Setting Goals: I’ve been feeling overwhelmed about getting started. So I’ve decided to set specific learning goals:
- Collage separate digital images into one image
- Draw and save a digital drawing that is high enough resolution to be used for projection.
- Learn how to use basic ‘tweening’ to animate from a few drawings (if I get time).
Digital ‘Collage’ I’m working on a project with kids from Riffel HighSchool’s integrated theatre program, That’s Possible. 
They have drawn separate images and I want to merge them into one image that will be used as the backdrop projection for the production.
A quick google suggests that if I want to resize my scanned images to collage together without getting pixelation or quality distortion – I need to convert my images to Vectors.
What is a Vector??? This quick video shed light on the different image files.
What I learned: JPG, PNG, GIF = Raster Files (pixelate when you resize them).
PDF, EPS, AI = Vector Files (maintain their sharpness when enlarged)
This leads me to ask : Can I just use PDF files to create my digital collage? After quite a bit of googling, I’m not fully confident in the answer I’ve come to…but I think I should stick with a TIFF if I can.
<<< One issue I’m having is that I don’t have the tech language and terminology to research what it is I want to do. I’m spending a lot of time trying to find an application that can teach me what I need…..in part because I’m so graphic design illiterate. >>>>
The search for a cost free application continues… Because Adobe suites are $$, I spent time looking for a free alternative. Adobe Express came up as a free option, but I spent nearly an hour looking at videos trying to figure out if I could create the 16×9 1080 resolution format I need for this projection project….. I never found the answer I was looking for.
Phone-A-Friend
I’ve decided to call in some NON-digital tech support so I can get things moving! My partner has GIMP on our laptop and I usually defer to him if I need small graphic created for social media or projection. The inter-web is just getting me tangled up, so I’ve decided to use GIMP for this project. This way, I’ve got some real human assistance as I get myself oriented.
What have I learned? When you are really just getting started with learning a new skill, it can be just as hard to find the online training and information you need as it is to learn the skill.
And in this case – I think having a someone to teach me some foundations (in person) is really important!