Portfolio

Animation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1U-gOFI9I4

The file was too big for me to place on the blog. Here is the link to it on Youtube.

As you can tell, I did a slight departure from my original storyboard plan. The similarities come from the fact that its in a desert and a box falls out of the sky. The differences lie in that I specifically showed how the box got there rather than just drop out of nowhere and that it was just a button rather than a cybernetic eye. Furthermore, I turned it into a Public Service Announcement instead of a commercial.

Music was difficult. I couldn't think of an appropriate song that fit with the video from beginning to end. I put sound effects and music in places where I felt they were appropriate.

I did not intend for it to be as long as it is. I had to though, so I could fully tell the story that I wanted to tell.

Collage

The song I selected for my collage was "Breaking the Habit" by LINKIN PARK. The song is about a close friend of band member Mike Shinoda, who struggled with drug addiction.

As you can see I gathered a bunch of pictures of drug addicts and homeless people. I placed them in an alleyway that according to the picture I used, is somewhere in Boston. I would have used a night photo as that would better reflect the mood of the message. I couldn't find a good setting at night when I took into consideration that all the people I used were in daylight with the exception of the guy at the top of the stairs. He was in a bright subway station that might as well have been outdoors during the day. Although, I'm kind of glad it worked out like that, because the darkness contrasts with the sunlight at the top of the stairs, creating a metaphor for their drug use. 

I used the exposure tool on them to darken their images to make them fit better into the alley way. I also added many drugs from other pictures to place more emphasis on what they are doing and who they are. I also darkened these to fit with the staircase setting.

I placed the lyrics on separate sides to make the walls more appealing. Without it being there, I'm left with two blank walls that take up 2/3 of the picture. Adding the lyrics gave the walls a little life. I would have made the text bigger, but this is as big as I could make it without having the words start going off the wall or overlapping with the window or the pipe. I used the arc tool to try and give off the illusion that the lyrics are written on the wall. I faded them out a little bit to make them seem worn down and old.

Magazine project

I decided to make my magazine cover look more like a tabloid magazine. Doing it in this format made it easier for me to create something that was visually appealing. I didn't have to consistently insert images to see if they worked with the big picture that was working as the background.

The five color boxes are meant to simply make it more colorful and not boring to look at.

If you can't read the word next to NEWS, its manga in hiragana, one of the Japanese writing systems. The first symbol represents the "ma-" sound. The second the "n-" sound. The last the "ga-" sound.

As for the picture with myself, I took a picture of me at a Bucs game and clipped it out of its original picture before placing it in front of a skyscraper. What skyscraper, I don't know. I just Googled it. I feel like it gives me a look as someone who is really important. Makes me look powerful.

Photoshop Assignment

For my assignment, I decided to place my self in one of my favorite video games: Fallout: New Vegas. I'm a huge fan of the overall series and have always thought about how life would be like in the wasteland.

In the picture, I am standing alongside the main character of New Vegas, known simply as the Courier, as we battle a type of robot called Securitrons. While the Courier is prepared with a hunting rifle and combat armor, I am not up to his standard, fighting metal enemies with my fists and with no armor. I took the picture of myself doing tae kwon do a couple of years ago.

I used a diffuse tool to bring myself up to the lighting standard within the picture. Surprisingly, darkening myself made me fit better into the picture. It still feels out of place a little. I was hoping to lighten myself with warm colors to get the desert feel of the rest of the picture.

HTML Project

I know it doesn't look good. I had  a lot of trouble with this, even more than the vector. While creating shapes wasn't really a problem, I had a problem with the grid and curves. For some reason, the grid on my printed page didn't match up with the site. I had to do a lot of trial and error. The curves were also confusing, as I was constantly guessing where the curve was supposed to go.

Anyway, this is suppose to be a Jigglypuff. I added the hat, because I was having trouble with her ears and with her fluff on top. The background is just a gathering of random colors.

<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<script>
window.onload = function() {
var canvas = document.getElementById("myCanvas");
var context = canvas.getContext("2d");


context.beginPath();
context.rect (0, 0, 800, 600);
var grd = context.createLinearGradient(0, 300, 800, 300)
grd.addColorStop(0, 'rgb(0, 0, 0)');
grd.addColorStop(.1, 'rgb(200, 120, 30)');
grd.addColorStop(.3, 'rgb(200, 100, 200)');
grd.addColorStop(.5, 'rgb(210, 210, 210)');
grd.addColorStop(.7, 'rgb(190, 180, 170)');
grd.addColorStop(.9, 'rgb(100, 0, 0)');
grd.addColorStop(1, 'rgb(255, 255, 255)');
context.fillStyle = grd;
context.fill();
context.stroke();

context.beginPath();
context.arc (400, 250, 130, 0, 2*Math.PI, false);
context.fillStyle= 'rgb(250, 208, 222)';
context.fill();
context.lineWidth= 2;
context.stroke();

context.beginPath();
context.moveTo (530, 255)
context.quadraticCurveTo (625, 245, 521, 300);
context.fillStyle= 'rgb(255, 208, 222)';
context.fill();
context.lineWidth= 2;
context.stroke();

context.beginPath();
context.moveTo (350, 270);
context.quadraticCurveTo (400, 330, 325, 300)
context.stroke();

context.beginPath();
context.moveTo (383, 383);
context.bezierCurveTo (387, 387, 390, 390, 380, 400);
context.bezierCurveTo (250, 400, 360, 360, 383, 383);
context.fillStyle= 'rgb(255, 208, 222)';
context.fill();
context.lineWidth= 2;
context.stroke();

context.beginPath();
context.moveTo (435, 377)
context.bezierCurveTo (380, 382, 390, 390, 400, 400);
context.bezierCurveTo (405, 405, 410, 410, 455, 395);
context.quadraticCurveTo (480, 375, 420, 377);
context.fillStyle= 'rgb(255, 208, 222)';
context.fill();
context.lineWidth= 2;
context.stroke();

context.beginPath();
context.arc (360, 220, 40, 0, 2*Math.PI, false);
context.fillStyle= 'white';
context.fill();

context.beginPath();
context.arc (360, 210, 30, 0, 2*Math.PI, false);
context.fillStyle= 'teal';
context.fill();

context.beginPath();
context.arc (360, 200, 10, 0, 2*Math.PI, false);
context.fillStyle= 'white';
context.fill();

context.beginPath();
context.arc (450, 220, 40, 0, 2*Math.PI, false);
context.fillStyle= 'white';
context.fill();

context.beginPath();
context.arc (450, 210, 30, 0, 2*Math.PI, false);
context.fillStyle= 'teal'
context.fill();

context.beginPath();
context.arc (450, 200, 10, 0, 2*Math.PI, false);
context.fillStyle= 'white'
context.fill();

context.beginPath();
context.moveTo (375, 300);
context.quadraticCurveTo (410, 370, 440, 300);
context.stroke();

context.beginPath();
context.moveTo (270, 150);
context.lineTo (530, 150);
context.lineWidth= 15;
context.lineCap= 'butt';
context.strokeStyle= 'tan';
context.stroke();

context.beginPath();
context.rect (300, 70, 200, 70);
context.fillStyle= 'tan';
context.fill();
context.stroke();






















};

</script>
</head>
<body>
<canvas id="myCanvas" width="800" height="600"></canvas>
</body>
</html>

Stick Figure

It's a stick figure, so there really isn't much to say. It was really easy to make. There was a lot of trial and error though, mostly because I made it without a grid.

Vector Illustration

I couldn't do it. I can't be any more blunt. This was one of the most agitating projects that I have ever done in all my time in school. I understand what I am supposed to do. I just can't do it. Its confusing, time consuming, trial and error, but most of all, it isn't fun. I had fun doing the other assignments. I had no fun doing this. I understand that assignments aren't meant to be fun. They are meant to be learning experiences. At the same time, there is only so much frustration one can take before you just give up. Besides, I've never been good at 3D art anywhere.

I'm sorry. I know I'm better than this. Again, I just couldn't do it.

With all that out of the way, I guess I should explain what I was attempting to do.

Obviously, I tried to create a vector illustration of  a soda bottle, specifically a Coca-Cola bottle. For reference, here is the picture I based my illustration off of.

Obviously, I had to exclude the brand, per your requirements for this assignment. I tried to do a face, but I had more frustration with that. I played around with other things, like buildings. These were even more complex, though. I picked a soda bottle because I thought it would be simple enough for me to handle.

There is supposed to be a black text behind the white one to give off the illusion of 3D. I don't know what went wrong with the conversion.

Character Project

I really had no idea what I was doing. I just picked colors that made at least some sense. I want to clarify a few things that I think might be confusing.

The black ears are not the same as the rest of the fur because I had trouble creating something that was aesthetically pleasing with the same color. If I didn't use an outline color it blended into the ear too much and if I did use a outline color, it just looked out of place.

The blue blob in the center of the spider legs is supposed to be a globe. However, I quickly realized as I was working on this that that was not going to be possible. I don't have the skills to do it yet. On a side note, the spider legs remind me of Pokey from Earthbound.

The two shades of blue are supposed to be a skirt. Emphasis on the word "supposed".

The message "Link Joker was here..." won't make any sense unless you play Vanguard.

Final Logo

Explaining the logo:

1. I chose to go with using individual blocks to form the logo for two reasons. First, I had difficulty creating a logo that would depict a 3D stadium. It would require too many layers and doing things that I have not learned yet. Second, the blocks represent the company's status as a construction company.

2. There is no deeper meaning behind the choice to use black as the main color. Bright colors don't make sense for a blue-collar business like construction. In addition, during the process to develop this logo, the logo became unappealing when I added as many colors as possible.

3. As for the flags, the three colors (red, yellow, and blue) are inspired by the three diamonds on the logo for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Accordingly, they represent the same thing as the diamonds, and that would be the materials required to create steel. Red represents iron ore. Yellow represents coal. Blue represents scrap steel. Steel is obviously a major component in any construction project.

4. The text "Colosseum Constructors" is purposefully designed to be as simple as possible. Again, this is a blue-collar industry. It is not glamorous. Cursive and/or fancy fonts would simply be out of place.

5. Similar to how I used simple objects to create the stadium, I chose to depict a high school like stadium because of its simplicity. Trying to design giant NFL stadiums proved too complex. In addition, I was concerned that the logo would be too busy and assault the eyes with detail. High school stadiums are also more relatable, as every community has one. Not every community has a big stadium.

Calligraphy Logo

I based my calligraphy around one of the logos from the X-Men media franchise. For your convenience, here is the logo that I based my design off of.

My design is composed of six factors. First is the outer circle, which is composed of the names of the heroes of the series. Due to the amount of heroes that have been featured across all of X-Men media, I chose to focus on the ones that have made a significant impact in the world of comics and/or are the faces of the series. In addition, to save space, I chose heroes whose name consisted of only one word. This is why "Professor Charles Xavier" is shortened to "Xavier" and why Emma Frost is not included.

Second is the inner circle. This circle contains a list of villains in the series. The same rules for inclusion in this circle are the same rules that apply to the outer circle. Unfortunately, that meant I had to leave out Mister Sinister.

The third factor is the bolded words in the semi-cursive font. The words are meant to be a reflection of the prejudice that the characters of the franchise face from citizens due to their powers. The characters, called mutants, are portrayed as demons who are worthy of your hatred and that taking extreme measures against them is acceptable.

The fourth factor combines with the third factor to help create the 'X'. The words on the outside of the bolded words are some of the groups that have rivaled the X-Men throughout the years. The same rules applied in factors one and two apply here. This is why "Brotherhood of Evil" is shortened to just "Brotherhood". I chose to include a list of villain groups, because I thought it was necessary to highlight just how hard the battle is for the X-Men to earn their civil rights.

The fifth factor is the blue and red text in between the inner and outer circles. The blue is a quote from Charles Xavier, a mutant who stresses peace and understanding as a way to advance mutant rights. The red quote is from the franchise's main villain, Magneto. Magneto is a radical who advocates for violence against humans in order to achieve mutant rights. The contrast in styles of the two men is represented in the colors: blue (a traditional good guy color) for Xavier and red (a traditional bad guy color) for Magneto.

The final factor is the one word in the center of the circle where the lines creating the 'X' meet: human. Human is ultimately the main theme of X-Men throughout its entirety. Regardless if it is a comic, a movie, or a game, the one thing that X-Men always tries to remind you of is that everybody is human at the end of the day.

Logos for Company

The first logo was the one that came to me immediately after I thought of this concept. It is a stadium sitting on top of the company's name.

With the second logo, I tried to play off the fact that Coliseum and Constructors both start with C. It wasn't until after I drew it that I realized I could have done CO instead of just C.

Pretty self explanatory for the third one. It is half a football with CC below it.

Honestly with the fourth one, I had no idea what I was thinking.

Since we always think of Rome when we hear the word coliseum, I tried to add an Italian theme to the final logo. I took the Italian Coat of Arms and based my design off of that.

Logo Critique

For my logo critique, I decided to try and get a broad range of logos from a variety of different sources.

1. Nashville Predators

When you think of Nashville, you think of country music. You think of Southern hospitality. You don't think of extinct animals. Interestingly though, the Predators logo and name do have a connection to Nashville. Supposedly, the logo is in reference to a Saber-toothed Tiger skeleton that was found in 1971 during a construction project in the city. Still, this is a fairly weak connection between the city and the team when compared to other teams in the NHL. Of course, the teams colors make up for this as they are the same colors that are on the city's flag. Even though the aesthetics of the team have little connection to Nashville, I still am a big fan of the logo. It is sharp. It is bright. And most importantly, it is simple. It doesn't assault the eyes with colors and details, but has enough to not be bland.

2. Konami

The Japanese game company responsible for Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, and Silent Hill has one of the most unimpressive logos that I have ever seen. According to the official Konami website, the serif font is meant to represent "substance and reassurance." The color is cardinal red (referred to as "Konami Red" by the company) and is meant to represent "quality and class." If you truly want to represent these values, you need to have a logo that is uplifting. You need to have a logo that inspires trust in the future. Having a logo that one can create in Microsoft Word is not that logo.

3. Pemex

Pemex is short for Petróleos Mexicanos. It is an oil company based in Mexico City and owned by the Mexican Government. I could not find any history regarding this logo on the company's website. So we will just have to look at the logo and dissect it from a purely aesthetic standpoint. Right off the bat you notice that the logo features the colors of the Mexican flag, which makes sense given who the owners are. The depiction of what I assume to be an eagle signifies speed and moving forward, a good mentality for a business. Unfortunately, the oil drop is colored red, which reminds me more of blood. It would have been better to have the oil drop be green and the script be red.

4. Southwest Airlines

This is the most recent organization that I have mentioned to receive a new logo. And the results are utterly horrifying. According to CEO Gary Kelly "The Heart emblazoned on our aircraft, and within our new look, symbolizes our commitment that we'll remain true to our core values as we set our sights on the future." That's great, Gary. Doesn't change the fact that the logo is still as appealing as a root canal. I hate the heart. It is stupid. It has nothing to do with aviation. It is not a national symbol. It has no place and it makes Southwest look like a fitness studio. The colors are also poor. This is a company called SOUTHWEST Airlines. Let's get some Southwestern colors! True. Yellow and red are Southwestern. Not blue! This is especially problematic when you consider that blue is the main color. Every time I look at those colors, I think of Romania.

5. Altria

I feel like ending on a high note. And nothing is more uplifting than big tobacco! Altria is a conglomerate of international tobacco companies, headquartered in Virginia. The company utilizes a mosaic logo, which is meant to represent the diversity of their holdings across the globe. While this makes sense and would make sense for any business, the logo feels out of place for two reasons. First, the concept of using a mosaic has been utilized by the computer industry in a variety of fashions. When I see a mosaic, I think of computers. This logo was made in 2003, so it can be forgiven since computers were still young at the time. Still doesn't help it get over the stigma the mosaic is a computer image. Second, this is a tobacco company. Bright colors are not something I associate with tobacco. In fairness, all of the negativity that surrounds the tobacco industry makes creating a logo depicting the product a tough sell. Of course, that's what all tobacco companies want as they want to be depicted as something else in order to attract business.

Company Ideas

1. Coliseum Constructors
Coliseum Constructors is an architectural firm that specializes in the construction of sports stadiums. By sports stadiums, I mean facilities for football, soccer, and baseball. Buildings that typically seat at least 40,000 people. Each stadium is custom built to represent the team that will play in the facility. For example, a stadium for the New England Patriots would have an American Revolutionary War feel to it or something to do with that period of history.

2. MagnoReach
The MagnoReach is a simple device. It's just an adjustable ten-foot pole with a magnet attached to it at one end. The point is to make it easier for people to reach metal objects that have gotten stuck in hard to reach places. The MagnoReach has different sized magnet heads for different sized spaces and the pole is thin enough to fit pretty much anywhere.

3. Inward Wipers
I literally only came up with this, because the windshield inside my car got fogged up this morning and I couldn't see out of it. It's pretty simple. They are wipers that you can put onto your interior windshield and with the flip of a switch, you can get rid of any fog that might be in the way. Because car companies would have to make their own for their specific models and that this isn't required under federal law (I checked), the wipers would be sold as being controlled by a small device that sticks to your dashboard, making it easy to reach.

4. Hanzi Scanner
With the global rise of China, we are most likely going to see an increase in usage of the Chinese language. Anybody who doesn't know the language has had this thought at least once: what do those characters mean? The Hanzi Scanner app immediately scans the characters and provides an explanation. You can scan anything and the scanner will pick it up. Also, because Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese make use of Chinese characters, those languages can also be scanned.

5. Faster Food for You!
They call it fast food, because it doesn't take very long to make. So with an name like Faster Food for You!, you would think this would be a company that has made the creation of fast food even quicker. And you would be absolutely wrong! By Faster, I mean speed. As in, car speed. The company are independent contractors that sign deals with fast food restaurants to provide speedy delivery to you, so you don't have to waste the gas to go out and get it yourself!

Introducing Me

Where do you live?

I actually live in the Tampa area. I went to Sickles High School, about 30 minutes north of downtown. I live in the nearby town of Odessa. I am originally from Dallas, Texas and lived their for ten years. I also lived in Atlanta, Georgia for five years.

Why didn't you go away for college?

I had serious thoughts about it and was accepted to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. However, I felt more comfortable being close to my family. In addition, I received a scholarship offer from UT.

What year are you?

I am a senior, studying communications. I am on track to graduate this December.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy watching sports (Bucs, Bolts, Rays), playing video games (PS4 mostly), and playing card games (Cardfight!! Vanguard and Weiß Schwarz).

Why are you taking this class?

Two reasons. First, this class is a part of my communications degree, so I am required to take it. Second, I have always enjoyed digital arts. However, I have never really had a proper course in the field other than two elective classes in high school. This will make up for lost time.

What are you expecting to learn from this class?

More about computer programs. We had Adobe at my high school, but I only ever got to play around with one or two programs (Don't recall which ones).

Have you ever competed in a digital arts contest?

Yes. I was a member of FBLA from my sophomore to senior years in high school. I took home a 3rd place award for a design contest when I was a senior. The contest was to design a logo for a charity.