more user-friendly and fast and simple. The software was used by us to edit pre-made clips of videos or out together images, so it was pretty fun and simple. But Unit five brought the best software of all, 3DS Max. I just love how clean, effortless, and simple it is to use. We created 3D models of stuff and even got into 3D Animation at the end of the year. Overall, this year was great and I would love to take this class again. I learned so much from it.
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2018 was a great year for Spider-Man. We got the amazing movie Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse and the Spider-Man video game! I really love both, but today I'm going to be reviewing the video game. In the game, simply titled 'Spider Man', you play as SM as you swing around New York City and complete missions to progress the story. Or you could just take advantage of the open world part of the game and explore (you can go around finding SM's old backpacks, for example). The gem of this game is that it really does make you feel like Spider Man himself. In traversal, you can swing around towers and dash through the air, you can run on walls, you can pull yourself onto roofs or buildings mid-swing then jump off right when you touch the edge then air dash, swing, do some wall running, and repeat... see what I mean? The combat is equally fun. You can throw most things at enemies mid-battle while dodging bullets. You are able to web-sling onto an enemy and punch them, then slide between their feet and defeat them from behind. I say 'defeat' because SM doesn't kill anyone - just knocks them out. The story consists of switching between working for Dr. Octavius (he is not evil in this universe) and holding off a mysterious gang and/or Kingpin as Spider-Man. But you don't have to follow the story if you don't want to. I only have a few complaints for the game - one is that the game has a few stealth sections that really don't seem necessary, especially since Spider Man's main selling point is the combat. And some parts you play as Mary Jane, but these parts are mostly boring puzzles.
Computer Animation has grown a lot since it's debut in the 1960s. Back then, the technology was pretty limited and you couldn't create very realistic animations. Nowadays, you can model complete human figures on a computer that look very realistic with shading and high-resolution effects. I'm going to talk about 3D Computer Generated Animation and how it has grown over the years.
3D Computer Generated Animation is created through programs like Adobe Animation. In most programs, the animator creates a skeleton figure. This figure has a bunch of animation variables (Avars) that correspond to each part of the body. The animator creates movement per every frame by changing the values of the Avars. The illusion of movement is created by each frame having the character or object moving a small amount until the movement is complete, which takes a lot of frames. The frames per second (FPS) is sped up to produce a fluid movement - usually 24 FPS (which is also what most feature-length US animated movies run at). Most of the time, animators use a process called keyframing, where they put Avars in certain spots in a few spread out frames. Then the computer tweens the animation together to make it look fluid and complete. Another way is motion capture, which uses live action. An actor performs motions in front of a camera with markers attached to them. The markers help animators transition the movements in real life to movements in animation. I chose 3D Animation because it is the most technologically advanced out of all of the types of animation. It is also the most popular type of animation, being used by major movie studios a lot recently. It is what we are transitioning into in class as well.
Bendy and the Ink Machine (or BATIM for short) is an episodic puzzle horror game based on the 1930s of animation. There are five chapters in total, each with pros and cons. Since the game recently released to consoles, I will review the Xbox version, which comes in a complete bundle of all the chapters. I have also played the PC (original) version, and they are pretty much the same, so you won't miss out on much.
Let's talk about the story. The main story of the game revolves around Bendy, the Ink Machine, and Joey Drew, the mysterious owner of Joey Drew Studios. Joey invites Henry back to the workshop to 'show him something'. Upon arrival, Joey is nowhere to be found - but the Ink Machine is. You power the machine, and this is when you meet Bendy, except this time he's a monstrous 3D object and not a 2D animated figure. He continues on to be the antagonist - kind of. As the chapters go on, -SPOILER ALERT- you find Boris the Wolf (chapter two) and Alice Angel (chapter three), two cartoon buddies of Bendy. Boris is simply a friendly clone of himself, and Alice is, well, not so friendly. She is obsessed with being perfect and takes Boris so she can 'be beautiful again'. Chapter four is entirely based on getting Boris back from Alice. The Gameplay is not nearly as good as the story. Although it does get more fun as the game progresses, gameplay never reaches maximum potential. It almost feels like a chore in chapter three to fight anything - which you have to do a lot. Luckily, you can now save your progress through punch card stands, a feature completely absent from the original incarnation of the game. Still, the fighting sucks all the time - luckily the story more than makes up for the relatively bad gameplay.
In class recently we have discussed the color theory and how color is used in graphic design. The color we see in graphics, video games, movies, etc. are not just randomly chosen because of how good they may look. Lots of thought goes into the coloring of things, and there are many variables that can totally change the look and feel of said things. Colors subliminally make us think a certain thing or sometimes make us feel a certain feeling. The easiest way to remember the "usual" colors in day to day life - ROY G BIV!
These colors are not the only colors out there - but they are the only colors we can see as humans. Animals have the pleasure of seeing infrared and ultraviolet. As a graphic designer, it is important to realize that some people are colorblind to some extent; They may percieve colors differently than those who are not colorblind at all. It is very rare to find someone with a total color blindness. That said, be aware of this when using colors. You never know who will see your work. These are the different types of color schemes:
These schemes help graphic designers create more precise colors. They must do this in order to make the correct feeling occur when seen by the audience. Different colors have different meanings. Color Associations Red: Exciting, passionate, dangerous Light blue: Healthy, cool, young Pink: Sweet, young, energetic Purple: Elegant, mysterious, regal Orange: Friendly, tangy, pleasing Black: Sophisticated, strong, somber Yellow: Energetic, warm, cheerful, cautious Gray: Cool, mature Gold: Stable, elegant Brown: Earthy, wholesome, stable Green: Alive, friendly, organic Beige: Durable, natural Dark Blue: Peaceful, stable, logical, trustworthy White: Pure, simple, honest The ideas colors convey can be specific to certain cultures. One must consider where and how their design will be used. SUMMARY
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AuthorHello again! My name is Jack Williams, in case you couldn't read the top of the page. I post cool stuff here sometimes, so stay tuned! Archives
May 2019
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