Author Archives: feigrace

there goes my weekly summary: #3

This week was a lot less stressful and I think I hit my stride because the assignments seemed easier to be more creative and I could actually have some fun with it. 

The design reflection was an interesting assignment that really made me learn some new things about the creative process and how to draw in audiences. Though learning to implement these new concepts is going to be its own task in itself.

Doing the photoblitz was a bit hectic but overall I like the results of my photos. I had never heard of this before either and had no idea what I was getting myself into but I think I did pretty ok though I’m not sure what would constitute a bad photoblitz.

The ai art assignment where we tried using art generators was new for me and so frustrating whenever I put in a prompt that seemed detailed to me but apparently the generator found to broad and gave me something completely different. But when I finally figured out how they worked it was interesting to see how bizarre some of the results ended up being.

Making a business card for my class character Andrea Grant was so fun because while making a business card for myself is kinda of boring, a fictional character with a whole different backstory has endless possibilities of what I can do.

Finally, the gif assignment was something I had wanted to try for so long, and trying to make one with one of my favorite movies was cool. So hopefully I did Natalie Portman justice because trying to not make it a choppy hard to watch gif was a struggle.

Overall while some things were a little frustrating I had a lot of fun trying out new ways of making digital media.

My daily creates are shown below as well!


Day 1: #tdc4399 Color in a Classic

The original “The Great Wave” on the left and my red take on the right


Day 2: #tdc4401 Gif your first job

My first job was as a sports referee

Day 3: tdc4403 #ds106 A Word For The In-Between Time

The word I would use would be, The Groggy Fog. I feel like the images looks like my brain feels when I’m like this.

here’s the design reflection

This week we got a bit of a look into the world of designing and it was honestly kinda wild to see how much thought goes into even the simplest book covers or movie posters.

Reading the article, A Kid’s Guide to Graphic Design Article by Iconic Designer Chip Kidd which discusses Chipp Kidd’s nonfiction children’s book about graphic design, we’re introduced to a few major topics. “Whether you realize it or not, most of the decisions you make, every day, are by design” and “Everything that is not made by nature is designed by someone.” These two statements from the book really stood out to me as this is an aspect of design I had never really considered before. When most people think of design we usually imagine logos, billboards, ads, etc., but to see that so many other things are designed by someone truly does shape our understanding of the world around us.

The rest of the book strives to explain design not in boring jargon and over-complicated explanations of simple concepts but instead makes them easy to understand by having each page feature fun examples of the concepts he explains which makes it a fun read for kids.

One of the most interesting discussions the book brings up that I had never known was happening in the design community was whether art and design are vastly different or the same. Apparently, most graphic designers argue that art and design are different though Kidd argues that this idea is wrong. “Graphic design needs your willing mental participation, even if it’s subconscious. Graphic design is message-sending into the brain. It is a cerebral experience, not a physical one. Architecture wants you to walk through it. Industrial design takes your hand (or other body parts) to appreciate it. Fashion makes you put it on. But Graphic design is purely a head trip, from your eyes to your mind.” And after reading this I completely agree with Kidd. Design, whether graphic or physical, is an art form that requires coordination and intends to convey some sort of message to its viewer.

The Between The Lines: Chip Kidd interview and the TED Talk Chip Kidd: Designing books is no laughing matter. OK, it is both discuss the thought that goes into designing book covers which I found very interesting. This job’s main goals are to attract readers and create a book cover that is a distillation of the story because book jackets must work on their own without explanation. To do this we must ask ‘What do the stories look like?’ because these covers are here to give potential readers a first impression which brings form to content without treating them like they’re dumb. The book designer’s responsibility is to the reader, the publisher, and the author most importantly which is completed by balancing arts, commerce, and design.

Watching The Art of Movie Posters and How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence both seemed to take concepts discussed in the previous articles and videos and put them into action which was cool to see the real-life examples we see in the media all the time. The main things used to convey certain themes in these media are: the usage of colors with universal meanings, typography, spacing of text, utilizing negative space, as well as reusing notable elements from other things to convey either a homage or a different time being played.

After looking at all these videos and articles I definitely feel like I not only have a better understanding of designs used to promote media, but also design that permeates in all of our lives which absolutely makes me rethink a lot of things in the world around me.

first try at gifs and succeeding?

I did the Say It Like The Peanut Butter assignment from the assignment bank because I’ve always wanted to learn how to make gifs. I chose the movie Black Swan because when I was thinking of movies with scenes that capture its essence, Nina’s wing flutter movement immediately came to mind. I think this movement she does completely captures the movie as it is the character’s move key move during the ballet.

To make the gif I used this Animated GIF Maker I found where you compile all the images and with a few quick settings choices, it makes a gif. I tried this a few times as I knew I needed a lot of snapshots to create a gif that’s not too choppy but I severely underestimated how many I would need. I uploaded both of my attempts, the second one being the better of my tries and I stopped after that one because it felt like a smoother gif would require me to basically just record a video.

first try

second try


andrea is a professional girl here

I tried the create your own business card for my class character Andrea Grant. If you look a my character introduction you can tell that Andrea is kinda of spoiled. She was the most popular girl in school who got everything she wanted and that confidence often bleeds over into her professional life constantly. The card is of course pink as it’s her favorite color. Unlike her less classy coworkers (Georgia) her card just exudes confidence to intimidate whoever holds this card. 

I made this on Canva and it was quite easy as they have a lot of templates for business cards so the work was mostly just customizing it for Andrea and adding her own spin to it.

Beige Photography Business Card

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trying ai art here

This assignment was definitely a new one for me. I’ve mostly tried to avoid AI art generators as I prefer making my own artwork but also because of all the negative things you hear about it in the news. So it took a bit more trial and error than it may have for others for me to get each idea I had to work.

The worst image I would say I got was when I prompted: cupcake on a plate with a yellow car fire with explosions behind it in the style of Salvador Dalí. I got images that were mostly just whimsical but not in Dalí’s style which makes me think that the software may have a sort of idea of who he is and what his work looks like but not enough to recreate his style properly. This reminded me that these A.I art generators can only create on the base of what they were trained with which limits it so much in what it produces. While my prompts changed every time, the same art style and usage of the cupcake and fire remained almost the same.

I would say the most impressive one generated would be when I asked for: ​​whimsical cupcake on a plate with a yellow car fire with explosions behind it. Specifically the second stable diffusion one with the two cars behind the cupcake. I think this one works well because I put the style of the art in front of the rest of the prompt and was more specific than I had been in the others. I like how it captured whimsical as well with the odd car on the right with the two roofs and the art style that the fire on top of the cupcake is like a candle.

After this exercise along with the reading before discussing the usage of A.I. art today, I would definitely perceive these generators as a huge threat to artists. While it may not react to a prompt or idea with the same creativity a person might, it is still capable of producing unique images when the prompts are specific and adapted to its language. If someone’s art is uploaded then their entire style is stolen essentially and anyone with access to the generator can make things faster and of better quality often than the artists themselves which puts not only the jobs but also the motivation of these artists at risk.

Step 2: Build your base Step 3: Add some flair Step 4: Transform it
Program Cupcake on a plate Cupcake on a plate with explosions behind it Cupcake on a plate with a car fire behind it Cupcake on a plate with a yellow car fire with explosions behind it in the style of Salvador Dalí Cupcake on a plate with a yellow car fire with explosions behind it in abstract style Abstract cupcake on a plate with a yellow car fire with explosions behind it Whimsical cupcake on a plate with a yellow car fire with explosions behind it
Stable diffusion
Craiyon

PHOTOBLITZ!!!

This week we had to do a Photoblitz and it was somehow both easier than I thought it would be and very hectic. When I first got my list I tried planning out where I would take the photos and while some of them were pretty easy to plan, like the horizon photo, others were a bit harder to figure out. One of the harder ones was the photo that illustrated connection. I was debating between so many different interpretations of that prompt that I just froze in the middle of my room holding three different objects for three different possible photos. At a certain point I just chose the one that was the most direct and went with it. Near the end of the 20 minutes, I was outside rushing to get to the places I had planned to take the photos. Somehow my indecisiveness didn’t get me too off schedule and I was able to finish all 7 photos in 20 minutes. Overall it was definitely an interesting assignment that I’ve never tried before but was pretty fun.

  • Change perspective! Look up make a photo of what’s going on in the sky.
  • Square is hip! Lose the rectangle. A photo with square (1:1) aspect ratio.
  • Take an extreme close-up of an easily recognizable, common object.
  • Create a photograph that illustrations connection.
  • Wood has a lot of character and variety. A photo of something wooden.
  • Emphasize the sky by placing the horizon very low or very high.
  • Take a photo of something at an unusual angle

The photos are in order from left to right enjoy!

there goes my weekly summary: #2

This week was a fight between my love of creation and spending hours fixing minute things no one would notice and my lack of time. Even though I had a week and started almost immediately with my character creation assignment, the urge to make everything perfect by taking days to do each assignment left me running at the end of the week to finish everything.

Creating my assignments for the week was definitely fun until I realized how much time I wasted with things like choosing just the right font to match the movie posters in my infographic for Baby Driver. Even smaller assignments like the five frame story and cartoon character ad were immediately turned into tasks of stress as I debated between using different movie images or gifs that were almost identical. If I’ve learned anything this week it’s that I need to learn how to focus and get these done a lot faster somehow.

The reading for this week was definitely not what I was expecting when I started. To say I’ve met a new side of the internet is an understatement as I’ve never heard of the Techno-Optimist group and did not know they were so extreme. I go into it more in my post here.

Finally, the daily creates. This was honestly the most fun of my day. The prompts were random and kinda wacky in a way I wouldn’t have guessed. You can view those creations below.

Day 1: #tdc4390 Your Town’s What 3 Words Map Story.

I’m from Woodbridge and I got back the three words: toward, corner, fails.

Day 2: #tdc4391 Ceiling Post.

Not a very interesting ceiling just feels very bright and spacious.

Day 3: #tdc4392 Write a Fibonacci Poem

Today

I 

learned what

Fibonacci poems are.

They become quite easily overlong

as each line grows and words spread until

the lines start unfurling into the margins of the page and start pushing

into the edges of my computer forcing their way through the screen flowing into my the world and now your screen.

Day 4: #tdc4394 California Dreaming based on this view

A storm rages through the trees and the mountains,

Surrounding the land in its dark story clouds

While the world drowns in its neverending shower.

A lone steel tower stands still through the storm,

The solitaire pillar looms over a forest of green

Out of place the only non-life form.

Day 5: #tdc4395 Internet Emergency Exit sign

there goes my weekly summary: #2

This week was a fight between my love of creation and spending hours fixing minute things no one would notice and my lack of time. Even though I had a week and started almost immediately with my character creation assignment, the urge to make everything perfect by taking days to do each assignment left me running at the end of the week to finish everything.

Creating my assignments for the week was definitely fun until I realized how much time I wasted with things like choosing just the right font to match the movie posters in my infographic for Baby Driver. Even smaller assignments like the five frame story and cartoon character ad were immediately turned into tasks of stress as I debated between using different movie images or gifs that were almost identical. If I’ve learned anything this week it’s that I need to learn how to focus and get these done a lot faster somehow.

The reading for this week was definitely not what I was expecting when I started. To say I’ve met a new side of the internet is an understatement as I’ve never heard of the Techno-Optimist group and did not know they were so extreme. I go into it more in my post here.

Finally, the daily creates. This was honestly the most fun of my day. The prompts were random and kinda wacky in a way I wouldn’t have guessed. You can view those creations below.

Day 1: #tdc4390 Your Town’s What 3 Words Map Story.

I’m from Woodbridge and I got back the three words: toward, corner, fails.

Day 2: #tdc4391 Ceiling Post.

Not a very interesting ceiling just feels very bright and spacious.

Day 3: #tdc4392 Write a Fibonacci Poem

Today

I 

learned what

Fibonacci poems are.

They become quite easily overlong

as each line grows and words spread until

the lines start unfurling into the margins of the page and start pushing

into the edges of my computer forcing their way through the screen flowing into my the world and now your screen.

Day 4: #tdc4394 California Dreaming based on this view

A storm rages through the trees and the mountains,

Surrounding the land in its dark story clouds

While the world drowns in its neverending shower.

A lone steel tower stands still through the storm,

The solitaire pillar looms over a forest of green

Out of place the only non-life form.

Day 5: #tdc4395 Internet Emergency Exit sign

the t-o cult manifesto: a review

This week we read The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by Marc Andreessen to get a different perspective on AI rather than that we’re all gonna die. While this was definitely a tone shift from the negative criticism that populates the media, after reading it I feel that this manifesto went in the wrong direction of a good argument looked ahead, and still fell down the cliff.

While some of the points made were valid throughout the manifesto they were immediately stamped out by insane statements that were purposely made to guilt us. For example, they write about how intelligence leads to innovation and progress in our society which is something that I could possibly get behind if the idea wasn’t immediately followed by this attempt at obvious manipulation, “We believe any deceleration of AI will cost lives. Deaths that were preventable by the AI that was prevented from existing is a form of murder.” By essentially stating that if you don’t agree with this manifesto you’re a murderer is the most out of left field argument that is completely unsupported and leaves out all space for argument because then you’re a murderer.

It almost felt like I was being told “AI isn’t the problem focus on getting rid of the bad people of the world and everything will work out.” But obviously, that isn’t an option, and with technology advancing at increasingly faster rates that are easily available to the masses, it’s quite impossible to anticipate if the good will outweigh the bad. Because maybe all the movies were right and AI will take over and kill us all, maybe we’ll all become prisoners of technology that is ruled by bad people, or even the more impossible idea that we’ll all lose our jobs with most of the population falling under the poverty line except the 1%, not like that’s happening already. At least those fears have about the same support in reality as the manifesto does if not more.

The language of the manifesto really stuck out to me at the end especially. “We believe these captured people are suffering from ressentiment – a witches’ brew of resentment, bitterness, and rage that is causing them to hold mistaken values, values that are damaging to both themselves and the people they care about. We believe we must help them find their way out of their self-imposed labyrinth of pain. We invite everyone to join us in Techno-Optimism.” My immediate thought was, “This is a cult I gotta get out before it’s too late.” By stating that the real enemy is all the bad ideas being used and speech control and everything else except Techno-Optimism which will save the world from itself is just the definition of blind idealization formed by blind ideation which is again, essentially a cult. Wow, how did I get here?

In the end, I was stuck in a lecture that was a front for a cult induction into the secret society of humanoid androids telling me everything is ok and to trust the technology.

eternal ad time you’ll enjoy

The cartoon ad assignment with so much potential I had to try.

Have you ever thought a particular cartoon character would make a great advertiser? Well here’s your chance. Take an existing product or even a regular item and have a cartoon character do their best salesman impression.

ds106 assignment info: ad using a cartoon character

I chose this one because I love making designs, especially for odd things like this. This assignment tells the story of Snow White becoming an ambassador for Airbnb because she is the perfect example of what not to do. She decides to break in and sleep in dwarf beds instead of: asking, finding a friend (she knows all of the animals in the forest they gotta have a place), making her own shelter, or literally just any other option. This post doesn’t hold too much meaning as you can only convey so much in an advertisement and it was made by me so I wouldn’t hold too many serious story elements in it beyond a laugh.

I used Canva again because it is perfect for quick and easy designs like this one. To perfect my craft I looked up examples of Airbnb billboards and riffed off of their well-known design that pop up everywhere. Past that, it was as easy as finding the image of Snow White about to be clubbed and plopping it into Canva.

This is a sponsored post now, read the whole thing so I can make money through my nonexistent provider.

Don’t be like this.

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