Self Expression (Week 30 – 31)

“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.” ~Ernest Hemingway

We have entered the final stretch in the school year. It is time for you to start showing me what you know. It is time for you to sell me on what grade you want. It is time for you to be creative and express yourself through your projects. There is not going to be the same step by step hand holding at this point. If you don’t know how to do something, ask another student or use Google. Your job is to be able to create a WOW project without me telling you step by step.

New Media

You should have worked your way through the Intro to Photoshop stuff. Now it is time to apply what your learned, especially in regards to compositing (layer masking). You will be blending together at least two animals to make a new species. A significant portion of the grade will be on how realistic your new animal looks. You may need to use the burn, smudge, or other tools to fine tune your image and make it as realistic as possible. Also, you may want to copy the final merged layer and experiment with filters to make a cool effect.

Multimedia Design

Your task the rest of the semester is to show me what you have learned. You are to design your own projects. You will need to look for inspiration on what you want to do. Most likely you will have to find tutorials on the Internet to learn additional techniques. The purpose of the independent projects is to WOW me. If you fail to WOW me, your grade will be severely impacted. This IS NOT FREE TIME. Your grade will drop rapidly if you fail to heed this advice.

You may create an animation using Flash. You may work on 3D Design projects in Blender. You may create advanced illustrations. You may create masterpieces in Photoshop. Whatever you choose to work on, remember that I will be grading these tougher than anything else all year.

You may want browse the Valhalla Student Galleries for some ideas.