"And I want these words to make things right, but it's for wrongs that make the words come to life" - Flash Assignment

Awesome, this blog will be done on time. I'm finally starting to get into a good rhythm of how to get everything done and still have time to breathe. So, this week is all about my flash assignment. I've thought a bit about it, but I don't think I'll know exactly what I'm going to do until I sit down and do it. Generally, that's how I work.

I've decided I am going to probably pick a poem or song lyrics. I was thinking maybe the song lyrics Fire and Rain by James Taylor because it creates interesting imagery. Or even Monster Hotel (MSTRKRFT remix) because of the way the music works out I can see it working perfectly in flash. Kind of like the flash movie example we saw in class with the phone message. Either that, or I will probably do something influenced by Saul Bass. I honestly have always loved that style and never knew anything about it until our last lecture.

To find more ideas I will probably search a few flash sites. I know www.newgrounds.com is a great website full of flash movies. I intend to see if any style pops out to me on there. Of course, I'm not saying I'm going to COPY what other people do, but see if anything kind of leads me off into my own style and idea. The weirdest things give me inspiration, too. So who knows what I could find between now and when I actually sit down to do my assignment.

I think I'll play around with Flash first before I decide on what I want to do most. I still don't even know how to put music in a flash movie. Gotta learn that!

Anyway, that's all I really know about what I'm going to do for my flash assignment. Now, I know it's only 9:20 but I'm going to read a bit of 52 (amazing comic book) and then go to bed. More homeowork to do tomorrow. Happy thanksgiving?

Let the good times roll,
Shelly

"Because in the end, for everything, the end justifies the means, and that’s fine with me – 100%."

My objective of my CD cover was to present a simple, artsy representation of the artist. I pretended that the model I chose was an actual singer and made the cover based around her personality and singing style. I chose the photo, also, because it created an interesting concept. The green was perfect for a background, whereas the orange of her hair helped make her stand out as the main focus. I chose the placing of the model to go with the Rule of Thirds (which is an art concept I used in my photography. The text is where it is because I didn’t want to make the right side or middle seem too busy.

My target audience would be independent music fans between the ages of 17-34. Independent music because the cover is rather artsy and the title of the CD is abstract. In my experience this type of cover would appeal to this fan base. The age demographic would be 19 to 34 because the singer is young and the cover looks more mature.

I used a photograph I took during the summer of a friend of mine and started out by duplicating the layer, then using an edge tool on the duplicate layer. This tool allowed me to “find all edges” which outlined only the edges of everything in the photograph. I erased a few hairs on the original layer that I didn’t like in the picture with the background eraser tool. Then I changed the transparency of the duplicate layer and merged the two into one when I finished. Next, I added the font. I created a tiny rectangle and made it thin enough to be a line, then positioned it just underneath where I wanted the font, copied the line and pasted it three times in other places and then added the font. I merged the layers once more to create my finished product.

It was challenging at first to figure out a concept. I knew what tools I could use, and what effects would work, but I didn’t know how to represent a singer. So I thought about her personality while I fooled around with the tools and I came across one tool (the find all edges tool) that made a neat effect I knew she (the model) would think was interesting. So I worked my way from there. It took me a while, though, to figure out what I wanted to do. That was my biggest issue.

I learned that it’s hard creating a concept from nothing. All I had was a photograph. In the end, though, I think that my piece did meet the objective I had when I first realized what I wanted to do. In my opinion, I think the cover meets the target audience because I myself am an Indie fan and as are my friends and I used my own perception in what I thought was attractive to make this CD cover.

Class Critique
The class critique was an interesting process. It made me look at my CD cover totally differently, but it also made me learn what I really liked about my own artwork. Everyone was saying that they didn't like the lines of the CD cover where I thought they were the coolest part. Their critique, however, made me realize I could probably use the lines, but instead change it so that they point to the model instead of the center of the CD cover. I also agree that I could have taken "debut album" out because it wasn't really needed. Although, I still think I did a good job for having no experience in photoshop or fireworks.

Shelly

"Absolute power corrupts, absolutely." - Week Four Post

Alight, I know this post a little late, but at least it's finally done. I've been so busy with other assignments, plus work that finally I have a chance to sit down and just do my blogs.

So our week four topic was typography.

You know the drill, enjoy:

Design #1

This typography choice automatically stood out to me as super effective. First of all, the bubbly text in white fits the theme of "peace". It makes me think of hippies, happiness and fun and it's a text I've seen used before for anything having to do with hippies, peace, love and happiness. The target audience is generally hippies or people who enjoy that lifestyle or type of music. The font obviously suits the target audience well since it was the first thing I thought about when I saw the poster. The other text used (the text in black) is also quite effective. The message is a statement that this event will change people and the bold, edgy font fits perfectly.

I like the kerning of the font too (which is the amount of space in between the letters). For the white font the spacing between each letter is extremely minimal, helping to give it the bubbly look. The black fonts kerning is equally effective because there is more space between the letters, helping create the "ATTENTION: THIS IS IMPORTANT" feel to it.


Design #2

As Henry Warwick said, this font (Trajan) is probably the most overused font ever. However, it works in this poster. The small pyramid of font at the bottom kind of points upwards towards the main character, making a great flow. The fact that "Legend" is the largest part of the title makes the reader know what word the emphasis is put on.

The kerning in Will Smith's name draws the eye so that the reader knows who the star of the movie is. Although, I wouldn't exactly suggest doing this with any other name because it can confuse the person looking at it, thinking that the biggest, most "out there" part of the poster is the name of the movie, not the actor. It's effective to it's audience because it does use the epic movie type font that makes any reader think "Yeah! This movie is gonna be badass!"


Design #3

My final design is the front cover for the first issue of 52 (which is an awesome comic book series, by the way). I think the font is completely effective. The inportant parts are bolding (one - indicating the issue that it is, and here - indicicating the main emphasis in that sentence.) Not to mention the 52 is original, easy to read and bold. This type of font jumps out at comic book fans (which is what the target audience is) because it's simple and very bold. It grabs the reader's attention from across the book store, no doubt.

The small text at the very bottom, I think, could be a bit easier to read. That's the only problem. The font STYLE is good for that little tagline, but it needs to be a bit bigger just so that it also catches the readers attention, telling them what exactly the comic book is about.

Alright, so there you have it. My week four post on typography.

Cheers,
Shelly

P.S Instead of listing the sites I used last time, I uploaded them as URLs instead of files so you can just click on the photo and it'll take you to where I found it.