Assignment 8 Card Game Design

This week the assignment was to design some cards for a game called 'The Wall'. We were to design the card back (the first picture), a damage card, a reinforcement card and a wall card (last picture). I was trying to create cards that would be fun for a card game. The card back is a picture of a wall taken from the ruins of  the Anasazi people who lived in the SW United States around 1,000 AD. Their walls are still standing so I thought it was a good example of what a wall should be. My damage card. . . well you can see damage in an armed hornet. My reinforcement card, I call him my mortar man. He is able to mix up mortar in no time flat - a good thing to have around a rock wall. The wall itself has some structure - a pattern of sorts.

The technical skills used were in Illustrator. I played with the pen tool a lot. I also used the paint brush a little. The other technical skills had to do with following the formatting of the card; using a full bleed for the card back and specific specs for the other cards. 

How do I feel I did? I like my cards. I was very happy with the hornet as it started off as some shapes with the pen tool and evolved into the armed hornet. My mortar man is one of my favorites - I'm not sure why, I just really like the little guy.

Until next time - 

Assignment 6, the Online jQuery Photo Gallery

This assignment included creating a web page with a photo gallery. I was really, really glad that my class last quarter was web design (yea!)

I was trying to create a web page that had a photo gallery. I wanted one that was simple but hit all the points for the assignment. I wanted to create a theme to the pictures.

The technical skills I used involved Dreamweaver and Photoshop. I sized the pictures for the web in Photoshop and then created the page in Dreamweaver. I created a header, the content section and a footer. I used the skeleton page given to us as it fit the look I wanted.

I think it turned out ok. I like the black background and how the photo gallery looks. I was really, really glad that I take very good notes for each class :)

Assignment 3 - A Vinyl based sign

This is what my vinyl sign will look like - once I can actually stick it together. I will post another picture once I have the actual product.

In this assignment I was trying to create a vinyl sign. The word here is 'trying'. I had no problems making the design, I also had no problems cutting the vinyl into the design, however, this is where my comprehension broke down. Once I had the pieces what did I stick it to? What was used as a background??

After thinking about it for a bit and actually looking at the pieces I finally had a light bulb moment and it clicked. HOWEVER, I still had a tiny problem because the McTiser Design piece was missing the s. Now I knew I could not just have McTi er Design, because - well just because. I also knew I had no more time (or vinyl) to go to school and cut it again. So, being the craft person I am I used a scrap of the vinyl and cut out my own s. Now all I need to do it stick it on the background and then take a picture so you can see it.

I was trying to accomplish a final piece that followed the guidelines.

The skills I used involved Illustrator and shapes and text. The skills I learned included using the vinyl cutter for the first time and how to pull off the extra vinyl so it did not eat my letters.

I like the design, I like the vinyl pieces. I think I will like the final result.

More later. . .

Assignment 5. I painted a tiny horse!

This week I learned how to use the drawing tablet. Needless to say I have had one since I started this whole student experience and up until now had never used it. I can say that it was a huge mistake not to use it before now because it makes using brush tools so much easier (although I felt I was becoming pretty good drawing lines with the mouse).

This picture is modeled after a photo I took last summer. We stopped in Mexican Hat, Utah and as we went for a walk came upon a tiny herd of horses. The herd was not tiny, but rather the horses were. Miniature little things in all colors. They followed us around and of course I had my camera and started taking pictures.

In this assignment I was trying to paint a digital picture. I'm not the best artist so I was a little nervous. I was trying to create something that would be recognized for what it was. To do this I used Photoshop and the drawing tablet. I primarily used the brush tool and the various shapes, sizes, opacity, and colors that it provided.

The last question I am to answer is; "How do you feel you did?" Well, I think I did ok. I spent a lot of time and I think I could spend a lot more time. I feel I did cover the requirements of the assignment. Overall, I guess I am happy with the final product - because, hey, you can tell it is a horse!

Assignment 4, A Christmas Party Logo

It always seems that the picture in my head is much better than what ends up on paper. Maybe I should not actually say that but instead say "Wow, whenever I think up a design it turns out EXACTLY like I had pictured it." To be fair, there are times when the design turns out better than I had imagined it. I don't think this was one of those times. It was not one of those times because of plain old time.

This week time seemed to get in my way. I have one word that will explain why. . . TAXES.

So, this week I was trying to create a logo for a family Christmas party. It was an assignment I thought sounded like fun. Then, the government's requirement that we file taxes on April 15th (my birthday!) got in the way. I did the best I could.

Technical Skills included Photoshop. Smart Mapping, and basic design.

How do I feel I did? Well, I don't hate it.

Assignment 2 Animated Photoshop Brushes

For my second ever blog post (well, it is assignment #2) I am sharing a short video that illustrates Animated Photoshop Brushes on a photo that I took in 2014.

I was trying to create a short little video that looked 'interesting' or 'entertaining'. (Yea, I know, how entertaining can a video be in 10 seconds?) When looking through my photos to pick one for this process I stumbled upon the one in the video. In my mind it would be fun to animate the figures with various clothing and styles. In my mind everything always looks better then it does in reality -- always.

Technically I used Photoshop (as mentioned in the title of the post) and brought in a variety of brushes to create the effects. From Photoshop the photo was taken to Adobe Flash for masking. I had fun playing with the masking and unmasking of the brushes in Flash. However, as it is one of the first times I've ever used Flash I did find myself making some mistakes and getting myself into situations in which I had to step back a lot of steps and try again. From Flash the production went to After Effects. I will admit in AE I was lost. I finally figured out how to de-saturate the video for a bit and let it come back to full saturation. I was happy with the results. . . but, when I took the creation into Premiere Pro I found that my effect did not transfer over (sad face here). So, I used Prem. Pro to de-saturate, or rather turn down the opacity - thus fulfilling the assignment requirement of some type of effect. I think this project took me longer than I expected it would, and overall I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.

Remember, this is the first assignment of the class - other than creating the blog (which, obviously I did) and I should get better as we go. That is the goal.

Painted in Illustrator by Cindy McNabb

Hello, my name is Cindy and I am going to attempt to write in a manner that will keep you entertained. Ok, perhaps 'entertained' is promising a bit much, how about I attempt to write in a manner that will keep you interested? If you are interested in my studies, trials, efforts, struggles, and success in Digital Design, then perhaps you just may be interested in what I have to say. After all, isn't that the ultimate purpose of a blog? Otherwise it would just be called a Diary.

This blog post will answer 3 questions; Who you are, what you are doing, and what you want to be (of course these questions pertain to ME, not the reader. . . although as a reader you are more than welcome to answer those three questions on your own.)

Who Am I: as mentioned above, I am Cindy. I am a Mom, a Wife, a Daughter, a Employee, a Friend, a Co-Worker and a Student. After 20 years of teaching myself how to use digital design to make flyers, brochures, invitations, newsletters, etc. I decided it was time to make it official and get a degree in the field. Thus, I began my journey of going back to school.

Going back to school after many, many years of not going to school is a challenge. Taking an already full life and adding hours of studies can be hard. However, I have found that I really enjoy the studies and I enjoy having homework, after all, the homework is doing something I like to do. I have also found that my studies have allowed me to finish my design projects at work in a more professional manner.

What I am Doing:  I'm not quite sure what this question refers to. What am I doing? Well, I am writing a blog and learning how to use Adobe Flash. If I dig a little deeper into that question I guess 'what I am doing' is learning. I am learning the design programs that allow me to produce higher quality publications. I am learning how to use these programs to enhance my photography. I am learning that I analyze every piece of mail that comes into my home - looking for flaws, mistakes, and trying to figure out how I would do it better. I am trying very hard to balance work, school, and my family.

What I want to Be:  I want to be the best me that I can be. I'm already grown up so I guess I know what I want to be when I grow up -- (all of the above). If I had to pick something I would really, really like to do I have a couple of 'dream jobs'. The first is being a travel photographer. I would love to travel and take pictures. I would like to create coffee table books for all 50 states. I would start with my birthplace of Iowa and take pictures of all four seasons, the farms, the fields, the people, the history. From there I would go state to state.  Another 'dream job' would be working on a catalog or designing product boxes. I would love to take the pictures for a catalog and then do the layout and design. I would also love to design product boxes. . . I don't know why, I've always thought it looked like fun.

That is my basic introduction. I guess I could have said a little more, like, I love to camp, travel, read, create jewelry, and spend time with my family. I could have said that my favorite color is blue, I love soft fabric, fringe, and want to someday own a horse. I could have went further and told you my favorite food is traditional Thanksgiving food or that I really want a maroon colored Chevy Camaro. But I thought those details might not be the most interesting, and remember at the beginning of this I said I would try to keep your interest and maybe even provide a bit of entertainment.