Semester Reflection
Photoshop Tutorials:
We started this semester by working with several Photoshop tutorials to get us introduced to the program. These tutorials taught us how to do several things in Photoshop, including removing blemishes, taking objects in images and removing them, and creating an ad.
These tutorials took about a week or two to complete. There was many of them, so they really required some work and effort. I had difficulty with remembering which tool did which, and making sure there was not any blemishes after I changed something. The cloning tool was difficult for me to use at first but I eventually got ahold of it.
With these tutorials I learned how to follow directions and steps to create a final project. I also learned how to generally use Photoshop and how to edit, remove, and move things around in an image.
With my final products from the tutorials, I was given the feedback to make sure I really pay close attention to details. In some of my images, I had left a few blemishes, therefore I really need to take my time and work hard on every aspect.
In this project, we did not have the chance to go back and change anything, so I could not really revise on my projects.
I enjoyed this project, I thought it was a great way to intro into the year. It really introduced me to Photoshop and it was great that I could go back and reference these tutorials later when I had to something that was similar to what I had already done. These tutorials were a great tool to have and really taught me a lot about graphic designing.
Fall Themed Raccoon/Postcard:
For this project, we followed a series of tutorials that guided us to create a raccoon with a fall themed background. This project took me about a couple weeks or so, because now I was working more or less on my own.
Now I was working with Illustrator, so I had to get comfortable with using this new program an figuring everything out. But, in the end, I learned how to use Illustrator to create images. I'm comfortable making little animations like this raccoon and using shapes to create an image.
I did not really receive feedback for this project because it was pretty simple. Others thought the pumpkin spice latte I added was really cute and creative though, so I suppose that was some good feedback.
I did not get any negative feedback, so there was not anything for me to change. I really enjoyed this project, I thought the raccoon turned out really cute and it was fun designing the theme and everything.
This next project was an add-on to the themed raccoon. I used the raccoon to make a themed postcard. I decided to make a beach themed one, in which the raccoon is on the beach with a surfboard and palm beach. This was made about the same time as the fall themed one was made. I didn't really have any struggles, once I had made the first one, this one was easy.
For feedback, I was told to maybe change the font and place of my catchphrase on the card because it was hard to read. I didn't have to chance to change it but if I did, I would maybe move it onto the surfboard and try a thicker font. I enjoyed this postcard because it was super cute and allowed us to be creative in our designs.
Vector Self Portrait
For this project, we had to find a headshot of ourselves and vector ourselves. This was the first time I had ever worked with vectoring at all so this was totally new to me. This took about a week or so to complete. This was the second most difficult project because I really did not know how to vector and how to really give the image volume and texture. But by the end, I learned the basics of vectoring and how to recreate a picture.
I was given the feedback to maybe focus on the lighted and darkened parts of my face so that my project would look a bit more realistic. I did not get this feedback until I was done so I did not change it. I somewhat enjoyed my project, it wasn't my favorite just because it was difficult and my end project is kind of ugly.
Infographic
This was our last project of the semester and the most difficult for me. We had to choose some subject and make an infographic about the information. I chose Taylor Swift's style which was a hard subject. This took about a couple weeks or so. The challenge for me was I was really fidgety on what exactly do I cover and what do I write about and what is important. I really did not know what I wanted to do the infographic about, so that took up a lot of time. I learned about color pallets and how to intertwine vectors and images with text and information. I was told to give more information because I originally just had graphics, so I added some facts from each album. I enjoyed this project, it was hard, but it was really interesting to see how it came out.Reflection
I think I've used my time pretty well in class. It is not super often that I get super off track and I mostly get my things done. Most of the time, I just put my headphones in and work hard. When I finished early, which was not often, I would ask others if they had any advice on how I could improve or change anything. If I didn't finish in class, I would come in after to work on it but most the time I had time in class. Since I have taken this class I have really looked at things like a graphic designer, like the colors and fonts and the way everything flows together.
I think my strengths are that I am creative and I like imagining colors and the placement of things. I think I could really improve with managing my time and focusing on the details to make sure everything is as good as it could be instead of just meeting the standard.
I loved reaching outside my comfort zone, because I normally draw on paper and that's what I enjoy most but now I have to put my ideas on the computer.
