Temporarily under construction

Alright, so I decided to make some changes to this blog. This blog used to be for the school project purposes, but I'm not in high school anymore. I figured I can use this for whatever the hell I want now, so I'm gonna make it a new art dump.

"Changelog" (what to expect in the new version):

• art (obviously). Probably some real crappy stuff.
• I have some original storylines cooking in the back of my head, so I'll dump whatever ideas I have here too
• dank memes
• some bits and pieces of my personal life (have some sympathy, it's not all lollipops and rainbows)

So there you have it. If anyone I know is reading this blog, by now you know I'm a crappy writer, so I guess I'll just end it here.

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

1. Positive Statement-What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or Senior Project and why?

• I'm proud of the fact that I actually made time in the block presentation. I didn't think I would make it, but I did. At first, I was four minutes short, but at the end of my activity, I critiqued the class's work using research and talked about my sources, which helped me cover the last four minutes I needed.

2a. What grade would you give yourself on the block presentation?

• I think I deserve at least an AP on my block presentation

2b. What grade would you give yourself on your overall senior project?

• Like the block presentation, I think I deserve at least an AP on the senior project.

3. What worked for you in your senior project?

• I felt that the whole senior project was easily manageable. My uncle and mentor, Inaki Serrano, was easily accessible, my topic was easy to find research, and the components weren't too difficult. It was all really a matter of planning and scheduling everything around a busy schedule to get the assignments done on time

4. What didn't work?

• Well, I feel like I did some less-than-adequate work on some assignments, which in the long-run would've helped me a little better had I done them right the first time. At first, I scoffed at assignments like the research grid and senior paper findings, but I have a feeling I'd be able to use them better to my advantage had I put more effort into them.

5. How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?

• I've become a little closer to my uncle through the interviews and mentorship. Now I feel like I can relate to his career better.
• I've gotten a feel for what a graphic designer does on a daily basis. This includes handling small tasks involving the drawing pad like in my mentorship and independent components
• I can put this mentorship on my resume, giving me a slight edge in the competition
• My Photoshop and Illustrator skills have grown since I started. At first I didn't even know how to use the pen tool, and now I can use all kinds of advanced techniques like remove pimples on a face or create a cartoon out of a real-life portrait of a person.
• I've had a taste of what people are capable of designing, fueling my inspiration

Blog 21: Mentorship

Log of specific hours with a total and description of duties updated on the right

• I worked with Inaki Serrano of Biolase in Irvine performing various tasks to come closer to finding answers

What is the most important thing you gained from this experience and why?

• graphic design as a senior topic taught me many things, like how to see from others' perspectives, how to appeal to different crowds, and even how to be nitpicky about little things. Most importantly, I've learned to pay more attention to details. This is because in many occasions, one tiny missed detail can throw off your intentions. In designing something, colors are considered by some as small details to be scoffed at. However, colors have different meanings to each and every viewer. For example, red is linked with passion, anger, violence, and even blood, but in Asian cultures, it's linked with good fortune and happiness. The intentions of colors will change with target audiences, but in no case should be scoffed at. In another way, attention to detail has also helped me in my studies. In writing, certain words have connotations, and should be only used in very specific situations. For instance, "one" is used in place of "you" to keep a more professional tone. All in all, this project has opened my eyes to detail, and I'll never see the world the same way

How has your experience helped you to answer your essential question?

• when I established essential question, my mentor quickly answered the question with "target audiences". Ever since, every task I worked on up until now and even my other two answers have mentioned and referenced back to that same term in one way or another. For example, when designing packaging for a game, one has to consider who's looking at it, and do the best sway their decision. In rebooting, once again, one has to consider who they're trying to attract. Essentially, my mentorship kind of hammered in the idea that target audiences are important because without them, a game pitch will be shot in the dark.

April Post: Heads-Up Displays

As you might have read in my logs, in search of research and answers, my mentor and I have played a lot of games. While it was lots of fun, the main purpose was to examine the main menus, transitions, and game interfaces. We came across one very interesting user interface in the game Dead Space 3:

We saw that the whole heads-up display (HUD for short) is all on the character himself. The blue bar on the back is health, the meter for a weapon called the stasis charge is shown using the half-circle, and ammo count is displayed holographically on the weapon. This is visually appealing because the HUD isn't distracting, unlike this one from Metroid Prime:

In this HUD, there are many distracting elements that can make it difficult to see what's in front of you. Also with the HUD in Dead Space 3, because the HUD is integrated into the character, there is a smoother transition between gameplay and cutscenes, making for a more immersive experience. This is what helps make Dead Space 3 just a bit more appealing and different than other survival shooters in the market.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

1. What is your essential question and among your answers, which one is your best?

• What is most important in creating a graphic design that will persuade someone to purchase a game?
• Target audiences are an important factor to consider
• How it is packaged for the target audience can affect one's decision.
• A reboot of a classic game can attract veterans and new players alike
• The first answer about target audiences is my best answer
• my mentor, interviewees, and many other articles in my research have emphasized the importance of target audiences. Although reboots and packaging are also important, they still build on top of having the target audience in mind. Without sufficient research on the target audience, creating a graphic design can be like taking a shot in the dark.
• According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), between 2012 and 2013, the male population in America has increased from 53% to 55%. The female gamer populations has decreased from 47% to 45%. This data can help explain why games are often designed for males rather than females. Finding trends like these helps game companies sell games more easily than if they were to design a game without the customer in mind.

2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

• Ever since I took up graphic design for my senior topic, I always had a feeling that target audiences would be involved in my best answer. My first mentor, Daryl Villanueva, had hammered the idea of target markets into my head. He almost always mentioned them in the things we talked about during my Summer Mentorship. My current mentor also put great emphasis on target audiences during my time under his wing, taking lots of time and effort to carry this point across. Even my third interviewee, Peter Mendoza, had expressed the same level of priority about target audiences. Even though none of them have met before, I am almost certain that they would agree with each other and answer my essential question by saying that target audiences require a great deal of attention.

3.What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

• In the summer, I started my Summer Mentorship by joining my first mentor, Daryl Villanueva. I thought he was a good mentor and he knew what he was doing. However, there was a slight complication: he lived in Dubai at the time, so it was difficult to set a schedule. Eventually, I had to find a new mentor, who is now my current mentor, Inaki Serrano.

4.What are the two most significant sources you used to answer essential question and why?

• My mentorship experience was definitely helpful, as it helped me find answers through work and real-life examples. Going to the store to analyze game packages especially helped me find answers. We mostly went there to find my second and third answers
• The website creativebloq.com helped me further my research, build my foundation, and taught me a few tips and tricks for design, Photoshop, and Illustrator. In fact, the site was so helpful, a bulk of the articles in my research can be found there (see my Working Bibliography on the side of my blog if you would like to take a look).

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

A: I, Patrick Montoya, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work

B: Cite a source that helped you complete your work

• Gamasutra, IGN, and GameInformer were very helpful in terms of finding packaging designs and box art research
• my mentor, Inaki Serrano, was a big help in steering my project in the right direction

C: Check the side of my blog for my log of hours

D: Explanation of what you completed

• my mentor and I experienced the wonders of graphic design in gaming by going to stores and looking at packaging. We also did research on sales and contributing factors to the sales

Applied: How did this component help you answer your EQ?

• After doing work on Illustrator and Photoshop, my mentor and I got to play some games. We did it strictly for research purposes, not for fun (it was actually tons of fun, haha). We analyzed the themes and techniques used in each game and how it would better appeal to target audiences
• After that, we moved on to my second answer, which is packaging. We went to Gamestop, Best Buy, and other game sellers to examine game packaging. The games I had picked up to lok at subconsciously appealed to me as a target consumer. This helped me to research further into good packaging

I realized that I fall under the male hardcore gamer target audience. My mentor falls more under the moderate male gamer category. This was all a very eye-opening experience.

March Post: Talent of the Masters Submission

Wow, it's already nearing the end of March? Sooner or later, we'll all be walking up to claim our diplomas, haha. Small talk aside, this post is about my Talent of the Masters submission. Lately, I've been into this anime-style miniseries on Roosterteeth's YouTube channel called "RWBY". I pulled this image from it:

There are four main characters, all of which seem to revolve around their respective colors. I decided to vector it in Adobe Illustrator, similar to the art style used in the episodes.

I had to use a lot of negative space and layers than usual for this one to give it a more flat look.

I cannot express how useful the pen tool is, especially for these kinds of projects. It can create very specific and obscure shapes you normally can't make with other tools.

This is the end product, in ultra-high resolution, since I intend to print it out somewhere. I thought the whole thing was super fun, and I couldn't simply stop at just one:

This character is a reference to Snow White, so in the show, she's literally white as paper, which can be very hard to see at times. I decided to edit her color scheme a bit, replacing white with a very light gray and adding blue highlights.

I'm especially proud of how I did with the gradients on these parts.

Eventually it came out to look like this. I really like the idea of negative space. It's like saying something, without actually saying it. Hopefully this brings in a lot of revenue in the auction ^^

Blog 18: Third Answer

What is most important in creating a graphic design that will persuade someone to purchase a game?

Potential Third Answer: A reboot of a classic game can bring in new and veteran players

• Veterans can appreciate new updates and features not included in previous installments
• A reboot can look like a whole new product to a new player, even better if it can get them to look at the older versions of the title
• Reboots, however, can also have repercussions. Veteran gamers may judge the reboot as too different from the original.

It's a work in progress, reboots are very special cases. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview Questions

I used questions from my previous interview because now I have to find someone new to interview:

• What is the most important in creating a graphic design that will persuade someone to purchase a game?
• Can you name a couple renowned designers in video gaming?
• If you could make a design for any game, which game would it be?
• What is one of you favorite game designs?
• What is one of the worst examples of graphic design in gaming you've seen?
• Do you notice any trends about design in gaming? If so, what?
• What's one of your favorite game art cliches?
• How much do you pay attention to graphic design when you're playing a game?
• What usually catches your eye when looking at a graphic design for a game?
• Has the aesthetics/design of a game alone ever compelled you to buy that game? If so, what exactly did you like about the aesthetics/design?
• What is one game you've played that has the best overall graphics and interface?
• Sometimes the presentation of a game can be deceiving, tricking players into buying games that don't live up to their expectations. This can be good or bad. Can you tell me about one instance when this ever happened to you?
• Would you consider a graphic design position in a gaming company instead of your current position? Why/why not?
• Which game company do you think makes the best designs?
• Whose works would you recommend I look at for reference?
• What is the most iconic design you've seen in a game?
• What do you think makes a game design iconic?
• What do you notice most about the main menu of a game?
• Do you think game art is becoming more corny or stereotypical? Why/why not?
• Which region do you think has the best-looking game art?

I decided to use a different image and a brand new gradient map, and this is how it turned out. I'm more satisfied with this result.

If you guys want a propaganda poster, I'm your guy, haha