Sunday, September 7, 2008

Theme: One can make the difference

Here are my references..(it sucks not having internet at home...)

http://www.beespit.com

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu

http://www.ngft.northumberland.gov.uk

http://www.flikr.com

http://www.designwire.org

http://www.caav.org

http://worshipmusician.files.wordpress.com

And thanks to http://www.google.com , http://images.google.com , http://search.yahoo.com and http://search.images.yahoo.com , for all their help in making my research possible for all three assignments.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Assignment 3

RESEARCH

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest wasteland. Generally, the removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. In many countries, massive deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography. Deforestation results from removal of trees and other plants, without the process of re-planitng. As a result, habitats and animals are lost and soil erosion is found.
From about the mid-1800s, around 1852, the planet has experienced an unprecedented rate of change of destruction of forests worldwide. Forests in Europe are adversely affected by acid rain and very large areas of Siberia have been harvested since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the last two decades, Afghanistan has lost over 70% of its forests throughout the country.[3] However, it is in the world's great tropical rainforests where the destruction is most pronounced at the current time and where clearcutting is having an adverse effect on biodiversity and contributing to the ongoing Holocene mass extinction.
About half of the mature tropical forests, that once covered the planet have fallen(almost 1 billion hectares!). The forest loss is already acute in Southeast Asia, the second of the world's great biodiversity hot spots. Much of what remains is in the Amazon basin, where the Amazon Rainforest covered more than 600 million hectares. The forests are being destroyed at a pace tracking the rapid pace of human population growth.In other words, the fastest growing thing next to humans is the destruction of forests!!
Unless significant measures are taken on a world-wide basis to preserve them, by 2030 there will only be ten percent remaining with another ten percent in a degraded condition. 80 percent will have been lost and with them the irreversible loss of hundreds of thousands of species.This could lead (and may already be leading) to the re-emersion of old diseases like small pox and high fevers.
Many tropical countries, including Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia have lost large areas of their rainforest. 90% of the forests of the Philippine archipelago have been cut. In 1960, Central America still had 4/5 of its original forest; now it is left with only 2/5. Madagascar has lost 95% of its rainforests. Brazil has lost 90-95% of its Mata Atlantica forest.Half of the Brazilian state of Rondonia's 24.3 million hectares have been destroyed or severely degraded in recent years. As of 2007, less than 1% of Haiti's forests remain, causing many to call Haiti a Caribbean desert. Between 1990 and 2005, Nigeria lost a staggering 79% of its old-growth forests. Several countries, notably the Philippines, Thailand and India have declared their deforestation a national emergency.
Impact on the environment
Generally, the removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. In many countries, massive deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography.
Deforestation is a substantial contributor to global warming, and although 70% of the oxygen we breathe comes from the photosynthesis of plants, the mass destroying of the worlds rain forests is not beneficial to our environment. In addition, the incineration and burning of forest plants in order to clear land releases tonnes of CO2 which increases the impact of global warming.
Deforestation reduces the content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture. Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that erosion, flooding and landslides often ensue. Forests support considerable biodiversity, providing valuable habitat for wildlife; moreover, forests foster medicinal conservation and the recharge of aquifers (which, ironically has lead to the short supply of water for some regions). With forest biotopes being a major, irreplaceable source of new drugs (like taxol), deforestation can destroy genetic variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably.
Shrinking forest cover lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and transport precipitation. Instead of trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows (we also call it water erosion). That quicker transport of surface water can translate into flash flooding and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased evapotranspiration, which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels down wind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans. According to one preliminary study, in deforested north and northwest China, the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s.
Longterm gains can be obtained by managing forest lands sustainable to maintain both forest cover and provide a biodegradable renewable resource. Forests are also important stores of organic carbon, and forests can extract carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air, thus contributing to biosphere stability. Deforestation (mainly in tropical areas) account for up to one-third of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Forests are also valued for their aesthetic beauty and as a cultural resource and tourist attraction.
Reducing emissions from tropical deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries has emerged as new potential to complement ongoing climate policies. The idea consists in providing financial compensations for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
Economic impact
Historically utilization of forest products, including timber and fuel wood, have played a key role in human societies, comparable to the roles of water and cultivable land. Today, developed countries continue to utilize timber for building houses, and wood pulp for paper. In developing countries almost three billion people rely on wood for heating and cooking. The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing countries. Using forests for one's own satisfactiono r beneficial needs results in a short term enojoyment of the resource, but a long ternm fatality for the rest of the world. West Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia and many other regions have experienced lower revenue because of declining timber harvests. Illegal logging causes billions of dollars of losses to national economies annually.
A new study found that the emerging market for carbon credits: "Deforestation in tropical countries is often driven by the perverse economic reality that forests are worth more dead than alive. But a new study by an international consortium of researchers has found that the emerging market for carbon credits has the potential to radically alter that equation." The new procedures to get the massive amounts of wood are causing more harm to the economy and over powers the amount of money spent by people employed in logging. According to a study, "in most areas studied, the various ventures that prompted deforestation rarely generated more than US$5 for every ton of carbon they released and frequently returned far less than US $1." The price on the European market for an offset tied to a one-ton reduction in carbon is 23 euro (about $35).

Use of the term deforestation
It has been argued that the lack of specificity in use of the term deforestation distorts forestry issues. The term deforestation is used to refer to activities that use the forest, for example, fuel wood cutting, commercial logging, as well as activities that cause temporary removal of forest cover such as the slash and burn technique, a component of some shifting cultivation agricultural systems or clearcutting. It is also used to describe forest clearing for annual crops and forest loss from over-grazing. Some definitions of deforestation include activities such as establishment of industrial forest plantations that are considered afforestation by others. It has also been argued that the term deforestation is such an emotional term that is used "so ambiguously that it is virtually meaningless" unless it is specified what is meant. More specific terms terms include forest decline, forest fragmentation and forest degradation, loss of forest cover and land use conversion.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Inversed pic

You see? It's inversed the colours (made day into night)...i'm still trying to add the bmp file...just thought i should put this one anyway....

Theme: Stand out

Even thought the theme clearly "stands out" (get it?), I thought I should elaborate further.

The rose is what stands out, brighter than all ad in the centre. This carries the message that we should stand out of the crowd to do our part in preveting or reducing the rate of global warming. The flowers all look different to show that if you do not want to stand out (or can't for some reason) then use whatever makes you unique to do your part in global warming. The sun represents a dawing of a new day.

Anymore and I'll update the post.

The blog is inversing the colours of my final product, so I'm converting from jpg to bmp and will puti t on as soon as it works (I might end up using psd even).

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The makig of...

The process:

First flower of the field. You can see the centre of the other flowers; just thought I should give you a preview…

These are the remaining flowers that will form the field. I used ellipse tool for three (3) of the flowers and pen tool for everything else. As you can see, the smaller petals are in random positions. I wanted to make them each look unique in some way.

Added some leaves and explored the idea of grass. I used quite a bit of copy and cut and paste here…I also tried using the brush and pencil tools to make the grass…

Does this look like a rose to you? Does this look like a rose to you? Well, it does to me and it’s my rose, so if you disagree you can take your opinion and shove it up your –

I used pen tool for this and created a significant amount of sub-layers.

This is how the whole scenery looks with everything in it. I’m thinking of making the rose a bit smaller…

I reduced the rose. Man, the transform tool combined with the shift button makes for one very useful accessory. I have also started the colouring by changing the stroke colour. Oh, and before I forget, let me take the time to say that I used different stroke points ranging from 0.25 to 1.

I’ve added some colour to my work. Beautiful, isn’t it? I used the colour palette and explored the gradient tool. Then, once I found a satisfactory colour I applied to the flowers. I also changed the stroke colours and found this colour that makes the flowers look 3-d-ish…Thank you whoever thought of making the direct selection tool because that made my job easier colouring things quickly and efficiently.

I have finished colouring. I told you it looks like a rose!! All that’s left is the background and a little surprise of my own…

Finished with a brown background for sand (?) and decided to add a little more grass….too much? The ellipse tool was used for the background and its colour was done using gradient.

SURPRISE!!! After much, MUCH practice, I finally learnt how and where to use the flare tool to create my sun effect…thanks to mmy friend now I have to create an actual sky…ksyuh!!

…After much thought and trials (and miserable failure) I have decided a sky is not worth it, besides, what am I supposed to say my reason is? Realism? Pssh, please!!!

The finishing touch is placing my symbol from my first assignment at the bottom right corner.

Monday, August 18, 2008

sketches are here

Dear bloggers,

Please bear with me for my failed promises are the results of depression and a heaviness in my heart which i cannot explain..

anyway, sketches........

Monday, August 11, 2008

Sketches...

Having trouble uploading....but should have uploaded by end of today...

Assignment 2: the scenario

I have to pick one....rwaaaiiiit

Sunday, July 27, 2008

the making of....

I tried live trace. Not working.

This the first layer after placing my sketch. I used pen tool; mocchacino colour with a 2pt stroke. For some reason, it’s overlapping the page…

I also labelled the layer and the sub layers.

I next added the fire and the water. I haven’t exactly closed the gap between the fire and the water on the right side and I am hoping that it won’t affect my colouring later on.

I did the inside of the fire and water next and then I finally found a good use of direct selection tool. With a mixture of 1 and 0.25pt strokes, I successfully closed borders. I also used the direct selection tool to close the border between the fire and the water.

After much turmoil and suffering, I have completed my work. A little sloppy, I admit, but after spending a whole hour trying to get the colours straight, you kind of lose concentration. Anyway my work is done.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

My symbol

This is my symbol before Illustrator. I used the idea of a ring because it's a small thing that people take for granted, but it always has a lot of power attached to it, usually to break or make relationships. In the ring, at first glance seems like all the vital organs of a human body. That was the effect i hoped to achieve, because without the vital organs you can't live. Without the necessary elements, earth will not survive. If you come closer, you will notice that it is a cross between a flower, a wilted rose and a heart. The flower is closer to the fire and the wilted rose is closer to the water. I wanted to show that both effects are used by Global warming to destroy our world, but can be used to counter and build our world - if used in the right way. The wilted rose is seen drowning in the water and the flower is seen oozing "life" (land) out of it, due to the fire. The fire is green because the space under it and above the water (the abstract) represents earth and the lighter the green, the worse our world is becoming. I want to show thru the flower that the earth is the heart of all living things and not just humans, but unknowingly we humans have a power that is helping to destroy it, instead of building it.

Sketches

Yes! After much waiting and long minutes, they've uploaded!

Okay this is my first sketch (the hand with the ring). Inside the ring is the world. I thought that the world was cliche and over-used, so i came up with something more defined - a flower. On top of the sketch of the hand is a sketch of a combined flower with a wilted rose....

On top is the flower and another sketch of the ring with the world in it. here I was tryna stretch it accross to fingers...

This is my final sketch of my idea....

Ideations

Below are my ideas, sketches and references in no particular order. I will label them as best as I can:

I got this flower from an artist of deviant art. the artists' name is rebornpheonix
reference:
http://rebornpheonix.deviantart.com/art/flower-92324752

This is a real-life version of Green-Lantern's ring - one of the superheroes of Justice League
Reference: www.80stees.com

I didn't actually use the fire in the design, but decided to use the design itself as fire.
Reference: http://www.appliancist.com

A wilted rose

Those are my references (above).

My sketches seem to be refusing to upload. So I'm a try a different internet surfer and post them separately.

Assignmen 1 New Trimester

Global warming.

Research: Climate plays a large part in determining plant growth and the production of crops. Crop growth is often limited by temperature and rainfall. An increase in temperature may suit some crops, but the accompanying increase in the evaporation of water will leave less moisture available for plant growth.
The changes in the weather will affect the type of crops grown. Some crops such as wheat and rice grow better in higher temperatures, but other plants such as maize and sugarcane do not. Changes in the amount of rainfall will also affect how many plants grow.

The effect of a change in weather on plant growth may lead to food shortages in some countries of the world. Droughts in countries that currently experience them may become more severe. Brazil, South East Asia, China and parts of Africa are likely to be affected most, and many people could suffer from hunger.

# Sea level rise became faster over the last century.

Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas.

"...plants are flowering earlier..."

http://news-service.stanford.edu/pr/03/root18.html

http://www.earthscape.org/t1/ari05/ygcc7.html

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/environment/global-warming/gw-effects.html

Summary: With the ever-increasing temperatures, and the rising sea-levels, plants will soon be unable to photosynthesis due to the sky-rocketing moisture levels and therefore grow.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Definition

So what exactly is global warming?

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation.

The average global air temperature near the Earth's surface increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the hundred years ending in 2005.^[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations"^[1] via the greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward.^[2]^[3] These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least thirty scientific societies and academies of science,^[4] including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.^[5]^[6]^[7] While individual scientists have voiced disagreement with some findings of the IPCC,^[8] the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change agree with the IPCC's main conclusions.^[9]^[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather

Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding

Glaciers melting

Arctic and Antarctic warming

http://www.climatehotmap.org/

The Earth's climate has changed throughout history. From glacial periods (or "ice ages") where ice covered significant portions of the Earth to interglacial periods where ice retreated to the poles or melted entirely - the climate has continuously changed.

Scientists have been able to piece together a picture of the Earth's climate dating back decades to millions of years ago by analyzing a number of surrogate, or "proxy," measures of climate such as ice cores, boreholes, tree rings, glacier lengths, pollen remains, and ocean sediments, and by studying changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun.

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/pastcc.html