For first year students, deciding what field you want to specialize in can be a difficult decision. For Interactive Media Arts students, prior to registering for the program, there were two different sides: Interactive and Media. Now that we’re in the month of April, both the Media and Interactive students have another decision to make.
In all its old and new manifestations, movies are still vitally important.
Most people think of creativity as a blessing rather than a curse, but the latter is truer than the former.
As per definition, art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, – producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” With this said, me as an artist; but also as an athlete, I believe that one can call certain moments in sports “art”. It is certain that it is not the same type of art as per say music or paintings. Nevertheless, the human creative skill is there. We are taking various creative decisions every step we take.
In addition, certain people can consider these moments of brilliance to be beautiful. Moments in which the player does something thought improbable, even impossible. A very interesting player in soccer history is Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, also known as Ronaldinho. In his prime, the man was sheer magic with the ball. He seemed to have a deeper understanding in the physics of it. The way he manipulated it, it looked as if the ball was an extension of his body. He used this to his advantage when performing complicated moves and skills with incomparable fluidity, which gave him an edge over his opponent. Currently, a man with similar affinity to the ball, but with less fancy skills, is Lionel Messi. Even when shooting the ball these people make magic happen.
In sports, even when the players aren’t the most skilled, are able to produce emotional responses from the viewer. Be it anger from seeing an unfair play, or hope and passion to see a player giving it their all to win. Sports are a way for some to relief powerful emotions. The beautiful aspect of it is that we, as human beings, can be so empathetic as to share the player’s emotions by simply watching them. At the same time, as a player one can feel the support of the outside people pouring into the field. This is why I believe that sports can be a form of “art”.
Much like writers, designers and developers can experience a period of time when they can’t access their inspiration or bring themselves to create new work. This creative block can be brought on by a mental block, an emotional barrier, personal problems or even communication breakdowns.
Adobe has done their best to build their creative community with multiple mobile apps, allowing for easy access and shareable content between team members. They even have an app (and webpage), dedicated to inspiration and sharing projects between Adobe users.
Behance gives you the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the minds of other creatives in the Adobe community. With the capability to explore millions of design projects created by designers all over the world, Behance is the answer to my creative block and encourages me to try new projects every day.
Discover
Upon signing into Behance, you are encouraged to follow as many creative fields as you would like from the following list:
All content posted is tagged under these categories.
Now that you are following different fields from the industry, Behance turns the landing page into a sea of innovative and inspirational posts from other creatives. As you browse through different projects, you can appreciate other artists content with the thumbs up icon and establish creative connections in the Adobe community.
You also have the option to search through content based on creative tools, by schools and organizations or through curated galleries.
Live
Behance offers a live video blog with scheduled tutorials and a live chat to encourage you to ask questions. Learn new ideas, techniques and trends from Adobe professionals on a daily basis. They keep an updated schedule available for you at all times, so you never miss an opportunity to better your skills.
Profile
Your Behance Profile is more than just a picture and a short ‘about you’ section. Behance offers you the opportunity to show off your skills, your work experience and even your references. You are able to create a shareable portfolio and even apply for jobs. The profile tab also gives you access to statistics of views and appreciations of your projects.
Behance gives you the freedom to showcase your designs and imagination while feeding your creative inspiration. Check out the Behance website today or download the app below.
With the ability to share our knowledge and inspirations with others around the world: how do we come up something that is fresh, new and exciting? Collaboration. If you find yourself stuck in a rut unable to come up with an idea; Feedback from others is amazing. Will you always agree with that person? Probably not. Although, it never hurts to receive feedback. We will all have moments where we will fail miserably but, those failures will end up teaching us a lesson in time.
Trial and error is crucial step in order to succeed. There will be days where your mind will be blank or you didn’t present your best work but there is always a lesson to be learned with each experience. I know that I have. After I graduated high school I thought I wanted to be a teacher. I enrolled at Brandon University under a Bachelor of Fine Arts hoping to get into the Education program. I knew within a few months that university was not for me. The hardest part was realizing how disappointed I felt in myself for not succeeding. I worked different jobs and held a steady position with a great company in Brandon for almost four years but I was also very unsatisfied with the way my life was. I felt that at my age of 24, I should have been finished my post secondary education already.
I often found myself expressing my ideas in creative ways and would admire digital art that I’ve seen online. I had a flashback to my grade 12 year, right before I graduated. My art teacher suggested that I take a look into the Interactive Media Arts program. I ended up doing a spend a day here but at the age of 17. With not much life experience, paired along with immaturity, I decided to go to BU instead. I often wondered if I chose the program here, would I have followed the same path of becoming a dropout? It took me a lot of failures, hard work, and perseverance to become the person who I am today. There still will be moments where I am sure that I may fail and question myself. Despite this I am also reminded of the woman who already got through so much and will continue to keep fighting in order to be the person I want to be.
As an artist, I have been though many changes in the way is think, the way I see things and how I represent them on canvas. Many times have I had that internal struggle saying: should I leave this piece as it is? Or should I add something else? Yet, it is rare for me to think: maybe I should take some elements out. I have developed a love for making detail present in my pieces. I love spending time on every shadow, texture and any other aspect suitable for the composition. However, around the time of 6th grade, I remember many times I started to draw something and I got so sucked into it that I added way too much. In the end I wasn’t sure why, but I was not happy with the result. It wasn’t until I took a step back and thought: are all these extra things necessary in the first place?
Ever since, I still struggle with wanting to put more than necessary into my designs. But now I know to take a step back and analyse my composition. In addition, being a student at ACC has helped me a lot as I can see the work of people that maybe have similar minds as I do, or some that are totally different. I love learning from each one of them. All their experiences, which are all unique, effect their designs and creative ideas. This is very fascinating to me.
I do not think that a simplistic design is easy to pull off; there are is a lot of thinking that goes into it. In the end, what I have learned so far is that it is important to slow down from time to time, and take a look at your piece from a different point of view, still knowing what you want, but being able to learn from others as well. I still love detailed art pieces, but I can appreciate the beauty that can be displayed with a much simpler design. There is certainly something satisfying about a simple yet effective composition. Some examples we see out there are: The swoosh from Nike, or the stripes from Adidas; both very contemporary looks, they seem to never go out of style.
Inspiration. Ideas. Where do they come from? How do you know when they’re going to hit? How do you know if the idea that just hit you is a good one?
As design students, we are presented with the challenge of coming up with new ideas and concepts daily. With each now exercise, assignment and project, our minds race to find inspiration. What if inspiration doesn’t come? What then? Our instructors say, just run with the first idea you have. Don’t overthink it. So i have been trying to put this into practice (which is easier said than done).
So where do we go for inspiration? Some designers have epic Pinterest boards, or search popular sites like Behance, Designspiration and Flickr. The problem with this, according to Smashing Magazine, is when taking ideas from similar mediums, there is a fine line between ‘inspired by’ and ‘copied’. So their suggestion is to look beyond design galleries, into the wide and awe-inspiring real world. Industries such as fashion, architecture, even music can help you visualize images which you can translate into your project. There are design playlists on Spotify! Did you know? Smashing Magazine has some links to said playlists. Like this one or this one.
The other morning as I was driving to school, stopped at a stoplight I looked to the sky. The rising sun hadn’t yet peaked above the horizon line, yet the colours emanating from the east were something else. The perfect gradient. The sky is an ever-changing canvas that never ceases to inspire me.
I believe it is important for us as aspiring designers and creators to keep our eyes open. Keep our childlike wonder and tap into our curiosity often. Try to look at things from another perspective. And when we have found that ‘other perspective’, look again.
Keep it real my darlings. Eyes to the sky.
xo M.
Announced very recently, was another round of Downloadable Content (DLC) for Final Fantasy XV. This content is meant to flush out the main game and add on to, what most people considered an unfinished game at its original release in 2016. While widely successful, the story lacked parts that needed explaining.
Thankfully, this was filled in with the addition of several pieces of content later released as part of the Season Pass. Episode Gladiolus in which the character Gladiolus goes off on his own little ‘self actualizing’ adventure and later returns to the group. After that came Episode Prompto. This particular fill in came later in the game when the character Prompto is separated from the rest of the group and ends up searching for answers about his origins. During the interim, Square released a multiplayer mode, in which players could customize their own character and go on missions to help bring light back to the world. This is meant as a sort of filler to the main story in which the main character, Noctis, disappears for a ten-year period. Finally, in the latter part of the year, Episode Ignis was released. The order of operations is a little weird as the events of this are told off screen during the main story of the game, to which, Ignis is rendered blind.
With each episode, a secondary character encounter through the main story assists the protagonist on their journey. Gladiolus is assisted by Cor, a member of the Crownsguard to the King. Aranea, an Imperial soldier turned mercenary, helps Prompto. Lastly, Ignis finds an unlikely ally in Ravus. All these add some back-story to events that unfolded, but the game still lacked in areas.
Coming back to the content recently announced, some minor aspects such as the car your retinue cruise around the open landscape with, will now be upgraded to have off-road capabilities. The addition of the Royal Vessel, a yacht, will not give players the ability to explore the ocean beyond. My personal favorite in the announcements was the addition of the city of Insomnia becoming expanded. Lastly, extra bosses. Cerberus, Omega, and Rulers of Yore. Not much is known about the latest entry in terms of cost. Will players already in possession of the game be require to purchase more? Will it be included for those who already own the season pass? Only time will tell.
NBA “City Edition” Jerseys: A Fresh Start For jersey Design
Nike has taken over the NBA for the 2017-18 season as the league’s new jersey manufacturer. Because of this, we knew that we could expect some fresh new designs out on the court this season. Nike has come out with a new alternate jersey for each of the 30 teams in the league called a “City Edition” jersey. These jerseys are meant to have designs that aspire to a deeper level of meaning around the city’s or team’s history. I think that this is a fantastic idea and after seeing the designs, I can say this is just what’s the NBA and all of professional sports needed in the design department. Pretty much all of the designs are extremely unique and represent the team or city very well. I’m here to give my opinions on some of my personal favorites that were revealed.
Golden State Warriors
This jersey pays homage to the Chinese culture in the San Francisco bay area and while the Warriors have done this idea before, this is definitely the best one. The logo with the Chinese dragon looks fantastic and the addition of red amplifies the Chinese culture even more.
Los Angeles Lakers
Pays homage to Kobe Bryant’s nickname “The Black Mamba” by using a scaly snake pattern. Very unique and a great way to celebrate Kobe’s first year of retirement.
Miami Heat
A throwback to the 1980’s in Miami when Miami Vice was all the talk. The bold pink, baby blue, and black is much different than the Heat are used to wearing but I think it looks fantastic.
Orlando Magic
This is the wildest jersey design to hit the NBA since the early 2000s but I think that designs like this are great and they make a team stand out and be unique. The space design looks really cool and is something I never thought i’d see on a professional sports jersey.
Utah Jazz
My personal favorite reveal. The design is based on the red rocks that are all over the state of Utah. This color scheme fits the team much better than their usual navy, yellow and green and I wouldn’t be against them adapting it full time. The jagged rock pattern down the side panels is also a really nice touch.
So those are some of my favorites. I would love to hear what yours are. Here is a link to see all 30 of the jerseys that were revealed.
http://news.sportslogos.net/2017/12/27/nba-city-edition-uniforms-official-unveiled-by-nike/
All images in this post are from the link above
As a Graphic Design student, Adobe Capture CC has quickly become my most reliable ally. Capture is part of Adobe’s mobile App family and easily the most beneficial for designers on the go. In 2016, Adobe combined four of its mobile asset building tools into one, forming a single app that can capture colours, patterns, materials, brushes, and shapes.
Adobe Capture CC opened the door to unlimited possibilities. With a few simple clicks on your mobile device, you can now create project assets from anywhere that are accessible all across Adobe’s mobile and desktop apps.
Originally, the shapes function was the reason I downloaded this App. Capture takes your sketchbook doodles and instantly turns them into vector shapes, you can also create shapes from high contrast photos.
Quick tip: Make sure to outline your doodles with a dark coloured marker before using the app, it will pick up the lines and curves easier.
It’s so simple, just point and shoot for colour themes. Pulling colours from the real world has never been so easy. Snap a picture in the moment or use a picture from your camera roll on your phone and let Capture do the rest. Six movable circles will show up on the screen, once you’re happy with the colours picked, you can save your colour theme and use it over and over from your CC Library.
Create new and authentic patterns using the digital kaleidoscope with the Pattern tool. Select one of five geometric real time templates at the top of the screen and move your camera around until you find exactly what you’re looking for. The app prompts you to refine your pattern before saving it to your CC Library.
Furthermore, Capture goes above and beyond by building textures and materials in seconds and also allows you to create customized brushes, forever creating original and authentic designs.
To top this digital sundae off with the perfect cherry, all assets created in Capture are instantly saved to your Creative Cloud Library making them accessible in all of your Adobe mobile and desktop apps. Creating genuinely original designs has never been so simple.
Adobe Capture CC is a designers dream and it fits right in your pocket.
There is more information available on Adobe’s website:
The concept of an artist’s own style is very interesting to me. So many artists stress out trying to find this golden and unique style that sets them apart from the rest. Yet, can we truly make exact copies of others people work without trying?
Since I have use of reason, I have been very fond of creating and drawing. Although, I really started to invest a large amount of time into it when I was about 7 years old and my uncle told me about this series called Dragon Ball Z, he had watched it when he was a kid too so it’s been around for a while. I started watching it every night as it was shown on TV, and I was hooked. I fell in love with the art style and the creativity that it offered. Years later, I saw my uncle painting one of this show’s character on glass. It was a small piece. I thought it was fantastic and it gave me inspiration to develop a passion for drawing; not on glass, because I was young and I found it too difficult, but I started drawing and developing with any other media; pencil and paper being my primary choice. Over the years, I developed my technique further and I was able to replicate Dragon Ball characters rather well.
When I was about 12, I heard of another anime series on TV that I should check out. It was called Naruto: so, I watched it and just like with the other series, I completely fell in love with the story but also with the visuals that where between simplicity and complexity. Yet, they where very effective. As I did with Dragon Ball, I also tried to imitate the drawing style of the series, making various illustrations of the characters.
I have to admit that never in my life did I ever think what my own style was. I never saw anything wrong in drawing famous characters or designs. I always thought that it was ok to have something that you like drawing, over and over again; in doing so one develops the skill to use the art mediums or tools without stressing too much over the “idea” and if it looks right or not. As one has an image beside to compare.
In my humble opinion artists shouldn’t worry about having their own style of drawing from the beginning. I believe that the simple fact of you being a different individual, with a brain and body that works differently than others, is enough to make anything you do different, even if it’s a microscopic difference. And after a while in the process of trying out different styles; one will find out that there are some styles that stand and make you feel happy, those are the ones that will guide you in discovering your own style.
As designers, we all have certain styles we love, and once we find our own signature style, we tend not to stray too far from our comfort zone. But staying in one place for long, my friends, is not so comfortable after a while. You may start to feel left behind, or obsolete in certain areas. Interactive design is constantly changing, and as this new year starts, we are all probably looking for inspiration and new avenues to explore. There is no longer any excuse for not creating user friendly, interactive and visually stunning websites. So here are some insider tips from Digital Synopsis and 99 Designs on trends to start incorporating into your work now.
With web coding technology so far advanced these days, it is easy to use more than just the basic web fonts. Custom fonts are very widely used on many websites now, creating strong visual tones for your page and to help portray the overall feeling of your site. Now start playing around with these fonts and types – break them up in different ways and use intersecting elements of type and graphics to create interest.
Many large companies, such as Spotify, have pushed trends such as duotone to the spotlight. A trend that started last year and will continue on into 2018. Vibrant tones online are breaking out of those web safe colours. Technology is allowing us to use thousands of colours, so why not take advantage. Bright colours are sure to attract attention.
Image Source: sitepoint.com
Grids are made to be broken in 2018. Splitting your page and grid layouts to create asymmetrical sections on your page is distinct and unconventional, and will set your site apart from traditional sites. It’s risky for certain markets or brands, but very striking when pulled off correctly.
Image Source: dribble.com
Gone are the days of clip art. Trending now are simple, line images, which combines sleek, modern lines with retro colour schemes to keep things playful and friendly. Customizable to fit any concept or business.
Animations have come a long way and in 2018 will focus more on intentional movements and directions. Signalling interactive content to engage users, helping them move through your site with ease and purpose.
Now give it a go! Explore! Create! Be wild and free my dears.
xo M.
Video games have become a way of life, a culture even, for the mass population. An ever-growing need to have the next best thing, even after the latest in video game entertainment has just released. However, what about those titles that get announced, delayed and delayed again? Alternatively, even have an announcement released only for us to be told not to expect it for another year or two? Well, here are some titles to look for in the upcoming year.
Metal Gear Survive, oh boy, this has had controversy from all accounts I’ve witnessed over all forms of social media. Many die hard fans of the Metal Gear franchise feel this is very different from what the series is all about Metal Gear Survive is set in another dimension running alongside the canon dimension of Phantom Pains. From what I’ve seen, the game will be open world survival where the player must work to build up their base while finding others lost in this dimension, resources and fending off the horrors that plague the land. All while trying to find a way back home. Metal Gear Survive is set to release February 20th, 2018 and will be host to a beta running from January 18th to the 20th, 2018
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Of all the titles releasing in 2018, Metro Exodus is the one that has me in the highest state of anticipation any normal human being can be. There isn’t much known to me about the story, but from the videos and screen captures from what has been released, the graphics have once again improved since Metro 2033’s release of March 16th, 2010. All new story, possibly new characters, a whole new world to explore above ground. Enemies and weapons. I really feel that my words cannot do this game justice. This video however is an excellent example of what we can expect to see in the future tile set to release Fall 2018.
And finally, the Final Fantasy VII Remake. How long have we been waiting for this? Far too long, and if any of the videos and screen captures are an indication of what to expect, then it has been well worth the wait. With the apparent addition of more backstory on the secondary characters of AVALANCHE, a more FFXIV style of combat and those oh so spectacular graphics, I don’t expect anyone to get anything done upon its release.
New Year, new season of anime. This winter, many great anime have come out, but I am not going to talk about all of them. I am going to talk about one specific anime called Pop Team Epic, or Poputepipikku in Japanese.
This anime started as a manga by writer and illustrator Bubuku Okawa and was wildly popular for the fun it poked at political, social and entertainment topics all around the world. One moment the two main characters, Popuko and Pipimi act like nothing’s going on, then they go wild mentioning wild topics unrelated to the story. If you think that this is a kind-hearted show about two girls trying to go through life, buckle up, because things get insane in a funny way.
The first episode of Pop team epic starts with a generic slice of life intro, not including the girls. The design of the characters in the opening are very nice and makes it seem like it is going to be a nice romance/slice of life anime. When we get to the episode card, small hands grab the sides and rips the card in half. The character Popuko appears, and with a man’s voice; and a cute, but deadly look in her eyes; says “Not.”, and the craziness begins.
Watching through the episode myself, I really enjoyed the comedy and the quality of the animation. Everything rolled smoothly and the animators designed the characters exactly as they looked in the manga. I was laughing every minute. From the tropes of other animes that they used, to references of pop culture. There is even a small shot where a shadow person is spinning a fidget spinner. When I saw it, I laughed so hard I was worried I was going to get a noise complaint. There were a few things I believe could have changed. The episode itself is not that long, around 12 minutes; but it splits into 24 minutes with the same episode playing again with female voice actors this time. I feel if they split the anime into two different episodes with a small note saying if it is either male or female voice actors playing in the episode. As an anime lover, and a designer, this anime gives everything I love in one small and tall, crazy package. I would highly recommend it if you like characters going through crazy antics and pop culture jokes. My rating: 9/10
Brianna Olivas posted a video to twitter of her melted up rose gold iPhone 7 plus. Her iPhone 7 Plus allegedly began to smoke and melt away the aluminum body. When it had began smoking her boyfriend began recording the incident, did he do anot incident report? I have no clue personally.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/apple-investigating-exploding-iphone-7-9910093
There is a link to the video I had explained.
Issues with the iPhone had begun the day before. Brianna had said that her iPhone 7 Plus wasn’t turning on. She had taken it to the local apple store in Tucson Arizona. The employees at the Apple Store had ran a few tests on the device and told Brianna her iPhone 7 Plus seemed to be working fine and nothing of serious importance had come up. That night she had her iPhone 7 Plus plugged in charging beside her head when her boyfriend had woken up to use the bathroom and he said he heard it making weird noises. He had moved her iPhone 7 Plus from the bed and placed it on the dresser where it had began smoking and melting away the body.
The video she had posted to twitter later that day had caught apples attention and they are now allegedly reviewing the incident.
The whole incident makes me wonder if Apple rushed the production of the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus and took a couple short cuts in the testing of their devices. Like Samsung Apple’s largest mobile device production competitors had the issues with the Galaxy Note 7 line. They rushed the production and design of the note 7 leaving not enough room for the batteries electrodes to expand and reduce in size while charging.
With lithium ion batteries, while charging need at least an extra 5mm spacing around the battery pack. While charging electrodes that pump power to the battery and regulate it expand while heated; if not given sufficient room they will expand to much and press on the metal sides and cause a fire with then melt the device.
I hope this isn’t the case of this iPhone 7 Plus battery issue. This would set Apple back millions of dollars in getting the affected devices back and releasing new devices and it would make mIllinois of customers mad and loose trust in them.
In today’s society,where there is an increasing shortage of doctors and nurses as well as increasing costs for healthcare. Many hospitals and healthcare systems are investing their money in robotic systems for medical check-ups, surgery and other procedures.
Medical robots can now perform check-ups on patients at hospitals without direct human assistance.Doctors have been turning to technology in order to provide innovative advancements in the medical field considering it is cost effective.
But even if it greatly helps us for efficient and accurate data on our patients, It might be a downside to some because having this technology to do all the workload might result to some nurses to become dependent and unreliable in their job.
This technology serves to improve accuracy and patient safety by reducing medical errors. Traditionally, nurses spent a significant portion of their shift walking back and forth between patient rooms, medication areas and the nursing station but with this technology it can also act as a nurse such as patrolling hospital hallways on more routine rounds, checking on patients in different rooms and managing their individual charts and vital signs without direct human
Below are some of the things that these medical robots can do:
1.Medical robot can now patrol hospital hallways on more routine rounds, checking on patients in different rooms and managing their individual charts and vital signs without direct human intervention.
2.Medical robot can disinfect clinical equipment and also clean the rooms.
3.Medical robots can move medical supplies from one room to another without human intervention.This robot can move through hospital corridors ,elevators and departments at any time during the day to make deliveries
4.Medical robots can feed patients and help them to administer medications.
The Benefits of Medical Robots.
.Cost effective
.Direct human intervention is not required
.FDA cleared
.Contains two-way video screen so communication is easy no matter where the doctor is.
.Autonomous navigation
.Reduce waiting time
.Reduce spread of diseases
So far I believe that from mic-robots that scraps plaque from arteries to personal assistant robots that help care for patients, medical robots are transforming the face of healthcare. What do you think about this?
Robots are becoming bigger and bigger in technological advancements. No doubt that robots are going to be a big part of our future, but is that a good or bad thing? Plot twist, they’re probably going to do more harm then they are worth. Of course everyone has heard of the “robot uprising” however what if they become active members of society, they are able to think and operate on their own. If robots would be made to have the same consciousness as people they could think for themselves, so on top of them being able to commit crimes just like any human being they would also be better than us in almost every way. Like what would happen if you were just walking down the street and a robot just came up to you looking like and android and just tries to fight you like what are you gonna do? you don’t have any weapons because that’s the law and if you punch the robot its probably going to hurt because they’re made of steel. Not to mention the scientists who made the robots are like super nuts so chances are they will equipped the robots with like lazer guns or something deadly. I’m not one hundred percent sure about anyone else reading this blog but I don’t really want to get into a fight with a robot because let’s be real here they’re probably going to destroy me or disintegrate me or something horrible. Basically, what i’m saying is that I don’t think robots should have rights if we do develop them like we should just reduce them to worker bots or something because if there isn’t a robot uprising where it’s basically terminator I would hope we just treat them like robot slaves because honestly who wants to compete against a dude that is literally made of steel and circuit boards? I sure don’t so here’s what I propose, we just don’t develop robots at all. Like do we even need robots? probably not. Like sure they’re pretty cool but who would want to run the risk of getting totally destroyed by some robot with heat vision? I bet no one would.
We have markers that can blend colors perfectly, and pens that can accurately copy colors from objects in our surroundings. But what if there was some way that we could have an infinite supply of ink and help the environment? Sounds strange and impossible, right? As it turns out, there’s a solution for this.
As odd as it sounds, a company in India (similar to MIT) is proposing this product as a solution to air pollution problems in Asia. What is the proposed solution though? Turning vehicle exhaust into ink. It’s unique and raises a lot of questions, but our knowledge of the product is currently very limited. What we do know, however, is that it involves what they call a “Kaalink“. The Kaalink is attached to the end of the exhaust pipe, and the device then filters and captures unburned carbon emitted from engine combustion.
According to the tests performed thus far, the Kaalink device is able to capture up to 93% of pollution emitted from standard internal combustion engines. That leaves only 7% for planet Earth to deal with! What about the ink itself? How long does it take to get at least an ounce? Here’s where how much you drive will come into play. It takes about 45 minutes of filtration for a single ounce of ink to be produced. So if you’re only driving around town it’s pretty likely you might not get that ounce for a while depending how long you actually have your car running when out and about.
How exactly these captured carbon emissions are processed is under wraps, but it is reported that the captured carbon comes out as high-quality printing ink that can be sold in both the consumer and industrial markets.
Currently the Kaalink devices must be individually, and manually, installed by the vehicle’s driver. Once the device is full, it can then be traded in at the lab in India. It also typically can collect carbon for up to about two weeks before it needs to be swapped out. Again, it would have to be taken back to the labs in India, thus making the availability and convenience rather… restricted. In order to be truly effective, the device also needs to be scaled up to a more significant size as well as become more supported and available in more areas.
Regardless, the idea is still quite valuable.
For further info: http://www.livescience.com/57802-device-turns-air-pollution-into-printing-ink.html
A few different car companies recently have come out with an interactive car windows or “tech windows”. These windows are designed to help passenger have more of an entertaining ride. These windows have many different abilities. There are a few different games you can play, different displays as you are passing different scenery, the ability to “draw” with your finger, window dimmers, and educational purposes.
The window comes with a little “traveling companion”. His name is Otto. He is an animated character who was created to be an educational helper, he will respond to the landscape, weather,
and car performance, Otto will be moving more quickly as the car speeds up. He can also provide lights or be controlled in his environment via gestures.
Another feature is “Spindow”. It provides you with a real time view from other peoples window from anywhere in the world. All you need to do is select the city you would live to view. This provides you with a realistic experience as you drive.
Next is “foofu”. The window turns into a “fog-like” background that you can create pictures through with only your finger.
One of my favorite features of them all is “pond”. It is kind of like an app where you can share music and messages. These are not only sent within the vehicle from window to window, but to other people that have these vehicles.
I think this is an overall great idea. It would not only help keep kids busy on road trips, but help keep teens pre-occupied as well. The idea of interacting with many other people around the world is super creative, but being able to see what other people see everyday as they are driving to work or school etc. is even cooler.
The down sides would be that these windows can not be put in the “shotgun’ seat because of the drivers vision purposes. I also think the windows would have to be cleaned constantly with all of the fingers on the screen all day.
Do you ever go to an art show with interactive art pieces but they have a sign that reads “do not touch the art work“, well I got some interactive art that you can touch and interact with.
Musical swings
This musical swing set of 21 is located in Montreal in the busiest quartier. This contemporary swing set is one way to bring people together in a public space with balance of fast-paced urban environment. Each swing has a different instrument that was pre-recorded and will play as you swing. The swings are equipped with motion sensors. The swings will play a complex melodies when the swings move together.
The Think sphere
The interactive think sphere was created for the TEDx Somerville that promotes “ideas worth sharing.” As people walk in the group’s building the bright sphere is like a beckon that draw’s people toward it to give it a go. It’s a public work but also acts as an interface between conference attendees and random passerby’s.
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A flexible field of grass
This flexible field of grass will entertain you to no end, this fun interactive field was created by Daniel Lyman. Find this interactive piece of art in Salt Lake City that is composed with more than 1,000 moly-filled nylon rods which are each 10 feet long. People are invited to walk through this urban field and interact with the flexible rods that bend and undulate mimicking grass or tree’s blowing in the wind. During the night is when this field of grass gets colorfully lit creating a magical feeling.
Roller Coaster Staircase
This roller coaster staircase of fun and excitement is on top a hill in Duisburg, Germany created by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth. They call it the Tiger and turtle: Magic Mountain which is a 70 feet tall sculpture that looks like a winding thrilling roller coaster but is actually a staircase. People can explore this staircase for its view while others are recalling childhood memories of theme parks.
These interactive art pieces are very exciting and makes me want to travel to test out and see them first hand.
Which one of these interactive art pieces is your favorite?
Have you ever watched a good animated movie, anime, or even played a game where the characters are just perfection and complete the whole story, almost to the point where they were created of being so? Of course, they were, and with that one character or two that usually has you cheering for them until the end rather them being a protagonist or antagonist you just find their looks seemingly memorable.
But have you really considered the time it’s taken to get the characters down rather than the story itself? It’s the director who gives his/her ideas off towards the concept art group and it’s their jobs to make his/her ideas come to life on paper or computer, if you’re a fan of Sailor Moon, Naruto, or Bleach they started straight from scratch with papers before sending them towards the computer crew for coloring. Another great anime was Inuyasha created by Rumiko Takahashi, Inuyasha has some of the most inspiring Character Concepts including Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kirara, and all the other characters themselves.
Concept Art for Sailor Moon (School Clothes)
Concept Art for Sesshomaru (Inuyasha)
Figuring out concepts for game characters is no different than playing around with their appearance as much as you want like creating concepts for anime or such, but it can take endless hours to create that “one” appearance that sticks in the eyes of someone while after playing games, especially when it needs to be changed up once again, the nice concept gets spiced up with a whole new look or one that looks the same with just a few modifications. It doesn’t really effect the story in anyway how the character dresses, but is it reasonable to make a character wear something light in cold environments when meanwhile they could likely freeze?
Jr & Chaos Concept Art (Xenosaga).
Lightning Concept Art (Lightning Returns)
As an aspiring Concept Artist myself, I find now that making concepts to match the personas you plan for your main characters is a necessary step in moving forward throughout it. With loads of ideas and different clothing types to hairstyles for characters it’s often difficult to choose just one, but it all starts right from a single thought, endless hours of coming up with the character you’re thinking of takes time, effort and most of all, patience.
In a game, anime, or animated movie what do you look forward to most, characters or the story-line, does it impact you most with characters that are most memorable or just a story that is?
Personally, I think that today, most of our lives are controlled by electronics. Now, technology has advanced to the point where it could soon take up residence in our medicine cabinets in the form of “electronic aspirin.” Are you a patient of Migraine, Headaches and Facial pain, and you use a lot of Aspirin tablets that don’t just help to stop the pain? Don’t worry because scientists at Autonomic Technologies Inc. (ATI) in Redwood City, California have developed a state-of-the-art neurostimulation system that helps with the treatment of Migraine Headaches. And this device is called Electronic Aspirin. The Electronic Aspirin is a patient-powered tool for blocking Sphenopalatine Ganglion (SPG) signals whenever you have a sign of a headache.
This little device is a stimulator that is just about the size of an almond which can be implanted through a surgical insertion into your gum near the molar, and most often it is placed on the side of the head where the headaches occurs most of the time. With this new technology anyone suffering from headaches can just place a remote control in the side of the cheek where the pain is and stimulate the SPG nerves, stopping neurotransmitters that cause the pain. After the pain is treated you can just remove the remote control to deactivate the implant.
This are some of the reasons I think anyone having a lot of headaches should try the little device.
1. The patient will experience an almost pain free life.
2. The patient will be able to control when to use the device.
3. No downfalls of pain medication such as internal issues or tolerance.
4. It is now readily available .
5. It lasts longer than any other pain medication.
The only side effects known for now occur during and after inserting the implant. Some common side effects include throat numbness, lowered blood pressure, and nausea. Rarer symptoms include nasal bleeding, nasal infection and a temporary increase in headache pain. But my question is would you want to place such electronic device in your body and does anyone think that he or she could be controlled through the little device?.