Assignment 18 - Card Dance Effect

In this assignment I had to first size and evenly place 12 images in Photoshop, and afterwards apply the "card dance" effect to the images using the After Effects program. This assignment was not as difficult as I thought it would be, but I have no idea why my images tremble the way they do. I know my classmate John had the same problem, but I don't think he figured it out either. Oh well. I'm just glad to be done.

YAYYYY SPRING BREAK!!!!!!

Assignment 17 (HTML Video Game)

The assignment was to make a video game that is generated by HTML code. To do this I used a free program called Construct 2. The requirements were that we had to create all the graphics ourselvs from scratch.

When Brian first announced that we would be creating a game the only thing that I could think of was the hell I'd gone through using an awful program called Game Salad. Thankfully, Construct 2 was a lot more straight forward, and actually MAKES SENSE.That being said, I am never going to create a HTML game again (even though it wasn't too difficult this time). I feel that  making them is tedious, so they're not something that I enjoy creating.Unfortunately I can't upload the game to this blog (lame, I know), but feel free to check out its screen-cap below. My game is named "Kill the Cooties."

By the way here is a link to the tutorial I used to complete the assignment. I wouldn't have made it without this: Beginner's guide to Construct 2.

Kill The Cooties!

Assignment 16 - Playing Card Design

I had fun with this assignment. We had to create 4 card designs for a game that our instructor made up called "The Wall." For the assignment I had to create the following:

• One Wall Section Card
• One Reinforcement Card
• One Damage Card
• & One Card-Back Design

HERE is a link to the rules of the game.

Generally I enjoyed this assignment, but  I did have a little difficulty when it came to coloring. I originally wanted to use gradients to color everything, but since my fox character was so complex effectively coloring with gradients became nearly impossible. So, instead, I used solid colors for the body, and just a few gradients here and there--only on the less complicated shapes.

Overall I am happy with how this turned out, and I am most proud of my fox-warrior character. I worked very hard on her (and also the rest of the cards). So, Check 'Em Out!!!!

Card-Back Design

Wall Section Design

Reinforcement Section Design

Damage Section Design

Assignment 15 - Website Using "WordPress"

On this assignment wee were instructed to create a website using a "Content Management System" such as "WordPress." A lot of the time WordPress is used for blogging, but the goal of this assignment was to make your page look and act like a regular website instead of a blog. The requirements were to have 4 individual working pages, and also your own custom header that you created. I used a picture of my sister, niece, and nephew for my header, because it complemented my theme nicely. I found this assignment to be quite simple--especially compared to creating a webpage from scratch. Career wise I could definitely see myself managing a site like this in the  near future.

If you want to check out my first WordPress site here is a link to it. Also, feel free to look at the screen cap of my site that's displayed below.

Screen Cap

Assignment 14 - E-Mail Newsletter

For this assignment we had to make the type of newsletter that you would find in an email. Designing this one was fun for me. I created my design in Photoshop. Everything (besides a few free brushes that I used) was made from scratch.  Since I usually make cute, or bohemian-like designs I wanted to create something completely different this time. I do not want to be seen as a 1-trick-pony like I'm only capable of one style. The images used in this were both from the last two Photoshop assignments where we had to make zombies/aliens and distressed buildings. These assignments are what truly inspired my newsletter design.

I am very happy with how it looks, but uploading it to the server to turn it in  is VERY confusing for me. I had a lot of trouble doing it--so much that I have to find someone to help me do it tomorrow morning. But anyway, other than that the assignment was enjoyable.

If you want to see the original images you can find my reptilian zombie here, and the distressed building here.
 

Assignment 13 - Template Web Page

This assignment was very easy.  All we had to do was design a webpage based off of  of a template (of our choice) that we downloaded. I decided to make mine about my schoolwork. I have used this template before because I really like it, but I decided to add extra content, and change out a few things to make it new and different for this assignment. To me, using a template is the quickest and easiest was to design a webpage. Below is a screen cap of the main page.

Assignment 12 - Image Slice Web Page

We had to create a sliced webpage using Photoshop and Dreamweaver. It was my first time making such a webpage, and I have to say I do not prefer this method. Once all the pieces were uploaded (in design mode) my page looked odd. Everything was sitting to the right, and not in the center. Thankfully in live mode everything looked the way it was supposed to. It was also difficult positioning my div tag that held my pictures. I had to be very particular about the margins and padding. I personally do not see the point of making a webpage this way, and I'm not going to do it again unless I have to.

Here is the mock-up.

By the way--I made every single texture from scratch myself. The typewriters/ scissors in the background were part of a free brush set that I found. Some of the other symbols used came with Photoshop. (Just in case you guys were wondering).

Assignment 11 - Interactive HTML Slider

For this one we had to create "Thematic Text" using Photoshop, and Edge Animate. To create this effect you start off with plain, bold letters, and one picture of a texture. In photoshop you create a mask around each letter and then you can paint in the details of your textured image ( so that the letters look like that texture). The finishing touches were done in Edge animate. Using edge you create one more clipping mask, and you also create and animate your "before" and "after" buttons. This assignment was fairly simple, and not stressful at all. I can't upload the slider to this blog, but you can see the final result below.

Before

After

Assignment 10 (Shape Animation in After Effects)

Quite possibly the dumbest thing that I've had to post. I am not proud of this whatsoever, and I am taking the video down as soon as Brian grades it. I ended up being sick and in a lot of pain the past few days, so that set me behind on homework. I was working all night on a different animation only to realize that I didn't have enough time to complete it. So, this was my crappy result. Please ignore this video, let's act like it never happened.

VIDEO UNAVAILABLE

Pop Art

This was originally for my "Advanced Photoshop" class, but I liked it so much that I had to share it here. I made the lines in illustrator, and the rest was created in Photoshop. I really had fun with this. You had to base the design on a photo that you personally took, and I used a photo of myself. I was excited to do this assignment partially because there are practically NO ethnic women in the Pop Art genre. I wanted to personally change that. Coloring this was  fun, and I am really really pleased with the turn out.

My Pop Art Self-Portrait.  Click the image to view larger.

Assignment 9 (Slam Cover Submission)

For this assignment we had to design two covers for our school's magazine called SLAM. It stands for "Student Literary Arts Magazine." I had fun with this assignment. For the base I used an old painting of mine (the Aztec squids). To make the design look more interesting I used an overlay of swirly lines that I created. This also gave my design some extra color--which I liked. I like my green design more than the tan one, but I would like to know what others think.

If you're curious about the past winning SLAM covers, check them out here.

Here are both versions together.

Assignment 8 (Tablet Artwork)

For this assignment we had to create artwork using the Wacom drawing tablets. The first time I ever tried to use one I had a really hard time, because I felt like the settings were introverted. This time--while it was still a little difficult, I had a much easier time. I think that's partially because my teacher Brian showed us how to set up the tablets and customize the settings.

I choose a watercolor-type brush to use for coloring. I adjusted the size jitter for the brush that I used for the lines in order to achieve a juvenile type of look. The radish is kind of random, but I thought the picture would be more interesting with the cat holding something. Plus, veggies are good for you ^u^ The background is not a solid fill like it looks. That was against the rules, and I simply used a thick brush.  Also, I used the font that I created for the text.

Assignment 7 - (Online jQuery Photo Gallery).

This assignment was fun, straightforward, and was not difficult (which was nice). Such a gallery would look great on a personal website. My only problem is that I cannot seem to get my files onto the server for some reason. Nevertheless, here is a screen cap of my gallery, and a direct link to it will be coming as soon as possible.

Assignment 6 - (Animated 3D Pop-Up Photo Gallery)

For this assignment we had to create an "Animated 3D Pop Up Photo Gallery" using After Effects. I had fun with this one. The hardest part was thinking of good/interesting composition. I eventually decided on Polaroid frames, and I made a wood-textured ground in Photoshop.

In After Effects it was a little challenging adjusting the lights and shadows, but I eventually got the effect I wanted. During this assignment I also figured out how to use several cameras, which is something I had never done before. I think the music I chose really set the atmosphere, and I am happy with how my video turned out.

Assignment 5 ( Font Part 2)

For this assignment  we had to finish up our font set by adding lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. I was enjoying this at first, but after a while it just felt tedious. Getting the perfect strokes, sizing, etc. was tiring for me. While making a font was something that I'm glad I experienced--I'm not sure if I would want to do it again. I don't know if I have the patience for it. Also, for some reason, I could not get my quotation marks to show up. :(

Here are my lowercase letters, numbers,and symbols.

Assignment 4 (Font Part 1)

The assignment was to create a font set of capital letters. It took me forever to find a brush that I liked, but once I did it was kind of fun making my letters. I wanted to create a sort of grungy font, but that didn't exactly work out. When I made my letters in AI (at 100% mind you) they looked A LOT thicker. Once I used the font creator program and had a chance to use my font--my strokes became so thin, so instead of grungy--I feel like my font looks like it's from a kid with bad handwriting. But hey, there is a time and place for every font, right? Nevertheless, I tried my best. : -/

Here is the set of capital letters.

Assignment 2 (Vinyl Sticker)

I love snakes and I choose to make a Ball Python. I had fun with this one. For me this assignment was very exciting. Peeling the vinyl for this assignment was not as easy as it may sound. On my first attempt the vinyl just did NOT want to tear, so I had some jagged edges. On my second attempt I ended up using tweasers, and my edges were much nicer.

I think the most difficult part was cutting out the letters. It was hell trying to get them to tear properly, and mine did not turn out that great (the edges are really jagged). I originally wanted to place the words "Ball Python" on my snake--but I only ended up with "Ball" because my letters were so small and hard to peel. Even so, I did my best and I am happy with the result. Altogether I think my snake looks nice, and I feel like my design was quite ambitious.

Here it is stuck to a lunchbox.

Assignment 1 (Animated Photoshop Brush)

The first assignment was to create an animated Photoshop Brush using Adobe Flash and After Effects.

To complete this assignment I made two of my own brushes in Photoshop (the "Purr" and "thought bubble" brushes). I also downloaded one free brush from the web (the fish brush). To add more substance to my video I added royalty free music and purring sounds.The most difficult part was thinking of a scenario to animate. After looking at the picture of my cat, I was inspired and I thought it might be interesting to show what he may be thinking about as he purrs. Overall, I feel like I did a good job on the assignment.

Using Adobe Flash was required for this one--and I'm DEFINITELY not the only one who does not care for this program. However, I have to say that my skills using flash are improving, because I did not have any trouble using it (for once!) in fact it almost seemed to come naturally. And for that I'm kinda proud of myself.

My cat is ALWAYS purring. I love it <3 =^.^=

About Me

"Pharaoh" -- Photoshop Typography Assignment

Hi, I'm Courtney. I'm a digital design major at Pierce College, & this summer I will be graduating. I enjoy creating digital art especially mixed media. In my spare time I enjoy writing, reading, and drawing.


Tools of the Trade:

My specialties are: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, but I also have skills using these programs :

• Dreamweaver
• In Design
• Edge Animate
• After Effects
• Premiere Pro

Once I graduate from Pierce I plan on transferring to Evergreen to further my education, after that I will pursue a career in digital art/graphic design.