This class was a lot different than I expected at first. There was more than just creating graphics and making models; we also had to make a website and frequently post blogs and new content on it.
The main takeaways that I got from this class were that if you have a deadline, you need to stick to that deadline and get your work done. This class has also taught me to be okay with a product that is less than perfection; If I tried to make everything perfect, I wouldn't ever have time to do anything else. The most rewarding experience that I had in this class was watching everyone else make really funny models and animations. Laughing while someone made a deep-fried Thanos picture made the class a lot more fun. Some skills in this class that will follow me in the future will probably be graphic design and copyright/licensing. Graphic design will help me if I ever need to make a website or brochure at my job. Copyright rules and licensing will help me make decisions that could help save me from getting sued or fired from my job. I think that I will continue to make graphics and digitize my artwork after this year because it helps make my art look more professional. Something that I have been interested in is coding; I think that I will make some simple games this summer in c++, Incorporating my new digital art skills into the game. Just to clarify for incoming 9th graders, this class is not about playing online video games or making something like Skyrim; You will start with the basics, Like photo and video editing. This class is a lot of work, If you aren't prepared to do that work, Then this might not be the class for you.
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3DS max is a program used to model and animate 3D objects. What I like most about this program is that I’m able to get my ideas out a lot easier than if I were drawing on paper because I can get all angles and sides. Another aspect that I like about 3DS max is that even beginners can easily pick up the program without prior experience modeling. The thing that I like most about 3DS Max is that you can have different views of your model all at once, you're not confined to one point of view. 3DS Max is not all easy though; I have struggled a lot with the chamfer tool, and getting it to edit exactly what I want it to. Sometimes making selections is also difficult, because I have to make sure that i don’t select too many Vertices or sides or else the modeling will go wrong. Learning all of the tools needed to edit a simple polygon can get a lot more complicated than it seems. You might start to think that you know most of the tools for 3DS Max until you turn that shape into an editable poly, which adds a whole new row of tools to learn. I’m excited to learn more about 3DS Max this year because this unit has proved to be a lot more fun than the past units I’ve had so far. I hope that later this unit we will make landscapes because that’s something of interest to me.
My first time venturing into coding was in 8th grade, when I was bored in math class. I knew that my calculator could do so many amazing things, but I wanted to find a way to pass the time quicker.
The first things that I coded were simple things, such as the simple “hello world” command and text graphics. Learning how to code was not as simple as I thought it would be, trial and error for hours just trying to figure out how to make a letter move is not fun or simple. I later found some websites to help me code more difficult games such as snake and rock paper scissors. I never really tried to code games by myself at first, I just tried to find the source code for a really cool game and then copy it down on my calculator. This method of making games wasn’t going to be very helpful in learning how to create games by myself. The game that I make the most right now is a simple movement program, in which you can move around and just have fun. I really need to learn how to use some more of the commands so that I can start to make more graphically advanced programs. Ti-basic is not the only language I have started to learn, a little bit of python and javascript have made its way into my games as well. I hope that soon I will be able to program full games in code. Pub-G is a battle royale style shooting game where you drop onto an island and battle it out with the other players to be the last one standing.
What I like about this game is the multitude of maps and game modes available, which makes it easier to engage and not lose interest quickly. One of the maps that I really like is the Vikendi map; this map is a snow filled island that has many little huts and villages tucked away into pine forests. Vikendi is a good map to ambush people/snipe which requires a lot of skill to do. One of the game modes that Pub-G has to offer is zombies mode. This mode is exactly what you think it is, with different types of zombies crawling all over once the fog comes out. There are boss zombies on the map that you can take out to get really good guns and gear to defeat the other players quicker and more efficiently. Something that the creators of Pub-G did very well in my opinion, was placing more emphasis on the shooting aspect of the game instead of what fortnite did, which was make some players better just because of building. Being able to get good at the game quicker makes it really fun and a lot less frustrating just getting eliminated over and over again. Overall, Pub-G is a great game that’s easy to play and has so many options that make sure you’ll never get bored. Animate, After effects, and premiere are all applications used in the production of film; yet each have their own unique and interesting features about them that sets them apart from each other. Adobe After Effects is used to create simple frame by frame animations, which is very different from Animates’ keyframing. A frame by frame animation is created by putting multiple pictures, or cels together in rapid succession, creating the impression of movement. Keyframing makes animating quicker and more efficient because you only have to have a start and an end picture, the program does the rest for you. Premiere is an application that focuses more on the audio and video editing aspect of the film creation process. Premiere is a lot simpler to use than Animate or After Effects because it has less tools that you need to learn how to use in order to master the application. Premiere has similar functions to After Effects because some of the same effects for motion are the same. All of these programs have timelines that you use to see where everything is placed at a certain time, but you can only put down keyframes in Animate and After effects. Premiere has a timeline where you just put different clips on the timeline and piece them together. Overall these programs are quite similar in nature, but they all have their own qualities that differentiate them from each other.
Another thing about this animation that appeals to me is that when he sits down to play it seems as if he doesn't want you to see that he is having fun without you, making you feel more connected to the character and game. One of the biggest reasons why I chose this animation was that I have always liked Donkey Kong when a lot of people hate him for some reason. I have played with him in Mario Kart, DK 1981, DK: Tropical freeze, and others; only building my appeal to this particular character. The creators of the animation made this idle animation seem more natural by making Donkey Kong ease into the position, it’s not as if he just went from standing to sitting in no time at all. Imagine if you were sitting at your desk one day, and then you suddenly appeared across the room to sharpen your pencil. Does that seem very natural? I didn’t think so, that’s why the animators make the character ease into the position more naturally.
BibliographyWhat are the design elements that set these two games apart? The first game, Tekken 7 does a great job of showing texture. For example, Kuma the bear has fur but without texture you might just think it's a brown blob. Relating to emphasis, Tekken 7 did a good job of making a giant flash whenever you hit the other player really hard, giving you the impression that you did more damage. Some of the characters in Tekken 7 are bigger than others, so that you don't always think you will beat the other player. Size can make you more scared or frightened. In Tekken, the characters are usually very close to one another, making it more fast paced and intense. The characters in this game are usually very aligned so they aren't bent in too unnatural ways or shapes. The two characters are very different shapes and sizes, so there’s a lot of contrast among the characters making you want to explore more. For the second picture, which is of Fortnite, has a very different feel to it. Fortnite is even more animated, so there is little to no texture in this game. Fortnite emphasizes the bullets coming from the guns, making you more anxious or stressed out. All of the characters are the same size so that it creates a sense of fairness in this game. In Fortnite, the characters are not close together at all, they are spread out among an island. In Fortnite there are a lot of unnatural shapes so it’s not as aligned. In Fortnite, there is a ton of contrast relating to color. The vibrant hues in this game make you feel as if you are in a cartoon, it's very bright. Tekken image: “TEKKEN 7.” PlayStation™Store, store.playstation.com/en-ae/product/EP0700-CUSA06014_00-PS4TEKKEN7000001.
Fortnite image: “Fortnite for Android Has 15 Million Players and Counting, Epic Talks Fragmentation, Preventing Malware.” Google, Google, 9to5google.com/2018/09/07/fortnite-android-fragmentation-malware-player-count/. This is an image from Fallout 4. This game takes place after a nuclear war happened, where there are demolished buildings and radioactive monsters. The mood of this game isn't happy, so of course the game developers wouldn't put in colors that invoke feelings of happiness and peace. The colors in this game are more muted so that it looks more realistic and makes you think of real life catastrophe. The main colors of this picture are red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple. Red is a color that makes you feel aggressive or angry, which would make sense in this game because your home got destroyed and you are constantly being attacked by monsters. Orange makes you feel excited, making you want to continue to play the game for a long time; it keeps you from getting too bored. Yellow activates the anxious part of your brain, making you feel more immersed in the game. The darker blue in this picture gives a feeling of somberness, again not making you happy or joyous; this color makes you feel serious. The purple in this image can give off vibes of mystery, making you want to explore the game more and find out its' secrets. I think that the developers of this game chose these colors so that you would feel alert and serious, but adding in a few choice colors like orange to make you feel excited and want to play more. If the developer only added in the angry and serious colors, chances are that you wouldn't want to play the game as much because it would give off vibes of serious depression and anxiety. This game is meant to be adventurous but full of perils to meet you along the way, not to scare you away from it entirely. Picture credit: “Fallout 4 Guide: How to Find and Recruit All 12 Companions.” GearNuke, 12 Nov. 2015, gearnuke.com/fallout-4-guide-find-recruit-12-companion
Link: https://gearnuke.com/fallout-4-guide-find-recruit-12-companions/ Photoshop has many pros and cons about it. One pro is that it is extremely useful for editing images and photos, so that you can make something more aesthetically pleasing. The reason that it is a paint program is that you can edit every single pixel on the photo. Photoshop is also helpful if you want to make graphics, because the program makes layering photos and images onto one another easier than other programs. With Photoshop, you can also edit videos with the same ease as editing photos, making it a multipurpose tool.
One drawback of Photoshop is that it can be a little difficult to use for beginners, so they have to learn how to use all of the tools. Another drawback of Photoshop is the ability to change photos so drastically that some people might not be able to discern between fact and fiction. People have been using Photoshop in the modeling and fashion business, giving the company the ability to warp an everyday citizen’s view of beauty. Professionalists that are very good at using this tool can completely alter the way a person looks and change them into a cover model. I think that Photoshop can have a really big effect on young adults, because they will want to hold themselves to those standards and look like those models. I think that Photoshop does have a place if a model isn't confident and they want to look even better than they already do. I know that a lot of people might only show their face in a picture if they have a filter or makeup on. Since Photoshop can turn regular people into models, confidence is a big thing because most likely, they might not want to be on a cover if they are not confident with their body and appearance. So, in some ways Photoshop does have its place in the world but in other aspects it does not. |
AuthorI'm Ryan Pedde, a freshman at Durham School of the Arts. Im interested in coding and animation. Views and opinionsThe views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools.
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