Unit 7: Working On... This Website

So today (while we were in the middle of doing the photo gallery), we got introduced to unit 7 (and I mean properly introduced), in my professional opinion, I feel it would have been much better to introduce it earlier in the year, but I'll take what I can get. A direct consequence is that a lot of the research here is going to be retroactive in nature (considering I'm already well into the development phase and even then, we only started using these sites during the music video/album cover unit), so without further ado, let's dive right in

The Purposes Of These Websites And A Little Bit Of Research Retcon (Retroactive Continuity)

Ok, so first things first, why are we making these websites in the first place? (beside getting away from all the memory issues we had with Google Docs and Word online which I still wasn't able to escape from as the two parts of the "Lockdown 3.0" unit will tell you) Well one of the main reasons we're doing this is so that we can evidence all our work for Creative Media level 3 (And Photography), but then after the course is over (assuming our College E-mail addresses going down doesn't mess everything up) we can continue to develop these sites into more of a portfolio in order to get people to think "you know, we should hire [X]/get in contact with [Y]," but for now it's mainly so we can get our work done.

Right now, I'm developing my website for an audience of mostly tutors (the educators who teach people things) and examiners (the people that judge performance), but I still want to make it so that kids of all ages (and those who are children at heart like me) can still visit and be entertained too with all the colourful cartoon characters I have and will continue to make as well as the constant jokes I'm always making in both the blog posts and the names of various pages. (I.E: the reason my blog page is titled "Blogio" is to add a little bit of humour by spicing up the word "Blog")

I can ensure that the people visiting have a pleasant experience by plastering my cartoon characters all over the place (hopefully people will get a good chuckle out of their goofy designs), I can also use various buttons in order to allow for easy navigation between the various pages on my web site while still keeping the names humorous (well for the most part), for the tutors and examiners I'll need to ensure that all my work (including this very post) is at a "Distinction" standard or higher (should a theoretical "Distinction Star" actually come into existence one day) due to how I'd somehow managed to pull it off back in level 2 (even with that terrible Captain Cartridge Cartoon I had to remake in my own time before this semester began), meaning anything less than a "Distinction" standard would be considered a disappointment by comparison (all the meanwhile I've got to maintain the humour so that I can still make people laugh)

I will also try and keep a bright and colourful style throughout the site (thus maintaining visual consistency), although I do also want to balance this with different art styles, I.E: I hope to also do some Monochromatic designs and even incorporate more jagged edges some time soon:

something like this image I made ages ago, but done properly

Ok, so here is where we would have looked into Wix and other website editing services (I.E: Square Space and WordPress), but since we're all using Wix already, why don't I make it interesting by directly comparing my current experience with Wix to my previous experience with Wordpress (because I have experience using both of them)

My Time With WordPress

So upon reflecting on my time with WordPress, what I really liked about it was that I could do a lot of work quite quickly (considering I didn't need to save every dang screen-cap before pasting it in there like I do here), although I can look back and see there are some elements I wish I did differently (although I didn't have much experience back then):

my main example is this big tapestry (which is zoomed out to get as much of it in as possible) I spent the better part of level 2 working on

The reason I wish I did this a little bit differently is because of just how much space this massive thing would end up taking (fun fact: it actually got so big I had to split it into multiple smaller tapestries in order get every character I'd made up to that point in there), of course The reason I took this approach originally was because I wanted to get every single character I had made up until that point onto the website at once (with the idea that each new character that gets made would then being added to it when I updated the home page):

and then after that would be another large line that consists of every piece of work I did (both in and out of college) that year

Another pro to WordPress is that in terms of the media limit (which is applied across the entire site rather than on a post by post basis), you can more easily keep track of when you're about to reach the limit (which I never ended up doing), although with that being said, I think I prefer the post by post memory limits rather than having it apply across the entire site because if I were to end up exceeding the memory limits in a single blog post, the entire website would also be affected (which is no good because then, I would've had to start making major cut backs, or I'd have to somehow skate by with the media I had)

Speaking of cons with WordPress, one major con would be the general inconsistency as to whether pasting in images directly into the page would make it count towards the media limit (particularly with Screen-Caps), because sometimes the images would register as being part of the limit while others wouldn't (It's still a mystery as to why that is to me but I suppose that's the cost of being able to paste screen-caps directly into your posts without having to save them first)

My Current Time With Wix (And Elfrix)

My first Experience with Wix actually happened during Level 2 when I chose to make an interactive website for the "Fantasy" unit:

fun fact: I'd end up drawing a little bit of inspiration from my old work into this new website

But that was my first time using Wix to make a website (and even then it was for unit work), as this time we'll be using Wix for the entire course (or at least from The "Music Video and Album Cover" unit to June 2022 and beyond)

Currently, I'm finding Wix to be quite a good website building tool given that I'm able to do every thing I could on WordPress (I.E: fill the page with my various cartoons and blogging) while having a more "free form" style to all the pages (I.E: I'm able to place pictures and videos wherever I choose more easily than I could with WordPress):

The main page is formatted more or less the same as my old "Colypsia Website," the main difference here is that there's all my main characters

Overall, I'm having a relatively easy time blogging up all my work thus far, albeit while bumping against the odd memory limits here and there which I never had to deal with in WordPress (not sure if that's because of WordPress or if it's because I've just been using more images this year):

At least I (currently) don't have to deal with this sort of the entire website

I get the feeling this might actually happen AGAIN with the final major project due to how much potential evidencing I'll need to do for that whole thing once it comes around (One of these days I might end up evidencing what I had for Breakfast in the morning due to how it helped me come up with a character named "Grilliard Fry")

I can also add additional pages to my Wix Site which frees me up to add specific pages that can contain specific content, unlike with WordPress where I ended up putting all the characters I made, the work I did and even an Introduction to who I am on the exact same page (which made the whole thing needlessly tall), where as now I can have a specific page for all of that jazz With the Home Page containing my main characters, The "Slam Dunks" (which is actually a portfolio) page can contain all the previous work (as well as my old level 2 work) while the "about me" paragraphs from before can exist separately from everything else, which not only keeps each page from being needlessly tall, but it also keeps everything nice and organised at the same time.

Another neat thing is that I can do with Wix is that I can give each page a unique background (unlike with WordPress where I couldn't quite figure out how to make the background an image instead of all colours), which can allow me to make each page visually different from one another.

The only real inconvenience (besides memory limits) is that I can't just copy and paste things directly into the blogs like I could with WordPress, as instead I have to save every single image and non-Youtube video as a file on the site (which is actually why PowerPoint's always open in every single screen-cap from the beginning of of the "Lockdown 3.0" unit and beyond, it allows me to paste in and save the screen-caps):

the only exception where you can't see PowerPoint running is the series of Screen-Caps from the opening cutscene of "Sonic Unleashed" due to how the video's in full screen, but even then, it's still running, you just can't SEE it (although this inconvenience of having to save every screen grab is actually a blessing in disguise because now I can use old screen shots like this one in new contexts)

Overall, It was fun comparing my previous tools to my current ones, and after all that reflection, I think I might actually prefer Wix over WordPress because of certain features (I.E: easier customisation, less worry as to whether the entire site will reach the memory limits due to them being imposed on a "Per Post" basis and even the ability to organise site files into folders) which allow me to make a much better (and more professional) looking site where as with WordPress, I don't think the site I made there would hold up to well under professional scrutiny

Ok kiddo, so what kind of content is this site going to feature?

Well since this site's eventual purpose is to act as a portfolio I can use to convince people to hire me (in case I'm unable to make Slamination Studios real that is), the main content on the website is of course going to relate to the various projects I've been making over the course of my time in college (plus personal work), but throughout there'll also be a lot of those little illustrations I've made over the course of time (both in an out of college and mainly my original characters):

People like Bitris 16 from The Space-Ventures of The Generive Crew (and other characters too)

The reason for this is because I want to become an animator/cartoonist in the future and hopefully get Super Sheep and all his friends (and enemies) into cinemas (if they're still around by then) via the power of animation, hopefully 2-D Animation because I think the characters look good in 2-D, but I've done a lot of 3-D Animation via Dreams for the PS4 (and eventually PS5 where I presume they'll have added Ray Tracing, because PS5) and given how poorly my first (and thus far only) attempt at 2-D animation ended up panning out (with me having to make all the cut backs in the world in order have SOMETHING in time for the original deadline) it's not something I'll be looking to do again in college for the time being (but maybe a personal project later on down the line when I have several months to spare)

of course, here I won't quite be doing things like discussing pre-college work or any of that jazz (you can find more about those old plagiarism filled pieces of garbage on my other website from level 2 over on WordPress), unless it's a passing reference and/or jab at the expense of those older works. But I'm getting off topic, so let's move on to the planning stage (which is also being done retroactively)

So What's The Plan To Get This Site Off The Ground You Retconning Rooster?

So after sifting through a few templates on Wix, I decided to use the greatest template of all time:

that's right there is no template

The reason I went ahead and did this was because to be honest, I didn't feel like using a template for this one (and I've already used that particular template for the Colypsia Website I'd made back in level 2), because that way I can create everything myself and do my own layout and add pages with ease (because I presume these templates also come with a lot of pages):

meaning I can go from this...

...to something like this over the course of a couple of months

But that's just one possible layout, I could have laid this website out in an infinite number of ways. For example, I could have gunned for something more like the WordPress blog I made way back when, I could have had more than one character per set on the front page (I.E: I could have put The Night Pig, Hugo The Shape-Shifter, Syntha-Sheep, Hex Moother and/or Lorange on the front alongside Super Sheep):

*Characters not to scale*

But I didn't want to have every character I ever made on the front page this time, because that would have been way too many characters vying for space on one page, so I went with a rule of only having one character from each intellectual property I've made (and even then, it's just the main characters), although I do plan on finding ways to get the rest of the backlog onto the website, I.E: the character bios I started working on for all the main characters could probably also link through to other characters on the site via their pictures, sort of like how the main characters picture on the homepage would link to their respective bio (which as of now is a secret feature I'm developing on an on-off basis due to the work I'm currently doing for college)

Now you might be asking why I'm doing this. You see, the reason I'm even putting the characters on the home page in the first place is to add lots of colourful imagery so that the people visiting can show their kids the website too and thus I can give Super Sheep and friends a head start once production on an actual Super Sheep movie starts (because by then, they'll probably have garnered a small fan-base that'll want to see their goofy adventures)

so what design aspects could be improved then?

Right now, the main two areas that I feel need improving are the home and about/landing page:

let's start with the home page

In terms of improvements to the home page, I'd say the big thing that's got to change is the way I've laid out the characters, mainly because when I create future characters I won't really have any space to place them in without ruining the entire page (due to parts of one or more characters having to go off screen)

The way I'll achieve this is by possibly taking a cue from Super Smash Bros Ultimate, particularly it's "Everyone Is Here" Banner (which they update every time a new DLC fighter comes along) as that manages to include every singe character that's ever been a part of the series (including characters like Sonic, Mario, Steve/Alex from Minecraft, Banjo and Kazooie, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Pikachu, Link, Samus Aran, Ice Climbers, Mr Game and Watch Ext.) into a single image they made by stitching together multiple smaller images. (at least for the version on the game's website) Of course, this'll still follow the rule of "main characters only" (because there's no way I'm pulling this off to the same scale they did) as this page could then link to a new page dedicated to the characters themselves (but not their adventures. That's what the portfolio is for), of course, to pull this off fully, I'll also need to make a new page where you can click on the characters to find out more about them, so there's that. Now let's see how I can improve that "About" Page:

so what needs improving here Mr.?

for this one, I think the main improvement I could make here is to change the art work a little bit because to me, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have the image next to a piece of text WELCOMING people to the website to consist of what amounts to "That's All Folks" (mainly due to the conflict of communications), what I would probably do here is create a similar banner, but instead of the signifying the end, it signifies that there's more to discover in this website, but other than that, I feel this area does a good job describing who I am and what to expect on this website in a way that's suitably goofy. (although I may have to alter it slightly once year two of this course starts)

So How Are You Going To Brand This Website To Make It Your Own?

Since I already came up with a logo for a theoretical animation studio back in Level 2 (I chose to name it Slamination Studios, a combination of the words "Slam" [as in a Slam-Dunk, hence why the portfolio section is called "Past Slam Dunks"] and "Animation"), I've chosen to simply use the branding I already had in order to make the website visually distinct (as well as connect it back to my previous work):

that's right, we're re-using some old jazz for this one

Luckily for me, Pixlr actually allowed me to open up the original photoshop file (albeit it did look quite different) and separate the text from the image to create this:

to be quite frank, I actually think this looks a bit better than the text in the original image

I figured I could use level 3 to help transition the idea of Slamination Studios from a theoretical construct into a legitimate brand-name (with like, mascots and cartoons and all that jazz)

To achieve this, I've taken to plastering the studio name within the various promotional graphics I've made earlier in the year, some of which are currently serving as page backgrounds (because what better way to use promotion graphics than as a background the viewers can't avoid looking at), although I could also slip the logo itself underneath the new "every main character I've created" image I plan on making for some slick branding. (although that may take a while to get here)

The Review

I feel that the Font I've chosen for this entire site (which is called Chelsea Market) is quite distinctive. I chose it because it was a close approximation to the "Ravie" font which I plan to primarily use for Super Sheep and Friends, although I might have to modify it a little bit because none of the programs and websites outside of Microsoft office even have "Ravie" as an option (not even Dreams has this font as an option currently, and Pixlr used to have this font when it was flash-based, but not anymore):

see?

One thing I like about this font in particular is that while it might look perfectly normal when it's relatively small (much like right now), but once you take a closer look (or make the text bigger), you'll start to notice that the characters take more of a "hand-made" style to them, sort of like the images I make in Pixlr having small imperfections when you zoom in. (not to mention the people that saw the website when I did an accidental screen-share seemed to like it)

In terms of readability, I'd say the text is perfectly readable during these blog posts (due to how the black text contrasts the white background), although I can't fully say the same thing for the rest of the website

mainly due to the way the bright text is being juxtaposed with a bright background (which can ruin readability)

one way I can fix this is by doing what I did in order to make the text readable in the photo gallery:

There, I simply used the highlight tool to make a white highlight while keeping the text black, that way I could still keep the original background

For navigation, I've made absolutely sure that you can get anywhere on the website with the press of a button by copying the same basic menu I created on the home page across the website (although I have had glitches where some of the links take you to the wrong page entirely, but I was able to fix these mistakes quickly and quietly), the reason I simply copied and pasted the menu instead of re-making it from scratch is because I wanted to save quite a bit of time (plus it helps me maintain visual consistency throughout)

so far, I'd say all the content on this website (from the blog posts and all the random links to trailers to the images and animations featured throughout the website) are quite relevant to the topic of creative media and photography (yes, even the random tangents about Sonic to a certain degree) because of how bread the subject of creative media is and how these sites are now being used to do unit work, but I'd say the content of the actual work I do is not concise in any way (far from it in fact, as I usually tend to write things in ridiculous amounts of detail) and 'm not really sure how to fix that without also impacting my work so I'll probably have to keep going with the gratuitous detail.

Maintenance

For Maintenance, I'm mostly going to update the portfolio page (which I call the "Past Slam Dunks" page in order to keep with the theme of Cartoon Basketball) whenever I do a new piece of work I'm particularly proud of (I.E: A new cartoon starring Detective Griswold), as well as update the home page whenever I come up with a character that's good enough to hold their own intellectual property (and by that I mean someone like Super Sheep and Captain Cartridge, who're the main characters or their respective I.P.)

I'll also be sure to continue updating the blog area with posts that correspond to whatever unit I'm doing at the moment (which themselves will be updated day and night because that's how I'm going to show my unit work from here on out)

A Discovery I made last night

Ok, so originally, the Maintenance Section would have been the final section, but since I have a day left, I wanted to go over a particular discovery I'd made about Wix's blog feature last night. If you're wondering why everything's orange and blue now, the reason is that I found out what the settings button next to the "manage posts" button actually does.

You see, the settings button actually allows you to customise the way the blog menu (as well as the actual posts themselves) looks, this meant I was able to change everything from the way each post is formatted to the colour of the text (thus allowing me to make the "black" text truly black) and even the colour of the actual backgrounds, hence the orange and blue colour scheme:

so now I was able to do something that'll make me unique and different

As for why I went with an orange and blue colour scheme, I did it to keep the blogs coherent with the "Slamination Studios" style branding I've got going on with this website (what with the logo and characters being everywhere), because before the white background on black text would clash heavily with the rest of the website (but now I've got blacker text on an ORANGE background)

in other news, I was also able to change the artwork used on the landing page into something I felt was much more appropriate:

I whipped up the new artwork yesterday

I'm actually quite proud with how Super Sheep himself looks in this image, mainly in the face where it looks like some kind of professional cartoonist did this did this. (but then again, I've drawn Super Sheep so much over the years that there's bound to be improvements over time) It's also here where I discovered one of the other new features of Pixlr, where I can now give the text I type a slight curve to it. (similar to that of the Looney Tunes logo in certain circumstances)

Other than that, not much happened last night. so we're pretty much finished here (for reals this time)