Gif Challenge

Gif Animation Challenge:

Choose one of the subjects below to animate in the most awesome way evar FOR EXTRA CREDIT. You will be graded on the sheer AWESOMNESS of your animation:

• A cat is typing on a computer keyboard and knocks the computer off the table in frustration
• Ronald Reagan is riding on an ostrich at full gallup and shooting jelly beans out of his eyes
• Godzilla/King Kong/Mechagodzilla is a DJ spinning records on a turntable in a dance club
• A celebrity of your choice removes their face as if it were a halloween mask to reveal a reptilian creature beneath
• A giant ferret/raccoon/beaver begins to wreck a city, knocking over skyscrapers
• Find a short video clip of a sword fight and replace the swords with Light Sabers (WARNING: The shorter the better, trust me on this one... 1 second of video has 30 frames and you have to draw red and blue lines on each frame 1 by 1, this subject is not for the newbies)
• Add LAZER EYES to any video clip (aka cyclops effect)

LASER CAT COMPELS YOU TO COMPLETE THE GIF CHALLENGE!

Examples:

Design Animation for the Gif Format

Hello Students,

Your new assignment is an introduction to making animated Gifs, and harnessing your skills to create a more elaborate animation or a cinemagraph style gif.

What is an animated Gif?:

A Gif file is a web safe file format that has a cool feature, it can have different frames like a video, you can also change the playback speed and duration per frame. Unfortunately they can't have sound.You can do some really cool stuff with Gif's!

More examples:
 http://fluxmachine.tumblr.com/

What is a Cinemagraph?:
A Cinemagraph is just a fancy digital media term for an animated Gif that has the appearance of a still image (graph) with small portions of the image appearing to be moving or appear to be animated (cinema) usually in a seamless or near seamless loop. Some Cinemagraphs will loop the animation constantly, some repeat with a delay to give the viewer a surprise when the photo they are looking at suddenly turns and looks back at them or blinks like the example below.

Credit: Brandon Keener
This cinemagraph was created from a video, shortened, repeated and reversed in order to loop.

Gif Assignment: Part A - Create a Gif

Simple animatics can be made as gifs, and they are also small in file size. Get 5 bonus points on your assignment for emailing each person/character in the cartoon above to your instructor.

• Create a simple frame by frame animation, use your creativity!
• Create an animated gif, use the layers to frames method to create a simple frame by frame animation. Create at least 10 frames of animation.
• Use of found imagery is allowed for Part A only
• Follow the instructions below as a rough guide only. There are several ways to make animated gifs in photoshop
• This is just a quick project to get you used to creating gifs. The final gif must display on your blog full size in order for animation to work, so make sure the image size is small enough, perhaps around 500 pixels wide
• When the animation is complete use the Save for Web feature in Photoshop. Set the file type to gif, adjust your colors and looping options and post to your blog when done

This gif was created from video. A camera on a tripod was used. The motion was repeated. In photoshop a mask was created to isolate the body while letting the arm show motion.

Gif Assignment: Part B - Create a Cinemagraph 

Gif Challenge: Design an animated gif that loops seamlessly using video/photography sources created by yourself

• Create a longer animation this time that loops perfectly with a series of photographs or video footage. 
• Use original content for this part of the assignment
• For photos, use the Continuous Shooting mode on a camera for rapid fire shooting of frames. A Video camera on a tripod may also be used, photoshop can read video files although working with frames and video is different with photoshop
• For a Cinemagraph style animation Try to create an effect where just one part of the image is moving, such as eyes moving/blinking or the head turns and looks at the camera. Think of actions or motions that are repeatable for your cinemagraph to loop properly
• Check out Cinemagraph Tutorial for tips on making cinemagraph style images.

How to make an animated Gif with Photoshop CS5:

• Launch Photoshop
• FILE / OPEN a new document at your desired size, I made mine at 200X180 Pixels. It's a good idea not to make Gif files too large, otherwise they can take along time to load over an internet connection.
• Your animation can be a series of images, photos etc. You can hand draw each frame the animation also. The key is to set up separate layers that you will turn into frames of animation. Im using some pictures I took of my dog.

• Click your top Layer, then while holding SHIFT click on your bottom Layer to select all layers
• On your Animation Palette Sub-Menu select Make Frames From Layers
• If you don't see individual frames in your Animation Palette, go to the Sub-Menu and select Convert To Frame Animation
• You can now designate individual durations on each frame.
• Go to FILE / SAVE FOR WEB AND DEVICES to export your animation as an animated Gif file. Make sure to set your looping options to forever.

• Open your Gif file in a web browser to test it. Here's my result:

Cinemagraph Photoshop Process:

This is my Cinemagraph. My first frame of animation pauses for 5 seconds before animating.

• Setup your frames of animation as Layers from the bottom up. The bottom Layer will be the first frame of animation

• You should have 1 layer as the "still image" background and then your other animated layers above
• On the Animation Sub-Menu choose "Convert to Frame Animation"

• You can set durations here, but if you want to animate your layers go to the Animation Palette Sub-Menu and choose "Convert to Timeline"

• Your layers are animated across the timeline, you can select a layer and change its opacity to be visible for a longer duration.  Open a layer in the Animation Palette to see its animation attributes. You can adjust when certain layers are visible in your animation frames here. Look at the keyframes in the Opacity value.

• Play your animation to test
• Resize so Gif file can display on your blog at 100% size

Previous Student Work Samples:

 

How to Write a Good GREAT Letter of Introduction

Hello Students,

Your next assignment is to create a "Letter of Introduction" that describes you! Your special traits, qualities, hobbies, and personal, educational and career goals. List your top 5 skills and abilities. It should consist of at least one page. Make sure to use correct spelling and grammar.

Letter of Introduction Assignment:

• This is an introduction letter, about you, written to people that may be viewing your portfolio.
• Should be about 1 page long.
• Letter should be free of typo's, spelling and grammar errors.
• Follow the examples in the Portfolio Handbook and include the information listed below...

You letter should include:

• Who you are
• Where you are currently attending school
• What courses you are currently enrolled in aside from standard courses (such as this ROP class your in right now)
• Your top 5 work related skills
• Special acknowledgments from employers/instructors
• Future education plans
• Hobbies or other activities you enjoy
• Discuss what is contained in your portfolio
• Discuss the type of work/projects/activities you enjoy the most in school

Sample Introduction Letter:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John Star

242 Crest St.

Capitola, CA 95010

(831) 553-2323

jostar@yahoo.com

Date

To Whom It May Concern:

I am currently attending Santa Cruz High School where I will be graduating this year in June. I have enrolled in ROP classes, which are business-oriented. ROP classes have given me a closer look at the business world and I have learned excellent work skills. 

My top five work skills are:

• Excellent communication skills with strong listening skills
• Responsible and reliable with attention to detail
• Strong team player who thrives in teamwork situations
• Good computer skills
• Excellent time management skills

I have received special acknowledgement from my employers for strong skills and work ethics.

I recently was accepted to CalPoly and plan to go there in the Fall and pursue a degree in Agribusiness. After receiving my degree, I plan to work in my family’s strawberry farming business. Eventually, I hope to be the president of the business. I have many hobbies including surfing, skiing and playing baseball but most of all, I enjoy riding my horse up in the hills. It gives me a sense of freedom and independence.

My portfolio shows some of the skills and abilities I have acquired in while attending Soquel High School and throughout my work experience. I have always enjoyed landscaping and have enrolled in the Horticulture class for my last semester of high school. From my past experience you will notice that I enjoy working especially when I leave the job better than it was when I first got there. I have been doing tree work for three years and have worked for commercial and residential customers. Thoroughness and safety are some of my favorite qualities.

Included in this portfolio, is my resume summarizing my schooling, work experience, and skills. In addition I have a list of references, letters of recommendation, and samples of my work. I hope you enjoy reviewing my portfolio.

Sincerely,

John Star

- Complete your letter of introduction and add it to your Portfolio project!

 - Mr.W

Design and Create an Original Magazine Cover

Hello Students,

Your new assignment is a combination of using Digital Photography and 3 programs to create one product, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign. Find a high resolution image and process the photo with filters if you wish in photoshop and use it to design an original magazine cover with Adobe Indesign. You will create additional artistic elements with Illustrator as well. This project is a good lesson in utilizing multiple software tools. You need to use original photos and content!

Part 1 - Launch and Explore InDesign

• If you are confident with Indesign you can skip ahead, if you feel you need more familiarity with Indesign than read through and try out all the tools in Indesign before proceeding.
• Go to the dock and launch InDesign, or look in your Applications folder to find the app
• Go to the File Menu and create a New Document
• Go to the Window Menu and set your Workspace to Advanced
• Explore the tool bar, click on the text tool and draw a text box to create text, try the shape tools and look for the color modifiers to change colors
• Open all the palettes under the Window Menu and explore all the functions, look at the quick guides below for reference
• See if you can create text of different sizes, change the colors, modify the text kerning and tracking and draw shapes in different colors and with different borders

Hidden Tools and Shortcut Keys

Character Formatting Panel In InDesign

Paragraph Formatting Panel in InDesign

Part 2 - Magazine Cover Design Project:

• Think up a magazine topic and title for your cover design, create a simple pencil sketch of the cover including all photos, art, titles, headers, text insets Your magazine must have a title header that is created in Illustrator, a cover photo that has been post-processed in Photoshop, a photo inset, text headlines with effects created with Indesign. It should also include all details such as month, date, edition number, etc.
• When you design is ready grab a camera and shoot your cover photo, use Photoshop to post process the image for your cover. Crop, colorize, convert to black and white, use filters for an illustration look.... do something creative with your cover image
• Design your magazine title with Illustrator, spend time making the typography and any illustrative elements look perfect. Consider colors that will blend well with your cover image
• Create decorative borders or inset elements with Illustrator
• Set up your document in Indesign for standard letter size.... import all your different elements and begin arranging them on the page.... create any additional typographic elements in Indesign... use colors that are complimentary and read well.
• Add your image insets and additional details for a polished look, make it perfect!
• If you need some standards to go by or some inspiration, check out this tutorial: Magazine cover design tutorial with Indesign

Here is the progression of my magazine cover design. I took the photo, processed it with Photoshop, added colorful borders in Illustrator and brought it into Indesign to create my magazine cover design.

Designs are due Friday, this should be another great design piece for your portfolio!

 - Mr.W


Student Examples: