Author Archives: Cinder

The Art of Design

What is art? Don’t worry I will give you a second to think about it. No matter your response there isn’t a correct answer to what art is. But there is plenty principles of design from color, shapes, proportion, etc so lets take a closer look at ways we can make our creations better.

Graphic Design

You might look at a poster and think Wow! That movie looks interesting or see a book cover and instantly wanna see what it’s about. Well it catches your attention for a reason and that’s all due to the amount of thought put into the design. One of the most famous graphic designers, Chip Kidd, was able to break down the basics of design for literal children in his book called Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design. Inside he explains concepts in simple ways that are easily understandable for children and adults. But what stood out to me the most was his explanation on how everything that is not made by nature is designed by someone else. So if you stop and take a look around yourself right now, literally everything started out as an idea that someone put time and effort into while creating it. Amazing right! So much more goes into designs than people know. Think about it this way. Colors that contrast or blend well can look appealing to the eyes. Jagged shapes can put people on edge compared to round shapes that have more of a soothing effect. Even proportions like making something smaller can make it look cuter. Well lets dive even deeper into how design can portray an aesthetic and even provoke feeling from the viewer.

Movie posters are a great example of how design principles are used. In the video above James Verdesto explains very well how design is used in marketing to communicate a message. A lot of movie posters tend to follow a trend of using the same elements in their designs like specific color schemes depending on genre. Perfect examples are how the color yellow is used to catch the eye and how black and white tends to to be used for action movies to portray the masculinity of the protagonist while adding a pop of color usually with the color red to draw attention with the intensity. Here is another example.

In this movie poster of Blade Runner 2049 we can see many cyberpunk elements being used for its aesthetic. The background shows a bleak, cold city that has advance aircraft flying around showing that its based on a high-tech dystopian world. The color palette used of dull orange and blue nicely contrast with each other while emphasizing the characters in front wearing dark clothes. I also want to point out the designer’s decision to use fiery orange and red for the big bold font of the title that easily draws your eyes to it. It is such a visually appealing poster that its hard not to appreciate the amount of work put into its design. The movie itself utilizes many more elements of cyberpunk design in its setting like using color grading to set the grim mood or how bold neon lights are used for symbolism and contrast.

In general, whether its a movie poster, book cover, painting, etc everything uses the principles of design in it. So next time you’re admiring something as simple as your favorite singer’s new album cover I highly recommend you stop and appreciate the thought put into the color scheme, font, shapes, proportions and more because the art of design is more fascinating when every detail holds a meaning.

Ready, Set, Photoblitz!

20 minutes to take 7 photos! Sounds easy right? Trust me, it’s a lot more chaotic than you think, but that’s all part of the fun. Photoblitz is a fun 20 minute activity where you are given 7 prompts and then you have to race to take all the photos in time. I will admit I easily got lost in the creative process and went over the time limit by a few minutes. Oops! But I had lots of fun and my pictures came out great even if my ideas were a little silly.

Prompt #1: A Toy in Action

For this prompt I needed to show toys doing something active so I wanted to make stuffed animals look like they were watching videos together like a human. So I put the gorilla and camel in front of a laptop with them staring at the screen. This was actually my favorite picture I took because the idea was so funny.

Prompt #2: Show Us Some Food

For the second prompt I needed to take a picture of food, and since my sister was already making hot chocolate I just took a picture of her cup. I tried to put it in sunlight so the purple and pink sugar on top of the whipped cream would stand out more.

Prompt #3: Camera at Floor Level

For the third prompt I had to take a picture from floor level, so I took a picture of my dog because I liked the idea of making him look really big from the floor angle. Getting him to stay still was the hardest part because seeing me on the floor automatically makes him assume I am down there to play with him.

Prompt #4: Glasses Bring the World into Focus

For the fourth prompt I was supposed to show how glasses help many people see, so I chose to take the picture through the lens of a pair of glasses. I made the picture focus be on a painting I made because glasses allow people see the beauty of the world.

Prompt 5#: Turn Food into a Face

For prompt I had to turn food into the shape of a face then take a picture. I used the cereal Fruit Loops to make my face on a wooden table. Originally I had another circle around the face, but it looked messy so I went back to keeping a simple design for it.

Prompt #6: Doors Can Have A Lot of Character

For this prompt I was supposed to show how doors can have character based on their style, so I took a picture of the basement door’s doorknob because it is one of the old traditional ones that has a giant keyhole. Personally these types of doorknobs remind me of faces because the two screws are like eyes, the knob is like a nose, and the keyhole is like a mouth so it was the perfect choice to photograph.

Prompt #7: Forced Perspective

For this prompt I needed to take a picture that made something look big, but I decided to do my own funny take on it by taking a picture of a miniature version of a big corgi stuffed animal, so it shows both perspectives of tiny and big side by side.

Times Up!

Took me 24 minutes to take all my picture prompts, so I went over the limit by 4 minutes but I think it was worth it. If you found this idea interesting then I highly recommend rushing over to Photoblitz and seeing if you can beat my record of 24 minutes for your 7 photos.

Level Up!

Mercenary in a cyberpunk world! Runa Starr is the perfect character for a RPG. She’s got the swiftness of a viper with the venom to match. Along with her ability to easily outsmart foes makes every fight an easy win. So if Runa had her own game card I believe her top stats would be definitely be skill, stealth, charisma, and confidence!

Skill

Trained since the age of 12 for close combat, Runa can disarm a man with a blade in seconds. Even at a distance, she’s prepared for every bullet to strike her target. But her marksmanship isn’t what makes her dangerous. Runa’s savvy mind strategizes and counters on the spot making her one of the most fearsome mercenaries of her generation.

Stealth

She isn’t called The Shadow for nothing. Spying from rooftops, creeping behind guarded doors, or hiding in plain sight, Runa can do it all without leaving a single trail . . . unless she wants to be found because sometimes playing the distraction is more fun.

Charisma

Runa has a certain alluring energy that catches the attention of the room right when she talks. Whether it’s her attractive charm, her mesmerizing beauty, her smooth velvety voice, or- Well let’s just say it’s a combination of all that leaves people begging for a second of her time.

Confidence

Stats maxed out for a reason! Runa is bold and unapologetic so don’t get in her way, especially when it comes down to her strategic schemes. She’s isn’t afraid to take risk even if it means gambling her life, but yet her intuition is always right. Or maybe her confidence just makes her luck come off that way. No one will ever know.

The Inspiration

This idea came from the assignment bank post called Personal Trading Card. The instructions were to create a card based on a character, so I chose to create one for Runa Starr using the website called Remixer. For the art I tried my best to find a futuristic mercenary themed picture from the website Pinterest. I wanted to keep the purple and black color scheme so I used it for the whole card’s design. Then when it came down to choosing Runa’s stats I made sure to pick words that matched her character perfectly. Skill, stealth, and charisma were easy choices, but for the last one of confidence I wanted to make a little joke by exaggerating a bit to emphasize her personality so I put the stats as maxed out.

Tattoos Hold Hidden Messages

It’s character week! So I was excited to make my main focus Runa aka The Shadow who was introduced last week. She is the 22 year old mercenary who works for the rebellion called the Claws with the goal of taking down the corrupt government officials who killed her parents. With Runa being in a rebellion I felt like it would be obvious that she would definitely have a tattoo or two. We all know tattoos hold meaning, whether it’s for self expression, a reminder, or holding a hidden message like proof that you’re a member of a secret rebellion. So these are the three tattoos I think Runa would mostly likely have on her body.

Blooming Out of Darkness

For this tattoo idea I drew a picture of a flower. They are normally a symbol of growth and beauty which fits Runa’s character perfectly. Her past is dark due to her parents’ death but yet she still grew up to be strong and resilient. So a blooming flower holds a lot of meaning for her.

The Queen

For this tattoo idea I drew a picture of a crown. I feel like it was fitting considering Runa is deemed as one of the best mercenaries in the city. Also Runa’s goal is to take down the corrupt government which is similar to stealing their crown which represents their power.

A Secret Weapon

For this tattoo idea I drew swords, but the focus is on the middle one. In the rebellion they would need a way to prove who is a member so a tattoo is perfect. A symbol of a sword represents you’re a weapon on their side. And it is very simplistic so it could be small and hidden on their wrist or ankle.

The Inspiration

Partial credit goes to Fab from his post in the assignment bank called Tattoos that describe you. He gave the idea of creating a tattoo for yourself that has meaning behind it, but I chose to add a twist to mine by making the tattoos based on Runa’s perspective. Each tattoo I made is hand drawn and I kept a simple style because I feel like tattoo art usually isn’t too complicated. Also I avoided adding color because if Runa is working as a mercenary then I doubt she would have a tattoo with vibrant color that makes her stand out since she has to do a lot of sneaking and hiding.

Wanted Dead or Alive

Celeste is a city overflowing with crime. When given no choice people will do anything to survive, leading to bounties upon bounties appearing over people’s heads. So where is the best place to hide hundreds of rebels? Well obviously in a city amongst the wanted where no one would dare rat each other out to the corrupt government unless you want to be ousted as a secret snake.

Beware: Armed and Dangerous!

Have you seen this girl? The government is offering an award of 25k for whoever brings her in. Security footage caught her breaking into a well fortified administration building stealing over 5 years worth of top secret government files . . . and snacks from the coffee room. She took down 5 officers alone along her path before disappearing without a trace. Last seen escaping through the main lobby’s skylight and traveling from rooftop. Suspect is described as a 5’2 young black girl wearing an oversized hoodie. Authorities warn that she is highly dangerous and presumed to be affiliated with the rebellion called the Claws.

For character week this idea was inspired by Miranda Skinner’s post in the assignment bank called Missing Person where she said to create a missing person poster, but I was inspired by this idea to instead create a wanted poster for my character Runa Starr. Since Celeste City is based on a cyberpunk theme I tried to express that in the poster with lots of city and neon futuristic designs using Canva. I assumed Runa’s first wanted poster would’ve been created when she was still a teen so I used Pinterest to find a picture that matched her character’s description. The city in the background of the picture helped with telling the story of how security camera’s caught her, and the snack in her hand gave me the funny idea of including that she casually stole snacks during the break in to emphasize that she’s bold and fully confident in her skills not to get caught. Lastly, due to her age she would definitely taunt her pursuers by messing with them, so I added graffiti to her wanted poster with a silly face, heart, and an arrow pointing at the word “wanted.” I also made sure to make it look like she used graffiti to cross out any information about her on the wanted poster.

Inside My Creative Mind: Week 3

Some Things Never Change

For this Daily Create I was supposed to compare technology I used as a kid to now as an adult. I’ve been a gamer since I was a kid so I instantly chose to show the game console that started it all, my ds lite, and the game console I currently use now which is my Nintendo switch. There’s definitely a big change in the technology because back in the early 2000s ds games had blocky graphics and played on that tiny screen. Now in current day Nintendo switch games are played on a bigger screen and in 1080p. So even though I love the nostalgia of playing my old games, I am still very appreciative for the newer high definition ones.

The New “Daily Create”

For this Daily Create the prompt was to create a new header image for the Daily Create. I chose to use Canva to make mine and was inspired by the idea of a canvas with paint on it. So for my design I made the background paint splashes with teared paper on the front like a label. On it I put the title of the Daily Create in a font that looked like it was painted on in purple. Since the theme of the Daily Create is all about creating, I think having an artsy design is fitting.

A Taste of Home

For this Daily Create we were supposed to evaluate the wokeness of our favorite sandwich. For mine I chose a turkey hero because I grew up in New York and eating it brings back childhood nostalgia. For the wokeness rating I gave my sandwich a 1/10 because there isn’t any social awareness used in the ingredients like cage-free turkeys for the meat or anything like that.

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!