So my video is finally up, however this isn't my official video. All I have to change however is the music. Which I will fix tomorrow. I am proud of my video, although I'm unsure about showing it at the end of year show.

I also got my images done for the ViewBug challenge, you have already seen the Coca-Cola image I made. I decided to continue on with one of my other ideas with the bar-code. I wasn't too sure but I thought it was worth a shot to see how it would at least look: 

These are my four finals, while designing these, I tried to dehumanize myself. As you can see I tried to remove facial features. In one case I completely covered the face. I purposely made it so you can see some of the facial features through the bar-codes. I am still trying to tie this challenge in with my main project work of happiness and consumerism. Although I still plan to do my posters of my student finance. I plan to start them tomorrow as well as my deck of cards. I have been doing some more sketches. These characters are for robots and aliens:

As you can see, my sketches aren't fantastic. Soooooo I did  some research also  see below:

As you can see I really wasn't too sure on what I'm doing. Although now I have a better Idea, I'm hoping to again get started on my deck of cads project tomorrow also. So that's all from me for today. 

Today I pretty much wasted it by going from website to website, trying to find a company that would print my cupcake deck of cards, for cheap. It was unbelievably tedious  as I had to make very quick designs of just the numbered symbols for each suit, Most websites were very slow with the uploads, they wouldn't let me edit the images to the way I wanted them displayed on the cards, Some websites stopped uploading my designs after a particular number. I was pretty much like 4 hrs of trying to get the right company to print these. I finally got it sorted. Although for one pack of cards it'll cost me roughly £15. Which sucks, although I think it will be worth it. 

I also have been trying to write my blurb, which will be the little bit of information that will go beside my work at the end of year show. To be honest, this week has been a complete nightmare. Just so much stuff to do and next thing I know a week has past, and the work I have done is not as much as I had hoped to have done. 

I have been looking at the whole planner for the end of year show, even looking at people from the past years, and I hate this feeling I have. I honestly don't feel like any of my work is good enough, the work I have done in my side projects I feel more confident to show than my main project. Even looking through it all, I can see exactly where I have gotten lost. I had originally wanted to do really mad, in your face posters showing consumerism. I am now doing student financial advice. Making a video, I honestly don't feel that comfortable about. I just really really lost.

So looking at the wall planners and everyone else's displays from the past years, I have decided to continue on with the video, and see how it is at the end, maybe Ill surprise myself and it'll be the most amazing thing. Although I have also decided to create posters, which was my original idea in the first place, many tutors have more or less talked me out of it. Saying in the usual nicest possible way, that they didn't think that it was the best Idea. I just feel like I'm drowning. So screw this, I am going to do what I want to do. If it ends up looking shit, at least it'll be my colourful shit and stuff I feel comfortable showing.

I also went back and re-edited my Coca-Cola portrait. I am actually really happy with it and have decided it will be my piece for submitted to the ViewBug unique portrait challenge. 

This is very simple, although I find it very effective and I think it really stands out. I am happy to upload this for the ViewBug Challenge, I plan to do a few more tweaks to this image, such as having a fact about Coca-Cola on the image, and even fixing the hair a little bit. I also finally got round to testing my line drawing skills, to make a ghost in Illustrator:

I am actually so happy with this, I want to fix the eyes a little more. But minus that I am really happy with this. One down, 11 more to go. 

That's all from me today, I am going to do a few sketches for posters for students on financial advice. But the way that I want them to be. I am even slightly playing with 

May The Forth Be With You!

Today I finished off writing up my sketch books, I also researched unique portraits from my ViewBug project which the deadline is for next week. 

So here are some inspiration images I have been looking at. I really like how I have total freedom with this, I have a maximum of two entries.  Some of these are pretty mental, like the top image on the right with the spaghetti and meat just randomly on models faces..... its a creative? yep... a little weird. Totally entertaining though. I really like the powder paint and the paint on peoples faces. I have been thinking about the possibility of putting in some things to do with consumerism, not too sure how that's going to work out, but I will be experimenting with it anyways. 

I have also been looking at some of the art supplies I have. I have a lot of ink, so I might also incorporate that into this portrait challenge.

I have also been looking for music to go with my video for my main project and been planning out what I want to do. I have things a little bit more sorted, however I'm not going to lie. I have been more thinking and planning one what to do with all my projects today. I am in that panic mode when I think of all the things I have to do, and end up sort of doing nothing..... eeeeek 

I am hoping to have more to show in the next following days.

So today, I have been very productive, I have created backgrounds for my video., trying to create different ways to show my information from what I have learnt from my surveys. I have been doing different back grounds for different topics within my video. Such as how to eat right, how to drink on the cheap and how to budget money.

I have been trying to create a specific look for each topic, I am actually very impressed with myself, not to blow my own trumpet. Although so far I think this is looking good. I am going to take tomorrow sort of off from doing my main project and start doing sketches for card project. I also really need to concentrate on my ViewBug projects, as I am hoping to experiment with some portrait photography. I am also going to look up music for my video and get my info exact. SO that meaning on Tuesday I will be able to get really stuck into working on the video :) 
That's all from me today.

The pressure is majorly on! Everyone is beginning to run round like headless chickens. I have been super productive today in the hope that my head won't explode. So I have been re-designing yet another story board and started to design all of the elements for that so here is a few small things I did today for the video:

So the first image, I thought would be funny to have, as he was designed to look like he is struggling to hold up a title within my video, I did however draw him with no reference and was more or less just messing about. The second image I used a reference for. I am still not too sure I like him, I think it is probably the structure of him as himself, as well as me being very picky. The third image is just to be a background image, I am however very tempted to give the queen a Mohawk, and a pint and maybe a cigarette. Although I don't want to over complicate the image, I may do this anyway though for a bit of fun and also, just to see how it would actually look.

I wanted to get more of this done, although I realized I sill hadn't fully finished my cupcake cards. So I went back and made a little design for the middle of all my cards, then went in and added the suit symbols and the letters for each card, now officially finished. I am hoping to get started on the next theme which is monsters for my deck of cards. Here are all 12 of the cards:

Going back through my research on the monster theme of cupcakes I can't help but think about my tea towel portrait I did of myself and how that might look for this theme. I will hopefully have sketches up of it tomorrow. As well as more images to show within my main project. I also have a ViewBug competition I am still to take images for. It is all rather chaotic at the moment. I have also been talking to tutors about the development of my small video for my main project. As it have been well over a year since I last used the program, so a wee refresher on the program would be amazing. I mainly need help with how I will export the video and how I will render it so it is small enough to go on the likes of You Tube etc. aaahhhh so many things. I'm going to leave it here for tonight, more info and more colourful things hopefully to show tomorrow

So today I have started to edit my video, So happy with it so far, although I am still getting to grips with the whole program again, also slightly freaking out about rendering the video and such :/
As I am planning to do this all on my little laptop. I'm not too sure if that's being silly or not, but if I at least get everything done on here and it doesn't work out. Then hopefully it'll be just a point of adding the images I already have and then just getting the movements and so on and noises. Here's hoping eeeeeeeekkkkk Google is my best friend right now over this. 

Here's a screen shot of me in After Effects, I have just started to edit the first 40 seconds of my video. So far this has been alright, although I haven't started to add any movements to the graphics so far. But this is literally just how I have gotten on today. I am hoping to get a good bit done tomorrow, although this is going at a snails pace due to making the graphics, then adding the graphics to the video, as well as looking up millions of tutorials. I am still optimistic but this whole process so far I am actually terrified. I'm not too sure how this is going to work out. Although I haven't yet put up a time limit for this video, I can't imagine it being  any longer than 3 minutes. So currently this video is set at 3 mins, So I am able to cut the time, make the time longer if I need to. This may seem silly, But I am still figuring this whole thing out and I don't want to pressure myself. 

So yea scary stuff. Short blog today, hopefully more to show tomorrow or at least more development of the video. 

So,  I had my meeting today with my tutor, I ended up getting a lot of new ideas for my dissertation, so now going back and looking at my work.  I was also reminded of this part of my research a video by Annie  Leonard, she looked into where all are stuff comes from and where it goes when we throw it away. It is a very interesting video, I highly recommend you watch it: 

So as you can see there is a lot more to things and stuff than we originally thought. I was also asked a pretty big question today by my tutor, regarding my dissertation,  which was:

Q:    As a designer how I felt about happiness, especially when put in a scenario of working with a company specifically designed to sell people products they don't need. What would I do?

A:    I have to admit, I would take the job. We all need money to survive, to a certain degree. However, I would give back to my community in my spare time. I have previously volunteered at local charity shops, it was actually a lot of fun, and I met so many people. Giving things to charity and helping people, is not something I just simply write about. It is something that I already do. I encourage people to do the same.

And that's my answer and I'm sticking to it. I also gave my dissertation to my brother to read over. Mainly due to him continually nagging to see it. As he has already been through uni and written his own dissertation.  I have to admit as soon as I pressed send. I regretting everything. However I will admit, instead of him telling me everything I did was wrong, like i thought he was going to. He was incredibly helpful,  I actually think I will get a good grade on my dissertation now.  YAY!!!!! :)