Over the past year, I have definitely learned a lot. I went into this class not knowing anything about these programs or computers in general. I have learned a lot about how to successfully work with a computer, and I even have some experience in these art programs now.
I definitely like Premiere and Illustrator the best, but the other programs are cool too. Even though I don't like many of the programs, I feel that I have definitely gotten pretty good or at least better. I can appreciate all of the programs, even Adobe Animate, which I highly dislike. I believe that I have gotten better at just working and keeping up with work in general. This class was definitely my hardest class, but it was definitely very helpful for me. I am proud of the progress I've made over the year, not just in this class, but in general. I think I have figured out my interests, and have grown as a person over the past year. While I am not planning to take DDA 2 next year, I think that the computer skills and time management skills that I have learned will help me in the future. I appreciate this class for everything it taught me, even though there were points that were harder than others, I do think that I learned a lot, and enjoyed the class throughout the year.
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Recently, I have seen a rise of either really good CGI or terrible CGI. For instance, the backlash from the Sonic trailer was very prominent. The problem with that trailer and just the design of Sonic is that it was not the Sonic that fans were used to. Especially when compared to Detective Pikachu, where the CGI was applauded for greatness. Now, I'm no CGI expert, but you are definitely able to tell when it isn't very good. The Genie in the Aladdin trailer, played by the one and only Will Smith, also had some backlash, saying that it seemed very fake. From later trailers and such, it seems as though the other shots were better, or they just fixed the CGI up a bit. There are some great videos by the Corridor Crew, who are part if Corridor Digital, a VFX company. There was also the Henry Cavill upper lip problem from Justice League from a few years ago. Overall, I think many of the CGI in movies these days is very good, but I think that there are some roles that would just fit better with practical effects, such as in horror movies, where the actors need to look scared.
Over the past few weeks, we have gotten more familiar with 3ds Max. Even though I am a little behind, I think I have gotten a good enough understanding of how the program works. There are aspects that I really enjoy, such as the simplicity of changing your parameters, but the thing that really bothers me about 3ds Max is the ViewCube. For me personally, the ViewCube is extremely hard to use and gets very tedious at times. When using this, I am never able to truly get the view I want. I have definitely gotten better at using it, but it still gets on my nerves from time to time.
Another thing that I don't really like, is the move tool. When I was working on the table recently, there was no align tool, making it quite difficult to line up all the table legs. I was eventually able to get it semi-close to being even, but it is still cockeyed a bit. Another thing I don't like is the scale tool. The tool itself is fine, but if you wanted to get to a sub-tool, it's not super easy to do. These are all just small things that I don't really like, probably because I am more used to the Adobe setup. I believe that adjusting a few things here and there would make the program more accessible to Adobe users. In all, I think it is a good program, but it just isn't very friendly to people accustomed to Adobe.
Recently, I have gotten more used to the Adobe Draw, the mobile adobe illustrator app. I think it is a very good app, even though many of the tools used in adobe illustrator are not available in the app, it is still a good app. I really enjoy drawing in my free time, and this app is heavily focused on the brush tool in Illustrator. I also really do like the fact that like Adobe Illustrator, you can rescale the images without losing clarity. I tend to just doodle in the app, but if I had a bigger screen, considering the app is on my phone, I might be able to do a larger piece of artwork. I do wish the app had a pen tool feature, because it would be easier to create certain shapes, but it does have a polygon tool, to create basic shapes, which you are able to distort. They also have a symbol feature, which I find interesting, considering they do not have a pen tool, so you could draw something, and then make it a symbol. Overall, I do think it is a fairly good app, but I do wish it had a pen tool feature as well as the paint brush tool.
Over the course of the year, we have worked with many programs. But not all programs are not created equal. In this class, there have been some programs that I have enjoyed significantly more than others. My least favorite program we have used would have to go to Adobe Animate. I really did not enjoy the way it was set up and the function of the program was just very different than the other Adobe suite products, and I just don't particularly like it in general. Now, while I do like 3Ds Max many times over Adobe Animate, it still takes the number 4 place. The interface really confused me at first, but I have since gotten more used to it, by working on more projects, like the tank. Overall, I don't dislike the program, but it's not my favorite. In 3rd place is Photoshop. I really like the overall setup and function of the program. There's not really anything bad about this program that I can remember. In second place is Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator is a really solid application. I really like the program overall, even though the pen tool was very hard for me at the beginning, but I quickly got used to it, and it soon became one of my favorite tools to use. Finally, in 1st place, my favorite program is Adobe Premiere. Premiere is the easiest to use, in my opinion, and the interface is very easy to understand, and it has one of the best results of all of the programs. Even though I didn't mention all of the programs we've used, but I think I hit the top five.
Recently we have started to work on 3D Modeling. Personally, I think 3D modeling is really cool. I think it is very interesting how the program makes it look 3D on a 2D surface, such as a computer. I have found that the setup of the program has been difficult for me, probably because of how different it is from the Adobe suite it is. The most difficult aspect so far has probably been navigating interface, especially the models, especially using the view-cube. The View-cube doesn't particularly like to work the way I want it to, and it tends to mess up the view of my model, which can be hard to fix at times.
Overall, the modeling itself has not been super hard for me. The modeling with primitives was quite easy, and once I got the hang of modeling with subobjects, that wasn't hard either. I actually quite enjoy 3D modeling. I find that while it is not as simple as some of the other programs we've used, like Adobe Premiere, I enjoy it more. Making 3D models brings out the more artistic side of this class I feel, which I enjoy quite a bit. 3D modeling is also not super time consuming, at least not what we have gotten to do yet. Either way, it is quite enjoyable, and it is quite fun for me. I am excited to see what other cool things I am able to make in 3Ds Max. It is an exiting unit for me.
Recently, I have decided to start writing a script for an animation project I had in mind. The show or movie would follow a group of reluctant pirates, the same ones my Dad would tell me stories about when I was little. The main character is a cabin boy, named Sam, who is extremely smart, and a strategic genius, and the wacky adventures of the rest of the crew. Some of the other characters include the navigator Norbert, who is very nerdy, and the ship drunkard, whos name is Davy. The final important character is the captain.
The pilot episode would be about the Captain assembling his crew. The conflict would arise when he learns that he is the only one who wants to be a pirate. None of the other characters care about it, but he does. He must attempt to convince people to join his pirate crew. Another episode would be about Davy's drinking habits on the ship. When the crew gets stranded on an deserted island, he is left without anything to drink, and he has to get Sam to help him. None of these ideas are final, but these are just some ideas I had. This would be a 2D animation that a team would have to help me with, because it would take too long.
What is the Exposure Triangle? The Exposure triangle is the balance between ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture. Shutter Speed is the speed in which the lens opens and closes. ISO is how much light reaches it, or the film speed. Finally, Aperture is how wide the lens opens to let the light in. Using all of these together, you can change how your picture looks. Using these you are able to change the depth perception, blurriness, light exposure and many more.
Our assignment was to play around with the canon exercise and then do the challenge ones, where it was a timed skill, and we had to achieve all the goals with perfect scores. I learned that I could have the practice open in another tab, and this would help me figure out if it would work or not before I did it on the challenge items. This way I got it all very easily. Overall, I found that while it was easy, it was also very interesting how all the parts of the triangle work together to make it into a great picture. These are definitely things I will be able to use, especially with the Photography unit in my other class.
So far, we have used many different motion-related applications, such as Adobe Animate, After Effects, and now Premiere. Personally, I prefer Premiere over After Effects and Animate. Even though I prefer to work with animation, I find the setup and format of Premiere easier to use. This being said, I do think that the timeline of Premiere is a little confusing and could be easier to use. I do like how you can see what you are working with in the upper hand corner of the application. All of them have the feature of when you press enter it shows you what you have already done in case you need to go back and rework it. The animation programs definitely have a heavier focus on layers from what I have seen so far, but that could change. This could have to do with their being extra things in the background that you don't want to be visible, such as parts of another character or the background. We didn't use much of After Effects, but it seems to be much more similar to Premiere, leaving Animate as the odd one out. After Effects seems like the Premiere of animation, and Animate is just a pain to use. The set up of Animate is fine, but the mechanics are unlike anything else I've used in the Adobe suite, making it my least favorite to use. Overall, I am a fan of Premiere so far, but that may be subject to change in the future.
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AuthorMy name is Max Gray, I'm 15, and I'm a student at Durham school of the arts.The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools. Archives
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