Welcome to my website, Go Warriors!
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There are lots of resources online that students can download and install at home in order to practice the skills we use outside of school. Below is a small assortment of FREE applications I recommend for students to explore on their own when working to boost their skill set at home. This is certainly not an exhaustive list and it will grow over time but it should contain something o interest or use for every digital artist I teach. Have fun creating and practicing
Paint programs: While there are many different paint programs available for digital artwork, the industry go-to option is typically Adobe Photoshop and this is what we use in class. Paint programs are designed to work with pixels to create bitmaps. Most common images that we interact with on the computer are bitmaps. And, while most computers offer a free package such as Microsoft Paint, there are far better options out there.
While paint programs are used to create bitmap images using pixels, draw programs use mathematical algorithms to create vector graphics. This means they are very different from bitmaps in the way they appear in print and on screen as well as how they are typically used. In my class and in industry, the standard application for creating vector graphics is Adobe Illustrator.
Many of the more popular games today requires an understanding of digital 3D modeling. There are lots of professional packages available including ZBrush, Maya, and 3ds Max. In class, we use 3ds Max, specifically.
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Plug-ins - Useful for extending tools and adding features that were not included originally
Game engines are the software framework that allows your game to function. They are used for the creation and development of video games. This is true of both 2D and 3D video games. Here are a few options for students interested in going past the artwork and into creating their own games. Each of these are free for personal use but once a designer starts to earn money by selling their games, they are expected to pay a licensing fee.
Audio and video editing tools allow students to arrange and manipulate both sound and video files allowing them to structure and present information to their viewers. Modern editing tools are nonlinear, which means you can create multiple tracks in a single editor without destroying the original content. These tools can be useful for tasks such as creating podcasts, making game trailers or creating short tutorials.
Allow you to capture and potentially annotate the video for use in your other editing applications. While some come with their own editors, most require another tool to make alterations to your video. These are great for making video tutorials but each comes with pros and cons.
As a student and a professional, you will often be asked to reflect on what you are doing or what you are learning, or perhaps you just like to express yourself through writing. One of the more common ways you can do this is through blogging. While creating a blog is part of your digital portfolio and we are using Weebly for this, it is nice to know about other options.
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