Audacity Certificate

Week 5 Blog

I used old photos that I wanted used as wallpapers and posters.  I took most of the pictures with my girlfriends Nikon D3200 and my iPhone 6.  Some images I created myself, and a couple were taken by my good friend. After using GIMP this past month, I have noticed a few benefits and flaws to the software.

When I first began playing with GIMP, I noticed that it was incredibly simple to move around images on different layers without having to manually select an image on a specific layer.  This is VERY handy when making minor adjustments.  I really found that the interface was simple to use.  Whenever I was looking for a tool, I was able to hover my cursor over an icon and I would provide a summary (I really noticed this when I could not find the Clone Tool and was mistaking it for the Perspective Clone Tool).  Another benefit was the endless amount of support for the program.  I cruised around r/GIMP quite a bit and found plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

It really, really frustrates me that I am not able to create shapes with it.  Yes, I understand that it is an image manipulation program, however it's disappointing that it lacks basic shape tools that even MS Paint has.  With the interface, I wish that the Dockable Dialogs were floating.  I found it annoying when I had the workspace full screen, the windows would disappear in behind the workspace.  I worked around this by just shrinking the main window and sucking it up.  I eventually found that I can enter Single-Window Mode; a mode that contains all Dockable Dialogs on one giant window.  I believe that this is a feature that Photoshop does not have.

There are many tools that I have not used yet and I look forward to delving deeper into the program now that I actually have an image manipulation program.

Assignment 2

In each of the groups below, the photo on the left is the original image.  The photo on the right is the edited/manipulated image.

This image is an old picture of my Volkswagen Golf when I was going through my "stance" phase.  In this image, I adjusted the Brightness/Contrast to brighten up the image.  I created a text overlay for my buddy's photography company and changed it's opacity.  I also used the Clone Tool to clean up the stone chips that were in my wheel.

Once again, I chose to edit an old photo of my Golf from a meet that we had in Saskatoon.  In this image, I adjusted the Hue/Saturation to create a more vibrant image, accentuating the graffiti in the background (not necessary, I know).  I also placed a watermark on the photo to promote my friend.

I play bass guitar in a Rock and Country cover band called "The Bush Pies" alongside John Germs.  We were requested to submit band photos, however we did not have any recent ones.  I pulled up an old photo from an old shoot and decided to manipulate it.  In this image, I cropped the original photo and put a text overlay on to promote our band.  For the text, I chose a colour that best matched the building in the back and placed a light shadow on it.

I have a friend that has an old Volkswagen Caddy that wanted to see what it would be like if it was lowered.  I was able to achieve this by using the Free Select Tool.  I selected around the fenders, under the vehicle, up and around the entire image to essentially cut the picture in half.  I was then able to bring down the top half of the picture to "lower" the truck.  Once this was completed, I used the Free Select Tool again on the back window and adjusted the brightness.  To finish up the image, I added a Vignette, which darkened the corners of the photo adding a nice "Top Gear esque" feel.

I created a banner for our band Facebook page by using a bush pie iron and manipulating the image.  I used the Clone Tool to get rid of the cast text in the iron.  Once the area was completely clear, I created 3D text to sit inside the void.  The text was adjusted to add perspective and was completed by following a guide online.  From there, I changed the colour of the font and made in translucent.  To finish off the image, I used the Clone Tool again to extend the rods on the iron and added text.

My Mom and Dad went to Mexico last winter and have been wanting one of their pictures blown up into a Poster.  For this image, I began by getting rid of everyone on the beach by using the Clone Tool.  I then change the brightness of the image so that it didn't look so dull.  I completed the image by adjusting the Hue/Saturation to make it more vibrant.  I was able to print this out onto 18x24 photo paper at Staples and it is now hanging in my Mom and Dad's kitchen.

My Girlfriend is a second year teaching whom is slowly developing her teaching resources and establishing different classroom management tools.  She had recalled a tool that one of her former teachers used to use.  On evening, we created this graphic that she now uses in her classroom.  The images are clip art that were found on Google Image Search.  

We recently purchased a house and have put A LOT of work in these past few months.  There is still a significant amount of work that still needs to be done, however I used GIMP to see what the finish product may look like.  For the grass, I used the Clone Tool and Smudge Tool to spread it around to see what it would look like with fresh sod.  I used the Clone Tool to clean up the gable, get rid of the railway ties, and remove the football lights by the roof.  I used the Fuzzy Select tool to select the recently poured concrete driveway and adjusted the Hue/Saturation as well as the Brightness/Contrast to match it up with the preexisting concrete.  I will be using this edited image for future plans.

As a band, we recently decided to put some money together to have a logo put on the drummer's kick drum.  I found out very, very quickly how difficult it was to create shapes in GIMP, however I was able to get do it by using different tutorials and walkthroughs.  What I learned is, you can make circles with the Ellipse Select Tool and squares/rectangles with the Rectangle Select Tool.  I used many layers to create the images.  I began by making the pie iron first, merging the layers, then copying it to wherever I needed.  Once this was completed, I added the text.  The band ended up choosing the first image.  Although it was the most time consuming image, it was the most rewarding.

Shea took her students to the Hannigan Honey farm this past month as part of her Bee unit.  In order for parent drivers to get there, she needed to supply them with a map.  I was able to create one from a screen shot of Highway 55/Shellbrook on the Maps Application on my Mac.  From there, I edited the photo by cropping out the Grab window and using the Rectangle Select Tool to build the lines.  I then, rotated the lines, changed their colour to green and added in text for each point of reference.



Self Assessment for Assignment 2:

Visual Aesthetics                     20/20
Variety of Tools Used              19/25
Creativity                                 23/25
Posted with Information         15/15
Overall Quality                        14/15

Total: 91/100

Week 4 Blog

First off, I was completely blown away by Lynda.  That is an incredible resource that I wish I knew that I had access to sooner.  It can be very overwhelming to learn a new program.  

GIMP is magical.  I never knew that an open-source program of it's caliber existed (other than Linux and that whole cheeseball); especially one that that can compete with a $700 program such as Adobe's Photoshop.  The beautiful thing about open-source software is that there is plenty of support. I don't know about anyone else but I have stopped over at r/gimp (SFW) a few times when Lynda didn't help me.

I have some experience using Photoshop from when I was in high school.  From what I've learned then and what I have learned from Lydia, I can see that the tools and the interface is very similar.  It is, in sense, like riding a bike.  I am excited to hone my skills now that it is on my computer and develop band posters and potential renovation ideas for our home.  As for the classroom, I feel that my Practical and Applied Arts 8 and 9 students would really benefit from using this program to manipulate photos, while being taught to do so in an appropriate and safe manner.

GIMP Certificate

Assignment 1

Hey everyone,

I have completed assignment 1 and it is ready for your viewing pleasure.  Please feel free to use this at any time when coaching football.  Remember that this is a document that can be edited; you may make changes as you need in the future (just save it as a new document).

My assignment is based on the fundamentals for a receiver in football.

Self Assessment for Assignment 1:

Visual Aesthetics 35%       31/35
Procedural Tasks 25%       23/25
Presenter Notes 25%         23/25
Overall Quality 15%           13/15

Total: 90/100