Monday, September 21, 2009
CAT 118 - Potato Heads
I just started a new class. CAT 118 is called Vector Illustration and Design. Basically it's all about Adobe Illustrator. Our first project was to play with Mr. Potato Head. I'm still having a little trouble controlling the mouse, courtesy of wrist tendinitis, but it was still a fun, if goofy, project.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
CAT 113: Game Project
Here are the beginnings of the game project for CAT 113 - Graphic Design 1: Fundamentals. We had to first find a photo, draw it, refine the drawing, and then convert it into an Illustrator file. This is as far as I've gotten.
Once I got the first 4 done, I got some feed back from both the class and my professor. I went back and redid the drawing to incorporate more of the original photo. I also further refined it. As you can see, it came out much better.
Once I placed the file into Adobe Illustrator, I used Live Trace to come up with a vector art piece.
I'll post again once the project is completed, but the most difficult part, for me, is done.
Once I got the first 4 done, I got some feed back from both the class and my professor. I went back and redid the drawing to incorporate more of the original photo. I also further refined it. As you can see, it came out much better.
Once I placed the file into Adobe Illustrator, I used Live Trace to come up with a vector art piece.
I'll post again once the project is completed, but the most difficult part, for me, is done.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Art Nouveau Project
To view this full-size, there is a toggle screen button on the upper right of the pdf window.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
My First Mashup
I did it! I finished my first mashup. Hmm...that sounds like it could be a new book. "Baby's First Mashup"
Never mind. That sounds more like sweet potatoes than what it really is.
This was the project that scared me the most, out of everything we've done in CAT111. I don't know why, but Premiere Pro and the thought of dealing with audio and video files made me quake. I have survived and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm even half pleased with the result.
All files came from http://www.archive.org, including the music.
Never mind. That sounds more like sweet potatoes than what it really is.
This was the project that scared me the most, out of everything we've done in CAT111. I don't know why, but Premiere Pro and the thought of dealing with audio and video files made me quake. I have survived and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm even half pleased with the result.
All files came from http://www.archive.org, including the music.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
EasyBib
My daughter sent me this site a couple weeks ago, when I was asking her if she knew how to do MLA bibliography citations. It's called EasyBib. It will do MLA6 and MLA7 citations for free. If you need APA or Chicago/Turabian style citations, MyBib Pro runs from $4.99/month up to $14.99 for an entire year. You can also get a free 1 week trial to MyBib Pro to see if it's something you really need.
Another thing that you can do automatically with MyBib Pro does is set up your footnote and parenthetical citations. If you are writing a master's or doctoral thesis, imagine how much time this could save.
The biggest time-saver, in my opinion, is the ability to auto-cite using a book's ISBN. This does not work with all books, but for those which it does, it is, to be cliche, the best thing since sliced bread.
Another thing that you can do automatically with MyBib Pro does is set up your footnote and parenthetical citations. If you are writing a master's or doctoral thesis, imagine how much time this could save.
The biggest time-saver, in my opinion, is the ability to auto-cite using a book's ISBN. This does not work with all books, but for those which it does, it is, to be cliche, the best thing since sliced bread.
Deke
I added Deke McClelland's site to the blog roll on the side. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to do it before, but let me tell you, this man is THE man when it comes to Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. From what I gather, he bugs some people, but I like him. He is incredibly knowledgeable and he's funny.
I have learned so much from his podcasts that I went ahead and bought his book Adobe InDesign CS4 One-on-One. I've got his channels and mask book on my Amazon wish list and will be buying his Illustrator book as soon as it's released - which, unfortunately, isn't scheduled until May 2010.
So anyway, check Deke out. His podcasts are free, as are a bunch of other videos. You'll laugh and you might even learn something useful.
I have learned so much from his podcasts that I went ahead and bought his book Adobe InDesign CS4 One-on-One. I've got his channels and mask book on my Amazon wish list and will be buying his Illustrator book as soon as it's released - which, unfortunately, isn't scheduled until May 2010.
So anyway, check Deke out. His podcasts are free, as are a bunch of other videos. You'll laugh and you might even learn something useful.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Project 4 - SketchUp
What? An actual, completed project? Why yes, indeedy. These are some screen shots of the house that I built in Google SketchUp, a program you can get for free here. There is a pro version available, but unless you are doing some serious architectural rendering, you don't need it. You can build just about anything 3-D through SketchUp.
This shows one side and part of the back. Note the bay window up near the front corner.
Here is a close-up of the dormers.
SketchUp is quite easy to learn when it comes to the basics. It's also a lot of fun to play around with. If you decide to get into it, check out the video tutorials, both at the download site and on YouTube.
The first shot is of the whole house, taken at an angle from the front.
This shows one side and part of the back. Note the bay window up near the front corner.
Here is a close-up of the dormers.
A closer look at the back of the house, including the sliding glass door.
And lastly, an overall look at the rear of the house.
I'm fairly pleased with the over all looks. Some day I would like to go back and flush out the interior, but that was beyond the scope of the assignment and would have taken far longer than the allotted time frame.
And lastly, an overall look at the rear of the house.
SketchUp is quite easy to learn when it comes to the basics. It's also a lot of fun to play around with. If you decide to get into it, check out the video tutorials, both at the download site and on YouTube.
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