Part One

Annie and Nate Austin worked together to create the self-funded video game “Wildermyth”. Nate Austin worked in the technical side, while Annie Austin worked in the artistic aspect to create their game. Through their own love of storytelling and video games, they took aspects from other fields that they enjoyed to create the video game that they wanted. Inspired by tactical combat, character creation from the person-to-person dice game “Dungeons & Dragons”, and fantasy settings, the Austins got together a group of friends and relatives to put love and effort into a creation. There were a few hiccups along the way, including conversion of art to graphics, and basic programming. The Austins and their crew learned to play on each others strengths and keep people on who were loyal to the game. There were only a couple times when someone left and one time when they had to hire someone to help with their game, yet this was still someone who wanted to do it — not solely for the purpose of getting paid. They learned lessons of what to and not to do, such as only building your own tools if absolutely necessary, using existing tools, and listening to your audience for what they want. They were taught things by players that they hadn’t known or realized before, which only came when they worked with their audience (outside feedback is of great importance as you get too used to your own game quickly). In the artistic aspect, it is important to not feel too personal to any one creation, as more than likely it will get scrapped and completely re-done. It is important to decide on the feel of the character design and understand that everyone can make changes, as the effort to making the game is that of a team.

Part Two

1. What was the process or idea that started you in your knowledge of what you wished/wanted to do?
2. I have heard many accounts of students and people who thought they wanted to do something but then accidentally stumbled upon something else and everything turned out dandy. What would you suggest besides the old “pick up your feet and try again” method should someone start to doubt themselves? How should they go about “picking themselves up”?
3. What advice do you have for students who don’t know what they want to do, or are unsure?
4. To be an artist in the gaming/movie industry, what methods would you suggest or know of to achieve that goal?
5. How does one know that they are in the right place? Major-speaking or what have you? If I am not sure I know what I want, how can I start finding the right questions to ask to figure out what I want and need to be?
6. How do I know if I’m good enough for what I’m passionate about? Passion only goes so far in businesses — how do I know if I’m worthy of it?
7. What’s the difference between liking something and being truly passionate about that thing?

Part One

Alejandro Ura – He’s been supported by many industries, and believes that engaging with players over possible ideas is a definite thing to do as kids are likely to give feedback and other ideas. Ura says to associate with kids to understand the marketing/publishing audience. He is involved in sports tournaments for SXSW Gaming. Being a beginner is okay, so long as you keep trying and keep going. While passion is mostly involved with craft, it isn’t all you have to have, as you also need an understanding of your craft. Along with this, is the importance of immersion and iteration: the ability to immerse yourself within your audience and empathize with other gamers to understand them, and the ability to build a lot of different things all the time.

Anthony Zubia – With student life, he participated in wall art and graphic events internships, learning advertising and that there is no method of creativity. He has done multiple freelance work, campaigns emphasized. He worked the majority of his time with ads to raise awareness for testicular cancer, creating shirts, posters, and designing race cars. Zubia is able to maintain his freelance work by joining online things to share and sell his work, which helps bring extra money in.

Edith Valle – Valle’s life tremendously influences her work, as she grew up in a traditional Mexican family, yet by going to a typical American school and learning both customs, she feels caught between two worlds. She learned more about her own culture through art and design, and from this moved into a more digital space. At first, Valle began making concert posters and internshipped, which allowed her to learn and improve her skills much faster. When she went to Mexico, she focused on the colors of it, and as such designed and made her own wall since she was too worried about painting on an “official” wall. Valle works now mostly on the Risograph, creating the art to go with the poem books written by other students. Along with this, Valle worked on a t-shirt line with people to promote educational awareness on body positivity, immigration, and environmental dangers.

Part Two

http://www.internships.com/chegg/listing/illustratorgraphic-designer-internship

https://boards.greenhouse.io/3876393/jobs/833629?gh_src=afj5sl1#.WgTnRManE2w

http://www.zag-inc.com/contact/job/Character_Design_Intern

https://www.google.com/search?q=disney+television+animation+internship&rlz=1C1JZAP_enUS733US733&oq=disney+televiaion+animation+inter&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0.6712j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&ibp=htl;jobs&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi83Jmi1rLXAhWi8YMKHUXMDbwQiYsCCDEoAQ#fpstate=tldetail&htidocid=2jO3uLwupEQxEn-PAAAAAA%3D%3D&htivrt=jobs

Possible typefaces:

-Centaur (MT)

-AdobeJenson

-Adobe Jenson Pro

-Alegreya

-Boxtrolls Font

-Steampunk DEMO

-UnZialish

-Poor Richard

-Perpetua Titling MT

Writing Used:

“Yes, it isn’t fair. Life isn’t fair. Everyone says that; everyone’s taught that. I didn’t want any of this to happen — none of this was fair! …But look what I got from it. I get you. And maybe I’ve been thinking about life all wrong. Maybe it seemed unfair, but what if it’s more than fair? I got to meet all kinds of new people, people I never even knew existed. And I got to find out what love was like. I discovered the pain that came from that. I discovered what it’s like to live. I never intended to get pregnant. But when you came out — you were mine. Like clay molded from my hands. But with your own self added. He gave me you, but he didn’t. You are yourself and life isn’t fair and you teach me what true love is like every single day and life is hard but it is beautiful and every flaw every quirk every struggle and hurt and pain that comes from it makes it worth it. It can hurt so bad sometimes, but then I remember that I can feel the pain because I am alive. You will not be treated fairly. That is not an option. But you can learn and grow and realize that being kind and gentle and equal is not the same as being fair. Fair is cold and hard and calculated and yes, a part of life. But life also gives and shares. The world is a roughly carved slab of marble — cold to the touch. But remember as the cold seeps into your fingertips and steals away your serenity — you are also warming the rock.”

Images Used (Not complete): note to self – pictures of rocks/ice/cold things. Autumn; use seasons?? 

Part 1

1. Graphic Design –  Prof. Jimmy Lou: Within this presentation, he discussed the benefits, maintenance, and use of the Risograph and the Lab that coincides. He also brought students’ attention to advertisement and publishing, as in how we think about the world and how it thus effects us. I think that it makes quite a good bit of sense, and that as someone publishes something to be shown and brought out into the world, they should be aware of not just what they accomplished, but how it impacts (and was impacted) by everything that surrounds it.
2. Photography – Prof. Bill Kennedy: This presentation had much less talking, and chose instead to communicate through images. By taking photographs of just basic things lying about (for example, old sticky notes at the bottom of a drawer), Professor Kennedy was able to manipulate the images into something completely different, yet still with the same basic shapes involved. He included design elements inspired by a historical way another culture would create meaningful images, that he has been fascinated with. One could not have been able to figure out what the images were beforehand without him explaining, but once revealed, the answer became very apparent, causing an “Ohhhh, yeah, duh” moment. Working through what I believe to have been primarily Photoshop, Professor Kennedy uniquely edited the images in the way he describes as being whenever he was in the right state of mind. To force oneself to continue with a project that feels off or wrong is illogical, and can even be damaging to the resulting creation.
3. Graphic Design – Prof. Tuan Phan: As a designer who created much of the ads/posters used by the school, along with many other companies, Professor Phan utilized not just well thought-out and elaborate images, but simple doodles as well. He brings many working students on board with his projects as well, allowing them to have a growing experience with that kind of work, and the demands such a job holds. It was fascinating seeing how his doodles could be brought to the worktable and become an image displayed on a bag, and keeping all his work in mind when approaching a new topic or job. Normally, doodling is just seen as a way of procrastinating or avoiding death by boredom, and not something to be taken seriously. With Professor Phan’s examples and demonstrations, this shows that while hard work through the creating process is a measure of genius and imagination, and should be used within every available aspect, creating for fun and relaxation isn’t something to be discarded immediately, and never taken out of the radar for any possible jobs.
4. Graphic Design – Prof. Kimberly Garza: An experimental filmmaker, Professor Garza focused greatly on the different jobs she earned and how she managed and thought differently about each one. She also discussed the laborous process of re-animating an old technicolor film, of which she accomplished alongside her husband. Professor Garza focused most predominantly on the three words: curiosity, passion, and wonder. These words she brought with her on every project, and by having this mindset, was able to accomplish each goal she set out for herself. She pours herself into her work, and thus by being completely surrounded mentally and physically by the backgrounds, people, and customers she is working for, is able to create exactly what they want in the way where it honestly and completely reflects the things the companies want to portray. She demonstrates the ability of going the extra mile, and as such loving every aspect of the job of a graphic designer, especially when it comes to the obstacles. By setting one’s mind to a task in a wholesome way, there is a definite result of finishing the task with the utmost accomplishment and gratitude.

Part 2

My five year plan is to finish St. Edward’s with a degree in Fine Arts, and minors in Business Administration, Creative Writing, and alongside these Psychology. Also, I will take comic/storyboarding classes. I will need all these, as each is influential in what I plan to be after college, and pertains in their own way to my skillsets and abilities. Though I don’t expect to be hired immediately after university, I will go into movie-making and/or storyboarding through novels, animated films, or simply live-action films. I will start as a PA and gain basic skillsets, and then hopefully begin to move up in the ladder.

For my book, I plan to start off with images implying death, decay, and dark ideals. Nothing morbid — what I am aiming for is things mostly sad and depressed. Throughout the book, the images will gradually become more animated and alive, and along with this more colorful and light-hearted. Not all of my images will consist of strictly living things, but some might be the absence or inferred presence of live things. This would be similar to that of a block of cold stone or a swingset/playground. The first images will most likely be more monotone to confer the metaphor of depressed thoughts.

All this imagery is meant to go along with a portion of writing I created in the mindset of what if a parent decided to continue with the lesson of “life isn’t fair” when scolding their child, instead of just using that as the only sentence with which to teach. I grew up constantly having parents/adults counter my complaints of “it isn’t fair” with the classic “well, life isn’t fair (so grow up)”, and the only thing it really accomplished was leaving me feeling sad and rejected, as though my feelings and arguments weren’t valid. In hindsight, I realized that this was just a quick, maybe even lazy, method of adults’ to stop any arguments immediately rather than truly teach the child about the world. It’s a habitual shortcoming in our society, and in fact only really teaches the child to think of themselves and only themselves as since the world isn’t fair, and since there’s nothing to be done about it, there is also no such thing as community and acceptance. The world isn’t fair, so why should I be? I call bull on that, excuse my language, but I think that life isn’t fair only because we as people make it that way. If we really thought about it, and started to change how we taught children by really talking to them and explaining our reasonings rather than just shutting them down as fast as possible, maybe the world wouldn’t seem so morbidly sad and lonely. Maybe people would come together more, and divide themselves less. So, I want this book to convey a different approach to the first teachings of a child.