Week 9- Learning Can Be fun....Animation

Artist Statement:
Learning can be fun is an interactive game geared towards a younger audience. While it may be fun for grades two to four, it is directed more towards Kindergarten to grade 1. I choose to do this interactive game so younger children had something to partake in. As well I wanted them to learn, while not letting it be too much for them to take in. I was inspired to do this piece by some of the younger siblings in my life, and their drive to learn. I always witnessed my brothers and cousins watching games or reading books. As much as they have enjoyed it, there was always this energy to touch or talk with their activity. By creating my interactive game, I feel like I was able to help them partake in their learning experience.
In this game the player has the option to begin their path through ABC’s or 123. If they chose their ABC’s the player will be sent into a scene where they can see and hear the ABC’s individually, followed by a chance to sing. The 123 button moves the player to another scene allowing them to learn the basic numbers from 1 to 10.
I choose to base my backgrounds and colours on ones that were fun and intriguing, but not over baring and distractive. This is due to the fact that it is a learning tool and not just a fun game. The assignment also allowed me to combine both my design and audio, which helps bring it to life. The audio pieces are used as supports to the main message which I believe are key to learning. The audio clips help reinforce the letter, and improve the atmosphere and joy of the game.
Although Learning Can Be Fun works pretty well, I overcame several obstacles to prefect it. Some of my major obstacles included colour, Font, Timing and interactivity Buttons. The colour and font were two areas that needed to work in order to get a clean message across. As I am targeting a younger audience, I needed to make sure that the font and colour would stimulate their minds and keep them interested. Through many trial and errors and help from friends, I was able to achieve this interactive activity.
After completing this assignment I have learned the importance of planning, looking back on notes and how to simplify my thoughts. If it was not for the extra pre-production time that I took to map out my idea with drawings and the program I would have never been able to complete this assignment. Pre mapping allowed me to interpret problems I may have and areas were I needed to go back and look at the Tutorials. This helped me with my buttons, motion tweens, and timing.
If I had one more go of it I would work on my timing with audio and visuals as well as more interactivity for the children. That could be through putting your mouse over a letter or just highlighting certain numbers. In the larger picture I enjoyed doing this assignment and look forward to creating more work at a larger scheme.

Reflection:
In class we were able to watch other student’s assignments. This was a wonderful opportunity to share different creative ideas and show off what we have been working on for so long. This worked out well because we were able to critique the work a bit and share what we really liked. As well the more we looked at assignments, the more I was able to see targeted audiences and how different aspects were used for them. For example, pieces that were suited towards a 14-25 year old market used humour, and mystery. While assignments that had a more seroius message, used timing and bold photos, words etc. After seeing the classes work it also motivated me to continue learning and improve my own work.

My Inspiration

Week 8- Graphic Design

This Photo was found at <http://alexsteinweiss.com/as_index.html>

This photo was found at <http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DD7NL.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg>

These two photos are similar to me because beside the huge pianos in both, they both have a rough look to them. By this I mean not clean or glossy. As well both of these phots use very basic colors that dont over whelm the photo. Alicia Key's cd cover uses browns, white, and a little black while Alex Steinwess uses black, white and a little bit of pink.

Week 7- Motion Tween

We are just over the half way mark for class and we have now begun to dig into animation and all the workings of Flash. In tutorial we were able to make some motion tweens, and neat paths for our bumble bee to follow. Though I am not much of a fan for the bee’s it was fun nun the less. This tutorial was like a sample to all the work we can create in this program. Working with Flash was also something nice to learn because I have never worked with it before. In some of my first trials my motion tween didn’t work out right and I got the broken lines (not so fun). After continuously trying and asking for help I got it and the rest went well. After completing this tutorial I am excited to continue learning and practicing on my own.

Week 6- Animation Assignment

For my Animation/Interaction assignment I have been thinking of doing a piece that is geared towards children in jk-gr.2. This Interactive activity would include number counting, matching colours and letters. I want this assignment to be fun and engaging for children at the same time. Through each slide the children will gain knowledge, use focus and interact with a helpful activity broadening their minds. I was inspired to do this for my assignment by the children in my life. I have two brothers 3 and 6 and a 1 year old nephew who is learning his colors. All three of these children have a wonderful love for technology (computer, play station, leap frog and the TV). With a game like this they can watch or play along and actually gain something from this. After watching examples in lecture, I realized how much I enjoyed the ones that you had to participate in. I was more open to them and felt that by doing something similar I would be able to interest others.
Growing up I watched Barney, Sesame Street, Mr. Dress Up and of recently Blues Clues, Bob the Builder, Dora and more. All of these shows, which cater to a younger audience, have times in which they get the children to interact through questions and activates on screen. This lets the children think and join in with learning. I plan to watch a few more of these shows to see what other tools they use such as, colours, words, expressions, and more. After learning about all of these things and seeing what works I plan to test them out on my family and go from there. I feel that I will have to use a lot of colours and buttons on flash, maybe even some music. During the next two weeks I will continue on this path and hopefully create an assignment that is unique and fun while still able to appeal to my younger siblings.

Week 5- POSTER!!!!

Artsist Statment:

Do your part recycle is a poster representing the need for a greener earth. It is targeted towards a younger demographic so that they can learn from early. Through this poster young children will see the joy and brightness available from cleaning up. To create this poster I used spray brush, cropping, contrast, brightness, and repetition. I started of with a blue spray brushed background and moved on to the message. I know that the message needed to standout but be short and sweet so I thought of key words and how to bring them to life. The bright colours are used to grab the attention and bring a happy feeling. While making this poster I found difficulties in finding the write colours and a good balance throughout. I didn’t want one half to be to top heavy or clustered. By working on my alignment and spacing this helped. I want people to look at this poster and want to recycle. This poster is designed to let people see our world as a happy bright place that can stay that way with the help of everyone. In the end I am happy with the outcome and hope to do something like this again.

Reflection:

Doing this assignment was a wonderful experience for me. I was able to use adobe flashworks to create an image that included colours layering and a good message. Doing this assignment enabled me to get a greater understanding of how to focus a message and gear it towards a targeted audience. Once I had understood that it became easier to choose font colours and my wording. After presenting this assignment in class we got feedback on things to improve, what was used well and things to keep in mind. One of my feedback comments was on the colour and font of “Do your part.” They suggested choosing a colour from the poster to fill the font which would have made it tie in better. Feedback like that helped me to look at my poster from a different eye and observe very simple solutions that you can’t always see. After working on that poster for a couple of days I begin to loose that fresh eye which can help you with pretty easy solutions. The feedback from my peers helped reinforce that outside eye and make my poster flow better. As well they commented on the green border edges that didn’t really serve a real focus but were included around the edges. A key thing to remember from this is do not put anything on your poster/CD cover if there isn’t meaning behind it. Everything should serve a purpose and add to the flow and/or message of your poster/CD cover.