Vector Self Portrait

This is a vector self portrait I created using Adobe Illustrator as part of my foundation project. I have had this finished for a while but kept finding myself going back to it and making small changes, like improving colours and creating some kind of background. I have uploaded it here and tried to give some supporting text so I can finally leave it alone :)

Click the image to see full size.

I first took a photo and began tracing that with the pen tool for the basic line art. I intended to use the colour picker tool to quickly and easily colour the portrait, but the photo was pretty much a perfect example of how not to take a photograph (strong source of light behind me) so my whole face show up really dark, making colour picking impossible.
For this reason, a lot of my time was spent experimenting with different colours, trying to find realistic matches to my face, because after all, it is supposed to look like me.
Overall, I am happy with the end result, but feel I spent way too much time to actually get there.
I like to keep my works in progress very organised, which would explain why the illustrator file of this has 8 main layers, with easily over 100 sublayers/paths contained within them. It would also help to explain why this took as long as it did to finish!

I would say i'm something of a perfectionist. That's not in any way me saying I think i'm perfect, rather that once I have started something, I tend not to stop until I am completely satisfied with it, which can be both time consuming and frustrating... but it is rewarding :)

SketchUp

Here are screenshots of a skate park I created using Google SketchUp.
More text will be added to accompany this soon :)

HTML & Processing

The first part of this session was the learning of basic HTML, in which we were introduced to HTML and instructed to follow steps to create a simple webpage using Notepad.
Due to being unable to log onto a computer for the whole of this session I missed the practical part of the introduction to HTML, however, as I am already what I would consider to be fairly accomplished at HTML and CSS this wasn't too much of a problem for me.

The next part of the session was an introduction to a program called Processing.
Again, I was unable to practice using this software in the session time, but still listened and tried to grasp as much as I could despite not being able to apply it. When learning something new I like to try it out, so I downloaded Processing at home and worked through the tutorial I had missed.

Before the session, I had never used, or even heard of processing before, so I was required to learn a completely new skill. I found learning Processing a fairly enjoyable experience, as it provided a completely new method for me to be creative.

After learning how to use Processing to create shapes and objects, I set myself the challenge of using this knowledge to create a small image/scene.
I thought up a scene and with a lot of calculation and a fair amount of trial and error, I was able to successfully create it to a standard I was happy with.

This is the code I wrote in processing:

size(200,200);
background(0);

//moon
noStroke();
smooth();
fill(255);
ellipse (170, 35, -50, -50);
fill(205);
ellipse (160, 30, -10, -10);
ellipse (185, 42, -7, -7);
stroke(205);
strokeWeight(2);
line(174, 54, 160, 50);

//tree
stroke(#662200);
strokeWeight(3);
smooth();
line(0, 194, 80, 114);
line(55, 138, 60, 121);
line(24, 170, 80, 152);

//star 1
stroke(255);
strokeWeight(1);
smooth();
line(40, 05, 40, 25);
line(32, 15, 48, 15);
line(37, 12, 43, 18);
line(37, 18, 43, 12);

//star2
stroke(255);
strokeWeight(1);
smooth();
line(130, 130, 130, 150);
line(122, 140, 138, 140);
line(127, 137, 133, 143);
line(127, 143, 133, 137);

And the final product:

Welcome to my blog

I was asked to create a blog to serve as a method of presenting my work throughout my studies at Leeds Met. As you are reading this now, it's safe to say I have successfully fulfilled this request.
I chose to use Blogger.com as I have used the site before and like how user friendly and polished it is. Also, I find it provides a simple, easy to use method of customising the appearance of your blog, which is always nice :)

I have also created my own friendfeed, which allows easy tracking of blog posts and various other internet activities. You can subscribe to me by simply clicking this widget: