For this assignment, I was inspired by the game over screens when you fail a game. At first It seems you have hit a stopping point but then you look down and see try again but and you find a new way. Things aren’t over till you give up. Max has hit dead ends all her life, but she knows that It’s only over when she stops fighting. So, until then she will punch through firewalls and bodies. Photos and edit done by me. I made this using a software called Picarts using black boxes to fill in the computer screen and finding a font that fit. Took a but to maneuver it properly though.
I decided to visualize max through a site called Picrew. Artist ne_yolk. With that and the trading card creator it was easy to bring Max to life and flesh her out a bit more. Dirty brown hair, deep dark circle, and unhealthy pale skin due to all the smog cover and being inside. My thought process was of her getting caught eating sugar to keep herself up after not sleeping all night.
Images and edits by me, the image is off certain day on campus that I saw a rabbit and thought it was stunning so naturally I snapped a photo. I try to preserve small moments if I can. This was back last semester when I walked past for work and the light was hitting perfectly, I couldn’t help myself.
Take a picture and experiment with the âHalftone Effectâ in some photo editing software to create a comic book effect. There are lots of tutorials on Youtube and Google.
I chose this assignment because I loved the idea of creating a comic using a photo, and I was surprised at how simple it was to do. The image I used is from the perspective of a character I created, Finn Calloway, who lives in NYC. This particular shot represents a POV of his walk back to his penthouse. I took the photo during a trip to NYC on a rainy day. Since most comics Iâve read are set in New York, I thought this image of people walking down a street between tall buildings really captured that classic comic vibe. To create the comic effect, I used Canva. Although I know the halftone effect in Canvaâs premium version would be ideal, I used the “Screen” filter as an alternative to give it that comic-like appearance.
This assignment was both simple and challenging for me. I have a hard time deleting photos, so it took me a while to choose a favorite. Honestly, itâs tough to pick just one, but Iâd say this is probably one of my top photos. I absolutely adore my cat, and she has this funny habit of sleeping with her mouth open with her tongue out, which I find incredibly cute. On this particular day, she was napping like that while keeping an eye on the family in the kitchen. I decided to add a little hair accessory to her body to keep her warm, and it made the moment even sweeter. I love this picture because it captures her personality perfectly plus, itâs rare for me to get such a good photo since sheâs always on the move!
For this assignment I used my iPhone cameras to capture this photograph
I have loved you since the moment I saw you. I don’t really believe in love at first sight, but what I experienced the first time I saw you says otherwise. I spent months convincing Mom and Dad to get a dog, I would beg them to take the family to the local SPCA and look at potential pets, but what I really wanted was a puppy.
You were 2 months old, and I was 14 years old. Your mom had birthed a pretty big litter of puppies, but there was one left on that fateful evening, the little runt. At that time the SPCA let you put a hold on an animal you were interested in adopting but needed time to consider. It broke my little heart to see you on hold.
After realizing this, Mom and Dad had gone over to the cat section to see other options, but they didn’t understand, I just needed a dog. I stood around for a few minutes, maybe 15. Eventually in protest against getting a cat because I knew I was meant to get a dog, I returned to the glass you were behind.
But something had changed. The hold tag had disappeared. Absolutely giddy, I told Mom and Dad what had changed. She’s off hold now! My parents shrugged and we went to the front desk and asked to meet you. The couple behind us in line also wanted to ask about you, but we got there first. They brought you into the private room with us, you had just been spayed, so you were pretty tired, but you were so damn adorable and cuddly.
We put our own hold on you, went out and bought puppy food, a bowl, a collar, and that cow you loved so much, and brought you home the next morning. I couldn’t have even imagined a better dog.
I just want you to know that I love you and I miss you every day that I’m at school. You’re the light of my life and you have been for nearly 8 years now. Thank you for being you.
At the suggestion of Jim Groom (the co-professor of this class) I decided to base my character on my cat. It is important to me that readers know art is not a hobby of mine, nor a talent. I felt content enough with how the drawing came out to share it, but it is not anything revolutionary or particularly well drawn.
Drawn by me (2025)
Regrettably, I did not save the information I put into the Google form, so some of the information will not be verbatim and based off memory and it will not cover every single question asked.
Name: D41SY (previously Daisy)
Archetype: Anti-hero
Place and date of birth: Jantra City (It’s a word for industrial in Bengali, I believe) April 27th, 2124.
Occupation: A(n unwilling) member of the government’s military.
Marital status: Single and never married
Bio: The government kidnapped people’s household pets and turned them into part-robots in order to create an army of animals that citizens would not be able to, in good conscious, fight back against or hurt. D41SY is one of these animals. I need to continue to develop this idea.
Favorite food: Rice cakes (this is true to real life too)
Favorite movie: watching a live video of fish swimming around in a tank.
Favorite possession: Her next meal (also true to real life)
I would like to base the story around a dystopian government taking advantage of empathy to control the population. I’m big on sappy, happy endings though, so don’t worry too much.
This is a trading card I made for my character, Zer0. I made the card through a website called Remixer, which was linked in the assignment. I was able to choose colors, edit text, and upload a photo to make the card. The picture is of me cospalying Zer0 in 2023. The photo was originally in front of a green screen, which I edited in Krita with the help of an artist friend for a contest. Krita is a free art program that I downloaded a few years ago in response to Clip Studio Paint, a previously free art program, requiring subscriptions. The green screen and sword were provided by RVA Katana. They were very nice to work with and are located in Richmond, Virginia. The design for Zer0 has changed a little since 2023, but I’m still altering clothing and adding details, so I don’t have any pictures of that yet. The one thing that I wanted to make clear on this card was that Zer0 is a conscious being capable of independent thought. This is not a unique case in my story, yet there is still discrimination and prejudice against robots. The robots are stand-ins for the undesirables of society, such as minorities.
This is my collage, You Are Safe. All photos were taken from Unsplash, which houses works under creative commons. The photos in order from right to left and top to bottom are by Michael Aleo, Cheng Feng, Alexey Turenkov, Andrea De Santis, Maximalfocus, Bayar Hayder, Niklas Liniger, Michael Dziedzic, and Judeus Samson. I put them into a collage using Picsart and added a background gradient and text. While Picsart let me create a collage for free, it seems like there is a limit to the number of free images you can make. While searching for photos, I ended up creating a red and dark blue color scheme. I thought the dark muted blues would be dreary and set the scene for tech noir, while the reds would indicate danger. I tried searching for technology, surveillance, trash, guns, robots, and cities with a cyberpunk twist. I arranged the photos so that they would point towards the robot in the middle and made the red and black gradient in the background to highlight the danger. The message, “YOU ARE SAFE,” is for the robots. This society does not value them, commanding them to deal with dangerous situations deemed unfit for humans at their own expense. The text is surrounding the robot, almost blocking it out so that all you see is propaganda. Cities are not safe for robots, but they have no other choice than to follow orders. I added the red and blue text under the white to try to indicate that it was coming from a screen, that it was being read by a robot that doesn’t see with organs, but with processors.
As an introduction, my dog’s name is Cavi and she is a 6 year old golden doodle with lots of energy. She gets super excited about lots of things, especially going for car rides and seeing new people. I wanted to do this assignment because I wanted to share my dog and I’d actually never made a Tiktok before this assignment. I found a video of my dog and browsed for the perfect sound. I found a sound called the “Jackass theme” which I thought was the best option after hearing it along with the video. Don’t believe me? Look for yourself!
When picking an assignment, I try to pick something feasible that speaks to me. Like my mother, I am long winded. I can talk about anything for any amount of time if I’m allowed to, so this blog thing has really opened up an outlet for me. So, a captive audience is really my thing.
And so is music! It bothers me when people say things like “I feel things deeper than other people” or “I have a really strong connection to music”. Everyone feels things deeply! Everyone has a really strong connection to music! I think assuming that something is more personal to you or that you understand a general human experience on a deeper level than others perpetuates an idea that our uniqueness is what separates us and not what provides a greater ability to diversify human experience. But now I’m rambling about things that no one is looking to read in a blog post about a song.
The song I chose comes from my 7 hour playlist of songs that I feel in my chest when I listen to them, I could really choose any song on this playlist and talk for a long time about the way that it makes me feel, but the song I chose is Pilot with a Fear of Heights by Felicity.
Felicity, for her 2018 single, Pilot with a Fear of Heights
The first verse she sings about trying to leave a former relationship and its memories behind, hoping they’ll turn into ghosts. She is afraid of someone that she can’t stop thinking about, someone she loves. The first verse is very nice, but it’s the clapping indicating that the chorus is beginning (at exactly 00:45, if you’re wondering) that makes me feel like things are really getting good.
I’ve been thinking ’bout you all night Like a pilot with a fear of heights You got me thinking like ooh, ooh
Singing about a pilot with a fear of heights as a metaphor for someone that you’ve been with and can’t stop reliving the memory of? I just remember hearing that and thinking it was so brilliant. To be honest, I hadn’t really heard the saying about a pilot with a fear of heights before this song, which made the saying especially revolutionary. The line you got me thinking like ooh, ooh may not be particularly unique, but it’s the way that she sings it that really hammers in the feeling. It makes me feel understood on a deeper level.
I’ve been thinking ’bout you all night Like a tiger that’s afraid to bite You got me thinking like ooh, ooh
It’s ironic, isn’t it? The tiger can’t survive without catching and killing (or, biting) its prey. The pilot can’t work without flying an airplane in the sky, but it’s terrifying! And she can’t be happy without a relationship which is full of turmoil. Sometimes when I hear this song I feel like a pilot with a fear of heights myself. I myself have a fear of heights, except I just can’t help but look down. It’s the adrenaline rush, I guess. I would definitely say this song gives me an adrenaline rush.
This is so unnatural That we’re on this level ‘Cause my heart’s surrendering For this new beginning
This verse feels so fresh and wild. It’s really important to hear her vocals in this to really capture the feeling the song gives you. Of course, the audience for this song is probably aimed towards young women and teenage girls, so those in a separate demographic from me may not enjoy it as I do, but it effervescently brings you to the feeling of a new relationship.
I’ve been thinking ’bout you all night Like a fire that’s afraid to light
In the second and final chorus Felicity compares herself to that of a fire which is afraid to light. Jumping into a new situation, whether it be a relationship, job, activity, etc. can be very nerve wracking, but it is that very thing that will bring you joy and life. It is the very thing that brings you to your destiny.
This is a gif of Richmond, VA as the sun sets, made with drone footage from ALL in 4K’s video, Richmond, Virginia, USA | 4K Drone Footage. I thought it would be a nice place to make a gif of, because I’ve lived nearby my whole life. For reasons of legality, I will not confirm or deny whether or not I used a YouTube to MP4 converter in order to get a file to use for the gif. To get the mp4 file down to a reasonable size, I used Clipchamp, a built-in editor on my computer. Although it is free, I do not recommend using Clipchamp. First, it made me create an account or sign in, and because of issues I was having, I had to close the application that had automatically popped up on my screen and open a web browser version just to get it to work. Once I was finally able to access the editor, I was bombarded by advertisements for AI tools instead of a tutorial for how to use the editor. I was able to cut the file down to size, but it was an unpleasant experience. After that mess, I used Ezgif.com to turn my trimmed file into a gif. It has a lot of different useful tools that can do things like speed up or slow down your gif, as well as a tool that lets you add text. The default font for the text editor was impact, which is used in a lot of memes. I decided to be silly and added the text “You’re Getting Doxxed” because my friends and I like to send similar memes to each other. This relates to my story because it revolves around conscious, autonomous robots who mostly live in cities because that’s where the charging stations are. They have built-in GPS trackers and can be located anytime, anywhere. Richmond may not look very cyber, but there aren’t many places that exist in the world that look futuristic to the point of tech noir. I picked it because I was both thinking of home and wondering if there was any footage of the city online. If there was not, I would’ve picked a bigger, well-known city like New York. I’ve been to the very location this gif was filmed at many times before and it’s notable to me for its relatively tall buildings compared to most of the city and the James River, which you can cross using rocks and small islands during certain times of year.
| 4K Drone Footage