I’m no stranger to digital media, but I’m far from an expert. I’d never taken a formal course in the subject until this past semester

I enrolled in an introductory Photoshop and Illustrator course at my local university. It’s been at least a decade since I used them (I prefer the free alternatives, i.e. Inkscape, Krita).

Photoshop was about as good (and buggy) as I remember it, but now with AI tools. Illustrator I’d barely used in the past, but it functioned similarly enough to Inkscape so I picked it up quickly.

Alien Lo-fi Animation#

The most interesting assignment in the course was the final assignment: to make a lo-fi animation.

I’m no expert in animation. Most of the animations I’ve produced were for simple video games I programmed as a teenager and those on the landing page of Railgun Labs, but that’s precisely what made the assignment so much fun!

The animation I created is a looping lo-fi animation of an alien in their spaceship passing by our solar system.

It’s not perfect by any means (there’s lots of visual artifacts), but it’s something I’m proud of. I missed one class day due to being out sick, but if that hadn’t happened, I’m sure I could have taken it to the next level.

I drew the entire animation by hand with a Wacom drawing tablet. I’d never used a drawing tablet prior to the course. For the most part, it was like drawing with pencil and paper except more forgiving as I could easily undo my mistakes.

Closing Thoughts#

I don’t have the opportunity to make many animations, so I very much enjoyed the final assignment. And, based on the experience, I think I will invest in my own drawing tablet.