Tag: sk1

Student Posts

MY AVATAR

Hello, my name is Lexy Campbell! This is my ‘avatar.’ When I created my avatar photo, I wanted to create an image that was playful and approachable that also had a futuristic vibe. The image of myself, is an image I took while in lab before performing my E.coli DNA isolation for the day. I am wearing a disposable lab coat, goggles, and holding my Eeyore mug which is wrapped in aluminum foil to protect my coffee from hazardous chemicals and microorganisms. (for those scientists out there- no worries I do not bring my coffee into my station and I wear gloves). The background image that I chose is an image from creative commons. To me, it looks like a DNA sequence. I thought that was very suiting because genetics is something that interests me and something I want to learn more about.

Finally, I believed that it matched my blog — Primordial Soup. Primordial soup is a scientific theory that states that before life existed on earth, a mixture of gases in the atmosphere and oceans existed. It suggests that building blocks (amino acids) of life began in those oceans that was sparked by energy, such a a lighting strike.

by Lexy
Student Posts

SKETCH 1

For the avatar assignment I decided to make something simple and professional for my avatar. I always liked how my initials looked together so thought it would be good to use them for my avatar. I also think that the colors blue and white look good together. It was challenging to figure out how to create this design and how to upload it. I also had trouble figuring out how to tag this, and honestly I am still unsure if I even did it.

by Layla Wofsy
Student Posts

Sketch 1: Avatar

I chose to put miniature versions of myself in a mushroom woodlands scene to represent the aesthetic I try to emulate (emphasis on try — leggings and sweatshirts are too comfortable to give up). I love writing and want to pursue journalism, so I am holding the sticker-covered laptop that I have written countless stories on.

I started by finding the CC-licensed mushroom image using an advanced Google search (more information below). I then cut out the images of myself and layered them onto the mushroom photo, along with the text, using Pixlr. I have never edited photos on Pixlr before, so there was a learning curve when it came to using the different editing tools. I found the cutout tool to be especially difficult at first, but it became easier with time.

Image credit: Florian Van Duyn via Unsplash.com

by Madi
Student Posts

Basil Eaves

How the icon was made…

Badge drawn in ibisPaint using a non-Bluetooth stylus and the free-for-ads brushes. Initial challenges included the canvas size being too small and the image needing to be screenshotted in sketch mode as opposed to the file being downloaded. Still resulted in some lowered image quality, but the size and brush display in the final image is better than the original 500×500 proportions.

How they came to be…

Basil Eaves is the star of the show! They’re the basis of this blog’s aesthetic and a reflection of the author’s interests in environmental science and marine biology. An aspiring scientist who grew up by the ocean, their dream is to travel both land and sea to discover and document the mysteries of life wherever they can. They’re typically seen in their signature red trench coat, and they love studying what most might find odd. Ask them anything about the stranger sides of science—their whole face will light up!

by Leonidas
Sketches

Sketch 1: Avatar

Due: 1/17

Tag: sk1

Objectives:

  • Very basic photo editing
  • Introduction to the concept of Creative Commons
  • Uploading and publishing to your new WordPress site
  • Visual images as representations of complex conceptual topics

Avatar

Once you’ve created your web site, you need an image to represent yourself and/or your site for the class: an avatar. Your avatar can be whatever you want it be but try to create something that both reflects your personality and speaks to the topic for this class in some way.

Start by choosing one or more of your own photos as the basis of the avatar, drawing something yourself and scanning it, or finding one or more Creative Commons-licensed images on Flickr that you can modify. (Make certain to keep a note for yourself of the URL for the photos you use if they are not your own.)

CC-licensed images

Creative Commons licenses work with copyright law so that creators can share their work in a way that allows others to use it with attribution. The video on the left gives a good overview of the concept of Creative Commons licensing. The one on the right gives more explanation of how they work. They are short and worth watching.

You can find CC-licensed images by choosing licensed images on Flickr or with an advanced Google image search.

Edit Photo

Crop and otherwise edit the photo(s) in a photo editing application (like Photoshop or Pixlr). You can create a layered or collage effect, if you’d like. Add your name on your badge in such a way that it’s legible — it can be your full name, just your first name, or the nickname you want to be called this semester.

Your final badge should be square and at least 512 pixels wide and high. Please make certain your badge is square so that it will fit into the design on the student sites page.

Publish

When you’re done, you’ll need to put the image two places, with an optional third:

First

Load the badge into your Media Library and publish it to your site in a blog post. (If adding it as a feature image means that the entire square image won’t display, then also insert the image into the post itself.)

Include information and links in the post about the source(s) for images included in your badge.

Write a paragraph or two about why you chose those images, what aspects of yourself and your interests are represented in your badge, and/or what difficulties you faced in creating the badge.

Please tag your post with the tag “sk1,” plus any additional tags that you think are appropriate.

Second

Go into your dashboard to Design > Customize > Site Identity. Load the image as your site icon (not as the logo).

Finally

If you do not already have a gravatar, create a gravatar account and load your avatar there. From then on, your avatar will show up as your picture when you leave comments here and on other students’ sites.

by David
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