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First and foremost, I just have to say that I can’t believe the semester is over! Wow did that ever come fast. Over the last 10 weeks I have had the ability to learn a brand-new skill… using only the internet as my resource. To start my #LearningProject journey, I decided to dive headfirst into the world of pixel art.  

Wait… are you new here? If so, let’s recap 😊: 

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Part 1: Exploring the Wonders of the Digital Art World 

To start my #LearningProject journey, I started by exploring the free PixilArt resource. Through this website, you can: 

• Create a free account using only an email and password  
• Save drafts or completed work to an account  
• Follow other artists or friends  
• Publish art projects to an online public community  
• Access the art projects of others in the public community 

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Part 2: What Are Pixels?! 

Before I could learn about pixel art, I had to learn about pixels. Pixels are short for picture elements. They are the smallest indivisible units of digital image or display. Perfect. Now, I can explore further. According to Chat GPT, pixel art is a digital art style that utilizes individual pixels to create 2D images, known for its blocky, low-resolution aesthetic often associated with early video games and limited color palettes. 

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Part 3: It’s Go Time 

In this week, I made by very first pixel art image using PixilArt.  

• PixilArt Resource Rating: 11/10 definitely recommend 
• There is a whole online art community within PixilArt where you can gain inspiration, win contests, and/ or interact with other artists via comments.  
• Even better? There are a ton of online PixilArt tutorials. See the one I used here.  
• I made a flower using pixel art 

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Part 4: 3…2…1… ACTION! 

It was time to review an online video-presentation format. 

• Microsoft Clipchamp Resource Rating: 10000/10 would recommend to any student, teacher, or individual who has to make an online presentation  
• Free to use with your University of Regina credentials 
• Allows for self-facing camera videos, desktop-recording videos, audio recordings, or all three combined!  
• I made a milkshake with dimension using pixel art 

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Part 5: Learning All About Landscapes 

I really pushed myself outside of my comfort zone this week by creating a PixilArt landscape.  

• SLNRD Resource Rating: 6/10, it got the job done, however, it is not of benefit to use unless your focus is on pixel art… and only pixel art.  
• I made a landscape using pixel art 

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Part 6: BREAKING NEWS 🚨 

I used no tutorial – or guidance – to put my creativity to the test. I put my resource hunt on pause this week to allow myself to have some fun in the creation process.  

• I got my first PixilArt follower! Whoop whoop. 
• Chantelle T. recommended I try making an animal, which I had a blast doing! Thank you, Chantelle, for your lovely recommendation.  
• I made an animal using pixel art 

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Part 7: In My Animation Era 

Wowza. I did something this week I never thought I would be able to do… create my very own animation! 

• Piskel Resource Rating: 8/10, super simple to use – I just wish it had some sort of a tutorial… I could not figure out how to erase or undo/redo pixels 
• I made an animation using pixel art 
• This is a depiction of me literally jumping for joy after I found a good resource:  

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Part 8: Creating My Own What Now?! 

Guess what… I even created my own video game. Video games are all about pixels, making this a perfect area for me to explore.  

• Microsoft MakeCode Arcade Resource Rating: 11/10, it was so easy to use and is a great way to teach the concepts of JavaScript, Block, or Python coding… or even just to learn how to make your own video game 
• There is still time to play! If you want to beat my high score of 11, click here.  
• I made a video game using pixel art 

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Part 9: New (Favorite) Resource Alert 

As class has come to an end, Minecraft Education continues to be my favorite research I found within my #LearningProject. It is easy to use, relevant for learners, and perfect for meeting classroom outcomes – of any subject or age!  

• Minecraft Education Resource Rating: 1000000/10 +1, definitely a resource I will be bringing along with me as an educator 
• I made a campfire using pixel art 

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Part 10: Using AI to Make WHAT 😲?! 

In my last week, I attempted to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make my very own video game character. Although it took some time to find a good resource, I had a blast in the process. 

• Canva Resource Review: 10/10, not only can you use Canva to make AMAZING presentations, but you can also use it to make AI generation images… who knew?!  
• I made a video game character using pixel art 

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One of the most rewarding aspects of my #LearningProject journey has been witnessing my own growth as a new learner. See my progress gallery below: 

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Additionally, I had some amazing peer support in the process to help me stay motivated – especially when I needed it the most. See my most helpful pals below: 

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Overall, learning a new skill online has been an absolutely amazing experience. Through this assignment, I learned just how educational – and resourceful – the online world can be. Don’t believe me? Online learning… 

• Offers learners the flexibility to access materials and complete assignments at their own convenience, accommodating various schedules and commitments. 
• Allow for customizable learning experiences, empowering learners to tailor their educational journey to their individual needs and preferences, enhancing engagement and learning outcomes. 
• Provides access to a wide range of resources, including multimedia content, interactive simulations, and virtual lessons, enriching the learning experience and catering to diverse learning styles. 
• Enables learners to progress at their own pace, allowing them to revisit concepts or accelerate through material as needed, promoting autonomy and independence in learning. 
• Promotes a culture of lifelong learning, enabling individuals to acquire new skills and knowledge continuously throughout their lives, fostering personal and professional growth. 

With online access, the world is literally your oyster 🦪. Next up on my list is to learn how to crotchet… since y’all made it look like so much fun!

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Now… before we go our separate ways, I must leave you all with one last question. Is there anything that you think that people CAN’T learn online 🤔?  

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“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!”  

— Dr. Seuss 

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Hello everyone! Welcome back to Part 10 of my learning project. As I was looking on the schedule for next week, I saw that we were going to be talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although we are going to delve more into the topic next week, it got me thinking… if you can use AI to create meal plans, voice overs, or images, can you use AI to make pixel art? Going even further, to connect to my recent projects, can AI be used to make video games? Let’s check it out!

Before I began my research, I wanted to share a HILARIOUS AI-based video game I found called Suck Up!. Essentially, you are a vampire who is trying to convince AI civilians to let you into their homes… it sounds weird but it is oddly addicting. See more below:

After having some fun with Suck Up!, I officially decided to start my research. I got quite a few suggestions for the Retro Diffusion Extension on the Aseprite program. However, my search quickly came to a dead end when I realized it was $65.00 – if you have money to spend, the reviews on this sound great! From there, I tried the Orbofi AI website… I did NOT link this site because it crashed my entire computer when I tried to open it… how rude. Jeepers, my research is off to quite the start. Time to go on a break and reset.

I am back… and happy I did not give up! On a Reddit forum, I found the character.ai website. This is a free website where you can create video game characters, practice a new language, get book recommendations, or even practice an interview. Wow! If you haven’t caught onto the theme of my resources by now, it’s even free 😎. I was honestly blown away by all of the possibilities within character.ai. After exploring the website for a few minutes, I officially jumped into the journey of creating a pixel art video game character using AI.

I clicked Create a Character, and away I went. IMMEDIATELY, I was faced with a login button (agh). All I had to provide was my email… and questionably my date of birth? Oh 🐋. From there, I had to provide a name, tagline, description, and greeting for my character. Although this was more behind-the-scenes work than I initially anticipated, I had a lot of fun building my character… until I realized I was creating a CHAT BOT! What in the world… I thought I was creating a photograph. So, if you ever want to chat with a Snorlax AI bot hit my line.

After some back pedaling, I ended up finding a pre-made chat bot within the website that creates images – phew! Let’s try this again. After asking the bot to provide a photo of the Snorlax Pokémon, things went sideways… it provided me with an image of an AI woman in a dress *sigh*. Back to the drawing board. Although this website has tons of cool features, it is not the place to go for creating AI images of characters.

My final attempt was Canva. Through the magic media function, you can can create AI generated images using a typed description (fingers crossed). After some trial and error, I finally ended up with an image I was happy with. Today was another win in my books for Canva. 100/10 recommend, whether you need aesthetic presentation slides or AI images!

As AI continuously evolves, I am left to wonder where we will be in even a year from now! Hopefully… making better – or free – video game creation programs. Although I left today with different results than what was in mind, I had a lot of fun researching some of the different possibilities that AI currently has to offer.

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“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” 

Mary Lou Cook

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Sooo… there is a resource I have been curious about for YEARS! When I was in high school, I noticed that there was an app downloaded onto every computer… and although it was so common, I never ended up giving it a try. To bring me back to my curious days, I decided to finally explore this mysterious app. What might that be? The very own Minecraft Education edition. If you are new to this – like me – please enjoy the overview video below.  

Now… if you find yourself wondering how Minecraft Education and pixel art are related, I am getting there… SOON! But isn’t this resource cool?! Minecraft Education Edition is a specialized version of the popular sandbox game, Minecraft, tailored specifically for educational purposes. Developed by Mojang Studios, this platform uses the immersive and creative potential of Minecraft to engage students in a variety of subjects, from math and science to history and language arts. It offers a collaborative environment where educators can create custom lessons, worlds, and challenges to facilitate learning in an interactive and dynamic way. BONUS, it is free to use if you have a school-verified email 🎉! If you don’t know by now, I am a sucker for free teaching resources.  

To start, I had to download Minecraft Education onto my computer. I was immediately blown away when opening the application. You have the option of picking from subject kits, monthly build challenges, starter worlds, or how to play tutorials. Now, if you are planning on teaching anything related to Science, Math, Computer Science, Equity and Inclusion, History and Culture, Social Emotional, Art and Design, Digital Citizenship, Literacy and Language, ESports, or Climate and Sustainability; then Minecraft Education is for you!

 There are tons of pre-made lessons for each and every one of these categories. Continuing my theme of pixel art, I decided to give the Art and Design starter kit a try. Specifically, building a campsite. I had so much fun following along with this activity. I like thinking of each block like a pixel, so I used the skills I have built thus far to make my camp site. It got rained out… digitally (lol)! However, I still had time to take a screenshot.  

Honestly, I think that Minecraft Education is the best educational resource I have found so far! It is an 11/10 in my books. They even have hour-long lessons that teach students about cyber safety! If you want more information, see here.  

Phew, that was a lot. Thank you for sticking with me! Now, I just have to ask, are you familiar with Minecraft Education? If so, what are your thoughts on it?! I would love to know.  

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“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” 

Albert Einstein 

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Well everybody, the time has officially come. I am going to be giving the whole create your own video game thing a shot! After some – substantial – Google investigating, I found the Microsoft MakeCode Arcade program. This program has a MASSIVE selection of things to do, from watching coding livestreams to playing user-friendly games. Did I mention it is free to use?!  

The more I explored Microsoft MakeCode Arcade, the cooler it got! Yes, you can code your own video games, play your own games, and play the video games that others have made… but guess what? You can even see the behind-the-scenes of how everyone else’s games were created. In other words, you can see how each game is coded – whether that be in block, JavaScript, or python. Making this a great opportunity to firsthand see the inputs and outputs of coding.  

Now, seeing as my focus is on pixel art, I decided to add my own background, sprites, and obstacles into the mix. Instead of creating my entirely own game from scratch, I decided to alter one of the pre-made games to fit my liking. Yes, Microsoft MakeCode Arcade let’s you do this! Given that Easter is around the corner, I decided to put an Easter-twist on a game you all may be familiar with… Flappy Bird. The craze of 2014. To bring back any nostalgia you may – or may not have – missed, you can try out my game below 😉.  

 

🚨 LINK TO THE GAME   🚨

Overall, I would 10/10 recommend Microsoft MakeCode Arcade for teaching – or learning – coding, digital design, and/or video game creation. The program is user-friendly, FULL of tutorials, and allows for creative minds to tinker and explore. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what your high score was in the comments below 😊 

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“Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art.” 

Don Miguel Ruiz 

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Hello everyone, 

For my learning project this week, I decided to embark on an entirely new journey: animation. Now, what I found out… after some extensive research … is that you can create animations, such as video games or television shows, using only pixel art! Through combining various pixel art images – also known as sprites – that represent your game characters, objects, or backgrounds, you can really bring an art piece to life. To show you an example of what I mean by sprites and pixels, I provided an example of one of the video games I used to go crazy for when I was younger which incorporates both elements:  

Once I conducted some research, I decided to dive right in. After a quick Google search, I found a website called Piskel. Piskel is a “free online editor for animated sprites and pixel art”, so it sounded perfect to use in theory. However, I quickly found out that there was no tutorial within the website for how to use the program… not even those pop-up tutorials which one typically skips. Sooo… I was back to square one. Instead of restarting, I decided to take to YouTube to find a tutorial on how to use the Piskel program.  

Once I became familiar with the Piskel program, I then went to the Mega Voxels website to find a good animation template… and I did! I really enjoyed this tutorial. They go through each frame step by step, and it was extremely easy to follow. 10/10 would recommend. From there, I got to work.  

Overall, minus the lack of tutorial, eraser tool, and undo/redo button, I really enjoyed the Piskel website. Although it took some research time, it job the job done… and for FREE 😎! 

I hope you enjoyed my animation this week! Next week I might even try a video game… who knows. Speaking of, were there any pixelated video games you enjoyed – or currently enjoy – when you were younger? If so what ones.  

Have a wonderful week!

 

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“Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can.”

Danny Kaye

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Well everyone,

Today marks a day in history for my learning project. On March 5th at 12:05 AM, I received my first PixilArt follower – and no, it was no someone who was coerced. My post today has two shoutouts, the first goes out to user @xavierarnaiz for being my first follower… I will remember you when I make it big. My second shoutout goes to Chantelle T. Chantelle gave me the challenge of making an animal on PixilArt! To mark my halfway point, I decided to mix my past projects together.

To start, I made the landscape, which was a skill I got to work on in Part 5. Instead of blending the layers together, as I did last week, I decided to use a rainbow formation to create a sunshine effect. From starting lighter, to going darker, it added some contrast into the sky – as oppose to a unified blue background.

From there, I took my skills from Part 3 to add some flowers to my landscape. My focus here was the animal I was about to create, so I decided to keep the flowers nice and simple.

Now, Chantelle had the preference of either a cat or a dog… or an apatosaurus. To see what tutorials I could find online, I decided to stick with the dog tutorials due to the large selection of content – although an apatosaurus would have been perfect haha. I took reference from the tutorial to create my head, and added a body as I saw fit.

Overall, I am super pumped about how this turned out! Although it is rather simple, this was my first time making a PixilArt picture on my own, without directly following a tutorial. I find that I am becoming increasingly more comfortable with creating content independently – something that I could only dream of in week one.

On that note, I have a question for all of you. Whereabouts are you along your own learning journey path? Do you feel as though you are still bound to tutorials? Or are you at a point where you feel as though you can start venturing out on your own? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you have a wonderful week 😊!

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“The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands”

Leonardo da Vinci

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Welcome everyone,

Today, I am going to try and push myself outside of my comfort zone by creating a PixilArt landscape. Last week, I really enjoyed the ClipChamp program, so I am going to use the same video software to document my progress!

As demonstrated in the video, I began by looking up various PixilArt landscapes to gain inspiration. After doing some digging on Reddit website, I found a link to an amazing blog, called SLYNRD, that goes through various tutorials such as animated, static, and mini PixilArt projects. It was just my luck that the author provided a landscape pixeling blog, so I had the opportunity to learn and follow along using only this resource.

Although I want to say that the tutorial was easy to follow along with… it was not. Instead of providing a video, the tutorial was a continuous Patreon presentation on loop that could not be paused. The slides – having roughly 10 seconds on content each – moved far too quick for me to follow along and/or keep up with. If I missed a step or demonstration, I had to watch the whole loop again until I got back to that point. After getting frustrated, I just decided to stop watching the tutorial and try to figure out the process – specifically the clouds – on my own. Though I had troubles following the tutorial, I am extremely happy with how my project turned out.

The finished product:

Now, I want to try something new for next week… and I need your help. What should I create next?! Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you so much for reading. Have an amazing week!

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Hello everyone, 

Today I am going to be trying out a new video recording app called Clipchamp. Clipchamp is a downloadable Microsoft program that lets you record your own audio, desktop, and front camera… or if you are feeling fancy, you can record all three of these things at the same time. There is even a text to speech function!  

Although Clipchamp is a Microsoft program, you do not need a Microsoft account to use it. All I did was download the Clipchamp PC app onto my computer, and it gave me the option to either create a new profile or log in using a Microsoft or Gmail account. Since Gmail is a free to use platform already, you can essentially get Clipchamp for free so long as you have an existing account. There is also an “Upgrade” option, however, nothing within the list of upgrades will affect your overall experience within the app. You can make unlimited videos, with unlimited time restraints, all within this one – free – platform.  

As future educators – specifically in the digital age – this is an AMAZING tool for creating online lectures and/or video guides. If you bring a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation onto your desktop, you can record a digital lesson – with the option of – using your self-facing camera and audio that can play in the place of an in-person lecture. If any of you have taken an asynchronous class or have watched video tutorials on YouTube before, then this video-recorded lecture format may be familiar to you.  

On the topic of using Clipchamp in the classroom, I provided an example of how Clipchamp can be used to fit each level of the SAMR model below:  

• Substitution: The ability to teach a lecture digitally versus in person 
• Augmentation: The ability to go back and edit and/or fix mistakes in a lecture 
• Modification: The ability for students to collaborate with peers and create multimedia projects online 
• Redefinition: The ability for students to collaborate globally on video projects  

Overall, the Clipchamp PC app is a relatively easy program to navigate. Without any sort of tutorial, it took me roughly 15 minutes to figure out the basics. From there, I was flying through the process. To give you an example of Clipchamp in action, I have linked Part 4 of my learning project below. I hope you enjoy!  

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“The role of the artist is to ask questions, not answer them.” 

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov 

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Welcome everyone, 

Today, I am going to create my very own PixilArt image. To start, I began by logging into my PixilArt account that I created in Part 1. From there, I clicked the “Start Drawing” link in the top right corner which took me to my very own workspace 🎉! 

To be completely honest, it took me a long time to start feeling creative. I stared at the blank screen for 5 to 10 minutes before I even made an attempt to draw something… and then I changed my mind and wanted to start again. To put myself back on track, I decided to look up PixilArt video tutorials. After scrolling for some time, I found a tutorial that was both fun and achievable for me as a beginner… a perfect starting point!  

My progress halfway through the video:  

Here is my finished product:  

Overall, I am super happy with how this turned out! Although the author used a different pixel art platform called Adobe Illustrator, the tutorial was extremely easy to follow, and the content transferred to PixilArt extremely well. I am excited to see what is in store for next week.  

Thank you for joining me along my learning journey! 

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“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life” 

Pablo Picasso 

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Hello everyone, 

I am back to my PixilArt grind. As I was preparing for this week’s post, I found a large gap in my learning process… I did not know what a pixel was. So, instead of ploughing forward, I decided to take a pause in my initial plan – which was creating an art piece – to bring myself back to the basics.   

Here’s what I learned: 

• “Pixel art is a digital art style that utilizes individual pixels to create 2D images, known for its blocky, low-resolution aesthetic often associated with early video games and limited color palettes.” – Chat GBT 
• Pixels are short for “picture elements” 
• They are the smallest indivisible units of a digital image or display 
• Pixels are used in almost everything technology related! Like TV screens, video games, digital photographs, monitors, et cetera. 
• Higher resolution images have more pixels, resulting in greater detail and clarity 

Essentially, think of pixels like individual puzzle pieces. They come together to form a greater picture.  

To find some additional pixel art information, I typed in “best pixel art pictures” into Google. It led me to this link, which blew me away.  

Although I may not get to this level of expertise by the end of the semester, I now have a solid foundation of what pixel art is used for and where people can go with it. 

Thank you so much for reading, I will update you all next week!