Final Exam Self Performance Evaluation

The Projects

     A few of the projects I worked on over the semester was the Girl In Black Photoshop assignment, and the Autumn Graphics assignment in Adobe Illustrator.  The Autumn Graphics project took less time to complete than the Girls in Black assignment.  Some challenges I ran into in the Girl In Black project was the tools in Photoshop not working the way I expected them to.  I was trying to make the background behind  girl seamless, but the tools I was using only blurred the background.  I don't think I ran into any complications on the Autumn Graphics project.  In the Photoshop project, I learned how to use the tools we had previously learned about together.  In the Autumn Graphics project, I learned about shapes, lines, and fill in Adobe Illustrator.  I wasn't given much feedback during or after the projects.  My original idea stayed the same throughout the two projects.  I enjoyed my graphic design work, but I wish there had been more creative freedom.

Productivity

     During class, I stayed focussed by paying attention to the deadlines for my projects. 
 Deadlines are a big motivator for me.  Outside of class, I draw and watch videos of professional graphic designers to get inspiration.

My Strengths

      My strengths include being able to complete things on time and trying to look at things from a new perspective.  I think I could improve in my communication skills.  I liked learning about Adobe Illustrator most this semester.  I would like to do more open ended projects next semester.  My goal for next year is that I can be even more productive.

Water Color Transfer Printing Process

      For this project, we started out by watercoloring on paper.  We could choose any kind of water color design that we wanted.  Next, we printed out a copy of one of our Photoshop projects.  We covered the print out in Mod Podge and laid it face down on the dried watercolor page.  We made sure there were no wrinkles in the page.  We let it dry for a few days, then we worked on taking the paper off.  We dipped our fingers in water and rubbed at the paper until it came off.  We had to be gentle so that we didn't make the print come off as well.

Printing Processes

Relief Process

      With this method of printing, you can transfer images or print by hand.  You use a special block that you carve your design into in order to transfer ink onto your paper.  Instead of using a wooden block to carve out your design, you can also use a linoleum block.  The idea of having certain parts of the portrait fading into black or fading into white is to give it depth.

1) Carve your design into either wood or linoleum.

2) Cover your material in ink.

3) Use a baren to flatten the paper and transfer the ink.

Intaglio Process

      One of the ways of going about this process is dry point.  Dry point involves scratching your design into metal or some other material.  When ink is transferred, those scratches make a fuzzy line. You can also use different tools to make more diverse textures.  Etching is a very similar technique with just a bit more preparation in the beginning.  The main difference is that you cover the metal plate with a black ground and scratch that away to reveal the metal beneath.  

1) Wipe plate with ink, making sure it gets into all of the grooves created in the metal.

2) Clean up any ink on the edges of the plate.

3) Dampen a sheet of paper and lay it on the metal.

4) Put the design through the press.

Lithography Process

     This method involves taking a lithographic stone and drawing on it with a greasy material.  Then you use chemicals to cover areas water will be and remove acid on the stone, and use powders to get the etch further into the stone.  

1) Draw on the lithographic stone with some sort of greasy drawing utensil.

2) Pour talc and rosin on the stone.

3) Apply gum arabic, acidified gum arabic, and fresh gum arabic, then buff it in.

4) Apply lithotine and asphaltum. 

5) Go over the stone with a wet and dry towel, sponge the stone, then ink it.

6) Send it through the press 4-6 times.

      I think I'm most interested in trying the relief process, because Lithography sounds very easy to mess up, and with Intaglio, I'm afraid that if I were to scratch my design into wood or metal, it would make a noise similar to nail on a chalk board.  I think these processes have influenced designers because they can use these processes to incorporate negative space.

Personal Narrative for Multi-Exposure Panoramic

Personal Narrative

      There's a small lake near my house.  It's a short walk down a hill lined with richly colored trees.  The parking area is filled with gravel that can sometimes be a bit too slippery to walk on safely.  When I was a small child, I would wait until after dinner to ask me parent if we could "go feed the fish at the lake".  Of course, I didn't actually know what fish ate at the time, and just assumed that they ate the gravel in the parking lot.  So after dinner, either my mom or my dad would walk down to the lake to me, help me pick out a few handfuls of rough gravel, and lead me down to the small, white dock on the water's edge.  We would toss the bits of gravel into the deep, dark green water, listening to the pleasant sounds of splashes and animals.

      In middle school, I had a very close friend who I would always go down to the lake with.  Occasionally we would walk on the trail that goes around the lake.  But mostly we would just walk on the soft sand of the beach.  One day, we found a small, soft shelled turtle.  We decided to call him buster, and carried him back to my house in a cup that was laying on the beach.  I asked my mom if we could keep him, but she said no.

      Over the summer, I realized it had been awhile since I walked down to the lake.  So on one of the cooler evenings, I walked down to the lake to see a surprise.  There was a flock of brown ducks sitting on the beach.  I watched them for awhile, then brought back some bread.  I broke it into small pieces and tossed to them.  They ate the bread quickly and even came over to me.

Reflection

When making this picture, I wanted to make all of the pictures look like one seamless picture. I mostly tried to line up the edge of the water in the pictures.  For the dock, I used the quick selection tool, and got rid of the rest of the photo. 

Photoshop Pop Art Project

      In this project, I had to create a pop art version of one of the other students in my class.  I started out by getting a photo of the student I was paired with.  Next, I imported it into Photoshop and cropped our the background, creating a clipping mask. Using the clipping mask, I began adding different shapes with varying color and size.  I set the layers to overlay so that it would look like my classmate was made out of these shapes.  Next, I added a gradient to the background, and sketched some skulls.  Finally, I added sketchy lines all around my classmate.

Nature Man Photoshop Challenge Project

      When I first received the image of the man, I wanted to do something that involved images of the four seasons.  My idea changed when I realized I couldn't include all four seasons in my project, so I decided to make it woodland themed.  I started by adding the photo I wanted on the suit jacket.  I lined it up properly and created a clipping mask.  Then, I added an overlay effect.  I repeated the same process for the hair and the shirt.  I also used a brightness layer to make the suit jacket's color more vibrant.  The end result did not turn out the way I had hoped, but I still think it looks okay.  I was hoping for the hair to look like it had mountains coming off of it and to look more blended.

Basic Photo Editing in Photoshop

     Photoshop: It has many tools, but not a lot of people know what they are or how to use them.  In this lesson, I had to view tutorial videos and follow them closely to learn how to use the Content Aware Fill, Patch Tool, Clone Stamp Tool, Healing Brush Tool, and the Spot Healing Brush.  It took awhile to complete, but here are the final products and what I have learned from this lesson.

Content Aware Fill

      There were four images that I practiced using the Content Aware Fill on.  Pretty much the same steps were followed on each.  I learned that you use the Content Aware Fill for covering up small blemishes in photos that you do not want.  You could use this tool to get rid of unwanted titles of book in a photo, or to get rid of chips in the wall in the background of a photo.

Patch Tool

      When learning to use the Patch Tool, the image I was working on was a picture of a father and his daughter.  The father had an undesired logo on his shirt that he wanted to be removed.  In order to do that, I used the patch tool.  I used the Patch Tool to sample a piece of his shirt to replace the unwanted logo.  You could use this tool to get rid of unwanted items in the background of a photo.

Clone Stamp Tool

      The picture I used to practice was of a girl modeling a coat.  The coat had some tags on it that needed to be removed.  I used the Clone Stamp Tool to copy sections of the coat and paint them over the tags.  It took some time to get used to because it kept copying unwanted areas, but once I got the hang of it, it was relatively easy to cover up the tags.  This could be used for covering transparent areas in the background of a photo.

Healing Brush Tool

      For the Healing Brush Tool, I used the same image as I used for the Clone Stamp Tool.  I had covered up the tags in the image with the Clone Stamp Tool, but I still needed to add texture to the area.  I used the Healing Brush Tool to copy the texture of the coat and add it to the edited area.  You could use this to add texture to a sweater to make it look fuzzier than it actually is.

Spot Healing Brush

      The photo I used to try this tool out was of a young boy.  He had been plying outside all day and had mud speckled across his face.  I learned that you use the Spot Healing Brush for getting rid of blemishes.  I used this brush to get rid of the mud speckles, making the areas affected by the mud look like the clean parts of the boy's face.  You could use this tool to get rid of acne as well.

Portrait Collage

      In this part of the project, I used three separate photos.  They were all of the same woman in different poses.  My task for the last part of this project was to create a collage of the three pictures using the skills I had learned from using all of these tools.  I think the project went relatively well, though I did have some problems extending the sky in the background.

e9 Final Exam

      The project assignment that we had was to create a product and design a company as well as a website, commercial, logo, and animation.  This project took all of our time in quarter 4.  Some challenges we faced were working in a group, difficulty with software, and planning.  Along the way, I learned more about using Premiere Pro and more about animating in Adobe Photoshop.  Some feedback I got on the commercial was that, in the future, I should not have someone unseen offscreen talking to the character on screen.  I am, for the most part, happy with the work I have done in quarter 4.

Logo

      I used all of the class time allowed to complete this project.  When I finished early, I checked in on and communicated with my team to see the progress they had made.  I also offered to help with anything they were behind on.  Outside of class, I researched the software we have been using.  I also worked on learning about graphic design.

      I think my strengths are in graphic design and animation.  These are the strands of e-Comm I enjoy most, but they are also the strands in which I am most experienced.  To maximize my strengths, I work on my own graphic design and animation projects at home.  I think this is helpful, because I can find new techniques.

Ad

      I think I need to improve in the video strand of e-Comm.  I can work on leveling my shots, steadying the tripod, and using different angles.  During this project, we all worked together to get the shots necessary to complete the commercial.  Editing the video footage was the easiest part of the commercial.

      My favorite part of this quarter was getting to go through each strand of e-Comm again.  If I were to do this quarter over again, I think I would change the logo and color scheme.  I learned how to work better in a group and how to make more complicated animations in Photoshop.  A goal I would like to set for next year is to make my projects more complex and neater.  Overall, I think this was a fun and interesting project to do.

Animation

 

Second animation

CSS and CARP Design

The Project

For this project, we were given a template to use in Dreamweaver.  We had to redesign the webpage using a list telling us what CSS styles to add.  We had to use CARP in order to redesign the webpage.  The software we used was Dreamweaver.  We have used this software before, so I was already a little familiar with it. 

The Process

To start out this project, we had to download the webpage without any CSS styles.  Then, we followed the instructions on a paper and a video, telling us what styles to add.  Through this project, I learned how to use Dreamweaver better.  I also learned what CSS styles were and they are used in HTML.  

Conclusion

In conclusion, this project taught me how to better use Dreamweaver and CSS styles.  I think that this project helped me to get more comfortable using the software.  If I were to do this project again, I think I would do most of the project the same.  If I were to do something differently, I would change the color scheme slightly. 

Before CSS styles

After CSS styles

My Personality Type

When we took the personality quiz, my personality type was an INFJ.  My statistics showed that I am an introvert, intuitive, feeling, and judging.  I have a moderate preference of introversion over extroversion.  I have a slight preference over intuition over sensing.  I have marginal or no preference of feeling over sensing.  I have a moderate reference of judging over perceiving.  Some notable people with the same personality type are: Plato, Gandhi, Thomas Jefferson, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

I think that this describes me pretty well.  I thought that I would be considered more introverted.  Something that is "Right on" is that I am quiet, caring and sensitive and I listen to and try to solve other people's problems.  Something that wasn't as accurate is that INFJs trust their ability to read others well.  I do not trust myself to accurately read someone.

One article said that INFJs enjoy doing art, playing/listening to music, and reading.  This all applies to me.  I think one of the reasons this is true is because of my introverted personality trait.

I am usually either the leader or the person that can do pretty much whatever else is needed of me.  I don't think that my personality type is  leading type, but I think that they are the kind of person that can do whatever people need them to.

I think that in the past, people have mistaken my introverted personality as me just being lazy.  I have been told by people to "toughen up" when I have difficulty public speaking.  I have learned that I have the least common personality type.

Lion/Otter/Beaver/Golden Retriever

For the second test that we took, my highest column was column 3.  That means that my highest personality type is a golden retriever.  I think that it is mostly accurate.  I am loyal, sensitive, caring, work well with a steady work pattern, and have only a few close friends.  My second highest column was column 4.  This means that I am also a beaver.  I think that this is more accurate than the last column.  I think that there is a right way to do things and I always try to do things that way.  I am creative, take my time, and need reassurance.  I also have unrealistic expectations for myself.

A Project to B Remembered (AB Sequence)

        

The Project

For this project, we were put into teams and tasked with creating a video  showing how a person could get from point A to point B in a creative way.  First, we made an outline of what we wanted to include in our video.  Next, we went out and filmed the shots that we needed.  Finally, we edited the shots into the final video.  I am very proud of one of the shots that we took.  We took the camera up to the second level of the school and filmed over the railing.  Then we made it black and white and added text so that people would know that it was meant to be a shot from a security camera.  I think it turned out pretty well.

The Editing

The editing for this project was pretty simple.  We filmed most of our shots in the correct order, so there wasn't much rearranging to do.  We wanted this to have a mission impossible theme, so I chose some music that I thought would be found in a spy movie.  To extend the last shot, I took a screenshot of a frame in the video, then extended the time length of the picture.  The most challenging part of the editing in this project was modifying the music.  I wanted to extend the last note of the song, so I cut the note from the song and slowed it down while keeping the pitch unchanged.

Team Aspect

I think that we worked relatively well as a team.  There was some bickering, but we eventually resolved all of the disagreements that we had.  I'm not used to working in teams and especially not in teams of people that I am not familiar with, so I think that this was a good experience.  In my next team project, I am hoping there will be less disagreements.

Printing Out Videos

Creative Process

For this project, we had to create a video showing how to print a document.  We were paired up with a partner.  First, we drew a story board outlining what we wanted to be in our video.  Next, we took photos of ourselves acting out the outline that we drew.  Then, we went back and took videos of us acting out the scene.  

Roles

My role in this project was the camera operator.  I recorded all of the videos for the scene.  I learned how to keep the camera steady and how to not wash out my video with background light.  We used ipads to record the videos and Adobe Premier Pro to edit them.  I had to use technical skills to operate the camera and edit the videos.  As partners, we has to communicate and work together as a team in order to get our ideas across to each other.  We demonstrated leadership by acting as directors and keeping each other on track and focused.  Finally, we used project management when we decided what ideas to use and where we would film.

Conclusions

If I were to do this project again, I would change the location of the scene because lots of groups were filming in the library at the same time and it was a bit crowded.  I would keep the actions of the scene the same because they demonstrate how to properly print a document, which is what we were trying to show with this video.  In my next project I will now be able to keep the camera steady and navigate using Adobe Premier Pro.  I enjoyed this project because it was a good way to learn how to use proper shots, terms, equipment, and it gave me a chance to get to know a few people.