Problem solving (Updated)
- 3. BACKING UP: I don’t want to lose any work through out my FMP. To prevent this from ever happening I must make sure that I regularly save my work and double check that I have multiple copies of it saved just in case I end up losing any work. Every time I do a bit of work I should make sure that I backup my work not only onto my laptop but also onto a spare memory stick. If I ever lose any work on my laptop due to a malfunction I can then retrieve the spare copy from my memory stick. WORKING AT HOME: At home I’m using an older version of Adobe rather than using the newer version at college. With my other FMP that I did during quarantine, I struggled with using the older version of software's I had on my laptop when I’m used to using the software in college. In order to fix this, I can either create the work on this laptop and then edit it at home. However a problem with this is that I won’t be able to edit it once again on my own laptop at home due to the software at college being more updated. The other suggestion is that I can do all of the work at home and then make any modifications and final touches when back at college.
- 4. EQUIPMENT: Since I have decided to create a fanzine for my final product in my FMP, I’m not sure if I’ll need any specific equipment aside from software such as Photoshop where I can create my experiments and then my final product. Other software to help the editing process will also be needed. If I decide for some reason to take photographs I will either need to use my phone or borrow one from college since I don’t own a good photography camera myself. If I plan to do any interviews and include them in my fanzine I must make sure I also have the correct equipment for that e.g. a voice recorder or my phone if in person. If I were to conduct interviews whilst we were still in quarantine then I would record via Microsoft Teams. SOFTWARE: At college I am used to using an updated version of Photoshop and the other software applications we’ve used in previous projects. My laptop at home however doesn’t have these updated software's meaning I will not have access to some things that I could have accessed at college. I must make sure that I back-up my work frequently so that if my software crashes I will not loose any of the work I had done previously.
- 5. STORAGE: On my memory stick I have all of the work I have completed during my time at York College. This includes my time doing my Level 2 course and now my Level 3 course work. This means that I don’t have as much storage as I would like on my memory stick. I can solve this by removing certain folders and work and putting them onto my laptop or even onto one of the college computers once we return. I could also take precaution and save some of my work onto SlideShare, a publishing software that is associated with LinkedIn. This website allows us to save work that we can then put onto our websites and various other places that examiners can see. If I save my work there then I won’t have to worry about deleting certain folders or putting them onto another computer. POWER: If there is a problem such as if my laptop at home or the computer I use at college crashes (or even if there is a power cut that forces me to loose work) I must make sure that I save my work regularly or even save the work prier in order to avoid losing this work. I could also save the work to SlideShare as stated previously, which will allow me to save the work and then upload it after.
- 6. Working At Home Due to the fact that we are now working from home due to COVID-19 I have encountered a few problems since we’ve been put into quarantine. Last year when we were also placed into quarantine I found myself having a few problems. One of the first issues was that the laptop I was using was severely outdated, meaning I was using older versions of software such as Photoshop and even PowerPoint. This meant that I was using versions of software that I was not used to having to use. If we end up going back to college during the start of production I think that my best option will be to try my best to get as much work done on the computers at college. If we end up going back into quarantine afterwards I must make sure that I export the file so that it will be compatible with the version I am using at home. I say this because there have been times where I have forgotten and been unable to open the work I had done at college at home. Making sure I do this is important because it means that I could be set back with production if I don’t. I could always bring my laptop to college to see if I can get the software updated (since the laptop I’m using belongs to college due to not having my own working laptop at home). Making sure that my work is backed up is important since it means that I would have wasted a full day of work.
- 7. Backing Up I don’t want to loose any work during this project, due to how important it is that we present any form of work during our time in quarantine. If my laptop crashes (or the software I’m using crashes instead) it will be difficult for me to replicate the same work I had done before. I hope to avoid this since it has happened to me a number of times during other projects, meaning that I was behind schedule and everyone else. When doing my experiments and my final product I would want to add as much detail as possible to make my work look as good as it possibly can, this can be hard to do when I have to re-do work all over again. To prevent this from happening I must make sure that I save my work frequently and even save multiple copies of the same file (I could also title each bit of work with a different date so that I don’t get confused as to which is which). This means that if I were to loose work I could always go back to one of the files I had created and resume from there. If I do end up losing work due to certain circumstances I think that it would have an overall large effect on my entire project. If this were to happen then I would have to spend more time re-doing work when I could be doing more practical things e.g. making my experiments and then evaluating them or even making my final product.
- 8. Software At college there are a large number of software’s that we’re able to use in order to create our final product(s) and even our experiments. One of the main software’s I use in particular is Photoshop. The type of software I use depends on the project that I’m doing at that time e.g. for my FMP I am creating a fanzine based around various artists and the illustration industry, so in order to create this I will need software such as Photoshop or InDesign. I hope that all of the software I plan to use through out this project will continue to work through out the whole duration. I say this because there have been times where I’ve worked hard on a piece of work but then the software crashes, causing me to lose all of the work I had created. This also an issue as it means that I would be further behind everyone else in terms of work. This is something that I would love to avoid during this project. I don’t think that losing one bit of work will impact me greatly however that time I would have to spend re-doing that specific bit of work could’ve been used to do something else e.g. create and evaluate another experiment or doing further research into chosen area. It wouldn’t effect me greatly in terms of time but could have a large impact on my work value and how much detail I could’ve added.
- 10. WEATHER/LOCATION: Since my project is based around art and illustration, I don’t think that the aspect of weather and location is something that I really need to consider. However if I wanted to, for some reason, include real-life images in my fanzine I would want to make sure that I’m prepared to do that e.g. making sure that the weather is perfect for when taking my photos and making sure that I don’t get in the way of anyone either. This is because there is a possibility that we may still be in lockdown during the production phase, meaning that I would have to be careful as to not disturb or annoy anyone during the pandemic. PRODUCTION TIME: Making sure that I meet my FMP deadline is important, which is why making sure I hand in all of my work on time is also important since it will allow me to get feedback quicker and improve my work faster. One of the most important weeks in my FMP will be the week of our production, which is why it’s important that I get all of my work completed so that I have nothing to worry about when it comes to production time. This also means making sure I complete all feedback I have been given to make my work as good as possible.
- 11. PRINTING: I think that I would want to have my fanzine printed. I’m not sure if this is something that college is able to provide or if I will have to seek someone out in order to get it printed. If I want to get my product printed I must make sure that it’s appealing in terms of how it looks but also the contents I’ve included inside of my fanzine. Having a printed copy of a project that I worked hard for is good since I’ll be able to potentially use it in applications in the future. Because of this I must make sure that my product is a good as it can possibly be. The feedback that I receive will help me to do this. INTERVIEWS: In my product, one of the main aspects is discussing the different art/illustration in many different countries/communities. In order to get other peoples opinions, I could conduct interviews and put them into my fanzine. This could give me an idea as to how members of the general public feel about these particular artists/illustrations. I have conducted interviews in the past to get an idea as to how my audience would feel about my fanzine in terms of colour/style. However this time I think I will try a more detailed interview where I will ask questions related to the topic I am using for my fanzine rather than asking about the fanzine itself.
- 12. Production Time The plan for my FMP is to create a fanzine based around art and illustration from various industries and countries. I think that the kind of style of fanzine I would like to create and the amount of page I want are achievable. I hope to get a lot of work of good standard done during this time. If I don’t complete this work in my production time, I can always use my weekends in order to catch and/or finish any work I should have already completed. If I am really desperate for time, I will more than likely just work the whole weeks when I can in order to complete the work and get it submitted. Since we’re working from home due to being in quarantine, I’m sure that there will be moments where my project will go wrong or I lose some form of work e.g. there will always be a problem with Photoshop on the laptop and it will more than likely crash at some point during this project. I think that one of the worst impacts that could effect my project will be running out of time. If it turns out that I’m running out of time then it means that it would be more than likely that I wouldn’t make as good a final production as I would have hoped. However this problem can be easily solved by making sure that I meet all deadlines and get all of the work done.
- 13. Interviews In the past I have only conducted interviews in order to see what my audience likes about my product as well as what they would improve. This is the same with my surveys. However everytime I have decided to conduct an interview or survey the amount of responses I got were very scarce. Since I don’t own any social media aside from Snapchat, I think it would be difficult to collect responses for my audience and I don’t plan on creating an account of social media (e.g. Instagram) just for the sake of this project, mainly because I don’t think that it’s worth it. As someone who is interested in the product I’m making (e.g. in terms of the art/illustrations I’ve researched) I know what my audience would like without having to conduct yet another survey just to get some responses that I may not like or want to include in my own product. When I conduct these interviews will depend on my work e.g. if I receive feedback and am able to fix it fairly quickly then I will prioritize that over the interviews in order to make sure I get the grade and don’t forget to do that bit of work.
- 14. Art/Drawing Skills Although I’m not too good at it, I know a few skills and techniques that are used in drawing e.g. the basics of how to draw characters. I’m not sure if this is something that I will need when creating my final product, however it is something to consider doing. Even though I’m able to draw at home, I’m unable to scan those drawings in and use them as my experiments. This means that I will have to try and use different options (e.g. using Photoshop and/or other software) in order to create my experiments. Once we return to college I will attempt to do some sketching and scan them in so I’m able to add them to my list of experiments. I also think that drawing/using software that allows me to draw will help me to decide on my final colour scheme for my product. Since my product includes an array of art work and illustrations I think that using bright/vibrant colours will suit my product the best. However I could overall determine my colour scheme based on the schemes I’ve seen in various products. Another reason I think that this is a good idea is that I could potentially include my own drawings of the artwork and illustrations I’ve found and incorporate them into my own artwork. This will make my product seem more uniqe rather than just talking about different art styles and not attempting to creating any of my own.
- 15. Techniques This links to the previous slide where I spoke about attempting to recreate the artwork and illustrations I’ve seen/looked at during researching existing products. As stated previously, it will be difficult for me to currently do this due to COVID-19 since I’m unable to scan work without the necessary equipment. However I could always try and see if there is any software that will allow me to draw (e.g. Photoshop and/or some other product I’m able to use for free). Speaking of techniques, during my time using Photoshop I learned that there are an array of tools that I can use to create a variety of different patterns e.g. using the shape tools, and/or the line tools. The different brushes also have a level of boldness so, for example, if I started using the thin brush in order to create a border for the cover of my fanzine I would then be able to switch to a much bolder brush in order to do some kind of outline and/or add any necessary detail. This will allow me to make a front cover and/or any page(s) of fanzine look more appealing and less simplistic. There are also a list of different effects that I’m able to use on imagery. This means that with coloured images I will be able to turn them back into their original black and white imagery. From there I will be able to compare the two to see how it looks and if it looks similar to the original.
- 16. Experiments
- 17. Text Experiment(s) https://fontmeme.com/ I think that the style and colour of text I use in my experiments as well as in my final product is important. That’s why I decided that one of my first experiments would have to do with my choice of text. These experiments will allow me to see what text looks good and what I think will work best with my fanzine and the overall theme. The type of font(s) I decide to use will depend on the imagery that I want to include. This means that I should also reconsider my choice of colour scheme depending on the type of imagery I want to use.
- 18. I am familiar with this sort of font style as I have used it in previous projects, so I’m aware of how it looks based on what I’ve made before. As said previously I think that brighter and more vibrant colours will work best with my fanzine since the type of art and illustration I’m using is also of the same colour scheme. I like the overall style of this font. It’s quite cursive but doesn’t stand out as much as a lot of different fonts do. Some strengths of this particular font style is it’s not too bold and you’re able to clearly tell what the title is saying. The problem with some fonts I’ve seen is that although I like the overall look I sometimes can’t tell what the text is clearly seeing.
- 19. One thing that I noticed straight away with this particular text is that there is a large gap between ‘art’ and then the bottom two words. I think that this is something that makes the overall font look less appeal since I would have preferred if it all of the text were close together. I like the cursive aspects of the font but the fact that there is such a large gap with the text makes it look a lot less appealing, which is a shame since I liked how the text initially looked. The problem with the gap could be avoided if I chose a different title that is all one word. This is good because it will allow me to think of an variety of different titles and then later on chose the one I like the most (or one that fits well with my fanzine/chosen topic). Another downside of this font is the style (as in I dislike the heart used to dot the I). Although I want my fanzine to bright and vibrant I also want it to look somewhat formal, I think that this font makes it look a lot more informal.
- 20. My Issue with COVID-19 (and with this particular laptop and using Adobe software) One of the biggest problems I have faced will continue to struggle with through out quarantine is the outdated Photoshop and how it always crashes when I open it, attempt to create a new file or when I try and create anything. This is a big problem because not only does it limit to what I’m currently able to create for my experiments but also for when it comes to making my final product. Due to COVID-19 we’ve unable to come into college meaning that I have had been using a laptop I have borrowed from college since the first national lockdown the previous year (this being because I don’t have my own working laptop). The laptop itself works fine however it always seems to crash whenever I use any Adobe software like Photoshop. Which is unfortunate since it’s the main software I am needing to use to not only create my experiments but my final product as well. Hopefully we will be back at college by the time for our final production. However if this is not the case then I will have to try and find some alternative method of creating my product before then. My experiments will be ongoing until I find a suitable replacement for Photoshop for the meantime e.g. PicsArt, a free online editor.
- 21. Photoshop Issues + Other Issues As explained on a previous slide, the laptop I am using is rather old meaning that I am using outdated versions of software (e.g. Photoshop, PowerPoint). This isn’t exactly an issue since I’m still able to use them. I can also easily edit them once we’re back at college, making sure that I covert them first (this is because the college computers use the latest version of the software's, so if I were to save it without converting it then I wouldn’t be able to open the file at home). Even though I’m able to use theses software’s at home I mentioned previously that it’s difficult for me to use them. One of the main reasons of this being that the software, particularly Photoshop, seems to crash whenever I try to use it. This has happened a numerous amount of times especially during my attempted experiments (one of the main reasons why I suggested that I should find some back up form of software to create my experiments). However yet another problem I have with this laptop is that it constantly disconnects from the Internet. I’m not too sure if this is because of my Wi-Fi, where I am in my house, or the laptop in general. Because of these issues it has been extremely difficult to attempt to make any experiments. I can only assume that this will be a problem in the future when making my final product. During the time before we start to create our final products, I will make a sort of plan as to how I can resolve this issue (e.g. seeing if I can somehow update Photoshop or even the laptop. or I could try and work in different places in my house to see if the connection gets any better.
- 22. How I Will Solve These Certain Issues Due to these issues said previously I have had to think quite long and hard about what I will do in order to fix this issue (the issue being with Adobe crashing and lack of internet connection on this laptop – hence why I don’t have any experiments from Photoshop currently. and I do emphasize on the word ‘currently’). Because of the work I was given (e.g. catching up with work and/or reading through my feedback and making changes as well as going work for my Maths GCSE, which isn’t as important at this moment in time) I have had little time to look into my issues with Photoshop and find a clear solution. However I have found a few websites online that I can use as a sub until I’m able to resolve the issue (PicsArt comes to my mind first since it’s free and I have experience with it – not on the laptop version though). As for my internet connection and how it keeps dropping from laptop I’m not too sure how I will be able to fix this since it doesn’t seem like something that I myself can fix. It is most likely an issue either with my Wi-Fi or the laptop itself (something I’m incapable of fixing myself). The best way I can resolve this issue is by making sure that I constantly have work backed up and saved. It will allow me to always go back to previous work in case I lose any due to these issues.
- 24. The Process (1/3) Although we’ve been told to experiment with things we haven’t before I have had no choice but to try and re-use things that I’ve done in the past due to the issues explained in previous slides. These experiments are more or less ‘mock-ups’ so that it is shown that I have handed in the work. I have a dedicated day – the 24th – to fixing these issues and creating better experiments. Explaining the issues I’ve had and what I am having to do in order to fix them is the reason as to why there are so many pages regarding Adobe and other things. Telling my issues will help to show why my experiments aren’t currently as good as one would anticipate. As stated, this will change on the 24th where I will be using the full day to completely fix everything and truly create better experiments. These experiments are just currently here to show that I have done something. To validate that I have, in fact, been doing work.
- 25. The Process (2/3) • ‘Cutout’ is a texture that can be found in the Filter Gallery on Photoshop. • The different number of levels, edge simplicity and edge fidelity you choose will change the overall image. • Using a work from Aka Akasaka has allowed me to change his art style into something different. • Using ‘cmd’ and ‘F4’ I was able to transform the colour of the image into black and white. (as seen on the next page)
- 26. The Process (3/3) As stated previously this style of technique is something that I am familiar with as I have used in experiments in other projects. Taking an image from Aka Akasaka’s work has allowed me to transform it into, what I call, ‘the manga form of the adaption’. What I mean by this is that the colourful images come from the animated adaptation of this series, meaning that it would all be in colour without any sort of black and white shading. However the original manga style is all in black and white. By using this combination I was able to revert an image from the animation into what it would more than likely look like in the original manga form. I think that this sort of style is what I’m looking for when thinking about my own fanzine and what my fanzine is about. I also haven’t seen many people come up with the idea of reverting animation adaptations back to their manga form. I think that it’s an interesting concept as a whole. This style of work isn’t perfect and will more or less look repetitive if I use it constantly in my final product. A strength of this style is that it completely changes the look of the image, so instead of bright and vibrant colours it now seems darker and more monotone. Another strength is that this style is very easy to accomplish since the Filter Gallery is quite simple. It’s certainly a good style but I’m not sure that I will use it for a lot of my fanzine since I could become repetitive. (Please note that these aren’t the final experiments so don’t think of them as a ‘final experiment’ they’re basically just mock-ups – hence why they’re not all that great to be honest).
- 28. The Process The process of this experiment was exactly the same as the one previously. However, as you’re able to tell, the outcome wasn’t what I had expected. In the end all the texture did was change the overall colour of the image. No matter what number I set it to it wouldn’t change. I think that this is something that I’m glad I learned about, since it means that not all photos will turn out the same way. This means that the overall process may be potentially different with each photo I use. The image is a piece of illustration create by the artist Hiro Mashima. I found this particular image when looking into some different imagery. What caught my attention about the image was how similar to how a magazine would look. When creating my actual experiments soon I will attempt to recreate this image myself to see if I like the layout and if it’s something that I could inspiration from. This will also allow me to see the different kinds of layouts I can make for my front cover. I can also think about double page spreads as well.