This is my animated character
Friday, April 1, 2011
Cartoon Character
Paint v.s Inkscape
Okay so firstly in order to create these rings I thought I would use Paint because it is a program which I have been familiar with since ages. But before I began painting I first thought that I would find the advantages and disadvantages of using Inkscape and I found this:
ADVANTAGES OF INKSCAPE
The vector graphics produced are easily scaled. This means although the images are grouped together, each element is still able to maintain its own identity and can be selected and manipulated independtly of the others.
Any element can also be resized smaller or larger in an instant.
It is specifically designed for drawing.
It contains many useful features such as markers, clones and alpha bending.
There are many tutorials available on their website if help is required.
There are many shortcuts to perform tasks.
It provides customisation.
DISADVANTAGES
Most computers reuqire bitmap images in order to be printed. This means that the images produced by this program must first be converted into a bitmap image.
Despite Inkscape having so many advantages I felt that paint would still be a better option because Inkscape is something that wouldn't allow me to easily overlap the rings or rub out particular lines. Therefore I choose my original option.
Then I began with Paint:
Personally I felt that paint was a much more better program to produce these set of Olympic Rings because they allowed me to create the correct overlaping of the circles as opposed to Inkscape. However while producing these rings I struggled on how I would make them overlap each other but I overcame this simply by erasing some areas in which I felt the colour needed to be changed. After erasing those spots I then painted in the correct colours which should of been overlaping there.
I then found some advantages and disadvantages of paint which also helped me consider which program I should make these rings with:
THE ADVANTAGES OF USING PAINT
It supports popular image files like JPEG and GIF. They have a variety of standards for their images.
It allows to rotate, resize and merge images.
It has a convenient text tool which allows you to place text over images.
Its an easy and simple software to use.
They have a finite number of colours.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF USING PAINT
Very basic editing capablilities
Only supports WINDOWS
Does not support transperacy, filters or layers.
There is no smudge tool, which allows you to blend two different colours.
Their colour bitmaps require three times more storage in order to represent the shades of red, green and blue.
The bitmapped images which they create are typically larger than their vector counterpart. That is because storage for each pixel is required whether it is part of the object or the background.
Here is my final result after I finally established on how to make these rings overlap correctly & the advantages and disadvantages of the many programs listed above:
ADVANTAGES OF INKSCAPE
The vector graphics produced are easily scaled. This means although the images are grouped together, each element is still able to maintain its own identity and can be selected and manipulated independtly of the others.
Any element can also be resized smaller or larger in an instant.
It is specifically designed for drawing.
It contains many useful features such as markers, clones and alpha bending.
There are many tutorials available on their website if help is required.
There are many shortcuts to perform tasks.
It provides customisation.
DISADVANTAGES
Most computers reuqire bitmap images in order to be printed. This means that the images produced by this program must first be converted into a bitmap image.
Despite Inkscape having so many advantages I felt that paint would still be a better option because Inkscape is something that wouldn't allow me to easily overlap the rings or rub out particular lines. Therefore I choose my original option.
Then I began with Paint:
Personally I felt that paint was a much more better program to produce these set of Olympic Rings because they allowed me to create the correct overlaping of the circles as opposed to Inkscape. However while producing these rings I struggled on how I would make them overlap each other but I overcame this simply by erasing some areas in which I felt the colour needed to be changed. After erasing those spots I then painted in the correct colours which should of been overlaping there.
I then found some advantages and disadvantages of paint which also helped me consider which program I should make these rings with:
THE ADVANTAGES OF USING PAINT
It supports popular image files like JPEG and GIF. They have a variety of standards for their images.
It allows to rotate, resize and merge images.
It has a convenient text tool which allows you to place text over images.
Its an easy and simple software to use.
They have a finite number of colours.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF USING PAINT
Very basic editing capablilities
Only supports WINDOWS
Does not support transperacy, filters or layers.
There is no smudge tool, which allows you to blend two different colours.
Their colour bitmaps require three times more storage in order to represent the shades of red, green and blue.
The bitmapped images which they create are typically larger than their vector counterpart. That is because storage for each pixel is required whether it is part of the object or the background.
Here is my final result after I finally established on how to make these rings overlap correctly & the advantages and disadvantages of the many programs listed above:
Buying a Scanner :D
BUYING A SCANNER
2. Specifications
a) DPI
They are the dots per inch, which determine the resolution of printers and scanners.
b) Optical Resolution
This refers to the number of truly seperate readings taken from an original within a given distance, as opposed to the subsequent increase in resolution created by software interpolation.
c)Colour Depth
This refers to as bit depth is the number of bits used to describe the colour of each pixel. Greater bit depth allows a greater range of colours or shades of grey to be represented by a pixel.
The colour depth of this printer is 16-8 bit.
Also there is a DPI of 4800x4800.
Buying a Camera :)
Why am I looking for a camera?
I am looking for a camera so that I can take some shots with my friends. I would prefer a small, light camera which would be easy to carry.
What resolution should I look for ?
I will be required to find a resolution of 3264x2448 or in other words 8 megapixels.
What type of MEMORY is available?
Nowadays all types of memory cards are available in order to store images on cameras. The most common ones are SD or SDHC (Secure Digital/Secure Digital High Capacity) cards. Here is a table displaying the type of resolution and how many pictures the different memory capacities can contain:
Also the camera appears to have quite a suitable and easy design for outdoors however I would still prefer the camera before! Because it has a more convenient and sleek design.!
Why would a card reader be useful for me ?
A card reader would most wonderfully be suitable for me as it quickly allows me to transfer data from the card onto the computer.
I am looking for a camera so that I can take some shots with my friends. I would prefer a small, light camera which would be easy to carry.
What resolution should I look for ?
I will be required to find a resolution of 3264x2448 or in other words 8 megapixels.
What type of MEMORY is available?
Nowadays all types of memory cards are available in order to store images on cameras. The most common ones are SD or SDHC (Secure Digital/Secure Digital High Capacity) cards. Here is a table displaying the type of resolution and how many pictures the different memory capacities can contain:
This table would influence me to buy a memory card of 4GB capacity as I am not a person who would take that many photos. Also since I am planning to buy an 8 megapixel camera this would mean I would be able to save 1164 photos.
I can also conclude from this table that as the megapixels of the photos increases the capacity of the photos to be saved decreases.
Which cameras I would buy?
This camera would be suitable for my needs as it is a 8 megapixel camera which Im simply looking for as it would allow me to take medium quality photos which would be suitable to take pictures with friends.
Also its design appears to be quite light, portable and convenient making it more suitable for me to take outdoors and take some pictures with friends! Therefore this camera is quite suitable for my needs!
This camera is also quite wonderful because it has 8 megapixels and an optical zoom of x10. This will allow me to capture all the action up close with my friends!
Also the camera appears to have quite a suitable and easy design for outdoors however I would still prefer the camera before! Because it has a more convenient and sleek design.!
Why would a card reader be useful for me ?
A card reader would most wonderfully be suitable for me as it quickly allows me to transfer data from the card onto the computer.
Also there are three other main reasons:
You can leave it plugged into your computer and slot your memory card in when you need to.
Secondly, the transfer speed is around 10 times faster than using your camera or USB cable.
Thirdly and perhaps the most important reason, is that by
using a card reader you aren’t running down your camera batteries during transfer.
This is especially beneficial when transferring large numbers of photos where you risk crashing your transfer if the battery is depleted. Card readers also allow you to save data to the card, which means you can carry them on your memory card and easily transfer to another computer.
If you have lost your camera USB cable, card readers are a cheaper and more readily available alternative, and bring with them all the benefits listed above.
Therefore a card reader would be most suitable for me :)!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Careers in Digital Graphics
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
However most Graphic Designers will just stick to using the programs Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. They will also need basic things like scanners & printers.
What does the person in the career do?
A graphic designer or graphic artist is a person who conveys information through visual solutions which promote or enhance a service, product, philosophy or entity. They have quite a fascinating job as they help communicate ideas visually as words alone cannot do everything.
For example : A pie chart is able to communicate information like data much better than a 300 word paragraph and it is the job of a Graphic Designer to communicate such ideas.
A graphic designer or graphic artist is a person who conveys information through visual solutions which promote or enhance a service, product, philosophy or entity. They have quite a fascinating job as they help communicate ideas visually as words alone cannot do everything.
For example : A pie chart is able to communicate information like data much better than a 300 word paragraph and it is the job of a Graphic Designer to communicate such ideas.
Their job is basically to use visual elements in order to communicate ideas by using things like colours, images, charts & graphs.
- Where would you see this person’s work (e.g. in the newspaper, in a game shop)?
Graphic Designers work is something that is quite popular and can be found in :
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Internet
- Logos
- Business Cards
- Billboards
- Posters
- Greeting Cards
- Newspaper Layout
- Logos
Most Graphic Designers take the support of InDesign, Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator in order to establish their work in these various forms.
- What training is needed for the career?
In order to become a succesful Graphic Designer many skills are required. These include :
- Having excellent perceptive abilities and aesthetics
- Graphic Designers need to be able to visualise their work well.
- They also need a command of tools and materials, this also means that they need to be able use specific and a variety of techniques in their work.
- Despite all this they need to be able to deliver their message they wish to convey quite effectively.
- Not only this but they are also required to know various aspects of their industry such as letter form, typography, information design, publication, print design, computer graphics and advertising design.
- What kind of software and hardware is used?
Most graphic designers will use double monitors. Some will even use a graphic tablet, such as those by WACOM as they are extremely helpful in their work.
Some graphic designers even use a graphic monitor once again those made by WACOM in which you are allowed to directly draw on your monitor into the software with an electronic "ink pen".
A good graphics card is also necessary for larger projects.
However most Graphic Designers will just stick to using the programs Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. They will also need basic things like scanners & printers.
ANIMATOR
What does the person in the career do?
A cartoon animator creates animation for cartoons, aniamted feature films, advertising or video games as there are many different jobs for this profession.
An animation is created by animators through making multiple frames of movement which when combined together will create an illusion of movement also known as animation.
An animator for a web cartoon might be the only person working on that cartoon, while an animator for a big- studio feature might be on of dozens. What a cartoon animator does depends all on the job he or she has.
On the other a cartoon animator who is a lead animator is essentially the project manager for the animation process. This person supervises a team of animators and artists, and makes sure the project is on track and consistent. The lead animator is responsible for making sure the project follows the established storyboard, and might have some say in staging and acting. A large-scale animation project might have several animation units, each led by its own lead animator.
An animator has many roles which they can attain as a career. However the career they choose is what controls what they have to do. Above are just the basics of what animators are able to do.
A cartoon animator creates animation for cartoons, aniamted feature films, advertising or video games as there are many different jobs for this profession.
An animation is created by animators through making multiple frames of movement which when combined together will create an illusion of movement also known as animation.
An animator for a web cartoon might be the only person working on that cartoon, while an animator for a big- studio feature might be on of dozens. What a cartoon animator does depends all on the job he or she has.
On the other a cartoon animator who is a lead animator is essentially the project manager for the animation process. This person supervises a team of animators and artists, and makes sure the project is on track and consistent. The lead animator is responsible for making sure the project follows the established storyboard, and might have some say in staging and acting. A large-scale animation project might have several animation units, each led by its own lead animator.
An animator has many roles which they can attain as a career. However the career they choose is what controls what they have to do. Above are just the basics of what animators are able to do.
- Where would you see this person’s work (e.g. in the newspaper, in a game shop)?
Their work is most popular on TV & Websites. Also with advertisers, web design firms, video game companies or even with animation firms.
What training is needed for the career?
In order to become an animator a lot of training is required in many areas for example as an animator you:
Are expected to know the BASICS
Individuals who are interesting in a career in this field will need a solid and extensive foundation in basic drawing skills, as well as colour design and computer applications. Having a knowledge of various programs like Adobe Photoshop is helpful as well!
Need to decide and specify education in the TYPE of field you wish to work in on animation.
Animation is no longer soley of cartoons. There are computer animators who use 3D images to create animation, as well as stop-motion animators who use clay or plastic models to create the illusion of movement. Training in either for film or computer generation is useful: training like this can be obtained in schools which are dedicated to animation and graphic design. Computer animation studies are also available in many colleges, as well as specialised technical schools such as Regent University's School of Arts, which offers an in-depth training program in all aspects of animation.
Internship training can usually be under taken at animation studios and while there is no pay involved and the experience gained can be useful later on in a career. In addition, learning to us such computer programs as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and 3D Studio Max will give a solid foundation for animation studies.
AS WELL AS KNOWLEDGE
In addition to basic animation knowledge animator should be able to draw both 2D and 3D animation, a solid background in 3D graphic design is very useful. In addition video and special effects are also relevant areas that should be examined.
In order to become a successful animator many skills and training is required as stated above.
- What kind of software and hardware is used?
Lightwave, Softimage, Cinema 4D, Inkscape, Flash & 3D Studio Max.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Graphic Tablets
What is it and how do you use it ?
A graphics tablet is a computer input device. It allows individuals to make good use of it by allowing them to hand draw images and graphics, similiar to the way one draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets can also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures.
The wireless Tablet:
A graphics tablet is a computer input device. It allows individuals to make good use of it by allowing them to hand draw images and graphics, similiar to the way one draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets can also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures.
The wireless Tablet:
This scanner has 512 pressure levels. Pressure levels refer to the sensivity of the pressure on the surface of the tablet itself. This pressure sensitivity controls transperacy, line thickness and/or colour. The higher the pressure sensitivity is available, the more natural and responsive your tablet will feel allowing you to have more control.
The resolution of this tablet is 1280 x 1024. Resolution relates to the number of dots, pixels, used to display an image. Higher resolutions mean that more pixels are used to create the image which results in a crisper, cleaner image. The higher the resolution present means the more detailed and clearer your work will be. On the other hand the lower the resolution the less detail and finer the work will be.
The cost of this wonderful tablet as listed above is $1899.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Image File Types
GIF FILES
What are they used for?
Gif files are considered the most popular form on the internet and in fact and are the most excellent for formatting compressed areas or images with large areas of the same colour. But this type of format is considered the easiest option in order to be able to post animation online. The Gif89 format is able to support transparency and interlacing.
The idea behind originally designing GIF files was to create the smallest possible image file for uploading and downloading from electronic Bulletin Board Systems thus producing a highly compressed format that minimises file transfer time over phone lines.
The most common way of reducing the size of GIF files would be to reduce the number of colours on the palette. However it is important to note that GIF already uses the LZW compression scheme internally to make images as small as possible without having to loose any data.
A GIF file is a file format for storing graphical images.
What is their colour depth?
A gif image is able to reach the maximum resolution and bit depth of: 256 colours and 8 bits.
File Size Characteristics?
JPEG FILES
What are they used for?
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.
JPEG files are used in a variety number of image file formats. This type of format is most commonly used by digital cameras and other photographic image capture devices. This type of format is the most common format and is basically used to store and transmit photographic images via the World Wide Web.
Remember a Jpeg photo is always compressed therefore some of the photo's original information will be lost.
Colour Depth?
A JPEG file contains 8 bits of colour for each colour channel.It means that a primary colour ( R G B) can have 256 (28) different intensity values. Mixing of primary colours leads to 16.8 (256x256x256) million different colours.
File Size Characteristics?
Animated GIF files, where are they used?
An animated Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file is a graphic image on the Web which moves. It is used to create a twirling icon or a banner with a hand that waves or letters that magically get larger. This sort of file is specified as GIF89a that contains a single file with a set of images that are presented in a specified order. An animated GIF can loop endlessly or it can present on or few sequences and then stop the animation.
In order to create this sort of file you need to creat a series of images, each slightly different from the one before. These series of GIFS are then put together in order and are layered one on top of the other in a photo or illustration editing program.They are then layered in reverse order with the last image on top. Finally loop and speed are set to these images to create an animation.
Basically these types of files are established to create an animation through the steps listed above.
Colour Depth
File Size Characteristics
MPEG Files
What are they used for?
MPEG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. It is used to refer to the family of digital video compression standards and file formats developed by the group. MPEG generally produces good quality in video format.MPEG algorithms compress data to form small bits that can be easily transimitted and then decompressed. MPEG achieves its high compression rate by storing only the changes from one frame to another, instead of each entire frame. This video information is then encoded using a technique called Discrete Cosine Transform. MPEG uses a type of lossy compression, since some data is removed. However this removal of data is barely noticeable by the naked eye.
Colour Depth?
File Size Characteristics?
What is a Vector Based Map
Unlike the other types of files listed above Vector images are not made of a gride of pixels. Instead Vector Graphics are comprised of paths which are defined by a start and end point, along with other points, curves and angles along the way. A path can be a line, a square, a triangle or even a curvy shape. These paths can be used to create simple drawings or complex diagrams. Paths are even used to define character face types.
Due to vector based images not being made of specific dots, they can be scaled to a larger size without loosing the quality of their image. For example if you were to blow up a raster graphic then it would look pixelated. However if you were to do this to a Vector graphic then the edges of the object within the graphic will stay smooth and clean. Many flash animations also use vector graphics since they scale better and take up less space.
Vector Based image extablished on inkscape.
A Gif image.
JPEG image
animated gif.
What are they used for?
Gif files are considered the most popular form on the internet and in fact and are the most excellent for formatting compressed areas or images with large areas of the same colour. But this type of format is considered the easiest option in order to be able to post animation online. The Gif89 format is able to support transparency and interlacing.
The idea behind originally designing GIF files was to create the smallest possible image file for uploading and downloading from electronic Bulletin Board Systems thus producing a highly compressed format that minimises file transfer time over phone lines.
The most common way of reducing the size of GIF files would be to reduce the number of colours on the palette. However it is important to note that GIF already uses the LZW compression scheme internally to make images as small as possible without having to loose any data.
A GIF file is a file format for storing graphical images.
What is their colour depth?
A gif image is able to reach the maximum resolution and bit depth of: 256 colours and 8 bits.
File Size Characteristics?
JPEG FILES
What are they used for?
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.
JPEG files are used in a variety number of image file formats. This type of format is most commonly used by digital cameras and other photographic image capture devices. This type of format is the most common format and is basically used to store and transmit photographic images via the World Wide Web.
Remember a Jpeg photo is always compressed therefore some of the photo's original information will be lost.
Colour Depth?
A JPEG file contains 8 bits of colour for each colour channel.It means that a primary colour ( R G B) can have 256 (28) different intensity values. Mixing of primary colours leads to 16.8 (256x256x256) million different colours.
File Size Characteristics?
Animated GIF files, where are they used?
An animated Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file is a graphic image on the Web which moves. It is used to create a twirling icon or a banner with a hand that waves or letters that magically get larger. This sort of file is specified as GIF89a that contains a single file with a set of images that are presented in a specified order. An animated GIF can loop endlessly or it can present on or few sequences and then stop the animation.
In order to create this sort of file you need to creat a series of images, each slightly different from the one before. These series of GIFS are then put together in order and are layered one on top of the other in a photo or illustration editing program.They are then layered in reverse order with the last image on top. Finally loop and speed are set to these images to create an animation.
Basically these types of files are established to create an animation through the steps listed above.
Colour Depth
File Size Characteristics
MPEG Files
What are they used for?
MPEG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. It is used to refer to the family of digital video compression standards and file formats developed by the group. MPEG generally produces good quality in video format.MPEG algorithms compress data to form small bits that can be easily transimitted and then decompressed. MPEG achieves its high compression rate by storing only the changes from one frame to another, instead of each entire frame. This video information is then encoded using a technique called Discrete Cosine Transform. MPEG uses a type of lossy compression, since some data is removed. However this removal of data is barely noticeable by the naked eye.
Colour Depth?
File Size Characteristics?
What is a Vector Based Map
Unlike the other types of files listed above Vector images are not made of a gride of pixels. Instead Vector Graphics are comprised of paths which are defined by a start and end point, along with other points, curves and angles along the way. A path can be a line, a square, a triangle or even a curvy shape. These paths can be used to create simple drawings or complex diagrams. Paths are even used to define character face types.
Due to vector based images not being made of specific dots, they can be scaled to a larger size without loosing the quality of their image. For example if you were to blow up a raster graphic then it would look pixelated. However if you were to do this to a Vector graphic then the edges of the object within the graphic will stay smooth and clean. Many flash animations also use vector graphics since they scale better and take up less space.
Vector Based image extablished on inkscape. A Gif image. JPEG image animated gif.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Digital Art... Real art?
The features which I most appreciate on this program are the blotching technique which allows you to create abstract artwork. As well as this the paint brush tool which allows you to determine the size of the tool you wish to use.
However what I don't like about this program is the fact that there isn't many features which an individual can explore.
Is digital art a valid form of art?
Digital art is considered an original form of art as it is created through an individuals mind with originality. If the support of digital art is used it does not mean that the creators ideas presented are not creative enough to be considered as art. Also art does not always involve getting your hands dirty it could simply just mean presenting creative ideas as a different form!
What are some of the advantages that digital paint and draw programs offer over the traditional methods?
- You don't need to get your hands dirty with paint or pastels. \
- You are able to modify an error through digital form as opposed to canvas form.
- Perfection is something which can be obtained at an easier level.
- Getting a variety of options with colour, effects and stamps are also available.
A digital artist is required to have at least basic knowledge of the program they wish to use. As well as this they should know the potential of a variety of tools as well some experience in the field.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Digital Media
Digital Data is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. If you look at the technical aspect then it can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission.
How many forms digital forms surrond us?
Digital data is based on the binary number system which uses the numbers 0 or 1. Everything in the computer is that used by strings which are made up of these two numbers.
What is a bit?
A bit is a binary digit which is represented by a '0' or a '1'.
What is a byte?
A byte is a sequence of 8 bits ( enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data). These are processed as a single unit of information.
What is a sampling rate?
A sampling rate, sample rate or sampling frequency defines the number of samples per second (or per other unit) taken from a continour signal to make a discrete signal.
How does depth colour affect the appearance of if an image?
Colour depth is a term used to describe the maximum number of colours present in an image.
The chosen colour depth effects the final size of the image as well as deciding the clarity of the image. More colour means makes the image look more realistic and detailed.
As you can see from the image above you can conclude that the more colour depth present in the images the better clarity can be viewed.
A sampling rate effects video but not still media. Why?
A sampling rate only effects video because in this the "samples" are actually moving which means you have something to time for its sample rate because samples are going at a particular speed. Also you can set the samples at a particular speed because something will be moving. However in a still image there is nothing to time or set a speed at because still images dont move.
How many forms digital forms surrond us?
- computers
- mobile devices
- vide game consoles
- projectors
- television
- & radio
Digital data is based on the binary number system which uses the numbers 0 or 1. Everything in the computer is that used by strings which are made up of these two numbers.
What is a bit?
A bit is a binary digit which is represented by a '0' or a '1'.
What is a byte?
A byte is a sequence of 8 bits ( enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data). These are processed as a single unit of information.
What is a sampling rate?
A sampling rate, sample rate or sampling frequency defines the number of samples per second (or per other unit) taken from a continour signal to make a discrete signal.
How does depth colour affect the appearance of if an image?
Colour depth is a term used to describe the maximum number of colours present in an image.
The chosen colour depth effects the final size of the image as well as deciding the clarity of the image. More colour means makes the image look more realistic and detailed.
As you can see from the image above you can conclude that the more colour depth present in the images the better clarity can be viewed.
A sampling rate effects video but not still media. Why?
A sampling rate only effects video because in this the "samples" are actually moving which means you have something to time for its sample rate because samples are going at a particular speed. Also you can set the samples at a particular speed because something will be moving. However in a still image there is nothing to time or set a speed at because still images dont move.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The Drawing Tools in Word
To establish the picture placed above I simply used the 2007 word document which allowed me to make a variety of shapes as well as adding 3D effects, different colours and various of outluines. :)
Word document truly is the best! As it allows you to add a variety of effects but not as much as Inkscape :D
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Making My Animation
Today- What program I will be using?
Today we were told that we are to create an animation that will promote our house group, as soon as I heard this I was definite that I will use the program INKSCAPE. Why? Because I knew that this program would be the most useful and best to create an animation. This program was something we had been practicing our skills on for the past term so I knew this would be the one that I would use. However this was not the only reason on why I chose this program what really motivated me to Inkscape was the fact it:
A picture of InkScape & the wonderful tools available on the program:
Today: 25/2/11 What I will be making and how?
After Mr Lennon introducing our assignment last lesson and my ideas created from last lesson I reached the conclusion that my previous idea would not be so suitable. I reached this conclusion after I made an in depth anaylsis of the tools available in InkScape which made me realise its possible but it would require much difficulty and time which was something we had a limitation of.
So now I thought about creating a girl cheering GO RYAN! To begin with establishing my animation I first found some SVG images online as directed by Mr Cavil in order to get a template of a face on which I could work.
Some difficulties that I knew I would encounter during this task include making the eyes of the girl blink. But that's were Mr Cavil & the internet would come handy!
Today 4/3/11
I began to create my animation FINALLY after knowing what I would be constructing in order to promote my homeroom of Ryan. So today I exported my first 6 frames for my animation which consisted of a girl singing the words go Ryan.
Today 25/3/11 A new idea?
Today was the worst day ever as I found out that my file had corrupted and I had lost everything because I didn't save a back up either. This meant that I had to start all over again however this time I had a few other ideas in mind.
So I began constructing again however with a little bit of a different tactic. I decided to establish this animation through making a girl who lets go of her balloons which in the end spells GO RYAN after her balloons gradually fall to the ground. I thought that my new idea was even better in comparison to my previous :)
Today 26/3/11 How did I make it and on what?
Today I created my picture in Inkscape. I choose this because I knew it was the most reliable and the most effective program which could be used to create a fabulous animation with simplicity yet effectiveness here is a little preview:
MAKING THE DRESS
In order to firstly establish the dress of my animation I used the "Draw Bexier curves and Straight Lines Tool" on Inkscape, this tool simply allowed me to create the outline of the girls dress. Then in order to colour in the dress of the girl I used the "Draw Calligraphic or Brush strokes Tool", this allowed me to give more detail to the dress of the girl by filling it in with a colour. However to top it up I used the "Create Stars and Polygons" tool in order to create the belt of the female which is like the cherry on cake for the girls dress. In order to create this perfect round circle shape through this tool I set the corners to: 17 and the spoke ratio to: 0.500 and rounded it to : 1.500. This allowed me to create the magnificent belt on the girls dress which gives her more human like qualities which then efficently allows her to become more realistic than just a 2D drawing.
MAKING THE BODY
Now in order to create the outline of the body itself I simply used the "Draw Bexier Curves and Straight Lines Tool" with the help of the "Edit Paths By Nodes Tool". This allowed me to create a realistic human body with the curves and straight lines of the neck, arms & legs. However the hand created is an svg image taken from the Internet and once again the bracelet is created in the same way as the belt however just minimised in size.
Here is another close up of these things drawn which will allow you to easily identify the different tools used:
The face of the character is also an svg image taken from the Internet this includes the eyes, lips and hair of the face. However the nose has been drawn on with the same tool to create the outline of the dress. Here is another close up of the face:
All these tools can be found on Inkscape on the left hand side and look like this :)
THE BACKGROUND
The balloons have simply been created through the "Create Circles, Ellipses and Arcs Tool" and the strings through the "Draw Curves and Straight Lines Tool". Here is a close up of the balloons which will allow you to easily see how the balloons have been created:
The grass is straight forward to create as well it is simply done through the " Draw Curves and Straight Lines Tool" as well as selecting green and then colouring it in with the "Draw Calligraphic or Brush strokes Tool".
The letters which spell out the word(s) GO RYAN, have been established by being saved as an svg file onto the inkscape document. Here is a link to the website of where these wonderful letters can be found:
http://sig.graphicsfactory.com/ As well as this here are the letters it self which have been used:
These letters however when used in my animation are not shining as graphics as they normally would because they have been saved as an svg. Also in my animation I have added a black square behind the letters to highlight them.
Now that I had finished creating the base of my animation and have exaplained how I have made it , it is now time for me to get the frames done.
27/3/11 What image format was I saving my work in? And how was I doing it exporting the images?
Today I decided that I would begin my animation. To my surprise I actually had a productive day and got my first 30 frames done. During this process I realised the image format which I was saving my work in was an SVG file. This means that my work was being saved as SCALABLE VECTOR GRAPHS, this allows me to conclude that my graphic file was written in XML format for the images I was saving, this allowed them to scale them smoothly to different sizes.
During the creation of my animation I had to export each individual image as I made the slightest change to the image before. To do this
I simply went onto :
FILE
and then EXPORT BITMAP
However when exporting these pictures I had to learn to keep in mind that I was exporting the whole page not just the selection itself and to double check that I was doing this correctly I kept checking the files as I exported them to see if they were in chronological order so I wouldnt face difficulty later when I tried putting the images together.
I exported these images likes this :) :
28/3/11 What image format was I saving my frames?Today I finished the rest of my 118 frames. After I had finished exporting my frames I realised they were being saved as PNG files. This meant that my images were being saved as Portable Network Graphics. I thought it was excellent that my files were being saved in this format because these types of files have many advantages in comparison to GIF files:
Today I was able to finish my frames altogether and decided to start making the animation itself by placing it on MOVIE MAKER. In total I now had 120 frames so roughly in my mind I already calculated the animation would go for about 15 seconds depending on how long I time each frame.
After I had transferred all my frames onto movie maker I made sure that each frame was aligned in chronological order so that the animation would make sense. I played around with my timing for each frame with the seconds 0.1 0.2 & 0.3 and after much fiddling I saved each frame at the rate of 0.2 seconds. I choose this time because it made my animation look the most realistic as well making my animation run smoothly which made it more believable in appearance.
Here is another animation in which the frames are moving 0.2 seconds:
Today I was able to get a rough sketch done of my animation on windows movie maker, this made me feel really proud. I believed my animation was coming along very well :)
30/3/11 Creating the Animation & Adding some effects!
After I had got my rough sketch done yesterday today I put all of it together :D However I added a little twist in order to make my animation look more realistic and well presented, I decided to add some sound effects to it so it would become even better.
This music was simply found on google from the webites:
DILANDAU
&
MUSIC BIBLE
I added the sound effects in the beginning with some plain music titled "Highway Blues" so that I could have a bit of an introduction before the dramatic sounds come in.
Then I added an effect where the balloons pop, this allows the audience to view and understand the action that is taking place during this particular scene.
Finally I added some music at the end where you can hear people cheering, that is placed there to emphasise the enthusiasm of Ryan House.
31/3/ Encountering Difficulties and Solving them.
During the process of this animation I felt that I encountered many problems which needed to be dealt with. Firstly to get my animation to blink, it was quite difficult to get her to blink gradually while making it noticeable for the audience. However I finally did conquer this problem through Mr. Cavil's advice on how I should make the pupils more noticeable which would allow the audience to easily see when she is blinking. Also to really get an insight on how I should do this I observed other animations in which eyes were blinking. This allowed me to notice how each frame does have quite a difference which makes the blinking so noticeable. FOR EXAMPLE:
This eye has frames which don't have much of a difference between them and I have used this animation to be inspired and create a blinking eye of my own. These are the frames I used to create my blinking eye and this is how it looks.
After completing this animation I felt quite good about myself because I learnt many things which will come handy later on ;)
The actual VIDEO SIZE is 1647 KB (kilobytes)
Today we were told that we are to create an animation that will promote our house group, as soon as I heard this I was definite that I will use the program INKSCAPE. Why? Because I knew that this program would be the most useful and best to create an animation. This program was something we had been practicing our skills on for the past term so I knew this would be the one that I would use. However this was not the only reason on why I chose this program what really motivated me to Inkscape was the fact it:
- Has a good interface and nice output
- It is designed specifically for drawing
- Images can be created with much flexibility and they are produced with a nice vector output.
A picture of InkScape & the wonderful tools available on the program:
Today: 25/2/11 What I will be making and how?
After Mr Lennon introducing our assignment last lesson and my ideas created from last lesson I reached the conclusion that my previous idea would not be so suitable. I reached this conclusion after I made an in depth anaylsis of the tools available in InkScape which made me realise its possible but it would require much difficulty and time which was something we had a limitation of.
So now I thought about creating a girl cheering GO RYAN! To begin with establishing my animation I first found some SVG images online as directed by Mr Cavil in order to get a template of a face on which I could work.
Some difficulties that I knew I would encounter during this task include making the eyes of the girl blink. But that's were Mr Cavil & the internet would come handy!
Today 4/3/11
I began to create my animation FINALLY after knowing what I would be constructing in order to promote my homeroom of Ryan. So today I exported my first 6 frames for my animation which consisted of a girl singing the words go Ryan.
Today 25/3/11 A new idea?
Today was the worst day ever as I found out that my file had corrupted and I had lost everything because I didn't save a back up either. This meant that I had to start all over again however this time I had a few other ideas in mind.
So I began constructing again however with a little bit of a different tactic. I decided to establish this animation through making a girl who lets go of her balloons which in the end spells GO RYAN after her balloons gradually fall to the ground. I thought that my new idea was even better in comparison to my previous :)
Today 26/3/11 How did I make it and on what?
Today I created my picture in Inkscape. I choose this because I knew it was the most reliable and the most effective program which could be used to create a fabulous animation with simplicity yet effectiveness here is a little preview:
This girl is actually the subject of my whole animation, which I created using many useful tools :)
MAKING THE DRESS
In order to firstly establish the dress of my animation I used the "Draw Bexier curves and Straight Lines Tool" on Inkscape, this tool simply allowed me to create the outline of the girls dress. Then in order to colour in the dress of the girl I used the "Draw Calligraphic or Brush strokes Tool", this allowed me to give more detail to the dress of the girl by filling it in with a colour. However to top it up I used the "Create Stars and Polygons" tool in order to create the belt of the female which is like the cherry on cake for the girls dress. In order to create this perfect round circle shape through this tool I set the corners to: 17 and the spoke ratio to: 0.500 and rounded it to : 1.500. This allowed me to create the magnificent belt on the girls dress which gives her more human like qualities which then efficently allows her to become more realistic than just a 2D drawing.
You can easily see from the close up of the dress the tools that I have used. You can easily identify the straight lines created with the tool "Draw Bexier curves and Straight Lines Tool". Also you can see with what ease the dress and background has been coloured in with the other tool.
Here is a closeup of the belt despite it being blury it still gives you a close up of how the shape would look if you were to set the spoke ratio to this and the other settings.
MAKING THE BODY
Now in order to create the outline of the body itself I simply used the "Draw Bexier Curves and Straight Lines Tool" with the help of the "Edit Paths By Nodes Tool". This allowed me to create a realistic human body with the curves and straight lines of the neck, arms & legs. However the hand created is an svg image taken from the Internet and once again the bracelet is created in the same way as the belt however just minimised in size.
Here is another close up of these things drawn which will allow you to easily identify the different tools used:
The face of the character is also an svg image taken from the Internet this includes the eyes, lips and hair of the face. However the nose has been drawn on with the same tool to create the outline of the dress. Here is another close up of the face:
All these tools can be found on Inkscape on the left hand side and look like this :)
THE BACKGROUND
The balloons have simply been created through the "Create Circles, Ellipses and Arcs Tool" and the strings through the "Draw Curves and Straight Lines Tool". Here is a close up of the balloons which will allow you to easily see how the balloons have been created:
The grass is straight forward to create as well it is simply done through the " Draw Curves and Straight Lines Tool" as well as selecting green and then colouring it in with the "Draw Calligraphic or Brush strokes Tool".
The letters which spell out the word(s) GO RYAN, have been established by being saved as an svg file onto the inkscape document. Here is a link to the website of where these wonderful letters can be found:
http://sig.graphicsfactory.com/ As well as this here are the letters it self which have been used:
These letters however when used in my animation are not shining as graphics as they normally would because they have been saved as an svg. Also in my animation I have added a black square behind the letters to highlight them.
Now that I had finished creating the base of my animation and have exaplained how I have made it , it is now time for me to get the frames done.
27/3/11 What image format was I saving my work in? And how was I doing it exporting the images?
Today I decided that I would begin my animation. To my surprise I actually had a productive day and got my first 30 frames done. During this process I realised the image format which I was saving my work in was an SVG file. This means that my work was being saved as SCALABLE VECTOR GRAPHS, this allows me to conclude that my graphic file was written in XML format for the images I was saving, this allowed them to scale them smoothly to different sizes.
During the creation of my animation I had to export each individual image as I made the slightest change to the image before. To do this
I simply went onto :
FILE
and then EXPORT BITMAP
However when exporting these pictures I had to learn to keep in mind that I was exporting the whole page not just the selection itself and to double check that I was doing this correctly I kept checking the files as I exported them to see if they were in chronological order so I wouldnt face difficulty later when I tried putting the images together.
I exported these images likes this :) :
28/3/11 What image format was I saving my frames?Today I finished the rest of my 118 frames. After I had finished exporting my frames I realised they were being saved as PNG files. This meant that my images were being saved as Portable Network Graphics. I thought it was excellent that my files were being saved in this format because these types of files have many advantages in comparison to GIF files:
- They compress better in size
- These files support up to 48-bit true-colour or 16-but gray scale images. Which allows me to be more flexible with my image format that scales up or down.
- They have alpha channels which means there is a variable transparency
- They contain cross-platform gramma correction which means it allows me to control the image brightness
- And it has two-dimensional interlacing which is a method of progressive display.
Today I was able to finish my frames altogether and decided to start making the animation itself by placing it on MOVIE MAKER. In total I now had 120 frames so roughly in my mind I already calculated the animation would go for about 15 seconds depending on how long I time each frame.
After I had transferred all my frames onto movie maker I made sure that each frame was aligned in chronological order so that the animation would make sense. I played around with my timing for each frame with the seconds 0.1 0.2 & 0.3 and after much fiddling I saved each frame at the rate of 0.2 seconds. I choose this time because it made my animation look the most realistic as well making my animation run smoothly which made it more believable in appearance.
Here is another animation in which the frames are moving 0.2 seconds:
Today I was able to get a rough sketch done of my animation on windows movie maker, this made me feel really proud. I believed my animation was coming along very well :)
30/3/11 Creating the Animation & Adding some effects!
After I had got my rough sketch done yesterday today I put all of it together :D However I added a little twist in order to make my animation look more realistic and well presented, I decided to add some sound effects to it so it would become even better.
This music was simply found on google from the webites:
DILANDAU
&
MUSIC BIBLE
I added the sound effects in the beginning with some plain music titled "Highway Blues" so that I could have a bit of an introduction before the dramatic sounds come in.
Then I added an effect where the balloons pop, this allows the audience to view and understand the action that is taking place during this particular scene.
Finally I added some music at the end where you can hear people cheering, that is placed there to emphasise the enthusiasm of Ryan House.
31/3/ Encountering Difficulties and Solving them.
During the process of this animation I felt that I encountered many problems which needed to be dealt with. Firstly to get my animation to blink, it was quite difficult to get her to blink gradually while making it noticeable for the audience. However I finally did conquer this problem through Mr. Cavil's advice on how I should make the pupils more noticeable which would allow the audience to easily see when she is blinking. Also to really get an insight on how I should do this I observed other animations in which eyes were blinking. This allowed me to notice how each frame does have quite a difference which makes the blinking so noticeable. FOR EXAMPLE:
This eye has frames which don't have much of a difference between them and I have used this animation to be inspired and create a blinking eye of my own. These are the frames I used to create my blinking eye and this is how it looks.
Now this was solved it was time to solve problem number#2.
Another problem I encountered during this task was once I had actually created all my frames I realised that the background had been left transparent. So in order to mend my mistake I had to individually open each image on to paint and then save as the image and replace it with its original file in order to create a bold background. This idea was suggested to me by Mr.Lenon and thanks to him I had once again fixed another terrible mistake!
1/4/11 Final Size?
After completing my animation my total time was 23 seconds. Which means there are 5.22 frames are playing per second. Here are some extra details of the PNG size of the bitmaps being exported:
Here is the final result of my animation:
The actual VIDEO SIZE is 1647 KB (kilobytes)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Painting Tools
These are the tools and their functions available on paint.net:
1) Rectangle Select- this tool is used to define a rectangle or square selection region.
Tools 1,3,5 are selection tools. These tools are basically responsible for selecting an area of the image for modification,deketion, copying or cropping.
2) Move Selected Pixels- this tool is used to move pixels that are are selected as a result of using various selection tools.
This tools are moving tools. These will allow you to move, rotate and scale a selection outline along with the pixels which have been selected. When this tool is active you will know because the blue highlight of the selection will not be drawn so that you can have a better colour accuracy.
3) Lasso Select- these tools may be used to draw a freeform selection region.
4) Move Selection- this tool is handy to move the selection without affecting the pixels which have been selected.
5) Ellipse Select- tis tool may be used to draw an eclipse or circle selection region.
6)Zoom- this tool may be used to in ( which can be done by left click), zoom out (right click) , or zoom the whole canvas around a particular region ( which can be done by drawing a rectangle).
7) Magic Wand- this tool is able to select areas of the active layer that are similar in colour.
8)Text Tool- this tool can be used for placing text on the image itself.
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9)Paintbrush- this tool can be selected with default when you start Paint.net and is also useful for drawing with freedom.
10) Eraser- this tool may be used to erase areas of an image ( it helps in setting the transperacy to 0 )
11) Pencil- this tools allows you to edit each active layer pixel by pixel.
12) Colour Picker- this tool can be used to pick up any colour from an active layer and set that as the current secondary or primary colour.
Pixel Tools (11 & 12)- the pencil can be used to draw 1- pixel at a time, or what is essentially a non- antialised freeform brush.
- The colour picker can be used to transfer the pixel from the current layer to the the mouse cursor's position to either the primary or the secondary colour.
13)Clone Stamp- this tool can be used for copying pixels of a region between layers, or within the same layer.
14)Recolour Tool- this can be used to substiute one colour with another.
15)Paint Bucket- this tool maybe used for filling in areas with different or similar areas.
16)Line/ Curve Tool- this tool maybe used to draw straight and curved lines.
17)Rectangle -this tool is used to create rectangles and squares.
18) Rounded Rectangle- this tool can be used to create rounded rectangles and squares.
19) Ellipse- this tool can be used to create circles and ellipses.
20) Freeform Shape- this tool can be used to create a shap with a freeform outline.
21) Tolerance Slider- this tool affects other tools like Magic wand, the Recolour tool and the the Paint bucket operate. This tool helps oraganise similar colours when these tools are in use. If this tool is set to 0%the colour selected will be considered. If this is set 100% then all the colours will be considered. So the default value s 50%.
22) Colour Display- this tool allows the user to see what colours are primary and what colours are secondary.It also gives short cut keys for reseting to black and white and helps swapping primary and secondary colours.
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