4th Quarter Graphic Design Project

       Bonjour mes aimes! How are all of you? It's been a while since I last blogged but i'm here now so let's get crackalackin! We have recently created a product of our own design and were put in groups to create promotions for them.

      First we created a product go but with a combination mark. So there is a picture/graphic and a word mark/product name. I went home and thought of some cute ideas for the face of our product, which resulted in a cartoony Dino winking with our product's name: Live Stickers was curved around around a circle. I didn't think of any colors until we got to or class but I did want the Dino a shade of green. Once we got to class we decided on doing a blue outline and a great shade of green that represents a childish liveness. I think he looks very Disney but overall I enjoyed crating him, even if we were in a rush. Warping the text around the blue outline was challenging but it turned out wonderful.
                                          
                                                                      Product Logo 

     Next we created the company logo which after many days of brainstorming and even some ideas from the class we created the Imagination Station. It is very catchy and I love the rhyme so it stuck with everyone. After that we thought of colors from our product logo and saw the value and got inspired. We than wanted to have an orange contrasting color but we changed it to a grey, which looks a bit neater in my opinion looks a lot neater. Than we wanted a wordmark under our company's initials so we put the words there and I helped choose the font and made the great decision to add the black bar.

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                                                                   Company Logo 
   

       After our company logo we created the web banner, so this would be the little rectangles at the bottom of your screen, and let me tell you I could not think of anything, this was my greatest challenge. But I than decided on doing little circles in the background because our product logo is outlined with circle. We also had trouble thinking of a catchy slogan and had to get help, again. But alas we finished, and I think it turned out ok. It's a little sloppy but we tried to keep the same blues and greens throught the whole ad. 

Web Banner 

      

      I did not work on the coupon but it did turn out pretty cute. We wanted an edge around it to try and get rid of negative space and it matches the product logos color as well as the company logo. I also had an idea to make our circle product logo apart of the 0 in 10% which looks good. I wish we could've done typed writing instead of hand written stuff but it did turn out good and I guess it looks like a kid did it which is good since we are aiming this at children.

Coupon 

         Another girl in our group worked on our product add while I was doing the animation. She did a great job and I had to help with a few things but she did most of it on her own. She wanted to do something creative and original and I totally think she succeeded. She choose to have the logo which is a good idea to help promote our product, than she wanted some coors that go with our logo but that also make it pop so we choose dark blues and black to help create that gradient to make the logo pop. She than added our slogan "Pick, Stick, Live" and added a short description to help sell our product. 

       

Product Add 

        Overall I feel like my group was very pleasant to work with. We all have creative ideas that flowed through all of us and created even more and better ideas. I will say I felt like the leader, just because I had some slackers, only half the time. Usually we worked hard through the whole hour. I also did most of the work, but I had my team's input while I did so it wasn't totally just me. I liked graphic design and I'm very excited to go to animation next week.

   Merci for reading my blog and I hope you all have a great weekend. 

Love, 

Sophie the First 

CSS Web Site

     Bonjour my fellow bloggers what is up?! I have been getting all my final projects and tests done because my thrid quarter of school ended today, what a reflief to have a nice ten day break. Well in class we've been working on our final project which is....anotherwebsite. I know not the most excitin thing but it was still an interesting project nontheless. So without furthado lets get right into it.

Process
    We had helpful, really helpful videos to work us through our projects. First we changed the background color to black, after that we had to change the links at the top to a light tannish color. Next we had to change the title and subheading one sizes, fonts, and colors. After we did that we changed the text box to a cream color and then we changed the paragraph word color and font size. Lastly we had to make the dog go to the right side of the screen. All this was using Adobe Dreamweaver and it wasn't too difficult. I had trouble finding all the different font color and size options. I also, you guessed it, almost messed up the project because I had the links set up to the wrong page. I got this done pretty fast, I only used two class periods and it turned out pretty good.

What Did I learn?
     This experience was ok, I learned that for web design you must be patient, and I don't really have that word in my vocabulary. I also learned that coding is very picky so if one semicolon is missing then it won't allow you to do whatever you wanted to do.

Takeaway

      I learned that web design is probably not for me, I do think it's cool to learn how to make a website, epically because it's such a big part of everyone’s lives now, but I don't find it exciting like I do with animation and video. I know that web design is kind of important though because I could do something for my company or future job, but I'm just not that into it. 

Au Revrior my friends, I hope everything goes great for you and if your on a break or taking a vaction then I wish everything goes wnderful!

Thank you

Sophie the First.

Before the CSS  file                               With the CSS file

3D House Animation

     Bonjour!! How are all of you? I am doing well, trying to stay heathly through all this sickness but all the school days off are enjoyable. Recently we've been working on a 3D model of a house of our choice. Let me tell all of you it. was. hard!

 Process
      We used a program called Sketchup, it’s alright, but lags a lot and I’m still not getting used to all the new tools but I guess it’s a work in progress. First we choose a house to make and then we had to look at the floorplan, the back of the house, and the front. We than had to figure out the floor size..? The layout of the house, or how big it is. Then we use the push/pull tool to make it 3D. After that we had to make the roof. I had a lot of trouble trying to create the roof because 1. I am very unexperienced and 2. I just could not figure out to make the roof 3D and not get random pieces either extra or missing. After we created the roof the real fun began since most of the house was already done, right? I started part two by making the house walls a nice light/medium brownish color, then I at first made the roof a really weird unfitting color and it wasn't until later when I would discover the current and final color of the roof. After I colored everything I began the little details so the windows and all the stonework. I first created the front porch floor and the pillars and tried to make a roof but again, it was not working out, so I put that to the side and began the hard work of decorating. It wasn't that bad, a few bumps but for the most part everything worked, until I got to the porch roof. Aww man this took me forever to figure out until I just created a rectangle off to the side and put it on top of the pillars, if I tried to create the roof on the pillars I’d have extra lines than things would get deleted, it was a tough progress! After I finally finished the front I went to work on the sidewalk and the lines weren't connecting so I had to improvise, honestly I had so many problems with my house! x) So after I finally figured out the sidewalk/driveway rectangle thingy I went to work with the last touches I added a nice car and an awesome tree. The very last thing I did was add shadows and that was also a very complicated process because for some odd reason the shadows were registering as real objects so I had to move my whole house until it rested on the horizontal red line and the shadows actually worked but since I had added the tree and car it was lagging really bad so it took forever and then I had to add scenes which weren’t bad except for the fact that it took an hour to render! I only had about two minutes to finish, so I had to come in early the next day. Agh! I finally got it done though and it looks pretty good.

What did  learn?
    I definitely learned a lot and how to better use my software. I can look at problems and try to figure them out without help, for the most part and I now know how hard it is to build a house, no matter if it's real or 3D, I don't think I'm meant to be an architect.

Takeaway
     Well as I mentioned above I definitely learned how to use Sketechup better, and even if I don't like the program I can figure out how to work things. I know how hard it is for builders and kind of grew some respect for them and the person behind the blueprints as well. I'm so glad we didn't do the inside because this simple house took me like two weeks to do. I am so ready to start animating though and I know this is a step closer to my end goal.

Thank you for reading with me today, stay classy and heathy,
Sophie the First.

   

My Personality

        Bonjour!! I'm back with another blog post and today we're going to get a little deep. Yesterday we took a personality test, the Myers Briggs Personality test, maybe you've heard of it? There are sixteen personalities so I'm here to describe what I got, my type was INTJ, which means I'm an introvert, intuitive, thinking, and judging.

      Now that all doesn't make sense but i'm going to explain it. The I for Introvert means that I like more quiet spaces and I'm not exactly one fore a crowd. But I only got 9% which means that I have a slight preference over staying in then going out. The N for Intuitive means I like to find out the reason for things and I like to find the root problem, which is kinda true but again I only got 10% so sometimes things are better left unsolved, but I can also be creative as well, we did an experiment in class and the N people all wrote stories including me so I think that this was pretty accurate. The T stands for Thinking and I got 9% on that, I will say that doing math isn't terrible, when I actually know what I'm doing but for the most part I don't like to love complex problems, math is not my forte. Lastly I got j for Judging, but that doesn't mean I judge people it means I like a planned out plan before I rush into things, and I can totally say that's me for the most part. I did get 38% so I do like plans but sometimes I like to go with the flow, I guess it jut depends on my mood. Some cool people who have the INTJ the are: Adam Sandler (Who knew Adam Sandler was an introvert?!),  Julia Siles (great actress), a cool Greek guy Aristophanes, and Carrie Fisher, it's really cool that Carrie Fisher has my personality type because she was awesome as Princess Leia and her passing was very sad.

 I feel like my personality matches me about halfway. I was in the middle for everything just had slight preferences over one than the other, I prefer to be alone more than hang out with a big group of people, but at the same time I enjoy hanging out with a lot of people. I think it could be my mood that decides if I want to hang out with a group or not. I also try and make the best decisions even if means that some people will be disappointed but I try to include everyone, it’s just a slight preference, I feel like the N also makes me creative and I list and organize differently than people with the opposite traits. I try to make decisions based on what other people are feeling and try to help the so the T might not describe me all that great, but I do like to solve problems and figure out how things work. My personality type is right in the middle so I do not really think this helps me figure out why I go to different people and figure out why I do certain things.

    In a team I take on many different parts, sometimes I am elected unofficial leader other times I just want to be told what I should do, but my input is usually listened to. In my family, I am the oldest sibling so that means I hold a lot of power and am usually left in charge at home a lot when my parents make a quick errand. I think I am more of a leader then a follower, especially when I have very strong opinions on a subject. I think my personality type is kind of like a go with the flow, or at least that is how I am with stuff, I will try to make a plan, but also allow room for surprises. I will try to fill whatever is needed of me, so if I needed to help others I’ll try or if I just need to follow along, I’ll do my best. But when I can't be a leader for a certain project I'll try and do my own thing and take leadership for myself, I'll become annoyed and will try to listen. However, sometimes it does not work out. I am sort of a leader but I am quite and will listen so my fellow groupmates. 

    I think in the past people might think I'm rude because I don't talk to them or I speak out against their idea with my own, I don't try to be mean I just want to add input. People think I’m a quite one, and I guess I could say I am but when with friends I can get really crazy, so I've got a school/friends attitude. I think they are probably many people who conflict with my personality, but I try to work things out with them and avoid conflict. For example, I am not much of a talker I like to listen, so if I am with a very outgoing person I will be quite but I do not really like it when people just keep talking and talking. Or when people go against my plans that I had carefully thought out or when they just don't listen to me in general. 

    We also did a "sprit animal" type thing and I got tied with the might lion (which goes against my Slytherin pride) and the social otter. This means I like to lead, which is somewhat true, I like to be in charge during projects but not like in charge of a country. The lion is also good at making designs but I am not and sorta indecisive but it all about certain subjects and what not. I am also good at being strong and direct as well as goal-oriented which I must say is very true. Some weaknesses that come with the lion include being to argumentative which has happened to me before, as well as being to dictatorial.  On the otter side I am supposed to be very social and I can talk to much, however I am not to sure I talk to much, actually in my classes I don't talk at all. I do like motivating and helping other people stay positive and with my friends I goof-off quite a bit, as well as having a very messy room, oops. I always try my hardest with projects and don't rush them so that is another things that I think the lion takes care of rather than the otter. 

    Sooooooo, there you have it, I am the 1% of people with the INTJ type. Hope everyone is staying healthy and happy this winter,

thank you 

Sophie The First. 

My Ten Strengths

      Bonjour!! Salut! Hello my fellow bloggers, how are all of you? I am doing great, a little tired, but thats what Monday's at 9:00am feel like am I right?! Recently we've been working on our ten strengths and trying to make a video with our words. This project wasn't really an animation, more like a movie with words moving. I thought it was interesting to think of words that describe me, I don't really like talking about myself. Anyways, I thought the project was vey fun, so lets get on with it.

The Process

               
     We started this project at the end of October maybe, well that's when we thought of our ten words. Then couple weeks ago we've put them onto the screen. We used Photoshop and had to first put in a background, just any solid color. After that we added in the words using the text tool as well as changed the font too, I tried to make each word have its own font because I feel like words have different meanings and should be expressed uniquely. After that we had to find an image that best describes us. I wanted to do the mountains because I love them, my family and I always go to Colorado every summer and spend a week in the mountains, probably one of my favorite things to do in the summer. Next we had to pick a picture as our real background. The task of picking the perfect picture was a little challenging. I wanted something blueish with mountains but not everything to be blue, so I settled on a sunrise. We had to be careful when picking the photos because  everything is copy righted, so theres a whole process that must be done, but its not to bad just limits the pictures After we did all this stuff we had to put the words into the movie time line and give them special animations/movements, it all ends in a clump of words (My name is the big one in the middle).

What Did I learn

      I learned how to add special effects of movements to objects in a photoshop movie. Making the words move was't hard, you just have to make key frames--were the words will start and end up--and Photoshop will automatically move them for you, it was relatively easy to do. Adding music in was kinda hard because our teacher didn't know how to help so I was kinda going with the flow, but I think it turned out pretty great, could've edited it a bt more but its ok for my first time. I also learned how to not illegally take photos from the internet, not gonna be breaking the law no more, I'm a new women now.

Takeaway

    I had a lot of fun making this project and I thinking was nice to find words that can describe us in  positive way. I liked how mine turned out, I tried to make it constantly moving because if it went one by one it might've bored people, including me. So I tried to make it something I would try and watch too. I probably could've cut the music at the end, or at least try to make it end a little nicer because it suddenly just stopped, but I think the project turned out a-ok.

    Overall this project was a fun experience and I learned a lot about myself (cliche I  know) but it was fun to make a project based off of things I'm good at. Thanks for reading and have a great rest of your day,
Sophie the First.

Bouncing Ball with Archs

      Bonjour! Comment ça va? Moi bien! How are all of you? School is finally starting up for real, this has been my first full week back from winter break. We've had some "crazy weather" as well as many professional days, so i'm enjoying the time off. But that also means I can't work on my animation, have no fear; I've come back with another project to share. This is another bouncing ball, but this time it's with ...*drumroll please*  ... archs. Because every non-man made thing  in nature moves in arcs, or at least not in straight line. So without further ado, lets get right into the projecttttt. 


The Project


      For this project we had to make a ball bouncing come bouncing into view as if it was being thrown by something or someone. First we had to make the sky with a gradient, then of course the ground. I again choose a bright spring green and a midday blue, I think the colors look rather all with each other and it reminds me of great spring time weather. I did not change what side the sun was one but this time its a  bit more circle looking instead of drawn in the corner. Then we made a path for the ball to follow, so the arches path. Next we had to create the ball with a face on it, I wanted to do a blue ball so I was thinking of blue cartoon characters, I came up with Sonic the Hedgehog, but I didn't have his blue hair? It would've been to difficult and I was being lazy as well, oops. Anyways, we did squash and stretch and also learned easing in and easing out. When the ball goes down you squeeze it in and stretch it out as well as spreading the frames further apart to create speed, for the bounce up you squeeze it back down and make the frames closer together to show the effect gravity's work. After the ball was done bouncing you have to create a surprise ending, my ball his eaten by a hole and is never seen again. Pretty great if I do say so myself. To create a finished look you want to tween the frames so it will fade in and out nicely, make sure the background (Grass and Sky) is present either wise it will make the transition sloppy. Also make sure you pause on the title page, the first frame of the actual animation, the punchline, and the end screen. This will give people time read the title and take in the screen as well as try and add humor. 

What Did I Learn


       I learned that nature is always moving and nothing is going to be in a straight line, also that gravity exists in animation, and that exaggeration always looks better. I know to make sure everything is in different layers so it can actually animate as well as not mess you up. I learned how to better use easing in and out to change up the speed and make Sonic look like he's going faster on the drops and that he's losing speed on the bounces. I also learned that I need to make sure everything is still congruent so all the holes line up and the frames are in the correct order so it doesn't flash or jump back. 

How It Went


       I love animation, as I have said before and I think it went well. It kinda took me a while to make the project, but that could've been the lack of school we've actually had since returning from break. I messed up a few times while creating Sonic so I had to start him over, I keep forgetting to change layers when I add stuff, and my squash and stretch could be better. Everything is better exaggerated in animation and I feel like I could've exaggerated so much more. But Over all I think it went pretty well and I'm happy with how it turned out. 

A Bientôt! See you later my friends!
Sophie the First.

Bouncing Ball Animation

 Hello fellow bloggers, tis I, Sophie the first again. How are you all? Winter break was fantastic for me and now I'm back at school and this quarter I'm in animation. We are learning the ropes and it all beginners stuff, but I love it! So without further ado here we go:

   The Steps 

    The frist this you want to do when creating an animation is make a background. I choose to do midday, with the sun high in the sky. Then you choose your foreground and background colors. After click the gradient tool to create shading, this tool will help it look more realistic and 3-D. I also added in  couple more colors to the sky, like yellow for the sun. All you do to add it to the gradient is click a place in the shading bar, choose your color, and move it were ever you want. Next we made the grass or the ground, were the ball will bounce. I choose to do bright green grass, like springtime color. To make sure your grass doesn't come out of its respected rectangle you have to command click on the layer and that will only select the place you want your grass. Then just add in more colors and voila, you have shaded grass/ground. After that I created the ball. First choose the rectangle tool and change it to the ellipse tool and hold shift to make it a perfect circle. Then you just make more and more layers, slowly moving the ball down, spreading it further apart, and squeezing it in. This will give it the effect that its gaining speed and moving down. Make sure you always label layers and lock them when your done, this will preventing anything from happening.

                                                        

          What Did I learn

       During the project I learned how to better use photoshop for animation and not just touching up pictures. I learned that animation is not as easy as I orginally thought, although I still love it! There are always things you can add to layers to make it look better and more real. I learned that layers and spacing are key points in making animation look good, the more layers you have and the closer your animation is together will determine the speed. I learned a couple techniques like: squash and stretch, this means that as your object is moving it will stretch more to make it seem like its moving faster and then you squash it when it makes impact. In animation everything looks better exaggerated. We also learned easing in and easing out. When an object is easing in, you start with the frames closer together then spreed them apart as they gain speed, its the same with easing out. You start with the frames far apart but then make them closer as they lose speed.

How Did It Go

      I think that this project went smoothly and I had a lot of fun. This was my first animation and I loved it, no matter the hard work it took. I have learned a lot and am so ready for our next project. I wish I didn't have so many colors because as you can tell from down below, my projects looks a little grainy. I've learned how real animators feel, although this is probably little compared to what they do, but I think I'll get the hang of it soon. The hard part was remebering all the steps it takes, I have never used a Mac before e-COMM so all this stuff is new to me and is sightly diffcult to remeber but its all worth it because I always love the finished project.

  Till next time,
Sophie the First.