Author Archives: Cinder

My Creative Journey: Week 2

Summary

This week was still a bit overwhelming due to the high amount of assignments given a week while I still have lots of homework and studying to do with my other classes, but I will admit that I am really proud of everything I accomplished this week. For someone that isn’t tech savvy at all I learned a lot and was impressed by how a lot of my creations came out. I am so happy that I was able to figure out how to customize my blog and make it look prettier. Now I love going onto my website Cinder’s Wonderland and seeing all the pretty details, and I feel a lot more confident while editing it now. Participation is still slightly confusing to me because I don’t know if I have to show proof of any comments I leave or will they be automatically noticed afterwards. Also this week for the first time I used Canva, contextualized hyperlinks with texts, made a poster digitally from scratch, etc. Most of it I was able to learn from Google and also video tutorials. I am still slightly worried about the weeks ahead since I am sure it is gonna become a lot more complicated when I have to make and edit videos and audio, which requires me spending more extra hours trying to figure everything out. But I am trying my best and I hope everyone appreciates all my effort and are enjoying looking at my creations.

New Discoveries and Experiences

Learned how to use Canva
Learned how to customize blog
Learned how to insert videos into blog posts
Learned how to link words to websites

Daily Creates

For the Daily Creates this week they were mostly simple and straightforward which I enjoyed, I feel like I spent more time trying to think of a fun idea to fit the prompts than the actual time spent on the creations, but the best part was seeing all my creations together in a post at the end of week. I also enjoyed seeing all the other ideas people come up with throughout the week in their posts. I go into a deeper dive of each of the Daily Creates I made on my post called Inside My Creative Mind.

Assignment Bank

This was my first week using the assignment bank and I will admit I was overwhelmed when I realized I had to create 3 of them, and not only that but 2 of them had to fit the cyberpunk theme which made it a little more complicated. It is very time consuming but the end results for my assignments came out really nice. For Young – The Anthem of a Corrupt Future I had to analyze song lyrics and write the meaning behind them. I chose the song Young by Hollywood Undead because it fit the cyberpunk theme because it is a song about living in a corrupt society. For Empire State of Love I had to make a contradicting poster so I used Canva for the first time. I used the cyberpunk theme for this as well by making the poster about advertising for being able to buy a robot lover in a futuristic New York City. Figuring out how to use Canva was pretty straightforward and I was amazed by how I was able to create a very detailed poster from scratch. Lastly, for Minecraft: Cherry Blossom Vacation Villa I had to create a house in the game called Minecraft. I already had prior experience with this game so building a house was fun and I loved being able to put all my ideas into it. I already did the cyberpunk theme for the other two assignments so this one I chose to use my own personal inspirations. Overall, I had fun with each assignment this week that I chose to make and I think the hours of effort I put into them were worth it.

Runa the Mercenary

Creating Runa was easy and fun! I already love making stories and characters so this was an enjoyable experience. I put a lot of thought into her personality, appearance, and storyline. I am assuming she is going to be used again later on this semester for another assignment, but for more information on Runa you can find her character’s profile on the post Meet Runa aka The Shadow.

Cowboy Bebop Review

I went back to my last week’s review on Cowboy Bebop and edited it to explain more about how cyberpunk was incorporated in the show’s theme in the final paragraph. You can find it on my post called The Thrilling Adventure of Cowboy Bebop

Inside My Creative Mind: Week 1

Caught Between a Coincidence

For this Daily Create I was trying to think of an interesting coincidence to make my post about, but while I was checking my calendar on my ipad I noticed that the date matched up exactly with the current time! So I rushed to get a picture of the funny coincidence of having the date be 1/20 and the time be 1:20.

Childhood Memory

For this Daily Create we were supposed to make bad art and everyone knows kid drawings tend to be . . . not perfect. So I decided to make a drawing similar to what I would have made in kindergarten which was the usual sun in the corner, a tree with a bushy top of leaves, birds above that look like funny flat letter m’s, tiny flowers, and lastly a cat with clearly off proportions but I think it makes it look more like a kid created it this way.

A Snowy Noblewoman

For this Daily Create I was supposed to catch a long shadow and mine came out elegantly. I was out in my jacket which lengthened into the appearance of a dress due to the angle of the sunset’s light. With the snowy background I think the picture came out nice because I look like a noblewoman traveling with one of those long dresses through a snowy field.

Happy Birthday, but Better

For this Daily Create we were celebrating ds106 radio’s birthday and were supposed to submit a birthday song. I chose the song that I love sending to my friends on their birthdays! It is really catchy and easy to sing along to so it was perfect to share with everyone. The beat is really good so if you would like to hear it yourself I included the song at the bottom of this post.

Who Needs Words for a Poem

For my favorite Daily Create of the week I had to make a poem out of emojis. Mine is a bit childish but I still think the silly idea was fun to create. I am not the greatest at poems so I tried to make mine rhyme for each line, and the inspiration behind it was from me staring at the snow outside and how I was warm indoors. The choice of emojis was the hardest because there definitely wasn’t enough ones to help portray my idea, especially for the last line where I chose the funny route of making a vampire represent the word bite.

The birthday song from Happy Birthday but Better:

Note: Tiktoks are meant for phones so ignore that the video is enlarged if viewing on pc

Meet Runa aka The Shadow

Name: Runa Starr

Age: 22

Birthday: March 2, 2050

Occupation: Mercenary

Appearance: She’s only 5’2 but keeps a fit body to keep up in fights during missions. Even though she gets mistaken for a teen because of her baby-face Runa is actually 22. She has brown skin and keen eyes that match her recognizable smug smirk. Her flowing curly hair is rarely tied back into two puffs unless taking strolls through the city. Normally found wearing cloaks or oversized hoodies especially on missions to hide her identity.

Personality: An antihero to her core. Runa is known for her arrogance easily backed up by her skills. She’s really strategic, blunt, and headstrong. Normally prefers working alone so no one will drag her down, but secretly enjoys any acknowledgement from the rebellion’s leader when they’re paired up. Will never admit it but voice becomes high-pitched and squeaky when embarrassed.

Bio: In a world where the corrupt government executes citizens over the smallest crimes to keep them in order, Runa is out for vengeance after her parents were killed. She joined the rebellion called the Claws hidden in the part of Celeste City where crime runs wild without laws being enforced there. Her father was friend’s with the rebellion leader who took her in at a young age and trained her to fight. Now she’s known as The Shadow, a merciless mercenary who gets hired to take down her client’s targets one by one while slowly getting paid in info on government officials so she can avenge her parents.

Quote: No rules matter more than winning

Likes: Jelly donuts, Orange soda, sleeping, music, parties, jewelry, and winning bets

Dislikes: The government, injustice, heights, formal settings, and early mornings

Minecraft: Cherry Blossom Vacation Villa

When I need a break from my busy life I go relax in my Cherry Blossom Villa in Minecraft. Yes, you read that correctly, Minecraft. I created this beautiful pink home with a tranquil aesthetic in mind. From a gorgeous wrap around balcony on the top floor to the glass floors with a waterview. There’s intricate detail no matter where you look in this house and I am ready to explain every step of the way. So let the tour begin!

Material Used

Cherry Blossom Wood
Dark Oak
Glass
Sheared Cherry Blossom Leaves
Pink Glass
Cobblestone
Pink Carpet
Cherry Blossom Saplings
Dark Oak Stairs
Dark Oak Trap Doors
Dirt Blocks
Sandstone Block
Water Buckets
Flowers: Azure Bluet, Lilac, Lily of Valley, and Daisy

Elegant Entrance

Taking the first steps down my pretty pink path bordered by cobblestone, flowers, and cherry blossom trees, the first thing that catches your eyes in my frilly pink flower arches that greet you to enter. They give off nice spring vibes that give a grand entrance to the house. Before entering I’m sure you noticed the cute window boxes overflowing with cherry blossom saplings! They’re an adorable touch I included to the triangular windows. The home’s overall vibrant pink is a nice contrast to the villa’s dark wood border and roof, and let’s not forget the cobblestone foundation. But before heading in I want to add that the glass balcony overlooking the path above was made to resemble a vacation home, and even the flowers below were chosen in a neat pattern to look well manicured.

Gorgeous Foyer

Walking through the double doors the overall atmosphere screams ELEGANCE! The entire bottom level is an open layout with the balcony overlooking from the top. Dark wood frames the borders to give a nice finished look including the pillars. The whole floor is entirely glass with a pool of water beneath that’s sitting atop cobblestone. In the center lays a giant lush pink rug to make the glass floors pop out more.

Pink Paradise

Heading up stairs you are instantly hit with my favorite part of the house, THE CHERRY BLOSSOM CEILING! Yes! The entire ceiling is made completely out of cherry blossom leaves that drop pink petals on you as you go down the hall. The whole top floor is an open-air layout with a glass balcony view over the beautiful cherry blossom forest. It is a gorgeous sight whether looking at the house interior or outdoors. The floor is pink! The ceiling is pink! Even the walls are pink! Which is why I call it my pink paradise!

The Inspiration

Thanks for visiting my Cherry Blossom Villa! I hope you loved it as much as I do. I would also like to give thanks to Jonah Helbling for his post from the assignment bank called Back to Basics where he gave the idea of building a house in minecraft. He gave complete freedom to build your house any way you want so I chose to make mine cherry blossom themed. It was originally supposed to resemble a really girly dollhouse, but while building it I thought it would look prettier with more of a tranquil resort aesthetic which is how I ended up with this gorgeous pink creation!

Empire State of Love

In a world where you can now design your perfect companion, artificial love will steal your heart. This is the future where New York City is one of the first places to accept robo-lovers. If you want a funny boyfriend, you can have it! If want a athletic girlfriend, she’s all yours. There is over 24 enjoyable personalities to choose from to fit anyone’s lifestyle. Not only that, but you can customize your own robot to match the person of your dreams including height, body shape, voice, and even their interests. Owning a robo-lover is easy, just charge their battery while you sleep and by day you have endless hours of fun. So skip the hassle of dating and come to New York to get yourself a robo-lover.

The idea for this post was to showcase how ads like this might exist one day in the future if we keep advancing with technology. If you ever been to build a bear then you know how easy it is to make a stuffed animal, so imagine if in the future people could just walk in a store and create their own lovers. To me, this idea is insane and problematic. Not only would the cost be similar to owning a luxury car, but imagine the amount of people trying to find alternatives like stealing one for themselves or selling counterfeits. This leads to the cyberpunk theme of highly advanced robots becoming too normalized as crime begins to sky rocket. The use of robots would end up ruining relationships and destroy human social skills. If someone’s robo-lover ends up breaking or having an irreparable problem then wouldn’t the person still experience grief and depression from the loss due to their strong bond. Also don’t forget the type of people who would become addicted and end up owning multiple of them. Robo-lovers seems like an easy fix for people who struggle with dating but looking at the idea overall, it seems like the bad outweighs the good.

This post was inspired by Patricia Albert’s post in the assignment bank called Stay Home – Living is dangerous which was about making a graphic based on a theme with contradictory texts. For mine I chose to do the cyberpunk theme based on New York because Times Square with all its illuminated buildings already looks really high-tech. For my graphic I wanted to make it look like it was advertising something which is how I thought of the idea of robo-lovers. I used Canva for the first time to create it, and besides the amount of content locked behind a paywall, I think it was still useful. I learned how to create on it pretty easily and was able to find the images of a robot reaching for a humans hand oddly fast for my vision of this idea. Since it was based on finding love I made sure to add hearts especially to make the New York picture and the hands pictures above look connected. Lastly, I wanted to push more of the New York inspiration so I used the famous saying, “Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,” because the advertisement is about being able to create your own dream lover in this high-tech problematic future. Also for those unfamiliar with New York sayings, this post’s title is also a play on the phrase, “Empire State of Mind.”

Young – The Anthem of a Corrupt Future

Young by Hollywood Undead

Nothing screams rebellion more than a rock song about revolting and making a change in the world. As technology advances and the world becomes more futuristic, the predictable downside is how the wealth gap will grow making those in power only stronger while the rest of the world is left to suffer. The energy of this song is passionately strong and flowing with rage as it speaks to the younger generation to open their eyes and fight back for their future. I personally think this is the perfect anthem for a cyberpunk world falling apart at its seams. The song emphasizes their struggles of being young and unfairly born in a dystopia. Having to fight for survival while watching others unethically die. The inspiration of the lyrics are overflowing with detail so lets take a deeper dive.

The song Young is about Hollywood Undead’s perception of the current generation and how they have the power to change the world in any way they want, according to Genius. The song starts out strong with, “We are young, but we have heart. Born in this world as it all falls apart. We are strong, but we don’t belong. Born in this world as it all falls apart.” The songwriter puts clear emphasis on the pain of being new to the world and already having the perspective of living in unbearable conditions. It is summed up as a world where you have to adapt just to survive.

In the first verse the song continues now pointing out the cause. They figuratively bring up the joy of children minds before they truly open their eyes to the twisted world around them. These same children see the corruption overtime. The use of the words “hate” and “hatred” are repeated to show how division is used amongst society. How the enemy, those in power, are causing all the pain and purposely oppressing people. The words hit home with their final line, “Medication for the kids with no reason to live.” Showing that their world’s corruption is so bad that even the children who need help already gave up on themselves.

The second verse focuses on the shift to fight back. Their once beautiful worldview is now tainted and the song tells them to stand up and make a change. The pain and frustration in the singers voice for the ending lines are done so well as they point out they never wanted all this. They never wanted all this hatred and fighting. They were just born in a world where it was the only way to survive. A corrupt world that takes the innocent hearts of children and turn them into merciless monsters who don’t have a choice.

The ending is what really ties the whole purpose of the song together nicely. It is repeated over and over that no matter what they will not stop fighting for change. For a better future. Even if the rebels, the children who were once innocent and carefree, die during this fight they still won’t give up. The push is until they can have heaven on Earth or be freed by the angels above.

I also would like to give credit to Madeline Hays for the inspiration behind this because of her post in the assignment bank about how does a song make you feel. These song lyrics were formed in the early 2000s as a call to action for the youth to rise up and fight back for a better future. We are currently now living in the future that they were warning us about and I believe the song could still apply to certain aspects of society now. But with how fast technology is advancing, Young could easily turn into a song about our world being a cyberpunk dystopia. That is when I believe it will truly become the anthem of a corrupt future.

My Creative Journey: Week 1

I am not going to lie, I was really excited when I picked this class because it looked really fun, but I struggled a lot this week and was overwhelmed. From setting up my website and blog to learning how to navigate everything was very confusing and sadly I am not fully sure if I completed all the assignments correctly. I am still trying to adjust to everything and hopefully become more familiar with all this new stuff I am learning so that I can fully understand and do everything correctly. The most interesting assignment this week though would probably be the film review of Cowboy Bebop. I have always had a fascination with stories, so having assignments where I get to fully share my opinions and reactions about them is such a fun activity. Since the current theme is Tech Noir and Cyberpunk I am very interested to see what other fun assignments will be given and I hope this will be a fun class that I will enjoy all semester.

Here is the link to my course goals: https://cinderswonderland.com/week1/course-goals/

Here is the link to my Cowboy Bebop Review: https://cinderswonderland.com/week1/cowboy-bebop-review/

Aim High with Goals

In this digital storytelling class I am hoping to create and evaluate digital media. If I reach my goal I believe I should be able to properly understand the creative process, successfully review in detail various forms of media, and be able to effectively communicate and discuss creative works. I am also hoping to have fun and share my fun creative ideas with the class while learning how to navigate using a website and post blogs for everyone to see.

The Thrilling Adventure of Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is an adored 90s anime classic so rewatching one of my older sibling’s favorites was a joy! This is a show filled with action packed scenes, amazing humor, and fascinating characters. There is a lot of thought put into the writing of each episode and its noticeable throughout the whole series. The world is a wonderful blend of western and space themes, so if you like the bizarre idea of a space-cowboy bounty hunter then you will absolutely love this show.

The story follows my favorite character Spike Spiegel and his wild crew of bounty hunters as they travel through space hunting down criminals in a post-apocalyptic world. It has a perfect balance of serious themes like Spike’s dark past but also casual light humor mixed in between which I enjoyed. I feel like the show was very character driven and I personally loved the hilarious interactions between them and seeing their character development overtime, especially since you wouldn’t expect their varying chaotic energy to work together but yet somehow everything always worked out in the end. Also, with their contrasting personalities Spike and Jet were definitely my favorite dynamic. But all the characters like sarcastic Faye, mischievous Edward, and even Ein the genius dog who can somehow drive a car, answer phones, and even hack a computer shined in their own amusing ways.

Lastly, I want to point out that even with its old animation style the show’s overall aesthetic is really appealing to the eyes. It is simplistic yet stylish which matches the show’s theme very well. The inspiration of cyberpunk is shown in many elements of the show. It takes place in a futuristic dystopia where there’s a clear power imbalance in society and lots of poverty. Many episodes showcase advanced gadgets and how much technology has progressed with the use of cybernetic implants like Spike with his eye. Also the jazzy soundtrack is another point that makes this show really memorable for me and many others. Just the opening alone is easily recognizable for most anime fans. Personally, whether you watch this show for the characters like me, or if you watch the show for the storyline while connecting the pieces of each backstory, I think you will love this fun adventure.