War Poster

Final

First Version

I do believe that my stance is clear.  I feel that the quote I incorporated within my poster clearly shows that I am against war and that it is immoral.  My quote says, "War doesn't determine who is right, only who is left".  This means that whoever wins a war doesn't necessarily mean they did it for the right reasons or that it was moral, it simply means that they were superior and wiped out the opposing side.  War doesn't determine what is right or wrong because there is always two sides to looking at things and people who have lost wars or been victims to the destruction of war could be innocent.  My stance is that war isn't the right way to determine what is right or wrong and how things should be in the world.  I used very bold text for that quote because I really wanted it to pop out and have a strong effect on whoever is reading it.  I made the words "War", "Right", and "Left" bigger and in red because I wanted them to stand out from everything else because I feel that they are the most important words in the quote to get the point across.  I also decided to put another "War" in the center of the poster and I made it digital and following a drone to show how war today relies so much on technology.    

My final product was nowhere near my initial thumbnail sketches and hand drawn draft.  My first version looks like my hand drawn draft and I feel that I was successful in recreating it digitally.  However I do prefer my new and final version because I think it is more modern and relatable in this day and age since it incorporates technology.  I also think that my quote has more of an impact in my newer version than in my first one so I think it has more of an impact on the reader. 

One of the changes I made from the first version to the new one was the quote.  In the first version, my quote was very small and wasn't broken up like in my new version.  In my final, I made sure to make the quote larger and split it up more effectively to take up more space.  I also put some of the words in perspective so that they stood out which is something I didn't do originally.  I also changed the word "War" from being written in blood to being digital.  I did this so show how much technology plays a part in war.  Similarly, I changed the main image from being a man dragging a large weapon to a drone flying, to also show how war is nowadays.  I made these changes because I wanted my poster to be more modern rather than old fashioned ways of war.

I think that my project is stronger in design want weaker in concept.  I think it is stronger in design because I put in alot of thought into how I should arrange and design my quote.  I think I effectively chose a font that makes my quote stand out.  I also think that my colors are meaningful since I used alot of red to represent blood.  I think my project is weaker in concept because I didnt use many other visuals instead of the drone and im afraid it might take away from the effect my poster may have. 

The most challenging aspect of this project conceptually is making sure that my stance on war is clear.  I don't want people to be confused on how I feel on war and I wanted to make sure that my poster had a lasting impact.

Technically, the most challenging thing about this project was trying to make the effect of the words going back into the poster.  Trying to get this effect the right way was hard because I had to teach myself how to do it and practice and I messed up alot of the time. 

Social Media Response

 

I look through my Facebook feed on a daily basis and there is a variety of topics and issues that appear over and over again.  One political issue that is common on my feed involves Donald Trump.  There are many videos that show his very one sided and degrading comments.  Many of the videos are clips from speeches that include him saying how awful Muslims are.  Aside from that, there are many other different types of videos that show all of the immature things Trump says. 

 

When looking at the videos that have to do with Donald Trump, I often look at the comments.  There are many supporters of Trump that feel it is right to say ugly things about Muslims and others.  I disagree with these comments completely because I feel that many people, like  Trump, are just looking for a target to blame, get rid off, and move on.  I feel that the things Trump and his followers say is just not right and it always bugs me to see it on my Facebook news feed.  I strongly disagree with the many people that feel Trump is the answer to America's problems.

I rarely like or share things on Facebook but a current issue that is important to be is abortion.  The topic of abortion is important to be because I've had family members and friends who have gone through it.  There is a lot of controversy around this topic and I see it often in me Facebook feed.  I personally believe in pro-choice because I feel that a women has the right to do what she wants with her body and often there are many serious and good reasons for needed or wanting an abortion.  I don't feel that it is right for others to demand that abortions be illegal because it is taking away women's choices and could lead them to use unsafe measures.  I also don't like how people refer themselves as "pro-life" because it makes me feel that anybody who isn't against abortion is someone that loves killing unborn babies.  I think that people who don't agree with abortion are wrong because they shouldn't be able to dictate how women live their lives and the choices they make.

Something I am concerned with is the rising cost for colleges.  I'm passionate about this because I am going to be a college student soon and I don't want to graduate with an extreme amount of debt.  I feel that colleges shouldn't be so expensive because modern society should want the younger generations to acquire as much knowledge as possible.  Many people often don't go to the colleges they can get into because it is too much money.  Some colleges aren't even worth going to because of the amount of debt a person would have, and the fact that there is never really a guaranteed job out of college anymore is scary.  I think colleges should cost less because everyone deserves a great education and we students shouldn't have to ruin our lives with debt or not go to the school of our dreams because it is too expensive.

Current topic/Issues that I would like to learn more about

• College cost:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/college-tuition-costs/                                        
• Abortion:  http://www.webmd.com/women/tc/abortion-topic-overview

Self Symbol Gif and Reflection

1.  The concept behind my self symbol gif was my laugh.  Many people often tell me that my laugh is funny or contagious.  They say that watching me laugh makes them laugh, which is a quality that I feel is unique to me.  I also feel like laughing is something I do quite and enjoy, and it is specific to me.  In my gif I wanted to show that by having one face begin to laugh first, followed my the other faces laughing as well to show how it is joyful and contagious, much like my laugh.  I believe my Gif enhances the idea that my laugh is contagious and that people enjoy that aspect of me.  The changing of the colors really shows how much I love my laugh and my ability to make others laugh.

2.  My animation changed a lot from my orignal idea.  Originally I was going to have full-bodied figures instead of just faces.  I was also going to have me standing at the top of the screen and then a larger crowd of people who look up at me and laugh when I start laughing.  After starting to create this idea in photoshop I realized that it would be extremely difficult for me to fit all the figures I originally wanted in my Gif. I also did not want it to be so literal by drawing myself at the top.  I wanted my idea to represent me but at the same time, be open so that other people can relate if they too have a nice laugh.  That is why I made all of the faces the same.  I originally didn't think to make the faces change color but I added that in because I felt that it enhances the idea of joy in laughter.  

Gimli Gif's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warping My Reality

Reflection:
1.  The concept behind my image is my reality being warped into something supernatural.  The image inside my T.V was the view from outside my window.  I decided to do that because I wanted to make it seem like my reality was being sucked into my T.V and all the supernatural stuff is coming out of it.  That is also why I warped the edges of the T.V and I put my dog jumping into it.

2.  I am actually very impressed with my results because this was my first time using photoshop and thought I wouldn't have been able to represent my ideas the way I hoped to.  I feel that I made it pretty clear that my dog was going into the T.V. and it was some kind of supernatural world that was coming out of it.  I feel that my craftsmanship when it came to putting the picture of outside my window in my T.V. and adding the picture of space in the background of that.  Over all it does represent what I wanted it to and im happy with the results.

3. Original Photos:

4.  One of the tools I used was layer masks.  I used layer masks inside of my T.V. to make it so that the buildings in the picture of the view outside my window would look like it is inside my T.V.  To do that, the first thing I did was make sure I selected the picture of the buildings and I copied it.  I pasted the picture into the one with my T.V., and in doing that it created a new layer.  I moved that new layer under the layer that had my T.V. in it so that it was hidden under the T.V.  On the layer which had the T.V., I went to add a layer mask and I clicked it.  It created a new mask onto the picture with the T.V and it was white.  I made sure that the layer mask was selected and I choose a paint brush and started to paint within the T.V. screen.  As I painted, it revealed the layer underneath the T.V. which was the buildings.  After completing that, the buildings looked like they where in the T.V.  

 

Sarah Mini Lesson 4

Letter Project Reflection

1.  For the Letter Project, the very first step after being assigned a letter was the brainstorming process.  I was assigned the letter "C" and I came up with a list of words and concepts that relate to the letter "C". 

 

 Off the back one of the first things I thought of was Captain Hook since lately I've been into the show Once Upon A Time.  Another thing that instantly came to my mind was a wave because when it crashes down it forms the shape of a "C".  For my Letter Project I knew that I wanted to focus on things that took the shape of the letter "C" naturally instead of focusing on a concept like the city and then just putting that into a "C" shape.   After my brainstorming I decided to draft most of the ideas I came up with instead of just re-doing one concept many different ways.  I decided to draw out most of my ideas because I wasn't sure which one I wanted to do the most so I was experimenting with all the things I came up with in my list.

  

I tried to draw out all of the ideas that I had come up with but the only idea that I had re-drawn multiple times was the hook.  I was really drawn to that idea from the start and it eventually became my favorite so I wanted to make sure that I put more time into drafting that idea as well as experimenting with the different ways I could go about incorporating it into my letter project.  The peer feedback I received did help me because my peers encouraged my idea with captain hook and they even gave me advice on how I can make the letter "C" stand out more.

  They really helped me expand my original idea because at first I just wanted to have the hook in my picture but they gave me the idea to incorporate Captain Hook himself which is something I hadn't thought of.  With the new idea and the encouragement of my old one I decided to draw both ideas in my larger thumbnails.

 

2.  In the thumbnail on the right, I drew my original idea I had since he beginning.  One of the major issues that I ran into with the hook design was the size of the base and the shape of the hook itself.  I realized later on that I should of made the base of the handle a lot smaller than the hook itself in order to make the letter "C" the focus.  The shape of the hook itself looked more like a question mark instead of a "C'.  I realized that a hook looks more like a "C" when it is tilted to the side more.  With these reasons in mind, I appealed more to my second design on the right with Captain Hook in it.  I decided to have that be my final design.

 

 

That is me final draft.  There were many changes I made between the thumbnail and my final draft.  One of the changes was the size of the hook.  I made it extremely large so that the "C" is the center of attention and it is very clear to see.  Another thing I did to make the "C" stand out was making the base of the hook a lighter color than the actual hook that makes up the shape of the "C".  I also changed the background from the beach to Neverland.  I thought it would be a more appropriate setting.  I made the hook itself black to make it stand out which is another reason why I made the background colors very light.  My concept was Captain Hook and the letter "C" stands for Captain and it is represented in his hook.  Overall I was proud of my work and I feel like my concept is clearly represented in my design.

 

3.  The most challenging aspects of the project was making sure that the hook was the center of attention and that it accurately depicted the letter "C".  I was nervous that the hook didn't stand out very much against the background which is why I tried really hard to have a big contrast between light and dark colors when it came to the hook and background.  Another challenge was the handle of the hook since it isn't apart of the "C" I thought it would confuse the letter.  I tried to make the handle of the hook lighter so that the "C" would stand out even more.

 

4.  After putting in a lot of effort and time into my final, I am proud of the outcome.  I feel like I successfully make the "C" stand out against the background.  I also feel that I successfully incorporated the Captain Hook concept and theme into my project.  I think overall it makes the letter "C" fit in.

 

5.  If I could change anything about my design I would change the background and maybe put more detail into it because I fell like it is very plain.  I would add in little details like trees to the background or I would make the water look more realistic just to help the overall project look nicer.