What it was meant for…

I know that nobody really reads this, but did I mention that I was taking up a hobby? No? Well, let me tell you about it.

For a while, I haven’t felt like I had a real hobby. All this learning and doing design/motion graphics stuff was all about getting better at something. Which is great, if you have other hobbies. It all was seeming too much like work. And so I put it on the bench for now.

Instead, I’ve decided to make photography a hobby. It’s only natural since I happen to have this DSLR that happens to be great for taking photos, not just for video (who knew, right?). I’m actually using the camera what it was meant for.

As part of the hobby, I’ve decided to turn it into a 365 photo project as well. I know… You are probably thinking, ‘Right. He couldn’t even halfway complete his design 365 day project.” All I have to say is that this is way easier. And I’m doing it for the sole purpose of having fun. It’ll be great to look back in a year and see the moments and objects that I’ve captured. It’ll also be cool to see how much I’ve grown.

I welcome you to follow me on this journey. I’ll post things up here every now and then, but you can follow my flickr to get the latest and greatest. Below are the first four days to start us off.

Rebel T2i PLUS 365 Failure

Ok, so my 365 Project of creating/designing something everyday has crashed and burned miserably. You’re not surprised? How was I to know that my wife would become pregnant and that would throw a wrench in my plans? Oh well.

The good news is that I am feeling like I have a few things to start sharing again. I recently become the owner of a Canon Rebel T2i that shoots some amazing HD footage. This little camera is becoming my object of learning as of recent. Especially because I am going to be using it to shoot a week and a half worth of documentary-style footage with it in only a couple weeks.

Here is my first little project with it as I was starting to get the hang of the camera.

There will be more of video related content coming soon. I promise.

Leaves you unsatisfied

One of the problem with learning programs like Adobe’s After Effects is that it takes way to much time to put together a substantial product. I’ve noticed that the videos that I have been making have been really short and leaves you feeling like there should have been something more to it.

I think that is especially the case with the project I did last night. Can you spot the thing that really makes it leave you unsatisfied? Watch it and see if you get it.

You don’t know? The elipses. It’s kinda like you thought I was going to say something else about bubbles, right?

Anyway, about the video: There were two things I learned from this project.

I learned how to better manipulate and create particles using the CC Particle World plugin.
I had to come up with a way to reveal the word “Bubbles” only using the tools in After Effects. No stock footage was used to make the water-like reveal effect.

In conclusion, I think my 365 Project is turning into a 52 Week Project with After Effects. And I’m okay with that.

Let me know if you have any suggestions are ideas of things I should try. I’m always having a hard time knowing where to start.

Day 24: Fire in the Disco

I’ve been on an After Effects kick lately, so motion graphics seem to be what I am creating. Unfortunately, they take way more time then designing a little fish. For the video projects, it generally takes me one day to create the basic project and another couple days of refining when I have time.

Day 24′s project, though, was done in one sitting. The goal was to learn a little about particle creation using the CC Particle World plugin for After Effects. I would say I accomplished the learning part, but not really the attractive project part. Oh well…

Side note: The “Fire in the Disco” line was inspired by the Electric Six song Danger! High Voltage.

Day 23: Soli Deo Gloria

The last week has been a blur and I really haven’t created anything for the most part. I know… When you tell the world that you are going to do something everyday, you need to follow through.

The thing about this project, though, is that it is about me growing and investing in myself. What that means is that I need to be resilient and keep coming back when I fail. And that’s what I’m doing today.

Today’s project was a little reminder about what it is all about being a Christian in an After Effects project. It’s short and worth watching, so I’m not going to tell you any more.

Day 18: For the lawyer, maybe?

I’m not really thrilled with the type treatment, but I needed to be done for the night. My goal was to start with something simple and go from there. The mark started with three straight lines. It took me a while to figure out what to do with them. The first attempt was this braided thing, but I couldn’t get the proportions of the thing right. Next time, I’ll try to save a shot of my missteps for you to see.

P.S. Here is an update of the video that I did posted last week. For video, I figure one per week equals is about the equivalent of one design a day.

Day 12: A different direction

Day 12 is a little special. I decided to do a little learning an creating with motion graphics work. I set out to try some of the fly through text stuff that you often see and I definitely accomplished that goal.

The downside to the project is that it was technical-skill and procedure-oriented rather than creativity-oriented. I had a blast and learned a bit, but I want to make sure I keep the creativity as a main staple for my 365 project. Oh yeah… and the end product is also work oriented.