Author: Haley Byun

Adobe Photoshop: Drag, Drag, Drag, Animate

Wondering where my group’s at now?  Probably not.  But if you are curious, here’s an update:

  1. Paul Kim and I have completed taking photos of volunteers and asking them about their favorite foods.
  2. Hannah Kwon has initiated the editing and animation process (adding drawings of foods to the sheets of paper held up by volunteers).
  3. Sam Skinner has gathered a few friends to participate in the activities portion of the video.
  4. Hannah, Sam, and I recorded/photographed two activity scenes.
But most importantly, I learned to create .gif files with Adobe Photoshop.  With the guide of Hannah Kwon, I was quickly able to learn the process of animation.  The task is very tedious: infinite numbers of drags and clicks to create a five second animation.  Currently, Hannah and I are working on compiling the current products we have each worked on into a single video.  Many important scenes are still missing, but we have decided to export our current Windows Movie Maker project as a movie to demonstrate our progress so far.  The movie file will not be uploaded to the Internet until completion, however, our group will share our current product for peer review during tomorrow’s English class (if necessary).

STRANGER DANGER?

It has been a while since I have discussed my invention mob project, so here’s a recap:

Our group is making a stop motion video about food.  The plan was to take pictures of strangers at Tech and to ask them about their favorite food, then to put the collection of photos together into a quick montage of people holding up a sheet of paper with their favorite food.  After the montage, the scene would change to people participating in activities, such as sports or studying (food for thought), to encourage viewers to participate in the activities that “keep them going” and share them with us and other viewers in a comment or a video response.  When we presented the idea to the class last Friday, we received a lot of feedback.  Many people were confused on the connection between food and food for thought, as well as on the “point” of the project.  This feedback led to a group discussion about the overarching theme and how everything connects.  There is still some debate, but I believe that the beginning montage of people holding up their favorite foods allows us to present the audience with the “standard” perception of food, which we later contrast with our idea of food as something that keeps someone going through stress and hardships.  If the confusion continues, we may change the montage of people with their favorite foods to a montage of people with their favorite activities.

So, the past two days, I have been going around the Georgia Tech campus attempting to recruit people for our invention mob project.  The mission of acquiring approximately 40 – 50 photos of strangers was divided between me and Paul Kim, leaving us both with the responsibility of taking 20 – 25 photos.  The first day, Hannah Kwon and I started our “recruitment” process by approaching and asking people on Tech Walkway.  However, people responded negatively to this method.  Therefore, we decided to quickly create a sign to encourage interested people to come to us.  That day, we sat and walked around campus taking turns holding the sign (shown below).  We received many curious looks, but in the end, fourteen people were curious enough to participate in our project.  The second day was not as successful.  I “advertised” our project alone for approximately thirty minutes and only three people volunteered.  However, two of the three volunteers were very interested in the project and provided me with their contact information to share the final project with them in October.

Hannah Kwon holding up our sign to recruit volunteers for our English project.

Reflecting upon the process of recruiting volunteers, I have thought of new methods to engage more people.  I feel like our sign was poorly made and did not grab the attention of many passersby.  We could have written a more intriguing sign or added more color, something more creative.  Hannah and I also discussed the possibility of wearing fun masks to attract more people.  Considering the purpose of the invention mobs, I also would have liked to include more creativity of the volunteers (other than their ability to make faces for the camera) into the project, possibly setting up a table with paper and coloring materials to allow volunteers to draw a picture of their favorite food on their own.  Without extensive resources, some of these ideas are not plausible.  However, new ideas can always be used in the future.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any suggestions about our project, please leave a comment, especially if it pertains to the concept or purpose of the project.


Gotta Draw ‘Em All!

In a previous post, “Drawing to a Symphony,” I compared the two self-portraits I had drawn, the “normal” portrait and the “cartoon” portrait.  In the same post, I said, “An example of my drawing of a cartoon (most likely Pokemon) may be posted at a later date for comparison.”

I am definitely not the best artist out there, especially compared to all other Asian girls, commonly stereotyped to be amazing artists.  It takes more time and effort for my artwork to turn out decently.  So, as promised, here is my “cartoon” artwork:

Back & Left to Right: Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil

If you don’t know your Pokemon, then shame on you (unless you are “old”).  The names are provided in the caption, so feel free to Google how they look like in the actual television show.  I might outline the drawing on Microsoft Paint in the future.  Any advice or comments would be appreciated.  Also, if you’ve drawn or made anything, leave a link or an image of it in the comments, so I can check it out.  Thanks for reading.


Tekken 6 at Play

For my “Play” exercise, I played Tekken 6 on my Xbox 360. Tekken is a fighting game, first released in arcades in 1994. At a young age, I started to play the series with my dad. We rented the games from Blockbuster, starting from Tekken 2. I stopped playing for many years until my friend presented me with Tekken Tag for my birthday two years ago. Three weeks ago, I decided to purchase Tekken 6 at the GameStop at Tech Square.

I expected Tekken 6 to be the same as the previous games just with better graphics. I was wrong. Unlike the previous games, Tekken 6 allows the player to follow a story line. It provides more background on each character as you unlock new ones, also playing short clips that develop the overarching plot of the game. After reading “Play” in A Whole New Mind, I realized the significance of the change in the Tekken series. Games are slowly becoming art forms. The stories in each game distinguish many games apart from each other. Daniel Pink mentions a quote by a gaming columnist: “Changes in the way games are built indicate less of a future demand for coders, but more of a demand for artists, producers, story tellers and designers…” Tekken 6 is evidence of the increasing demand for story tellers. If the story doesn’t engage the audience, the game cannot compete with other video games of its genre with interesting plots.

Overall, I thought the change in the series was an improvement. Watching the story develop throughout the game was more interesting than just fighting enemies with no significant reason. With the integrated short clips and scenes, I was able to experience and understand the characters and the background of the game. I found out facts I hadn’t known from playing previous games in the Tekken series. It was fun to know what kind of character I was fighting with and a mission to fight for and achieve.

Try out a new game and consider the different reasons why you enjoy the game.


Drawing to a Symphony

Today’s ENGL 1101 assignment is to complete a “Symphony exercise” from Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind.  Not surprisingly, listening to symphonies is a suggested exercise, so I decided to listen to Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, “Haffner Symphony.” I have always found the work of renowned composers to be beyond impressive, the process of writing for multiple instruments which integrate into a masterpiece appreciated by people all around the globe.  Listening to a symphony, it seems as if I am hearing one harmonious sound, not an entire orchestra.  However, with concentration, I am reminded of the role of each instrument and its importance in creating the “one harmonious sound.”

Continuing to read through the Symphony Portfolio, I was inspired to attempt the five-line self-portrait.  However, due to my propensity to complete more than necessary, I ended up attempting a normal portrait consisting of more than five lines.  After I finished the self-portrait, I decided to complete the original five-line self-portrait.  Both are shown below.

I find my lazy five-lined portrait to be more appealing than the self-portrait that took me minutes to draw.  I have always found it easier to draw cartoons, such as Pokemon and cute dinosaurs.  After reading “Symphony,” I realized that my preconceptions of the human face inhibits my ability to draw people as well as I draw cartoon characters.  When I draw human faces, I attempt to mimic the “symbol” for each facial feature (as Daniel Pink described).  However, when I draw Pokemon or cartoon characters, I see the image as different combinations of lines and curves that come together to produce a picture.

Completing the Symphony exercises furthered my understanding of the term and the concept.  An example of my drawing of a cartoon (most likely Pokemon) may be posted at a later date for comparison.


One Idea to a Collaborative Project

On Friday, September 2, 2011, my ENGL 1101 class was instructed to bring a personally handcrafted object.  I brought a crochet ball.  With the assistance of my roommate and fellow classmate Hannah Kwon, I was able to craft a crochet ball with simple materials (yarn, crochet needle, and toilet paper).  The result is shown below:

The collaboration group consists of myself, Paul Kim, Hannah Kwon, and Sam Skinner.  To brainstorm ideas, we listed each of our skills and interests.  Each person presented a unique skill to the group and many common interests were discovered.  A few of the members shared other “handcrafted” objects, such as animations and video games.  Based on our skills and interests, we brainstormed potential final products: game, story, music, video, etc.  Currently, we have decided to produce a stop-motion video.  The topic of the video is still to be determined and will be decided by the end of this week.