Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Programmatic Collage Link
Programmatic Collage Code
import flash.display.MovieClip;
public class Lab3 extends MovieClip {
public function Lab3() {
// constructor code
trace("inside Lab3 constructer")
// create a variable to hold the symbol to display
var s: MovieClip;
s = new DogBone();
addChild(s);
s.x=230;
s.y=180;
s.rotationX=0;
s.rotationY=0;
s.rotationZ=-15;
// Add Symbol to stage
s = new DeadyBear();
addChild(s);
s.x=380;
s.y=240;
s.scaleX=.8;
s.scaleY=.8;
// 1 RainDrop
var s: MovieClip;
s = new RainDrop();
addChild(s);
s.x=90;
s.y=50;
s.scaleX=.1;
s.scaleY=.1;
// 3 RainDrop
var s: MovieClip;
s = new RainDrop();
addChild(s);
s.x=75;
s.y=90;
s.scaleX=.04;
s.scaleY=.04;
// 2 RainDrop
var s: MovieClip;
s = new RainDrop();
addChild(s);
s.x=60;
s.y=41;
s.scaleX=.06;
s.scaleY=.06;
// 4 RainDrop
var s: MovieClip;
s = new RainDrop();
addChild(s);
s.x=80;
s.y=45;
s.scaleX=.02;
s.scaleY=.02;
// Lives in right corner
var s: MovieClip;
s = new PalmLeaf();
addChild(s);
s.x=500;
s.y=10;
s.scaleX=.1;
s.scaleY=.1;
var s: MovieClip;
s = new PalmLeaf();
addChild(s);
s.x=480;
s.y=10;
s.scaleX=.1;
s.scaleY=.1;
var s: MovieClip;
s = new PalmLeaf();
addChild(s);
s.x=460;
s.y=10;
s.scaleX=.1;
s.scaleY=.1;
var s: MovieClip;
s = new PalmLeaf();
addChild(s);
s.x=440;
s.y=10;
s.scaleX=.1;
s.scaleY=.1;
// Chameleon on bone
var s: MovieClip;
s = new Chameleon();
addChild(s);
s.x=250;
s.y=240;
s.scaleX= .3;
s.scaleY= .3;
s.rotationZ=-10;
var s: MovieClip;
s = new GolfTee();
addChild(s);
s.x=50;
s.y=200;
var s: MovieClip;
s = new Pipe();
addChild(s);
s.x=110;
s.y=230;
s.scaleX= .8;
s.scaleY= .8;
// Power up Cards
var s: MovieClip;
s = new QueenOfHearts();
addChild(s);
s.x=400;
s.y=10;
s.scaleX=.1;
s.scaleY=.1;
var s: MovieClip;
s = new QueenOfHearts();
addChild(s);
s.x=370;
s.y=10;
s.scaleX=.1;
s.scaleY=.1;
Friday, April 15, 2011
Reflective Essay 2
When I was a growing up, my siblings and I would sneak into the basement to play Commander Keen, Hugo 3, and an assortment of other games on my dad’s Windows ’95 computer; the hard drive of which, was a whopping 32 megabytes. We had to sneak because video games were a strict “no no” in our house. No video games, no TV, those were the rules. These rules were often stretched and sometimes ignored for special circumstances: The Olympics, The Elections, and occasionally The Simpsons. As we got older the media restrictions fell apart entirely, but in the days of forbidden gaming, there was nothing sweeter than sitting in front of that screen with my brother and sister, trying to solve the magical mysteries of those fantastic worlds.
Because of the lack of gameplay I fell far behind in the gaming surge and I didn’t pursue gaming as a hobby. Not like some of my friends. I was much like the young Nick Paumgarten urging his friends to stop playing asteroids and play outside, only it wasn’t asteroids, it was Halo and Call of Duty. I started playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time just this year and rediscovered the addictiveness of the videogame. Zelda is especially entrancing with the entire land of Hyrule to explore and a noble quest to save a princess. Given to a kid, it seems almost unfair to think that he or she wouldn’t become addicted. This storyline strikes a chord of familiarity as well: A young boy, against a dark power, on a quest to save a princess. Besides every poorly conceived romance novel, it’s a lot like the original Donkey Kong.
Current games might have moved away from Italian plumbers and a fairy boys saving royalty, but there is usually still the one character with a very important quest. I don’t think this will change anytime soon. Not only does a player get to escape into another world, but also he or she gets to become a hero who is on a quest of the utmost importance. When our lives in the real world feel uncertain and meaningless, it’s a comfort to find control and power in a controller and a screen.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Sam Hoiland
Reflective Essay 1
When I was in middle school I remember playing a game in PE that was, in my eyes, the greatest thing since Pokémon. We called it: Lord of the Rings, but it was really just capture the flag with some added components. There were two teams. Each team had control of one half of the field and if a team member crossed the boundary onto the other team’s side, he or she could be tagged. Once tagged, you would have to sit where you were until one of your teammates came and rescued you.
On either end of the field there were four cones set up in a square. These were “safe zones” for anyone who could make it across the field without getting tagged. The safe zones were also where the flags, four white discs, were held. You could run with the disc to get closer to your side but in order to capture it you had to make a successful pass across the dividing line. The point of the game obviously was to get all of opposing team’s flags before they got all of yours. The objective was fairly simple, but it was the means to the ends that made the game interesting.
Pride, chivalry, honor, what did they mean on the field? Nothing. They were as flies to a hippo, a minute distraction from the larger goal: WIN. Competiveness; you don’t know the meaning of the word until you’ve lived the experience. After a game of Lord of the Rings the class returned to Math not as a whole but as Red team and Blue team, still seething with defeat or explosive with victory. That poor algebra teacher.
The moment right before the game began was the most surreal. I closed my eyes, I could hear my heart pumping in my ears, feel the hair on my neck bristling, and the adrenaline and fear washing over me until the teacher shouted, “Ready… GO!”
“RUAAAAGGHHHH!!!” I wasn’t sure if it had come out my mouth or everyone else’s but it didn’t matter because I was no longer me, I was someone else entirely, something else entirely. I was an unstoppable force, hurtling across the endless field, more agile than ever before, my senses more attuned and keener than –
“TAG! Gotcha Sam.”
Damn... I probably should have opened my eyes.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Final Reflective Essay - Cookbook
I think the best way for me to gauge what I’ve learned is to go back and look at the scratch projects I created in the first lab of the term. I had never used Photoshop, I really had no idea what I was doing and yet, I was quite proud of those little projects. They were the foundation on which all of my following projects would build on. Fill in color, rotate shape, erase; that was about the extent of my knowledge.
Layers brought in a whole new style of working. There is so much freedom in layers, whereas before every mark was so permanent unless you wanted to press undo a hundred times and then lose the rest of your work. Messing around with the free transform tool, opacity, curves, hue, and saturation all expanded my knowledge and increased my skills as a Photoshop artist. These all came together when I was working on my book, enabling me to create something beautiful. And like those first scratch projects which I felt proud of for my level of Photoshop competence, I also feel proud of this book I’ve created through my gained experience and new found competence.
When I finished my first dummy I knew it wasn’t what I had envisioned but I assumed it was just the lack of pictures that made it seem so dry. The next day in class, Professor Arellano said something that made me realize what the problem was. He said that this wasn’t a report; it was our very own book. It shouldn’t have “the title”, and “the text”, and “the picture” and you’re done. It was a design project and I needed a better design. I trashed my old book design and started afresh; same concept; new look.
I made my book square to start, it seemed like the thing to do, and then made every page have common theme with basically the same layout. This helped but there was still something that made it feel rather dull. I figured it out after about 2 hours of trying to find a more lively color to make it come alive. It didn’t need a new color, it needed the same color stretched out from dark to light. For this I used the gradient tool and I used it a lot! Once I got that, the whole book fell into place.
These recipes are mainly my roommate’s recipes (the man on the right on the cover) and once we complete all seven days and take our own photographs of the food (all of the photos were taken from Google Images and are cited in the bibliography) we hope to be published and sell. Until then I think we will continue to make delicious meals and perhaps distribute the cookbooks as Zines in Ashland and Portland.
By Sam Hoiland
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Book Project: Proposal
For this project I will be making a cookbook using InDesign with both text and photographs of the finished dish. I’m attempting to make Seven dishes, one for everyday of the week. Each title will be something like “Monday Mash”, or “Stir Friday”.
The idea is to make a cookbook for college students who are on a budget, but also want a healthy, hardy, meal at least once a day. All the dishes will be dinner dishes and they’ll be in this format. Each of the seven dishes will have two pages in which there will be a photograph on one side and the ingredients and recipe on the other. The recipe will be set up thus.
There will be The Basic, which is essentially the one grain or base (rice, pasta, quinoa, tortilla, etc…), the protein (beans, meat, fish, egg, etc…) and the veggie (raw, steamed, sautéed, salad, etc…) and the basic seasoning (salt, pepper, ketchup, BBQ, etc…).
The next will be the add-on category or the If you have it…, which will add variety by listing a multitude a delicious vegetables, seasoning, and meat rubs, that go well with the dish.
And the final category will be the Grand Cuisine, which is fully loaded with everything from suggestions on presentation, to drinks of choice and mouth watering appetizers, not to mention some kitchen secrets that will surely make that girl you’re trying to impress jump right into your open arms as soon as she tries the first bight… Or something along those lines.
I’m still working on the title and I haven’t made up any of the full recipe sheets but I have a good idea of all the dishes I’d like to have on there. My first hurtle will be getting a good enough camera for the pictures of the dishes and then also convincing my roommate to let me take over the kitchen for a few weeks. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now and I think this is the perfect opportunity to try it out.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Poster Project Reflective Essay
I wanted the “Poetry Slam” to be at the top of the visual hierarchy. I knew that that needed to be seen first so people would read on. I also didn’t want there to be too much going on, simple and clear always works for getting a message out. You see so many posters on campus that are just spattered with unnecessary designs, lines and shapes that distract from the selling point. I kept it clean and dirty, made it look fun but I had the professional organization to it as well. It naturally tells the eyes where to go. First at the “Poetry Slam” and then at the “Sou’s First” or maybe “[club]” and then down to the two figures with the information between them.
I was looking for a long time on the internet for a graffiti font but I had no luck so I decided to make my own. It shows the rap/hip-hop influence in slam poetry today but it’s not too much to the point where it might feel threatening to the reader.
I wanted excite poets around campus. For them to know that there is finally a club where they can be who they are and speak their words without judgment. I also wanted to excite the people on campus who didn’t know they were poet’s and maybe it just entices them to come to the meeting place because the sign roused their curiosity. I think I succeeded because I’ll get excited when I see it up around campus. I know I made it but if I hadn’t I think I would still be stoked to think that there were other poets like me who just want to express their lyrics with some like-minded people.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Reflective Essay - Portraits and Letters
In a technical sense I would have to say that I learned the most while doing the portraits. With my self portrait, it took so long to get the lighting just right in my very dark apartment. And only after shooting about 50 shots was I able to get a clear reflection of myself TV. When I photographed my friend Jake (the climber), my flash completely blew out his hand so there was nothing but a white blob that needed to be completely reconstructed. I found the hardest thing about working on a photograph is that there are always continuous tones and any paint you put on the canvas is obviously not part of the original. This made it very hard therefore to reconstruct his hand without it looking like I had copied and pasted an image of Bart Simpson’s hand clutching the rock.
The ‘other’ photo I shot was a set-up. I told her about the project and that I’d love it if I could take her photo as my stranger pic. I’m not sure if she really got what I was talking about but she let me take the photo none-the-less. The first thing I did was crop it so that it wasn’t a full body shot. She told me that I needed to crop it so it didn’t show her belly. She hadn’t been expecting me to take the full shot and she said she would have sucked in had she known. It had been raining when I took the photo but her personality in the shot come across as very warm so I raised the color temperature up a bit.
My favorite letter-form was the Orange “J”. The pipe jumped out at me on my way to the rock gym to photograph my friend and since I had my camera with me I took a quick shot. It’s funny that those unexpected photos that have no planning or thought put into them, sometimes make you favorite shot of all. Once I got it into Photoshop I realized that it wasn’t obvious enough as a letter so I isolated it with the lasso tool and then inversed the selection and made everything else black and white. This along with some experimentation with contrast made the photo to my liking and officially complete.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Hoiland's Letter Project - Reflective Essay
I didn’t have to search for too long on any of the projects. Most of the time I would briefly scroll through the type faces and after seeing one or two I would think – I can make that work. Once they were on the canvas I’d rasterize them and then experiment with size rotation and color until I came up with a semblance of an idea. One of the challenges I faced was the color difference between the lab computers and my home computer. When I was working with “An Even Forest” on the lab computers every color appeared bright and complimentary, but when I downloaded it at home it looked like a very dead forest in the middle of a snot colored desert. However, this could just be the difference between my objective eye and my eye as the immediate artist. I might have been so involved in the making of it that I forgot it was no longer beautiful.
I had a plan to choose every letter very carefully with significance in my life in some way but by the second piece I scratched that notion and just chose whatever letter looked cool on the keyboard. So I started with a single letter on the canvas and went from there.
I would have to go with “Davyd and the ‘Y ith”. When Professor Inada was talking about scale contrast in lecture on Monday this image popped into my head. I didn’t know at the time that our next project would be about letters, but image that came to me was a large dragon that knew it was the king of it’s world until it looked over and there was the head of an enormous dragon that barely fit in the frame. I still wanted to incorporate this in my piece somehow so I translated my idea to a piece using only the letter Y. I knew that I was finished when The ‘Y ith’ had her scales.
