Online Game Art and Design Education Possibilities

The video game industry is a large operation that is continually advancing with the use of new technology. Students have several educational opportunities available that will teach them the ins and outs of game art and design. Online schools offer accredited programs to dedicated students at many levels of training.Schooling trains students to understand the latest computer software programs and techniques needed to enter the game art and design profession. The ability to create and design a world with compelling characters inside a computer or video game is available online. Many programs can be pursued, which may include:

Associates Degree Programs
Bachelors Degree Programs
Masters Degree Programs
Doctorates Degree Programs
An associate’s or bachelor’s degree program is the most prevalent way to earn an education online. Game art and design is offered specifically at these two levels of education. Students that enter graduate training will find education inside art and design degree programs with a concentration in animation, media, or digital imaging. Undergraduate training provides students with a solid foundational understanding to prepare them for a satisfying career. Individuals that seek a graduate degree are typically interested in becoming managers or educators.Working through an associate’s degree program teaches students to understand how to develop a story and design game levels. The graphics and sounds used to create games are also highly covered. Education prepares students to build a basic understanding of how to use software to generate a specific result. Online schooling focuses on making students comfortable with software usage and design techniques. Some specific courses could include database scripting, visual design, java programming, and artificial intelligence. The use of technology and techniques prepares students to work with a group of designers to build a game. Further education gives students a deeper understanding of game art and design principles.A bachelor’s degree program develops the skills needed to place students inside this entertainment industry. Education covers many areas such as animation technique, 3-D creation, sculpting, drawing, and more. Training prepares students to understand how to use different methods to create the best overall game for the intended audience and genre. The use of multiple methods is available due to the wide range of subjects discussed inside training. Digital storytelling, image manipulation, character planning, interactive media, motion production, and more develop a strong skill set. The entire game making process is learned, which includes game development, design, and animation. Other components such as troubleshooting and game testing are also covered. Students are able to step into lucrative careers where they become 3-D modelers, scriptwriters, game play testers, background artists, and more.Many students opt to work through short certificate programs to further their education after graduation. Certificate programs are taken to learn a new technique or computer software.Training in game art and design prepares students to work with a team of professionals to create a game. Fully accredited programs will help you receive the quality education you need to enter into the career you choose. Agencies like the National Association of Schools of Art and Design ( http://nasad.arts-accredit.org/ ) are able to fully accredit qualifying programs. Begin accredited education and learn how to become an important member of the creation team.DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.Copyright 2010 – All rights reserved by PETAP.org.

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Printing Digital Photo on Canvas

Digital printing technology has unfolded a whole new world to photographers, artists, amateurs, art galleries and professionals alike. No medium other than digital photos has ever been as convenient for photographers to create astounding images, enabling them to take as many photos as desired at no added cost as well as delete those they don’t like, and customize with special effects and camera techniques.Quality artist canvas is recognized as a perfect medium to create beautiful prints from your own photographs; by printing digital photos on canvas, you can turn your personal memories and treasured moments into wonderful pieces of art that have a longer life. Since the look and feel of canvas photo prints is extremely unique, these pictures create a special impact. Canvas photo prints are becoming the foremost choice for interior decoration in homes, banks, offices, saloons, bars, and restaurants. There are numerous standard digital canvas photo printing companies that offer state of the art digital canvas photo printing services.Generally, digital photos are printed on high quality exhibition grade cotton using full color inkjet printers and long-lasting UV proof pigment inks. Canvas fabric made of 100% pure cotton is ideal for producing photo-realistic images. There are several standard canvas print sizes to choose from. Canvas sizes ranging from 32 cm x 25 cm to 117 cm x 90 cm can be used for digital printing. For utmost durability, the photo canvas prints are coated either with a matte, satin or glossy finish and laminated to ensure print permanency. Different varieties of canvas are available in the market today like matte decor canvas, artist canvas, satin stretch canvas, simulated canvas, premium canvas, and cotton-polyester blended canvas.

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A Career in Wedding Planning

As a wedding planner you can have a rewarding career that lets you use your creativity to organize the happiest day of people’s lives.In our busy society it’s no wonder so many couples turn to a professional wedding planner to ensure their wedding is as stress free as possible. With more than 2.5 million weddings taking place in the United States alone last year, there are more opportunities for wedding planners than ever before.As long as you have the desire, you can become a wedding planner. No special education or experience is necessary to break into this career and succeed. If wedding planning sounds like the career of your dreams, here are ten steps to breaking into this fabulous job, based on the FabJob Guide to Become a Wedding Planner, published by FabJob.com.1. Develop your skillsSuccessful wedding planners have a number of traits in common. They are usually creative people with excellent interpersonal skills who love to plan events. While most of these traits come naturally to many wedding planners, an important skill that some need to develop is organizational ability. To help you stay organized, you can create timeline schedules and checklists, and use organizational tools such as a day planner or binder to keep track of all the wedding details and paperwork.2. Learn about WeddingsThere are numerous details involved in planning a wedding — from selecting the wedding date to choosing the menu for the reception. You can learn how to plan weddings by taking continuing education classes or through self-study. To teach yourself, help out with as many weddings as possible, visit bridal shows, read wedding magazines, and conduct informational interviews with clergy of various faiths, recently married brides and others connected to the wedding business such as florists and caterers.3. Create a portfolioA portfolio is a collection of photographs that show people your skill at planning weddings. To develop a portfolio, offer your services to friends and family who are getting married in exchange for pictures for your portfolio. (You can ask them to write reference letters for you as well.) You can also include photographs of table settings or room decorations you have created in your home, or pictures from your own wedding to show your creative side.4. Find a job in the wedding industryEven if you plan to start your own business, consider getting a job in the industry first. Besides employment benefits, these positions can be used as a stepping-stone to gain valuable experience and contacts. Wedding coordinators are hired by hotels, country clubs, and churches across the country.Some of the more exciting options include working as a wedding coordinator at an attraction such as Disney World or at a resort in a location such as Hawaii, Las Vegas, Europe or the Caribbean. Many other job opportunities for “bridal consultants” are available with companies that supply products and services for weddings including bridal shops, department stores with gift registries, florists, and caterers.5. Set up your own businessSetting up a wedding planning business is not much different than starting any other business, with a few exceptions. You should be able to work from home as long as you set aside an office space free from interruptions from children or pets. This is especially important if you plan on holding meetings with clients there.Set up costs will be minimal but you will need a computer, fax, business phone line, cell phone, business cards, and marketing materials such as a website. Before setting up your business, take advantage of the free advice offered by agencies such as the U.S. Small Business Administration.6. Choose a specialtyWedding planners offer a variety of services and packages based on their specific skills and interests. For example, you might offer complete wedding planning services, wedding day co-ordination only, or consult with brides and grooms who want to plan their own weddings. Some wedding planners specialize in arranging “destination weddings” at resorts or on cruise ships. Decide which services you would like to offer.7. Develop relationships with vendorsVendors are suppliers of any product or service related to weddings, such as limousine companies, musicians, photographers, party supply companies, invitation printers, etc. Vendors can be a valued partner in planning a successful wedding and a great networking ally.Conduct informational meetings to learn about their services, and what discounts they can offer you as a wedding planner. Before recommending a site for a wedding ceremony or reception, visit and inspect the premises. Take notes on the condition, size, cleanliness and capacity of each venue so you can guide your clients in making suitable choices. Always follow up with vendors after the wedding with a thank you note or to discuss any changes you want for future.8. Get clientsOne of the best ways to get clients is through your relationships with vendors. Supply business cards and brochures to the bridal shops, caterers, florists, photographers and other vendors you work with, and ask them to recommend your services to their customers who are getting married. Other ways to market your services include advertising, networking, participating in bridal shows, or even organizing your own bridal show.9. Consult with clientsOnce you start getting calls from brides and grooms, arrange a client consultation meeting. The purpose of this initial consultation is to learn as much as possible about the couple and what they want, so you can show them how hiring you will help them achieve the wedding of their dreams. Be prepared to ask questions to find out what type of wedding they want, their budget, number of guests, etc.At this meeting you will discuss your fees, which might be an hourly rate such as $50 per hour or a flat fee. Explain how you can help them have the worry-free wedding of their dreams.10. Be recognized as a professionalSuccessful wedding planners are always interested in learning new ideas they can use with their clients. Consider joining a professional association for wedding planners to keep up with new developments in the industry. Clients will be impressed with your affiliation to a professional organization, especially if it certifies you as a professional wedding planner.

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Zombies of the Wild

Everyone knows about fictitious zombies from the movies but there are real life zombies lurking everywhere in the animal kingdom and some of them are far more gruesome than anything film makers could ever imagine.But don’t worry just yet about the zombie apocalypse unless you’re a:Zombie ant:Let’s just say you’re a regular old ant, out doing whatever it is you do. You unknowingly inhale a tiny spore, barely notice it, and go about your antly duties. What you don’t know is that it is already too late for you. That spore will develop into a fungus that will take over your mind. Now you’re just a host and the parasite that controls you wants you dead.The fungus quite literally spreads into the ant’s brain and manipulates it in very specific ways. The ant will soon begin to wander around aimlessly, and eventually it’ll fall from the tree canopy where its fellow ants are working. The zombified ant will find a low hanging leaf, climb to its underside, latch its jaws tight to that leaf, and abruptly die. The ant didn’t want to do any of this, the fungus made it. Soon after the ant is dead the fungus will sprout a stalk right out of its poor dead head.We’ll come back to ants in a minute. It appears mother nature hates the little guys.Zombie fish:The Killifish (with a name like that you’re just asking to be turned into a zombie) is another victim of a parasite that specifically wants it dead. The Killifish doesn’t stand a chance. This parasite works in such a convoluted fashion it makes you wonder if it’s some kind of genius.The parasite is a type of flatworm. This little monster has an unusual and highly calculated life-cycle. The eggs are released in bird poop. Horn snails eat the poop and become instantly sterile. But it doesn’t end there. Oh no, this parasite has loftier goals. It swims out of the snail as larvae and finds a Killifish to take over. It travels in through the gills and follows a nerve right into the brain. It forms a layer on the brain that immediately causes the fish to make its way to the surface of the water and flop around so that birds can more easily spot it. The birds eat the fish, thereby starting the parasitic cycle all over again.Zombie grasshopper:Poor little grasshopper. All you wanted was a nice refreshing drink of water. What you got instead was involuntary suicide. You gulped up a baby hairworm which then grew inside of you. It grew so large that only your head and legs weren’t filled with it. By the time it reached maturity (by filling nearly your entire cavity) it needed to mate. But hairworms only mate in water. How was the hairworm going to get to that water? The cunning hairworm has a plan. It’ll hijack your central nervous system and force you to commit suicide by drowning yourself.And that’s what happens. Grasshoppers will jump into pools of water and promptly die, allowing the hairworms within them a chance to escape and multiply.Zombie spider:This poor guy never stood a chance. A type of wasp uses a spider in a very sinister way. It will paralyze it, lay an egg on its abdomen, and then just fly on out of there. The spider wakes up from its paralysis, shrugs it off, and goes about his business. But right before the wasp larva is ready to pupate, it begins to control the spider by injecting a chemical into its blood stream. This causes the spider to start weaving odd-shaped webs that it normally wouldn’t weave. When it’s done it moves to the center of the web and waits. The larvae then molts, kills and sucks the spider dry, gets rid of the body, and promptly builds a cocoon that hangs from the newly reinforced web. It then emerges from the cocoon as a wasp, ready to lay eggs of its own.Zombie cockroach:A wasp is the culprit again. This wasp will sting the cockroach first to paralyze its front legs. When that’s done, it stings it in its brain. It does this to inhibit the escape response within the cockroach. Then it gnaws off half of the roach’s antennae, possibly to let some of the venom escape so that the roach doesn’t die right away. You see, the wasp needs the roach to live, for the time being anyway. The wasp then leads the larger cockroach to its burrow by pulling it by an antenna like a dog on a leash. When the sleepy cockroach is tucked away safe and sound, the wasp lays an egg on its abdomen. You know where this is going, don’t you. The wasp leaves, but the cockroach just hangs out in the burrow. Over the course of the following week, the larva grows, eats, then when the roach is dead, builds a cocoon right inside its empty husk of a body.Zombie snail:A flatworm that lives in the intestinal tracts of birds has a weird way of getting out to see the sights. It’s excreted in bird droppings where it is then gobbled up by disgusting snails (note to self – never eat escargot). The snails then begin to exhibit odd behavior. Rather than hiding in the shade, they’ll make their way out into the sunlight because they no longer have the ability to sense light.The worst part is this: the flatworms invade the snails tentacles and enlarge them to the extreme. And guess what a passing bird sees as it flies overhead? It sees two fat juicy worms sticking up so it does what it was born to do; it eats them. Thus enabling the flatworm to joyride from one species to the next, ignorant of the consequences.Zombie ant (again):Those poor ants. This time it’s not a fungus that does it, but rather, a fluke worm. This fluke starts out life in cow manure. A snail eats this manure (and the eggs hidden therein) and then wanders off to do snail-like things. The eggs hatch, gather around the snails lungs, and wait for the snail to cough them up. Once the snail hacks up the eggs, passing ants notice these delicious morsels and gobble them up. Well, you dumb ants, maybe you shouldn’t be eating snail phlegm. The fluke worms make their way to the ants nervous system and that’s where the story ends for Mr. Ant. The ant will wander off from the other ants and find a nice long blade of grass to climb. Once it’s climbed to the top, it clamps its jaws on the grass and waits. If nothing happens, it’ll go back home and try again tomorrow. The next day it wanders off from the group, and does the same thing. This time, a passing cow eats the ant accidentally as it’s grazing. The fluke worm is now home.Isn’t nature beautiful!!!

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What Every Bride Needs to Know About Unique Wedding Invitations

The age of the internet is actively upon us as you can find many couples who are getting married sending their wedding invitations by email. Many of them find this cost efficient and fast. However, it can take all the fun out of sending and receiving traditional wedding invitations through the mail. Moreover, you can find some unique wedding invitations when you take time to do your wedding shopping.However, there are a lot of people who don’t have a clue when it comes to what they are looking for when they want something unique for their invitations.When most people go for unique wedding invitations I think someone else chooses them and they usually are traditional. I think the first thing anyone has to do is know their style. When you know your own personal style it’s not too difficult to look around for something that matches your style. Define your wedding theme and your own style before you begin your wedding shopping.There are so many ways for you to select something unique for your wedding invitations. For instance, you should consider what you want to send to others as wedding invitation and whether they are unique wedding invitations. You really should consider them as a vital part of your wedding stationary theme. When you do this, you can better coordinate everything from your bridal shower invitations to your thank you notes. Remember, your wedding guests will be expecting your wedding invitations to be a teaser as to what to expect of the wedding itself.This will put a different spin on what you want to look for and how you want to present yourself. Take time to consider the colors that you will use in your wedding theme when you do your wedding shopping. Perhaps, you want to make your wedding stationary in a color that compliments your entire wedding decor. For instance, it you are using the colors of lavender and peach, you may want to search for wedding stationary that features a different color to match these color choices.Another great idea is searching for a unique font style for your invitations that appear to stand out on the invitation. You will want to choose one that is easy to read and not too complicated. If you are easily overwhelmed with details, doing this is very resourceful. Choosing a blind embossed invitation gives the impression of letters leaping out of the invitation.You should browse the stationary stores during your wedding shopping when you are having a hard time deciding what you want on your wedding invitations. Experts in stores that are exclusive to weddings can create some unique wedding invitations for you. Keep in mind that you do not need to have anything overly extravagant in order for your wedding invitations to be unique. You can choose something simple and unique.

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