Week 15

Click Here to view my new webpage

Assignment: Create an iWeb page about your projects and ourselves.

Craft: Utilize the iWeb Program to mold our website to be as unique as possible.

Composition: I went home and checked my webpage on a computer ourside the lab after publishing it on Monday. I did recognize some small problems. For example, I corrected the slide show presentation to fill the whole screen. I deleted my Youtube video that would not work. I also edited some of the fonts. I added and edited the link names to and from my blog and and Iweb page. Now, you can access anything from either page. I think I am finally finished with this project.

Concept: The idea behind this assignment is to be able to build our own network where we can view everyone's work and webpages. Part of the project was to try and separate ourselves from each other by coing up with orginal concepts for our website.

Week 14

Click Here to View Webpage

Week 13

Assignment: Create our own webpage using the program iweb. We need to include a page about Vis Comm, a page about ourselves, and also pages including our work.

Craft: The first thing I had to do was to choose a template that I thought would work best for me. Then I collected some images and personalized the webpage, curbing it to my own personal style. In order to customize the page, I had to change fonts and colors on the original template. I displayed my three projects from the class onto the website as well as my blog adress. I also had to export my comic into the webpage and I was thinking about maybe adding a youtube video.

Compostion: I tryied to use bright colors for the most important thing on the page. I used colors specifically to draw the readers eye. Picure placement was key as well. Another thing I did was create a similar color pattern, using red in the images and as a background for the fonts. I am having trouble with deciding what i need to keep consistent and what not to.

Concept: The webpage's purpose is to be unique. Therefore, we are trying to bring a concept of originality to the webpage. It is actually harder than I thought it was going to be .

Week 12

Ive paid my dues -
Time after time
Ive done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
Ive made a few
Ive had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But Ive come through

We are the champions - my friends
And well keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
cause we are the champions - of the world -

Ive taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortuen and everything that goes with it -
I thank you all -

But its been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I aint gonna lose -

We are the champions - my friends
And well keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
cause we are the champions - of the world -

Week 11

Assignment: Utilize my drawing and incorporate that with two programs, photoshop and comic life.

Craft: The first step was to place my finished drawings and photoshop documents into the program comic life. Then I made several adjustments by selecting a background color that I felt helped amplify the scenes in my comic strip. I also adjusted the shapes of the rectangles in which my drawings and photoshop documents were placed.

Composition: I had originally drawn my speech/thought bubbles. However, after messing around with the program comic life, I realized that I could make the text much easier to read by utilizing the text bubbles that were offered in the program. I tried to diversify and use several different types of speech/thought bubbles. For example if someone was just making a statement, I would use a regular speech/thought bubble. If someone was yelling, I would change the format of the text bubble to help amplify the expression of those statements.

Concept: The speech bubbles really give the story some character. They give the reader a much better idea of what is happening in the story. They help convey this point by stressing certain words to show importance or significance. I only was able to use one caption in my entire story, which was rather convenient. I also tried to use a different format for each page of the comic. There were a total of three pages. However, each page had a different format of rectangles and squares showing the photos. I made sure not to cram and I tried to leave only the necessary parts of the pictures visible within the square or rectangle. When I started the project, I didn't think I would be able to make the comic look authentic. Overall, I was pleased with the results of my comic strip.

Week 10

Assignment: To complete our comic book strip using two colors. We were also respondsible for adding or subtracting slides to help our story make sense.

Craft: I drew all the photos for my comic. then i utilized photoshop tools to incorporate color schemes and highlights. I was able to do this by creating separate layers of color in each picture. I tried to use different shades of brown and green.

Composition: I used shades of light and dark brown, as well as shades of green as the main colors in my comicstrip. I chose the shades of light green to highlight the heart and the package. I used shades of light and dark brown for the background. I wanted to choose a darker color for the background and a lighter color for other objetcs to try and accentuate the importance of those objects in the picture. I also used white in a number of areas. I chose to take different shades of each color to fill in other areas of the comic.

Concept: My story was comprehendible. Nonetheless, some students were able to give me some positive feedback. They suppplied me with ideas for adding 2 more additional slides to help fully complete some thoughts in my story. The additional slides helped make my story more clear to the reader. The first slide I added was one of the delivery guy taking the package out of his van and begining to open it up. The other additional slide that I added consisted of the sharp guy in a nice suit getting ready to eat the heart for dinner. I can't wait to see what i can come up with by using the comic strp program, too. (The picture above is the only picture i had in a JPEG format and it is the original colored photo.)

Week 9

Assignment- To print out our 9 -12 pictures of our storyboard and get into groups. While, in our groups, we are supposed to discuss the likes, dislikes, strategies and problems with our cartoon strip.
Craft- Basicall just print out the pictures individually so we could write our thoughts, suggestions, and ideas on the back of them. The idea is to be able to get a grasp on how well our pictures/drawings depict the story we are trying to tell.
Concept- My concept is basically to tell a story about a boring delivery man that has a rare and exciting moment in his everyday life. My overall objective in this concept is to make sure my story is cohernt, percise, and to the point so that other people can read/look at the pictures and be able to read it easily.
Composition- For the most part, my story makes sense to others. However, I need to add maybe one or two more drawings toward the end to complete some thoughts and for some transition perhaps. I am interested in how using only 2 colors will turn out!

Week 8

Assignment: Develop a story to put into a "comic strip."

Craft: I ended up drawing nine photos for the comic strip. I was going to take pictures but I found that for my story, it was going to be a little easier just to draw them. I will also use photoshop to add color to these photos.

















Concept: I was trying to accomplish telling a story that I developed. In order to do that, I had to draw these pictures that could be incorporated into my story. These pictures that I drew help communicate my story. I was pretty happy with how my drawings turned out. I thought it was going to be a lot harder to draw them, but I was able to envision them in my head. Once I did that, putting them on paper was easy. Also, I finally was able to develop an ending to my story. It wasn't easy to come up with an ending, but I felt that a few elements were lacking when I told my story in class.



Composition: I drew specific pictures to help convey the story. I am going to use a lot of bright colors to try and catch the reader's eye. I think the final result will turn out quite nice, but I am intrested to see how I can utilize the tools in photoshop to be able to color these images that I drew. I'm excited to see how this particular project is going to turn out.

Story

Assignment: To develop a story with twists and turns involving one person waiting, one person traveling, and a package that is arriving for one of the two people. 

1 person traveling: ordinary delivery man

1 person waiting: sharp guy in a nice suit

package for waiting person: 

Concept: The story starts out with a delivery man about to get done with his shift in upstate New York. He is an ordinary man whose job is not all that exciting. It has been a day on the job just like any other day so the delivery man is not expecting much. He is ready to return home to his wife from a long day at work. He has a small envelope that has the address 10601 South Tripp on it. He makes his way to Tripp Street and he arrives at a huge mansion. As he is walking up the steps he finds himself admiring the wealth and sophisticated aspects of the mansion and he starts to wonder if it was perhaps someone famous who lives there. He rings the doorbell and a man with a pin-stripped Armani suit answers the door. The delivery man hands him the envelope. Without even opening the envelope, the sharply dressed man at the door says "Today is your lucky day." The delivery guy is kind of thrown off and asks "Why?" The man at the door says "I have a package arriving in 3 days to this address. I'll give you and extra $500 on the spot if you delivery the package after your shift late at night so no one will see you." The delivery man asks "What's in the package?" The man responds "I can't tell you because it will put both of our lives in danger." Now the delivery guy knows there is something weird and wrong going on. However, he also feels that his job is so uninteresting that this could be a chance to spice it up. The delivery man is kind of upset with himself because he feels like he has underachieved for the better part of his adult life. The delivery man has always been kind of a risk taker and it has been a while since he got the opportunity to take one. The man at the door slaps a $100 bill in the delivery man's hands and asks "Are you in?" The delivery man thinks for a couple of seconds and says "Yes." He leaves the mansion and goes home to his wife. He does not let anyone know of the events to come. 3 nights later, the delivery man returns to the mansion with a package. He has tried really hard to keep himself from opening the package. He rings the doorbell and the same man answers the doorbell. He hands him the package and gets the $500 from him. (I'm still working on the ending of the story.) 

Week 6

Assignment: Develop a rough draft of a second mash up.

Craft: I used a picture of my brother and his friend after one of their football games. Then i mashed it with a photo of one of my friends in his graduation gound. I aslo added an alternate picture of my brother in a sportcoat before his dance. I was able to mash these photos by utilizing concepts and techniques in photoshop learned in class.

Concept: I chose these photos to mash together to develop a specific message. I decided to fade the sport coat and graduation gound over my brother and his friend to perhaps showcase a bit of their furture. I guess I also wanted to develop the idea that sports and success are somehow linked. I think I will be able to convey this message better with the title of my piece.

Composition: These are some of my favortive photos because they remind me of great times that I had in my life. I chose these photos because I thought it would be a great opportunity to link childhood and adulthood. I think I can do an exellent job conveying the concept of these photos.

Week 5

Assignment: Take 25 pictures of people, places, and things and devlop ideas for a second mash-up for which we must convey a message.

Craft- Most likely, I will be utilizing the Photoshop Program to help mash my photos together. I am planning on really using the blending features for this mash-up. Hopefully, I can you and learn about some new features the program has to offer.

Concept- Currently, I have been playing around with the idea of using a picture i took of my brother in his football uniform. I want to display "life after sports." I am going to need another picture to mash it with. However, I have not decided which picture I will use. I may have to go out and take some additional photos to enhance the concept of my message.

Composition- I am still in the brainstorming process but I do have some ideas on how i can bring this together. I am fairly confident that I will be able to come up with some good ideas since the project is so open ended this time. I am looking forward to showcasing my ideas and concepts in this next mash-up.

Week 4

Assignment: To finish the final draft of my mash-up.

Craft: Using photoshop I made several changes to my picture. First, I altered his facial expression. I put a grin on his face. I also altered his one eyebrow. Next, I added an irish cap. I also altered the neon sign in the background. I replaced "Hasty's Place" with "Lincoln's Place."

Compostion: I mashed a grand total of three photos together. The picture of a Abe Lincoln, The Bar, and I added a glass of beer to create the concept I has trying to convey.

Concept: Abe Lincoln often looks unhappy or serious in the majority of his photos. Therefore, I wanted it to seem like Lincoln was having a good time for a change. Adjusting his facial features allowed me to give the photo a more relaxed mood. I wanted to show that Lincoln is a guy that, if he was still around today, would be someone that many people could relate to because I don't think Lincoln was a very cocky person. If he was around today, I feel that he would be well liked and often meet with friends for a cold one. I feel that Lincoln was just a common man who was very good at his job and had a great undertsanding of values and priorities.

Week 3

Assignment: To select one of the 25 Lincoln era photos and mash that particular photo with one of the 25 contemporary photos I had taken to create an overall message.

Craft: By using the program Photoshop, I was able to mash 2 photos from 2 different eras together. I was able to mash these photos together to make a "realistic" looking image. To do so, I had to utilize various techniques (cut, paste, scaling, altering colors, etc.) that are provided by the Photoshop program.

Composition: I had original chose to mash 2 other photos, but they proved to be to difficult to mash. Therefore, I had chosen two other photos, one of Lincoln sitting at my bar in my basement. I cut and pasted Lincoln into contemporary photo and altered the colors to black and white. I received positive feedback on my mash up photo. However, the critique provided me with many ideas and many directions that i could go in. For example, I could copy and paste and arm to Lincoln's body with a drink in hand or add shadow/reflection to his body on the bar.

Concept: I was kind of struggling with the concept of my photo at first. Then I realized after the critique that I should have maybe developed a short story or correlation between the two photos. I'm trying develop the idea of Lincoln as a bartender. I am pleased with the fact that can alter his facial features now. I think that will help add the the concept of the photo. I still have things to add the the photo to help create more of an overall message. One thing I think will help raise some interesting ideas is if I change the name on the neon sign in the background.

Week2

Assignment: Collect 25 photos from the Lincoln Era. Collect 25 comtemporary photos.

Craft: To find the 25 photos from the Lincoln Era, I seached the internet and saved the specific photos to my flash drive. To find the 25 contemporary photos, I went out around my neighborhood and took pictures of ordinary, random things like signs, flags, buildings, etc. When I returned home, I put the contemporary photos onto my flash drive and printed all the photos in the classroom.

Composition: The contemporary photo that I took that I like the most would have to be the picture of the American flag. I took the photo outside of some random house. However, I think the lighting was just right and it came out looking very professional. I also like how the wind was blowing at the time to give the flag some life. My favorite Lincoln Era photo would have to be the photo I found of Uysses Grant standing against the pole. It was one of the only photos I could find of someone standing. I perosnally just think he has a cool look on his face. Grant looks worried, tired, and depressed. He looks like he has seen some bad things go down.

Concept: The pictures I would like to mix would have to be the one of my two friends dressed as the blues brothers and the standing picture of Ulysses Grant. The reason I wanted to mix those two pictures was to show that my friends look like they are having a good time in this picture. However, Ulysses Grant looks like he needs a drink and to lighten up a little bit. Grant looks tired, depressed, and worried. Therefore, the idea is that my friends know that Grant is having a bad day, so they want to cheer him up by taking him out, loosening up, and having a few beers. This will hopefully get Grant's mind off the war.

Week 1

Assignment: Set up Blog

Craft: Picture, G-Mail

Composition: I chose this photo to post on my blog because I do not have many photos of myself online. Usually there are other people in the photos with me. This is the only photo that was already cropped. I chose this template as my background because I wanted a dark background. Most of the other templates had white backgrounds.

Concept: If I had a soap box, I would yell about reality TV shows on MTV and VH1. The people who sign up for these shows are crazy. Once these maniacs get on TV, they act like complete idiots! I mean I don't know how some of those people ever show their faces in public again. I'm pretty curious as to why these people keeping signing up for these reality TV Shows and how do these lame, burned out celebrities get their own shows? I'm not gonna lie, it is pretty funny though.