Photo Assessment: Animated Walking Cycle

In my CyberArts class this year we are assigned to do our own project based on photography. I have struggled to find a concept because of everything that has been happening recently in my life. I was going to do four separate canvases with more industrial elements.  Skulls, keys, gears, tools and small pieces of machinery. It was supposed to show the change and transitions through life. The pain I have experienced through my short life. I don't understand why things need to change or why they do but that is part of life and will remain a mystery.

My new concept is people. How we are all similar yet different by what we look like. Everyone, potentially has the same motive and works the same way. I am going to be taking several photos, each a unique person. It will be of a movement. Each frame will be turned into an animation of several different people creating one unique walking cycle. I will be updating this post with pictures and hopefully the animation at some point.

The main challenge I experienced was taking the photos all in one period, making sure everyone who participated showed up and that everyone was lined up evenly.  When editing, only six frames worked because one student broke the chain. The others that followed did not line up smoothly with the rest. out of the eleven images I shot, I was only able to use the six. All in all the actual animation is fluid and came out better than I was expecting.

I will be updating it with the animation soon!

Animated GIF Assignment

What it looks like on a webpage with the background and quote.

 
Our assignment was to find a meaningful part of a movie, television show or video game (cinematic) that brought a lot of emotion. This project taught me how to use frames and masks in Photoshop.

The animation was cut down by about 300 frames to 11 frames that would be repeated. I am very glad how it turned out. The animation is really smooth and has no noticeable flaws. I faced trouble cutting the size, which is why I needed to use masks. Since there was a verity of colours, I needed to take a few out so the file would be small enough.

In the beginning, my teacher thought this was going to be a mess. In all honesty, a challenge. She told me the colour was too vibrant and bold, that I needed to find meaning behind the actual scene and that it would be a struggle to actually mask the full moving Oliver because it is not subtle. He is bouncing around like a jelly bean!!

For the background I used Colours revolving around the whole theme. The oranges, blacks and grays. I was trying to go for city streets; the movie takes place in New York.

The film is about Oliver, who is a stray kitten raised and protected by dogs. He then learns the ropes and secrets of the city while on adventures with them and a homeless man named Fagin.

The symbolic meaning behind this GIF. It doesn’t matter what you act like or look like, find people you can fit in with, who you feel comfortable with. Don't limit yourself with stereotypes that say you should be here because you look like this (cat fitting in with dogs) or act like this. Just be yourself and go along with the flow! Being different isn't a bad thing. (Oliver "barks" instead of "meows")

I chose the quote because it’s true. You need to find your beat. Your strengths. You need to learn them and keep building them up because one day you could do great things!!

Don't limit yourself; Reach for more than just the stars!

I am very proud with how this was finished. Would I change it? Nope, I accepted the challenge and in the end turned out great!

Info Graph: Steps To Become An Animator

Our first assignment of the year in tech is to create an info graph! what's an info graph? An Info Graph or "Information Graph" is a eye catching way to display knowledge about something without the audience loosing interest. One good website filled with many of these is Information is Beautiful. Here is a link to see some well designed graphs from that site. Click Here

So this was my first attempt at creating one. I was a little lost on what needed to be done and how much info needed to be displayed. personally I think the overall finished product came out good. I think a couple of things I could change would be adding more colour to the subtitles, bigger text and maybe a different method to display my work. The only reason why I couldn't change those things was because I already converted both reels into symbols. I should have saved an extra copy. I like the background and title. I honestly think next time I shouldn't add all info, just the key factors.

~*UPDATE*~ Font fixed and less writing.

Click on the image to enlarge

Weekly Tech post #1 - Spinning

Take a photo of something spinning.

I love how this came out, the lighting I find the coolest. The motion from the fan's arms creat a blur and with the dark lighting, looks like shadows! The middle is extremly bright and creates a nice focal point. Reminds me of heaven and the darkness around it. (click for larger view)

School of Arts- Sheridan (Requirements)

Summer is over, back to yet another year of CyberArts! hopefully It will end with a bang! I want to try more "thinking outside the box" approches to my work. Many posts and new artwork to come!


This is my final year of high school (can you believe it!?) and my class was assigned to research one art college or university related to the CyberArts Program and write down all requirements. I chose Sheridan College because they have a wide range of different courses to choose from.  It's located in Toronto, Canada. They have opened a new campus in Mississauga just recently!

I chose Animation as one of the many courses offered that connect with CyberArts in some way.

Here are the Portfolio Requirements - Degree
It's pretty much just stating to show your best work.
> Animal drawings
> Life drawings
> Hand Drawings
> Character Rotation sheet
> Expression sheet
> Story boarding ideas
> Household Items
> Room Line Drawing

Here are the Portfolio Requirements - Bridging

> Life drawings
> 2 Original characters
> Story boarding ideas
> 3 Layouts and scenes
> 10 Second animation including lip synch


Here are the Fees
Prices vary between how many courses you take and how many years. They are within the $1000 price range.

Applying is always difficult if you don't have the right material. Keeping a portfolio up to date and with a verity of different mediums is always a great idea, to show them how diverse you are.

PORTFOLIO

Here is the link to my online portfolio! go check it out!!

 http://lilylule.wix.com/portfolio#!HOME/mainPage


Thats right! I am done for duty. With all of my finals complete and up to date I will be trying new hobbies for the summer. See you in three months Blogger!

Music Video Remake: The Saltwater Room

Finally Finished!

Sorry if the video quality isen't the best, hopefully it still gives a good effect.

After about two months of filming, our group has completed our Owl City music video! The theme is a calming love story between a couple who miss and want to be with each other while viewing memories. I think the final product came out amazing! Sadly, because of our "crunch time" our story board wasn't followed as much as we hoped it would have. Most of the scenes were used and filmed in the city, malls, several parks and school areas. The video editing remained simple because we wanted it to feel more natural.  My personal favourite part would have to be the blonde haired girl blowing out the candle. I feel it has a nice glow to it and matches the beat of the song. This project was difficult getting all the shots but it came out brilliant! Not bad for a first attempt at creating one!

You can also view my Owl City poster that goes along with it HERE

Tips For Posters

This post, I will be critiquing three different posters of my choice and explaining my thoughts about them!

Recruitment Poster

This poster was created (originally) in the 1930-40's for the U.S. army. The goal of this poster was to persuade men to join the fight for WW2. 

The overall poster is great. It is straight to the point and the words are strong and bold. The red colour font choice is a good idea to show the company is serious and it means business. The words on the poster are not asking you to join the army, they are telling you to join the army, making it as if you need to do it. It is eye catching and simple so people will actually take a moment to read what it says. Honestly there are not any flaws to this poster I can think of. It is professional and straight to the point, perfect for war!

Movie Poster

This poster's colour is what caught my eye. It is vibrant and solid.  The colour pops with the black background which is a good poster skill. The actual gun in the poster is actually made of several smaller guns and weapons. Just by the design I think it may be a action/thriller. The design is simple and straight to the point. The font is metallic coloured and matches the word "mechanic". The two main actors names are displayed in big letters across the top, this is how most movie posters catch the publics attention, by advertising their favourite actors! I think its a good idea to keep a simple palette (small amount of different colours). This poster is fine, I see no major flaws and it looks professional.

Inspirational/Motivational Poster

This is a funny one, its not an actual inspirational poster but they are so simple to create that they have become internet memes! These posters are made with an image and a caption that would usually be a quote (actual posters). Once again a very simple design making it easy for people to copy. I love the style of these poster because the originals usually display images that will motivate you and will try to make you take the steps to your goals in life! Simple and loveable these posters flaws may just be a little more detail or designs.

CyberArts: Careers Assignment

A very VERY late assignment I completed at the beginning of second semester that was forgotten about! My first attempt at using Prezi and thought it was a really unique experience!

http://prezi.com/gn-hiqjvl0uu/careers-in-cyberarts-and-how-to-get-there/

Music Video: Owl City Poster Design

For our final project we were assigned to create a music video and a poster to represent it. The band my group chose was Owl City, The Saltwater Room.  The song displays light and flowing emotions that make you feel as if your in a dream like state. I designed my poster to incorporate that feeling, to be neat and simplistic. I used the Adobe program Illustrator to make it. The first poster I designed was scrapped due to many different problems. The poster was too small, the design felt too simple and the overall finished project was choppy and not smooth. I am very impressed with my final image (more discription coming soon)

# 18 Final Thoughts

Well honestly, I can't believe it. There is only three more weeks of school left until the summer vacation. This will be my last blog post for the year other than my poster and music video update! This year has been very busy but good. I have learned about using video editing software and resizing images. I will need to create an online portfolio about my work I have completed this year with some images and paragraphs explaining it. I think this summer I’m going to learn how to sew and make stuffed animals! It’s always been something I have had an interest in. The next thing I’m going to buy is a sewing machine for my room and all the necessary supplies. I am planning to take a summer courses to help me learn the basics. Hopefully, after I do it a couple of times I’ll get better at it.

#17 Humber Art Gallery: Sixty Painters (60P)

Me and my Class headed to a small Art Display that is on until June to see some modern pieces. The majority was ethier paints or water colour. I find that these paintings are alot more intresting than historical ones. I love how they used mixed media and find creative was to make thier pieces of work unique from the others! I took a couple of photos of my favourites.

2012
Carol Wajnio
Futures
Oil on canvas

2008-2012
John Armstrong and Paul Collins
Cache-Misere
Oil on Chromoganic Print

2009-2012
Team Macho
Unknown
Watercolour and ink on paper

2009-2012
Team Macho
Yabba Dabba Doodle
Watercolour and ink on paper

UNKNOWN

#16 Domino Video Effects

Since my class has been focused on music video projects, lighting effects and different ways to use a green screen I decided to share this video with you. It's called Domino by Jessie J, a lot of people may already know it. It uses a lot of amazing effects and the green screen is so unique. The images on the green screen moves around and constantly changes with her outfits. The lighting is great, it varies from pure darks to bright lights. There are great uses of shadows and a flashing horizontal glare that really adds to the video. The camera isn’t steady either, it moves and shifts around to the beat of the music to give the feeling as if you’re dancing or cheering along. I like how they constantly use different views and transactions, it keeps the video interesting. All in all a great example of a music video that will keep your attention!

#15 AWOLNATION - Not Your Fault

This Music Video is full of many different types of media. They include stop motion, acclamation, and a lot of awesome effects. I really like how it's a dream; I think it is really creative. The ending notes of the song make me feel fairly tired after listening to them. The clay mation scene reminds me of those older Christmas clay mations you usually see every year on television, especially the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie. It also reminds me alot of the video by Peter Gabriel called Sledgehammer. Hope you find it interesting!

Watch here if video isen't working

#14 Studio Killers

Music can have a very strange effect on an individual.

I love music as you can tell, and I really enjoy listening to the Studio Killers. They show an amazing amount of talent and hard work through their music and videos. One of the biggest reasons why I think they are unique is their main three characters. It's all animated, there is a minx, a fox and a rather chubby woman named Cherry. The person who sings for Cheery (voice actor) is not actually a girl. She is voiced by a young man named Teemu Brunila and is then adjusted when editing. They use many different technical aspects to create a brilliant viewing experience. There are many different art styles within one music video which I think is very original because most people prefer to stay in the comfort zone and just display one aspect. Some of their songs have stronger meanings and in this video's case, even warnings. In my opinion this video is telling girls to stay away from the boys that will use you, and just wait for the right person. I really love this group and can't wait to see more from them!

Lighting Effects

#13 Insperation Through Other Artists: Pogo

I'v known this group for a while now called pogo! They work for several diffrent big movie making companies and create outstanding pieces of music from clips from movies! It's all computer programmed and sounds amazing when put together properly. I really like the style because it's unique, making music from somthing that isen't even realted to it. It makes you feel as if your a kid again and in some sort of dream like fantasy!

This is one of their most recent pieces of music This one is
my personal favourite Their Youtube Account

Pogo Website

Chair Design Assignment: The Thrown

For the past 2-3 weeks me an my CyberArts class has been working on our chair designs and models. We used the designing process to sketch out different unique ideas based on our self thought and personality. After we finally reached our final idea we drew out three dimensional images to help us understand how we would be able to create these actual models. Afterwards we used several different dimensions to think how big the chair would be, we drew a final sketch that would be shaded and added as a reference. After we had all the sketches created we drew out the pieces needed on grid paper to help us get even lines and pieces. We used foam core and paper to create the models. The foam core was very tricky to cut out, I had a bit of problems making it smooth and even. Throne is spelt as so, but I decided to make the spelling as "Thrown" because the back of the chair is leaning out above the seat, looking as if it's going to kick you out of your spot (it also provides shade from the sun). My design is very wavy, curvy and a bit simplistic. This portrays my personality because I am usually all over the place when it comes to getting things done. Even though I am fairly organized I do tend to lose track of things every so often. I am usually always on time with assignments and consider myself to be very organized (likes planning ahead). Some people say this is a bad thing because I never enjoy the time in the present which, sometimes I think is true. I think this assignment was interesting but it really wasn't my cup of tea in the art industry. I prefer sketching and drawing. I think it was a good experience but I don't think I would want to do much more of it.

#12 Life Observation: Seasons

So this year our weather here in Canada has been extremely strange. We had almost no snow, ice, slush...nothing! The only factor of knowing it was winter was the cold and the roaring winds. but the months have been different too, in March I was able to wear a t-shirt and shorts because it felt like summer. but now as it is april, it feels like the winter! I am so confused with the forecasts and such I just don't understand why the weather is acting like this. I think one of the reasons may be global warming, perhaps effects from all the pollution are impacting it as well. It makes me wonder how the weather is going to be like in June, July and August. I have never been this intrested or concerned about the weather in the past, but it seems the future is changing.

#11 Tips and tricks: Purl Bee

So I thought for this weeks post i'd do something a little different! I searched a couple of sites and I really thought this one was really creative. it has many different projects with well thought out instructions on how to make them. I'v always wanted to take the upstairs storage room of my house and make it into a crafts/sewing room. Then I would have space to make a mess and continue to grow creatively. The sooner I learn these skills the better I will become over time. So this site shows many diffrent ways to stay busy and would be great to attempt over the summer holidays!

Click Here For The Purl Bee!

Music Videos Over The Last 3 Decades

Music Videos Over The Last 3 Decades

I was told to view at least nine of these videos from the list (two from each generation) and write a response as to what i think about these music videos. This is a great way for us to examine them for our upcoming music video assignment!

1980's

They seem to use a lot of green screen with vibrant colours, the actual film seems a little fuzzy as well. They seem to wear formal clothing and they still use original outfits and costumes. A lot of there hair style are big and curly and some of the ideas are "out of this world" sort of themes. The singing seems to be more about life than just love and In my own opinion I can actually understand most of the words they are rapping (if they are). Most of the music has a easy rock/ pop feeling to it and is pretty calming. They are still very creative!

1990's

The film is more clear and the videos have better green screen techniques. They still use the "out of this world theme" and use original outfits and costumes. Some of the videos seem to be disturbing, and it seems people are trying to get out of the whole easy pop generation. The music seems to have discovered rock and roll but still has some pop. It feels like people are trying to step out of there safety zones to try and change videos for the future.

2000's

This generation has now changed from easy going to media mania! a lot of the costumes are still being used, green screen effects have improved and people seem to have stepped out of there comfort zone. The music also has more tech effects involved in the songs. People still keep to originality and being creative. Clothing has changed from formal to just the average shirt and pants or even less, showing off more of the body.

Arcade Fire and earlier decades:

Click here to try it yourself

I like the idea of this music video. It has to be the only one I know to this day that is interactive online. I think this is a huge step forward in making people feel more connected to what the music creators are trying to express. It's very interesting how they use several different windows throughout the video to show the movement within the screen. I like how I was able to see my neighborhood and at the ending when the birds flew from the message i wrote to the other screen and trees started to grow on the google map. I think it was extremely creative and more videos should be made similar to this.


Future music video style:

I'm honestly not sure how the future of music is going to be. I'm guessing there going to be aiming towards Techno/Dubstep technological music used with effects and sound effects. With auto tuning pretty much anyone can become a singer, and it seems people like the flashing and fast music. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Lighting and Special Effects Tutorials

Lighting Tutorial

I found a cool tutorial on how to create a light box! Light boxes can be really expensive, and can be used for several different projects. They can be used for displaying items, photography, stop motion animation ect. The Man in the video explains how to make one fairly simple with low cost materials.



Special Effects: Cut in Half

There are many different effects used in todays video industry, I think Indymogul has several cheap ways to make it happen without all the expensive prices! It just requires a lot of time, patience and determination.

Trailer Re cut: Beauty and the Beast

After about a week of hard work and determination, it is complete! I was able to finish up my re cut trailer. In a earlier post I talk about the assignment, it was to basically re create a trailer to show a different emotion than it had originally. My final movie choice was a classic that a lot of people know called "Beauty and the Beast". This is a well known animated love story created by Disney. I chose to make it into a horror/action movie. I think I did fairly well for my first time creating videos. I think it shows the message well because the music moves you, and creates a feeling of excitement and adventure. The clips involved in the trailer show anger and action which makes it heroic. My trailer isen't too long but i chose to keep it short and sweet for a reason, more people have a short attention span when it comes to media and if it's not eye catching it dose t work. so i chose the beginning as my hook so people stay interested. I tried matching most of the audio with the clips but at some parts it was a tad difficult. My final thoughts on this piece was that it turned out well and i honestly enjoyed this project!

#10 Life Observation: The Lorax

Ok, I'm willing to bet that almost everyone has heard, read or seen Dr.seuss's "the lorax" (if you haven't click here) well recently they re made this film into a whole new world! I went to the movies to see it and I thought it was simply amazing. The animation was soft and the colours where so vivid, totally meeting my interests. The characters where easy to fall in love with and it had a great message. The movie can be loved by the whole family and people can really relate to this version. I feel as if there were only a few flaws to the film. They should have focused more on the distruction of the forest and animals rather than the child because a three minute song just doesn’t seem to show the message. The way the film relates to families and such was the Once-Lers parents and money issues. His mother always said he wouldn’t amount to anything, had no belief in him and had more than one son. I find that he was pushed into doing things from the pressure of wanting to show that he was capable of doing important operations. I find the message was more toward the individuals, what people do, say and act towards you can always change your input on the world. I am most likely going to see it again with my friends, and I rarely do that so I highly recommend seeing it!

#9 Life Observation: Death

Yesterday it was late at night and I let my dog out before I was going to go to bed. I went to let her inside and called for my dog several times. I turned on the light to see why she wasn’t responding, she was sniffing the dying body of a young robin. I was so upset and felt hurt for the robin; after my dog was let in I just stared at it. The robin’s wings were spread out and were lying on her chest breathing heavily, scared and injured. I finally ran inside and grabbed a towel to pick her up. By the time I got back to her she tried to move a bit and stopped dead in her tracks. I could see her looking at me and she blinked twice slowly, then let go of life. I picked her up and placed her on my decks table and cried. That’s the second time I’ve seen something fade away. I hate being there knowing I can’t do anything for them and that they died for no reason and did nothing to deserve it. She was so light and lifeless. I just really think people take life for granted sometimes because it could end at any time. That poor robin was probably just hungry, looking for food for her family, trying to take of what she had in life worth living for. I know it's my fault she died and all I could do was sit and watch this helpless little bird slowly die. I apologize and I feel extremely depressed.

#8 Trip to the AGO

Thursday was a great bright and sunny day. Our CyberArts class decided to go on a trip to the Art Gallery Of Ontario. It was my first time visting the gallery and in my opinion, it was very inspiring. We visited a variety of different exhibits, and focused on industrial photography and the renaissance. I think my favourite painting was a fairly small painting (compared to the others) called "View Into a Hall with a Jester, a Girl and her Dog" by Gabriël Metsu. We viewed the Iain Baxter& exhibit as well and i thought it was strange yet artistic. My favourite Piece in the room was a large number of dead stuffed animals stacked on poles as if it were some sort of strange forest. Overall i really enjoyed my time at the AGO and wouldn't mind going again for a longer visit.

"View Into a Hall with a Jester, a Girl and her Dog"



I drew a quick sketch while at the AGO with my classmates of the small dog in the painting. The dog really caught my eye, he really felt alive and the brush strokes were very flowing to create a great texture of fur.

#7 Tips and Tricks: Recut Trailers

Our next assignment is to re create a movie/television show trailer with a different feel from the original film. For example, if the movie is scary we need to re create it to be the opposite. I was interested in the topic and decided to look at a few to get some ideas and inspiration. I found a really good one based on the movie "Saving Private Ryan" that was re done as a comedy. I like how they used a variety of different techniques such as speeding clips up, music, clips that are funny and good choice of words to express the film in a different way. I was thinking on doing either a funny film to a scary one or a scary film to a funny one. For now i'm going to plan out some ideas and find some music based on my final choice. I will post the finished project eventually, till then, enjoy this great recut!

#6 Inspiration through other artists: Andrew Hussie

Andrew Hussie is very similar to my previous inspiration in many ways. They are both very popular young artists that both triumph in digital art and animation. He runs an extremely popular and still growing online comic known as HomeStruck. The comic contains moving repeats, flashes and even games were you can control and talk to the characters. Most of his work is created using Microsoft paint and shows amazing amounts of imagination. Andrew Inspires me because his work has many different themes and techniques combined into one as well as his amazing vocabulary skills. Andrew Hussie works for the site called MS Paint Adventures, I think he must enjoy his job because he is getting paid to become famous and to do things he enjoys rather than just making it a hobbies. I think Andrew has a bright and successful future as he is gaining many new fans every day.

Characters from Andrew's comic "HomeStuck"

#5 Life Observation: March Break

I was curious as to why we have a March break and why it was created. I researched a few sites and March break was created at the end of World War II, and votes passed in the 1980s. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was a well known spring break destination in the United States for college students. It was made by the efforts of one man, George Warren "Bob" Gill Jr., who was called "the Father of Fort Lauderdale spring break". I really think people decided we needed a bit of a break every once and a while because we have lives outside of knowledge. All humans require other social activities such as family matters, friends, loved ones and entertainment. If we didn’t interact with one another outside of our working environments people would become aggressive, depressed and socially awkward at the worst. I think March break is a great holiday weekend and gives us a major break! HAPPY MARCH BREAK EVERYONE!!

#4 Inspiration through other artists: Tyson Hesse

This week I chose art inspiration. I decided to choose a very skilled, young and modern artist named Tyson Hesse. He has created a variety of sketches, flash animations and comics. One of Tyson Hesse's most popular comics is known as Boxer Hockey. He has a great combination of characters with different personalities and styles. The reason why this artist inspires me is because of his unique sketching/colouring techniques. The final images look well done, simple and clean.

The flash contains a couple of light mature scenes but it's pretty funny!



His style uses lots of shapes within his sketches, for example the fingertips are square instead of rounded. He makes it so they really stand out and are noticeable.






The colours he uses seem to fit together well and creates a nice sense of unity. Overall he seems to have a wide range of talent!

#3 Tips and Tricks: Political Poster

For this weeks blog post I decided to look up a cool tutorial on how to make a insperational political poster, I was inspired by one of my classmates. This looks fairly difficult and I haven't attempted to try it yet but it relates to our black history assignment by honoring those who were left out. Here are a few of the poster I looked up that I thought were pretty creative







They all have the same style and show alot of skill! Heres a link to a tutorial I found: Create your own political poster

Black History Poem

http://books.google.ca/books?id=i9nX_wGT62IC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=from+steel+drum+to+steel+drum+jesse+p&source=bl&ots=VHpIcokdbr&sig=0nDOGuTs3PhS5FAWrTs167OBirM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pVRFT8WgMsjZiAKoxoTfBA&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=from%20steel%20drum%20to%20steel%20drum%20jesse%20p&f=false

#2 Life Observation: The Moon

Looking up into the sky can be great, seeing birds fly, the clouds slowly floating along and the amazing sunsets. A couple of months ago I remember letting my dog outside and stepping out on the balcony. For some weird reason, I looked up and stared at the night sky looking at all the stars, I noticed the moon seems different from when I was younger. It's allot brighter than it used to be. I kept staring at the moon and the dark blue sky around it started to change. The sky around the moon looked as if it started turning black and very slowly swirling, like some sort of vortex. I think this was because of how bright the moon was compared to the sky. I thought it was really neat though. Sometimes the little things in life can be pretty pleasant if you put your mind to it.

Analysis of Illustrated/Animated Poetry

Our assignment was to find a poem made to catch someones eye. I looked around and came across an animated poem called "budapest". I found this poem was enticing and represented how I feel about drawing. It relates to me because most of the time what i'm sketching just comes to me, I usually don't have a concept. My hand is like the wild animal that wants to explore and try new things. I usually feel the need to draw, like a very odd addiction that keeps growing and becoming more vivid.

The style of this video makes it feel as if the hand is a skittish little creature doing what it needs to survive. The lighting is dim and the film looks aged. The narrator Describes the arm and hand as if he's been researching them for a documentary. I find it strange how at the end of the poem describes how he wants to go to Budapest. I think what he's trying to say is that he's not focusing on what he's writing, he is focusing on other subjects. Letting the mind drift away sometimes can trigger great ideas that can have impacts about the way we react to things.

The sounds you can hear in the video are pens scratching and sniffing, most of the video is quiet so you can listen to the narrator. His voice is low and monotoned, it matches the overall mood of this poem. He's not excited, he sounds as if he may even be forced to say these things. The scene were the hand is using the pen and it looks as if it is drinking the ink is very creative, it's although it's an actual animal drinking from a lake.


The poem itself seems as if he's a prisoner doing his job to get money for his family so they will be able to live comfortably. The man dosen't want to do this job, he wants to be free and go explore and travel, but he is caged up in an office that is dark and blue. When he looks out the window, the sky is bright and stands out. This poem is a bit depressing but is how many people actually have to live. I think the author, Billy Collins demonstrates how everyday life can be pain, how some people feel like prisoners in cages.

#1 Life Observation: Michaels

I know allot of people around the world love getting creative. Sometimes, it's difficult to find, purchase or even consider buying the supplies we need. Art supplies can be expensive and hard to find depending on what you’re going to create. One of the best known art supplies stores in my opinion would have to be Michaels. The store sells a verity of different materials sold at a fair price and has special events based on the months that come and go. The store has different courses you can take to learn and create vibrant pieces of art. The courses have cooking, sewing, clay making, arts and crafts, painting and many more with allot of different age groups and family activities so anyone can participate! I’ve been to about 5-10 of these in the past 3 years, I find them really interesting and a great learning experience. One of my favorite items to buy at Michaels are the little make your own foam houses, I have 4 of them. I like making them because sometimes I’m really stressed out and just need to take a day to do something to calm me down and relax. They usually turn out really well but if I don't concentrate they turn out horribly. All in all Michaels is a great artists store and you should check it out!


Link: Michaels Craft Store

The Missing Pages In Canadian History

Our assignment was to research a list of four different historical figures. This post will describe and talk about who they are and what they did to make a change in the world we live in today.

Don Moore:

Born in Philadelphia, 1938 Moore played piano but switched to the bass in 1959. He was a very well known musician who performed with many famous stars such as Jackie McLean, Frank Foster and Lee Morgan. Don Moore Is currently living in NewYork.

Olivier Le Jeune:

Date of birth unknown, but passed away on May 10th, 1654. Olivier was the first recorded slave purchased in New France. He was A young boy who lived in Madagascar He was known to have been less than 8 years of age. In 1632, He was educated in Quebec by a priest known as Father Le Jeune.

Isaac Phills:

Isaac Lived in DartMouth, Nova Scotia, He was A steel worker of west Indiana Origin. He was a hard worker who raised and saved money for his families education.

Negro Creek:

The Creek was discovered in the 1860's, It was a creek located in the east Kootenay region of British Columbia. It was Originally known as "Nigger Creek" but was changed in 1961. The creek was used for mining by Chinese and Europeans.