Week 4

I liked how much information was provided about the different laptop, tablet, and camera models. Looking for devices that suit you can be a very daunting task. There was a lot of great advice about what devices you can buy that fit your budget and are compatible with your other devices and the type of work you need them for. 

When I started my college courses, a convertible laptop sounded appealing because of its portability of it but I decided to buy a MacBook Air instead because I was more familiar with its capabilities. Regarding cameras, I have a Canon Rebel T6, which is about five years old. It was easy to learn how to use it, the quality is great, and it conveniently connects to your phone. Since it can connect to your phone, it has the option of remote live shooting, which was appealing to me as I like to take my own reference photos for paintings rather than searching online. 

I won an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil from a scholarship and I've used it for graphic design, animation, and drawing. The video comparing the Samsung and Apple tablets made me happy I got the iPad Pro because the Apple Pencil is great to work with, and since I mainly use it to draw, that was important. I loved the segment for alternatives for Adobe programs because paying the subscriptions is not an option for everyone. Personally, I have used Photopea as an alternative to Photoshop; it can be laggy but has the same capabilities. Unfortunately, Adobe is the industry standard for digital art and media, but those alternatives are great for personal projects and as a learning foundation. Recently, I was asked to do a logo by one of my coworkers, since he is in the fire academy and each class needs to come up with a design. I used Procreate to make this for his class:

The idea of computational creativity is interesting because creativity is known as a human quality, so it shows how close we have become to technology. The video about the Cathartic User Interface by Perry Hoberman looked like a threatening message from a villain; that being said, I liked the installation. Technology is so ingrained into our daily lives there is no way around it anymore; of course, we are all going to have our frustrations with it. It reminded me of rage cages where you go into a cage and break objects with (usually) a bat. It seems very therapeutic, especially for those who constantly work with computers and deal with technical difficulties. However, seeing the video about photoshop before we had photoshop made me remember to be grateful for how technology has made life and art easier.