February Post: Gradients

Last week, I was playing around with filters and gradient maps. This can change the colors and overall look of a photo. This is the picture I used:

After adjusting colors and applying a filter, it turns out like so:

Then I added a gradient map:

I wanted to go for that Hope Obama ad campaign look with the gradient map, but I either messed up on the gradient map or I need to find a new picture instead. I'll work on it some more.

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

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

Answer 2: How it is packaged for the target audience can influence one's decision.

• For international releases of video games, cover art changes. Check out this link
• People want more out of the products they buy. People are likely to prefer the special/limited edition over the standard edition of a game, movie or other product. See more about special/limited edition
• I have yet to find a third point about product packaging

Blog 15: Independent Component 2

For my second independent component, I'm planning on doing more independent tasks for my mentor, aside from my mentorship. This time, I'll be doing assignments that support my three answers for the final presentation, now that I've got a better understanding of my foundation. These tasks should take roughly 30 hours to accomplish.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

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

B: Cite a source that helped you complete your independent component

• CreativeBloq was a big chunk of my research over the last couple months
• my mentor Inaki Serrano was a big help, considering he was the one I worked for

C: Check the Side of my blog for the log

D: Explanation of what you completed

• I had to perform independent tasks for my mentor that demonstrated concepts in my research and my techniques he taught me (pictures available further down the blog)

Applied: How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?

•  Earlier in the year, I was blindly drawing things that looked aesthetically pleasing. However, they were lacking in concept and communication. As I researched further and worked more, I began to get a firmer grasp of what I was up against. Then in my EQ interviews, I was put on a more specific direction of video game graphic design, as opposed to graphic design as a whole. This gave me a goal to work towards

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1. Positive Statement:

• despite having only finished the slideshow only Monday and little rehearsal, I feel that my presentation turned out okay
• everyone cooperated when I did my activity with them, which is good
• I guess things go better when I'm prepared for them

2. Questions to consider: What grade would you give yourself and why?

• Regardless of the fact that I was under time by two minutes, I feel that I deserve at least a P-. I felt the activities were relevant and engaging for my topic, and if I had talked longer or let my activity go on longer, then it would be proficient.

3. What worked in your Lesson 2?

• I was more prepared in this lesson and I felt like I knew more about my topic than last time. I was more well-prepared this time and I was closer to making time. In general, everything went better than I planned.

4. What didn't work this time?

• Well, for one, I didn't make time. I was about two minutes short, or so my peers say. My EQ poster turned out messy because I used glue instead of glue stick. In the presentation, I couldn't help but stutter a bit, but other than the above, I think it went well.

5. Finding value: What do you think your second answer for your EQ will be?

• I actually have a second and third answer for my EQ. In addition to "target audience" being one of my answers, I have "cover art" and "packaging materials", which I will tell everyone about in the next presentations.

Open during construction

Hello everyone, I'm just changing a couple things around with my blog. Nothing serious, I just want it to be aesthetically pleasing. After all, my topic is graphic design, and it would be ironic to have an "ugly" blog, haha

January Blog: Target Audiences

This month, I've decided to focus my project on video games. This is my essential question:

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

By graphic design, I mean the cover of the game itself. I had a talk with my mentor earlier in the month about how to go about answering my essential question. There are many contributing factors in creating an attractive game cover, and it often varies on a case-to-case basis. We decided to narrow it down to three things: target audience, composition of the cover, and packaging materials.

So through the month, I've had to research what makes a video game cover appealing to certain audiences. Since I didn't know where to start, I asked my mentor for help. These are the demographics we agreed to research on:

• Age Group (children, teens, and adults)
• Gender (boys, girls, or both)
• Play Style (casual or hardcore)

I definitely know which categories I fall under and what games appeal to me, but I wanted to see if that was true for others as well. This curiosity like this is kind of what motivates me to research further into my topic.

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

Post 10 open-ended questions for your second interview

• Can you name some popular designers in this area of graphic design?
• If you could make a design for any game, which one would it be?
• What is one of your favorite game designs?
• What is one of the worst examples of graphic design in gaming you've seen?
• How much do you pay attention to graphic design in games?
• When you look at a graphic design for a game, what usually catches your eye?
• Has the aesthetics and/or design of a game alone compelled you to buy that game? If so, what specifically did you like about the aesthetics/design?
• Sometimes, the presentation for games can be deceiving, tricking players into buying games that don't live up to expectations. This can either be good or bad. Can you tell me about one instance in your life where this has happened to you?
• Would you consider graphic design for a gaming company instead of the current position you have? Why/why not?
• Whose works would you recommend I look at for reference?

Mentorship 10 Hours

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?

• Because my mentor's schedule is unpredictable, my mentorship involves doing projects on Photoshop at home and sending them to my mentor via email. Sometimes we meet up at his house to discuss my progress.

2. Who is your contact?

• My mentor is Inaki Serrano, who is a graphic designer at Biolase

3. How many total hours have you done?

• So far, I have 16 hours of work logged in

4. Summarize the 10 hours you did:

• My mentorship primarily consists of my mentor assigning me projects to do on Photoshop, and emailing my projects back to him for critique. In each project, he teaches me new techniques to effectively use Photoshop. 

Senior Project, The Holiday

1. Is it important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it's break or during school? What did you do over the break with your senior project?

• I think it's important to keep working on your project, even if it's over break, not to lose any momentum
• I continued to develop my design portfolio over the break.

2.What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why? What was the source of what you learned?

• Over the break, my mentor was watching me use Photoshop to develop pieces for my portfolio. He noticed how I was working was not very efficient, as I would have a lot of layers and shapes. I would lose track of which layers I needed which sometimes led to irreversible changes. He taught me how to rasterize and merge layers and shapes together so I could reduce the amount of clutter.

The left one was my cluttered workspace, there are too many unnecessary layers and such. The one on the right is my new and improved workspace which is slightly more appealing. Labels also help keep me organized.

3. If you were going to do a 10-question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

• My EQ is about persuading the target audience to buy a game. I think instead of an interview with one specific person, it would be a better idea to ask the target audience as a whole how to market to them in a survey. But if I had to interview someone, it would have to be my current mentor, since he and I both know the gamer culture very well.