Graphic Design - Rainbow Six Siege Operator Showcase

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is a first-person shooter game, in which players control an operator from the Rainbow team. Different operators have different nationalities, weapons, and gadgets. Ubisoft, the publisher of Siege, has released multiple artpieces of each group of operators. These are called Operator showcases.

Today, we will be making our own DLC operator showcase, like this one for the Brazilian BOPE unit. 

In order to do this, we'll need a couple of things.
-Two operator profiles (look & name)
-Two operator icons that fit the character's ability
-Fitting background and blending

Its a bit complicated, so this'll take a bit. To help us out, we'll be referring to Alexander Mayward's Guide to Photoshop CC.

For starters, we'll need to tie down our theme. While you can do just about anything, we'll be making a showcase for the Ukrainian BERKUT unit. This post will focus on the graphical design, so the actual abilities and backstory of these characters aren't important.

The first operator will be Voroshbyt, a trained marksman equipped with a precision scope and high powered rifle. His character is focused on accuracy and lethality.

To signify his attributes, I chose a character from a different game that has roughly the same mentality. It would be cool if we could make our own operator art, but I'm not a professional artist.

In order to highlight his attributes, I made an operator icon consisting of a scope zeroed in on a skull. After I got the main icon made, I added some grunge to signify his rugged personality. Lastly, I added some lines in the back to for added clarity.







Next up is Khmara, an experienced soldier with access to radioactive gas. Geneva certainly wouldn't approve. He is a disciplined soldier who will go to any lengths, legal or not, to get the mission done.

In order to tie the two operators together, I chose a squadmate of the character I used for Voroshbyt. Their similar uniforms and headgear distinguishes them from the rest of the R6 cast.

Khmara's defining trait is his use of radioactive weapons. As such, that will be the focus of his icon. Since the weapon is in the form of a gas, I made the radioactive symbol with gas. I was pretty satisfied with the icon, so I only added a bit of detail to make the icon look more professional.




Now that we have our operators and symbols, all we need to do is throw them on a background and add some text. We will also use the Ukrainian flag to show which country they represent at a glance. After the project is put together, I added some small effects for flair. With all said and done, it turned out like this.

Looks nice! Now that its completed, just export and share it with whomever you choose. If you wish, you can put a watermark to discourage others from stealing your work, but I found that it took away from the aesthetic. Now that you've seen how to make a showcase, would you be interested in making your own? If so, what country and unit would it be on?

  Works cited:

Mayward, Alexander. Photoshop Cc 2015: an Easy Beginner's Guide. Alexander Mayward, 2015.

Rainbow Six Siege is a Ubisoft property. The character models used for the operators are from Crysis 3. 

Story from a Drawings

From my last blog "Learning new ways to Draw", I stated a question "Do you think that this type of sketching is more appealing than a sketch with lines and structure?". after that last blog I kept reading the book Drawing for the absolute beginner and from that, I have found a reasonable answer to that question. which is that it doesn't matter the way to draw it matter how to implement that skill into the story you're trying to tell in your drawing. "Good art begins with an interesting subject. Be on the lookout for inspiring subjects because your best art will no doubt come from this inspiration" (Willenbrink 105).

So with that in mind, I decided to draw using the different ways of drawing techniques to tell a story. The story I wanted to show and tell is that this is a very old-fashioned man farmer. who is still living in the rural ways of life.

Do you think telling a story is important to do when drawing/sketching something?

Willenbrink, Mark, and Mary Willenbrink. Drawing for the Absolute Beginner: a Clear & Easy Guide to Successful Drawing. North Light Books, 2006.

Lesson 1- Ukulele, Strings, and Meter signature (HOW TO PLAY THE HAWAIIAN 'UKULELE 10 Easy Lessons)

knowing the ukulele a good thing to know, as lesson 1 starts by introducing the main parts of the ukulele as well as teaches us the note it can play. (Doris 2) starts out by showing us a demonstration of the notes and where they are placed, as you can see the four main string cords start from G,C,E, and A.

Next, it teaches us about meter signatures some of which are the notes and other symbols. "Notice that a quarter note lasts one beat , a half note two beats. A quarter rest shows one beat if silence."(Doris 2).

The other symbols including the meter signature(4/4) show that "the upper 4 shows that there are four beats in each measure. A measure is the distance between bar lines. the lower 4 shows that the quarter note is the "beat note"." (Doris 3). These notes helps to read and understand how to play music more clearly and better. The next step that i did was to count the beats aloud so that i could memorize and understand what it means when i start playing it with a ukulele.

In example one what does the note with a line going through it mean?

The Culture Behind the Art

The Culture Behind the Art 

The origami art was originated from japan .The word "origami" comes from the Japanese language. "Ori" means folded and "kami" means paper. "Used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques" (Shaffer 11).  Origami is the art of paper folding, which is often associated with Japanese culture.  Origami folders often use the Japanese word refers to designs which use cuts.

Folding pieces of paper was a valuable gift used in japan. "When origami was first practiced, however, it was a craft only for the elite. Japanese monks folded origami figures for religious purposes. Origami was also used in various formal ceremonies"(Shaffer 12).ceremonial paper folding were important, these models would act as a certificate of authenticity. As paper became more affordable, common people began making origami figures as gifts or creating folded cards and envelope. 

Can origami still carry that deeper and cultural meaning or was it lost due to its wide population throughout the whole world?

Shaffer, Jeremy. “Origami to Astonish and Amuse.” Amazon.com, 6 July 2001, www.amazon.com/Origami-Astonish-Amuse-Jeremy-Shafer

The Foundational Hand

The foundational hand is also known as the formal manuscript, or bookhand. Both the pen widths and the pen angle are fairly easy. The pen width is 5 nibs wide, with the ascenders (such as d) and the descenders (such as g) 3 pen nibs wide. Bennett says, “One reason this alphabet is easy to learn, is you use only the 30-degree pen angle for almost all strokes... (there’s only one exception, the lowercase z) (125). As always, I started with some warmups provided by the book. I first wrote some v’s, with one side thin and the other thick, to get an idea of the correct pen angle. Then, I practiced some basic strokes that are the base of this alphabet.

After I warmed up, I started the lower-case letters. The lower-case letters have different shapes such as round letters, letters that have the “n” or “u” shape, the straight-line letters, and letters that have a “v” shape. I’ll start off by talking about the round letters, which are: b, c, d, e, o, p and q. Bennett says once you get the round letters right, you should be able to do all the letters easily. He also says that you should always do the left side of the letter first, to ensure you will have enough space between the letters (126-127).

Next are the letters that have the “n” or “u” shape. These letters are: u, m, h, r, and a. What I mostly paid attention to was making sure the letters were symmetrical, and making sure the letters have no slant to them, which was hard since this whole time, I’ve been trying to make my calligraphy slanted and fancy!

The next set of letters are the ones that have straight lines, which are: I, j, k, l, and t. I noticed that some of the curves at the end, or serifs, were almost microscopic. The main thing I paid attention to in these were keeping the strokes very straight and consistent.

After this was the letters that have a “v” shape, which are: v, w, and y. These ones were simple, so I quickly moved on to perfecting the final set of letters: all of the ones that were left. Just in case you weren’t keeping track :), they are: f, g, s, x, and z. The most complicated was the g, which was made up of four different strokes. But, there was no other letter other than the g that I thought was too hard.

After these, I started on the capital letters. These barely took any time, because all I had to do was join my previous knowledge of proportions and strokes from the Roman alphabet. Bennett says, “The capital letters for this alphabet are essentially a relaxed, less formal version of the Roman capitals” (130). For additional information about proportion, feel free to look at my previous blog about the Roman alphabet.

Bennett has us do this style, the foundation for calligraphy, after the italic and the Roman alphabets. His reasoning is that one should learn the hard things first, so the easy ones will seem like a breeze. Do you agree with his philosophy? Why or why not?

Bennett, Jim. Calligraphy for Dummies. For Dummies, 2007. Print.

Classical Roman Letters

The Roman alphabet is one of the simplest alphabets a calligrapher can write. But, their simple nature is deceptive. “Because of the simplicity of the letters, any flaw of mistake you make will stand out like a sore thumb. There are no flourishes or embellishments in this alphabet that will hide your goofs” (Bennett 107). So, as I started practicing writing the Roman alphabet, I started out by doing some practice, to understand what pen angle looks best and what position I should be in, which, as mentioned before, are two very important skills for a calligrapher. The Roman alphabet is very vital for two things: it is great to show classical elegance, and it shows the importance of proportion in calligraphy. For example, the Roman alphabet uses a mix of 3-4 different proportions, depending on the letter that you are writing. I, personally, will be using this style for writing out titles on my poster projects, as many other calligraphists do.

After I tried the many different proportions of the Roman alphabet, I made sure I memorized each proportion and what letters are written using that proportion. I practiced each proportion by using the boxes, and then on a separate sheet of paper.  As I practiced the proportion a little more, I moved on to other features I had to perfect: the pen angle. Most of the letters are written with a 20-degree angle, but some are written with a 45-degree angle. Bennett also says that before writing the Roman alphabet, you must warm up to ensure you won’t make simple mistakes, or worse, have a shaky hand (114). After I got all the basics down, I started the actual alphabet.

One of the final steps to complete before you can start writing in sentences is to add on the serifs. A lot of “formal” fonts have serifs, the little tails that go at the ends of the letters. By adding serifs, you achieve the final grace you need to make your writing look more complete. The serifs on the Roman letters are pretty straight forward; they’re just dashes you add to the beginnings and ends of each individual letter.

Since the Roman font is all about practicing proportion, I had to ensure that my spacing was correct before I started writing actual words. When you are spacing out your letters, you can’t have equal spacing between the letters, or else they will seem unevenly spaced. Instead, you must space them as if you were writing normally, with more space between some letter and less in between some, to make them appear to have equal spacing. Bennett says that a general rule of thumb when writing the Roman alphabet is that the straight sides need more space between the letters and the rounded sides need less space (118).

Do you agree with Bennett: are the simple things often the most deceptive? Why or why not?

Bennett, Jim. Calligraphy for Dummies. For Dummies, 2007. Print.

A Dancer's Guide to Stronger Glutes

In order to execute dance moves well, dancers need strength in all parts of their body. Strength in your glutes is an essential part in being able to complete certain technique moves, like turns and leaps. When completing these moves, you need to tighten your butt muscles to hep with balance and stability. If you don't have enough strength in this part of your body, the move you're trying to complete won't work as well.

The following exercise is another one I learned in physical therapy. It is called a "Bent leg glute raise" (ATI, 12). To do this exercise, first you need to get on your hands and knees, making sure that you're keeping your head aligned with your back and your hips square. Next, lift one of your legs up towards the side wall. While doing this, your leg should be bent (ATI, 12). Look below for an example. This exercise has helped me improve my ability to do more turns and get higher in my leaps.

In order to do this exercise correctly, “Make sure you are on a hard, flat surface” (ATI, 12). This will help you keep your body even to get the most out of it. Make sure to keep the correct form to prevent injury.

Why do you think glute muscles help with stability and balance?
ATI, PT. Strengthening Exercises.

Parisian Chic: LBD

"𝒯he little black dress is not simply an item of clothing, it's a concept." (Fressange 32). Fressange also mentions that's it's a universal thing, and the truth is, it is. It's something that you can find all around, a nice simple black dress, that can be dressed up or down depending on the person. 

Little black dresses are meant to be styled by yourself. While taking inspiration from other people is nice, it all depends on the person wearing it. "Everyone wears hers differently" (Fressange 32). 

For example, when I wear a LBD, I usually prefer to wear it to create a "neutral slate" and to bring out a statement piece to make it pop out more.

Here you can see that I paired the dress with gold heels, mainly to match the colors up with the hardware of the purse, but otherwise there's no other accessories, other than the bright blue purse, which is my statement item. 

But if you're someone who likes a more uniformed theme, you might go with accessories of the same metal, or that give off the same vibe.

With this outfit, I paired the dress with simple lace up flats, and a gold necklace with a pearl, and also a sea inspired gold charm bracelet. This ensemble matches metals (gold), and also nautical vibes. 

While you're free to style the dress however you want, it is preferred that it's simple, and without too many focus points.

Everything here is just too much. There's 3 different colors of metals (black, silver, and gold), the black ring will blend in with the dress, there's a different style of accessory on almost every body part, and with a bright purse and flashy necklace, which are 2 statement pieces and defeats the purpose of a statement piece. However, if you can somehow rock this look and this is the style you're going for, then go for it, because a LBD is about yourself and no one else. 

To everyone who owns a LBD, how do you like to style it? Do you ever style it based on how other people style theirs? 

𝑀𝑒𝓇𝒸𝒾 𝐵𝑒𝒶𝓊𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓅 !

  𝒥𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒾𝒸𝒶 𝑀.

Fressange, Ines de la, et al. Parisian Chic: a Style Guide. Flammarion, 2011.

Beauty Routine: Importance of Foundation

Beauty Routine: Importance of Foundation

Some people tend to shy away from foundation due its association to having a ‘cakey’ finish. Yet in order to achieve a full glam look, beauty starts with a flawless base.If the individual selects a foundation routine in which adheres to their skin perfectly, it may look as if there had been no product at all.

The purpose of wearing foundation is to even out our skin’s tone and texture. The purpose of using concealer is to completely lift and brighten up your face. When applying foundation, its significant that you’ve prepared your skin for makeup. Skin care is the secret to flawless application. According to Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual, before applying any product, you must begin with these steps, “analyze the type and condition of your skin,decide which products will improve your skin condition, choose the correct foundation formula and shade, select a suitable under eye concealer, and lastly select the perfect powder shade” (Brown 50).

Materials in which are needed for application are primer, foundation, concealer, face powder, and applicator, whether it be a sponge or brush. Choose a concealer in which is one to two shades lighter than your foundation. When choosing foundation opt for your perfect shade match. Personally for tools, I tend to use a damp beauty sponge. But first, I apply primer and allow it to sink into my skin. Different primers are used for different purposes such as, a moisturizing, pore-filling, luminizing, or even mattifying. Same goes for foundations and concealers. After applying and letting my skin absorb the product, I use a sponge to lightly spounce my foundation onto my skin. A key tip is to not rub the sponge as it may rub off product. Apply concealer under your eyes to fully brighten your facial features. Last but not least is powder. The purpose of powder is to set your makeup in place. A bronzing shade is optional to contour and further accentuate your facial features. Simply applying the contour shade onto your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline. To see the true effect of the foundation, let it settle for a few minutes.

For my routine, I use two faced hangover and porefessional by benefit as my primer, fenty as my foundation, tarte shape tape as my concealer, and mac studio sculpt defining as powder. For contour I tend to use the contour kit by anastasia beverly hills. What products do you guys use, and how does it affect the finish of your foundation?

A Guide to Getting a Glamorous Makeup Look: Foundation/Face

Hey guys, welcome back to my blog. in this blog i am going to be talking about the next step in getting the makeup look you want. The first step for your look is the foundation. You need to find your perfect color for your skin type. There are many different colors of foundation for different skin colors. When you have the right color, it makes the whole makeup look all put together. It also helps when you have the right brand of foundation. different brands can have different affects on your skin. it might make you makeup look oily, or it might not blend well with your skin. "Choose one that is suitable for your skin type, matches your skim color, and gives you the amount of coverage you require" (Cockerill, 32). You can apply foundation with a brush or a beauty blender, either works just as good. After foundation, there is concealer and powder. Both of these products help conceal and finish off the face. "With the many colors and consistencies of concealer available, you can usually hide anything from a simple blemish to dark under-eye circles, scarring, birthmarks, and even tattoos" (Cockerill, 31). Concealer and powder will help make the face look really smooth and clean. I hope this blog helps you start your makeup look and keep looking for my other blogs to help with the rest of your look. Thanks for reading!

Cockerill, Gary, et al. Simply Glamorous: Make-up Transformations to Make You Look & Feel Fabolous. Jacqui Small, 2015.

Making Vanilla Meringue Cookies

Meringues are an French dessert that only consists of 3 ingredients. Egg whites, sugar and a tiny bit of vanilla extract. This dessert is a light, delicate cookie that crunches immediately after you put it in your mouth. I remembered the first time I tried this delicacy, my taste buds were dancing around. I never knew there was a cookie that tasted so good and was so easy to make. I’ve been wanting to make it after I got a taste of it in my culinary arts class, but due to my busy schedule and the amount of school work, I had to make this during my break. I thought this would be a good dessert to make for my IRP. So today I made these delicate cookies and I am going to teach you all how to make it too.

Ingredients

4 egg whites                  2/3cups of fine white sugar               1tsp of vanilla extract

Steps:

“Ensure that the bowl you use when whisking is scrupulously clean. The smallest amount of oil, grease or egg yolk will contaminate the eggs and they won’t fluff up, this also applies to the whisk you are using” (Paul, Treuille 165). This is truly important because many people will think a little bit of yolk and grease won’t affect the mixture, but they are important to avoid because they can really affect the egg white, causing it not to form into a meringue. A way I like to separate the egg whites from the yolk is to use the shell. It can be also done by hand but I find that not as sanitary. “Crack the egg over a bowl, tip the yolk back and forth between the 2 shell halves, allowing the white to fall into the bowl below (Paul, Treuille 159).

Figure 2

Figure 1

As you can tell by the ingredients, this cookie is really easy to make. All you need to do is add the vanilla to the egg whites and start beating. After one minute of beating, when the egg white starts bubbling, add the sugar gradually and start beating the meringue on high speed. After 5-6 minutes, check to see if the meringue has reach the stiff peak stage. After that you can put it in a pastry bag       and start piping.

This is the point where you can get super creative. You can add food coloring and sprinkles to make your cookies more appealing, also you can pipe different shapes and sizes of cookies using different piping tips. In figure 2, I included different shapes of meringue cookies you can do. To make my cookie simple, I did not add any food coloring and I choose a round tip for this. Based on different techniques you use you can create different shapes using the same tip. In picture 1 above, I made a tear drop shape and a dome shaped cookie.

What are your guy’s favorite type of cookies and why? Which shape of the meringues do you like from figure 2?

Drawing techniques: Get Into the Flow of Drawing

An important step in the drawing process is to loosen your hand and mind before you draw, in order to allow your drawing to be as creative as possible. Elaine Clayton gives a couple of techniques to loosen your mind, stating that "It is a way of activating the total mind as it works in unity..."

 All you need for this exercise is a blank piece of paper. Pretend that your pencil is a figure skater, and the paper, a frozen pond, drag the pencil across the paper continuously "skating" across the page. Play around with speed and pressure of your line. When you are done, try to identify any shapes you made. Here is my example of the exercise:

A second technique Elaine suggests is playing with line gradation, or the change from one type of line, to the complete opposite line; for example, light to dark. Here is my exercise:

These drawing warm-ups will help you to draw concisely, accurately, and intentionally. Do you have any warm-ups you do before you draw? Let me know if you have any, and thanks for reading!

Clayton, Elaine. Making Marks: Discover the Art of Intuitive Drawing. Atria Paperback, 2014.

Understanding Drawings: Lines

In a previous post, we looked at how lines could convey emotions, in this post, we will look at the texture of lines, and how to convey the physical feeling of a line. This entire concept may sound far-fetched, but lines, depending on how they are drawn, can be seen through more than just sight, but also touch, sound, and sometimes smell. Elaine Clayton says, "Imagery awakens our five senses..." (32 Clayton). Lines can be used to show a lot.
For example:

Which of these is "loud?" 

Look at the line, and go with your gut feeling. Which line conveys noise.

Which of these is "dry?"

What do you see in these lines? Do you see what they convey? Under standing how lines feel, smell, and sound, is important in good drawing, hopefully you can use this technique in your drawing!

Thanks for reading!

Clayton, Elaine. Making Marks: Discover the Art of Intuitive Drawing. Atria Paperback, 2014.

How to: Makeup Manual / Face

The most important aspect to a complete makeup look is the foundation. Judging just from its name, we can gather that finding a good way to keep an even complexion is one of the first steps to having a good makeup routine. As someone with combination skin (both oily or dry skin depending on time of year), I have yet to find a foundation that sticks all day, doesn't get oily, and gives an airbrushed finished look, all while not damaging my skin during its time of application. Since I have not found a foundation that does all that and evens out my skin tone, I decided to turn to concealing and color- correcting in order to achieve my goal. 

In chapter 4 of Bobbi Brown's Makeup Manual, she provides several different techniques and tips on having good skin coverage for your specific tone/type of skin.

The main aspects I wanted to focus on in the skin makeup category is brightening my under eye area.

"Correctors can be pink or peach toned. Make sure it is applied up to the lashes and in the inner corner space between the eye and the bridge of the nose." (Brown 54). Brown elaborates how to use color corrector the right way.

Before reading this chapter, I was already familiar with color correctors, but not each of their specific jobs. I found through reading this section of the Makeup Manual that peach or pink toned concealers are specifically made for the under eyes, since it cancels out the purple/green/blue tones that under-eye bags typically have. 

I rummaged through my makeup bag and found a NYX under eye color corrector and decided to test it, following Brown's 4 steps to achieving brightened under-eyes.

I started by applying the corrector up to my lash line in order for all the darkness or discoloring to be completely gone. Then I went over the color corrector with my usual Tarte concealer, blended it with a beauty blender, and set tat with setting powder. I used the same routine for the other eye, only without using color corrector,

As seen in the results below, the side with color corrector is much brighter than the side without it, and the color corrector cancelled out the blue and purple tones in my under eyes.

⇡⇡⇡⇡

My left eye: side with only concealer

My right eye: side with color corrector and concealer

Through this chapter, I learned how to properly conceal under-eye darkness using tones that cancel each other out, instead of just applying concealer straight onto my under eyes. Truthfully, I thought this tip would be just like any other hack and not make any true impact, but I was surprised with the outcome and I will certainly be adding this to my foundation routine. A question for those reading is have you guys ever used color corrector? And if so did it work?

B Brown, Bobbi, et al. Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: for Everyone from Beginner to Pro. Springboard Press, 2011.

Continuing the Art of Calligraphy

Continuing the Art of Calligraphy

Getting down the basics of Calligraphy, just like anything else, is important.  But after learning the basics, which can be boring, the fun begins when you can start writing actual letters and sentences.  With this skill, you can create beautiful letters and cards for the people you love! This next step in learning how to do Calligraphy has benefited me a lot since I can make personalized handmade cards for my family and friends.  

To get a neat and even look, the proportions of the letters should be the same.  This was personally hard for me to do at first, but practicing my writing using the nib width helped me to master this skill down a little bit more.  "Practice the x-shape family letters...Practicing will help you get the feel for it" (Bennet 50).  The letter "x" did help with getting almost exact proportions but to help make my writing look better the letter "v" was also very helpful.  "The trick to getting these letters right is making sure that the sides...are straight...Practice the v shape below" (Bennet 51).  While the letter "x" helps with proportions, the letter "v" helped to make the sides of my letters smooth and consistent throughout my entire writing,  After practicing for a while, you should try to not use the help of the nib width to write the letters "v" and "x" to get these accurate proportions and test yourself to see if you can do it without the help of the nib width. Don't get disheartened if the letters don't come out to be the same size because it took much practice for me to get it down at first too.  

After writing a few letters with the correct proportions, you should encourage yourself to try to write the entire alphabet without the use of the nib width.  If the proportions don't come out right for all the letters, don't lose hope and keep practicing.  With more practice, your letters will continue to be more graceful and effortless.  This may be the most challenging part since I didn't have any many letters mastered besides the letters "v" and "x".  But being patient and thinking about how you want the letters to turn out and the steps needed to get the letters to be like that helped me to get my writing neat with correct and exact proportions.

While practicing writing the alphabet and writing correct proportions, don't forget the right technique of holding the Calligraphy pen that should be set and held at an angle while you're writing.  Applying uneven or inconstant amounts of pressure on the pen while writing will make your writing look sloppy, uneven, and messy (52). Different amounts of pressure on the pen determine how the tip of the pen will be while writing which determines not only the amount of ink but also how thick or thin the letters you write will be. 

Now that you can write the alphabet gracefully and neatly using Calligraphy, the next big step is to finally start writing sentences and actual words using the right techniques!  Do you think Calligraphy will be hard or easy, and do you think it's really worth all the extra effort?

Bennett, Jim. Calligraphy for Dummies. For Dummies, 2007. Print.

Delicious Side Dish

Garlic Herb Accordion Potatoes 

Side dishes, not the main star of the meal, but the part of the meal that completes it. Like meat and potatoes, the meat is what would be considered the main dish, but pairing it with potatoes fills up your stomach and puts a smile on your face. Which is exactly what I did one night for dinner, my mom was going to make chicken so I volunteered to make the side dish of garlic herb accordion potatoes. The title pretty much describes the whole dish and it sounded really good. I had never really made potatoes of any kind, unless you count microwave mashed potatoes. So I figured it would be a good learning experience for me. The author talks about trying new things in the book. She mentions that the more you try new things because you have a reason to, like this blog assignment, the more likely you are to continue trying new things, even when you don't have a reason. (Hollis, 8). So I took Rachel's advice and attempted to make these accordion potatoes.

The potatoes actually ended up turning out really pretty.  The recipe had me sprinkle cheese on after the dish was done cooking and it was a really nice touch that I thought brought the appearance of the potatoes together. In the book, Rachel Hollis was talking about the word chic and what she thought it meant.  She said "Some days that might mean something small, like putting the takeout on a real plate before you eat it" (Hollis, 6). I thought that this quote related to the dish I made because doing simple things like sprinkling the cheese and cutting the potatoes accordion style elevated the dish's look and allowed the potatoes to cook faster. So all in all this new experience showed me how the little things count in cooking.

What could I have added or changed to elevate this recipe even more?

Hollis, Rachel. Upscale Downhome: Family Recipes, All Gussied Up. Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Griffin, 2016.                                                   

Important Study Tips for Spanish

Important Study Tips for Studying Spanish

When studying a language you must primarily understand that it will take time. You cannot learn all of a language just in class. If you truly want to learn Spanish, here are some tips to make your learning more organized and helpful!

When just starting to learn a language it is important to think of what you already know, even if it is as simple as saying hello or goodbye. Also you must think of what you know in English. It is easy to make connections through certain languages. For example, "...words such as comunicación, deliscioso, limón, and oficina. You'll find Spanish easier if you use what you already know" (Boyles XXXI). These are called conjugations. Words in English and Spanish, although very different, are regularly similar and therefore easier to learn/understand.



Another important strategy for learning Spanish would be the use of tangible things. Make flashcards! Make graphic organizers! Use songs and mnemonic devices! Have fun with Spanish and it will be easier to learn! When it comes to making charts and other graphic organizers, it is important that you make it easy for you to remember (for example, make a key). Drawing and writing diagrams can help you with the connections and meanings of other words. Flash cards are really easy to make too! and for how helpful they are, its definitely worth the time! An easy way to make them is to create a picture on one side of a flashcard, and the Spanish word on the other. You can use the picture to memorize the word and you can use the word to think of the picture that goes with it (Boyles XXXI).

All in all, there are many creative ways to use materials for studying. And certain ones work better than others, but it all depends on how you like to study. Once you know how to do that, everything else should be very simple.

Boyles, Peggy Palo. Prentice Hall Realidades 1. Pearson Education, 2011.

How Getting the Right Amount of Sleep Keeps You Healthy

Do you have trouble falling asleep? Do you go to sleep easily but wake up repeatedly throughout the night? Do you find it hard to drag yourself out of bed in the morning? Does your mom or dad tell you stories about how you sleepwalked or snored loudly throughout the night?

If so, all of these problems can lead to decreased brain function and a second rate body. A second rate body is when your brain develops a lesser quantity and quality of the action. For example, if your brain desires five hours of sleep a night you are incorrect because the requirements for each age group of humans lifetime are different. On average each human being needs around 7 to 14 hours of sleep a night. If your body does not correctly adjust to these amounts of sleep, you are in debt of developing a loss of sleep creating an unhealthy environment for your body.

From the text Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Daniel Amen, in chapter 10 under the sleep solution, Amen states, “ having a static function of sleep hours throughout your life can discreetly sprain function and lower positive health. Getting less than six hours of sleep a night has been associated with lower overall brain activity, which can affect your weight, your skin, your mood, your Health and your athletic performance” (Amen 196). He stated a direct response from the four questions I directed at the start of the post. Amen is implying that getting less sleep develops your body to change physically and actively in decreasing your success in staying healthy in all standards. Sleeping the correct amount of hours for your age Is essential for positive health.

I’ve noticed throughout the 15 years of my life that developing a procedure for yourself at the start of the day when you wake up can change how you act throughout the day. It will also change your mindset to arrange a fulfilling success to your health standards. An example of this would be right when you wake up in the morning on a Sunday before you have a full week of work/education, plan out what you will be doing throughout the week each day and the order of that. Then scale out the amount of workload that is needed for each day. If you believe that you need extra energy for certain days go to bed an extra hour or 30 minutes early that night before. If you are a teenager like me I have also noticed that going to bed early helps you be fully energized, educated,Happy and non-deteriorated. If you successfully get the correct amount of hours of sleep for your age, there is no doubt that you will feel energized and have enough energy for the workload you are doing that day.

Amen starts another chapter by stating, “Rest your brain for a slimmer shape and smoother skin” (Amen 195).

This sentence starter develop me to think of the time when I needed to study for finals Freshman year. Two weeks ahead from the date I was going to take finals I created a procedure of what I was going to do to be successful for finals. Are used my mindset skills to create a list of every day study tools to use and how to use them. I first created the tools then I used them the second week. To fully be successful one of the major components was studying and eating healthy but another one was rather getting enough sleep. Every night for two weeks before the final date for finals I forced myself to be in bed every day at 9:00 PM. So obviously I had to study before that so usually I would do at 8:00 PM. I did that for the two weeks and I became very successful my freshman year. And I do advise myself to do that for my sophomore year this year too.

In addition Amen then informs, “ good sleep is essential for optimal brain and body health. Is involved in rejuvenating all the cells in your body, gives brain cells a chance to repair themselves and activates neuronal connections that might otherwise deteriorate due to inactivity. Temporary sleep issues are even more common and will affect almost everyone of us at some point in our lifetime” (Amen 195).

This reflects the procedure that I used for finals completely. Basically if you and your body can cooperate and desire yourself to get the right amount of sleep by using your Brain to think. You will have the dedication of the ideas to keep a healthy body by getting the correct amount of sleep. Getting the correct amount of sleep is a very essential rock in the ocean.

If you don’t get the right amount of sleep you can develop the illness of sleep deprivation, which is the situation or condition of suffering lack of sleep. This is caused by laziness. And if you use laziness to not get the right amount of sleep you can develop sleepiness throughout your day, less energy to do stuff, no changes, difficulty concentrating, poor performance, memory and thinking problems, disorientation and disruption of sleep cycle.

Do you want to have this disruption in your lifetime?

If you would not like this large cycle of disoriented problems, I would advise getting the right amount of sleep as an essential key component of your daily procedures.

Amen, Daniel G. The Brain-Body Solution. Change Your Brain, Change Your Body: Use Your Brain to Get the Body You Have Always Wanted, Piatkus, 2012.