Blog Post #11

Part 1

Based on the notes you took during class, write a brief description and response to each of the faculty presentations.

ROBERT BRYANT

Bob is my professor for History of Games so I already knew the majority of what he presented. Pinball was one of the very first games he played so it has a special place in his heart. Naturally, one of the first games he produced was a virtual pinball arcade for the PC that I’m pretty sure you can still play.

ALEXANDRA ROBINSON

I also have Alex as a professor but I didn’t realize her children had made such an impact on her as an artist. I found her work a bit odd in all honesty, but not in a bad way. It’s uniquely hers, and that’s what I liked about it.

JOE VITONE

I also have Joe as a professor and I knew about his documentary project, but I didn’t realize he’d been working on it for so long. It was kind of jarring to see pictures that looked as though they were taken yesterday only to find out the subject was either grown up now, or, in some cases, dead.

Part 2

Reflection on this semester and course. Feel free to write any and all comments here. We want and appreciate your feedback (both positive and critical).

I enjoyed the variety of presenters you set up for the class. I found some more engaging than others, but overall good experiences. I honestly don’t feel like I gained much from the class though and don’t feel like it needs to be a required course for all majors in visual studies.

Blog Post #10

Part 1

In class Monday we had visiting speakers who work in the local video game industry. Write a short response to our visiting speaker presentations. Who were they? What do they do? Did you learn anything through their talk?

Our guest speakers were Nate and Anne Austin, who are working on a new Indie game that is currently called Wilermyth. Nate is the programmer and Anne is the artist. From what they showed us, I love the art style of the characters and monsters. I think it’s impressive that they’re aiming to (and well on the way to achieving) have each character have his or her own unique backstory. They talked a lot about the importance of playing to your strengths in terms of who is assigned what job on your team as well as a strong base understanding and overall vision of what the game is going to look like.

I thought it was smart of them to start the game as a side-project so they didn’t divert too many resources to its development in the beginning, especially if it hadn’t ended up being successful.

Part 2

Next class we will have some faculty presenters. This is your chance to ask them anything, no matter how absurd. Post at least one question on your blog. You can post more if you like. I will collate and choose some of the common questions that come up.

What were some other fields you thought you would go into and how did you know that your current one is the right one for you? Would you change?

LoBueNicole Blog Post #9

Part 1

Based on the notes you took during class, write a brief description and response to the Alumni presentations.

Alejandro Ura

The first alum, Alejandro Ura, currently works for SXSW in business development. He discussed convention opportunities and the importance of knowing the audience and how to talk to them in order to have an effective presentation. He told us it was okay to be new at something–hence his involvement in the Noob Campaign–and further emphasized the importance of empathy. I also appreciated how he mentioned that his time spent as a consumer of games could actually be applied to his job and used to his advantage.

Anthony M. Zubia

Anthony Zubia is currently an art director and freelance designer. Most of his presentation was about his involvement in TFC to raise awareness by making graphics and posting them on social media. He is currently using his skills to help with the Latinx movement. His presentation showed us how we can apply what we learn to help an important cause, or make some additional money on the side by selling our graphics online.

Edith Valle

Edith Valle is an art and design major. She started her presentation with a bit of her backstory and how her parents were immigrants but she was born here, in the US. She was the youngest of the presenters and just graduated last year so her work was mostly from her years at St. Edwards. She also uses her skills, in this case painting, to raise awareness about certain issues in Texas. Right now she’s working part-time at the city of Austin to raise environmental awareness. Her emphasis was on being passionate about your work so you’re willing to put in the time and the effort to do what it takes to succeed.

Part 2

Many of our successful alumni say that their internship was one of the most valuable experiences they had. By searching the web, find at least 3 potential internships that you are interested in, and post the links on your blog. 

Blizzard Games Design Internship

Rooster Teeth Public Relations Internship 

EA Games Gaming Systems Designer Internship

LoBueNicole Blog Post #8

Part 1

Based on the notes you took during class, write a brief description and response to each of the Faculty presentations.

The first speaker spoke (I got the first name, Jimmy, but not his last name) about the risograph and how it is different from other printers because it can print metallic colors, which I thought was pretty neat. We have a risograph lab on campus and he brings in professionals to give lectures, a few examples being Lindsay Starr, who started a micro-press that deals with our conception of the South, and Molly Sherman, who thinks about how graphic design can be used to change the different parts of the world.

The second speaker was Bill Kennedy, who showed us a slide show of a body of work he started a few years ago. They started as pictures of ordinary objects that caught his attention somehow on the street. He’d manipulate the pictures to look like something completely new, thought you could still (sometimes) tell what the original object was. The pictures were very abstract and aesthetically pleasing–he got the most questions at the end.

The third speaker was none other than Tuan. He showed us examples of some posters that he had done in collaboration with students to give us an idea of what we could do if we put our minds to it. He does a lot of work for the department and is currently working on an Instagram project called “White Collar Criminals.”

The final speaker was Kim Garza, a graphic designer and experimental film maker. She described her method of thinking as “curiosity + passion + wonder” then explained each more in depth. She wanted to encourage us to find our own approach and find what works for us.

Part 2

Create a 5-year plan. What are your long-term goals beyond college? What do you need to do to accomplish these goals?

I don’t plan to attend college for more than 4 years, but if I ended up doing 5 I imagine it would be because I ended up wanting to study abroad, perhaps somewhere in Japan.

I’m not sure where exactly I’ll be starting in the video game industry, but my first big goal would be to work for Blizzard and eventually get up to a position where I could help storyboard and maybe even get the opportunity to manage the production of one of my own game ideas. To accomplish this though I need to first, of course, finish college. Since St. Edwards has a major for Interactive Games specifically, I think that will help me enter the field with a better grasp of what I want to do and how to be successful. Austin is quite the hub for video game companies right now, too, so I know they’re especially interested in St. Edwards graduates.

CREATIVITY and MAKING_Tarantino

The movie started out in a restaurant with a couple that was planning to rob it. Viewers were just kind of thrown into the movie with no backstory and the scene didn’t seem relevant at all until the very end when everything came full circle. By starting the movie with something that actually happens at the end, it takes on a mystery genre feel at first. Another significant sequencing of events I thought was Vince’s death. He dies in the second half of the movie and I was upset, thinking he wouldn’t come up again, but the whole end scene gave me a sense of closure I would not have gotten otherwise, had the movie been in chronological order. I don’t think I would watch it again or recommend it to friends, but I don’t think it was a waste of time either. The cinematography and script was stellar, full of references and foreshadowing, but the humor was just a tad bit morbid for my liking. I know my reflection is short but I don’t have much else to say about the movie.

CREATIVITY and MAKING_Richter

Again, I thought there was supposed to be sound but there was nothing so I was confused at first. Watching the video was an odd experience. I realized after a while that the rectangular shapes moving across the screen in various ways was the “music.” Although there was no real audio, the movement of the shapes mimicked instruments in a symphonic performance. The video was essentially the conductor of an invisible symphony known and “heard” only by each individual listener within their own mind. Visual cues such as size and color guide the mind through the piece. A gradual increase or decrease in the size of a single shape correlates (in my mind, at least) to a gradual increase or decrease in volume—a visual crescendo or decrescendo. More than one rectangle appearing on screen told me to add more instruments. If a rectangle was brought to the front while one in the background faded out but was still visible, I knew to let most of the sounds fade to background noise while one stood more prominently—a solo of sorts. I also interpreted the switch from black background with white rectangles to white background with black rectangles as a key change. The pace was fast and it was difficult for me to keep up, actually. Replaying the piece in my mind, it’s easier to pick apart what it was that I found recognizable about various movements on the screen, but trying to follow along in real time quickly became overwhelming. Even on a third watch through I struggled to follow the video conductor’s directions, but it was overall an interesting experience.

LoBueNicole Blog Post #7

1. Create a four-year degree plan. How will this major help you prepare a career in the future? Do you have a back up plan if this major doesn’t work out?

So, currently I’m in my Freshman year at St. Edward’s University with 7% of my degree progress requirements complete and 19% of my degree progress credits complete, according to Degree Works. I plan to major in Interactive Game Studies (IGST) so I can work toward a career in the video game industry. Not just for entertainment purposes, though. I value the potential medical benefits that video games have–for example, acting as a natural pain-killer for burn victims. The games serve as a distraction while the patient’s bandages are changed, thus diverting focus from the painful process being performed. I’m also interested in promoting the social aspects of online gaming. Through multiplayer online games, I’ve formed bonds with people I never would have met otherwise. I want to be able be a part of the creation of such environments.

Honestly, I haven’t thought very much about a back up plan for if this major doesn’t work out. Perhaps I’m putting too much faith in it, but I can’t foresee it not working out. I’m willing to put in the effort to be able to have a job in the future doing something I love while still being able to potentially make an impact on other peoples’ lives for the better.

2. Do you have a minor or have you considered a second major? If so, what is it and why do you think this will be a beneficial choice? If not, identify at least one minor or major degree option that you are interested in. Explain why you chose this option.

I decided to minor in Business Administration. If I’m going into the video game industry, I’d better be prepared for some serious competition. Having a minor in business can help give me an edge in the working world and the knowledge to climb the ranks, so to speak, from newbie to head of some department.

LoBueNicole Blog Post #2

Part 1: Time Tracking

I took my spreadsheet and condensed it into a single pie chart using this website so I could easily see and analyze the proportions of time worked out for the recorded week. I divided my activities into seven categories: healthcare (red–mostly sleep and hygiene), personal activities (blue–grocery shopping and other things off campus), classes (grey green), homework (light green), relaxation (yellow), work-study (purple), and other (white–includes time walking between classes and generally non-designated time). So it went from this:

to this:

I was kind of surprised to find that I spent about the same amount of time relaxing as I did doing homework. Granted, a significant portion of the hours I spent doing homework were on Sunday, so that tells me I should spread out my homework more evenly between Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (and that doing so wouldn’t infringe upon my time for other activities, just reduce Sunday stress). Apart from that, I feel my schedule is pretty well balanced. I know a lot of students–or the majority of my friends, at least–don’t make a point of going to sleep before midnight. I do this, and it’s a factor of my daily routine that can clearly be seen in the pie chart with the healthcare (red) section being the largest by far. I also give myself a lot of time to eat breakfast and dinner. Had I given “eating” its own section, I think that would be evident, too.

Part 2: High School Work

a dragon I doodled on my math homework and ended up really liking
just your casual doodle during French class
the result of much testing for drawing an open reptilian mouth
that time I tried to draw something fluffy
my first work done in Adobe Photoshop for my graphic arts class senior year
second graphic arts project, done for a friend going through a rough time. She requested a fox, a rat, and a shiba inu. I couldn’t work the rat in there in the end, but I liked the resulting piece. I wanted it to also incorporate her love of Japanese culture and her favorite color, mint green
third and final graphic art project before the end of senior year, made as a gift to my mom for mother’s day
a yawning tiger I drew just before college started. I forgot to mention in the other sketches but I don’t usually use references–I did decide to use one for the tiger though. The arms are a bit small but I like to think it’s a perspective thing

LoBueNicole Blog Post #4

Part 1

Project 1:

  1. What was the goal of the assignment? Or what was the question posed by this assignment?

    The goal of this assignment was to take pictures from the sets we took on South Congress and cut them into strips to distort the image into something new.

  2. How did you go about reaching this goal or answering this question?

    I went about reaching this goal or answering this question by cutting a picture I’d taken of a flower and randomizing the order of the strips. I decided to leave the white border on some of the strips to give the piece a feel of being broken into pixels. It didn’t necessarily work very well but I’m glad I tried it.

Project 2:

  1. What was the goal of the assignment? Or what was the question posed by this assignment?

    This is the most recent (and final) physical collage project. The assignment challenged us to do something different.

  2. How did you go about reaching this goal or answering this question?

    I went about reaching this goal or answering this question by assembling something I hadn’t seen any of the previous collages in my class do, which was have the collage actually lift off the page to mimic a real butterfly. I also hadn’t seen anyone attempt to construct some sort of animal out of shapes cut out from their pictures so I thought it’d also be something interesting and different.

Part 2

Self-Critique:
  1. What is the strongest aspect of this work?

    The uniqueness of it.

  2. What is the weakest aspect?

    The craftsmanship–it could have been done with better paper and cut with more precision. I think this would have been good for like a first draft of the project.

  3. How can the project be strengthened conceptually?

    I think the colors could have been brighter so the images would be more easily visible.

  4. How can the project be strengthened technically?

    Better quality paper and cleaner cuts–a second draft.

  5. Additional notes.

LoBueNicole Blog Post #6

Skills Inventory

Courses

Rhetoric and Composition II

My greatest strengths in this class include vocabulary and articulation. For greater success in the course, I need to more carefully annotate the articles we are assigned to read.

Diverse Communities Across Space and Place

My greatest strengths in this class include technical writing and previous experience working in Socratic Seminars. For greater success in this course, I need to (again) more carefully annotate the articles we are assigned to read and perhaps do them more ahead of time.

Precalculus

My greatest strengths in this class include algebra and previous knowledge from my high school precalculus course. For greater success in this course, I need to practice more problems without using a calculator.

History of Games

My greatest strengths in this course include game and grammatical knowledge. For greater success in this course, I need to more diligently do the assigned reading and pay special attention to important figures.

visual studies i

My greatest strengths in this course include Adobe Photoshop and an artistic eye. For greater success in this course, I need to take better notes during lectures on how to use the various programs.

1st year visual seminar

My greatest strengths in this course include active listening. For greater success in this course, I need to give myself more reminders to do the weekly assignments on time and to submit the URL when they’re finished.

community & the liberal arts university

My greatest strengths in this course include active listening and writing ability. I’m doing fine in this class.

Computer Skills

My computer skills include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, basic Python coding, formatting, editing, and typing. I still need to learn a lot for my major.

Research & Writing Skills

My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include my ability to determine the credibility of a source and knowledge of useful/trustworthy databases.

Action Plan

10 Ways to Improve in 1st Year Visual Seminar

  1. Stay on top of the blog posts
  2. Do the blog posts
  3. Submit the blog posts
  4. Make a to-do list for the course
  5. Take more cohesive notes during student lectures especially
  6. Communicate with the teachers
  7. Don’t sit by friends
  8. Sit closer to the front
  9. Ask questions
  10. Keep and maintain my calendar (will help with everything, not just this class)