Month 2: Advanced Computer Graphics

Project 1: The Camera

WOW. I'm a week into Advanced Computer Graphics, and let me say, it's been one heck of a ride, so far. Our first project is the Mechanical Object. Basically, they give us a list of images (alarm clocks, cameras, toy robots, etc. etc.) and we're expected to use that as reference and produce something that's photo real. Now, you'd think after learning some Photoshop last month, it would be easy, aaand it would be. If we were allowed to even use Photoshop. That's right, this project is totally about giving us the confidence to do just about anything in Illustrator. After a grueling 65 hours, I'm finally very happy with my project and I'm prepared to turn it in. Unlike most people, I utilized my time very wisely. I stayed an extra four hours each day we had class and worked on my project, putting in another 6-12 hours at home (depending on the day). I felt like this project gave me a ton of hands-on experience and taught me how to utilize problem solving thinking skills. What I mean by problem solving skills, is there were two fundamental issues I had with my camera. The ridges, and the "EFFECT" text. The teachers insisted I used a flat black text (like the other images), but I saw an opportunity to learn and tried to produce something.

It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn close. For the ridges, the teachers told me to pen tool every little ridge. My defiance in the matter made me think outside the box. I experimented with tools they didn't teach us and produced a solid tutorial on how to do ridges like that in about 15 minutes. But again, I've worked on this project harder than I worked on anything last month. I feel like after all the work I've put into it, I've produced some excellent A-quality work.