Black Jackal Update

So far I have completed about half of the logo for Black Jackal Productions. I have completed the Anubis head,which looks really good. I have also finished vectoring the ankh which will be the suit on the card. All I have left to do now is make the card, put everything on the card, and update my website and I will be done I will put som wip pictures when I gain access to a computer.

Car show

I was recently given the opportunity to redesign a poster for my schools car show. So far I've had a bit of trouble with it. I have been having a creative block and couldn't come up with any ideas but I have some now and am ready to start creating the poster.

Finally Broke My Iphone

Yesterday I drop my phone and the screen got messed up, it raised up out of the metal casing. When it happened the touch screen stopped working, after a reset it worked again though but is pretty unstable. I am getting my new phone very soon and can not wait. It will be a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, I am so exited to finally get rid of this I phone and go back to Android devices.

Black Jackal Productions

Recently I have decided to re brand my company and name it Black Jackal Productions. I have to create a new logo and update my website after I am done with the projects I am working on. I will post pictures when i get them done.

DB Fighting Climax Again

So DB Fighting Climax comes out on Tuesday and I can't wait. I preordered it recently and if you preorder it you get a physical copy of the soundtrack. I recently found out that Sonic music is in the game and there is even a Somic stage because its a SEGA game. I love SEGA. I have go pick it up on Tuesday and I am dying to get it.

CAT-South Tours

Today at CAT-South we have tours, this is when 8th graders come to see what CAT-South is all about.  Each class has a presentation to tell them a little about the class. This is to help them decide if they want to go there or not. I can't wait I love presenting so I'm looking forward to it.

Dangeki Bunko: Fighting Climax

DBFC is a japanese fighting game published by sega and developed by Ecole Software and French Bread. It stars characters from many anime titles (anime=Japanese animation). This game has been out for almost a year now in japan but is set to come out on October 6 in Europe and North America. It will be realesed on the PS4 and PS Vita. I personally cannot wait for this game because I love fighting games and it features many characters from shows I like.

Rotary Club Ad

Recently I got the chance to design an ad for the South AAC Rotary Club. My design was pretty simple, i used a wavy blue and gold gradient and added some pictures with soft light for the front. On the back i flipped the gradient and added another picture and a box with the rotary logo in which all the text went. I think it turned out pretty good and I'll put up pictures when I get a chance.

Blood Drive Poster

At CAT-South we have a blood drive multiple times each year. Recently they came to my IMP class and asked us to redesign the poster. I got this job and made it go from bland and having nothing to do with the blood drive in terms of the picture used (it was a thermometer) to something better looking and replaced the thermometer with a tenager. I am pretty happy with the results and I shall post a picture when i get the chance.

PS Vita vs 3DS

If you are looking for a handheld console these are the two newest choices. I personally prefer the PS Vita because the games are aimed more at the older crowd then the 3DS games are. Also it has more power than the 3DS and is the only handheld console that can run games originally intended for home consoles like Borderlands 2. The price point is around the same for both I believe, also I like and own both but prefer the Vita. If you are looking for a system aimed more towards the older crowd I would go with the Vita if not then I would go with the 3DS.

New 3ds xl

The new 3ds xl is the latest ds released by Nintendo, it features a way larger screen than the normal 3ds and a c stick which the normal doesn't have. They also changed the position of a lot of things like the power button and cartridge port. One downside to the new 3ds xl is that it does not come with a charger which is extremely bad because you won't be able to charge it without biy a charger seperately. Other than that downside it is very nice. It will run uou $200 and around $210 after you buy a charger. I think it is worth it because the screen is far better and I believe the speakers are better than a normal 3ds, so I recommend picking one up if you have the money.

Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go is a game announced by the Pokemon Company that is supposed to come out in 2016. It is an augmented reality pokemon game for android and apple devices. I have been playing Pokemon ever since I was little and I can't wait to try out Pokemon Go it looks so cool, the trailer is on YouTube all you gotta do is look up Pokemon Go trailer.

Razer Cortex

Recently I discovered a program called Razer Cortex, it is kind of like a hub for your games. It also shows you deals from all of the different game distributers online. Another thing that Cortex does is it can boost your game by changing settings and stuff and then you are able to revert the changes when you are done playing which is awesome. This is a free program and i highly suggest you check it out.

Link
http://www.razerzone.com/cortex

Level 3

Finally I am a level 3 in my IMP class. This means i help out with the level twos and get more freedom project wise. one of the projects i'm going to be working on this year is creating a new website for my school's astronomy class which i can't wait to start.

Man With A Mission

MWAM is a rock band from Japan. They have a disc jockey in their band and most of their songs are half english and half japanese. I urge everyone to check them out.

The Final

Today was my IMP class's final. We had to take it on the computer and it broke many times. Tomorrow is the last day of IMP I'm really going to miss it and everyone in it.

Crazy Character

In career exploration for IMP we had to create our own crazy animal character. Most people took multiple animals and combined them together to create their own but i took a wolf and turned him into a soldier by goving him glasses, an army helmet, and a bandolier. Its not as good as my other works because it was done 2 years ago and i will have a picture of it later.

Civil war collage

for my IMP's final we have to create a collage for an event in hostory. I chose the American civil war and I am focusing on the war/destruction of it. So far its going pretty well and i will have a picture of it up tomorrow.

Steam vs. The Nexus

Steam and the Nexus are two places to get mods for games, i will be talking about Skyrim mods here. Steam is free to download mods on and i believe you need to pay a one time fee for the Skyrim nexus but i am not 100% sure on that. Most people will say Steam is easier to use because you just need to hit one button but in my opinion the Nexus is better because you can use the Nexus mod manager and I think it is easier once you get used to it. Also the Nexus has a lot more mods than Steam does. Overall I prefer the Nexus over Steam but I do tend to use both so I urge you to try out both and see which you like more.

The pay for mods event

A while back steam decided to make people pay for game mods, thus trying to make more money then they already make. This pissed people off in the modding community rightfully so, they protested this greatly and eventually steam stopped making people pay for mods. This event is infamous in the modding communities and while not be forgotten anytime soon.

Xpadder

Xpadder is a program that allows you to assign keyboard and mouse prompts to a controller thus allowing you to play games that don't have controller support with a controller. It has a very easy to use interface that takes very little time to learn. This program costs $10 and I suggest giving it a try if you like playing games with controllers.

Skyrim Creation Kit

I've been playing a lot of skyrim on pc lately so I tjought I'd talk about the creation kit. The creation lit is a program released be Bethesda which allows people to create mods for Skyrim. I'm not very good at it myself but i have seen so very talented mod creators. I think it is a great idea for games to include this level of mod support and more games should do it.

Graduation ceremony project

Recently my IMP class had to make a video for our CAT South graduation ceremony. Each person was responsible for a different part of the video and it was our first time working with a project manager. I think it went pretty well but was very unorganized and chaotic. Hopefully next time we will be more organized and do a better job.

What is Pixel Art?

Pixel art is a type of digital art that uses pixels too create an image. Pixel art is used in many games and is fairly easy to create. The hardest part of creating it is shading whoch is a pain in the ass. Pixel art is very widely used and is bery fun to make I suggest giving it a try.

                                                                  Example of pixel art

Time Management

Time management of an extremely important skill to have and it applies to pretty much all aspects of life. Especially in the media production field because your bosses and clients will give you deadlines and you have to meet them or else you dont get paid or might lose your job. So if you can manage your time efficiently you won't get very far in life.

Digital or physical music/movies

When you ask someone if they prefer cds or MP3s they will probably say MP3s because its easier. I would have to agree with that although i still like cds as well, because they can be played on a lot of things. When it comes to movies and tv shows i prefer dvds because for some reason I always think that it will get taken down and you wont be able to find it again so i will always go dvds over digital for that. What do you prefer?

Monster DNA

DNA is a line of headphones made by Monster( the guys that made Beats a long day ime ago). The head phones are awesome I have the camo edition ones the help pay for veterans and they are very good. They are on ear head phones and the sound great. You can also customize them on Monster's website. There are also ear bud DNAs which also sound very good except the rubber pieces arent great. Over all both types of DNAs are very good and I suggest looking into them if you like music.

Keep your resume updated

Keeping your résumé updated is very important. Your résumé keeps track of your previous jobs and your skills and allows the person you want to work for to see them. If your résumé is not updated you potential employers will not know about, so keeping it updated is very important.

Laura Cayouette

Laura Cayouette is an actor who has been in many movies such as Django Unchained and Kill Bill. She has also written a book called Know Small Parts and lives in New Orleans. My IMP class gets to talk with her tomorrow because our teacher Mr. Jacobs is like magical or something and I can not wait to talk with her.

Laura Cayouette in Django Unchained

Leap Motion + OSVR

Leap Motion and Razer are teaming up to create a truly unique virtual reality experience. The Leap Motion is mounted of the front of the headset so you can control your games with your hands. The screen is inside the headset. It looks really interesting and I may try it.

Creating a walking animation in flash

When you create a walking animation in Adobe Flash you will need a character. Once you have that you will use the bone tool to give the character bones in their legs. next you have to create pose keyframes in the timeline and finally position the legs so they look like walking and boom you have a simple walking animation in Adobe Flash.

How to take a good picture

Anyone can take a good picture, you dont have to be a photographer or have fancy equipment. To take a good picture you have to be willing to get on the ground and do crazy stuff for said picture. For example I recently had to lay on the floor and hold my phone upside down to take an awesome picture. So don't think that you can't take an amazing photo, all you have to do is be willing to get a little dirty.

Razer Sabertooth

The Razer Sabertooth is a wired xbox 360 controller. It has micro switched buttons, a removable wire, programmable extra buttons, an LED screen at the bottom of the controller that lets you program the extra buttons, it also comes with a case to store it in. This controller will run you $80 but is well worth it. I have owned one for a few years now and I absolutely love it and is my controller of choice when i'm going hardcore MLG mode during xbox sessions.

Razer Sabertooth

What is Pixel Art?

Pixel art is art that is made through the use of pixels. Adobe's Photoshop CS6 allows you to easily create pixel art because you can zoom all the way in so you can see the pixels in an image. If working in photoshop you will need to be in indexed color mode so you can paint individual pixels with the brush (or at least thats how i do it). In pixel art shading is very hard to learn and i am actually terrible at it but am still learning. most pixel art images are very small images and you can see pixel art in many 2d video games. I suggest you give it a try i enjoy it a lot.

This is an example of pixel art i created this y combining multiple Pokemon sprites

I do not own Pokemon this is just for fun

Dance Fit Logo

About a week ago my IMP teacher Mr. Jacobs told our class that we would be design logos for Dance Fit by Sherri. My logo is pretty simple, its the words with a dancer in between them and everything is on a mat that is rolling out. This is the improved design based on feedback from Sherri. I hope she goes with my design but the others in my class had some pretty good designs to.

Astro Gaming A40 Gaming Headset and Mix Amp Pro

I recently bought a pair of Astro Gaming A40's with the Mix Amp Pro and it is freaking amazing. It is made for the Ps3, Ps4, PC, and Mac but will also work with the xbox 360 if you buy an extra cable. The headset build quality is very good, one thing that is different and possibly a problem is the replacement of leather or faux leather on the cups and headband with a fabric material. This is a problem because they can get dirty. Now the Mix Amp Pro is insanely cool. The mix amp allows you to play with the volume and equalizers of the headset. Also you can daisy chain with it and use any headphones to listen to game sound. And if you have any headphones with a mic you can talk with it through xbox. You can also plug in anything you want in the back, its mainly used for mp3. This allows you to listen to music while playing games. Also the headset itself has faceplates that you can customize and change to any design you want, pre-made or you can make your own. Overall this headset mix amp combo will run around $250-$260 depending on whether you need the extra wire or not, but i think this headset is well worth it for the insane quality that you get and the crazy amount of things you can do with the mix amp.

Car Show Shirt Design

My car show shirt is very similar to my poster design although it is a circle and has the Camaro sticking out of it slightly. It also uses a double stroke on the text for emphasis and pretty much is at home on a T-shirt.

Images coming soon

Car Show Poster Design

For our Interactive Media Production class we had to design T-shirts and posters for car show. my poster design is pretty much an adaption of my shirt design. The biggest change I made between the two is the colors and the background. the background went from a pale green and blue circle to a blue and light green diamond type thing. It also involves a Camaro the most awesomest of muscle cars.
Images will come at later date.

SkillsUSA Pin Design V.2

After getting feedback on my first design saying that the tree and the lance should go because nobody would understand it, I came up with this. I went with a Navy theme since the Naval Academy is in Maryland. i put a plane with the Navy colors in the center with two lacrosse sticks crossed over top of it because lacrosse is big in Maryland. i then revised the text and put a Navy symbol in the center. I decided to keep the shield/highway sign with the Maryland flag because i thought it looked cool.

SkillsUSA Pin Design V.1

The Skills USA pin design is a competition that requires you to design a pin to be used and created at the Skills USA competition. In this first design i wanted to represent the state tree the wye oak and the state sport, jousting. I also wanted to represent lacrosse which is very big in Maryland so i crossed a lance and lacrosse stick in front of the tree. Then I found a highway sign and put the Maryland flag into it and boom, pin design.

The Pen Tool

The pen tool is a tool in multiple Adobe creative suite programs and is very helpful/important. the pen tool allows you to make custom shapes and create things you've drawn in an Adobe program. The pen tool has an annoying learning curve but once you learn it you can do it fairly easily. The pen tool is very important and should be known by everyone, no guarantee you'll like using it though.

Green Screening

Green screening seems hard to people who have never done it but is actually pretty easy. All you have to do is film in front of a solid color and then bring it into Adobe Premier. next you have to remove the background and add your own. Some things you have to take into account are the colors you wear and the reflections of green on people. But if you have these under control green screening is easy.

Filming a commercial

There are a number of things you have to take into account when making a commercial. First you have to storyboard so you know what you're doing. Next you have to write the script and make sure your actors know it. After that you have to set up your equipment and location and check mic levels. Finally once everything is filmed you have to edit it all together and put it on air, and boom you have made a commercial.

3 Point Lighting

3 Point Lighting is what you call a certain light set up used when filming. This setup consists of three light; the back light, the fill light, and the key light. This set up is ideal when shooting scenes with people in them and is very commonly used.

VineRobot

The VineRobot keeps on your vineyard. It is currently being developed by the European Union and is being worked on by 4 different countries.  It will utilize technologies such as chlorophyll-based fluorescence sensing and infrared thermography to non-invasively monitor parameters such as vegetative growth, grape yield, grape composition and soil moisture. This data is then sent to the owners smart phone and the project is due to rap up by the end of next year.

Jaasta e-ink keyboard

The Jaasta e-ink keyboard is the first keyboard to have e-ink tied in with the keys. This allows them to change whats on the keys. It is wireless and has a 12 month battery life. The company is also introducing mice that do not make a clicking because that is apparently a problem to people. The mice also have a usb port on the side and have 64gb of built in storage. These products will be available to preorder soon.

Monster Inspiration

The Monster Inspiration is a pair of over ear headphones, that are highly customizable. They come with a case multiple aux cords, extra headbands because the headbands are interchangeable, and they have active noise cancelation. the headphones themselves come in black, silver, or white but you can purchase headbands to put on them, they come with 4 i believe. The headphones take 2 triple a batteries which go under one of the cushions. these headphones are excellent and will run you around $300 but are worth the money if you love music.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe Photoshop Express is a mobile version of Adobe Photoshop, and it is completely free. It allows you to fix up or edit a picture you took on your mobile device with out having to transfer it to a computer. You can then upload it straight to your favorite social media platform. This is an awesome app and I highly recommend it and the best part is that its completely free.

Website

http://www.photoshop.com/products/photoshopexpress

3D Printed Shelby Cobra

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 3d printed a replica of a 1965 Shelby Cobra to be shown at the 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. This could be something big for the car industry making it easier and faster to produce cars. If they are going to adopt this technology they will have to do extensive testing to make sure it's safe for the public. But this is cool because the Shelby Cobra is not produced anymore and the only way to get one is to buy it from someone who already has one.

 

Audacity

Audacity is an audio editing/recording program for mac, windows, and linux. it provides a very wide set of tools to make your audio sound awesome. You can layer sounds on top of each other, cut up sounds, and you can change the volume to make it louder or softer. The best thing about Audacity is that it's free!

Audacity Interface

Audacity website
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

The Yeti

The Blue Yeti is a microphone made by Blue, and I purchased one a while ago. In short it is awesome, It is one of the best mics i have used. It hooks up with usb and comes with a small stand but can be screwed onto other ones. It has 4 recording modes; Stereo mode, Cardioid mode, omnidirectional mode, and bidirectional mode. this makes it an extremely versatile microphone and is very good for musicians and radio.

Blues website
http://www.bluemic.com/yeti/

PS Vita

I recently got a PS Vita and it is amazing. The Vita is one of the most powerful handheld gaming consoles on the market today. It has Bluetooth, can connect to WiFi, has gps, can have 3G, has a front and rear camera, and touch screens on the front and back. It doesn't just play games made for the system, it can play PSP and PS1 games. The PS Vita game cartridges appear to be modified SD cards, so in theory you could make your own games and reformat an SD card and play on it. it also has the capability to hook up to the PS3 and PS4 and control them like a controller.

Sulon Cortex

The Cortex is a gaming device made by Sulon that combines augmented reality and virtual reality technologies to create a unique gaming experience. The system is a headset that you wear and has sensors on it to scan your current environment and overlays the game on it. It uses an android or apple device as the screen, and you use your body as the controller. It is supposed to come out later this year and i cannot wait for it to come out.

DSLR vs. Point and Shoot

Wheter you should buy a DSLR camera or a Point and Shoot camera is an age old question. The answer is buy whatever fits your needs. DSLR cameras are generally bigger, higher quality, andd alot more expensive. DSLR are cameras that are used by professional photographers and people that love taking pictures. Point and Shoot cameras are small, compact, lower quality, and alot cheaper than DSLR cameras are are good if you dont have alot of money or just want to take a picture every once in a while.



DSLR                                                                                         Point and Shoot

                                   

Story Boarding

Story boarding is an important process in film making. It is when the director of the movie draws all of his/her ideas for scenes and shots and writes captions for them. This process is important because the director would probably forget his shots without the story board. They are made for everything from music videos to feature length films and usually film directors have artists draws the boards for them.

Example Story Board