WEEK 01: Introduction and Game Exercise

 DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY & IMAGING GCD 61204

WEEK 1: PRACTICAL

NAME: Adeline Wong Chyn Nee

I.D: 0344017

COURSE: Bachelors of Design in Creative Media

GROUP: C

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Today is my first DPI class which also happens to be my first attended university class. As it is the first semester, I wish to leave a good impression on the lecturers and at the same time, get along with the new students. At first sight, Mr. Martin appeared to be a nice lecturer with stylish glasses, however as he converses with the students, I realized that he is, in fact, a cheerful person who laughs constantly at other's and his own words, which I find pretty entertaining to watch and listen to.

LECTURE NOTE:

In our first lecture, we are introduced to the importance of learning Photoshop. I learned that when we operate in visuals style, website design, or individual experience function, then understanding Photoshop is necessary. Mr. Martin introduced to us not only 7 importance of learning Photoshop but also 10 tips of a successful graphic designer.

Importance of learning Photoshop

1) We can express our creativity- Photoshop provides endless functions for a design layout, as designers familiarise themselves with them, it will allow them to figure out new methods which opens up a door with endless opportunities.

2) We can create the graphic design- Photoshop can too be a graphic design creating software, we can develop a format of business cards, posters, greeting cards, and many more.

3) We can restore old images- The flexibility of Photoshop allows us to restore even the oldest torn-up pictures using tools like healing brush, clone stamp, as well as patch tools.

4) We can integrate graphics with text artistically- Through Photoshop, we can create designs with images and text combined to bring out a message.

5) We can make use of the brushes offered- As there are more than a thousand brushes available for designers to use, we can work efficiently and effectively.

6) We can change the colors in a photo- We can transform the colors of a photo to however we like with the help of saturation, hue, built-in effects and so many more.

7) We can rectify mistakes in photographs- We can utilize the tools of Photoshop to fix the details of a photo like red-eye, darkness, unnecessary element, and many more.

Importance of learning Photoshop

TIP #1: Follow the tutorials

TIP #2: Experiment

TIP #3: Memorise all keyboard shortcuts

TIP #4: Try to replicate others' work

TIP #5: Participate in a design competition

TIP #6: Subscribe to online galleries

TIP #7: Utilise "Smart Object" 

TIP #8: Scaling artwork and proportions

TIP #9: Use actions to personalize work

TIP #10: Organise the files properly

PRACTICAL CLASS ACTIVITIES:

In our practical class, we are encouraged to play a game by Mr. Martin. The first thought that came to my mind when game if mentioned, are games like Kahoot! or other interactive games but it turns out I was totally wrong. The game we played is called The Bézier Game, created by interaction designer Mark MacKay, The Bézier Game puts you on the fast track to learning the all-mighty pen tool. (Joyce, 2014) I was familiar with the game as I have seen content creators on Youtube play it however never tried it myself. At the beginning of the game, I struggled to find a way to change the direction of the line into a straight line. However, after watching some tutorials on Youtube, and knowing I have to utilize the alt key, I finished the game with ease.

Screenshots I took of some of the rounds I played:

Screenshot 1: Car design

This is the first round of the game after the few short tutorials, and let's just say I struggled so much and almost quit. However, this is also when I realized that I have to press the ALT key (option key in mac) to fold the lines.

  

Screenshot 2: Airplane design

After the first try, I got used to the lines and curves.

Screenshot 3: Wrench design

Slowly, I start working faster and also using fewer nodes for each design. In this design, I used 9 nodes out of the 10 available.

Screenshot 4: Cap design

As I slowly improve, the lesser nodes are required for me to complete the design. In this design, I used 8 nodes out of the 11 available.

Screenshot 5: Flag design

Lastly, I personally quite like the lines and curves I did on this last screenshot of a flag design. It's safe to safe I have learned how to use the pen tool and became more confident using it after this game. 

It is a great game recommendation to start off the module and I would recommend this game to whoever hoping to familiarise themselves with the pen tool.

PINTEREST ACTIVITY:

For our next activity, the students are required to list down 3 of their favorite graphic works from Pinterest and why we like the designs. These are the 3 designs that I like and have saved in my board.

Design #1: An exhibition poster of a Swedish painter, Hilma af Klint

Description: At first look, I instantly liked the color choice of this poster, a washed-out pastel color palette of text and background are chosen to match the artwork in the middle while also contrasting with it. Speaking of contrast, I also like the contrast feeling of having traditional art pieces along with simple fonts and shapes. Lastly, the visual hierarchy of this poster is clear and straightforward with clear information at the bottom and top.

Design #2: Merry Christmas poster by Fancy Lai

Description: I chose this poster because of multiple reasons, but personally, the most important reason is that Christmas is the best day of the year. Now for the design aspect, I love the play of color transparency of the shapes, I feel that it creates harmony between the 2 colored shapes, one being curved lines and one being round shapes. The next reason will be the use of negative space in the poster, the creator utilizes the negative space given and uses it as part of the design by embracing them.

Design #3: Poster for a console game called Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Description: There are so many things I like about this poster. First of all, the font choice is trendy and fitting for the game, although the fonts contain serif like Times Roman, it does not seem tacky at all for this poster. The next reason is just how the creator utilizes every space in the poster to fill them up with the information while not making the poster too messy. The final reason is definitely the creative design of the 3D holographic fluid shapes. It is a trend I personally fell in love with and would like to master design in the future.

REFERENCE:

Joyce, B. (2014, September 22). Master The Pen Tool With The Bézier Game. Pastemagazine.Com. https://www.pastemagazine.com/design/master-the-pen-tool-with-the-bezier-game/