Semester Reflection

1. What are your areas of strength in the content areas you learned this semester?

My area of strength is probably creating art in Adobe Illustrator and in my sketchbook, as well as creating 2D animations (since it's basically the same thing). While I am not one for shading my art and I don't draw realism most of the time, you can't deny that the things I draw are very well-drawn and brightly colored. 

2. What are your areas in need of improvement?

Probably web design. I'm not too good at making complex websites, and, as mentioned before, Dreamweaver hates me. 

3. What did you love most about this semester?

For 1st quarter, what I loved most was the sketchbook drawings. They were always fun. For 2nd quarter, what I loved most was definitely the house animation. Not only did it give me a chance to be nerdy and weird, but it gave me a chance to do ridiculous things like put Eridan in a koi pond. That alone was worth it. 

4. What would you change or do differently? 

Nothing, really. This semester was amazing!

5. What is your overall take-away or learning this semester?

I learned so much about how to animate and draw things in Adobe Illustrator. This will definitely come in handy, since I am planning on making a web series in my free time, but shhh! That's a secret. 

6. What's one goal you'd like to set for next semester? Final thoughts?

To ham it up in Video Production next quarter, and just keep doing what I do! As for my final thoughts, all I can say is I'm so glad I got to join this program!

Web Design: A New Adventure!

My website's home page.

Look familiar?

This week we ventured into the new and undiscovered world of web design. We used Adobe Dreamweaver to create a website where our projects would be showcased. It took about a week to complete. I used my time in class to work on my website- except in the instances where Dreamweaver was not working, in which case I just looked at memes. Speaking of which, the biggest challenge I faced was Dreamweaver itself. At times, it would not cooperate, not allowing me to work on my website. But, that problem was soon worked around.

I have learned how to make websites using Dreamweaver, and also that DREAMWEAVER IS NEVER YOUR FRIEND. IT MAY SEEM LIKE IT'S ON YOUR SIDE BUT IT CAN TURN AGAINST YOU. 

Despite this, Dreamweaver is fairly simple.  Making a website on Dreamweaver is a piece of cake (provided it's WORKING) and my final outcome was very professional-looking. And since I am downloading the entire Adobe suite onto my laptop at home over break (since I asked for it for Christmas), I will definitely use Dreamweaver for all my website-creating needs.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- My 3D House

Welcome to Chateau de Madeline!

Recently we learned how to create houses in SketchUp, a computer program in which you can create 3D animations. I created a white house using 3D shapes and models, and painted it using the textures provided. Then I chose to add some extras. The first thing I did was I included me (the woman with the paint) and my husband (Mettaton). Then I put a cherry tree (my favorite kind of tree) in front of our house. Afterwards I included a dog house, and I put a model of a puppy in there. Then, I started getting nerdy. I made a garden of Fire Flowers (from Super Mario Bros.) on my lawn and had Nepeta Lejion (my favorite character from the webcomic Homestuck) guarding the flowers, or perhaps simply frolicking in the garden. I put Kirby (from the Kirby series of video games) on the back porch, as there was not much there, and finally, I made a koi pond and put Eridan Ampora (also from Homestuck) in it, since in the comic he is a sea-dwelling troll. 

I learned how to use SketchUp 3D and how to make 3D models of things using it. I also learned that SketchUp has a vast model database for all your nerdy needs. And lastly, I learned that Eridan Ampora sitting alone in a koi pond is the most glorious thing I have ever created. 

What can I take away for next time? Well, I now know how to build structures in SketchUp, as well as how to inhabit them with Homestuck characters. This was a very fun project!