Testing Photo Apps Part 1

I like to draw on my phone using the ibisPaint X app. I mainly like this app because it is free to use and it comes with a lot of easy to understand the effects that I can add to my drawings to make them look cooler. This blogpost is to not look into the effects but to instead look through the pile of apps I have downloaded and never looked through to see if there are any cool effects there that I can use in my art.


Bazaart:

This app has a ton of filters but some of the cooler ones are restricted to the only premium so that is a downside. Also, you cannot layer filters so I would have to complicate the whole process by saving the image and adding the second filter on.


There are also a set number of shape things you can add to the photos and the colors of the shapes can be changed by using the fill option which comes with a set number of colors.



There is also a draw option where I can add my own things but this is basically what they have in notes which is a big no on my part due to how restricting it is. I also noticed when drawing that you can only zoom so much into the canvas and cannot even rotate it which adds more restrictions on what I can do.


There is also an adjust option that does the basic stuff when it comes to photo editing. I found that these don’t work well on the shapes.


Overall, despite the restrictions, I like this app because it was fairly easy to use and it has things that I look at and want to try using in my art. For example the shapes and the cutouts. I also liked how it had structure to it so it was very difficult to mess up on the piece. Unfortunately, they have added a watermark to my work which for simple things like this would not be too problematic but for more complex pieces would be a real pain.



 *After all the time I spent on Bazaart I have decided to limit this blogpost to four apps to keep my sanity intact*


VHS Cam:

This app basically let me film stuff with a glitchy look to it meaning it is basically useless to me and I can free up space on my phone.


VSCO:


The first downside to this is that I have to create an account. Now that I have an account I basically have to choose a photo preset and since my photo is pretty basic I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they are different but not showing up because of it. Some of these are also locked because they also have a trial membership thing going on.


After you choose a filter, you have the basic setup when it comes to editing photos like exposure and that stuff. One thing I did find that was cool was this split tone thing which basically let me change the colors of the dark background to one color and the highlights to another even though it is kind of subtle. After going through this especially after Bazaart, I am a little disappointed in the VSCO girls for liking this app so much because I can basically do all of that in Bazaart and more which is why I do not feel the need to keep VSCO.




Bling:
One thing that I have been dying to figure out how to create it that low quality shines in photos in my art. This camera is supposed to do that for me without putting effort into it.


It is such a simple concept but unlike the VHS cam, I cannot actually recreate this myself which is why I really like this camera. This camera comes with four different sparkle effects and has a slider that can add more sparkles or reduce the number of sparkles present. From what it looks like, it will add sparkles on places that are white or lighter so I can use this to my advantage when adding this to my photos especially since it went overboard on the photo I have been using.


Work Log:
Monday: No School
Tuesday: Worked on Character
Wednesday: Took break on character and modeled mouths
Thursday: Continued working on mouths
Friday: Returned to Character and rendered photos

Typography

For this blogpost, I am going to look at typography and the rules of hierarchy, what techniques are used and how to use that to create that focus on the more important text. To start off typographic hierarchy is simply showing the reader which text to focus on and which is important. This can be shown through size, weight, and color.

Techniques:

Size
This was something we discussed during our critique so this is something that is already ingrained in my head. Essentially, the bigger the text the more important it is. For the gambling piece, I know that I do want to bring the “set in stone” part down a size but I definitely want to keep the last part large. Other than that, I am not yet sure what I want to do with the rest of it. Maybe I can make some key words big so the eye can kind of jump from those words and kind of get an idea of what is going on. 

Weight
This is basically saying that the bolder text is kind of the headings while the smaller thinner text is like the caption. Personally, I do not think I want to mess with this too much. I personally still want my art to be the main focus of the piece so I do not want to structure the text like it is some article in a magazine.

Color
This is one of the aspects I can see myself using more. Color in typography is mainly used to create a contrast. This can be between the text and the background or with words in between the text itself. I think this is another way I can show that contrast between keywords and normal text in my piece rather than using size as I stated above.

Setting up for Hierarchy:

Body Copy
When doing this, it is best to start with the basics of title, heading, text in normal text in the middle and working off of that to determine would work best for the piece. It is also important to keep the 50-60 character limit. I think this is how I do want to start my pieces because it is definitely clearing my head a little more than trying to do it first try.

Font Pairings I know that there are websites that can give you font pairings but I also liked the advice given here to kind of find and create my own font pairings:

“find an anchor font for your main text.
find secondary fonts for possible combinations.
 evaluate and determine a combination.”

Creating a Z
This plays off of the idea that we read from left to right. This takes this idea and arranges the text so it bounces from left to right and kind of catches the reader’s attention. Another note for this is that it is kind of done in a repeating pattern and this is the reason why most logos are on the top left corner. 

Eye Test
This is simply the easiest way to determine if one’s typography is doing what the designer wants them to do. This kind of verifies how the piece looks by simply asking if this looks right or if it is read in a logical order. In a couple of words, I can say that I will definitely need this.

My Attempt:


link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bzt-YA-M4bKRb69f_whYJFKAy8I3MMCY6WjlAfj46zc/edit?usp=sharing



Work Log:
Monday: filling out end of marking period paper
Tuesday: rigging model
Wednesday: rigging model
Thursday: rigging model
Friday: absent

Review Blogpost

This marking period Caden created a music video for his friend. For this, he created a plan for what he wanted to do which included where he wanted to film and what kind of shots he wanted to get. I do create plans for the general structure of the piece but I do not really focus on camera angles or lighting. Hearing Caden plan out his film by doing has brought attention to me to try this out so when it comes to rendering models I know what I want to do in terms of camera angles and not just create something on the spot. Also, during his presentation, he discussed how he also had some shots that were not planned but included because they just fit in with the artist’s whole personality. I think this is really cool and I think it really works out for this music video as the artist’s personality is very apparent. Lastly, in the music video, I loved the vibrant colors especially the vibrant yellow and blue. This was something that really stuck with me and I definitely want to try something like that if I ever see it fit into an idea. I also like how Caden really stuck to the lofi aesthetic that we have seen in both his and Sofia’s films. He kept a fuzzy, bright-color look throughout and I could easily identify it as being a part of this look.


 This marking period Alaina chose to take a break on her first marking period piece because of some setbacks she experienced. I can definitely understand this feeling and completely understand how much better it feels to return to it when you are not frustrated with it and actually want to work on it. This marking period she decided to focus on this idea of haunted art pieces and took this concept to create this concept of a bathroom. Since she has a passion for both this and architecture I thought that this was really cool since she took things she liked to create a piece she liked. Something that I can see that both I and Alaina share is that we really are not that big fans of simplicity. It is not that we hate it it is just that we want to fill it so when she said that she added textures to fill it up I completely understood where she was coming from. One thing I really liked was how she did fill up space in her piece with the furniture and the mirrors so it was not empty space and I also liked how she continued to work on so it becomes something she is content with.


 This marking period Shriya continued on her piece of one’s identity and what exactly it is. She did through an animation where the people in it are not set figures but more just general plain figures. I liked this idea of keeping the models simple because it then attracts attention to the models that are different and it prevents the audience from assigning a personality to the people. I also liked how Shriya showed one’s interpretation through glasses. Also, I know that Shriya felt very uncomfortable with hearing her own voice but I liked how she included the audio. I can kinda see it as how I have interested in using text. Both ways kind of use text to guide the audience to the point of the piece which is why I really like both. I also liked how she used different colors to present the different worlds and perspectives of people.


 This marking period Vivian continued to with her theme of looking inward by recreating drawings into 3D renders and animations. She continued working on the idea of unraveling and finished the animation. I like how she combined both the aspects of screenshots and animations to really show what parts when by quick and what parts really stuck and effected the characters. I also like how she works on multiple things at once that interest her. Like since she wants to go into like graphic design she worked on a fake brand and advertising it for fun. I tend to have ideas but have no passion to work on them at multiple times and really doing it one at a time is what works best for me. I also liked how she wanted to work more on modeling and so she used her drawings to also help her work on that to create the piece with the double-sided ribbon.


 For this marking period, Sean was set on making a movie to work on his film skills. For planning, he created a script and storyboard for the shots he wanted and knew that he wanted this to be something that he did with his cousins. I liked how he stuck with his goals and was able to get it done. I also liked the various shots he included in his film that at various times showed the relationship between the two characters, what occurs as a result, and where the events took place. I liked how the scene, in general, was dark which really complimented the dark events that occur. Sean also took some really cool photos this marking period. I know he said that he kind of like this style of editing in photos and I could not agree more. I think the colors look really cool and definitely take something real and alters it into something more fantastical. I do not how exactly to go about it with Sean’s kind of writing but if he could combine the vibrant colors of his photos and the dark stories I would be all sorts of amazed, ecstatic and happy.


Work Log:
Most Days:End of Marking Period Blogposts
The Two Days Bomboy was Absent:Posing and Fixing Rigging Issues on Character