olympic rings;

I used two programs to do the olympic rings: Paint and Adobe Illustrator.

Paint:

Doing the rings and getting the interlocking right was fairly easy. I used the shapes tool and drew the circles over each other then in the areas where they need to be interlocked, I used the brush tool to trace over it, trying my best to do a smooth-lined circle, without stray pixels surrounding it. I did have difficulties positioning the circles so that it is even on both sides.

Adobe Illustrator:

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It was easier to do the rings on Adobe Illustrator considering that I can change the paths of the shapes and send the rings backwards or forward. I had no difficulties using Adobe Illustrator.

frame rate;

I set the frame rates for my frames at 100ms (0.1 seconds) since 100ms is the standard frame rate for animations. on average, there are approximately 11 frames per second. There are several frames that use a duration as low as 50ms (for blinking) and the longest frame rate is 1 second, so that there is a pause before the animation starts.

image format;

While I was working on each frame, I saved them as .sai. It is the default SAI format, which allows me to keep the layers instead of using a compressing file format which flattens all my layers into one.

For each individual frame, I saved them in .png file formats, which I believe gives the best quality for the frames.

software;

For the drawing/graphics part of my animation, I have decided to use the program Paint Tool SAI. I chose to use SAI because it has many useful features that are similar to Adobe Photoshop, except simpler and more lightweight. It is used solely for painting purposes, so there are many tools that artists traditionally use.

I used SAI particularly because of a nifty feature called the stabiliser, which allows me to create smoother and less jagged lines with my tablet.

For animating, I used Windows Live Maker.

I also used my Wacom Intuos4 graphics tablet to do the drawings for ease and convenience.

graphics design;

'A graphic designer or graphic artist conveys information through visual solutions that promote or enhance a service, product, philosophy or entity.'

Their graphics design can be seen practically everywhere - from the covers of books and magazines, logos of companies, web designs online and again, branding for companies (business cards, advertising design, packaging, etc).

A bachelor's degree in graphic design is usually required for most entry-level and advanced graphic design positions. Beginning graphic designers usually require years of work experience. Along with a proper training, 'a good graphic designer has strong interpersonal and marketing skills, in addition to a keen eye and an adept knowledge of electronic media packages.'

Software used for graphic design may include:

• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)

• CorelDRAW

• Xara Designer Pro

• QuarkXpress

Hardware used for graphic design may include:

• computer

• scanner

• printer

• monitor

• graphics tablet

web development;

People who take up a career in web development are software engineers who develop applications for the world wide web. These applications use a server and a web browser.

Their work (applications) are used for the world wide web so they can all be found online.

Web developers are expected to have knowledge of most programming languages, which include: Perl, VBScript, Javascript, PHP, CSS, HTML, etc. The best path to become a web developer is to have formal training - BSCS (Bachelor of Science in Computer Science) or MSCS (Mathematical Structures in Computer Science). Internship and contract partnerships are the best way to start a career as a web developer.

Software used for web development may include:
• Adobe Flash
• HTML editors (Adobe Dreamweaver)
• Wavemaker
• WAMP

Hardware used for web development may include:
• a working computer

graphics tablet: wacom intuos4;

A graphics tablet is an input computer device that allows you to move your cursor on the screen by means of moving a stylus in the 'active' area. It is beneficial to digital artists as it provides convenience and ease. It can be used by just moving the stylus pen and applying pressure on the active area of the tablet.

Wacom Intuos4:

Tip Sensor Feature #1: Feather touch starting pressure

Intuos4 technology is built upon a new Wacom Tip Sensor technology that allows the Intuos4 to achieve a feather-light starting pressure. The Intuos4 pen now is activated and begins producing marks on your software's canvas at the lightest touch, simulating the immediacy of the touch of pens, pencils, brushes and other artist utensils. Via the driver control panel, you can adjust the sensitivity of the pen by altering either the pressure curve to simulate a softer or harder tip or the click threshold to change the starting activation pressure (minimum 1 gram)!

Tip Sensor Feature #2: 2048 pressure levels, more natural pressure curve

The new Wacom Tip Sensor also incorporates intensive research into what makes a pen easier to use. The distribution of the pressure curve has been adjusted to simulate a more natural feel, and the 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity provides greater stability in controlling pressure-dependent variables on artist brushes (brush size, opacity, etc.). The new Tip Sensor has also allowed us to double the responsiveness of the pen by reducing the time it takes to activate maximum pressure.

Tilt sensitivity

We know that artists often tilt pencils, brush, and other utensils to achieve different effects on traditional media, so together with software partners, we have also built tilt sensitivity into our Intuos pen. The pen will be able to tell the direction and the angle at which it is tilting up to 60 degrees from the vertical allowing you take advantage of brushes in Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter and other applications supporting this feature.

Tablet resolution

5080 lines per inch of resolution in the tablet translates into smooth, detailed lines on your screen.

The prices of the Wacom Intuos4 vary according to the size:
Intuos4 Small (PTK-440): $378
Intuos4 Medium (PTK-640): $528
Intuos4 Large (PTK-840): $728
Intuos4 X-Large (PTK-1240): $1,148

vector vs bitmap;

Vector graphics/images use geometrical objects such as points, lines, shapes, and/or polygons. They are based on mathematical formulae to represent images in computer graphics. store these objects (geometrical primitives) as a mathematical formulae. The formulae allow you to construct the image to the best quality possible, according to your screen resolution. It uses the formulae to decide how best to display/scale the image.

The computer screen is made up of grids of individual pixels. Bitmap images have a definite pixel size, so as you scale it, it will affect the overall quality of the image. If you enlarge it, these pixels become magnified and will appear 'grainy'. Vector graphics, on the other hand, decides where to place the dots for the best results, when displaying the image. You can scale them to any size and still maintain the details and a high quality.

The following is a comparison between two similar images, the left being vector and the right being bitmap:

animated gif;

An animated GIF is basically a GIF file that is animated. It is composed of several frames/layers of different images stacked on top of each other. These images, when compressed, can create a series of movement (animation). GIF supports up to 8 bpp, which is 256 distinct colours. The file size of a GIF file varies according to the number of bits used in that image (dimensions of the image).

This file type is saved under the file extension name: .gif

The following are examples of animated GIFs:

shockwave;

Shockwave files, or SWF is a file format used for multimedia and vector graphics in Adobe Flash and can be used online, in games, and even programs. It is the main/standard format for displaying animated vector graphics. The file size of a SWF file varies according to the number of bits used in the file.
This file type is saved under the file extension name: .swf

mpeg;

Moving Picture Experts Group;

MPEG is any of a group of file formats that compresses video and audio data. Evidently, these file formats are used for videos or audios. MPEG provides a standard image of 352x240 dots per inch, 30 frames per second, 15-bit color. The file size of MPEG file formats vary according to number of bits in that file (duration of the video/audio).
MPEG groups of standard include: MPEG-1 - 7, etc.

jpeg;

Joint Photographic Experts Group;

JPEG is the standard file format for image compression. It is an image format that reduces the size of the original file. By saving in this format, the image gains a lossy compression - in which you lose the sharpness of the original image (blurrier). JPEG supports up to 24 bpp, which is 16 777 216 distinct colours. The file size of a JPEG file varies according to the number of bits used in that image (dimensions of the image).
This file type is saved under the file extension name: .jpg, .jpeg, .jfif

The following is an example of a JPEG file:

gif;

Graphics Interchange Format;

Like all bitmap image formats, GIF reduces the file size of an image, so it is a common file extension used for saving images. By compressing the image (reducing file size), it reduces the image quality to a point that it is still of an acceptable quality. It is a common file type for animations. GIF supports up to 8 bpp, which is 256 distinct colours. The file size of a GIF file varies according to the number of bits used in that image (dimensions of the image).
This file type is saved under the file extension name: .gif

The following is an example of a GIF file:

queeky evaluation;

Queeky has many different features that I particularly enjoyed. It is simple and quite similar to some painting softwares. You are able to undo, with the quick ctrl+z and layers are available, which made it easier for me to change some aspect of both drawings. There is a wide range of sizes for the brushes, which was convenient when I wanted to change the size of the line strokes. I quite like the web tool - it gives a great effect of a web and is easy to use once you get used to it.

is digital art a valid form of art?;

Art is the product of human creativity. In this context, art can be referred to as visual arts, an art form that is primarily visual. Visual art comprises of form and content. Form is the elements of art in the piece, the principles of design and the media used to create the artwork. Content is based on ideas - the meaning behind aspects of the artwork, how the artist has illustrated these ideas and how the audience responds to the ideas.

Digital art is disregarded as a valid form of art for the apparent fact that it is produced solely on a computer program or application. Most regard it as 'cheating' - that using its features to aid you reduces the credibility that the artwork is your own. But isn't anything visual that contain form and content regarded as art? Digital art is visual; it has form; it has meaning. Why not call it art?

It is true: the use of computer programs make creating an artwork convenient and ultimately, easier. This doesn't lessen the fact that digital art is still real art. In fact, as more and more things today are digitally based, digital art is becoming much more preferred. Aside from the fact that digital art is becoming more common, it has many great advantages, and is in some way better than the traditional oil on canvas.

It is convenient. There are tools that are appropriate to performing certain tasks that make an artwork better. Tools such as the blur and smudge tool are especially helpful in shading or blending colours. Even devices used for digital art such as the graphics tablet have pen pressure, which could give the lines varied thickness without the difficulty of constantly changing the brush sizes. One of my peeves when creating a traditional artwork is making mistakes and not being able to erase them. The best parts of creating an artwork digitally is the fact that your mistakes can be undone then redone.

Digital artists should have, at least, a basic understanding of their programs and its features. Like all artists (whether traditional or digital), they need to have an eye for deciding which techniques would work best.

Art is something skillfully constructed by artists. Digital art requires skill and basically everything a traditional artwork should have. Why not consider it art?

artworks;

I made these artworks on Queeky using only a tool called the 'Web' tool.

light bulb;

colour depth;

Colour depth describes the number of bits per pixel (bpp) that can be displayed on a computer. Each bit represents two colours, because it has a value of 0 or 1. The higher the colour depth, the more wider the range of distinct colours (more bpp = more colours displayed).

Since the colour depth describes the range of colours in an image, it would affect how the image would appear. An image with a high colour depth would, obvious, have a wider variety of colours and shades, which could give the image more depth. As opposed to an image with a low colour depth, with less colours and shades, which would make the image appear blunt and dull.

The following is a range of colour depth of the same image:

1 bit

2 bits

4 bits

8 bits

24 bits

colour depth vs sampling rate;

The colour depth affects the quality of a still media - whether they are images or video frames and the sampling rate affects sound. Videos have both have visuals and audio, which means that it can be affected according to both colour depth and sampling rate.Still media, on the other hand, are purely visual (with no audio) so it won't be affected by the sampling rate.

sampling rate;

Sampling is the reduction from continuous signals to discrete signals. In digital audio (videos), the sampling rate is the number of times per second that a sound wave is measured. It affects the quality and reproduction of the sound so the higher the sampling rate, the more accurate the sound is.
The following is a comparison between a lower sampling rate (8 samples) and a higher sampling rate (16 samples):