Monogram Project
The first project we did in October was the monogram project. A monogram is when you take one or two of your initials and create a design around them. So, I began doing some thumbnail sketches using both of my initials (G and M), but they all looked bad. This was my least favorite part of the project because I really wanted to use both initials, but it just was not working. I was really disappointed. I could not figure out a design that incorporated both initials, so I dropped the G and focused on M. The first sketch I did of the M was a simple bubble letter. And, the second I did that, the idea came to me; a Nintendo 64 controller. We have an N64 at my house, so I was very familiar with the shape and form of it. I then took this idea and made my rough sketch. After this, I went onto Adobe Illustrator and began making it. After a few days of working on illustrator, I was finally finished. The only mistake I made was that the outside line is somewhat rough. If I had more time, I would love to go back and fix it. With that being said, it was difficult to tell that the controller was an M. The detail and execution was good, you just could not look at it and go "oh, it`s an M". So, to fix this, I simply thickened the outside line from 2 point to 4 four (essentially doubling the outside thickness). This single action was probably my favorite part of the whole project because it was the moment when everything came together. Before, it was just an N64 controller. But now, it's an N64 controller AND an M. When I printed out my final product, the printer messed up and printed a section on the middle handle wrong. I told my teacher about it and he said that it was the printer's fault and not mine, so I would not be deducted points. I received an 87% on this project, which I am content with. I was shooting for an A, but an 87% will do.
Maze Project
The next project we did was the maze project. With this project, we had to pick a theme and difficulty level that would be appropriate for children (ages 5-8). I chose to do Christmas, with Santa finding his toy bag. So, I started by just drawing lines in hopes that it would become a maze. And, to my luck, it did. This would probably be the one thing I would change about the project. I could have come up with a better maze if I tried harder. I then went online and found a picture of Santa and Santa's toy bag. After this, I copy and pasted the images into my document. So, I`m done now, right? I have to maze complete along with two pictures that go along with the theme. Well, not quite. Our teacher wanted us to trace each shape within each picture and then put all the pieces together, creating a less appealing image of the picture we already had. Our teacher explained to us why we had to do this, but I forget. I just know that this was my least favorite part of the whole project because it took so long. Just recreating the pictures took 2 days. But, after I finally finished doing that, I was technically done with the project. But, one problem; the background was a boring white. So, to change this, I went online and found a picture of snowflakes falling, copied and pasted it into my document, then traced the outline of them with the pen tool. After this, I set the opacity down on it, then copied and pasted it so I had a few, then arranged them on my document. This was my favorite part of my project because it was easy and made the entire thing look ten times better. So, I was finally finished my children's maze. The kids begin at Santa, work their way through the maze, and finish at his toy bag. I received a 94% on this project, and I am very happy of that grade.
Logo Project
The last project we did in October was the logo project. With this project, we had to design our own logo or change an existing one, create this logo using Adobe Illustrator, then write a paragraph on the background of the company. I chose to design my own logo, so I starting doing some rough sketches. My original thought was to do a construction company, but this somehow morphed into a tropical vacation idea. The mind is a strange thing. So, I came up with a company called " Paradise Island Resorts ", with their logo being a beach chair shaded by a palm tree on a small island. This is was least favorite part of this project because I really dislike brainstorming ideas, drawing each of them, then doing a rough sketch of the best one. It`s so tedious and gets old after awhile. So, after I was finished with all of that, it was on to Illustrator. To make the logo, I inserting some basic shapes for the ocean and island. I then made a text box on the top and bottom for " Paradise Island" and " Resorts", respectively and warped the shape of the words so that it wraps round the ocean. After this, I made the palm tree, beach chair, and the ocean waves. If I could change one thing about this project, it would be the palm tree and beach chair. They both look sloppy, and I could have done a better job on them if I tried harder. This whole process of creating the logo on Illustrator took about 3 days. The last step was to write a company background. So do to this I just went into Google Docs and typed up a quick background paragraph. This was my favorite part of the project because I enjoy writing, and it was really fun to imagine a background for a fictitious company that I created. I received a 97% on this project, and I am extremely proud and happy of that grade.