Castle Banner

REFLECTION: For the Castle Banner project, the goal was to recreate a banner in the book using the same steps and procedures. I enjoyed this project because it was short and it helped the class learn some basic tools in the fireworks program. To get the cloud shape, we had to use the pen tool to add new vectors, then we manipulated the shape using the vector handles. This was also the first project that we animated, which was really fun and easy. Honestly, the only problem I has was drawing in the "queen's" hair, but I eventually figured out how much easier it is to do detail work when you zoom in. For this project I think I would rate myself at a 9 because I finished on time and it looks similar to the example in the book; however I did need help for some of the directions, which is why I rated myself at 9 and not 10.

Microbiology Symbol

REFLECTION: For the class symbol project, I chose to make a symbol for Microbiology because science is my favorite subject and Micro is the only science class I am in this year. the purpose of this project was to help us learn the functions of the fireworks program on our own.  Since the project was so open ended, the symbols were varied and the result was interesting. While I was working on this project, I learned how to use the crop, unity, and sub-selection tool to create the shapes I wanted for my design. While I was working on this project, being the perfectionist I am, I had some issues fitting all my pieces together to get the look I wanted. it took a few tries to get my test tube rack to look like a box and I had trouble figuring out how to curve the frame of my safety glasses. I would rate my work on this project a 10 because I think it looks great and you can tell what its supposed to be by looking at it.

Personal Symbol

REFLECTION: For the personal symbol assignment, we were supposed to create a symbol that had represented ourselves, so I chose to make a book with a cute little bookworm. This project was a sort of reinforcement for our class symbol project. However, for this project I used a clip art bookworm and to get rid of the white background I had to use the magic wand tool to make a transparent background, then I used the eraser tool to get rid of the white background that was left around the worm. While I was working on this project, I had some trouble putting the book together to make it look 3-D, so I zoomed in to 300% and made everything fit together the way I wanted it to. I would rate my work on this project an 9 because it is very simple and doesn't have much detail in it.

Holiday Shores Logo

REFLECTION: For the Holiday Shores Logo assignment, we created a logo for the Holiday Shores 50th anniversary, the logo that wins will be featured on cusie cups and  T-shirts, plus there is a money prize. This project was a fun way to play with the different Fireworks elements that we had learned. for this project, I had to create the entire scene from scratch. I made the background a textured green color to look like grass then I layered different shaped over that to create my design. For the lake I made a concave shape by using the vector tool and manipulating a circle shape, then I copied that shape to make the beach. With this project, I had some trouble finding patterns and textures that matched the design I wanted. I would rate my work on this project at an 8 because I didn't really make a "logo".

Birds Nest

REFLECTION: For the birds nest project we followed an animation tutorial to animate a mamma bird interacting with her baby bird and other elements in the image. This project took forever and we had about 140 states by the end of the project. For this project I had to use the lasso tool to separate part of the egg from the image so the bird could pop up and down. I also had to make sure the different layers were in the correct order to establish the depth of the animation. I noticed that as I continued with the states, the more the elements moved, the more blurry they got (baby bird). I also had issues with drawing on the wrong layers, which really sucked because each time I drew on the wrong layer, I had to erase it and choose the correct layer and redo the entire thing. For this project, I would rate my work a 9, because some elements looked choppy at the end of the animation.

Humane Society Animation

REFLECTION: For the Animated Advertisement project, we had to chose an organization and make an animation that fits the company we chose. I chose to animate a advertisement for the Humane Society. This project was just a short follow up to the animations we had done before. I had trouble with making the tail look like it was waging in one fluid motion, I had to keep adjusting and readjusting the angle position and where the tail actually met the body of the dog. I also had issues with editing the states on the incorrect layers. I liked this project a lot because we had a choice of what to do, there was more freedom with this project than with any of the others. I would give myself a 10 on this project because I think it looks really good and the animation fits the company I chose.

Mikey

REFLECTION: For the Mikey project, we had to create a one eyed creature and animate it to blink. This was a very easy project, I put a lot of detail in the eye and the hair because there wasn't much else to do. There had to be one accessory on the Mikey and it had to be at least 5 states (enough to blink once and repeat). I only had trouble keeping all the layers correct, some of the times I went back to correct something, I was on the wrong layer and had to redo it. I would give myself an 8 on this project because I didn't use much creativity in the project.

Personal Logo

REFLECTION: For the personal logo project, we had to create a shape and stamp out initials into it. I had some trouble manipulating the objects into the shape I wanted, then I couldn't stamp my initials through both shapes so I had to cut the corners off of the green square and delete the rest so the "RR" would show through transparent. I though this project was a kind of filler project, just something to do in fireworks while the rest of the class caught up. It wasn't that interesting and I had more trouble with it than it was worth. I would give myself a 10 on this project because, honestly, there was no room for error.