In this task, I was given instructions to make a GIF from any of my preferred movies. My choice fell on Spirited Away as it’s one movie that holds special place for me. To create the GIF, I employed Giphy.com and found the procedure quite simple and easy-going. The image selection came down to a character who has an identity tied with being silent and motionless not uttering words or shifting their gaze at all. For enjoyment, I have added a talking mouth and wild eyes to this. It is an entertaining method of demonstrating the character’s unusual actions, making them seem extremely animated and overdone.

The entire procedure was easy, but the concept behind it was enjoyable. It brought satisfaction to transform a sombre, controlled character by adding an unforeseen comical side. The outcome appeared as I thought an eccentric, overstated version of a usually serene and composed individual.

For my course character project, I picked an image from Drive since the film’s main character inspires my own. I was certain that something from Drive will be useful to me, though no specific picture initially came to mind. However, after some time spent on PisCart tweaking and adjusting different pictures, finally managed to tune it up right for how envision in the character creation.

At the beginning, I began with a color version. I moved towards green and blue shades to highlight the background. However, after adjusting settings for some time, I then chose to change it to black and white. The intense grey tones seemed suitable for portraying the mood that was intended my character gives an impression of fitting in a black-and-white movie; thus this modification felt more appropriate.

Editing was not difficult, but selecting the appropriate picture and mood took some more time. Eventually, in black and white shades, the backdrop appeared to be much dramatic – this brought about the depth I desired for in the image. To exhibit variation, I’ll show you original photo as well. Overall, the process was more about getting the right atmosphere than doing complex edits, and I’m happy with how it turned out.

This tattoo is something the character I created Jack Cross would selected because it signifies all about him, his double life, his firm mentality and the burden of his history. The wolf stands for his self-reliance and capacity to steer through life without any companion; always quiet but aware, similar to how he is. His profession as a driver which requires constant forward movement with no time to look back at what’s passed away can be seen in the imagery of the road disappearing towards infinity. This is to remind that his route isn’t ever fixed, and there’s always a possibility for escape. The minor cross which hangs from the wolf’s teeth acts as most intimate part of the design. It signifies necklace given by his father which he lets himself retain as only thing from past. He holds it, but it does not have power over him. Jack doesn’t share about himself, yet this tattoo represents him instead. It is a calm indication—he’s like a solitary wolf, an individual constantly on the go who respects his history but rejects being labelled by it.

To make this tattoo, I first found base images everything I thought would symbolize jack. Then I searched up an image of what they might look like all together. I then used that image as a goal. I am taking a course this semester that is teaching out to use photoshop, so I thought it might be a good time to try and put pictures together. The colors of each picture are used to show different types of moods. Red (angry) Blue(sad) black (mischievous) yellow (happy) pink(loving). This process of creating a tattoo was simple enough since I had a base image it really just came down to changing the background colors.

Before I talk about my reflection I want to say one of my favorite examples of digital art is for sure the Stranger Things title screen, the bold red outline with the all black back round really makes your feel like you are in the 80’s.

After I read these papers and watch videos, it becomes clear to me how much thinking is necessary for telling stories with pictures. Design not only deals with making things attractive—it’s about capturing attention, creating atmosphere, and forming initial thoughts even before someone reads a word or watches an image.

First look is very important. Whether we watch a film poster or the cover of any book, what we see first gives us an idea. Designers must manage both appearance and substance to ensure their work appears excellent while remaining faithful to the narrative. James Verdesoto explains in detail about movie posters, showing how colors, fonts and layouts collaborate to produce a specific atmosphere. If you have bold red lettering on white background? It is for Comedy movies. Dark blue tones and silhouettes? Thriller. These choices help people instantly get a feel for what’s coming.

A main lesson is the significance of having faith in your audience. A basic design principle: display a picture or use words, but no need for both. Using both can be compared to explaining too much about a joke—it removes its charm. Consider the memoir of Katharine Hepburn and biography of Marlene Dietrich: one depended on text as it centered around storytelling, while other utilized images to portray its visual emblem. This was straightforward yet efficient.

I too enjoy when design styles from the past come back in a new form. Old forms receive an updated touch, such as Vincent Gallo’s poster for The Brown Bunny that was inspired by European aesthetics of the 1950s and 60s. Even limitations on budget can trigger creative ideas, like how independent filmmakers use bright yellow because it is affordable but still attracts attention.

When I observe film posters from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Ghana, it reminds me that not every place follows the design guidelines of Hollywood. These posters employ surprising methods which show us that design does not follow a certain pattern – it’s greatly influenced by culture, history, and creativity.

I think design revolves around balance merging art with business. It could be a book cover or film advert, the duty of a designer is to condense the essence of a narrative in an engaging image. This realization has changed my perception towards design completely and moving forward I am confident that I’ll be taking more notice of my surrounding visual world.

This week was overwhelming, and I had to go to the DKC for some support, but overall a good week.

The best part of this week was finally being able to make my website more me, customizing it and making it how I saw in my mind. Even though this process took many hours I finally ended up liking the website and even enjoyed the process. I started working on this on Tuesday, I dove head first into the Daily Creates a very easy task and pretty fun to do.

The Assignments was what I started on next, trying to find the right assignments to do was kinda hard because there were so many and some did not have much of a description. I ended up choosing three that stood out to me and that I was able to create with out to much difficulty.

I decided to re-write my Movie Review because my first review was bland, and since this is my first blog I was not used to writing in first person. When re-writing it I made sure to include my insights and how some of the scenes spoke to me. Overall really happy with how it turned out.

The Course Character was also a very fun assignment, being able to use your imagination in a way I have not done in a long time felt refreshing. At first I kinda had a hard time trying to think on a character on the top of my head, but when using the creation form it helped me build the character layer after layer.

We also had to read a chapter and compare it to the movie we watched in week 1 (mine was blade runner) Dr. Oblivion we then had to ask Dr Oblivion what he thought and talk about what he said. This was assignment was kinda of difficult because Dr Oblivion kept crashing on me, eventually I got him to respond to what I said and from there it was smooth sailing.

Lastly I commented on some peoples blog to get participation points. I ended up really enjoying this because I got to see others people creativity. Here are some of the peoples blogs I interacted with: https://mmarshalll.com/blog/