Delivery Systems 3 week 4

So last week I focused on getting all my content written for my SEO site, side the research and writing take the most time, I figured I could transfer it to a website easily this week. Well, my plan was great, but my execution was horrendous. I actually forgot to save my Word file, and lost all my research, notes and final draft. Thats right a whole week of work is GONE! I cried, not just a few tears either, full on ugly cried complete with snotty tissues and a meltdown. Than I contemplated, can I pull off a passing grade without this project? Maybe, but oh, how it would hurt my precious GPA. Is it worth the risk? Probably not. Do I have time to rewrite the whole thing? Doubtful. So what now? Throw together  what ever you can. No, it won't be as good as the original, but hell, its better than a zero. ANYTHING is better than a ZERO. So here it is, halfway through week 4, halfway done with the SEO project, with still another to complete. I am pretty positive I will be lucky to pull off a C on the last 2 projects. Now I wonder if maybe I could just retake the class. I'm pretty sure it will still effect my GPA though. Anyways, that is where I am. I really need to get back to my projects.

Delivery Systems Week 3

This week went by way to fast. The project for this week is to create a site on SEO. I have spent hours reading on the topic and still feel like either it is incredibly easy and I don't understand why what the big fuss is about since the things that need to be done the designer should be doing any way or maybe I just am not comprehending it at all, maybe, I think that its no big deal because I am not grasping something. I mean people seem to make a really big deal on the importance of SEO, yes a good designer should be doing these things anyway, but maybe there is more to it? I mean they can't be making a mountain out of a mole hill, can they? Or maybe there is just a lot of lazy web designers out there? I have no idea, but i am really hoping that I'm not overlooking something extremely important…..

Delivery Systems Week 2

     This week started off bad I logged in to finish up my last page of project 1 only to discover that my work was lost due to database issues. :( Which sucks, but accidents happen. What can you do. 

     However, I purchased zanettemccoy.com and will be hosting through host monster. I haven't built the site yet but I will be working on it. I am super excited!! I will be combining all 3 blogs into one site. More to come on that topic. For now I am just focusing on school, building the new site, and of course finding a job in the industry. 

Delivery Systems 3 week 1

Week one of our last Delivery Systems class was also the week of Thanksgiving, unfortunately I missed class on Tuesday and Thursday was Thanksgiving therefore class was canceled. I did use the time to go ahead and do all my discussions, reading, quizzes, and other small assignments for the week.  I am determined to stay on top of all assignments this class. Unlike last class where I felt like I was becoming a crazy lady while trying to get everything completed.

Delivery Systems 2 week 4

This week we focused on our last project. Project 3 was a group project to create a 12 page site on Keiser Graphics Department. Let me start out by saying I DESPISE GROUP PROJECTS! I cannot stand that I have to rely on someone else to get the job completed. Yes, I have control issues. I have accepted that and am ok with it. I just didn't have the time or ability to under take the stress of group leader. So I took a step back with this project...kinda...not really.  I agreed to do one of the pages of the group member that did the css and put the site together. Well of course said group member didn't show to the last day of class. So I ended up doing the extra page and still working on putting the site together. I worked with the other member of night class to put our portion of the site up. Everyone else... well everyone else is on their own. I cant allow myself to take on the stress of whether or not they rest of the class will actually do their work. Mine is done.

Delivery Systems 2 week 3

This week I finished up project 1 than began project 2. Project 2 is a 3 page site on anything. I chose to create a Biography site on myself. I had great ideas to include some of my genealogy pedigree charts. Of course this didn't work out as planed. I never transfered my genealogy research to my Macbook Pro when I bought it. Which tells you I haven't worked on genealogy in a year. I intend to transfer everything from my little pink laptop to my Macbook Pro over Christmas break.

Delivery Systems 2 week 2

     This week I began research on my first project. The first project is to create a 5 page website taking a stand on a hot topic. I chose to do the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin murder case. This was a big mistake. There is so much info and I wanted to go really in depth and show how he was guilty. I just didn't have the time to create the site that I really wanted to create. That would have taken MONTHS to put together. Instead of a supper detailed site I ended up creating a site that basically is just a overview of the case. No real details just the basics. Although I really liked the design of the site its self, I am extremely disappointed in how it turned out. Once you in vision awesomeness anything other than that is really just crap in your eyes.

Delivery Systems 2 week 1

During week one I didn't get allot accomplished. I had pneumonia, which caused me to miss the entire first week of class and fall slightly behind. But I will catch back up and get back on top of my game!

image courtesy of kidshealth.org

Copyright, Trademark, & Patents

     A trademark generally protects brand names and logos used on goods or services. Where as a copyright protects an original work. A patent protects a invention. For example, lets say you invent a new computer, let's call it Computer Z. You would apply for a agent to protect the computer itself. You register a trademark to protect your brand name, in this case it would be Computer Z. Then you many register a copyright for your marketing ads.

     Copyright is the exclusive legal right, that is given to the to a creator to use as he/she deems appropriate, and to authorize others to use. Copyright exists from the second the work is created in a fixed form, whether published or not.  The copyright immediately becomes the property of the person whom created the work. Mere ownership of a work does not give the possessor the copyright.
     Copyrightable works fall into categories, these categories are meant to be viewed broadly. Per www.copyright.gov,  the categories are as follows:

• Literary works
• Musical works (including any accompanying words)
• Dramatic works (including any accompanying music)
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• Sound recordings, architectural works

     There are several categories that are not eligible for copyright. Per www.copyright.gov, these categories are as follows:

• Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches  or performances that have not been written or recorded)
• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration
• Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources)

     Copyright is secured automatically upon the creation of a work in a fixed medium. No registration or any other action is necessary to secure copyright. However, with registration there are advantages. Per www.copyright.gov those advantages are as follows:

• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin.
• If made before or within five years of publication, registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.
• If registration is made within three months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney’s fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.
• Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U.S. Customs Service for protection against the importation of infringing copies. For additional information, go to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website at www.cbp.gov/

     Any work that is created on or after 1 Jan 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of creation for the rest of the creator’s lifetime plus an additional 70 years after the creator’s death. In the even that a work is created by more than one creator, the copyright will last 70 years from the last surviving creator’s death.    

     A patent is a property right that is granted to a inventor to prevent others from making, using, selling, or offering for sale a invention inside the United States or importing into the United States. There are three types of patents.

• Utility patents: these patents may be granted to one why invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter, or any new or useful improvement of those.
• Design patents: these patents may be granted to one who invents a new, original, and ornamental design from something to be manufactured. 
• Plant patents: these patents may be granted to one who invents or discovers any new and distinct variety of plant. This patents also requires that one asexually reproduces the said plant.

     A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or any combination of those, that identifies and/or distinguishes the source of a product from one party from than those from another. A service mark is very similar the only difference is for services rather than goods.
     The first step to trademarking is to decide on a mark. Not every mark is eligible for trademark registration, or even legally protectable. So one must do the necessary research to ensure the mark you select is eligible for protection. You should take car to choose a mark that is not likely to be confused with any marks that are already in existence.
     Marks generally fall into one of four categories. These categories are fanciful or arbitrary, suggestive, descriptive, or generic. The mark category that your mark falls into will greatly impact its registrability and the ability to enforce your rights.

• Fanciful and Arbitrary marks are more likely tot be registered than any other mark. A fanciful mark is a invented word that has not dictionary or other known meaning. Arbitrary marks are actual works that have a known meaning, however, the known meaning has not relationship with the goods that are protected.
• A suggestive mark is suggests, but does not describe, the qualities for a connection to the goods/services.
• A descriptive mark is a word or design that describes the goods/services. These marks are generally considered a weaker mark. Thus making it harder to protect or possibly even not registrable.
• Generic marks are the weakest of all the types of marks. A generic mark is a word that is a common name for a good/service. These words are not registrable or protectable.

     The next step is to do a trademark search. Before filling out a trademark application you should do a complete search of your mark to identify any possible problems, such as the likelihood of confusion or a prior registered mark. A free search can be done at www.uspto.gov/trademarks.
     Now, it's time to file a trademark application. This can be done at www.uspto.gov/teas.

Web Site Accessiblity

What is accessibility?
When a website can not be used by a person with a disability, than the site is inaccessible. When your site can be used by a person with a disability, than your site is accessible. So basically, accessibility is the undertaking of making a site the is use able by people with disabilities. Web site accessibility generally deals with the visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive and neurological disabilities. As well as the elderly, whose abilities are declining due to age. Since the US Census Bureau has 19.6% of the US population categorized as havens some sort of a disability, accessibility is imperative to the success of a site. Accessible sites not only benefit the disabled, but also those users without disabilities. Accessible sites tend to be easier to navigate, download faster, and more user friendly.

Visually Impaired Browsing.
The first disability you will probably think about when designing a web site is the visually impaired, or the blind. These have a enormous effect on how your site is perceived. You visuals essentially become insignificant. The site becomes less about how it looks, and more about how it sounds. The bulk of people who have a visual disability use a screen reader to navigate the web. A screen reader is software that ready the text of a website out loud. Screen readers cannot figure out what a image really represents. it will simply read the image's name per what is written in the HTML. For example a human can look at a image of a cat and describe it easily as "a cute white kitten with big eyes". Where as a computer will describe the image as "1234abc.jpg" if there is not ALT attribute written into the HTML. This makes it imperative to include a ALT attribute. The ALT attribute with change how the computer reads the image from "1234abc.jpg" to "cute white kitten".

Web Without A Mouse.
Those who cannot use a mouse, use the tab key. The tab key should take the user throughout the site in the same order that your eyes would, left to right and top to bottom. To do this the creator of the site would need to add what is called a tab index attributes to the elements on the page and number them in order that they should be viewed. Without the tab index, when a user tabs though a site it will take them in throughout the cite in order of how it is marked up. Which is not necessarily the order it should be viewed, though it should be. 

Color-Blind Site Viewing.
Web safe colors are not really "web safe". The colors that are thought of as "safe", look completely different to someone who is color-blind. for this reason color should not be a site's only form of communication. For example if you are showing a rating of something through stars. Someone who is color- blind might not even see the star rating. So it would be best to also have that rating in a text form. Now that does not mean to completely get rid of visual indicators, simply add a text description as well.

Language of Design: File Formatting

• .jpg- .jpg is short for JPEG, which stands for Joint Photography Expert Group. A .jpg is a type of compressed file. It is the most universal image file.
• .tiff- TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. TIFF is a high quality format the supports colors from 1- 24 bit. TIFF is made to be a standard image format for storing high quality color images on multiple platforms. TIFF allows layering and transparency.
• .raw- Raw doesn't stand for anything, it refers to being unaltered. .raw indicted that the file was read directly from a camera.
• .gif- GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF was one of the first two image formats for the Internet. It allows transparency but only 100% or 0%.
• .png- PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics. This is another file format that allows transparency like GIF, but you can pick what percent of transparency you would like. PNG is a compressed format.
• File Compression- File compression is basically making a file smaller, it is commonly used when sending a file from one computer to another. The compression makes the file smaller there for sends quicker.
• File Optimization- File optimization is the reduction of the file's size to improve compatibility with the Internet.
• Meta File- A meta file is a file that can store multiple types of data. These files can contain raster, vector and type data. 
• svg- SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. A SVG  is an XML-based vector image format for two-dimensional objects.
• .mp4- mp4 stands for  MPEG-4 Part 14. A mp4 is a digital multimedia format that is most commonly used to store video and audio. however, it can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images.
• .swf- SWF is a Adobe Flash fil format that is used for multimedia, vector images, and Actionscript.
• .mov- MOV is a file format that is often used to save movie files and video clips.

Learning Web

 

     In week one we began learning the basics of HTML. Our first assignment was to do a mark up in HTML with a given set of content. I was suprised at how easy it turned out to be. I even took the assignment a step farther and wrote a little CSS.

Language of Design: HTML Tags

     HTML is a set of codes set in a file that is used intended for exhibit on a web page. The codes used are to signify structural elements such as headings and lists. This codes are called tags. Tags are surrounded by angled brackets using the < and > symbols. Majority of tags come in pairs, a opening tag and closing tag.

• <head>: This tag signifies the information about the document.

• <body>:  This tag signifies a document's body.

• <p>: This tag signifies a paragraph. 

• <h1>: This tag signifies a HTML heading.

• <ul>: This tag signifies a unordered list.

• <ol>: This tag signifies a ordered list.

• <li>: This tag signifies a list item. 

• <dl>: This tag signifies a description list.

• <dt>: This tag signifies a term or name in a description list.

• <dd>: This tag signifies a description or value of a term in a description list.

• <table>: This tag signifies a table.

• <tr>: This tag signifies a row in a table.

• <td>: This tag signifies a cell in a table.

• <title>: This tag signifies a title for the document. 

• <div>: This tag signifies a section in a document.

• <footer>: This tag signifies a footer for a document or section.

• <header>: This tag signifies a header for a document or section.

• <aside>: This tag signifies the content aside from the page content.

• <nav>: This tag signifies a navigation links.

• <cite>: This tag signifies the title of a work.

• <!--comment-->:   This tag signifies a comment.

• <blockquote>: This tag signifies a section that is quoted from another source.

• <meta> tags: This tag signifies metadata about a HTML document.

• <span>: This tag signifies a section in a document.

 

Amortenia Wine Label

Assignment: Design a wine bottle label.

     So originally, I planed to design a label with a clock hands set to show 5 o'clock and no numbers just a wine glass where the 5 should be. The company would be called "it's 5 o'clock somewhere". But than as I began designing it I was thinking I wanted the clock to have the center cut out and show the wine through it, and I wanted bling on it, and this and that. Well my ideas where getting out of control. So I scrapped that idea for now. I'll come back to it when I have some free time. Right now I need to get this project done. I was watching Harry Potter and the love potion part came on. My wheels started turning. So I created Amortentia Love Potion Wine. Amortentia is actually a love potion from Harry Potter. Its the most powerful love potion. (Huge Harry Potter fan, can you tell?) Anyways, I used both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop for this project. I love how it turned out.

What makes a good portfolio?

     A good portfolio is one that is clear, concise, and convincing. Since the purpose of a portfolio is to serve as a visual resume. Therefore, your portfolio should be a reflection of you as a designer, without being a scrapbook for every project you have ever completed. The portfolio should have ten to fifteen samples of work that best represents you design style at the given time. That way you do not over load perspective employers or clients, but at the same time, you still can show that you have done a good amount of design work. A strong portfolio also authentic and memorable.

Back to Design

     Summer break is over, and I'm back in class. This month I am taking Applied Multimedia, which is a portfolio building class. I am really looking forward to building a strong portfolio. I made one several months ago for a job interview, but to be honest it was weak and lacking in material. Which is probably why I didn't get the position. Or it could have been that I only had one semester worth of experience in graphic design at the time as well. Either way, building a strong portfolio will definitely assist with securing employment in the future.
      This month we will be building 3 types of portfolios. Print, online, and creative. As well as, completing four interviews. Two with student services, and 2 where we actually do the interviewing of a designer actually in the field. Should be interesting.

ORB ZOOM

ASSIGNMENT: Recreate the Galaxy Orb logo from Video Copilot in Adobe After Effects.

Kinetic Typography

      Assignment: Choose a clip from a movie and animate words to appear when they are spoken.

Multimedia 2 Projects

     Here are my first of  two projects for Multimedia 2 class, as you know there was also a Final Project which is the Music Video I posted. The first project we did was a 30 sec commerical for Keiser University. I had some technical issues with uploading. I edited my video weeks ago, than last night when I started uploading my final projects to YouTube I left my computer on the couch. Well, I have a 2 year old, she woke my up saying the computer was broken. I looked at it Adobe Premiere was open and YouTube was closed. So Just fingured she exited YouTube. So I just uploaded again, not thinking. So I got to class and my teacher advised me to look at the video. TaDa!! Parts of my video where missing and there was some extra added in at the end. I guess Zan' Drea did some editing of her own? Anyway, here is the final product.

     For the second project we shot a How-To video, and everyone edited their own version of that. Here is my final product of that.

     Hope you enjoyed my projects. :)

Behind the Music Video

      In my Multimedia 2 class we where given a list of songs from a recent performance by British Invasion and assigned to create a music video in Adobe Premier Pro. I chose the song Satisfaction. I started out with video clips from 3 different cameras, 3 different angles. I picked the clip with the best audio and used that for the audio throughout the music video. I synced the other 2 video clips to align with the audio from that clip. Than I began my editing. The master clip was a view from a balcony which I didn't really like that much. So I used that clip sparingly, I prefer the angles with a closer view. I decided to add a title to the video similar to how you see a video on tv. I also used dissolving to make some of my jump cuts a little cleaner. Overall the project took me approx. 3 hours to edit start to finish. Hope you enjoy the finished product!

Disney's Twelve Principles of Animation

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There are twelve principles in animation that are widely followed in the animation world, they are known as the Twelve Basic Principles of Animation. These principles where introduced by two of Disney’s animators , Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas, in a book published in 1981 called “The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation”. The main purpose of these twelve principles is to create an illusion of characters conforming to the laws of physics, and dealing with emotional timing and character appeal.

Squash and Stretch

The most important of the twelve principles is the squash and stretch. This is because only lifeless objects remain unchanged while in motion.  Anything consisting of living flesh will show movement within its shape throughout the course of an action.  Squash and stretch is where the mass and rigidity of an object is defined by distorting its shape during an action. For example the human face while chewing, the jaws tend to extend and compress. 

            Anticipation

In animation the audience may not understand the events unless there is a planned series of actions that leads the audience, clearly from one activity to the next. Anticipation is used to make a action come across more realistic and prepare the audience for the action.  The bending of one knees before jumping is an excellent example of anticipation.

            Staging

Staging is a principle that is also used in theatre and film. It us used to direct the audiences attention to what is important in the scene. Johnston and Thomas defined staging as “the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakable clear”, that idea can be a action, a personality, an expression or even a mood.  This can be accomplished a number of ways such as the use of light and shadows, angling and position of the camera, and the placement of character in a frame.

            Straight Ahead Action & Pose to Pose

Straight ahead action and pose to pose are two different approaches to the drawing process. Straight ahead action is where the scene is drawn out frame by frame from beginning to end. Pose to pose is where the key frames are drawn out and then the intervals are filled in at a later time.  Straight ahead actions result in more fluid, vital illusion of movement, and is better for creating more realistic action sequences.  However, to maintain proportions and to create precise, convincing poses, pose to pose works better. Pose to pose creates more dramatic or and emotional scenes, with composition and relation the surroundings are more important.

            Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Follow through and overlapping actions is actually two techniques that are used to help create more realistic movement and to assist in giving the impression that the characters follow the laws of physics. Follow through means that some parts of the body will continue to move after the character has stopped.  Overlapping action means that some parts of the body move at different rates. Drag is a third related technique, this is where a character starts to move and parts of the character take several frames to catch up.

            Slow In and Slow Out

Movement needs time to accelerate and slow down. As a result of this, animation looks more realistic if it has more drawings at the beginning and the end of an action. 

            Movement by Arcs

Most natural actions tend to follow what is called a arched trajectory. A trajectory is the route that a moving object follows through space as a function of time.  For more realistic animation one should follow these implied arcs. You can apply this principle by moving a limb via rotating a joint. As the objects speed accelerates the arcs tend to flatten out and broaden in turns. 

            Secondary Action

Secondary actions are added to the main actions in a scene to give it more life, and help support the main action. For instance, I a person walking can also be simultaneously swinging her arms, or she can be doing a number of other things, such as whistling, speaking, her hands can be in her pocket, or even expressing emotion through facial expression. A secondary action should emphasize, rather than diminish, the attention to the attention to the main action. If the secondary action diminishes the attention from the main action, than that action is better left out. Often time facial expressions will go unnoticed during a dramatic movement, in these cases it is better to include them at the beginning and end of the movement, rather that during it.

            Timing

Timing in animation refers to the number of drawing or frames for a given action. This translates to the speed action takes on film. Physically correct timing can make objects appear to abide to the laws of physics.  Timing is imperative in establishing a characters mood, emotion, and reaction. It may also be used to communicate aspects of a character’s personality.

            Exaggeration

Since a perfect imitation of reality can look dull and rigid in cartoons, exaggeration is an effect that is particularly useful. The level of exaggeration used depends on whether one seeks realism or a particular style The definition applied by Disney , ‘was to remain true to reality, just present it in a wilder more extreme form’.  Other embodiments of exaggeration can include the supernatural or surreal, alteration in the physical features of a character, or elements in the storyline itself.  It is essential to exercise a certain level of control while using exaggeration, if a scene contains several elements, there needs to be a balance in how those elements are exaggerated in connection to each other. This is to avoid confusing or overawing the viewer.

             Solid Drawing

Solid drawing means taking into accord the forms in three-dimensional space, giving them weight and volume.  The animator needs to ne skilled in drafting and have a great understanding in the basic of three-dimensional shapes, anatomy, weight, balance, light and shadow.  It is warned against creating “twins”. A “twin” is a character whose left and right side mirror one another and look lifeless. Todays computer animators often draw less due to the facilities computers give them. In addition to basic computer animation an animator’s work greatly benefits from a basic understanding of animation principles.

            Appeal

In animation, appeal in a cartoon character is similar to charisma in an actor. A character does not need to be sympathetic to be appealing, villains and monsters can be appealing also. The character needs to feel real and interesting to the viewer. A complicated or hard to read face will lack appeal. An effective way to create a likeable character is to use a symmetrical or baby-like face.

Multimedia 1 Projects

      This semester we have began working with Adobe Flash. This is my first time working with Flash and I have found it rather confusing. Our first Project was topic a real product or service and create three, 6-second banner ads, that loop and deliver the intended message to the targeted audience of a specific web page.

      For my first animated banner I chose promote to what I call Miss Adventurous. Miss Adventurous likes trying new things when ever she can.

     For my second animated banner I chose to promote to what I call Miss Polish Lover. Miss Polish Lover has a huge collection of polishes and still keeps buying. Her nails must be painted with the newest and trendiest colors.

     My last animated banner, I promoted to Miss On The Go. Miss On The Go is always on the run, she doesn't have time to stop and buy new polishes but yet always has the latest polish on her nails.

     For our second project we were to create a 20-second animated commercial, with sound, for a real product or service rendered at 1024 x 768 @ 30 fps.  I chose my product to be Mountain Dew. Unfortunately we could not use video :( so I chose to use still shots and animate my words. Now the sound part really drove me batty. I had this specific sound I wanted and could NOT find ANYWHERE. I spent days looking for this specific sound and finally a hour before the project was due I picked a random intramental and threw it on there. SHHHH.... dont tell my teacher that.



     Lastly we focused on Disney's Principles of Animation. This project had two parts 1) create a four-page magazine article focusing on some aspect of Disney's 12 Principles of Animation (original text and images only) and 2)  develop a short movie (30-seconds) that shows you can apply at least 5 of these principles. 

Here is my short movie. I chose to do a animated short story book. The 5 principles I used were Timing, Appeal, Movement by Arcs, Slow in-Slow out, and Staging.

Week 3 with Flash Animation

So we just entered week 3 in this class. Lets just say me and Flash have had our difficulties. See below Facebook posts.

However I have managed to get a little bit of a understanding of Flash.  I did finally figure out how to add sound. It was actually pretty easy after I had the right file type.

How To Add Sound To Flash:
Step 1- Import your sound (must be a mp3) to your library.
Step 2 - Add a keyframe to your timeline.
Step 3 - Go to the properties panel and chose the sound drop down window.
Step 4 - Select the sound you want and if you want it to be an event or streaming sound.
Step 5 - TA DA all done.

Flash Notes So Far

 As we are learning Adobe Flash, we are covering animation. Here are some of my notes thus far in the class.

• A workbook is  the layout department's first pass where the boards are created in CG.
• Plot is the progression of a story to its conclusion
• The key is simplicity
• Believability is critical to a good story. Decisions must be supported by the character you develop.
• Talking animals are a good choice to present a story with moral or social concepts.
• Emotion ans Empathy are important facets of animated storytelling.
• A characters arc is where the character grows and overcomes obstacles.
• Back story is a historical account of a character's development prior to the story now being told.
• Dope sheets describe the view point, lighting, text, basicly describes the entire scene.
• Presentation Story Board is the images drawn out.

Learning Flash

This month I am Multimedia 1. My first class was yesterday, we are learning how to use Adobe Flash to create animations. This is a little scary for my because i will be adding the illusion of movement to my designs. This seems like its going to be a very technical process. Though, I love the idea of having animated designs, I struggle to get my non animated designs to look even a little bit how I envisioned them. So adding animation to the mix, well, its just intimidating for me.

What have I learned in Layout & Composition 1?

     I am finishing up Layout & Composition 1, and as I do so, I have realized I have learned quite a bit. I have loved this class, yet hated it at the same time. I loved learning Art History, I have even started reading more about it in my spare time. But I have despised working in Adobe InDesign. 
     I originally thought that Photoshop would be my real weakness. But after taking this class Photoshop looks like a walk in the park. I have discovered that InDesign & I are mortal enemies. We don't like each other and are not capable of playing nice together.  I have struggled with every project this class because of our inability to work together and have sworn to only open InDesign when it 100% required. If I can get away with any other system I will.
      The Art History portion of this class was fantastic though. I really enjoyed learning about all the art movements. Its so interesting to see how art has progressed over the years. We have come so far from the drawings on cave walls. To see that evolution is just amazing.

Readability vs Legability

What's the difference between READABILITY and LEGIBILITY?  What do they mean to you as a designer? 
     
       Readability = Able to read
     Legibility = Able to see 
       As a designer this is important. We want our designs to be both readable and legible.  Lets say I created a billboard, because its a billboard and huge its going to be legible. You can see it, you know its there. But I used a 12 pt size font. So you can see the billboard is there, but your not going to be able to see it. It is not readable. No one is going to know what that billboard says. So as the designer, it is important to have both factors. You want the audience to see the advertisement is there and be able to read it. no matter how great the design is if its not readable it is useless. 

Advertising design is competitive and difficult to master.

Advertising is the most lucrative niche in design.  It's also the most competitive and difficult to master. Why do you think this is true?

     I believe that advertising design is competitive and difficult to master because the design needs to hit the part of your brain that controls your subconscious desires. This is difficult because you need to really KNOW your targeted audience. You need to know exactly what they want. Do they want a sexy half naked man that's covered in soot or do they want Sponge Bob Square Pants? What is going to make that audience say "ooohhhhww, I want that"? Lets take salad dressing for an example, now I am a 25 year old, married, female with 3 kids. So to target the audience that I would fall into, you would use the sexy half naked man. Now if your target audience is 5 year olds, I would advise to use Sponge Bob. Getting inside all those brains is going to be difficult. 

Impressionism At A Glance

Began: Early 1972
Ended: Early 1892

     Impressionism is a style of art that does not rely on realistic deceptions. It is considered to the the first modern movement in painting. Impressionism gained its name from a French critic, who was reviewing the artisits' first major exhibit, focusing on "Impression, Sunrise" (1873) a painting by Claude Monet. The critic accused them of painting nothing but impressions. The artists soon embraced the name given, and also referred to themselves as Independents.
     Impressionism developed in Paris in the 1860s, and spread thought out Europe and the United States. The artists that originated Impressionism, were shunned by the powerful academic art institutions . Impressionist also rejected the Salon, which is the official, government sanctioned exhibit.
     Contemporary science had begun to recognize that what the eye perceived and what the brain understood where two different things. The impressionist aimed to capture the impact of the scene. Sot they loosened their brushstrokes and lightened their color palettes with pure, intense colors. To avoid the clarity of form, which in earlier art had served to distinguish the more from the less important elements of the picture, they abandoned traditional perspective. This caused many critics to accuse the Impressionists of painting unfinished or amateur work.

Printing

     Some printing is more expensive than others, have you ever wondered why? Whats the difference? Other than the price tag? Well,I believe that there are 2 main reasons for that. Paper quality and ink. 
     Paper quality to me is very important. I like a nice thick paper but not like card board thick. :) But a nice weight of cardstock for most of my projects. that is going to cost more than copy paper. Than there is ink. If you are printing something 20 colors of Pantone ink and something else thats just black ink. Of course its going to be a difference in price. Pantone ink is specialty ink and the regular black ink you can get for you home printer.

City Brochure

 Assignment:
Create a travel brochure for your hometown

Specs:
- Limit color palette to 3 colors, not including photos (screens are ok)
- Limit 2 fonts
- All photos must be CMYK
- Everything has 1/4" full bleed
- must have at least 1 fold
- must fit in standard envelope (you pick the size)
- use text wrap at least once

Project Brief:
     I chose to do do my brochure on Tacoma, WA. Tacoma is the city I was born in. Since I am an Army brat, I really don't have a home town. We moved approximately every 3 years. 

Cover

Inside Left

Inside Right

Back

 

How Has Photography Changed The World?

     Photography is a very popular hobby, it is used in so many ways. Such as to document life, capture beauty,  and even stalk public figures. Photographs influence who people are, what people do, and even what people remember. Photography has changed more than just media, our society no longer focuses on words, in place of words our focus has moved to photographs. This is because photographs can tell a story all on their own. The saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words' is incorrect a picture is worth many more than a thousand words. Photographs can provide evidence to stories that may not sound believable. Or they may even  tell the story of a journey that was untold. A fallen war hero may not be able to share his experiences but the photos he leaves behind can. Images of a blood soaked ground, battle buddies cleaning their weapons, or even of the MRE he is going to eat can shed light on the experience he is unable to share. Photography is able to open doors to worlds that otherwise would have been inaccessible. It can preserve memories, traditions, and events better than a story that has been told for generations.

Posters

For the last assignment  of my Photoshop class we were assigned to create 2 posters. One with a theme of Creativity and the other with a theme of "Keep Going". I created the below posters.

For the keep going poster,  I used a photo that I took of the moon and a quote that i made up, to go with it.
For the creativity poster, I chose a inspirational quote on creativity. I used a broken glass special effect to create the look that the quote was glass that had been dropped. Which could go along with the mistake part of the quote.

How does a font speak to you?

Assignment: Choose a font and illustrate how is speaks and feels. For instance Zapfino make be ballet dancers gracefully twirling across the page, whereby Impact is a bolder cracking the very floor upon which it sits. Do Not Illustrate the name of the font, illustrate its voice and its feeling.  Fonts are the voice with which our work speaks. This project is designed to help you explore the voice with which you speak.

Project Brief: I chose to illustrate a font called Monkey Wishes that I found on dafont.com. As soon as I saw the font, I thought of a child's writing. I used my 5 year old son practicing his writing to help illustrate my font. I used the clone stamp tool to erase his actual writing on the paper and replaced it with the font.

Project Time Sheet:
Research: 40 mins
Photography: 15 mins
Image Editing: 1.5 hrs
Typography: 30 min
Printing: 20 mins
Mounting: 10 mins
Presenting to class: 10 min

The Tourist Movie Poster

Assignment: Recreate a movie poster using your own imagery.

Project Brief: I chose The Tourist as my movie to recreate. I used my husband and I as the stand ins for Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.  I photographed Dennis (my husband) first. than used the timer feature on my point and shoot to photograph myself. I than cleaned up the images  little bit and used the lasso tool to cut each of us out and place on my poster. 

My Version

Actual Poster

Project Time sheet
Research: 35 mins
Photography: 20 mins
Image Editing: 2 hrs
Typography: 1 hr
Printing: 20 mins

Scrapbooking with Zanette Magazine Cover

Assignment: Create a magazine cover using the layout of a existing magazine, using your own imagery and text.

Project Brief: I chose to create a scrapbooking magazine using Australian Scrapbooking Memories Magazine as my layout inspiration. I used a photo of a scrapbook page from my own scrapbook. I decided to title the magazine Scrapbooking with Zanette and center the content of the magazine around scrapbooking with me.:)

     I spent about 3.5 hours, from research to print, on this project. I created my cover in Adobe Photoshop. I used the polygonal lasso tool to cut out the background of my scrapbook page than placed that on a lime green background. I chose for my cover background to be this color because I was aiming to bring out the green that is in the scrapbook page. I created the bar code using a free font from dafont.com. I chose to make the feature article an exclusive look into my Scrap Cave because I do plan on giving a look into my Scrap Cave on my other blog. That post will be up once my new desk is delivered. :)

Learn The Language Of Design

     To be successful in the design industry, you need to know the language.  As with any industry, design has its own meanings for certain words. Here is some helpful vocabulary. This will probably become a series of posts, but for now here is 100 helpful vocab.

1. Pixel- A pixel is the most basic component of digital color. Pixel is a combination of the words picture and element. Pixels are two dimensional, they only have a height and dept. They are square-shaped bits of light that have no specific size. The size of a pixel is determined by their function and use. Pixels are lined up in rows, called rasters, rows and rows of rasters form the actual image.
2. Color Space- Color space is a color, and all its hues, values, and saturations.
3. RGB- RGB stands for red, green, and blue. This is a color mode that is used primarily for designs that will not be printed. There are 16M colors in the RGB color mode.
4. CMYK- CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. This is the color mode used for printed designs.There are 16K colors int he CMYK color mode.
5. LAB- LAB stands for Luminescence Alpha Beta. LAB is a device- independent color model created in 1931 as a international standard for measuring color.
6. Dynamic range- Dynamic range refers to the ratio between the maximum and minimum  measurable light intensities.
7. Curves- Curves is a adjustment in Photoshop. The curves tool can take tones and selectively stretch or compress them. Curves affects the tones and contrast.
8. Levels- Levels is a adjustment in Photoshop, it can move and stretch the brightness, contrast and tonal ranges by specifying what is complete black, complete white and the mid tones in a histogram.
9. Exposure- Exposure is a adjustment in Photoshop, it adjusts the amount of light that is seen in a image.
10. Tonal Range- Tonal range refers to the range of tones between the lightest and darkest areas of a  image.
11.  White Balance- White balance is the process of removing color casts. This makes objects that appear white in person, appear white in your photo.
12. Color Balance- Color balance is the global adjustment of the of the colors. Usually of the red, green and blues.
13. Channels- Channels are divisions of color data within a digital image. The data is separated into prime and secondary colors.
14. Photo Filter- Photo filter is a feature in Photoshop the allows a user to adjust the color balance and apply a hue adjustment to a image
15. Shadows/Highlights- Shadows/Highlights is a tool in Photoshop that allows you to bring out details in the shadow and highlight areas of an image that were too dark or light to see.
16. High Dynamic Range Photography- High dynamic range is a picture type that is capable of storing 32 bits per color channel. This makes a photo with a much bigger possible brightness range than found in 16- or 8- bit per channel photos. You can create a HDR image in Photoshop with the merge to HDR feature.
17. Saturation- Saturation is the intensity or purity of a hue. Another way to think of it is as the brightness or dullness of a color.
18. Contrast- Contrast is the difference in the brightness between the darkest and lightest areas of the image.
19. Clarity- Clarity is a tool in Photoshop that allows you to boost the local and mid tone contrast.
20. Vibrance- Vibrance is a tool used to adjust saturation in all lower-saturated colors with less effect on higher-saturated colors, so that clipping is minimized as colors reach full saturation. Vibrance also prevents skin-tones from becoming over saturated.
21. Hue- A hue is the name of a color. (For example: red, green, or blue.)
22. Brightness- Brightness is a adjustment tool used to brighten images.
23. Spot Color- Spot color is any color generated by a ink (pure or mixed) that is printed using a single run in offset printing.
24. Pantone Color- Pantone color is a proprietary formula of inks or pigments used in printing and manufacturing to insure accuracy and consistency.
25. Complimentary Color- Complimentary colors are colors that are opposite hues of each other. The would be located directly across from each other on a color wheel.
26. Triadic Color Scheme- Triadic color scheme is where you use three colors that are evenly spaced on the color wheel.
27. Rule of Thirds- The rule of thirds is where you imagine that your image has 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines on it that creates nine equal segments of the image, than you place the most important object of the image along those lines.
28. Golden Ratio- The golden ratio is when you have the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one.
29. Golden Spiral- The golden spiral is a spiral that as it grows get wider by a factor of Phi for every quarter turn it makes.
30. Fibonacci Series- Fibonacci Series is a pattern of numbers where the next number is found bu adding the two numbers before it.
31. Blending Modes- Blending modes is a formula used for defining the mixing of a layer with those beneath it.
32. Multiply- Multiply is mode in Photoshop that takes all the color information in each channel and multiplies the base color by blend color.
33. Color Burn- Color burn is one of Photoshop's blending modes, it burns the color of the upper layer with the lower layer.
34. Burn- Burn is a tool in Photoshop that allows you to darken pixels that you paint.
35. Dodge- Dodge is a tool in Photoshop that allows you to lighten pixels that you paint.
36. Screen- Screen is a blending tool in Photoshop that allows you to lighten images.
37. Color Dodge- Color dodge is a blending mode in Photoshop that allows you to create light effects,
38. Overlay- Overlay is a blending mode that multiplies or screens the colors based on the base color. The base color is not replaced but mixed with the blend color to reflect the lightness or darkness of the original color.
39. Soft Light- Soft light is a blending mode in Photoshop that blends the base color and the blend colors and darkens or lightens the resulting color in relation to the tonality of the blend color.
40. Luminosity- Luminosity is the appearance of light in a color.
41. Color Blending Mode- Color blend mode is used to colorize black and white images. This allows you to add color to the image without affecting the lightness values
42. Opacity- Opacity is the degree of non-transparency.
43. Fill- Fill is a tool in Photoshop that allows you to fill a selected object, area, or layer with color.
44. Layer Styles- Layer styles is the The combination of effects on any given layer in Photoshop.
45. Bevel/Emboss- Bevel and emboss are tools that allow you to create contour and texture by adding highlights and shadows to create a 3-D look.
46. Drop Shadow- Drop shadows are shadows that give you object depth and make it stand out. 
47. .jpg- .jpg is short for JPEG, which stands for Joint Photography Expert Group. A .jpg is a type of compressed file. It is the most universal image file.
48. .tiff- TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. TIFF is a high quality format the supports colors from 1- 24 bit. TIFF is made to be a standard image format for storing high quality color images on multiple platforms. TIFF allows layering and transparency.
49. .raw- Raw doesn't stand for anything, it refers to being unaltered. .raw indicted that the file was read directly from a camera.
50. .gif- GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF was one of the first two image formats for the Internet. It allows transparency but only 100% or 0%.
51. .png- PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics. This is another file format that allows transparency like GIF, but you can pick what percent of transparency you would like. PNG is a compressed format.
52. File Compression- File compression is basically making a file smaller, it is commonly used when sending a file from one computer to another. The compression makes the file smaller there for sends quicker.
53. File Optimization- File optimization is the reduction of the file's size to improve compatibility with the Internet.
54. Meta File- A meta file is a file that can store multiple types of data. These files can contain raster, vector and type data.
55. Raster- Raster means that the graphic or image is constructed of pixels
56. Vector- Vector means that the graphic or image is a free form object or pixel free, it can therefore be resized without becoming blurry or pixelated
57. Color Temperature- Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light that has important applications in lighting, photography, videography, publishing, and other fields.
58. Color Management- Color management is controlled conversion between the color representations of various devices.
59. Rendering Intent- Rendering intent is how the color reproduction process should cope with colors and tones which are outside of, or near the edge of the device's color gamut, in order to achieve the desired color 'rendering'.
60. Out of Gamut- Out of Gamut means that a color is beyond the scope of colors that a particular device can create.
61. Half-tone- Half-tone is a system of reproducing the continuous tone of a photographic print by a pattern of dots printed by offset litho.
62. Histogram- A histogram is a graph representation of a digital image indicating the pixels allocated to each level.
63. Selection- Selection means to isolate one or more parts of a image.
64. Feathering- Feathering is the action of softening the edge of a digital selection.
65. Mask- Masks are are way to apply something to a very specific portion of a image.
66. Quick Mask- Quick mask is a temporary alpha channel used for refining or making selections.
67. Alpha Channel- Alpha channel is an additional channel used for storing masks and selections.
68. Adjustment Layer- A adjustment layer is an image adjustment placed on a layer.
69. Smart Object- A smart object is technology that was first introduced in Photoshop CS2 that maintains the original form of an embedded image but still allows it to be edited and enhanced. Smart objects are used in many non-destructive editing or enhancement techniques.
70. Crop- Cropping reduces the image size to enhance composition or limit information.
71. Resample- Resample is to alter the total number of pixels describing a digital image
72. Transform- Transform is used to scale, rotate, skew, and just distort the perspective of any graphic you’re working with in general.
73. Clone- Clone is a tool in Photoshop, its also known as a clone stamp tool. The clone tool selects and samples an area of your picture and then uses these pixels to paint over any marks.
74. Warp- Warp is a tool in  Photoshop that allows you to drag control points to manipulate the shape of images
75. Aspect Ratio- Aspect ratio is the ration of height to width. This usually refers to the light- sensitive area or format of a camera.
76. Anti-aliasing- Anti-aliasing is the process of smoothing the appearance of a curved line in a digital image.
77. Path- A path is the outline of a vector shape.
78. Clipping Path- Clipping path is used to omit part of a path
79. Font Face- Font face allows you to use real fonts in your web pages without resorting to workarounds that rely on image.
80. Font Family- Font Families are collections of fonts that share an overall appearance, and are designed to be used together
81. Depth of Field- Depth of Field is the zone of sharpness variable by aperture, focal length or subject distance.
82. Aperture- A circular opening in the lens the a controls light reaching the film.
83. Shutter Speed- Shutter speen is the length of time a camera's shutter is open.
84. CMOS- CMOS  stands for Complementary Metal Semiconductor. This is a chip used widely within he computer industry, and is now often used as a image sensor in digital cameras.
85. Mega Pixel- A mega pixel is equal to one million pixels. The higher the mega pixel the better the resolution.
86. Image Resolution- Image resolution is the detail an image holds.
87. Print Resolution- Print resolution is the average number of dots per square inch.
88. Screen Resolution- Screen resolution is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed.
89. Film Grain- Film grain is the tiny particles of silver medal or dye that make up the final image. Fast films have larger grain than slower films. Focus finders are used to magnify the projected image so that the grain can be seen and a accurate focus obtained.
90. Noise- Noise is the electronic interference producing white speckles in the image.
91. Film Speed / ISO- Film speed is a precise number or ISO rating given to a film or device indication its degree of light sensitivity. (ISO stands for International Standards Organization. ISO is a numerical system for rating the speed or relative sensitivity of a film or device.)
92. Moire'- Moire' is a repetitive pattern usually caused by the interference of overlapping symmetrical dots or lines.
93. Visual Hierarchy- Visual Hierarchy it the order that the human eye perceives what it sees.
94. Texture- Texture is the feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface
95. Sample- Sample is to select a color value for analysis.
96. Unsharp Mask- Unsharp mask is used to sharpen a image by raising the contrast of a image.
97. Gaussian Blur-n Gaussian blur is a filter used for defocusing a digital image.
98. Vanishing Point- Vanishing point is a Photoshop feature designed to allow the manipulation of photos within a three-dimensional space.
99. Point of View- Point of view is a photography composition tool that means from what angle or position you take the photograph.
100. Magic Wand- The magic wand is a selection tool used in digital editing to assist in doing touch ups.

Rules of Composition

Assignment:  Understanding Rules of Composition

This post should be about composition and taking a good photograph.  What makes a good photograph also is what makes a great image so this knowledge is transferable in all design that you do. I would like this blog to talk about ten tips for composing a great shot. Please do more than just list the Rule of Thirds and the Golden Spiral, explain them a little and maybe find or take an image to show your understanding of the principle.


     Okay, now I am no photographer. I mean I can take a picture, and I do quite regularly. But as far as knowing what makes a good photo.... Umm.. I thought there where no rules in art. Photography is art so I thought that applied.  So for this assignment, off to Google I go. 
     So I googled rules of composition in  photography, only to discover that I was correct in thinking that there are no real rules only some established guidelines.  According to Photography Mad these guidelines will help you take more compelling photos.
     The first guideline is called the Rule of Thirds. In this rule you are advised to imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal parts by 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines. The rule says that your most important elements should be placed along these lines or at the points where the lines connect.  According to Photography Mad this will add balance and interest to your image.
     The second guideline is balancing elements. this is where you place your main subject off center, which creates an more interest but it can make your photo feel empty by leaving a void in the scene. Photography Mad suggests that you balance the weight of your main subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the voided space.
     The third guideline is known as leading lines. This guideline plays on the fact that your eye is naturally drawn along lines.  I you think about how you place these lines in you composition, you will affect the way a person views the photo by pulling them into the photo, towards your subject. You can use any of the many types of lines int his guideline. Straight, diagonal, curvy, zig-zag, etc..
     The fourth guideline is symmetry and patterns. You are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made. These can be very eye-catching, especially when they are not expected.
     The fifth guideline is called viewpoint. This is where the photographer plays with where they are shooting the subject from. Viewpoint can massively impact the message that is conveyed.  Instead of shooting from eye level, experiment with viewpoint by photographing from another angle, such as high above, down at ground level, from the back, etc...
     Our sixth guideline is background.  Background can make or break a photo in my opinion, to often you will see a photo where the subject blends into the background. Our eyes can distinguish the subject from the background in person very easily, but in a photo the subject is flattened into the background. Which can make them blend into it.
     The seventh guideline is depth. Now since your photo is 2-D, creating depth is important. You can create depth by including object in the foreground, middle ground, and background. Another than that can assist in creating depth is to intentionally overlap objects. Overlapping is where you partially cover one object with another. Our eyes can recognize these layers and separate them, which will cause more depth.
     The eight guideline is framing. There are so many things around us that can be used to create a natural frame, like trees and archways.
     The ninth guideline is cropping. Cropping can impact a photo by cutting out the background to ensure the subject gets the viewers full attention.
     The last guideline is experimentation. With digital photography, you no longer have to worry about the cost of film processing. There for you have more flexibility to try out new things. Experimenting with your photo taking can create fabulous photos, and you can have fun while doing it.