Today we brainstormed some ideas. They were make the enemy explode, destroy the bullets when the hit the enemy, background image, music, enemies move faster and that was about it.

I'm also asking that you put in a screen shot each lesson, as your game improves. 

Some students were complaining that the space shuttle gif animation exercise I set them was too hard.

I do admit I did set it as a harder type exercise because it’s good to have a real challenge every now and again.

It took me a while but I have now done it myself. The final animation file is quite large, 757 KB, so it might take a while to load – would take 2 minutes on a 56K modem
TIPS

1. use contiguous wand to prepare images (quicker than rubber alone
2. use layers, one image per layer
3. make new layers for new images
4. to rotate the shuttle: Layer > Transfer > Arbitrary rotation
5. tools to use: rotation, scaling and move
6. at the end add an earth layer for each shuttle layer, then merge down
7. add another Earth layer for the supernova effect: Filter > Light Effects > SuperNova
8. Keep evidence that you have done it yourself – save some transition files along the way

You have already done the GIMP noughts and crosses animation. The space shuttle animation uses similar sorts of techniques.

The tutorial is published online  as part of a free book titled Grokking the GIMP by Carey Bunks. It’s generous of him to distribute a whole book about GIMP on the web for free

The space shuttle tutorial starts here. I have downloaded the images you need to start with and put them in a folder called .

Your task is to make the animation yourself.

1. picture grid ,picture pile, picture variations – do in picassa, post product to your blog with comments about how you made it
2. Visit at least 4 class blogs, leave comments and then write a blog post about which blogs you left comments on
3. Do a blog roll of at least 5 class blogs
4. Finish noughts and crosses animation in GIMP, post animation to your blog and write about how you made it
5. Make an animation  using Game  Maker and strip sheets
6. Use GIMP filters to vary images and then display them on a web page

Here are a couple that look promising because they say they don’t have pop up advertising  and they provide you with a fair bit of storage.

http://5gigs.com/

http://www.hostrocket.com/free/

I want to try them out and evaluate whether they are good services or not.

How to start with a single picture, produce variations and then combine them into a collage:

1. Create a new folder in your personal directory with a copy of the picture you want to perform variations on
2. Add that folder to picasa: File > Add Folder to Picasa
3. Configure Folder Manager to the Scan Always setting: File > Add Folder to Picasa > Scan Always (radio button). You need to do this so that you can see your new copies as they are created.
4. Double click on the picture in picasa and perform your edits: Basic Fixes, Tuning, Effects
5. When you apply Effects then by clicking on the Effect (Sharpen, Sepia, B&W, etc.) more than once then each Effect is magnified and this can produce more dramatic effects
6. File > Save a copy … or Ctrl + S is a shortcut way to export which puts a new copy immediately in the same folder that you are currently working in
7. You can always undo any change you make in the picasa editor. So you can always get your original picture back
8. Select your best 9 variations and made a collage grid out of them
9. Upload your collage to wordpress and write a reflective comment about it

You can use GIMP to make a GIF animation. You make the pieces, like the grid, the nought, the cross and the winners line.

Then you add the crosses and noughts layer by layer and GIMP has the capability of turning it into an animation. I have a worksheet on this, send me an email if you want a copy: billkerr (at) gmail.com

Login to wordpress and go into write or edit a post mode.

Look to the right and you’ll see a ‘Categories’ tab. Click on the + and add categories. I’m using categories like picassa, problems, bubbleshare, wordpress, animals. Simple words that categorise what your posts are about.

Each time you post you tick the category boxes on the right which best describe your post.

Dashboard > change your sites look or theme

Choose a theme that you like. That’s all you have to do.

I chose the ‘connections’ theme.