The final blog post EVER!!!! (...until next year...) class evaluation

1. Why did you take this class?
I took the class because I wanted to get into game design, and I wanted to learn about the basics of animation.

2. In general, what did you like most about this class?
I liked being able to make animations in 2D and 3D, though I seemed to have problems with everything...

3. In general, what did you like least about this class?
Crashes, not being able to complete a project, and blogs. However the blogs weren't so bad once I got a working computer, they were just  a slight annoyance.

4. What was your most favorite project and why?
Probably the 2D short, it was short and we had almost complete freedom with it. Plus, we didn't have scripts that made them all sound the same.

5. What was your least favorite project and why?
The final project, I just had problems with that. I lost 2 days due to the publishing error when we kept troubleshooting the computer, then I couldn't get flash on my computer until the end, and when I was able to work on it from home and bring it in, everything went wrong. I think it was the only project that I didn't finish..

6. Discuss the overall effectiveness of the instructor (for example: preparation, availability, interest, content knowledge, expectations, etc.).
Ms. Licata was generally very helpful. She knew what she was talking about when she taught us lessons and tutorials. She also claimed that she was learning Maya at the same time as us, but she seemed to be able to do everything with ease. I kind of expected her to be a harsh, "you better do this or I'll fail you", kind of teacher, when I heard of the class and how you had to be interviewed to get in, but she was kind and had a good sense of humor, especially when dealing with our whines and complaints.

7. What are the most valuable things you learned in the class?
Ask for help when you need it, don't be afraid to make friends with the people around you, take constructive criticism, ignore distractions, and offer help to others that need it.

8. Do you feel that this class will help you achieve your future academic or career goals? How or why (or why not)?
I believe this class will help me in the future to get a job in the field of animation, I've learned many things about animation from my teacher, and hopefully it will look nice on a resume.

9. How could this class be improved?
I'm not sure. It's not like we can get computers that never crash, or very advanced technology, and we learned very useful things. I think the class is fine as it is.

10. Additional comments:
Honestly, I love this class, it has just been a pleasure to come here everyday. It makes going to school actually worth it. However, we NEED a sound booth. It stinks that we couldn't get the other one because of the fire-code.

class this week

1. I learned that it's important to carefully make a resume.

2. I'd like to learn how to get flash at home.

3. I was frustrated with absolutely everything......

4. I was happy with nothing....really, I'm still very angry that I can't get flash at home..

http://youtube.com/?reload=2&rdm=13zbj017q#/watch?v=pzJ5-2L8ZX8

I thought this pixel art thing was cool....

response to moviegoers numb to the amazing, article

What I learned

1. People have come to expect perfection from movies, not even realizing the hard work and effort it takes to make something that good.

2. "Special effects are no longer special" People don't even acknowledge all the special effects placed in movies.

3. Older movies didn't have digital effects, people had to try hard to make a movie set to look like something else, but these days, those movies now look horrible.

My opinions

1. I've noticed that movies nowadays are heavily reliant on special effects, and that is sad.

2. I still enjoy older movies and especially the cheesy little effects movies.


Will movies years from now just end up being an explosion every 10 seconds?

class this week

1. I learned how to make a decent resume and portfolio.

2. I need to learn to work faster, that "final"project deadline is coming faster than I want it to.

3. I was frustrated that my computer, flash, and audio were all working against me.

4. I was glad that I solved a few problems... i'm still confused how...


So here is a link to a simon's cat video, because they are cute and it was related to the article we read. YAY.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5ODwR6FPRQ

response to anatomy in games article

What I learned

1. Video games over time have been making more realistic looking characters and could one day make characters that look exactly like normal people.

2.  Perfect the shape of your character's design, make sure it is anatomically correct, then add textures.

3. This process can be applied to a variety of characters, whether human or not.

My opinions

1. I don't think believable looking characters is the best way evoke emotion from an audience, its the personality of the character. 

2. The appearance of a character shouldn't have to be incredibly realistic to be likable, just look at the neck-less boxy minecraft characters and super meatboy.

Do we want games to end up having perfectly human looking characters? Games where you can go around murdering 'normal people'? And god forbid the game glitches, and you see a normal person morph into an abomination of limbs...

Response to the YouTube cartoons article

What I learned

1. YouTube gives show creators almost complete freedom to do what they want, without executives telling them how to do it.

2. YouTube also has very little risk, if something doesn't work well you don't lose much money and there are little consequences. 

3. Since YouTube has a comments and like/dislike function, it allows watchers to directly explain their feelings about the show.

*4. Oh my gosh, there is a show called Super F*ckers...

My opinions

1. YouTube seems to be a great idea for any aspiring animator.

2. I love Frederator, especially the Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors shows.

Shows on t.v. still pay more to the creators than shows on YouTube, right?

class this week

1. I learned how to generate silence in audacity, which helped me with the ambient noise problem.

2. I'd like to learn how to lip sync quicker.

3. I was frustrated with the stress of being loaded with school work, on top of trying to get this project done.

4. I was happy that I finished my recording, then I realized it wasn't done.

So,I found this lip syncing timing tutorial made by these guys who make funny cartoons. I think it's cool that they did that. http://youtube.com/watch?v=1a5sdWsRO5g