I made new front page for my blog. For the record, I actually just hacked Sam’s page source. I went to his front page, right clicked and went to “View Page Source.” I copied the text into Notepad and changed webpages, what it says when I scroll over the image, etc. So, thanks, Sam for the code!
Also, I changed the Max over on the right side. I had him as a jpg, with the background being the same color as the sidebar. However, today I went to show a friend my site and for some reason on her computer the colors were different between the Max image and the sidebar. So, I just set him up as a gif so he could be transparent. As a side note, since I never had any formal instruction on Photoshop, I always assumed “gif” was pronounced with a “g” like “gift.” However, other day Homeboy pronounced it as in “Choosy moms choose Jif,” so I asked The Internet about how to say it. Guess what? Choosy moms indeed choose Jif and I had been saying it incorrectly. So I’m working on changing how my head looks at the word so I don’t sound like an idiot when I say the word.
I also created a new background for my page in Photoshop. My girlfriend asked why it had planes and a helicopter when my page is clearly not called “thecharlieplanesandahelicopter” it’s “thecharlierocket.” I assume that I think they go together because rockets and planes and helicopters, along with firetrucks, racecars, and cowboy outfits represent the American idea of an idealized boyhood. So, making the leap from rockets to planes seems obvious to me. Maybe I should have named my page “charliesidealizedboyhood” instead. Now that I think about it, the Max image serves the same purpose, because he represents rebellion and freedom of children (at least that’s one interpretation). Huh.  Hadn’t even thought of that.
Yup. So, I guess, welcome to Charlie’s Playground.
Charles, January 30th 2010 |
Tags: front page, gif, hacking, max, photoshop, plane, rocket, theme
Posted in Digital Storytelling Stuff
Hello, friends of Computer Science. Here is the part where I tell you about the look and feel of this fantastic site.
Basically, I hate looking at blogs with the standard Kubrick theme. I think that is a feeling that most people should share because it looks terrible and boring. Let me stop there for a second and state that blogs also should not look the opposite of boring. Blogs and sites shouldn’t go glitter graphic crazy or have a million pictures and videos just for the sake of having them.
In looking at graphic design, I would venture to say that the current standard of the day is the minimalist approach that Apple uses. I personally like this look, and most of the desktop wallpapers I make for my computer fall into the “less is more” feel. However, that isn’t my style for blogs. In my UMW blogs, I prefer to use the Chris Pearson Cutline theme and then make a simple, personalized banner for the top. Every one of my class blogs follows this simple sequence. It’s easy to manage, it looks good, and it doesn’t take much effort.
For my CPSC blog at this site, I followed a similar approach. I always avoid themes that involve a lot of dark colors, it takes me back to that time in my life when I was 14, had no idea what graphic design was, and my Xanga account proved it (no one should have allowed me to choose a theme dominated by black and red). In choosing my theme, I searched the themes for ones that allow custom headers without excess fluff and widgets built into it. I narrowed it down to three options: Irrigation, Hamani, and this one, Indore.
Once I decided on Indore, I figured out the dimensions of the banner on the top of the page and opened up a file of the same size in Photoshop. I had stumbled (not the Firefox application, just the verb) upon a tutorial that I wanted to try out of how to make “Text in Stitches.” I had a lot of fun making the banner and then creating a new wallpaper out of this technique. As a side note, if you’re trying to learn Photoshop, I would recommend simply finding tutorials that look interesting and following them – you learn a whole lot just by doing tutorials.
Then I decided to make an About Me page. Â I made the page and then set out to make a fun graphic to go with the page, but after finishing it I realized it would look better on my main page embedded with HTML in a text widget on the right side of the page. Â Hence, I still don’t have an About Me page. Â But, I’m over it. Â I’ll do it soon, I swear.
And that’s my post about my theme.
Woot.
Charles, January 24th 2010 |
Tags: photoshop, theme, WordPress
Posted in Digital Storytelling Stuff
