Oxford was a very eventful day, and I ended up visiting many different areas of Oxford, and I did feel that not only did I find lots of interesting things in the museums for inspiration, I feel that this trip has also helped me to grow as a person in terms of independence, and strength of character, amongst many different other things.
I feel this way because initially I was a bit reluctant to go, but I feel that I handled myself very well, and was able to freely explore the museums and the town itself very well, and it also made me feel like I could accomplish almost anything!
So I'd say it did make me realise a bit more how much I have overcome since the dark days of High School, where I was struggling to cope with almost anything (there were times when I felt I couldn't even leave my own house on my own, let alone go on a trip for a full day!) and I was pleased with the fact I could freely walk around an unfamiliar city on my own and still find my way back to the coach on time!
It especially meant a lot getting praise from my parents, who said that they were both very proud of me for going, and it meant a lot that they did reward me for what I had achieved today.
I feel that from today I could try visiting even more unfamiliar places, making me feel brave and adventurous, and it is fun doing that sort of thing, but I will say that it would have been even better if it wasn't raining all day!
Friday, 24 May 2013
Oxford Trip Topic 5: Returning Home
Because it was a trip, it was a much longer day than usual, so we arrived back in Stafford at around 6pm on the 14th May 2013, where I met with my dad who took me back home.
I felt quite tired, but I felt that it was a good day out, even if I felt it did distract me from my other projects. Mum made me a lovely dinner and both mum and dad said how proud they were of me, as originally I wasn't sure whether I really wanted to go, but I thought it was a place I have never been to before, which made me feel quite adventurous and brave, and even though in the end I didn't, I thought it could have been an opportunity to get to know some of the Foundation Degree students a lot better. So I did feel quite pleased with myself, and it did make me feel like I could cope in many uncomfortable situations.
As a reward, my mum wrote a lovely message saying well done for today and how much she missed me, and game me a present in the form of a Wreck it Ralph magazine, which was a lovely treat after a challenging day, and I did really enjoy reading this too!
I felt quite tired, but I felt that it was a good day out, even if I felt it did distract me from my other projects. Mum made me a lovely dinner and both mum and dad said how proud they were of me, as originally I wasn't sure whether I really wanted to go, but I thought it was a place I have never been to before, which made me feel quite adventurous and brave, and even though in the end I didn't, I thought it could have been an opportunity to get to know some of the Foundation Degree students a lot better. So I did feel quite pleased with myself, and it did make me feel like I could cope in many uncomfortable situations.
As a reward, my mum wrote a lovely message saying well done for today and how much she missed me, and game me a present in the form of a Wreck it Ralph magazine, which was a lovely treat after a challenging day, and I did really enjoy reading this too!
Oxford Trip Study Tasks.
In this task we had to find 2 items and create a study of them, such as drawing them, which is what I have done. I would have liked to have had a little bit more time to this task, but due to other outstanding projects, I have only spent around 5-10 minutes on each study.
Study 1: Discus Athlete, Ashmolean Museum
Study 2: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Natural History Museum
Study 1: Discus Athlete, Ashmolean Museum
Study 2: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Natural History Museum
Oxford Trip Topic 4: the Town itself
Although this was a college trip where the aim of it was to look at museums and galleries, I did give myself the chance to explore some of the other parts of Oxford, including its shops and restaurants. I would say that it does have a nice high street, with many different shops and eating places to look in and buy things from. I was pleased that their HMV was still open!
I also looked around many other shops, and was pleased that they had a Shopping Centre tucked away in one of the corners of one of the streets, which contained Primark and Game, so had a good look in there, and thought it was a really nice place to come shopping again one day!
Also, even though I had already had my lunch that day, I did feel quite peckish, so just before I boarded the coach I bought myself a Chicken Burger from KFC to eat on the coach too!
I also looked around many other shops, and was pleased that they had a Shopping Centre tucked away in one of the corners of one of the streets, which contained Primark and Game, so had a good look in there, and thought it was a really nice place to come shopping again one day!
Also, even though I had already had my lunch that day, I did feel quite peckish, so just before I boarded the coach I bought myself a Chicken Burger from KFC to eat on the coach too!
Oxford Trip Topic 3: the Natural History Museum
Even though we only saw the inside of this museum because we had to walk through it to get in and out of the Pitts museum where we intended to go, I did find the things on display that we did see, whether they were finished and ready or they weren't, very interesting. There was a very detailed display on the evolution of man, and many displays about monkeys, which I found to be impressive, as well as a life sized DNA helix strand.
However, some of my favourite displays I saw were when we were leaving. There was a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, which I wasn't sure was ready for display yet, which looked really cool, and I could easily see me creating something in the future that is to do with dinosaurs (there are also many books about dinosaurs too, so researching them wouldn't be too bad either,) and there were also some interesting crystals and rocks too, which unlike other displays we could actually touch them!
One other artefact I found interesting was something about a bacteria cell, and the insides of them as well
So even though we were only in there for a short time, I did enjoy the Natural History Museum in Oxford.
However, some of my favourite displays I saw were when we were leaving. There was a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, which I wasn't sure was ready for display yet, which looked really cool, and I could easily see me creating something in the future that is to do with dinosaurs (there are also many books about dinosaurs too, so researching them wouldn't be too bad either,) and there were also some interesting crystals and rocks too, which unlike other displays we could actually touch them!
One other artefact I found interesting was something about a bacteria cell, and the insides of them as well
So even though we were only in there for a short time, I did enjoy the Natural History Museum in Oxford.
Oxford Trip Topic 2: the Pitts Museum
After looking around the Ashmolean for around three hours, and I still felt that there was more to see, myself, some of the other students and lecturers moved on to other museums. The next museum we visited was the Pitts museum, which we had to walk through some unfinished, but impressive displays in the Oxford Natural History museum to get there.
To be honest I did find the Pitts museum to be quite cluttered and dark, and there were also lots of excitable schoolchildren running around the museum, there were still a few interesting things on display, and the layout of the museum did remind me of a potential game level, which did feel quite exciting. There was a large totem pole towards the back of the museum, spanning all three floors of the museum, which I particularly liked, due to it standing out and its grand scale, but there were also other things that reminded me of my childhood displayed there, such as ice skates, both old and new.
I did feel that there were a lot of textiles and fashion based items on display, of both old fashion and some things I could see people wearing today at the Pitts museum, so I feel that it would be a much more inspiring place for people particularly interested in fashion. There were also a very wide variety of items on display, which I did appreciate.
I wouldn't say the museum was as good as the Ashmolean, or any museum or gallery I visited in Paris for that matter, and I wouldn't say I could spend more than an hour or two there without getting a bit bored, but I still appreciate looking around these places, and the things they have on display, because they are still ver creative and historic.
Oxford Trip Topic 1:the Ashmolean Museum
The first place we visited as a college after departing from the coach was the Ashmolean Museum, which was located just across the street from where we were parked. So after we were given out many tasks, and a map to prevent us from getting lost, we were left to look around the museum by ourselves, considering we were all over 18 and could look after ourselves.
I went around by myself, which I found quite beneficial, because I could then look at the items on display that were most interesting and relevant to me. At first, even though I wasn't initially looking forward to the trip, being on the coach allowed me to rest a bit from my other outstanding projects, and found myself feeling quite fresh and excitable visiting a new place, even though the weather was terrible throughout the whole day.
So anyway, I felt that the Ashmolean museum was a brilliant museum, it was very informative about each artefact and had a very wide variety of artefacts on display spanning 5 floors! Most of the artefacts were historic, but there were a few modern items on display, and I felt that the inside of the museum itself had a very modern feel to it. I think my favourite things on display there were the musical instruments, as well as all the human sculptures and the Ancient Greek display, which reminded me a lot of the Disney Classic Hercules. Even though this area would be quite easy to miss, I was also particularly impressed by the artwork printed on the Japanese Scrolls at the museum, and made me feel like people all over the world should paint or print their artwork on scrolls, as I felt that was a very good and inventive medium to use.
I felt I could have stayed there for longer, but because I was in an unfamiliar place, and didn't want to separate from the main group, I kept to the schedule, and moved on with the other lecturers to the other museums.
I went around by myself, which I found quite beneficial, because I could then look at the items on display that were most interesting and relevant to me. At first, even though I wasn't initially looking forward to the trip, being on the coach allowed me to rest a bit from my other outstanding projects, and found myself feeling quite fresh and excitable visiting a new place, even though the weather was terrible throughout the whole day.
So anyway, I felt that the Ashmolean museum was a brilliant museum, it was very informative about each artefact and had a very wide variety of artefacts on display spanning 5 floors! Most of the artefacts were historic, but there were a few modern items on display, and I felt that the inside of the museum itself had a very modern feel to it. I think my favourite things on display there were the musical instruments, as well as all the human sculptures and the Ancient Greek display, which reminded me a lot of the Disney Classic Hercules. Even though this area would be quite easy to miss, I was also particularly impressed by the artwork printed on the Japanese Scrolls at the museum, and made me feel like people all over the world should paint or print their artwork on scrolls, as I felt that was a very good and inventive medium to use.
I felt I could have stayed there for longer, but because I was in an unfamiliar place, and didn't want to separate from the main group, I kept to the schedule, and moved on with the other lecturers to the other museums.
Oxford Trip picture task
In this task whilst I was at Oxford with college I had to take at least 10 pictures of things I found particularly interesting and write things about them. these are some of my favourite things I saw in the Ashmolean and the Pitts museums and galleries.
These vases and pots represent the ancient greeks, and would often have images of gods and goddesses painted on them. I particularly liked these because they particularly reminded me of the Disney Classic Hercules, and how the writers of that film must have done some extensive research into greek mythology, in terms of their art and their architecture, which also inspire many around the world too.
In the Ashmolean museum there were lots of musical items on display, with many different fascinating instruments. This was one of the many guitars they had on display. I loved how each guitar had an entirely different pattern, and I feel that right now I am particularly fascinated by music, and I may want to try creating a musical talent for myself over the Summer, as I am a big fan of all kinds of music, and the guitar is one of my favourite musical instruments. I was also interested to read about the history and origins of each musical instrument on display, and if I remember correctly, the guitar was originally from Spain.
There was also an assorted collection of historic rings displayed in the Ashmolean museum, all with different meanings and fascinating designs. These rings did in fact remind me of my favourite character in gaming, Sonic the Hedgehog, as he usually has to collect a lot of rings in order to survive, and also one of my old friends is into jewellery, so I suppose this reminded me of them too.
This was an interactive display which taught you about weaving. Even though this wasn't the most spectacular item on display, I felt that this was one of the most relevant pieces to my course, as I feel it is important for any museum or gallery to have at least one display that the public can interact with, and to help people who were unfamiliar with weaving, such as myself, there was a little information sheet teaching you about all the basic weaving techniques which were clear and easy to understand, which is also important in an interactive display as it makes the public appreciate the display more if people can easily understand something.
It was quite surreal to see that in the Pitts museum they had some ice skates on display! I had to take a picture of these because ice skating was one of my favourite pastime hobbies, and made me feel like ice skating again! For those who don't know the white ones are figure skates, for figure skating, where you learn different moves and tricks and balancing on the ice, and the black ones that almost look like trainers are ice hockey skates, for playing ice hockey, and going a lot faster.
These are some very old fashioned ice skates, which are basically leather shoes with pieces of wood attached to the bottom. It was very interesting to see the origins of the invention of ice skates, to move and balance in icy conditions, and it gives you an idea of how people who lived in those conditions did cope.
There were many sculptures of humans like this one displayed in the Ashmolean museum, and I did take pictures of many sculptures, and this is just one example of a human sculpture, which I think was made from bronze or brass.
This was another interactive display of using a lever to lift a rock. However, you could adjust the angle of the lever, which would affect the strength of the lever, making it either easier or harder to lift the rock, which I thought was a very clever and fascinating display, as it made you learn something as well, about the best way to lift heavy rocks. It could also be a good workout too!
This was another interactive display that included a museum friendly crossbow and some deer silhouettes, where you would use a wooden peg to see how many deer silhouettes you could shoot down and get past. I will be honest, this was my least favourite interactive display at the Ashmolean, because of its lack of morals and because it wasn't as satisfying, but I still admire the creativity that goes into interactive displays, which are arguably more creative and more fun than standard displays at museums, even though the interactive displays here were very basic and I did prefer some of the standard displays, strangely enough.
This was a shiny silver trumpet found in the music section of the Ashmolean museum. I have never considered blaying the trumpet before, but this was one of my favourite and one of the better looking instruments on display, which was used for Royal occasions. I was impressed by how well kept it was, despite being a few hundred years old.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
23/05/13
Today was DEADLINE DAY! Which meant all the work had to be handed in by the end of today!
Again, I had mainly written work to do. I spent most of this morning finishing the tedious task of referencing all my research into a bibliography, something I will have to approach differently in future projects, if a bibliography is required in future projects. I feel I will have to fill my bibliography as I work on a project, instead of doing it all at the end.
I also had to decide on a font for my trading cards, and then save each trading card onto separate files, as when I was working on this project, I was working on one file for all my cards, resulting in many many layers in Photoshop, so to separate them all I saved each card onto separate files.
Will need new bag as strap broke this morning. Must also anticipate weather better, as I had to walk to college in just a hoodie, t shirt and jeans, but it started hailing! In May!
Again, I had mainly written work to do. I spent most of this morning finishing the tedious task of referencing all my research into a bibliography, something I will have to approach differently in future projects, if a bibliography is required in future projects. I feel I will have to fill my bibliography as I work on a project, instead of doing it all at the end.
I also had to decide on a font for my trading cards, and then save each trading card onto separate files, as when I was working on this project, I was working on one file for all my cards, resulting in many many layers in Photoshop, so to separate them all I saved each card onto separate files.
Will need new bag as strap broke this morning. Must also anticipate weather better, as I had to walk to college in just a hoodie, t shirt and jeans, but it started hailing! In May!
22/05/13
With the deadline of tomorrow firmly planted in my head, I knew I had to get the rest of my work finished. This included my product, which was almost finished, my research, my bibliography for my research and this, my learning journal.
I felt that all of the big and exciting jobs were all done now, so I could see the finish line of this now, but this left all of the written work to do, which to be honest I find less interesting, and I feel my enthusiasm for the written work has decreased as the year has passed.
Today I had to start adding finishing touches to my trading card design, such as colouring and adding symbols I started at home this past week, but still need to decide on text for cards.
Also started collecting a bibliography, which did prove quite difficult, as a lot of my research wasn't already referenced properly. I'm just happy that I did properly reference some of my work!
I felt that all of the big and exciting jobs were all done now, so I could see the finish line of this now, but this left all of the written work to do, which to be honest I find less interesting, and I feel my enthusiasm for the written work has decreased as the year has passed.
Today I had to start adding finishing touches to my trading card design, such as colouring and adding symbols I started at home this past week, but still need to decide on text for cards.
Also started collecting a bibliography, which did prove quite difficult, as a lot of my research wasn't already referenced properly. I'm just happy that I did properly reference some of my work!
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
21/05/13
Over the past weekend I feel I have made excellent progress with my college work and I can certainly see myself finishing my work on time if I work hard, which does feel relieving, but I must keep on track of things.
This weekend I managed to focus on finishing and perfecting the textures of my spirit character models, and also successfully attempted this effect I learned in my research to achieve a more ghostly effect, and I must say I feel that this has really helped me to achieve what I was looking for more accurately, and I feel glad that I have managed to learn an entirely new skill in Maya without Neil's help, which is one of the things I initially wanted to get out of this project. I have also learned how to make cloths in Maya, as well as smooth, stretch and indent models using the brush tool, but Neil has showed me how to do these things, which I still appreciate even though I didn't learn them independently, and I appreciate the fact that he doesn't seem to mind showing me new skills in Maya.
I have also met with a lady on Friday who may be able to help me to get a work placement relevant to what I may want to do as a career in the future, and had a very good and successful chat about what I may want to get out of this service that helps people find relevant work placements, known as Open Door. I found that she was very kind, easygoing and laid back, but very efficient, and my dad also works with her, which I feel helps i terms of communication. I have had to email her more details about what skills I feel I could bring into
Today's lecture with Neil (W) was basically just a recap of all the sessions of the reflective writing module so far, including the trip to Oxford last week, and also reminded the class of all the homework tasks which needed to be completed by noon on Friday (except for the presentation, which needs to be presented after half term.) I feel that this recap was helpful, necessary and relevant, and I was glad and felt very relieved when I found out I can submit all of my work by email, as this makes it much easier to hand in my work as first of all, it means me not coming into college and handing it directly on Friday, and it also means that I don't have to print off loads of pages that my reflective journal is worth.
I am slightly concerned about the midday deadline for the reflective journal and the 1000 word report on the course so far, discussing key experiences relevant to the course so far, but I hope if I work hard and get my work done as quickly as I can, I will be able to get my work done.
As the lecture was basically a recap, the lecture did finish a lot earlier than usual, possibly the shortest lecture I have had all year. However, I did expect to be working on the group presentation I need to do with the other first year New Media students, but one of them wasn't in the lecture today, and the other person felt it would be better to work on it when everybody was around, so we have agreed to keep in touch over Facebook, and perhaps work on the presentation if we have any spare time at college.
I then had a nice chat with my college support Lynda, discussing all the news in my life over the past weekend.
This weekend I managed to focus on finishing and perfecting the textures of my spirit character models, and also successfully attempted this effect I learned in my research to achieve a more ghostly effect, and I must say I feel that this has really helped me to achieve what I was looking for more accurately, and I feel glad that I have managed to learn an entirely new skill in Maya without Neil's help, which is one of the things I initially wanted to get out of this project. I have also learned how to make cloths in Maya, as well as smooth, stretch and indent models using the brush tool, but Neil has showed me how to do these things, which I still appreciate even though I didn't learn them independently, and I appreciate the fact that he doesn't seem to mind showing me new skills in Maya.
I have also met with a lady on Friday who may be able to help me to get a work placement relevant to what I may want to do as a career in the future, and had a very good and successful chat about what I may want to get out of this service that helps people find relevant work placements, known as Open Door. I found that she was very kind, easygoing and laid back, but very efficient, and my dad also works with her, which I feel helps i terms of communication. I have had to email her more details about what skills I feel I could bring into
Today's lecture with Neil (W) was basically just a recap of all the sessions of the reflective writing module so far, including the trip to Oxford last week, and also reminded the class of all the homework tasks which needed to be completed by noon on Friday (except for the presentation, which needs to be presented after half term.) I feel that this recap was helpful, necessary and relevant, and I was glad and felt very relieved when I found out I can submit all of my work by email, as this makes it much easier to hand in my work as first of all, it means me not coming into college and handing it directly on Friday, and it also means that I don't have to print off loads of pages that my reflective journal is worth.
I am slightly concerned about the midday deadline for the reflective journal and the 1000 word report on the course so far, discussing key experiences relevant to the course so far, but I hope if I work hard and get my work done as quickly as I can, I will be able to get my work done.
As the lecture was basically a recap, the lecture did finish a lot earlier than usual, possibly the shortest lecture I have had all year. However, I did expect to be working on the group presentation I need to do with the other first year New Media students, but one of them wasn't in the lecture today, and the other person felt it would be better to work on it when everybody was around, so we have agreed to keep in touch over Facebook, and perhaps work on the presentation if we have any spare time at college.
I then had a nice chat with my college support Lynda, discussing all the news in my life over the past weekend.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
RLJ 16/05/13
After the success of yesterday, my dad and I went to see the new Star Trek movie. I enjoyed it, but not as much as my dad did. I just felt that the story didn't really make all that much sense, but the acting and special effects was brilliant, minus oneparticulardeathscene (SPOILERALERT, SOMEBODYDIES!) But I strangely enjoyed it. I just liked how everything looked, and was mostly quite a nice, fantasy sic fi film.
So today it was back to texturing, I textured another two models today, but one of them in particular stressed me out because of a very complicated and confusing unwrap, which led to the colours overlapping on faces that I didn't want them to be on. I did find this quite tiring and stressful, and I did speak to Neil about this, but he didn't seem too worried about this for my project. In fact, he said that if I didn't point it out to him, he wouldn't have noticed! I suppose this brought out the perfectionist in me to be honest, and Neil suggested if I did want to try and get the textures perfect, then I could try redoing the unwrap of the parts that are causing me stress and then texture them that way. I feel reluctant to do this, considering I only have a week left until everything, including this blog and my research has to be handed in, but I feel it could be something to consider, especially seeing as I still have two more models to unwrap and texture, which hopefully won't take me too long.
This afternoon I mainly started catching up on my blog, despite the fact that my laptop's battery was rapidly running out, but today myself, Ananda and Scott started talking about this group presentation about a success story for Neil (W) after half term, and agreed that we shall start working on it maybe on Tuesday after the lecture and we are also considering making the presentation on Pixar, seeing as we don't have much time on it and that we have studied this subject already in other modules. Neil (B) even offered to help by letting us present the presentation to him next week if we get it finished. If not, we may have to meet up over half term, which would be fine, but I am visiting my sister over half term for a few days for a show she is working on, and I am excited about this.
So today it was back to texturing, I textured another two models today, but one of them in particular stressed me out because of a very complicated and confusing unwrap, which led to the colours overlapping on faces that I didn't want them to be on. I did find this quite tiring and stressful, and I did speak to Neil about this, but he didn't seem too worried about this for my project. In fact, he said that if I didn't point it out to him, he wouldn't have noticed! I suppose this brought out the perfectionist in me to be honest, and Neil suggested if I did want to try and get the textures perfect, then I could try redoing the unwrap of the parts that are causing me stress and then texture them that way. I feel reluctant to do this, considering I only have a week left until everything, including this blog and my research has to be handed in, but I feel it could be something to consider, especially seeing as I still have two more models to unwrap and texture, which hopefully won't take me too long.
This afternoon I mainly started catching up on my blog, despite the fact that my laptop's battery was rapidly running out, but today myself, Ananda and Scott started talking about this group presentation about a success story for Neil (W) after half term, and agreed that we shall start working on it maybe on Tuesday after the lecture and we are also considering making the presentation on Pixar, seeing as we don't have much time on it and that we have studied this subject already in other modules. Neil (B) even offered to help by letting us present the presentation to him next week if we get it finished. If not, we may have to meet up over half term, which would be fine, but I am visiting my sister over half term for a few days for a show she is working on, and I am excited about this.
RLJ 15/05/13
I am really pleased with how much I managed to get done over the weekend since I last worked on my Spirit Rush project. I managed to get 4 models unwrapped in one day over the weekend! I have also unwrapped a further 2 models, and decided on a good logo for my Trading Card Game, all of which I feel happy about and I feel that this is more than enough work for me to have done over the weekend. However, I am starting to feel a real pressure to get this work finished, and this is one of the reasons why the word "rush" is in the title of my project, because I think it's going to be a real rush to get this project done.
I was quite stressed on Monday, for a number of reasons, I think. First of all, I was working pretty much all afternoon on my project and not giving myself enough break time and didn't go outside until the evening when I spoke to my parents about my project and how stressed I was about it, and how much I still needed to do, and speaking to my parents and going out for a walk with my dad really helped me to feel better about everything. I just feel so lucky to have caring and supportive parents that are always there for me and happy to help. I was also comparing how well I got on with my work the previous day (the day I unwrapped 4 models!) to what I had done on Monday, (unwrapped 2 models, nearly 3) which did make me feel a bit sad, because I really wanted to get as much done as possibleI was also stressed and nervous about going to the "compulsory" Oxford trip with college yesterday because everybody has got things to hand in for the end of year show in June, and I wasn't really sure what we were doing in Oxford, and I was struggling to see the point of it on Monday, but I had a nice time in Oxford in the end.
I was also happy that, despite me feeling a bit stressed to get work done, I did have enough time to see my friend on Saturday, and we had a good time together, which I feel happy about. I also had enough time to spend with my family as well, and I am also starting to look at possible things to do to get me set up for a career after this course for something I would enjoy doing more, and I feel that I have already had quite a lot of help with this, and I am feeling quite optimistic, yet naive about these opportunities.
So today at college was the day I would start texturing! I feel slightly less worried about my project than I was on Monday, because I have asked Neil if I can print my work off outside of college, as I'm sure that coming up to the end of year show most students will want to have at least something printed, and if I wanted something printed at college I would have to have everything finished for tomorrow, and my work is nowhere near finished yet, so Neil has agreed for me to print my final pieces off outside of college. However I was a bit nervous about showing Neil my research, as he did request to see it last week, and so far almost all of my research is web based, but if all goes well this week, I will try and complete my research completely next week.
So today at college I managed to start texturing 3 of my models. I have only used mainly solid colours so far due to time restrictions, but may add textures to some parts a bit later. I find texturing a bit of a strange process, as sometimes I can find it quite simple, but at other times it can be quite stressful and that the colours will go where they're not supposed to. It's a very detailed process, but when this is done for all of my models, then all there is to do is to render each model and put the rendered images onto the trading card design, something I have also worked on over the weekend. I learned how to create a multicoloured effect for the borders of one type of my trading cards on a simple YouTube video, which is actually quite a cool effect. You have to select the gradient tool next to the paint bucket, and select the multicolour effect and make a line! Simples!
Speaking of my trading card designs, Neil wanted me to show them to him this afternoon. He seemed to like them, but may need to colour white parts of the trading cards as they may be too similar to the background on Photoshop. He also decided that I don't need to print my work off before half term, I just need to finish it as I would like it in the show, then over half term Neil can look at my designs and see if they work with the Augmented Reality idea, and send me feedback if I need to adjust anything for the designs. This was the most relieving news I have heard at college in a long time, as this takes loads of pressure off getting all my work done ready to print.
So really, quite a good day where I got a lot of work finished!! Yayyy!
I was quite stressed on Monday, for a number of reasons, I think. First of all, I was working pretty much all afternoon on my project and not giving myself enough break time and didn't go outside until the evening when I spoke to my parents about my project and how stressed I was about it, and how much I still needed to do, and speaking to my parents and going out for a walk with my dad really helped me to feel better about everything. I just feel so lucky to have caring and supportive parents that are always there for me and happy to help. I was also comparing how well I got on with my work the previous day (the day I unwrapped 4 models!) to what I had done on Monday, (unwrapped 2 models, nearly 3) which did make me feel a bit sad, because I really wanted to get as much done as possibleI was also stressed and nervous about going to the "compulsory" Oxford trip with college yesterday because everybody has got things to hand in for the end of year show in June, and I wasn't really sure what we were doing in Oxford, and I was struggling to see the point of it on Monday, but I had a nice time in Oxford in the end.
I was also happy that, despite me feeling a bit stressed to get work done, I did have enough time to see my friend on Saturday, and we had a good time together, which I feel happy about. I also had enough time to spend with my family as well, and I am also starting to look at possible things to do to get me set up for a career after this course for something I would enjoy doing more, and I feel that I have already had quite a lot of help with this, and I am feeling quite optimistic, yet naive about these opportunities.
So today at college was the day I would start texturing! I feel slightly less worried about my project than I was on Monday, because I have asked Neil if I can print my work off outside of college, as I'm sure that coming up to the end of year show most students will want to have at least something printed, and if I wanted something printed at college I would have to have everything finished for tomorrow, and my work is nowhere near finished yet, so Neil has agreed for me to print my final pieces off outside of college. However I was a bit nervous about showing Neil my research, as he did request to see it last week, and so far almost all of my research is web based, but if all goes well this week, I will try and complete my research completely next week.
So today at college I managed to start texturing 3 of my models. I have only used mainly solid colours so far due to time restrictions, but may add textures to some parts a bit later. I find texturing a bit of a strange process, as sometimes I can find it quite simple, but at other times it can be quite stressful and that the colours will go where they're not supposed to. It's a very detailed process, but when this is done for all of my models, then all there is to do is to render each model and put the rendered images onto the trading card design, something I have also worked on over the weekend. I learned how to create a multicoloured effect for the borders of one type of my trading cards on a simple YouTube video, which is actually quite a cool effect. You have to select the gradient tool next to the paint bucket, and select the multicolour effect and make a line! Simples!
Speaking of my trading card designs, Neil wanted me to show them to him this afternoon. He seemed to like them, but may need to colour white parts of the trading cards as they may be too similar to the background on Photoshop. He also decided that I don't need to print my work off before half term, I just need to finish it as I would like it in the show, then over half term Neil can look at my designs and see if they work with the Augmented Reality idea, and send me feedback if I need to adjust anything for the designs. This was the most relieving news I have heard at college in a long time, as this takes loads of pressure off getting all my work done ready to print.
So really, quite a good day where I got a lot of work finished!! Yayyy!
Thursday, 9 May 2013
RLJ 09/05/2013
My aim for today was to completely finish my models, so it was going to be quite a busy day, even though I was feeling quite tired today.
This morning I attempted to finish modelling my hand, which did take quite a while, and I think that from this and other previous experiences that proper hands are one of the most difficult things to model because of the very complex shapes. Throughout the time that I was modelling the hands for some of my spirits, I was talking a lot to Lisa, and strangely enough this didn't really distract me, and in fact helped me to model the hand for the spirits by showing me all the details of a human hand, and I think because of this I have got a much better understanding on how to model hands.
After I finished modelling the hand, I then showed Neil (B) my models so far, which are all almost finished, but may need finishing touches to them to make them perfect. I showed him the models to gain feedback so far, as well as help and advice to improve my models, and his feedback was literally just to add finishing touches to some of my models. And eyes, he did stress that I would need to model the eyes as well for each of the spirits. He seemed quite happy with what I have done though, which is always good to hear. However, he did strongly point out which of my models he preferred (the Power, Water, Nature and Wind spirits,) and if I don't completely finish, texture and render all of my models by next week then he suggested to just focus on these, but I will try and get as much done as possible. However, I do understand that I will need to completely finish at least some models ready for the end of year show.
I spent the afternoon applying these finishing touches to my models, the trickiest being repositioning the lightning bolts on the Light Spirit, as they were overlapping in places, which we cannot have in the final render as the model will flicker if they overlap, which will affect the quality of the final render.
I also modelled some eyes for each of the spirits, but this was easily done, as all that was required for the eyes was a simple oval.
This morning I attempted to finish modelling my hand, which did take quite a while, and I think that from this and other previous experiences that proper hands are one of the most difficult things to model because of the very complex shapes. Throughout the time that I was modelling the hands for some of my spirits, I was talking a lot to Lisa, and strangely enough this didn't really distract me, and in fact helped me to model the hand for the spirits by showing me all the details of a human hand, and I think because of this I have got a much better understanding on how to model hands.
After I finished modelling the hand, I then showed Neil (B) my models so far, which are all almost finished, but may need finishing touches to them to make them perfect. I showed him the models to gain feedback so far, as well as help and advice to improve my models, and his feedback was literally just to add finishing touches to some of my models. And eyes, he did stress that I would need to model the eyes as well for each of the spirits. He seemed quite happy with what I have done though, which is always good to hear. However, he did strongly point out which of my models he preferred (the Power, Water, Nature and Wind spirits,) and if I don't completely finish, texture and render all of my models by next week then he suggested to just focus on these, but I will try and get as much done as possible. However, I do understand that I will need to completely finish at least some models ready for the end of year show.
I spent the afternoon applying these finishing touches to my models, the trickiest being repositioning the lightning bolts on the Light Spirit, as they were overlapping in places, which we cannot have in the final render as the model will flicker if they overlap, which will affect the quality of the final render.
I also modelled some eyes for each of the spirits, but this was easily done, as all that was required for the eyes was a simple oval.
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
RLJ 08/05/13
Over this Bank Holiday weekend I went down to Rochester in Kent to visit my sister for her "Bring a Friend Day," where I had to participate in all the lessons she would normally have in a day with her. She goes to a Performing Arts College (PAC) so I had to do a lot of dancing and it was a lot more energetic and hardcore than I expected, as some of her fellow students brought parents, and a lot of the "friends" weren't trained dancers/performers, so it was quite exhausting, but I really enjoyed it, and enjoyed meeting and getting to know some more of my sister's college friends and their "friends." There was also a cake sale where some of the students and friends brought and baked cakes to sell at the college that day, and the cakes I had were lovely. One was like an angel cake, but with all the colours of the rainbow, and I thought that was visually impressive as well! When I was participating in some of the classes it did make me think what if my life was a video game and that these classes were rhythm action minigames, but the difficulty level would be a lot higher for me as I am not a trained dancer or performer, and perhaps don't have as much stamina as the students.
But because I was away, there wasn't really any chance for me to do any of my college work in Rochester, but I returned to Stafford on Saturday because I was aware I had quite a lot to do, as well as the fact I was due to meet some of my old college friends to see Iron Man 3, a film which I thought was really good, despite hearing mixed reviews about, and I admit there were a few random and unnecessary parts. I loved the appearance of all of the different Iron Man suits, and it made me think that I would love to see any concept drawings or designs of any of these suits, as there were quite a lot of variations of the classic Iron Man suit in the film, including the Iron Patriot, a version of Iron Man owned by the government to protect America and the President, if I remember correctly.
I also went for a walk with my family to a countryside area where lots of Bluebells were growing, a Bluebell Wood, which was a lovely place, and even though I had my college work on my mind, I really enjoyed being there.
I finally managed to get a bit of college work done, over Monday and Tuesday (I had the day off on Tuesday because of Staff Training), where I spent a lot of my time on modelling my spirits and have nearly finished 7 of them. However, I did have a problem with the hands on some of the spirits. I noticed that on the hand I had modelled for some of the spirits, I didn't leave any gaps between the fingers (this was probably because I didn't want to add too many subdivisions on my model at first), so I decided to import my gladiator model and take the hand from that model to try and save time. However, Maya kept on closing down whenever I tried to do something with the hand, so some of my models don't have any hands yet, and this is something I will have to model very soon.
I have felt over the past few days though that it is really starting to sink in how much work I really have to do over the next 2-3 weeks, and it is worrying me slightly how I am actually going to get what I need to do done for my college projects. I have made mum and dad aware, as I feel it always helps to tell them whenever I am nervous or anxious about something, and my dad has offered to help by finding somewhere other than college I could print my work if I needed to find somewhere else. This is because college will undoubtedly have loads of print orders for the end of year show, and my work might take a bit longer to complete for the print order deadline for college.
Anyways, today I worked on the wind spirit, the only spirit I haven't started at home this weekend, because I remember Neil (B) showing me a technique in Maya to get the shape I wanted (a tornado) the best way possible, so i decided to wait until today to ask him to remind me. All my other spirits are almost finished in terms of modelling, I just need to perfect the hands for some of them, which is something I was struggling with this weekend. Neil showed me how to make a decent effect by using the deformer tools after building a cylinder to get the shapes and effects I wanted, and can be something I feel I could use in future projects if necessary. The deformer tools let me manipulate an already made polygon and add effects to them, such as twisting the shape, which is what I did to achieve a tornado shape.
It was good to get this spirit underway, and after a morning of experimenting with the new skill I learned in Maya, I then continued to model the rest of my design for the Wind Spirit. Because the head of the wind spirit had a similar shape to that of the nature spirit, I decided to import the head of the nature spirit into the Wind Spirit file and edit the shape of the head slightly to match my Wind Spirit design better. I also had to extrude a beak from this shape, as well as merge vertices that weren't properly matched up. I also started modelling the wings and talons, but at the moment I feel these look a bit chunky, and I will be able to finish these very quickly hopefully.
I also had to help move the boards from the storage cupboard on the top floor of college to our room on the floor below, ready for the end of year show. These were quite heavy, and my clothes got quite dusty, and it has been a very energetic few days for me. Feeling good but still need to watch my progress on my project.
I am nervous about the Oxford trip next week, as I'm not really sure what to expect, and I'm not really sure to be honest what the whole purpose of the trip is. It has also come at a busy and stressful time of year for college, which makes me question if it's a good idea for a college day trip in the first place, and also makes me think if the Contextual Studies modules have been put in order the most efficient way.
But because I was away, there wasn't really any chance for me to do any of my college work in Rochester, but I returned to Stafford on Saturday because I was aware I had quite a lot to do, as well as the fact I was due to meet some of my old college friends to see Iron Man 3, a film which I thought was really good, despite hearing mixed reviews about, and I admit there were a few random and unnecessary parts. I loved the appearance of all of the different Iron Man suits, and it made me think that I would love to see any concept drawings or designs of any of these suits, as there were quite a lot of variations of the classic Iron Man suit in the film, including the Iron Patriot, a version of Iron Man owned by the government to protect America and the President, if I remember correctly.
I also went for a walk with my family to a countryside area where lots of Bluebells were growing, a Bluebell Wood, which was a lovely place, and even though I had my college work on my mind, I really enjoyed being there.
I finally managed to get a bit of college work done, over Monday and Tuesday (I had the day off on Tuesday because of Staff Training), where I spent a lot of my time on modelling my spirits and have nearly finished 7 of them. However, I did have a problem with the hands on some of the spirits. I noticed that on the hand I had modelled for some of the spirits, I didn't leave any gaps between the fingers (this was probably because I didn't want to add too many subdivisions on my model at first), so I decided to import my gladiator model and take the hand from that model to try and save time. However, Maya kept on closing down whenever I tried to do something with the hand, so some of my models don't have any hands yet, and this is something I will have to model very soon.
I have felt over the past few days though that it is really starting to sink in how much work I really have to do over the next 2-3 weeks, and it is worrying me slightly how I am actually going to get what I need to do done for my college projects. I have made mum and dad aware, as I feel it always helps to tell them whenever I am nervous or anxious about something, and my dad has offered to help by finding somewhere other than college I could print my work if I needed to find somewhere else. This is because college will undoubtedly have loads of print orders for the end of year show, and my work might take a bit longer to complete for the print order deadline for college.
Anyways, today I worked on the wind spirit, the only spirit I haven't started at home this weekend, because I remember Neil (B) showing me a technique in Maya to get the shape I wanted (a tornado) the best way possible, so i decided to wait until today to ask him to remind me. All my other spirits are almost finished in terms of modelling, I just need to perfect the hands for some of them, which is something I was struggling with this weekend. Neil showed me how to make a decent effect by using the deformer tools after building a cylinder to get the shapes and effects I wanted, and can be something I feel I could use in future projects if necessary. The deformer tools let me manipulate an already made polygon and add effects to them, such as twisting the shape, which is what I did to achieve a tornado shape.
It was good to get this spirit underway, and after a morning of experimenting with the new skill I learned in Maya, I then continued to model the rest of my design for the Wind Spirit. Because the head of the wind spirit had a similar shape to that of the nature spirit, I decided to import the head of the nature spirit into the Wind Spirit file and edit the shape of the head slightly to match my Wind Spirit design better. I also had to extrude a beak from this shape, as well as merge vertices that weren't properly matched up. I also started modelling the wings and talons, but at the moment I feel these look a bit chunky, and I will be able to finish these very quickly hopefully.
I also had to help move the boards from the storage cupboard on the top floor of college to our room on the floor below, ready for the end of year show. These were quite heavy, and my clothes got quite dusty, and it has been a very energetic few days for me. Feeling good but still need to watch my progress on my project.
I am nervous about the Oxford trip next week, as I'm not really sure what to expect, and I'm not really sure to be honest what the whole purpose of the trip is. It has also come at a busy and stressful time of year for college, which makes me question if it's a good idea for a college day trip in the first place, and also makes me think if the Contextual Studies modules have been put in order the most efficient way.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
RLJ 02/05/13
Today was continuing from where I left off yesterday, modelling my spirit characters from yesterday. I had my synopsis to write as well today, which was floating around in my mind, but I wasn't too worried about this, as it only had to be 250 words, something I could easily find the time to write today.
Today I made progress on modelling the Light and Dark spirits, two designs I feel really pleased with, and I really hope that they will look just as good in 3D. I worked on the Light Spirit first, which was going quite well to start with, but I was stuck for quite a while on the two lightning bolts that are supposed to coil around each other. It was also quite difficult to build these lightning bolts, and to get the shape to match my drawing as accurately as possible. However, after a while, I did solve the coil problem, as I had to mirror the geometry of the second lightning bolt twice, which to be honest was by chance, as I was trying to experiment different things that would rotate the second bolt to where I wanted it, but I just couldn't manage to get the second bolt to where I wanted it at all by rotating alone, no matter how hard I tried, so I was so glad and relieved when I used the mirror geometry tool on the lightning bolt, twice, and that it worked so successfully. This made me realise that I did make quite a challenge with my drawing of the Light Spirit that I was following throughout my modelling.
I am quite concerned about the fact that I won't have too much time to do my work until Sunday, as I am going to visit my sister in Kent this evening until Saturday morning
Today I made progress on modelling the Light and Dark spirits, two designs I feel really pleased with, and I really hope that they will look just as good in 3D. I worked on the Light Spirit first, which was going quite well to start with, but I was stuck for quite a while on the two lightning bolts that are supposed to coil around each other. It was also quite difficult to build these lightning bolts, and to get the shape to match my drawing as accurately as possible. However, after a while, I did solve the coil problem, as I had to mirror the geometry of the second lightning bolt twice, which to be honest was by chance, as I was trying to experiment different things that would rotate the second bolt to where I wanted it, but I just couldn't manage to get the second bolt to where I wanted it at all by rotating alone, no matter how hard I tried, so I was so glad and relieved when I used the mirror geometry tool on the lightning bolt, twice, and that it worked so successfully. This made me realise that I did make quite a challenge with my drawing of the Light Spirit that I was following throughout my modelling.
I am quite concerned about the fact that I won't have too much time to do my work until Sunday, as I am going to visit my sister in Kent this evening until Saturday morning
RLJ 01/05/2013
Today was the day where I would finally start modelling my spirit characters! I brought my laptop to college today, as that already had Autodesk Maya, the 3D modelling program installed on it. However, I haven't used Maya since the Gladiator project back in February before I went to Paris, so it did take me a while to get used to it again today. I was struggling with the Maya on my laptop because I couldn't switch the Backface Culling option on, something I needed to do to build my models from my sketches (I scanned my final sketches of my models at home) and a lot of the tools in Maya were missing on my laptop, something I found quite odd and wasn't sure how to deal with it, so eventually I went on the Macs at college and used Maya on them, which went a lot more successfully, as I could find and use all the tools that I am familiar with on Maya.
I am also pleased with myself for looking through my blog to remember how to make an imagebox, to use as a guideline for creating my 3D models of the spirits I have designed, and this proves how useful the learning journals can be, which is something that is often questioned by many people on these foundation degree courses at college. I wanted to aim to get as much done as possible today, by finishing the models for at least 2 of my spirits, so that I am not rushing in the next couple of weeks.
I didn't want to start on a more complex model, so I decided to start on the Water Spirit, a spirit with a teardrop shaped head and the body of a standard fish or mermaid, which was surprisingly simple to model, and got this quickly done by the end of the morning. However, I was struggling a bit with modelling the hands, and this reminded me of how hard it is to model hands, so I may come back to this later, and I might try and find a tutorial on how to model hands the best, quickest and most efficient way, to help me not only in this project, but future projects to come.
This afternoon I worked on modelling the Fire Spirit, which was much more simple and had a much simpler shape, so this didn't take too long. the design on the Fire Spirit is based on a volcano for its head and the rest of its body is in flames. This was basically made by editing a standard cylinder, and shaping the cylinder to how I wanted it to look like. However, I am noticing, because I don't want the unwrapping and texturing to take too long, I have tried not to add too many subdivisions to the models (lines that split up the model, allowing you to edit the model more.
I had a bit more time at the end of the day to start on another spirit, the Normal Spirit, which is loosely inspired by the ghosts in Pac Man, and again a very simple cylinder shape. However, Neil (B) did show me how to make cloths in Maya, to perhaps get a better looking shape for the ghost shape I want to achieve with this spirit, and perhaps a few other spirits, and I feel that this is certainly something to consider to save time and to save my models from looking to jagged and edgy. I did try this with the Normal Spirit, but felt that it wasn't really what I wanted, but I appreciated Neil showing me this additional tool in Maya, as it could come in handy with some of my other Spirit models and also in future projects as well.
After college today I had a meeting with a careers advisor at college, Hannah, as I am really considering what I would like to look into and do during and after my time at college, as I do feel like I would like to try and do something different after this course, something creative still, but something that can help people be happy. This went really well, and I feel that even though it was my first meeting with her about this topic, I feel I made tremendous progress, and she is going to refer me to some people who she thinks can really help me. I will also still have meetings with Hannah, to get closer to an answer for what I would really like to do when I leave college, and I hope that I will ind something I really enjoy that I could do for a career through this. I would also, if possible, like to try and avoid a course of this intensity that I am doing right now, because I have found doing a degree course at college quite difficult, much more difficult than I expected, and I felt that this course would have been more creative than I thought. However, I feel that since Paris, I have learned to accept my course a lot more. Maybe it's because of this project where I can choose what I do, but I seem to be enjoying the course more compared to 2-3 months ago and beyond.
I am also pleased with myself for looking through my blog to remember how to make an imagebox, to use as a guideline for creating my 3D models of the spirits I have designed, and this proves how useful the learning journals can be, which is something that is often questioned by many people on these foundation degree courses at college. I wanted to aim to get as much done as possible today, by finishing the models for at least 2 of my spirits, so that I am not rushing in the next couple of weeks.
I didn't want to start on a more complex model, so I decided to start on the Water Spirit, a spirit with a teardrop shaped head and the body of a standard fish or mermaid, which was surprisingly simple to model, and got this quickly done by the end of the morning. However, I was struggling a bit with modelling the hands, and this reminded me of how hard it is to model hands, so I may come back to this later, and I might try and find a tutorial on how to model hands the best, quickest and most efficient way, to help me not only in this project, but future projects to come.
This afternoon I worked on modelling the Fire Spirit, which was much more simple and had a much simpler shape, so this didn't take too long. the design on the Fire Spirit is based on a volcano for its head and the rest of its body is in flames. This was basically made by editing a standard cylinder, and shaping the cylinder to how I wanted it to look like. However, I am noticing, because I don't want the unwrapping and texturing to take too long, I have tried not to add too many subdivisions to the models (lines that split up the model, allowing you to edit the model more.
I had a bit more time at the end of the day to start on another spirit, the Normal Spirit, which is loosely inspired by the ghosts in Pac Man, and again a very simple cylinder shape. However, Neil (B) did show me how to make cloths in Maya, to perhaps get a better looking shape for the ghost shape I want to achieve with this spirit, and perhaps a few other spirits, and I feel that this is certainly something to consider to save time and to save my models from looking to jagged and edgy. I did try this with the Normal Spirit, but felt that it wasn't really what I wanted, but I appreciated Neil showing me this additional tool in Maya, as it could come in handy with some of my other Spirit models and also in future projects as well.
After college today I had a meeting with a careers advisor at college, Hannah, as I am really considering what I would like to look into and do during and after my time at college, as I do feel like I would like to try and do something different after this course, something creative still, but something that can help people be happy. This went really well, and I feel that even though it was my first meeting with her about this topic, I feel I made tremendous progress, and she is going to refer me to some people who she thinks can really help me. I will also still have meetings with Hannah, to get closer to an answer for what I would really like to do when I leave college, and I hope that I will ind something I really enjoy that I could do for a career through this. I would also, if possible, like to try and avoid a course of this intensity that I am doing right now, because I have found doing a degree course at college quite difficult, much more difficult than I expected, and I felt that this course would have been more creative than I thought. However, I feel that since Paris, I have learned to accept my course a lot more. Maybe it's because of this project where I can choose what I do, but I seem to be enjoying the course more compared to 2-3 months ago and beyond.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
RLJ 30/04/13
These style of lectures with Neil (W) feel very overwhelming, really felt nervous when he said he is going to split the group at some point this morning, where I'm concerned that the lecturer I have when the group is split won't understand me, and how difficult I find things. Also my laptop wouldn't connect to the college wi-fi straightaway this morning, but I eventually got it to work. However, this did divert my attention from what was going on in the class.
The not understanding thing and the style of these lectures very much reminds me of when I was at high school, where the lecturer will give the lecture, just like a teacher would teach a class and give out information and I often find this difficult as it does feel like a less personal style of lecture, and I don't feel I can express myself as much.
Today's lecture was about a very nerve wracking subject: Artwork Analysis and Group Critique of our own artwork we have done at college, which I find super scary because
Neil did bring a sculpture he had made and spoke about how it was influenced by dance, and that it was part of a series of sculptures made from bronze. It certainly looked interesting, as it did have a Futurist feel to it, and was supposed to capture motion. I felt it also could have resembled a superhero, or the first thought that came into my mind is that it looked like a bunsen burner.
We then had to split into groups and present a finished piece of our work and talk about it, how we made it and what we like/dislike about it, which to my surprise, went very well for me, even though my moth did go a bit dry, but I have learned a cause of this can be nerves and social anxiety, something which has been suggested to me that I have symptoms of. I decided to talk about my gladiator project, as that has been the most rewarding thing I have done this year so far. I was also fascinated by some of the other art students work, and how they talked about their worked and what inspires them.
The not understanding thing and the style of these lectures very much reminds me of when I was at high school, where the lecturer will give the lecture, just like a teacher would teach a class and give out information and I often find this difficult as it does feel like a less personal style of lecture, and I don't feel I can express myself as much.
Today's lecture was about a very nerve wracking subject: Artwork Analysis and Group Critique of our own artwork we have done at college, which I find super scary because
Neil did bring a sculpture he had made and spoke about how it was influenced by dance, and that it was part of a series of sculptures made from bronze. It certainly looked interesting, as it did have a Futurist feel to it, and was supposed to capture motion. I felt it also could have resembled a superhero, or the first thought that came into my mind is that it looked like a bunsen burner.
We then had to split into groups and present a finished piece of our work and talk about it, how we made it and what we like/dislike about it, which to my surprise, went very well for me, even though my moth did go a bit dry, but I have learned a cause of this can be nerves and social anxiety, something which has been suggested to me that I have symptoms of. I decided to talk about my gladiator project, as that has been the most rewarding thing I have done this year so far. I was also fascinated by some of the other art students work, and how they talked about their worked and what inspires them.
Monday, 29 April 2013
Reflective Writing Exercise - rewriting 21/03/13
I am so pleased with my progress today, even though I do have a long way to go with my project and other things I must plan and get sorted soon. I am glad to actually be doing something more free and creative today, and started drawing some sketches and writing ideas down for what my trading card game will be! So far I am really happy with my ideas, and even though my ideas at the moment are mainly based around my two favourite trading card games when I was younger, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon, I have still been able to think of a few unique ideas too, which I certainly feel good and confident about. I think it is good to try and use your experiences and interests in your work, as I feel that work is a lot better if you can make it your own and personal, and I personally enjoy the projects where I can express who I want to be more than the projects where you have to do things in a certain way, such as my gladiator project. For my project I like the use of Pokemon's Energy card idea, and Yu-Gi-Oh has a lot of variety in the game, but sometimes this can be a bit overwhelming and the game is very complex, which I don't want for my game. However, by the end of the day, I felt worried that my idea was swaying a lot more towards the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game, and I really don't want to make it look like that I am copying Yu-Gi-Oh, which is what I am really worried about. As I said, I really don't want to make it too complicated, as I want people to feel eased in to the game and will be very easy to play.
Another important thing that was mentioned today between myself and Lisa was possible career paths, and Art Therapy, which could be a possible career path, and something I will need to look more into, and speak to careers advisors at college about this. Also discussed this with counsellors, who both seemed quite happy for me to think this, but said that I would need extra training. Also Lisa mentioned that many Art Therapists also have another job as well as Art Therapy, and many do it voluntarily. I kind of hoped you could make a living from Art Therapy, but Lisa said she wasn't entirely sure, and all this could be discussed with the careers advisors at college. I'd also like to perhaps get an easygoing part time job, just to have a bit more financial independence from my parents, and hopefully the college careers advisors
For next week I hope to have had a much clearer idea in my head about my birthday, as this is very important to me, and would love to see a few friends to celebrate my birthday with. This weekend I might ask the people I have in mind that I wish to celebrate with, to give them notice in case they're already planning what they're doing in their Easter break.
I have also had a very good week socially at college, and I noticed that I am talking to people a lot more, and I am feeling much more comfortable around people I have been wanting to get to know better, which I feel so brilliantly good about.
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Reflective Writing Exercise - rewriting 14/03/13
I feel so glad I have now decided on an idea of what it is I am going to do for the end of year art exhibition in June, the idea being making a set of Trading Cards which will be compatible with Augmented Reality, so that a 3D model of the Trading Card character will appear on a screen, which I feel separates my idea from existing trading card games out there, as I am unaware of my idea happening in many other places. I feel really excited about making my own trading cards, as I have had ideas of characters and objects I could make into trading cards for a while now.
To start my work on this project, I have started to collect images of things I think will be useful and relevant when it comes to the actual designing of my final product, and I hope that these images will help me in the development of my project in terms of structure, what it is I will design, and how I will design it, as I do really need to have some sort of guideline as to what I am actually doing on this project. I intended to get as much work done as possible today so I will have less work t do next week, specially since I have two pieces of written work to write, a 1000 word case study and a 1000 word "report" on how Pixar's development and success was influenced by social, political, and historical context. I am feeling very nervous about both of these things, as I haven't had much recent experience in writing essays, case studies and reports, and I think it's the fact as well that I may have to look over information again if I haven't remembered it all, and also the deadlines in which these need to be done.
This afternoon I worked on my journal, as I was struggling to think of ideas, but the journal is an important part of the module so it needs to be done. However, I really hope I'll be able to think of many more good ideas for influences and research, and also get this part of the module finished as soon as possible so I can focus on the other parts of the module as well as other things that are going to be important in my life, such as planning my birthday and the Easter Holidays, as well as enjoying my time outside of college, as this really means a lot to me as well.
This week I have been looking back at things I wrote a long time ago on my last course, which was a quite similar structure to this, and it was certainly very interesting to look back on what I was feeling, the things I was happy with, my hopes, ambitions and fears, and seeing what I wanted out of life back then. Some things I have overcome and achieved, but there's also a lot of things I wrote that unfortunately I haven't achieved and still find difficult, such as socialising at college, and I really hope and am really determined to make this better. I am starting to get on better with people at college and am certainly having far less lonely break times. But from what I wrote, people seemed a lot nicer than I remembered, and things I noticed about a lot of people haven't really changed all that much.
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Reflective Writing Exercise - rewriting 07/02/2013
Today was hand in day, which is always quite a busy and stressful time, but despite this, and also the fact that I had quite a lot to do, including rigging and rendering my gladiator and my blog, I was feeling quite relaxed about it all, but I was hoping somehow that I would find the determination to get all my work done today.
The first thing I wanted to get finished was rigging my gladiator, as I really had to do this before anything else, and it was what was required from the brief. However, I couldn't really remember much about how to rig a 3D model. I have rigged 3D character models before, but the last time I rigged a character was around 9 months ago on my BTEC Interactive Media course, so I couldn't quite remember everything about rigging. However, Neil very kindly reminded me the basics of rigging, which I was really grateful for and by the end of the morning I managed to create a working "skeleton" for my gladiator model. However, this did take me a few attempts, and luckily setting up a skeleton doesn't take too long, but it was quite stressful working out what was wrong with my skeleton on the first few tries. The problem was quite noticeable, and it did take me a while to figure out what was wrong with it. The skeleton is supposed to be made from the waist, so that it can bend over correctly, and this is what I forgot to do. When I figured out the problem, and it did take me a short break and a bit of help from Neil, it was quite easy and quick to fix. I just had to attach the joint of the waist to the character rig, which was achieved by just a few mouse clicks in the animation tool area of Maya.
A late part of the process of the rigging of my gladiator. The skeleton is the green lines seen in the front and top views.
However, because I only really had today left, this was as far as I could go with my gladiator model, even though the brief would have liked me to have animated the model. I do feel pleased with what I have done, I really love the textures I have used, and even though this module has been very tough, I feel that this module has really improved my modelling and learning techniques and has really made me consider how to do my work in the future, and has made me realise in projects like this, I really need a strategy.
I feel that for future projects I will definitely need to manage my time more efficiently, and really super definitely try and understand more what is being asked of me in terms of research, as I found that part of the module, and getting feedback from that part of the module very stressful because of how unclear what it is I was supposed to research was, and to be honest I'm not sure if I understand the research I have done.
This afternoon I managed to get my reflective journal finished, which I had a lot to say in about this module, including today's entry. I also made a final render of my still gladiator, which is something, even though it is very simple, I always forget how to do, because if I wish to share and show off my 3D modelling work casually to my friends, I would just take a screen grab of the model. However, I do feel that I could probably now remember how to render models for the future from this experience. Hopefully.
My 3D gladiator in all his rendered glory.
However, I feel that over the past week, one thing that has really helped me to organise myself and has helped me to cope much better with my work is writing to do lists for work I needed to get done for specific dates in the week, and I feel that this skill is something I could really carry into fuure projects, and is a skill I have used in previous jobs and projects, and has really helped to organise myself and it also breaks down what I need to get done into manageable pieces.
Thursday, 25 April 2013
25/04/13
I was really worried about the day ahead, as last night I did get really upset and overwhelmed about all the work I now have to do for the course before we break up for summer. Which is a lot. Even though dad and I spent a long time last night discussing everything that has been said at college this week, and having to repeat myself to dad so that he could help me to overcome my anxiety of the work, and having to repeat myself really didn't help my stress levels.
I got to college and explained to Lisa my support how I was feeling, as I do feel it's important to make people that can help me aware of how I am honestly feeling so that they can try to help me, even if it did take me a while to calm down about how overwhelmed I was with my work.
When I got back to the classroom, I spent the rest of the morning finishing off my character design sketches, which I am now really pleased with, and I feel that they have really developed so much from the simple and repetitive drawings I did over Easter, because I feel they show a lot more creativity and distinctiveness. I did have to research a couple more pictures of birds and talons, as I was considering one of my spirit designs to be based on a bird, and at this point was the only spirit I hadn't had a final design on, so I drew some more designs for the "wind" design, experimenting with different combinations and variations on what I thought represented "wind" well, such as birds and tornadoes. At the time of writing I can think of many more things that represented "wind," such as planes, but I do feel pleased with my designs, and I feel it is too late to start doing something completely new now, and I really need the time to think about what I need to do this weekend for this project.
This afternoon I was able to finish all of my final designs for all of my spirit characters, and was able to speak to Neil (B) about some things that were worrying me about this project and the end of year show, especially because of the booklet he gave the class yesterday, which had all the requirements needed for the project and the end of year show. I also needed to let him know equipment I will need to display my work today and have written him an email tonight about it, which he was requiring from every student today. Because I was a bit unsure about what equipment I will need, I spoke to him about what I will need, and the estimated size of the boards that can be borrowed (I'm thinking for my work I will need 2 boards.)
I got to college and explained to Lisa my support how I was feeling, as I do feel it's important to make people that can help me aware of how I am honestly feeling so that they can try to help me, even if it did take me a while to calm down about how overwhelmed I was with my work.
When I got back to the classroom, I spent the rest of the morning finishing off my character design sketches, which I am now really pleased with, and I feel that they have really developed so much from the simple and repetitive drawings I did over Easter, because I feel they show a lot more creativity and distinctiveness. I did have to research a couple more pictures of birds and talons, as I was considering one of my spirit designs to be based on a bird, and at this point was the only spirit I hadn't had a final design on, so I drew some more designs for the "wind" design, experimenting with different combinations and variations on what I thought represented "wind" well, such as birds and tornadoes. At the time of writing I can think of many more things that represented "wind," such as planes, but I do feel pleased with my designs, and I feel it is too late to start doing something completely new now, and I really need the time to think about what I need to do this weekend for this project.
This afternoon I was able to finish all of my final designs for all of my spirit characters, and was able to speak to Neil (B) about some things that were worrying me about this project and the end of year show, especially because of the booklet he gave the class yesterday, which had all the requirements needed for the project and the end of year show. I also needed to let him know equipment I will need to display my work today and have written him an email tonight about it, which he was requiring from every student today. Because I was a bit unsure about what equipment I will need, I spoke to him about what I will need, and the estimated size of the boards that can be borrowed (I'm thinking for my work I will need 2 boards.)
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
24/04/13
Because I haven't really done too much development work in my spare time this week, and I was very stressed and tired from last week, I was feeling extremely nervous about coming into college today. I knew I was a bit behind where I should be with the Spirit Rush project, but I just hoped I would catch up more today and get back on track with my work.
Today I continued some development sketches, and looked back at the sketches I did before (I sketched a cat for the "dark" spirit yesterday) and wanted to see if I could improve on them and if possible, decide on and finish final designs today.
Today was also the first time I used Illustrator in ages, which I have been nervous about, and am still unsure and can't remember much about Illustrator, but I will give it my best shot for this project. My knowledge on how to use Illustrator is quite limited, so if I do get stuck on anything, I will have to look it up as research. Today I quickly managed to make a rough template of the layout of the trading cards I will be making, and I am really glad I have made a start on this, as this will be essential for my project later on, and is a major part of my final product, as the idea of making these characters is for a trading card game.
I did get onto talking about bats this morning, as I know that they have very weak bone structure, and another student was looking at the bone structure for a cat, which triggered this fact in my brain. Also, bat rhymes with cat so I feel it was quite easy to have thought of that, and I was surprised that I hadn't thought that before. I also felt that bat represented darkness much more than the cat did when I drew some designs, and I thought that the designs were really improving as I was drawing these designs. I also started drawing the final character designs so that I will be ready to model them and create them digitally. I want to make all my spirits in 3D, so I feel that from what I have learned this year about 3D modelling, I should and will draw each spirit from a front view and a side view, and this should make it easier to model the characters, as I will have a template of each to work from.
Today we were also given a booklet on everything that will need to be done between now and the end of June, when the college's end of year show will be. Looking through it at first I was quite calm, although I did have a few questions, but when I got home it really occurred to me how much has really got to be done really in these next 4 1/2 weeks. PLUS I have my other module to think about, (which to be honest I find far less interesting than making Trading Cards) and that module is also asking a lot from me and when I got home I really panicked and it all got far too much. AND even though I have done some work today I do feel a bit behind where I need to be. I explained to my dad how I was feeling, and he tried to help by writing down all my worries and calming me down that evening by playing Nintendo Land with me, but I had to keep on reminding him why I was upset, which really added to my stress, even though he was only trying to help. All sorts of thoughts were going through my head, making me doubt myself and how well I am doing my course, which felt horrible. I just wish I could keep calmer in these situations, and feel I might need help in doing so. I haven't been the most relaxed person recently, mainly because of college but maybe because of other things too, such as how my family and peers expect me to be, and sometimes I do need some space and time to myself, and I have calmly told my dad this as well, and he seems very understanding about this as well.
Another thing that was mentioned today is, because I am looking into volunteering for helping people by being fun and creative, Lynda found this group that helps young disabled children by getting them to do lots of fun and creative things, and suggested I got into contact with the woman that organises these events to see if I can go along and observe what it is they do and see if I like it or not. It certainly sounds interesting, and will need to maybe discuss this further with my parents and see if they think it's a good idea. The next time they are meeting is the 9th May, which is a college day, but I think I will be allowed to go along and check it out as it is relevant work experience for what I might want to do as a career.
Today I continued some development sketches, and looked back at the sketches I did before (I sketched a cat for the "dark" spirit yesterday) and wanted to see if I could improve on them and if possible, decide on and finish final designs today.
Today was also the first time I used Illustrator in ages, which I have been nervous about, and am still unsure and can't remember much about Illustrator, but I will give it my best shot for this project. My knowledge on how to use Illustrator is quite limited, so if I do get stuck on anything, I will have to look it up as research. Today I quickly managed to make a rough template of the layout of the trading cards I will be making, and I am really glad I have made a start on this, as this will be essential for my project later on, and is a major part of my final product, as the idea of making these characters is for a trading card game.
I did get onto talking about bats this morning, as I know that they have very weak bone structure, and another student was looking at the bone structure for a cat, which triggered this fact in my brain. Also, bat rhymes with cat so I feel it was quite easy to have thought of that, and I was surprised that I hadn't thought that before. I also felt that bat represented darkness much more than the cat did when I drew some designs, and I thought that the designs were really improving as I was drawing these designs. I also started drawing the final character designs so that I will be ready to model them and create them digitally. I want to make all my spirits in 3D, so I feel that from what I have learned this year about 3D modelling, I should and will draw each spirit from a front view and a side view, and this should make it easier to model the characters, as I will have a template of each to work from.
Today we were also given a booklet on everything that will need to be done between now and the end of June, when the college's end of year show will be. Looking through it at first I was quite calm, although I did have a few questions, but when I got home it really occurred to me how much has really got to be done really in these next 4 1/2 weeks. PLUS I have my other module to think about, (which to be honest I find far less interesting than making Trading Cards) and that module is also asking a lot from me and when I got home I really panicked and it all got far too much. AND even though I have done some work today I do feel a bit behind where I need to be. I explained to my dad how I was feeling, and he tried to help by writing down all my worries and calming me down that evening by playing Nintendo Land with me, but I had to keep on reminding him why I was upset, which really added to my stress, even though he was only trying to help. All sorts of thoughts were going through my head, making me doubt myself and how well I am doing my course, which felt horrible. I just wish I could keep calmer in these situations, and feel I might need help in doing so. I haven't been the most relaxed person recently, mainly because of college but maybe because of other things too, such as how my family and peers expect me to be, and sometimes I do need some space and time to myself, and I have calmly told my dad this as well, and he seems very understanding about this as well.
Another thing that was mentioned today is, because I am looking into volunteering for helping people by being fun and creative, Lynda found this group that helps young disabled children by getting them to do lots of fun and creative things, and suggested I got into contact with the woman that organises these events to see if I can go along and observe what it is they do and see if I like it or not. It certainly sounds interesting, and will need to maybe discuss this further with my parents and see if they think it's a good idea. The next time they are meeting is the 9th May, which is a college day, but I think I will be allowed to go along and check it out as it is relevant work experience for what I might want to do as a career.
23/04/13
I was feeling quite nervous about today, because of it being a new week, not really knowing what to expect, and some of the things that happened last week were on my mind, and I feel that since last week I have done quite a lot to prepare for future life at college, which I have explained in further detail in another entry.
So because I managed to get my laptop connected to the college wifi, I decided to bring my laptop to college for the first time in ages, and for the first time in any module with Neil (W), which did feel a bit weird, but good at the same time as I was trying something different. I also brought it in to save me printing off my blog/journal entries, and also loads of paper, and was also one of the main reasons why I wanted to get my laptop connected to the college wi-fi in the first place to make life and doing work at college easier.
Learnt about the 7 key elements of reflective writing, Describing, Contextualising, Analysing, Critique, Evaluating, Theorising, and Synthesising, all of which has made me think about my own reflective writing and that I should really try and put all of these things to practice.
We were then given a couple of examples of other people's reflective writing, and we had to highlight which parts we thought related to the key elements of Reflective Writing.
Were given other tasks about reflective writing, such as action plans to improve reflective writing, which I feel I will try and apply to my reflective writing, as well as thinking of topics to go into my reflective writing.
Learnt about the 7 key elements of reflective writing, Describing, Contextualising, Analysing, Critique, Evaluating, Theorising, and Synthesising, all of which has made me think about my own reflective writing and that I should really try and put all of these things to practice.
We were then given a couple of examples of other people's reflective writing, and we had to highlight which parts we thought related to the key elements of Reflective Writing.
Were given other tasks about reflective writing, such as action plans to improve reflective writing, which I feel I will try and apply to my reflective writing, as well as thinking of topics to go into my reflective writing.
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
23/04/13 (class exercise)
It's good that I am actually doing my Learning Journal in Neil (W)'s lecture ON MY LAPTOP!!!!!!! Although now at the time of writing I am told I am not allowed to write about today's session right now (I'll come back to it later)
Ok ermmm.... I was so pleased with myself that I managed to finally work out how to connect my laptop to the college wi-fi yesterday! I wanted to do this for today's lecture, to make this lecture and really life at college a lot easier. However, from previous experience I am quite concerned about leaving my laptop around and losing it, so I am going to have to be really super careful when I do bring my laptop to college in the future.
Also in preparation for future college projects, and also for a bit of fun as well, I bought myself a graphics tablet from PC World so I can draw things much easier on my laptop. This will be so useful for college projects if I wish to enhance my sketches onto a digital format such as Photoshop and Illustrator and will make my work look so much more professional.
I suppose something else I can talk about in this task is something that has recently inspired me, and I feel I have a lot to write about. For my birthday last week, I got a Wii U, which came with the excellent game Nintendo Land, a game which I have really enjoyed playing, especially with my dad, and I feel that it has many bright and colourful features which could influence my work somehow. I have also noticed in this game the design styles used, and it has been pointed out to me that style is very important in designing things (so for instance, realistic characters wouldn't match a cartoon world.) This game does have a very cartoony feel to it, and I really like how a lot of the contents of the game are made out of materials such as fabric and cardboard, which reminds me a lot of the games LittleBigPlanet, as well as other Nintendo franchises such as Yoshi's Island and Kirby, and I feel that this style would't be a bad idea for Nintendo to base future projects on, and I am quite fascinated in using this style in some of my own work.
The purpose of the game Nintendo Land is to get players used to the Wii U Game Pad controls in the form of 12 different minigames in a theme park setting, based on 12 different Nintendo franchises, and some are single player and some can be played with friends and family (from what I've typed so far I'd make a terrible journalist, I'm probably making this sound really boring!) I have now played all of the mini games, and I'd say my favourite is the Legend of Zelda Battle Quest, based on the Legend of Zelda series where you battle enemies wielding a sword and shield or bow and arrow to retrieve the Triforce, and can do this alone or up to four players.
I like that all the minigames, unlike a lot of other games in this genre, are actually quite challenging, yet people that don't play games much can easily learn the controls for each minigame. Some are a lot more challenging than others, the most challenging by far in my opinion being Donkey Kong's Crash Course, where you have to guide a cradle along a complicated "crash course" based on the 1980s Donkey Kong game by tilting the game pad and pressing buttons to activate different platforms. However, the cradle is very fragile, and will break if dropped or turned over slightly, making the game quite difficult, and I have yet to fully complete this course without losing all my lives.
Ok ermmm.... I was so pleased with myself that I managed to finally work out how to connect my laptop to the college wi-fi yesterday! I wanted to do this for today's lecture, to make this lecture and really life at college a lot easier. However, from previous experience I am quite concerned about leaving my laptop around and losing it, so I am going to have to be really super careful when I do bring my laptop to college in the future.
Also in preparation for future college projects, and also for a bit of fun as well, I bought myself a graphics tablet from PC World so I can draw things much easier on my laptop. This will be so useful for college projects if I wish to enhance my sketches onto a digital format such as Photoshop and Illustrator and will make my work look so much more professional.
I suppose something else I can talk about in this task is something that has recently inspired me, and I feel I have a lot to write about. For my birthday last week, I got a Wii U, which came with the excellent game Nintendo Land, a game which I have really enjoyed playing, especially with my dad, and I feel that it has many bright and colourful features which could influence my work somehow. I have also noticed in this game the design styles used, and it has been pointed out to me that style is very important in designing things (so for instance, realistic characters wouldn't match a cartoon world.) This game does have a very cartoony feel to it, and I really like how a lot of the contents of the game are made out of materials such as fabric and cardboard, which reminds me a lot of the games LittleBigPlanet, as well as other Nintendo franchises such as Yoshi's Island and Kirby, and I feel that this style would't be a bad idea for Nintendo to base future projects on, and I am quite fascinated in using this style in some of my own work.
The purpose of the game Nintendo Land is to get players used to the Wii U Game Pad controls in the form of 12 different minigames in a theme park setting, based on 12 different Nintendo franchises, and some are single player and some can be played with friends and family (from what I've typed so far I'd make a terrible journalist, I'm probably making this sound really boring!) I have now played all of the mini games, and I'd say my favourite is the Legend of Zelda Battle Quest, based on the Legend of Zelda series where you battle enemies wielding a sword and shield or bow and arrow to retrieve the Triforce, and can do this alone or up to four players.
I like that all the minigames, unlike a lot of other games in this genre, are actually quite challenging, yet people that don't play games much can easily learn the controls for each minigame. Some are a lot more challenging than others, the most challenging by far in my opinion being Donkey Kong's Crash Course, where you have to guide a cradle along a complicated "crash course" based on the 1980s Donkey Kong game by tilting the game pad and pressing buttons to activate different platforms. However, the cradle is very fragile, and will break if dropped or turned over slightly, making the game quite difficult, and I have yet to fully complete this course without losing all my lives.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
21/04/13
So if I am honest, because I've felt I needed to, I have taken a break from my college work for the past couple of days. However, that doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything. I went to the gym on Friday for the first time in a while, which I really enjoyed, and I might get back into going again. I had to renew my membership but that was fine.
Yesterday I attended the March for Stafford Hospital, which had an amazing atmosphere, and was such a beautiful day too! It was also so nice to see so many people supporting the hospital and Stafford itself. I've heard there was around 50, 000 people there, and I really enjoyed being part of it, and am proud to have done so. I also signed the petition to save Stafford Hospital on Thursday after college, and saw the woman who asked me to do so, and said she remembered me, so that was good. I saw a few people I knew in the march, and heard that a lot more people I knew that I didn't see attended too!
So my plan for today is to get my research and my blog up to date, and email the blog to Neil (W) and focus on the designing on Monday and Tuesday afternoon (I MUST COLOUR THEM IN AS WELL!) I will also try and see tomorrow if I can connect my laptop to the college Wi-Fi, as that would make my life so much easier! I also want to go to the gym tomorrow, and I will need to buy a drawing tablet soon.
Yesterday I attended the March for Stafford Hospital, which had an amazing atmosphere, and was such a beautiful day too! It was also so nice to see so many people supporting the hospital and Stafford itself. I've heard there was around 50, 000 people there, and I really enjoyed being part of it, and am proud to have done so. I also signed the petition to save Stafford Hospital on Thursday after college, and saw the woman who asked me to do so, and said she remembered me, so that was good. I saw a few people I knew in the march, and heard that a lot more people I knew that I didn't see attended too!
So my plan for today is to get my research and my blog up to date, and email the blog to Neil (W) and focus on the designing on Monday and Tuesday afternoon (I MUST COLOUR THEM IN AS WELL!) I will also try and see tomorrow if I can connect my laptop to the college Wi-Fi, as that would make my life so much easier! I also want to go to the gym tomorrow, and I will need to buy a drawing tablet soon.
18/04/13
First thing this morning after my walk to college I was very surprised to see my old college support Jane, who actually said she was looking for me as Lisa was running a bit late because of the bad traffic. So it was really nice to catch up with her for a while, and talked about what I was doing at college now, and showed her a couple of my sketches from yesterday. Speaking of which, I was feeling very nervous about today, seeing how things have gone over the past couple of days.
It was also great to catch up with Lisa throughout the day, and to be honest this did make doing my work much easier today. I was still coming up with a few more ideas for character designs for each of my spirits, as well as updating my blog.
I spent some of my lunchtime with the Interactive Media second years again, and this time, one of them was watching Game of Thrones, which I think my dad is going to borrow from one of his colleagues. I really value seeing and spending time with people at lunchtimes, and really makes my day a lot easier.
After lunch I then managed to have a 1 to 1 tutorial with Neil about some worries and concerns about the course, and also showed him the work I did today, which thankfully he was so much more pleased with today. He still wants me to colour them, which to be honest I haven't got around to yet. I also feel that we are at a much better understanding with each other than yesterday, which is good, and a much better end to the week at college.
I still need to finish designing this weekend, but I think I am on track with things now.
It was also great to catch up with Lisa throughout the day, and to be honest this did make doing my work much easier today. I was still coming up with a few more ideas for character designs for each of my spirits, as well as updating my blog.
I spent some of my lunchtime with the Interactive Media second years again, and this time, one of them was watching Game of Thrones, which I think my dad is going to borrow from one of his colleagues. I really value seeing and spending time with people at lunchtimes, and really makes my day a lot easier.
After lunch I then managed to have a 1 to 1 tutorial with Neil about some worries and concerns about the course, and also showed him the work I did today, which thankfully he was so much more pleased with today. He still wants me to colour them, which to be honest I haven't got around to yet. I also feel that we are at a much better understanding with each other than yesterday, which is good, and a much better end to the week at college.
I still need to finish designing this weekend, but I think I am on track with things now.
My 19th Birthday (15th April 2013)
I was very excited today, as today was my birthday! I always get so excited about my birthday, and all the celebrations and presents and cards that make it so special. I also promised myself that I wasn't going to do any work from college today, and even though it's officially not the Easter Holidays anymore, I don't have to go to college on Mondays, so I had the day off! However, mum and dad still needed to work, so I woke up early to open the rest of my presents that I didn't open yesterday in front of Becky, my sister. Yesterday I opened all of her presents, and a few others, such as my nan's presents and my mum's friend Pauline's presents, as I wasn't going to see any of them today. So far I've got a Wii U, several games for the Wii U (Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2,) a Duffy the Disney Bear, a Boo hat and some Rise of the Guardians stuff. I also have the presents from my friends, which weren't wrapped, so I had an Avengers poster, some Star Wars/Angry Birds stuff, some Disney things, and a couple of aftershaves.
I opened the cards at the breakfast table (I opened Becky's yesterday, which was really lovely and very touching,) which were all lovely, some had money in them (one of my friends very generously gave me £20! That was so kind of them!) and unlike most years all the cards were different!
I also opened the rest of my birthday presents, which included Assassin's Creed 1 and 2, an Assassin's Creed hoodie which fits perfectly, an Assassin's Creed dressing gown ( I really want to get into the Assassin's Creed series, I've heard it's good), The Hobbit on DVD, as well as lots of other amazing gifts.
So really I did spend a lot of time alone on my birthday, but it was nice to just relax. However, I did meet my dad in town for lunch, where I also saw lots of other people I knew who wished me a happy birthday, and I also got lots of birthday wishes on Facebook. I was also wearing my new hoodie, and the weather was super sunny as well, which was great and really lifted my spirit.
When I got home, I set up the Wii U, even though it took a good two hours to do so. When it was all set up, I started to experiment with all the different features of the Wii U, including the YouTube app on the Wii U as well as MiiVerse, which is basically the Wii U's answer to Facebook. However, MiiVerse only seems to encourage talking about games, so since I haven't played any of my Wii U games yet, I don't have much to say. Facebook "Likes" are replaced by "Yeah's" as well, which I find slightly weird.
Had a lovely birthday meal with the family at home and had some lovely birthday cake as well. I couldn't have asked for a better day, the sun was shining, got some awesome presents, and saw lots of super nice people today. Great start to what will hopefully be the best year yet. I really do hope this year will be the best year yet, my mum and dad both met when they were 19, and my sister said her best year was 19 too, which was when she started her college and met her boyfriend. So maybe I'll fall in love this year too, or have something else spectacular happen to me! :)
I opened the cards at the breakfast table (I opened Becky's yesterday, which was really lovely and very touching,) which were all lovely, some had money in them (one of my friends very generously gave me £20! That was so kind of them!) and unlike most years all the cards were different!
I also opened the rest of my birthday presents, which included Assassin's Creed 1 and 2, an Assassin's Creed hoodie which fits perfectly, an Assassin's Creed dressing gown ( I really want to get into the Assassin's Creed series, I've heard it's good), The Hobbit on DVD, as well as lots of other amazing gifts.
So really I did spend a lot of time alone on my birthday, but it was nice to just relax. However, I did meet my dad in town for lunch, where I also saw lots of other people I knew who wished me a happy birthday, and I also got lots of birthday wishes on Facebook. I was also wearing my new hoodie, and the weather was super sunny as well, which was great and really lifted my spirit.
When I got home, I set up the Wii U, even though it took a good two hours to do so. When it was all set up, I started to experiment with all the different features of the Wii U, including the YouTube app on the Wii U as well as MiiVerse, which is basically the Wii U's answer to Facebook. However, MiiVerse only seems to encourage talking about games, so since I haven't played any of my Wii U games yet, I don't have much to say. Facebook "Likes" are replaced by "Yeah's" as well, which I find slightly weird.
Had a lovely birthday meal with the family at home and had some lovely birthday cake as well. I couldn't have asked for a better day, the sun was shining, got some awesome presents, and saw lots of super nice people today. Great start to what will hopefully be the best year yet. I really do hope this year will be the best year yet, my mum and dad both met when they were 19, and my sister said her best year was 19 too, which was when she started her college and met her boyfriend. So maybe I'll fall in love this year too, or have something else spectacular happen to me! :)
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
17/04/13
Because I had a bit of a tough day yesterday, I was feeling quite sensitive walking to college and was feeling nervous about the day ahead. I was nervous that, even though I have done quite a lot more sketches for my Trading Card Game project (from now on, I might just call it the Spirit Rush Project as that sounds cooler,) Neil (Brewis) was going to expect more.
Because of my worries from yesterday, first thing this morning I was able to speak to my college support Lynda about these worries, including the trip, working on a presentation in pairs, having to present my journal/blog next week, and what happened at the Uni yesterday. I found her advice very helpful, and I feel I can certainly understand what she said and made these worries seem very manageable. She suggested to email the blog to Neil (Wood) and only print off a few pages from the past month or so, and to only worry about my contributions about working in pairs. I certainly felt a lot better after speaking to Lynda, and was certainly less worried about what happened yesterday
Went back to the classroom, and we were given a timetable sheet about how and when we were going to do the steps required for each of our projects. It was good that I had already considered this, even though I was a bit behind to where I would have liked to have been by now. I also showed Neil (B) my progress so far on my project, and explained to him what it was I was doing, and discussed with me how I will display my work at the end of year show, which does seem a while away, but it is worth thinking about. He also gave me some feedback on my work so far for the Spirit Rush project, saying that he felt that some of my designs for the spirit characters were too similar, even though I found an idea I liked and tried to stick to it. He also said he preferred some of the designs that were way more basic, but I wasn't too keen on myself. It did take me a while to take in and absorb what he had said, but Neil did say to draw another 10 character designs, which needed to be more different than the ones I had already done. He did remind me about how much he liked the simpler drawings, which I felt didn't really take much of my effort or imagination, and I didn't believe in as much, but then Lynda told me that she would have felt similar to how I was feeling and said to maybe compromise what I wanted and what Neil wanted for my future designs.
I spent lunch with my friend Jake from Interactive Media, and the Paris trip, who is also working on an end of year project, his Final Major Project (FMP), which is what I had to do this time last year. He told me he was working on a Turn Based Role Playing Game with Bug characters. This idea later reminded me a lot of Pokemon, as I was playing Pokemon quite a lot over Easter, but his idea sounded a lot like this but just with Bug type Pokemon, which sounded cool. Another Interactive Media student told me he was working on a board game (like a Snakes and Ladders type of board game, where you have to get from A to B, not something like Monopoly or Cluedo) that can be played electronically for his FMP. I decided to try and draw a couple more design ideas over lunch while they were working over their lunch break, which to be honest I never normally do, as I feel it's super important to take breaks from your work. However, I ust be honest, I don't feel I got much doe over lunch at all, I spent more of it talking to Jake and some of the other Interactive Media students. I also saw a couple more people from school today that I haven't seen in a while, and it was very nice to see them too.
Worked on the designs for the rest of the day, as well as my blog when I was struggling to think of more ideas, and then called Neil over to check on my progress just before the end of the day, and unfortunately he still wasn't happy with my designs, even though I tried hard to make them more varied and more different. He also kept on telling me lots of different reasons why he liked my much simpler and basic designs, which to be honest I don't believe in and wouldn't have been happy to work on as I feel they were too basic and I feel they didn't show off my creative ability as much. It was quite upsetting, especially towards the end of the day that my designs still weren't pleasing Neil, and we did end up disagreeing on the designs, and I felt his comments were a bit too critical and not as constructive as they should have been, and I felt he did use a few harsh words during his criticism, and this did upset me, even though he made clear that he was only trying to help. I'll be honest, I did feel very upset about the criticism I received at the end of the day, especially since I have genuinely tried to accept his comments from tis morning and put them in my designs and just felt like I needed to go home, as it was too much to take on at the time.
Lynda then tried to calm me down and took me out of the room to do this, and explained to me that...
Because of my worries from yesterday, first thing this morning I was able to speak to my college support Lynda about these worries, including the trip, working on a presentation in pairs, having to present my journal/blog next week, and what happened at the Uni yesterday. I found her advice very helpful, and I feel I can certainly understand what she said and made these worries seem very manageable. She suggested to email the blog to Neil (Wood) and only print off a few pages from the past month or so, and to only worry about my contributions about working in pairs. I certainly felt a lot better after speaking to Lynda, and was certainly less worried about what happened yesterday
Went back to the classroom, and we were given a timetable sheet about how and when we were going to do the steps required for each of our projects. It was good that I had already considered this, even though I was a bit behind to where I would have liked to have been by now. I also showed Neil (B) my progress so far on my project, and explained to him what it was I was doing, and discussed with me how I will display my work at the end of year show, which does seem a while away, but it is worth thinking about. He also gave me some feedback on my work so far for the Spirit Rush project, saying that he felt that some of my designs for the spirit characters were too similar, even though I found an idea I liked and tried to stick to it. He also said he preferred some of the designs that were way more basic, but I wasn't too keen on myself. It did take me a while to take in and absorb what he had said, but Neil did say to draw another 10 character designs, which needed to be more different than the ones I had already done. He did remind me about how much he liked the simpler drawings, which I felt didn't really take much of my effort or imagination, and I didn't believe in as much, but then Lynda told me that she would have felt similar to how I was feeling and said to maybe compromise what I wanted and what Neil wanted for my future designs.
I spent lunch with my friend Jake from Interactive Media, and the Paris trip, who is also working on an end of year project, his Final Major Project (FMP), which is what I had to do this time last year. He told me he was working on a Turn Based Role Playing Game with Bug characters. This idea later reminded me a lot of Pokemon, as I was playing Pokemon quite a lot over Easter, but his idea sounded a lot like this but just with Bug type Pokemon, which sounded cool. Another Interactive Media student told me he was working on a board game (like a Snakes and Ladders type of board game, where you have to get from A to B, not something like Monopoly or Cluedo) that can be played electronically for his FMP. I decided to try and draw a couple more design ideas over lunch while they were working over their lunch break, which to be honest I never normally do, as I feel it's super important to take breaks from your work. However, I ust be honest, I don't feel I got much doe over lunch at all, I spent more of it talking to Jake and some of the other Interactive Media students. I also saw a couple more people from school today that I haven't seen in a while, and it was very nice to see them too.
Worked on the designs for the rest of the day, as well as my blog when I was struggling to think of more ideas, and then called Neil over to check on my progress just before the end of the day, and unfortunately he still wasn't happy with my designs, even though I tried hard to make them more varied and more different. He also kept on telling me lots of different reasons why he liked my much simpler and basic designs, which to be honest I don't believe in and wouldn't have been happy to work on as I feel they were too basic and I feel they didn't show off my creative ability as much. It was quite upsetting, especially towards the end of the day that my designs still weren't pleasing Neil, and we did end up disagreeing on the designs, and I felt his comments were a bit too critical and not as constructive as they should have been, and I felt he did use a few harsh words during his criticism, and this did upset me, even though he made clear that he was only trying to help. I'll be honest, I did feel very upset about the criticism I received at the end of the day, especially since I have genuinely tried to accept his comments from tis morning and put them in my designs and just felt like I needed to go home, as it was too much to take on at the time.
Lynda then tried to calm me down and took me out of the room to do this, and explained to me that...
28/03/13
Bought Luigi's Mansion 2 today! Calum also wanted this game, and had also pre-ordered the game, so we decided to buy it together. However, because he put a deposit down for the game and I didn't (I wasn't aware I needed to do this to do so) he got a free Boo stress ball with his copy and I didn't :(
Anyway, I feel I got on well at college today, even though this afternoon I did feel a bit rushed as it was hand in day today. Neil wanted my blog to be printed but I was really running out of time, so luckily he agreed for me to email my blog to him, judging how long my posts are, I'm sure my posts would collectively be worth at least a tree's worth of paper.
Also, because I had to print off a few things, I had to buy printer credits this week, and was the first time I've ever had to do so.
I feel that this term I have achieved so much and have also started to think about possible options for the future. I'm starting to regularly hang out with people in my breaktimes and lunchtimes, which is a huge achievement, and I feel that the counselling and emotional wellbeing sessions I've had have really helped with this, and this has made me a lot happier at college. I also like that I am now doing a project of my choosing, where I finally have a bit of creative freedom.
Anyway, I feel I got on well at college today, even though this afternoon I did feel a bit rushed as it was hand in day today. Neil wanted my blog to be printed but I was really running out of time, so luckily he agreed for me to email my blog to him, judging how long my posts are, I'm sure my posts would collectively be worth at least a tree's worth of paper.
Also, because I had to print off a few things, I had to buy printer credits this week, and was the first time I've ever had to do so.
I feel that this term I have achieved so much and have also started to think about possible options for the future. I'm starting to regularly hang out with people in my breaktimes and lunchtimes, which is a huge achievement, and I feel that the counselling and emotional wellbeing sessions I've had have really helped with this, and this has made me a lot happier at college. I also like that I am now doing a project of my choosing, where I finally have a bit of creative freedom.
16/04/13
NEW MODULE ALERT! Which is actually more or less about my reflective writing, which is what I am doing in these blogs.
To be honest there was quite a lot of information to take in today about the module, and I feel that a lot of it does feel quite uncomfortable and way out of my comfort zone.
First of all there is the contents of the module. I am fine with the 1000 word commentary about the course so far, and the aspects of the course that have helped to develop me as a creative person, and I don't mind the reflective writing. I just feel a bit uneasy about the fact that I have to do another presentation, about a success story relating to my work. But apparently I have to present this with another person, most likely from my course, which I feel extremely nervous about, because I just don't see myself working on a project well with the people on my course, and may find this hard to cope with.
It's also been announced that there is a compulsory educational visit to either Liverpool or Oxford, which Neil Wood, the lecturer who will be teaching the Reflective Writing module hasn't decided on yet, so he made each of the students vote for which place we would like to visit most. I really love Liverpool, but I've never been to Oxford so I opted for that. I see Liverpool as more of a fun place, like to go on a day out to do what you please. I've been to the New Art Museum at Liverpool a few times as well, which is nice, and has many interesting displays, many of which are interactive. I actually went over the Easter holidays, and had a great time there, even though we mainly did shopping, which I did feel was a bit of a dodgy move being so close to my birthday. However, my sister bought me a Fix it Felix Jr plush toy as an Easter gift, because she didn't buy me an Easter egg, which was really kind of her.
But anyway, I digress. I suppose there have been some positive things about today. I felt I made some excellent contributions to the class, which I do feel very pleased about, and I really do hope I will contribute more in these lectures with Neil Wood. I also feel that it was hard to get too excited about the last module, to be honest my heart wasn't really in it. To recap, the last module, Professional and Contextual Studies, was more about making money from art and felt more like I was doing business studies mixed with art, and to be honest I really don't see myself as much of a businessman, I am a creative person, and I sometimes wondered if you could get the information given in these lectures elsewhere. However, I do see the importance of knowing what was covered in the module if you want to become a professional artist, however you find out about it.
One thing in particular I did find interesting today was working in groups and constructing an interview about our art and creative practice. One person had to be the "interviewer," another had to be the "interviewee" and the other person/people had to take notes on the interview. Since nobody else from my course was in today, I was put with two of the other art students, who seem very nice and very enthusiastic about their work and art, and between us I feel constructed quite a good interview. I was the one taking the notes about the interview, as I didn't really feel all that comfortable being asked a bunch of questions about my work, especially with it being the first day back, and I was worried I might not understand all of the questions or being able to answer them well. However, when some of the questions were being read out, I was starting to think about what I would say if I was being asked those questions as well, while talking notes on the interview.
Spoke to my college support Lynda after the lecture had ended,
I was going to do some more work on my Trading Card project I started before Easter this afternoon, but I had a tough experience having to return library books and sorting out my student card at the University. Returning the library books in the end was fine, but were slightly overdue so I had to pay an extra 50p (I put in a £1 coin and the machine didn't give me any change. How cheeky!) and also had to return them by speaking to the librarian instead of just scanning them as normal. However, the librarian was very helpful and reactivated my student card for me. I then went to the information desk at the University to sort out the confusion with my student card, as the Uni had deactivated my card since finding my old one at the library after I bought a new one before Easter. The lady behind the desk was less than helpful really, and was really confusing, as she kept on swapping my cards over, and kept on saying that I can't have two student cards. Well if this was the case, then they shouldn't have deactivated my card in the first place, and none of this would have had to have happened! But the lady was quite unfriendly and didn't seem to care about the fact I have Autism and the way she was speaking to me was getting me all worked up and upset.
So I left the Uni upset, and got home and told my mum and dad about what had happened. I still felt quite depressed all evening, which I felt was a total shame as it was my birthday yesterday, and I shouldn't feel like this so soon after my birthday, and because I was feeling like this, it prevented me from doing my work in the evening.
To be honest there was quite a lot of information to take in today about the module, and I feel that a lot of it does feel quite uncomfortable and way out of my comfort zone.
First of all there is the contents of the module. I am fine with the 1000 word commentary about the course so far, and the aspects of the course that have helped to develop me as a creative person, and I don't mind the reflective writing. I just feel a bit uneasy about the fact that I have to do another presentation, about a success story relating to my work. But apparently I have to present this with another person, most likely from my course, which I feel extremely nervous about, because I just don't see myself working on a project well with the people on my course, and may find this hard to cope with.
It's also been announced that there is a compulsory educational visit to either Liverpool or Oxford, which Neil Wood, the lecturer who will be teaching the Reflective Writing module hasn't decided on yet, so he made each of the students vote for which place we would like to visit most. I really love Liverpool, but I've never been to Oxford so I opted for that. I see Liverpool as more of a fun place, like to go on a day out to do what you please. I've been to the New Art Museum at Liverpool a few times as well, which is nice, and has many interesting displays, many of which are interactive. I actually went over the Easter holidays, and had a great time there, even though we mainly did shopping, which I did feel was a bit of a dodgy move being so close to my birthday. However, my sister bought me a Fix it Felix Jr plush toy as an Easter gift, because she didn't buy me an Easter egg, which was really kind of her.
But anyway, I digress. I suppose there have been some positive things about today. I felt I made some excellent contributions to the class, which I do feel very pleased about, and I really do hope I will contribute more in these lectures with Neil Wood. I also feel that it was hard to get too excited about the last module, to be honest my heart wasn't really in it. To recap, the last module, Professional and Contextual Studies, was more about making money from art and felt more like I was doing business studies mixed with art, and to be honest I really don't see myself as much of a businessman, I am a creative person, and I sometimes wondered if you could get the information given in these lectures elsewhere. However, I do see the importance of knowing what was covered in the module if you want to become a professional artist, however you find out about it.
One thing in particular I did find interesting today was working in groups and constructing an interview about our art and creative practice. One person had to be the "interviewer," another had to be the "interviewee" and the other person/people had to take notes on the interview. Since nobody else from my course was in today, I was put with two of the other art students, who seem very nice and very enthusiastic about their work and art, and between us I feel constructed quite a good interview. I was the one taking the notes about the interview, as I didn't really feel all that comfortable being asked a bunch of questions about my work, especially with it being the first day back, and I was worried I might not understand all of the questions or being able to answer them well. However, when some of the questions were being read out, I was starting to think about what I would say if I was being asked those questions as well, while talking notes on the interview.
Spoke to my college support Lynda after the lecture had ended,
I was going to do some more work on my Trading Card project I started before Easter this afternoon, but I had a tough experience having to return library books and sorting out my student card at the University. Returning the library books in the end was fine, but were slightly overdue so I had to pay an extra 50p (I put in a £1 coin and the machine didn't give me any change. How cheeky!) and also had to return them by speaking to the librarian instead of just scanning them as normal. However, the librarian was very helpful and reactivated my student card for me. I then went to the information desk at the University to sort out the confusion with my student card, as the Uni had deactivated my card since finding my old one at the library after I bought a new one before Easter. The lady behind the desk was less than helpful really, and was really confusing, as she kept on swapping my cards over, and kept on saying that I can't have two student cards. Well if this was the case, then they shouldn't have deactivated my card in the first place, and none of this would have had to have happened! But the lady was quite unfriendly and didn't seem to care about the fact I have Autism and the way she was speaking to me was getting me all worked up and upset.
So I left the Uni upset, and got home and told my mum and dad about what had happened. I still felt quite depressed all evening, which I felt was a total shame as it was my birthday yesterday, and I shouldn't feel like this so soon after my birthday, and because I was feeling like this, it prevented me from doing my work in the evening.
Easter Holidays
WHOA I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS IN AAAAAAAAAAGES! But don't tell anybody.
Had a fantastic Easter Holiday full of happy times and Birthday celebrations. I am now 19!
I did have a lot of family days out over Easter, many places to get lots of inspiration from, such as Liverpool, the Trentham Monkey Forest (could make a few games based on that place), Chester and the Peak District, all very lovely places.
My birthday was awesome! I did loads of things for it, including a cinema trip to see the surprisingly great film The Croods, went to Pizza Hut to celebrate with some of my friends from my old Interactive Media course, was lovely to catch up with them, and were all very generous for my birthday. One of them gave me £20, which I am super grateful for! However, I did burn my finger as it caught on the pizza pan when our food arrived, I dropped some pizza down me and the Ice Cream Factory wasn't working, but apart from that it was great.
I also celebrated by going to Frankie and Benny's for lunch with my sister and my cousin (my sister came back home for the weekend before my birthday.) and also having a Domino's Pizza with another friend at my house whilst watching Wreck it Ralph and Avengers Assemble, ON THE SAME DAY! I was really full!
Sunday 14th April was quite sad because Becky had to go home and my Easter Holiday was coming to an end. However I have had a brilliant Easter.
I also feel a great sense of achievement over what I have done over Easter, especially arranging to see friends and family, as that really wasn't easy for me. I remember when sending the invites via Facebook, it took me 10 minutes to click the send button to my friends because I was so nervous! I also had to change the original date because some of the people I invited couldn't make the original date. I also found it weird that some of them had different holidays to my holiday, as they were back at Uni the second week of my Easter Holiday. I also felt like I was responsible for bringing them together, and they were also making other plans to meet up again, perhaps for a cinema trip, visiting one of the Universities and going on a night out or for our respective birthdays, and I just thought "I made this happen!" So a really proud day.
I also feel pleased that I managed to get a bit of college work done despite all of this, and also having the additional distraction of playing Luigi's Mansion 2 and Pokemon SoulSilver over quite a large portion of my Easter holidays. For my Trading Card Game, which I've now decided to name "Spirit Rush" ("Spirit" as spirits are the main focus of my trading card game, and "Rush" because I often feel rushed in doing things such as work for college), I have firstly decided on a name, and also drawn a few more development sketches, making my sketchbook almost full.
For my other module, the art/business one, I managed to write my case study and also wrote a 1000 word commentary on the module, all of this before my actual birthday! I felt so pleased and so relieved about this, as I was so nervous about having to do this case study, so now that's all ready to hand in for Tuesday!
Had a fantastic Easter Holiday full of happy times and Birthday celebrations. I am now 19!
I did have a lot of family days out over Easter, many places to get lots of inspiration from, such as Liverpool, the Trentham Monkey Forest (could make a few games based on that place), Chester and the Peak District, all very lovely places.
My birthday was awesome! I did loads of things for it, including a cinema trip to see the surprisingly great film The Croods, went to Pizza Hut to celebrate with some of my friends from my old Interactive Media course, was lovely to catch up with them, and were all very generous for my birthday. One of them gave me £20, which I am super grateful for! However, I did burn my finger as it caught on the pizza pan when our food arrived, I dropped some pizza down me and the Ice Cream Factory wasn't working, but apart from that it was great.
I also celebrated by going to Frankie and Benny's for lunch with my sister and my cousin (my sister came back home for the weekend before my birthday.) and also having a Domino's Pizza with another friend at my house whilst watching Wreck it Ralph and Avengers Assemble, ON THE SAME DAY! I was really full!
Sunday 14th April was quite sad because Becky had to go home and my Easter Holiday was coming to an end. However I have had a brilliant Easter.
I also feel a great sense of achievement over what I have done over Easter, especially arranging to see friends and family, as that really wasn't easy for me. I remember when sending the invites via Facebook, it took me 10 minutes to click the send button to my friends because I was so nervous! I also had to change the original date because some of the people I invited couldn't make the original date. I also found it weird that some of them had different holidays to my holiday, as they were back at Uni the second week of my Easter Holiday. I also felt like I was responsible for bringing them together, and they were also making other plans to meet up again, perhaps for a cinema trip, visiting one of the Universities and going on a night out or for our respective birthdays, and I just thought "I made this happen!" So a really proud day.
I also feel pleased that I managed to get a bit of college work done despite all of this, and also having the additional distraction of playing Luigi's Mansion 2 and Pokemon SoulSilver over quite a large portion of my Easter holidays. For my Trading Card Game, which I've now decided to name "Spirit Rush" ("Spirit" as spirits are the main focus of my trading card game, and "Rush" because I often feel rushed in doing things such as work for college), I have firstly decided on a name, and also drawn a few more development sketches, making my sketchbook almost full.
For my other module, the art/business one, I managed to write my case study and also wrote a 1000 word commentary on the module, all of this before my actual birthday! I felt so pleased and so relieved about this, as I was so nervous about having to do this case study, so now that's all ready to hand in for Tuesday!
Thursday, 28 March 2013
13/03/13 Andrew Stanton and the Philosophy of the Matrix
This afternoon's lecture we started watching Philosophy and the Matrix http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgkBE4Kgq5Q , an hour long documentary which discussed the philosophical, religious, historical and social contexts in the Matrix movie. I thought it was very interesting how the writers and scientists and philosophers who all worked on the Matrix movie considered the subject of reality in very close and very deep detail, and considered what reality could be from many different points of view, and how it may not be what one person might think (it's all very confusing!) but they mentioned how it could be above and beyond one person's experiences.
Social Contexts, being controlled by corporations and big companies, education, can one really have entire freedom. the documentary compares people to "batteries" and we recharge in our sleep.
Religious contexts could include the soul trapped inside a material body wanting to get out.
They focused on people's limits, the confusion on reality, being unable to see beyond what we know and experience.
They also say if people are aware of what you don't already know, it makes people more curious, almost to the point of madness, and this intrigues the viewer.
Also mentions the quality of spontaneousness in the film, doing things without giving them a thought or being aware of what you're doing, your body just does it naturally. Neo uses his own will to achieve what he wants.
Uses Metaphysics, which links back to the question of what is reality? Other than what's physically around us, beyond what's physically around us. Very philosophical and confusing, not sure whether to trust all these theories and not sure if they're all true or not. It's important to have an individual opinion about what they are saying.
This confusing documentary also mentioned a lot of metaphors. This was certainly very philosophical and perhaps confusing, and not all of it may be factual, but it is certainly interesting to see all the different points of view.
We also watched Andrew Stanton: The clues to a great story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxDwieKpawg
This was a very inspiring speech given by movie director Andrew Stanton at the 2012 TED Convention about
storytelling, and what makes a story interesting and gripping to an audience, and spoke about how his past experiences
have influenced some of the stories of the films he has directed and been a part of, such as Finding Nemo.
He was a very premature baby, and had to have many blood transfusions, which could be a bit like Nemo's
birth in Finding Nemo, and feels he owes it to this second chance he has to pour his heart and soul into every
project.
Stanton gave many storytelling tips and secrets in his speech, many of which I would like to practice and I
feel that using these storytelling tips and secrets will help me a lot to make storytelling in any projects I do that
involve storytelling much better.
Some tips he provided include:
Timing is very important, especially with jokes, punch lines.
Need to make people care, story must promise audience that the story will lead somewhere worth their time.
Story needs to be rewarding for the audience.
Story needs to be unpredictable. What will happen next?
Characters need a "spine," something that they need to achieve, something they must work on, a goal. This
leads to good and/or bad choices for the character.
However flawed character's personality may be at start of the story, needs to make character likeable, make the
character learn something.
Storytelling has guidelines, not any particular set rules.
The best stories create wonder, something Stanton noticed when watching Disney's Bambi.
Use what you know to create story, and it is really good if you can relate to the story somehow, it's perfectly
ok, if not recommended, that you use your own influences and values to inspire the story.
Actions are also essential in storytelling, creates the most intricate storytelling.
Stanton mentioned his many influences as well, including the 1986 film Lawrence of Arabia, which he claims he saw
7 times in one month, because it was so inspiring to him, and I think a scene in particular he found inspiring
was when one character asked another "Who are you?" which I think did make him consider the inner depths
of the character more, to kind of give the character a spine, a path of self discovery, I think. Other influences of
his included Wall.E, which used merely actions, but incredibly well, to tell the story, and Bambi, which made
him fill with wonder. I honestly found everything he said truly interesting and inspiring, and it was amazing to
see how much depth and detail and work should go into a story alone, and certainly sounds a very inspiring
career.
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