Entry 26

I started this course without any basic skills in Flash, Dreamweaver or even MAC computers but now I am astounded with how much skills I have acquired throughout this semester. Moreover, I could not even differentiate between art and design at first, everything was black and white for me but now I have added a bit of colour and craziness to my design to make it look more innovative and arty. This course have inspired and breathed life into me and have made me appreciate the various art and to see beyond the surface and rise above mediocrity. In addition, I just realised I had a creative streak in me and I have discovered my identity within doing the project.

I’d like to acknowledge my lecturer for his patience, inspirational ideas and excellent deliverance of the course. I basically took up this course to learn about creating websites but I have learnt more than expected. It has been a pleasure taking up this course.

Entry 25

After days of hard work it has finally paid off. I created a flash animated interactive website revolving around the theme “Identity”.

Entry 24

This scrolling image is done according to the following website:
http://www.webzo.org/tutorials/flash/scrolling-image-gallery.php

This scrolling image shows photos of me posing from different angles. I love black and white images and that’s why I have filtered out other colours. This reflects multiple personalities… and it varies when I am with my family, Samoan friends, uni friends and workmates or with lecturers. I can be quiet and loud depending on whom I am comfortable with but I get along with everyone.

Entry 23

I have put together a collage representing my identity, my pride, my culture. It highlights the untouched island, our main sport (rugby), traditional Samoan dancing including fire dancing, tattoos, Robert Louis Stevenson a famous writer who is buried in Samoa, Samoa currency (tala) as well as the Samoan fales (house) and church.
My country colors are red and blue and I edited the photos so that only blue and red our left after filtering with the exception of the firedancing at the bottom left… everything else is left grayscale.
By clicking on “footprints” image it links you to this page… and footprints symbolize my journey in fob (fresh off the boat) life where it all began…
All these images are edited one way or the other and collage is my idea therefore my edited images and ideas, my masterpiece…

Entry 22

This is the 2nd link of the tattoo page (2nd pg). It talks about the design specifically and tools used in the design... where I'm from these tattoos are very popular and unique and only people of the tattoo motif can share these privileges... As u can see the design covers back to front and it is very risky and it takes weeks to recover. The tool shown is the main tool out of many. The references of each picture is shown on the bottom.
Moreover, I used a blinking blurred text movie as the header thoughout the pages...this name changes from tattoo to design throught the whole tattoo page.

This is the 3rd link and its the gallery link...here I have set a slideshow including pause and play button...so u can pause the slide show and observe etc. All these images have been edited in photoshop and a transition effect has been added to the slideshow...notice how the arm tat image have transitioned into the pea tat image.

Entry 21

This is my animated tattoo page... the left border is designed according to a typical Samoan arm tattoo where the links are constructed with the primary colors and all grey diamonds are inactive. Once u click on a link a diamond is formed one by one...that is every link constructs its own diamond bringing attention to the contact. Notice the cursor which represents the 3 most important things in my life. The tattoo page is comprised of 3 links.... 1st link is tattoo history/intro, 2nd link consists of the design & the 3rd page consists of gallery.

Entry 20

These are more photoshopd images used in my flash animated slideshow...in the tatto page under 'gallery' tab.
This photo shows a woman's tattoo known as a tatau and it reflects rank or status. The patterns are not as extensive as a the men's. In this photo, I have masked it, applied hue/saturation adjustments as well as photo filter and emboss effect so that the patterns stand out... finally I applied photo filter to give it that cartoonish look.

This is a zoomed in/enlarged version of a man's pea. It shows the pattern specifically with the canoe pattern stretched from the mid back. Same techniques were applied with photo filter finishing it off with a cartoonish look.

All these tattoos are done by a tufuga and only descendents of the tattoo tribe can share these privileges.

Entry 19

These images were photoshopd and used in the gallery slideshow along with all the other images in Entry 20.
A man's tattoo is called Sogaimiti or Pe'a and it is demonstrated in this picture. I have used masking and hue/saturation effects to differentiate the relevant sections from the background etc. Then filter gallery and photo filter effects were applied to it to give that ancient look. This tattoo extends from the upper waist to just below the knees. The tattooing is also done on the genitals which is really risky and thats what makes the Samoan tatttoo unique and this is a sign of manhood.

This is a photo of sonny bill williams a famous league player. People have taken designs from the popular and unique Pe'a and get it tattoo'd on different parts of the body as 'fashion' which consequently reflects Samoan pride. In this photo I have also applied masking and hue/saturation plus threshold giving it that constrasting greyscale look. I as a person love subtle colors plain colors and this is reflected in my taste of clothes, accessories etc.

This is a lower arm Samoan tattoo design... The same techniques were applied that is masking and hue/saturation. I've also applied photo filter along with filter gallery...givin it that blazing effect.

Entry 18

This is used as a cursor in the tattoo page I created. This symbolises the three most important thing in my life. The crosses represents christianity, the heart represents my loved ones and 'E' represents my career as an engineer. This in turn relates to tattoo because the vertical 'x' is a pattern used on women's tattoo and the dot is used on men's tattoo.

Entry 17

This photoshopd photo was comprised from a combination of images. It totally represents my identity and it is self explanatory... This is one of three pages and I am using it as the last page as my sitemap and this page links to the 1st and 2nd page. Different elements in this photos are used as links and they each link to either an element in a page or a whole page itself.
In this photo:

• Dress - this is what i would normally wear to special ocassions and the pattern links to the tattoo page (2nd page)
• Think bubble - I love seafood and this links to the beach animation (1st page)
• Flower - I would normally wear this on special ocassions
• Earings - My earings are usually made out of coconut shell and this links to 1st page
• Bead rosary - I'm a catholic christian and Samoa itself is a religious country
• Tattoo - tattoo arm bands is popular around girls and this links to the 2nd page
• Shell bag - this bag is made of many shells and each shell symbolises peoply who have touched my life and this links to 1st page
• Barefoot - I have left footprints in all places I have been and this symbolises my history/memories and this links back to 1st page.

In the lab:

We learnt more about animations and utilizing sound in websites. We also learnt more about flash animation. For example, how to simulate raindrops landing on water creating ripples etc. Basically, learning how to create movie images and using layers and layers of images to get an efficient animation. Some examples that intrigued me was the fire, lipSync animations as well as motion blur filter, steam and looping background. I plan on simulating my beach page like these examples…whereby using layers and layers etc. We learnt about adding songs to websites... I doubt I'd be including sound in my website... due to plagiarism/copyright issues...don't wanna risk it.

Entry 16

Here is an alternative flash animation design for a header/banner/hyperlink... This design with an eye background represents my identity... As a samoan I am very reserved and since coming to Australia I have been exposed to make up etc. Moreover, through my eyes I have seen the most beautiful fings...where dreams have become memories.
Over here... the background transitions from black to a lighter color and the two text movies have that blurred effect. Also, the pupil is enlarged and minimized drawing attention to the Identity. Also my photo in the middle is designed so that it fades into a threshold color.

Entry 15

We had Class exercise 2 in the lab. Shown below is a screenshot of what I created. We also learnt about action scripting.

Entry 14

In the lab we prepared animations for the web using flash. We created our martini glass and olive and animated it. Also explored a fade in animation as well as a moving animation. Also learnt about photo backgrounds in flash and zooming into images. I might incorporate this concept in my flash website.
In the lab, we also created a martini glass with olive animation. Learnt about how to use alpha to give an element that transparency look as well as showing contrast or fade in/out effect by varying brightness level.

Entry 13

http://www.kirupa.com/developer/flash5/imagescroll.htm
This link shows the technique that I will be applying to the clouds, ships etc

http://www.webzo.org/tutorials/flash/scrolling-image- gallery.phphttp://www.kirupa.com/developer/mx/infinite.htm
These links shows how to create scrolling images like the one below, I will apply some of these techniques to my website.

Entry 12

In the lab:
We did peer to peer review of major project ideas and how they came about and how it relates to the theme ‘identity’ and of course how you going to implement it or express it visually.

I'm an international student and I was born and raised in Samoa i.e. a tropical exotic island with untouch beauty. That is, my identity revolves around my culture and everything around it. Shown below is a progressing beach animation that will contain elements such as:
coconut tree, coconut, hammock if possible, sandy beach, animated clouds & sea, birds maybe, ship goin pass, canoe, fishes, crabs and shells etc. (all these elements are links and symbolises my identity). Simulation background will just show animated clouds and birds, the only ship carryin people from one island to the other island and four islands in SamoaElements:

Sea animals (fish, crab) - my favourite food as well as a popular Samoan dish
Coconuts - most used tree; used for handicrafts, house thatches, charcoal, copra (main export) etc which are the stuff I use as accessories, shelter and food ingredient.
Footprints on beach - shows my history or memories (photos photoshopd)
Shells - shows my family, frenz, other half... people who've touched my life (photos photoshopd)
I'm gonna enhance the photos, use hard colors since my country is tropical and has alot of sunlight. And the simulation will vary goin from sunrise to sunset. etc... animals are moving randomly and clouds just scrolling thru along with the ship etc.

Entry 11

In the lab, we examined the use of color & text as images or design elements. We explored typography and also played around with colors to create vivid images. Below is a piece of ‘typography’ I compiled…it shows a mix of colors along with different text design and layout giving it that eye-catching striking artsy look. I will be using this in my website....
This blurring of the identity text was inspired by rihannas-umbrella mtv:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4X7eFbP3u4
That is, the camera angle simulating the hot environment, portrayed by the use of multiple blurring and focusing of the text. This is similar to the heat waves seen on hot bitumen.

Entry 10

In class, we also had to play around with some of the virtual images given and below is two images a meshed and mask…edited in photoshop giving it that cool artsy design. In the design above, I applied different settings like masking using gradient and threshold as well as invert property to edit the image giving it the vivid effect.

Entry 9

In the lab, we we're required to do a research presentation and present it in front of the class where we needed to present a site as an example of a art form or design (You will find my review at bottom of page or 1st entry). Also, we had to come up with a mockup
We also had to plan our Internet site and discuss our project concepts peer to peer in terms of flow charts, story boards and mockups to think through sequence and structure (please see bottom of page or 2nd entry for my major project concepts.)

Entry 8

My major project website evolves around identity in terms of culture and how it influences me as a person etc

Identity Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity

"Cultural identity is the (feeling of) identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as he or she is influenced by her belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics. There are modern questions of culture that are transferred into questions of identity. Various cultural studies and social theory investigate the question of cultural identity. In recent decades, a new form of identification and with pieces broken off from the individual as a coherent whole subject. Cultural identity remarks upon: place, gender, race, history, nationality, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and ethnicity. Culture, as a social practice, is not something that individuals possess. Rather, it is a social process in which individuals participate, in the context of changing historical conditions. As an "historical reservoir", culture is an important factor in shaping identity. Some critics of cultural identity argue that the preservation of cultural identity, being based upon difference, is a divisive force in society, and that cosmopolitanism gives individuals a greater sense of shared citizenship. That is not to always be divisive. When considering practical association in international society, states may share an inherent part of their 'make up' that gives common ground, and alternate means of identifying with each other. Examples can be taken from both old and contemporary world order. In the old world order European states shared a high level of cultural homogeneity, due to their common history of "frequently violent relationships, and Greco-Roman cultural origins" (Brown 2001). Brown also argues that the Western invention of the nation-state has proven to be an appealing and homogenising factor to many cultures. "

Entry 7

We had out first 10% exercise today. Where we we're required to build a page in DMW & PSP based on the sample page and make it work well visually with the other page. I used PSP to slice up images from sample page so I can use them in my webpage differentiating links from texts etc. In the other page, I tried to make it coherent with the homepage and with the images given I edited it in PSP just using grayscale property. And finally, an external sheet was attached to style text for both images. We learnt about the design and layout techniques for html and also photoshop and layers in planning We also examined the use of digital and non digital image by artists working on the web like:
Reference: digital installation art, http://www.virtualart.at/common/viewWork.do?id=250 “This is virtual art work by MAURICE BENAYOUN work in the evolving field of digital installation art. This complex, research-oriented overview of immersive, interactive, telematic and genetic art has been developed in cooperation with established media artists, researchers and institutions”.
These virtual images are interesting in the sense that there is contrast in images n looks like there is masking involved as well as very low saturation happening.

Entry 6

We were also taught how to do animations in the lab etc. We edited and tested the runner animation and animated ball given.
These are some of the sites I visited:
- http://www.walterzorn.com/dragdrop/dragdrop_e.htm
This site consists of a drag and drop script…I find it very interesting but I doubt I’d be using it in my major project.
- OR this easy one to change the bground colour when you reload:
http://javascript.internet.com/image-effects/background-color-change.html
or the bground image does stuff:
http://javascript.internet.com/image-effects/bg-scroller.htmlor
for a series of effects (some OK)
http://javascript.internet.com/image-effects/
I might use the fade in background change for my webpage if I have time…just to show a slideshow of images… edited in photoshop to make it look artsy….but reflects my identity… with texts blending in with the images etc… like transparent sort off…

Entry 5

In the lab, we we’re taught photoshop basics like saving images for the web and the different image file types such as gif and jpeg. Also we we’re taught how to use layered images n using slice tool to cut up images etc and edit and use them for the web. Basically, preparing imagery for the web using Photoshop. The basics including the digital file preparation, image file formats for the web and Intellectual property. We also briefly went over creating rollovers.
The flowerchucker image provided in week 3 folder inspired these images

Entry 4

http://www.diacenter.org/bajevic/hollywood.html

This flash website inspired me to create an interactive innovative website. This website depicted various layers of images stacked on top of another. I enjoyed how everything is linked to something like opening a box of chocolates where you never know what you are going to get. The theme for this website is “I wish I was born in a Hollywood movie”

Entry 3

Lab: -I learnt the basic skills for creating websites in dreamweaver css & table -Learnt on how to edit texts, create links and link webpages coherently -Learnt how to use external style sheets Research: -webmonkey stylesheet guide (http://www.webmonkey.com/) "CSS (cascading stylesheets) controls web document style without changing structure. Also, defining typographic design and page layout from within a single, distinct block of code" -concrete poetry today (http://www.ubu.com/papers/solt/) "The term "concrete poetry" is now being used to refer to a variety of innovations and experiments following World War II which are revolutionizing the art of the poem on a global scale and enlarging its possibilities for expression and communication. " -best web development (http://developer.apple.com/internet/) Major Project: As a Samoan, our traditional tattoo art and design qualities intrigues me alot. In the past, people of high rank can only get tattoos and is usually a mark of manhood. Traditional tattoo is known as pe'a for men and malu for girls and they usually have it from waist to knee. Nowadays people have put this pe'a in different parts of the body.

Entry 2

Lab & Research:

• How internet works, an internet timeline/history, alternate visions (way out of the box) and new media concepts.
• HTML (mark-up languages, introduction to xhtml, data and representation, navigation, file transfer )

This interactive story is definitely clever and intertaining and is well pulled off.

http://www.interactivestory.net/#facade

"Façade is an artificial intelligence-based art/research experiment in electronic narrative – an attempt to move beyond traditional branching or hyper-linked narrative to create a fully-realized, one-act interactive drama. Integrating an interdisciplinary set of artistic practices and artificial intelligence technologies, we have completed a five year collaboration to engineer a novel architecture for supporting emotional, interactive character behavior and drama-managed plot. Within this architecture we have built a dramatically interesting, real-time 3D virtual world inhabited by computer-controlled characters, in which the player experiences a story from a first-person perspective. Façade was publicly released as a freeware download / cd-rom in July 2005. You, the player, using your own name and gender, play the character of a longtime friend of Grace and Trip, an attractive and materially successful couple in their early thirties. During an evening get-together at their apartment that quickly turns ugly, you become entangled in the high-conflict dissolution of Grace and Trip’s marriage. No one is safe as the accusations fly, sides are taken and irreversible decisions are forced to be made. By the end of this intense one-act play you will have changed the course of Grace and Trip’s lives – motivating you to re-play the drama to find out how your interaction could make things turn out differently the next time."

Entry 1

Hi, I'm Raema Schuster and I'm currently in my final year studying B.E (Electrical). I took up AWSS2028-Web Art & Design because I basically wanted to learn about creating websites, I am a practical person and I love taking subjects that is applicable to my daily life. I believe after this course I would learn alot about using photoshop, flash and dreamweaver etc to create a web art and design visual website. This is my blog/online journal and it evolves around the theme "IDENTITY", so I will keep a diary of what I did in class each week and also write reviews on the various images, sites, art work and design that intrigues me along with artists/designers involved depicting their work and background. In brief, I will include art & design samples, record of online research, lab work and response to readings. Therefore my blog reflects my ongoing reflection on my creative work:

• A range of images: from mass media, books, online imagery, sketches, mockups, photos in any form that can screened, scanned etc. into the blog with notes if needed
• Written work: showing you are thinking about art/dsign not simply cutting and pasting. Some kind of quick reference would be appropriate
• Development/process: not necessarily step by step but at least some direction
• Critical awareness: of contemporary trends in online art and its effect on design. (interconnectedness). Theorists such as Manovich are useful.
  
  http://www.potatoland.org/

This site is a result of a physics simulator. These simulations can be accessed through shredder or potatoland webpage. Painting which is the result of the accumulated movements of the artists hand over time is similar to software that is, painting uses brushstroke to record motion of the artists band while software uses an algorithm that is, set of instruction that describes actions and logical relationships. In software, it is the algorithm, not brushstrokes, that creates the visual nature of the work. I love these simulations because of their vivid colors and its interactiveness between simulation and user.

Major Project Concept

The Design of my website is based on my Samoan Heritage. The background image consists of a Samoan tattoo design in the middle as well as on the side, with butterflies and leaves decorating the website. This theme will carry through the entire website creating continuity.

The website is mainly based in HTML with flash elements incorporated in it. Some sub-pages such as Albums might be using flash as the major medium with the user being able to interact with the photos directly.

Hyperlinks have been split into two different colours. Links that have been visited and not visited before. The two colours contrast (red, blue) each other and have the same luminosity to be as visually receptive to the viewer.

Traditional Samoan music will also be played as the viewer goes through the website.
A small video has been considered also, engaging the viewer and to give the viewer another way of expressing my identity through another medium.

The text font is 'Viner Hand ITC' and the size at the moment is 19, which is bigger than normal text but it is necessary for easier reading. This text gives my website character and personality as it has a diary 'scribbling' yet neat type look to it.


The site has been designed to flow very simply.
Here is my site map.


And finally here is a diagram showing the content that my website will consist of.

Research Report

WMTEAM Showtime: www.wmteam.com

“Graphic Art is a term applied historically to the art of printmaking and drawing. In contemporary usage it refers to the applied trade-skills of a graphic designer or print technician. The term can include the trades of lithography, serigraphy and bindery, among others. Graphic arts as a trade can be traced back to the first instances of the stamped image or word. Graphic design is the process of communicating visually using text and images to present information. Graphic design practice embraces a range of cognitive skills, aesthetics and crafts, including typography, visual arts and page layout. Like other forms of design, graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.”

http://stikprins.blogspot.com/2007/07/graphic-art-difinition.html

Flash company WM TEAM Showtime for your brand is one of the leading providers of entertainment. They acquire online accounts of large branded companies, produce websites, banner campaigns and ad games - always keeping an eye on the entertainment value for users.

In this visual website, the art complements the design where art has a meaning and design has a purpose.

This website is comprised of simple primary colors (Red, Green, Blue) giving an eye-catching but subtle presentation leaving people with a good first impression. It has an excellent choice of color, animations and background sound which consequently leads to a stimulating, fun and pleasant website. It uses child-like animations which spices up the pages keeping viewers of all ages entertained while delivering the contents. Art is depicted by the texts, images, animations, videos, sounds and colors simulated.

Speaking of design, this website works as expected or it serves its purpose with a tinge of class which shows professionalism. That is, no duplicates or redundancy, elements are coherent and compatible, clear and simple webpage comprising a quality website. The webpage is centered allowing viewers to narrow their attention to the entire content. Moreover, the use of exquisite text format (styles, size and colors) enables viewers to differentiate between headers, links and body making it readable while the smart flash animations helps coherently link pages and visualize the contents. Colors play a big part in this design as shown by the links when active, visited or hovered. This piercing website itself uses simple color hues applying less saturated colors to the backgrounds and vice versa for the linings harmonizing with the sole purpose of this leading provider of entertainment (WMTEAM). Last but not the least, this is a marketable website which conveys and promotes the companies capabilities.

In brief, websites share the same vision which is to gain user to understand its purpose and make the best out of it. Basically, it should look good, and are clear and easy to use such as having easy-access executable links. Consequently, distracting marquees are avoided along with cluttered images, video or animations which can be time consuming when loading a webpage. The WMTEAM website relates to other art/design forms on the web through the use of good contrast in color, simple text format making it readable as well as the utilization of animations or images to convey information creating a quality website.

In summary, the WMTEAM website falls into both art and design category. This website is encompassed with art in many forms that is, anything that stimulates the senses. Consequently, the design which is a calculative defined process supplements art to create this vivid website. WMTEAM shares the same basic art/design forms on the web.