Category Archives: #Week3

My Creative Journey: Week 3

Summary

This week was character week and I had a lot of fun making creations from the assignment bank based on my character. Also I am a lot more comfortable using Canva now and I feel like I understand its features better unlike the first time I used it. My favorite activity this week was definitely Photoblitz. I enjoyed coming up with fun ideas for all the photo prompts. Lastly, for the reflection of design thoughts I was partially already familiar with a lot of what was explained because I’ve taken prior art classes which explained the principles of design plenty of times.

Daily Creates

The Daily Creates this week were fairly simple. I completed 3 and only 2 of them had prompts that actually required creating something myself. But I still put in the effort and explained the inspiration behind each one shown in my post called Inside My Creative Mind.

Assignment Bank

For character week I put a lot of work into each post about Runa Starr. In For Wanted Dead or Alive I created a wanted poster of Runa from when she was younger because she works in the rebellion so I am sure there would be plenty of posters around the city trying to capture her. For Tattoos Hold Hidden Messages I drew 3 tattoo designs for Runa that she would probably have on her body. Lastly, for Level Up I created a RPG game card for Runa showcasing her stats as if she was a game character.

PhotoBlitz

Ready, Set, Photoblitz was a fun and fast paced activity that I loved doing. My photos were silly but I think the inspiration behind them were all well thought out. I had to take 7 pictures in only a matter of minutes and it was surprisingly not as simple as I originally thought, but I would definitely do it again one day with a group of friends to see what everyone takes pictures of with the fun prompts.

Design Thoughts

This week I went over the thought process that goes into designs. In my post The Art of Design I explained how certain color schemes can have an affect on portraying a mood for settings and aesthetics. I also did a quick analysis of the design principles used on making a movie’s poster.

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.

Daily Create Shenanigans Week 3

Me Then and Now Doing Technology

I always loved my Tamagotchi and my ds! Now I rarely play any video games but if I do I play on my iPhone. I made this using Canva. I pasted the pictures in from Google and the only editing I did was to the background colors.

For the second DC, DS106 Design Our Header Image. I created this design using Canva. I looked up Technological Universe in Google and this pic came up. I used it as my background, with no edits made to it. Then I added a text box with the text “DS106 The Daily Create text”.

For the last Daily Create #tdc4767 #ds106 Obviously Photoshopped. I found a pic of Mona Lisa that is CLEARLY already photoshopped. Then I added my own little razzle-dazzle to it with a picture of myself. #MeAndMyBestieMona #WereJustHanging LOL I also made this on canva. Only edit I made was cropping my face to the picture.

I also made more efforts this week to respond to my peers on Mastodon for the Daily Creates. You can see my replies by clicking on the links below:

Mae B: “@creating EXACTLY!!! Thank y…” – ds106 Social

Mae B: “@NairCinders @creating This …” – ds106 Social

Mae B: “@dk @creating This is awesom…” – ds106 Social

Mae B: “@nomadwarmachine @creating @wo…” – ds106 Social