SCORE CARD 10.31.2013

Class #9, Roll Call

Class 8: Powerbullet Assignments

Assignment 1:

https://wfs.bc.edu:443/langonea/Class8.swf

Assignment 2:

https://wfs.bc.edu:443/langonea/C8_A2.swf

Assignment 3:

https://wfs.bc.edu:443/langonea/C8_A3.swf

Assignment 4:

https://wfs.bc.edu:443/langonea/C8_A4.swf

** _____ Work in Progress _____ **

Class 7, FINAL PREPARATION: Choosing a JavaScript programming track

Codecademy:

I have some prior experience with Codecademy from the Collaborative Computing class I took last year at BC. I revisited the site for JavaScript practice and found it to have some upgrades. They improved the interface and made everything clean and easy to navigate. I find Codecademy to be extremely user friendly for beginners, but it is possible that I am biased from my previous experience. The website is smart and dynamic, allowing a user to pick up where they left off with ease. It even had my old results and code still present from when I covered other programming basics last year, which I thought was pretty cool! Codecademy also appeared to offer more of a variety of programming languages to learn compared to LearnStreet or Khan Academy.

 

LearnStreet:

LearnStreet possesses a similar interface to Codecademy, which for me, made it easy to dive right into. I particularly liked how robust each lesson is, yet also how they are not forcing you to read through information you feel you can overlook. The overviews, tutorial videos, and glossaries present within each lesson are really helpful for beginners. The addition of a bit of nerd humor in some of the JS Console's remarks is also a nice touch. Programming can be frustrating so it's nice to smile at a bad joke once in a while. It was also a bit too simple at times. Not having a separate programming display window made me sort of just blow through the exercises while not retaining as much as I should have. Step. Done. Step. Done. etc. The color coding was well done, however, which aided with sifting through all of the onscreen clutter towards the end of an exercise.

 

 

Khan Academy:

Khan Academy immediately struck me as being marketed for a slightly more advanced audience. Not so much so that it is insurmountable to a complete beginner, but it could be off-putting. I had to search around to confirm that the only programming done through Khan Academy was indeed, JavaScript. There did not seem to be options for anything else. I did not like how Khan Academy's training interface was set up. Having to watch and pause videos in order to work in a shared space with a virtual author was really obnoxious. Also taking directions from a child's voice was a bit demeaning. I did not feel like I was able to be hands on enough with this throughout the lesson. I honestly struggled a bit having to switch back and forth to the video and the exercise. Over time I was able to adapt to the interface, but I really wouldn't recommend this to someone who's completely new to programming.

 

Conclusion:

To briefly conclude, I would say that all three sites are accessible to fledgling programmers. In order of accessibility from easiest to most complicated I would say that LearnStreet is the simplest to use and get started, followed by Codecademy, and then Khan Academy. All three make it easy to sign up and get started, however. I signed up using my Gmail account and was beginning lessons in less than 30 seconds. I think patient folks will get the more out of Khan Academy than the others, but for someone to looking to learn programming basics in a shorter amount of time, I would recommend Codecademy. I think it offers a beginner friendly experience with a better training interface and a lot less frustration. If I could only choose one resource going forward, I would stick with Codecademy.

Class #7, Roll Call 2

Class #7, Step 2

Step 2a: Selection Tools

No image required!

Step 2b:  Stroke

I used the Stroke function, under the Edit menu in order to paint the borders of various selections.  Note the pattern stroke on the selection in the clouds.

Step 2c:  Paste Into

The above screenshot illustrates the Paste Into function in GIMP.  I used two different selections on the image and then copied the BC Eagle to my clipboard.  By using the Paste Into function, I was able to place the logo into the selection, rather the into the image as a whole.

Step 2d:  Transparency

The two Eagle in the lower left are examples of using the Transparency Function in GIMP.  The Eagle on the Left is at 75%, while the Eagle on the Right is at 50%.

Step 2e:  Text

Fun with Text!  Each text block has a different Transparency setting starting at 40%, 50%, 60%, etc.  Different fonts and sizes were selected as well.

Step 2f:  Scale

This was done preserving aspect ratio.

This was done by not preserving aspect ratio.  It just so happens that I had made this image a clean 1024x1024. So when I reduced Height and Width by half, they come out the same regardless.

Midterm #8

                            

The above images depict my photo editing exercise for Midterm #8.  The image on the left is the original and the image on the right is retouched and resized.  I used a combination of the eye dropper tool, paint brush tool, and the smudge/blur tools.  For the paint brush, I was careful to use a stippled brush stroke and a small brush size in order to not make my changes too obvious or unnatural.  

My first order of business was to remove skin blemishes from my forehead.  I also removed a small mole from my cheek.  I then made my beard look less scruffy by using colors from the wall to cover/smudge/blur the scraggly parts.  The toughest part was trying to naturally darken the light hairs under my lower lip.  That required a lot of different eyedropper textures and various paintbrush tips and sizes.  I finally blurred/smudged the colors to a point where I think they look pretty good at normal zoom.  

It is a midterm exercise from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College. The course is called Discovering Computer Graphics. For details, visit the immersive BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc

** _____ Work in Progress _____ **

Midterm #4

Above is my greeting card from Cloud Party.  I used GIMP to add custom text, as well as a warp filter.  I used the warp filter on different sections of the background, horizon line to create an eerie look for the card.  As you can see in my work in progress screen shots, the world does not look quite as warped.   

It is a midterm exercise from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College. The course is called Discovering Computer Graphics. For details, visit the immersive BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc

** _____ Work in Progress _____ **

Midterm #7

Because this world is just better off with Kate Upton in it.  

This is the end result of exercise A2 from our bitmap graphics handbook  I have added and resized two logos, which I then used to replace her eyes.  Additionally, I made a black caption box using a combination of the rectangular select tool, and the paint bucket.  I added three different lines of text as instructed, all with different fonts, sizes, and colors.  

Native Format:  https://wfs.bc.edu:443/langonea/Midterm7.xcf.bz2

It is a midterm exercise from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College. The course is called Discovering Computer Graphics. For details, visit the immersive BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc

** _____ Work in Progress _____ **

Class 6, Step 4 - Part 3

BMP in GIMP...

Here is my final result.  I definitely had to rush certain things in order to try and meet the 30 min time restraint.  No stars, and poor, text but overall it's not too bad considering.  Once again, though GIMP frustrated me.  This time I was much smarter about using layers, changing transparencies, and tracing to get as much detail as possible.  I just ran out of time and the bitmap graphics don't allow for as many shortcuts and blanket edits, like shadowing and what not. 

** ____ Work in Progress _____ **

I started with a few different layers.  I imported my original silver dollar image from my blog, as well as a new image of the Susan B. Anthony Coin, and a filled gold circle sized to match the original.  Resizing and flipping my original image wasnt too painful.   



Using the erase tool to clear a work space...  You can see my layers to the right side of the screen.

This is a progression of my tracing efforts.  I thought it looked good until I removed the original.  It would be nice to have a stylus rather than a mouse for this sort of thing.

Vector in Word...

Vector graphics really allowed me to move quickly through this process.  Lots of little short cuts and more efficient tools for text, shapes, lines, and resizing.  You may sacrifice a bit of control and fine detail but vector is far easier for producing a replica under time constraints.

** _____ Work in Progress _____ **

A progression shot of importing the image, resizing, flipping horizontally, and beginning to trace the new face.

Close shots of my mad tracing skills.

Adding some finishing touches.

Class #6, Roll Call 2

Class 6, Step 3 - Part 2

I was very frustrated using GIMP to try and create the coin.  I think it may be more powerful if there was a lot more time to enhance fine details, but in a rush, the vector graphics in Word proved much more effective for me in replicating the original image.

** _____ Work in Progress _____ **

I used the selection tool and added a gray fill to create the background.  I then immediately began using the pencil tool to draw the face.  This negatively impacted the end result.  I should have created a new layer for the facial details.  This would have allowed me to resize it to fit correctly at the end.

I struggled quite a bit with layering once I started adding the text.  This is where time really started to affect me.  I had to rush to complete this.  

Class 6, Step 2 - Part 1

** _____ Work in Progress _____ **

I started with a simple circle, using gray tones.  The I used the scribble tool in order to freehand draw the face and hair detail.

I used the curve tool to create the base of the crown.  I then place it behind the hair by bring the lock of hair " to the front."

Spike were the most time consuming part.  I used the triangle tool, lots of copy and past, and rotation.

The coup de gras was the shadow effect I applied to all the lines to make it appear embossed as it would on the coin.  I think I could have done better if given more time.