Semester Reflection- Graphic Design

Projects 

Photoshop Tutorials 

The first project of the semester was a series of tutorials to reintroduce Photoshop. This project took a little over a month to complete. Some of the tools in Photoshop took a while to understand how to use and it was a bit difficult to keep up with the pacing of the tutorials. The collage of the girl below took longer than the other tutorials and it took lots of tools and layers to create. I learned how to use most of the tools in Photoshop and I will be able to use them to enhance my projects. The tutorials made me more comfortable with Photoshop. 

    As for feedback, I was told to stay persistent with the tutorials and to make sure that everything was blended and smooth, so that people wouldn't know that the image had been photoshopped. I went back and tried to blend everything to make the picture look realistic. Each tutorial focused on a different aspect and/or tool in Photoshop, so some projects were more difficult than others. However, I enjoyed the projects because it made me feel more comfortable working in Photoshop and it gave me a better understanding of the program. 

Fall Raccoon 

   I went back to Illustrator for the Fall Raccoon project. The goal was to create a vectored raccoon, place it in a fall background, and to create a postcard and incorporate the raccoon into any theme that you chose. This project took about 3 weeks to complete and the postcards that we printed came about 2 weeks later. I think the most difficult part of the project was the individual theme that I chose because it was the first time that I made something that I didn't follow a tutorial for, so making some of the objects was confusing and took some time to make. I learned what a bleed was and its importance in graphic design. I also learned how to use the pathfinder window, which I now use in a lot of my projects. I ended up changing the fall background because it originally looked cluttered and messy. I really enjoyed this project because I was able to branch out and make something that I knew how to create and that I was proud of. 

Vectored Self Portrait

   The vectored self portrait was a project that required precision and focus. The project took about 2 weeks and I had to stay after to finish it a couple of times. One of the things that I struggled with was the precision of each tone on my face, shirt, or hair. The main tool that was used was the pen tool in Illustrator, which I now use a lot in my projects. I also had trouble finding the appropriate skin tone, even though I was using the eyedropper tool. I enhanced my project by making the background contrast with my skin tone so that it would pop. However, I don't really like how the portrait turned out because the skin tone on the vectored version does not match my skin tone in the original photo. This was probably one of my least favorite projects because it required patience, which wore thin for me during this project. Now that I know how to use the pen tool correctly, I think that I would be able to make a more accurate portrait than my first one. 

Infographic 

   My most recent project is my New Years' Eve infographic. This project took about 3 weeks to fully complete. Some of the challenges that I faced were accurately displaying information in a graphic. There was surprisingly a lot of math involved in making my graphics. The layout also took a while for me to finalize because I had to decide which layout would show hierarchy and also be easy to read for the viewer. I learned the importance of guidelines and rulers and how they section off portions of the project. I also learned how to condense information and use a graphic to display it. Some of the upperclassmen in the program critiqued my project and they told me to have a set color theme and have each section as a background instead of the same color as a background for the entire poster. Mrs. Burdolski also wanted me to leave some 'breathing room' in each of my sections so that the poster felt more spacious. I changed the size of my text and made some of the graphics smaller to add room in each of the sections. This project was my favorite because I used all of my illustrator skills for this project, like the pen tool to trace the NYE ball and adjusting transparency with the champagne bottle. I spent a lot of time on this project and it succeeded the expectations that I had for it. 

Constructivism 

   Currently, I am working on a 5-slide presentation about Constructivism. I wrote a paper about the movement and I am working on the presentation slides. Each slide uses principles like radial patterns, slanted text, and a color theme that consists of red, black, tan, and yellow. The movement is mainly propaganda during the Russian Revolution. Since I am still working on the project, I don't have a picture to show.

Time Management

   During class, I feel like I mostly use my time well. I am a bit of a slow worker, so I have had to come in a couple of times after school to finish up projects and make them my best. I think that the only time I've finished work early is my artboard for Behance, which doesn't take too long. If I have time to spare, I check my project again and write a blog post about it. I also go on Behance and look for inspiration for future projects. I also look at the upperclassmen's work to see how they have progressed. During class, I ask people to review and critique my work and I give them suggestions on their work. However, I get pulled into conversation easily, but I get back to focusing on my work and getting it finished. Outside of class, I sometimes go on Behance or Pinterest and look at posts on photography, Photoshop, or Illustrator skills. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

   I feel that I am very well at writing reviews and critiques on my graphic design projects. I also think that I use my time well in class. I think that my work represents my personality with the colors, fonts, and graphics I use and make. I enhance my strengths by trying to incorporate them into my projects and working hard in class. For weaknesses, it takes me while to figure out the best way to make something. Once I figure out how to start the project, the rest of the designing becomes easier. I also need to work at a faster pace so I can get projects done quicker but still have them look neat and professional. I have shortcut keys and different strategies to make items written down in my sketchbook, so it should make the process go by quicker in the future. 

Sharing my Projects

   From the beginning of the year, I have been using my Behance account to share my work and look at students' and professionals' work. It is an easy way to access my peers work and be able to give feedback for them. I like designing artboards for Behance because you can give a thorough explanation and process of the project without using paragraphs of text and it creates a relaxed environment. I like being able to view professional's work so I can get inspiration from their projects to use in my own. I also use this blog as a way to share all of my e-Comm work, not just my graphic design projects. I like being able to see how my skills progress with each project. 

Summary

   I really enjoyed this semester in graphic design, especially when working on my infographic because I was able to collaborate with the people around me and base ideas off of them. Next semester, I really want to focus on my work in class so that I no longer have to stay after school for long periods of time to finish it. I will also put more creativity into my projects so that they reflect my style and personality. I learned how to use lots of different programs, websites, and tools this semester and they all contribute to my portfolio. I like being able to use new skills for future projects and seeing the advancement with each skill. I am excited for next semester's projects in graphic design and I want to learn more about the graphic design industry. 

New Years' Eve Infographic

         My infographic is about the New Years' Eve celebration in Times Square. I really like the graphics that I made and I spent a lot of time making them. I was able to use less type  because my graphics conveyed enough information. This project made me use a lot of illustrator skills and I gained new skills, like downloading fonts and changing typography. Overall, I really enjoyed this project and I love the final result.

"Leadership is Influence, Nothing More, Nothing Less"

   This project was the second featured story that we made. There were improvements made from my last featured story. The goal of the project was to create a featured story with changes from the last one and focus more on getting more b-roll and a wider variety of shots.
   Before the project, I wrote my questions for the 2 interviews, did research on the topic, and planned the schedule for the project. I filmed the two interviews and got B-Roll for my project in the same day and started editing the video on the next Monday. Editing took a while because I had to make subclips of my B-Roll and adjust the levels on each subclip.
   Along the way, I learned a lot about writing a good featured story, like having a smaller story in the entire featured story.  I also learned how to make lower-thirds in Premier Pro, which are the name titles at the bottom of the screen. I learned how to work with deadlines by having my footage before the due date so I had more time to edit it. For differences, I wish I would have been more confident in my story so I knew specifically what B-Roll to get. The B-Roll in my story doesn't really correlate with the scope of the story. I really liked the lighting of my footage; it was white-balanced and well exposed. My voiceover and interviews were clear and loud, so it was easy to hear. For my next project, I will make sure to collect enough footage so that I have plenty to work with. I will also make sure to have my B-Roll relate to the story better (I had to change the focus of my story mid-project, so that is why my B-Roll doesn't relate well). Overall, I liked my first featured story better because the story was better told and the project was a lot more fun to film. However, this assignment gave me more ideas to improve on, which will help me in my next project.

Featured Story

   The concept for my featured story was to tell the story of a coach named Travis Martinez, who coached the OYB Tigers, and the legacy he left on the team after he passed away to AML. He affected the lives of many people, including everyone on the Tigers.

   I introduced the story with the line "most people think that the baseball season is over by the month of October, but for the Olathe Youth Baseball Tigers, October is a special month." it impacted my story by intriguing the viewer to keep watching the video to see why October means a lot to the team. The two people I interviewed, Tara Martinez (Travis's wife) and Doug Beckwith (the head coach) complimented each other in the story because it gave two different perspectives on the "meat" of the story: the legacy that Travis left and how it impacted the team. Tara talked about his cancer and why he decided to coach baseball and Doug talked about the legacy and what the team did to honor him. 

   The questions were a bit challenging to write because I didn't want Tara to feel to feel too emotional while answering the questions or get too in detail. I filmed the video over a weekend with my own camera because I filmed the video a while before the b-roll was due. I didn't have an external mic but there the wind wasn't too strong that it affected the audio. The 4 members of the baseball team who decided to be in the video were very cooperative, and I'm very thankful for that. The voiceover was also challenging to plan because I had multiple answers to the same question and lots of sound bytes to choose from. 

   For my finished video, I really liked the quote from Doug at the end where he talks about what the team learned from Travis. I feel that the quote is a very nice end to the video. However, I feel that I need to improve on my composition of shots because I have a lot of different wide and extreme-wide shots but not a lot of close-ups. I had to repeat some b-roll, which made the video seem very repetitive. Overall, I really like my video and even though I have things to improve on, the product of my video turned out really well. 

                                        

                               

1 in 2000

   There are so many students at Olathe Northwest with interesting talents and hobbies. For the 1 in 2000 project, I interviewed Addison Smith about her passion for the Kansas City Royals.

   For the 1 in 2000 project, I had to write my 21 questions for my interviewee, film the responses to the questions, write my script with the soundbites, record my voice over, and edit and export my video. The whole process took about two weeks because the class learned how to control and manage audio appropriately since we were exporting the projects as MP3 files. I took away many things from this project because the class is still learning how to use the equipment and edit in Premier Pro. One major thing I learned was how to control audio channels and set audio gain with my clips, voice over, and sound effects. I made sure that the audio remained fairly even throughout the project and adjusted the volume of the sound effects so that the volume was appropriate. I had to finish my script and storyboarding at home in order to meet the deadline for the project.

   This project dealt with a lot of new tools in Premier Pro, so getting used to the new features made my project a little hard to manage in the beginning. For differences, I would have liked to find more diverse sound effects to include with the bat and cheering sound effects. It would have been better to record the responses to the questions in a different and quieter environment because the natural noise is hard to turn down. I feel like my audio was fairly even throughout the project. In my revisions, I discovered how to blend sound effects, so they sounded much better. For the next project, I will remember how to make my audio even so my projects sound the best. Overall, this project helped me understand the importance of audio and the major role it plays in projects.
                                                               
                                                              1 in 2000 Audio

Photoshop Tutorials Reflection



Photo collage- Tutorial 6

Covering blemishes on the wall- Tutorial 1

   In these Photoshop Tutorial videos, I relearned how to use certain tools and I was exposed to new tools and features that are extremely helpful. I learned how to make a collage of pictures and make them blend together, I was introduced to layer masks and how to use them, some  basic retouching like taking out blemishes, and more useful skills.



   The three most important tools I used, in my opinion, were the layer mask feature, the clone stamp tool, and the quick selection tool. The layer mask tool was used in multiple projects, like the photo collage and the challenge project especially. It is an essential tool because you can make a broad selection and use the mask tool to take out portions of the selection or bring them back. It's also non-destructive, so you can make as many mistakes and not affect the other layers. The clone tool is one of my favorite tools because it is really easy to use. This tool is important for removing blemishes, covering up unwanted items, and blending. The quick selection tool helps make selections to move or helps determine the area for the layer mask.



Removing the logo on the surfboard-Tutorial 1

   My favorite skill that I learned from these tutorials was the layer mask tool. It helped with the sleeves in the collage of the girl. It was super simple to remove or add portions of the photo. The tool will help in the future when I need to take small portions of a photo out or add it back in when I make mistakes.



Removing objects in the photo- Tutorial 1 



Adding a logo to a bottle- Branding Tutorial 1

    During this project, I feel like I knew how to use the basic tools in the tool bar really well. I also remembered a lot of the shortcut keys and they were helpful when I was watching the tutorials. However, I was really confused on using layer masks and how to get them started. Also, I started working on the wrong layers because there were so many that I had to keep organized in some of the projects. 





Removing blemishes- Tutorial 5

Adding a graphic to a billboard- Branding Tutorial 2

   For these tutorials, I would have taken more notes so I can remember what each of the tools and shortcuts do for future projects. I really like how I used the layer masks because the projects look cleaner and sharper when I used it. Overall, these tutorials helped me remember the uses for Photoshop and how each of the tools is used. The projects were difficult but the products turned out nicely. 

Removing a logo- Tutorial 2

Moving a logo- Tutorial 1

Removing an object from a photo- Tutorial 4

Removing a tag- Tutorial 3

No Visitors- ONW Procedure Video

    For this project, my partner, Franchesca, and I made a video to explain one of ONW's procedure. The video had to be no more than 30 seconds long, had to use the six-shot system, and have a beginning, middle and end. Franchesca and I had to storyboard our project- and the idea was to show that no visitors are allowed in the building unless it is a parent. I filmed the video and Franchesca and Mrs. Evers starred in it. This was the first project we created in Premier Pro, so the project took a while to edit due to learning how the software works and coming into some obstacles.

    Before this project, the class learned how to work the bigger cameras, so I learned a lot about the cameras we use and the importance and effectiveness of all of its features. I also learned to listen to others' ideas and consider them for the project. Deadlines are also important, so I learned how to manage my time better. I wish I would have remembered to get more closeups for the video and would have gotten a couple more shots to make the video a bit longer. I also forgot to put headphones in the camera, so the volume was really low. Therefore, I had to increase the volume while I was editing, so there is lots of white noise in the background that I can't really fix. I really liked how I used the Rule of Thirds, so I'd like to continue that in my future videos. I will fix these problems so I can use the skills successfully in the future.

   Overall, I feel that I did a decent job on this project. It was a bit hard to come back after summer break and jump right into a project. My next project will be much better.

Quarter 4 Team Project

             This quarter, e9 worked on team projects. Each team created a new product and had to promote it using a commercial, animation, logos, and a website.

              My team created the GrassChopper 6.0- a hands-free lawnmower that mows lawns using sensors. The team I worked on worked out problems very well and we were very inventive. We did well at listening to each other's ideas and giving good feedback. However, we struggled with deciding who would contribute what to each project. We also had to come in before or after school to make final touch ups and finish some projects due to some absences.

              For my next group project, I would review what to do with each program we use because I had to take a day to review how to make certain things. I would also communicate with my team more to make sure we know who's project we will use for the final and to see if everything has been completed before we move on. I would change our video because I personally didn't like how it turned out. I would also spend lots of time working on projects if I were to be absent (I was gone a bit during the project). This group project helped me understand what I can do with my skills in the business world. It was a bit like a portfolio of all of our work this year. 

For the animation,  I created the house in the background for the set. It was pretty easy to make.

For the logo parts, I created the ad and a couple of logos that we decided not to use.










                                                                                  I made all of the text used in the website. For                                        
each page, I mentioned what our product did, how much it cost, and deals and offer we had on our product.

I was also featured a little it in the video. 

Invasive Species Website

For a couple of weeks, I worked on a website about invasive species. At first, I worked on lots of coding and CSS styles. It required a lot of focus so that I wouldn't mess up and affect my website later on. After the coding was over and I got to design my website, the project was easier and more fun to do. I chose this color scheme because I thought the purple and green would look good together.

The Home page and the Purple Loosestrife pages are my favorite because the pictures match the color scheme. I really like how my website turned out and it was cool to experience what web designing is actually like.

Sketchup House

For the House Project, I went to a floor plan website and chose the Barclay model. I started out with making a big rectangle and cutting out pieces to make the porch and garage. Then, I pulled the house up to 8 feet and pulled up the roof, which took multiple tries. I then added window, doors, and a garage. The windows took almost a day to get in place. For finishing touches, I made columns on the porch, the driveway, the garden, the pool, and added flowers, trees, and a car.

After I added the finishing touches, I added shadows to add more of a 3D effect. Then I moved on to the animation portion. I made 10 scenes going all the way around my house. I then exported the video to make the animation.


House Animation

Sketchup Projects

 Recently, we started using Sketchup to make 3D and 2D graphics. In this project, I made a doghouse and used a website to get the dog. The 3D graphics on this project were a bit difficult because I've never used that tool before.

The dining room was a fun but hard project. It took multiple tries to make the legs the way I wanted. My table kept getting stuck in the floor so switching the camera angle was helpful. Making the chairs components helped a lot also.

Name Animation

This year in e9, I have gained lots of helpful insight that I can use in my every day life. e9 has helped me explore my interests and give me new opportunities to try new programs. I can now confidently use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Final Cut Pro. Next year, I am planning on taking Video and Graphic Design as a sophomore.

10 Words Animation

In this animation, I used the Video Timeline in Photoshop instead of the Frame-by-Frame animation. The video timeline uses key points instead of individual frames. With the video timeline, you can also animate one thing at a time but coordinate multiple things to move at the same time easier than you could in Frame-by-Frame animation. The most difficult thing with this project was coordinating the multiple words to cross at the same time and contrasting the words against the background. For crossing the words a the same time, I set a specific time for them to start and end, so it was easier to coordinate the two. I also used different fonts and sizes to contrast the words and put them against a sunset that would help the words stand out.

Bouncing Faces

In this animation, we used the principles of Squash and Stretch and Ease In/ Ease Out. We added onto the previous animation by adding facial expressions and a path for the ball to bounce along. The hard part for me was getting the facial expressions to change. I also don't like how it seems that my ball is bouncing abnormally slow.

Links to Tutorials:
Squash and Stretch 
Ease In / Ease Out 

Bouncing Ball

In this project, we learned the basic principles of animation and applied them to the project. One of the principles is Squash and Stretch, where you stretch the object when it is falling fast and squash it when it hits the ground to rebound. This principle lets the ball look realistic when it falls.