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Creativity & Design Blog Post #42/23/2018 This week, I wanted to try something new. I don't remember how, but I had the urge to try my hand at vaporwave art. Problem Type This problem is largely unfamiliar. It's vaguely familiar in the sense that I'm proficient with photomanipulation and Photoshop. I've never really thought about vaporwave art before, though I'm aware of the aesthetic and have seen many images around the internet. It's a style I hadn't analyzed before. Creative Strategies Honestly, my creative strategy was "just go for it". I didn't sit down and plan at all, I searched for a bunch of images on Google and went headfirst into Photoshop just messing around. I did do some research beforehand, though, to more acquaint myself with what exactly vaporwave art is. My Creative Process Firstly, I did some research. What I found out contradicted my base knowledge of what "vaporwave" is. Before, I thought it was this extremely stylized form of imagery made with roman busts and neon colors. Upon just googling "what is vaporwave," I discovered that it's not visual art at all. Vaporwave is actually a genre of music, characterized by appropriating 80's and 90's elevator music. Once I found a resource referring specifically to the meme of vaporwave did I find out how it is linked to the imagery. Vaporwave music was often heard alongside something called "a e s t h e t i c," all spaces included. It was really a e s t h e t i c art that is what I thought was vaporwave art. This kind of art was supposed to make fun of what people consider "aesthetic," to make fun of a hipster notion of what looks good and doesn't, supposedly. But, since a e s t h e t i c art became so closely associated with vaporwave music, the term "vaporwave" now technically refers to both the music and a e s t h e t i c art. Since I wanted to focus more on the art part of vaporwave, I amended my search from "how to make vaporwave" to "how to make vaporwave art" and stumbled upon this video. Here, I got the basic low-down on vaporwave art aesthetic. Also, my vaporwave name would be Luxury 消費者. The Japanese means "consumer." While this video is satirical, it's actually accurate and useful. I used this as a basis of my vaporwave art adventure. Here are all the images I downloaded for this endeavor (though I didn't use every one of them): This project was incredibly experimental, since I had never done this before, and I didn't have a clear idea of what my finished product would be. I followed the advice in the video above. I used gradients, chose bright blues and pinks, and followed many of the motifs usually found in vaporwave art such as the Windows 8 logo and a Roman bust. As seen in the video below, I decided not to use the checkerboard, the Roman arch, the Arizona Tea can, nor the sun or moon. No matter how I put these elements, it didn't look right to me. Ultimately, it's all about messing with it until it looks right, whatever "right" is. Here is my process video: For this project, I used Photoshop Elements 11 and Firealpaca. Since I don't own a full version of Photoshop, I used my drawing program to supplement some features that Elements doesn't have. Below is my final product: Reflection
Ultimately, I love how my final image came out!! This was such a fun project and I think I did very well considering this is the first time I've ever done vaporwave art. I had to go back and forth from Photoshop to the Google Image search just to make sure I was getting the "look" right. I made the dimensions 1920 x 1080 so it could be potentially used as a screensaver or background on a computer. Sometimes I had trouble figuring out where elements were to go, mainly on the right side of the image. The only thing I want to change in my final product is the Windows 8 logo. Over the course of this project, I struggled with what I would do with it. I figured I could make it like a window to a body of water, but my main obstacle was finding an image of water that I could manipulate and make it what I had in mind. In the end, I used a wavy image, but I actually don't like it. I would much rather it just be the mountain image that's behind the waves without the waves and I think that will be sufficient. Overall, this project was quite fun and though while I probably wouldn't do it again, I'm glad I did. I'm really proud of the outcome, as I feel like it could really be seen around the internet accompanying a vaporwave song.
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Arduino Pre-Lab: Getting Started2/19/2018 Idea 18x8 LED Matrix I would want to use this as a tracker of sorts for something happening in space. I really like space, so I think it would be cool to make a clock-like thing that shows the sun moving across the sky or the phase of the moon, and I think an 8x8 grid would be simple enough for that. Idea 2 LED Matrix Controlled by Android App To me, this is so so cool because the lights in the matrix aren't pre-made. You can make whatever picture you want. The only downside is that I have an iPhone and not an Android, so this tutorial doesn't do much for me. I guess I could still adapt this to be used with a computer rather than through bluetooth. Idea 3Lightning Detector I would make this for a very practical purpose: determining if we should close the pool. Since I work by a body of water, one of our responsibilities is keeping an eye and ear out for thunder and lightning so we can evacuate the pool area for the safety of our patrons. It's not a perfect process, though, as we aren't able to see every strike of lightning. For one, the building blocks our view of the west and the mountains block our view of the east. Also it's possible that neither the lifeguards nor the instructors will see or hear a strike. Something like this could help us detect lightning to keep our customers safe. This project may be too complicated for my level of skill, but it would still be pretty neat to have. Idea 4Twitter Mood Box
If I were to do this project, I would want to skip the Twitter part. It's cool that it analyzes words in tweets to determine the "mood" of people on Twitter. Honestly, I'd rather have it just be controlled by me depending on what color I want in my room. Or, I could have it change color throughout the day depending on where the sun or moon is in the sky as a sort of abstract clock. I think this project is doable for my low level of programming skill. Creativity & Design Blog Post #32/17/2018 This week, I decided to go with my native realm of creativity: illustration. I took a few original characters of mine, Jack, Lane, and Amber, and drew them into a scene. Problem Type This creative problem is definitely familiar to me. But also, somewhat unfamiliar. I am an illustrator by trade, but I haven't worked in comics that much. Web comics, though, is something I want to get into in 2018, so I want to practice it as much as I can. Creativity Strategies This week, I went through my usual processes when I draw. I looked up references for things that I was unsure about such as posing and background elements. Not a ton of brainstorming was involved, since I was sure about the format and script before I started drawing. My Creative Process This little comic started with the basis of my characters: Jack and Lane are dating and Amber is their friend. Jack is easily embarrassed by any kind of affection, so just a simple tiny Valentine's card is enough to disable him. Firstly, I wrote out my script so I had it in front of me. I also doodled Lane and possible ways his mouth could look in the second panel. Second, I began sketching my hardest pose, Jack with his face buried in his hands. It took me a few tries for this one and I had to search for multiple references until I found the one that fit the most. Once I had sketched out the basics of each panel, I moved on to lining. When I line, I usually use 2-3 layers with various colors to make it easier to draw fluid lines without worrying about making it perfectly line up. Some of this happened through trial and error, such as the Valentine's Day card. I didn't know what to write on it, so I had to look up some examples and write out a few before it looked right. Here's a sped-up video of the process: And here's the final product. I didn't want to worry myself over colors, so I kept it black and white. Reflection
Upon finishing everything, I realize that I forgot to line Jack's chair in the first panel. It's really not that big of a deal, as I can fix it easily. While it's not perfect, I'm proud that I did it. And I will always have the opportunity to clean up all the tiny mistakes and add color into it later. Ultimately, this project was entirely in my realm of practice. I love creating little stories, especially small domestic scenes that don't need a ton of action or drama to be entertaining. For sure in the next few projects, I want to branch out into unfamiliar territory with my weekly creative blogs. Creativity & Design Blog Post #22/10/2018 This week's creative endeavor was putting together monthly tracker spreads in my bullet journal. I only recently started a bullet journal, so this is my first go at it. Until recently, I never attempted keeping a bullet journal because I thought it was only about keeping daily to do lists. I already do this on an app called Evernote, so it would be redundant and disorganized to have the same list as more than one medium. Also, a digital daily list is better for me because I add, remove, and rearrange the items on my list constantly, which isn't something you can do on paper. I recently discovered the many types of spreads that a bullet journal can have. I'm still in the process of building my spreads, but this week I just focused on the monthly ones. Problem Type Keeping a bullet journal falls under Unfamiliar and Risky. It's unfamiliar because I have never kept a bullet journal before. Not only that, but I haven't consistently tracked components of my life before. This kind of organization is unfamiliar to me. It's risky because spreads require accuracy in the measurement and placement of everything on the page. The journal I'm using has a grid on it, so I had to make sure that everything I made was the same size and placed in the right spot to work with everything on the page. This is risky for me because I'm naturally terrible at mathematic accuracy. I can't explain how or why, but being accurate with measurements is one of my weaknesses. Creativity Strategies The main strategy I used was brainstorming. I made a number of lists before starting my journal to figure out what exactly I was going to use this for. As you'll see in the pictures on my progress, I also wrote things down in order to keep it straight in my head and to allow myself to be creative without feeling trapped within the limitations of my journal. I concluded that I would use the journal to track my mood day to day, how long I sleep, if I eat my target calories, exercise, water intake, when I take my dog on walks, and when I water my succulents, among others. Depiction of my Creative Process Here is the notebook I'm using for my bullet journal. I bought it off RedBubble from the artist Kel. It has a grids on the pages instead of lines. Above was my first attempt at a calendar. I practiced using January before I made one to use for February and the rest of the year. I made a few mistakes. For one, I put too many rows and so there's an extra at the bottom. Next, I messed up the day names, starting the week with Monday instead of Sunday. Then, I skipped 11 when writing the numbers of the days. In all, not a bad start. Here, I tried making the January calendar again, this time with less rows, but I goofed when drawing the lines, so some rows are bigger than others. I gave up on this page and instead used it as scratch paper to figure out the tracking spreads. Here, I made the calendar for February. It isn't flawed, but I realized I don't actually need this kind of calendar for my tracking, so in the end I didn't use this page for its intended purpose. I planned out the next iteration instead. Here is the first iteration of my tracking spreads. At first, I tried putting both the sleep tracker and the other trackers on the same page. As you can see, I used it for a few days, then decided it didn't work as I had planned. I wrote in pencil the plans for the new spreads. Here's the final format that I settled on. I decided to use two pages per month for spreads, plus two pages for doodles and collages (which I haven't filled yet). Some of the things I'm tracking are meant to be checked off everyday while others, like watering my plants or putting gas in my car, are things I need to do only a few times a month. I decorated the edge with washi tape. And here is my final sleep tracker. I wanted to include all 24 hours of the day because I also figured that I could track any naps I take as well. Here's a video tour of the first 10 or so pages of my bullet journal: Reflection
I believe this creative project has been a success so far. I was apprehensive about making it perfect, so I gave myself room to make mistakes. Ultimately, I think this will work out in the long run. It gives me the opportunity to track daily habits and health items while also allowing me to decorate the pages and be creative in that aspect. I haven't decorated the pages too much yet, only using some washi tape and colored pens. I plan on spending time each month doodling and drawing little icons all over my bullet journal in order to further its creative value and give it some pizazz. Even though I spent a few pages messing up and being messy, I decided that I'm going to cover them with collages and washi tape so that they still look nice and I don't have to tear them out of the notebook. Creativity & Design Blog Post #12/3/2018 The process I've chosen to document is creating a logo for myself. In my business class, we've been working on identifying and strengthening out personal brand. Part of this involves creating a logo for ourselves or a business we want to make in the future. I'm not interested in making a business at the moment, I'm work in the realm of freelancing and see myself being here for a few years. In this case, it could be said that freelancing is my business. Problem Type This project falls under Too Many Degrees of Freedom and somewhere between Unfamiliar and Familiar. In terms of familiarity, I've made logos before and I have experience with graphic design, but it's not my forte. I don't focus on graphic design, so that's where the unfamiliarity comes into play, though I believe my artistic skill gives me some level of familiarity with logo creation. One of the problems I had with this creative venture was I could literally make anything. I was frozen by the possibilities. In fact, I believe there to be so many possibilities that I had trouble thinking of a single idea. Creativity Strategies So unfortunately, I worked on my logo before reading this assignment. I wasn't able to look up creativity strategies before I dove into this. On the bright side, my logo is a work in progress and what I turned in will be altered. I will make sure to research strategies for future blog posts. That being said, I have my own process that I go through when drawing something. I did scroll through some pages of Zig Zag. On page 97, it suggests keeping an Idea Log. I do something similar in which I have an app on my phone called Evernote where I keep ideas for stories and art pieces. Similarly, I write down ideas in my sketchbook throughout the doodles on the pages. Depiction of My Creative Process This image outlines the process I went through in the initial stage. At first, I started with ways I could take my name and make it graphic. In my head, I imagined the "y" at the end of my first name extending to the "w" of my last name. I didn't like this. To help me figure out what my brand is, I listed the services I practice and offer to clients. This includes illustration, photography, and social media marketing. I concluded that since these all rely on being visual media. My next idea was an eye. I drew a few quick iterations of what this could possibly look like before I went to a digital setting. I also considered putting a tagline on my logo, but I opted for a minimalist look with just my initials. The bottom of the image shows my final sketch before going to my computer. These two images show me messing with brushes. It turns out I didn't like a brush and wanted to make my logo crisp. I used my Wacom Intuos 5 tablet on my HP laptop in the free drawing program FireAlpaca. Here, I thought I was finished. I had perfected the line thickness of the eye and went through dozens of fonts before choosing Bell MT. I knew I wanted a serif font because of the clarity it would give the capital "I" instead of it looking like a lowercase "l". After I exported the file into a jpeg, I decided to try adding eyelashes. I really like the depth that came with the eyelashes. I decided to use this as my final logo. To me, it's striking and I pulled off the minimalist look. Unfortunately, I'm not in love with it, so I hope to improve this design or design something new that I can appreciate and use in my professional life. Here is a video that shows each transformation in sequence: Reflection
Ultimately, while I don't hate my logo, I know I want to make something different. It was super hard making this out of the infinite variations that were possible. That's how art always is, making something out of nothing. I was about to say that with my illustrations, I have a story or character to draw and that's why I had troubles with this logo assignment. The truth is, though, I am a character in the story of my life. That was one of the lessons we learned in my business class this week. An element that helps us build our personal brand is telling a story with our life. I really hope that I can analyze my life and my brand to come up with an improved logo for myself. I also look forward to learning about creative techniques so I can apply them to this logo and the other creative projects in my classes and life. AuthorA digital media student with a focus in visual development, illustration, and photgraphy. Archives
April 2018
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