Amelia Sims's Blog

This semester I have learned a lot about graphic design. I have improved technical skills as well as my understanding of the concepts and rule of design. Name Typography The first project we did this year was a typography project where we took a characteristic of ourselves or something you liked and made your name represent that. This project lasted about three weeks. First we made a list of words or phrases that we wanted to use. Then we made three or four sketches for each. We then took the sketches into the computer and designed them. Next we critiqued our work and redesigned. During critiques I learned that I was the fonts I was using were too similar. One challenged I faced we trying to make all my designs unique and represent what I wanted without using graphics. Both the feedback and the challenges made me modify my work by removing excess graphics and finding more unique fonts. During this project I learned that typography is about putting meaning into the design of the...

Over this year I have learned a lot in both strands of my e-Comm classes. In Graphic Design I learned lots of communication and project management skills as well as a more in depth knowledge of some programs in the adobe suite. There are five main categories that my learning falls into, the guarantees of e-Comm. Technology  Throughout this course I have gathered an extensive knowledge of photoshop and illustrator. I learned about these programs through tutorials we did at the beginning of the year and through experimenting during projects. The tutorials taught me finer skills of each program as opposed to the general skills we learned last year. For example the illustrator tutorial where I made a raccoon taught me more about the pathfinder panel, anchor points, and how to scan text into illustrator.  Experimenting during projects taught me skills such as how to make more realistic mockups in photoshop. Sometimes during projects this knowledge comes from trial and error. Th...

This year in e-Comm I have learned so much through both of my classes. I have gained a greater knowledge of how to use the adobe suite as well as how to work effectively wth group members and the people around me. Technology  Trough this class I have learned how to use Adobe After Effects and Maya. I used After Effects all year in different ways. I learned everything from animating charters to working with a green screens and special effects. I also used maya in this class. I leaned how to transform basic shapes into different objects and animate them. I learned may smaller skills as well, such as how to import images, make  textures, light scenes, make things look realistic, use transparent shapes to hold shadows, and lots more. These skills are all important because they help you to be a better and more realistic animator.  Collaboration This year I have collaborated a lot with the students around me to help us all make better projects. We taught each ...

Summary This article is about what kind of 3D animation software students should learn. It says Maya, 3DS Max, Softimage, Lightwave 3D, and Animation Master are all good programs to learn. However, the author says it is not as important to learn the software as it is to learn the principals of animation.  To find the article click here . Review  In this article the author discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each program as well as the different types of animation and what to learn to be successful. The author of this article argues that it is not as important to learn the software as it is to learn about animation, but it is still important to have a good base knowledge. The author uses personal experience to back up this claim. The authors strengths are that it has good anecdotal evidence. The weakness is that it does not cite any outside evidence. My overall critique is that this article makes some good points but it doesn't back it up with enough evidence. Never...

Summary   This is group project was our final project of the year. We had to make a short video using 3D animation, special effects, green screen, and video clips. My groups video is about a giant spider that attacks the school. Process   First our group came up with an idea, then story boarded and scripted it. Next, we filmed the schools student naturalist tarantula on the green screen. The day after that, we filmed the rest of the video. Then, we broke up and all did different pieces to finish the project. For my group I filmed the video. Also, I worked on making the opening scene in illustrator then animated it in maya. Later, made the closing credits scene in after effects. Conclusion    Throughout this process I learned how to use Premier pro from the members of my group. I also learned about how working in a group to meet a deadline can be very effective if everyone works together well. If I could do this project again I would fix the color balance of ...

Summary The project I found is a collection of character animations, inspired by outer space, that express emotions. They were made for a google app and loop forever without any noticeable start or stop. There is an image of one of the characters but for the full post click here . Review  Each character icon tells a short individual story. The icon for encouragement is two characters the sun and the earth. The sun nods and pats the earth on the head which makes it smile wider. Another small story is told in the confused icon which is a spaceship looking around. When it can't find anything it shrugs its shoulders then goes back to looking around. One element of these projects that I would apply to my own work is how the characters are constantly moving such as blinking, nodding, or bouncing which gives them a more realistic feel because people are never still. An element that I have already learned that is applied to this project is how to loop a video so it plays ...

Summary  In this post I will explain how to light a scene so it looks like the objects are around a campfire at night in maya. This can be used to set the tone so the person viewing your work has an idea of whats going on. This skill is helpful to anyone who wants to make their animation more realistic. Steps  First create the scene you are going to light and position the objects however you want. I used shapes for this example. Next turn on lighting by clicking six on the keyboard. Add a point light and more it to slightly in front of the center of your objects. The screen should now look like this. Since we are baking a camp fire we want the light to be dim so change to decay rate from none to linear  if its too dark you can change the intensity. Then change the color of the light so it has an orange tint. Next duplicate the light and give it a slightly yellow tint to create the middle of the fire. Change the settings on this light so it has a quadratic...

Summary  The plausible impossible is where an event that would be impossible in real life is made to see plausible in the animated story. Walt Disney made a documentary over this topic showing lots of examples of the plausible impossible. Here are some of them. Examples  While Donald duck is eating the doorbell rings. In real life a doorbell ringing would not cause your head to shake because it is just a sound. However in the animated world this is plausible because a doorbell can surprise a person and make them jump. Also the sound of the doorbell mirror the way Donalds' head moves. When Gus Goose shakes Donald Ducks had it shakes him up and down. This is impossible because someone can not lift another person up and down just by shaking their hand, gravity won't allow it. This is made plausible by the fact that some peoples hand shakes are very hard and can make you feel like you are shaking. Also Gus Goose is winds up for the hand shake to add momentum. He is als...

This project is the science project that my partner and I are sharing outside the classroom. Our guiding question was how can we create a protein bar for athletes to eat before or after a workout to help improve performance? 

Summary There are many different attributes in company branding. Symbols and logos are used to create a combination mark that showcase a brand. Lettermarks can also be used which are abbreviated versions of the whole company name. All of these can be trademarked so they legally belong to a company. Pictographs are also commonly used to provide instructions without words. There are many attributes to a good symbol. It should show positive aspects of the company and be easy to identify. It needs to draw the eye to it using a thick weight and whitespace. The symbol should  not be too abstract or need more than one color to succeed. It should also be able to reduce down to half an inch. Symbols and Logos   There are many differences between symbols and logos. A symbol is a shape or mark used to identify a company. They represent the company is some way and do not use type. A logo is type that has been designed specifically to represent a company. When a symbol and a l...