Ever since I downloaded Blender I have been using it to do extra 3D modeling outside of class so that I will have 3D artwork for my portfolio. It was pretty easy to learn because I already knew the basic functions required to make a 3D model, I just had to learn the controls for them in Blender. Because Blender has different key shortcuts than 3DS Max, I often find myself using Blender shortcuts in 3DS Max and 3DS Max shortcuts in Blender, but I quickly realize this mistake and remember the correct shortcut. From an objective standpoint, 3D modeling outside of class has not been helpful because I have no guidelines on what to make and I'm working with Blender so I can't quite do the work we're currently doing with 3DS Max. Overall though I suppose extra practice with 3D modeling couldn't hurt because once I'm out of high school Blender will probably be my only free 3D modeling software. Personally, I've always been more interested with editing images using Photoshop or Paint.net, which is why most of my previous work on my portfolio came from Paint.net. However, because we will only be focusing on 3D modeling this year, I decided it would be more relevant to include 3D artworks on my portfolio instead of edited images.
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The first quarter has been pretty wild with the hurricanes messing up schedules and all, but overall it has been pretty smooth. For the most part I have been staying on track with the due dates in this class, but recently I fell behind. There were a few days around when the hurricanes hit that I came to school having no sleep the night before, which caused me to fall behind in most of my classes. As of now I am all caught up because of tutoring in other classes and working faster in this one. The general workflow this year has changed from last year, we now see just about everything far in advance, even blog posts. However, the time allotted for each assignment is sometimes not enough, which is why I am grateful for the late policy we have. If assignments were a 50 after the first day of being late, like it is in all of my other classes, I'd be failing right now. Compared to last year though I have improved my organization, allowing me to complete my work much faster and stay on top of things. With our current project to make a chess board I am feeling confident in my ability with 3D-modeling, as it is due next week and I am already nearly done. This confidence with digital art has also transferred to outside of class, in which I have been making a lot of art using Paint.net recently. Unfortunately, most of the art I make outside of class is done in under a minute and used to have fun with my friends, meaning it is too unprofessional to put on this portfolio. Next quarter I will focus on making actual digital art outside of class, knowing in advance that I will need art for my portfolio for the next check.
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Rainbow Six Siege is a tactical first-person shooter game developed by Ubisoft and released on December 1 of 2015. Unlike other first-person shooters, Siege has slower paced gameplay that requires a much more methodical and precise approach. Players who do not adapt to a slower playstyle will often fail to live past the first fifteen seconds of a round. It is a multiplayer focused game with matches split into several rounds to determine the victor. Teams are made up of five players each who will either have to attack or defend an objective. After a round has been completed, the attacking team will swap to defense and the defending team will have to attack. This gives each side a fair chance at winning because some teams may be better at attacking than defending or vice versa. Attackers are able to destroy just about anything to get to the objective, this includes walls, doors, floors, and even the roof. Defenders are given two metal sheets of reinforcements that they can place on walls and hatches that only certain characters can break. There are currently three game modes - hostage, bomb, and secure area, each with an objective that defenders hold down and attackers attempt to take control of. In the hostage game mode, attackers attempt to extract a hostage from a room in the building that the defenders are positioned in. In the bomb game mode, attackers must plant a defuser to disable one of two bombs before the time limit runs out, and defenders must prevent this from happening. In secure area, attackers have to secure control of a room that the defenders are positioned in in order to win. However, if either team is entirely eliminated before the objective has been completed in any game mode, the surviving team will win that round. There are currently 40 unique playable characters that can all be unlocked via in-game currency obtained from playing matches online. Each character, called an operator, brings their own unique skills and gadgets to help them achieve victory. For example, there is an attacking operator with a human-sized riot shield to help push towards the objective, but there is also an operator on defense with bear traps that can incapacitate attackers without needing to shoot them. Essentially, there is an operator for every playstyle and a counter for every operator, ensuring that everyone can enjoy a balanced game. Operator skills are unique, but several operators can use the same gadget, allowing for many strategies and tactics to be formed. Siege is a highly competitive game with a huge learning curve, new players would feel lost if placed in a lobby of higher leveled players, which is why a matchmaking system determines rank and level before placing players in lobbies with each other. Of course this can be overridden if a new player plays in a premade party with higher leveled players, but that is only so that new players can play with their friends, which should help them learn the game anyways. In order to prevent new players from taking away from the highly competitive feel of Siege, they are not allowed to play competitive multiplayer until they reach level twenty and own at least ten operators. Currently, Siege is in a pretty good state with a healthy playerbase, but it suffers from a highly toxic (negative and rude) community. It has not always been this way though, back in 2015 Siege was practically unplayable with the amount of bugs and exploits in the game. Ubisoft has been working to fix this since Siege's release, and even recently devoted an entire season (quarter of the year) to fixing the game instead of adding content. Due to these fixes, Siege has provided a better experience for many players and built a strong community of competitive people. Overall I'd give Rainbow Six Siege an 8.5/10, the gameplay itself deserves a 9/10 due to a few bugs still in the game but an overall great experience, while the playerbase deserves an 8/10, for the most part players will meet other completely normal people, but it is not rare (especially on consoles) for players to be matched with other players whose only goal is to create the worst possible gameplay experience.
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After working in Premiere long enough to understand it and know how to use it effectively, I enjoy its features. From the start of working with video I knew that Premiere would probably be the best video editing software I ever work with, so I quickly tried to figure out how to best use it. As we got more assignments to do in Premiere my understanding of it grew, and I began to look for software I could use at home for free for video editing. Premiere inspired me to record hours of footage at home so that I could edit it and maybe turn it into something interesting. The only problem is that I don’t have Premiere at home, but I’ll likely find some other video editing software. As for the time I used Premiere at school it has been great, I learned many things about the skills it takes to create a good film such as how to make motion flow and what camera angles work best. Working with Premiere has been interesting, but not as fun as some of the other software we have worked with. The only reason for it not being as fun is because the amount time it takes to create a finished product is unpredictable and it always left me with a sense of unaccomplishment. Given the tools of Premiere I felt like I could have done much more than what was required for the assignments we were given, but for time’s sake I didn’t. That is why I am currently looking for a free video editing software at home, because video editing may become a hobby if I can work with it long enough to feel accomplished. Now that it is the fourth quarter I’m pretty sure we will be moving on to 3D modeling, which will hopefully be fun and similar to the work I did in eighth grade. At least I have some skills I will be coming in with for 3D modeling, unlike the other things we have worked with, but I most likely have forgotten my skills by now. After doing some additional research I found a few free video editing softwares I could use at home to expand my knowledge on the use of video editing. Most of the free video editing softwares are free versions advertising their professional full versions, but still function fully as video editing software. I was planning on using Movie Maker because that’s what some of my friends and brothers had used in the past for video editing, but it was discontinued over a year ago. I might end up using Shotcut, but I haven’t looked into every single option I have yet, hopefully I find a reliable software that can get the job done soon.
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Citations: www.pcworld.com/article/3240982/software/the-best-free-video-editing-software.html https://www.lifewire.com/best-free-video-editing-software-programs-4128924 Warframe is a third-person shooter game developed by Digital Extremes and released on March 25, 2013. It is completely free-to-play and features some of the most customization I have ever seen in a video game. The amount of customization creates endless possibilities and is one of my favorite features of Warframe. The game features creative enemies and weaponry that are all unique to Warframe, not like most of the recycled stuff we see in games today. It also features in-depth lore with a compelling and deep story, which many multiplayer action games also lack. I started playing Warframe in 2014 and had no clue what I was doing, it is not very beginner friendly but it is starting to add tutorials now in 2018. Since 2014 I have played about 2000 hours of Warframe mainly because it is extremely addicting and many of the rewards can require hours of gameplay in order to achieve. These are some of the reasons that new players are often steered off before they really get into the game, they don't understand the game yet and see these as walls they cannot pass. In reality though, Warframe can be enjoyed by anyone no matter how much time they put into it. I recently got some of my friends into Warframe and they have all enjoyed the various ways to play the game as well as the in-depth story. Of course none of them are as capable as me yet and see me as a god in comparison to them, but nonetheless they have still had a blast so far and they've only played for about a week. Like I said though, Warframe is not as friendly to new players, featuring only two tutorials - one for basic movement and the other for basic combat. Even with the tutorials players are still left confused due to the vast amount of controls used for the movement in the game. Warframe has some of the fastest movement I've ever seen for a third-person shooter, making it a faster paced game in which the player is always on the move. Many people tend to compare Warframe to its infamous competitor - Destiny, but this is not a valid comparison. Destiny and Warframe may both feature futuristic space weapons, but other than that they are nothing alike. Destiny starts at $60.00 and then has several DLCs required to really get anything out of the gameplay experience. Whereas Warframe is completely free, releasing free DLC as well so that players can enjoy any and all new content completely free. Not only is Warframe free, but as many say it also blows Destiny out of the water with constant fun and free new content as well as the freedom to play it however you'd like to. I'd give Warframe a 10/10, it is a masterpiece, no other video game developer has even thought of creating such a great game and yet have it free-to-play but not pay-to-win. Warframe does have purchasable currency which can be used for cosmetics and such, but it can also be traded with other players, creating a capitalistic economy completely run and controlled by the players. I have not even spent a penny on Warframe, yet I have accumulated over $100 worth of currency and spread it amongst my friends due to the amazing player-run economy. The community of Warframe is also one of the greatest communities I have seen in a video game, players are willing to listen to each other and especially help out confused new players. I've been able to communicate with many great and helpful people because of Warframe's community, opposed to other games in which the community is commonly toxic and attempts to put-down other players whenever given a chance. Overall, Warframe is a great game that may be intimidating to start playing, but once players really get into Warframe they can see the true masterpiece of a game it truly is. There are many more things that could be said about Warframe but I don't want to continue bragging about it in this long wall of text. It is much easier to understand why I respect Warframe and DE so much through personal experience, so why not try out Warframe - it is free after all.
Heroes of the Storm is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) created by Blizzard Entertainment and released on June 2, 2015. Like most other MOBAs, Heroes of the Storm is completely free to play and includes many characters to choose from, all of which can be obtained with in-game currency. Heroes of the Storm is different from other MOBAs though because instead of creating heroes with their own stories for the game, it uses characters from other games made by Blizzard Entertainment. This may sound lazy at first but to me it is one of the most interesting features of the game. Even some of the side characters like Murky the murloc and Brightwing, both from World of Warcraft, are in the game. As for gameplay Heroes of the Storm performs much like your average MOBA, such as League of Legends, but it focuses less on killing minions and more on doing objectives. On some maps objectives are the literal only way to actually win, forcing a great deal of teamwork among teammates. Being less focused on killing minions, I find Heroes of the Storm less stressful than other MOBAs like League of Legends and Paragon, resulting in more of a carefree have-fun environment for me. Another thing that separates Heroes of the Storm from the crowd is it's diversity, with several ways to play each character and over 70 of them to choose from, there is pretty much a character for everyone. Each character can be played several different ways because of Heroes of the Storm's unique talents system, rewarding players with a talent each time they level up. Instead of using talents to upgrade your abilities, Heroes of the Storm allows you to augment them, adding stats to them or giving you quests to fulfill for that ability. Players receive a talent point every three levels and have several choices for what to use it for each time. Sometimes this can confuse new players, but like most games there are tutorials for even the newest players to MOBAs. All in all I'd give Heroes of the Storm a 10/10 because after hundreds of hours it still remains fun and continues to deliver unique gameplay several years after being released.
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AuthorMy name is Andrew Prichard and the this is my first digital arts class, I look forward to a good year with lots of hard work. Archives
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Last updated 5/14/21
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