Author: Joshua Goodman

CT101 Final Blog Post – Joshua Goodman

CT101 Final Blog Post

The time has come everyone… again.

That may sound familiar to those who read my Mid Semester Blog post, where I started with the same phrase. However, now we’re in the home stretch, and with the end of the semester comes the end of this wonderful class which I’ve grown to love.

My impression of this class still stands 100%, and if you need a refresher here’s what I said at the midpoint of the semester: “in CT 101 I’ve had a HORRIBLE TIME, the hours and workload violate my right to freedom as I’ve been imprisoned in the Multimedia room at night, not to mention Prof Ryan, he’s so chill it aggravates me. Despite all of these violently extreme lies that I just said, I’ve had a wonderful time in this class.”- Joshua

I’m just kidding…

or am I?

Whether I’m kidding or not, which I definitely am. I’ve learned a lot from this class and a lot about myself throughout the course of it as well. I’ve learned to let go of my “perfectionist” tendencies and just let things be if they don’t work out exactly how I want them to. I’m proud of myself for coming to terms with that fact especially when it came to something like designing my website, but I’ll discuss that a bit later.

I’ve developed so many new skills in this class, one of them being formatting a blog post. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, before this class I have never written a blog post. I didn’t even think people used blogs anymore, but due to the work we’ve done I now know how carefully curate a blog post with an appropriate amount of memes and gifs.
I’ve even learned how to create memes and gifs using websites like GIPHY and Meme Generator that take pre-existing media from online and I can then manipulate them to convey what I want.
We’ve even learned how to convey a story solely using memes which I’ve written about in this blog post where I talk about the versatility of memes and meme culture as well as why Memes ARE Art!
I’ve also learned how to use digital tools on websites like MMM and Figma that are bursting with endless creative capabilities. With Pixabay and Photopea also getting a shoutout. This class has taught me so much and the progress is evident as you compare my earlier blog posts to now.
If you asked the me from the beginning of the semester to write an effective blog post that encapsulates my experience on a website like MMM, I’d simply have a mental breakdown….
But ask me now and I got it 😎
Seeing as I’ve accumulated all of these skills it would be a shame not to utilize them, so I will use these skills to further my understanding and add to my repertoire as I progress in my major which happens to be Communications Tech.
I could even charge people a commission to build a website for them, I think Professor had mentioned a starting price of $1,500 for even the most basic website setup, and after I gain a little more experience in designing and figuring out the ins and outs of how to do it I could have a nice side hustle using Reclaim Hosting and WordPress.
This wouldn’t be a proper reflection if I didn’t talk about the things I wanted to work on since the beginning of the semester, one of those things being commenting. I found it hard at first to get into the commenting groove because I didn’t know what to say in response to other’s posts. However, after looking at Prof Ryan’s comments and how he comments I realized that I don’t have to reply with paragraphs or writing, just a few words of encouragement or connecting the content of the post to something in my own life. Due to that realization I’ve been on a commenting storm and I believe I’ve commented on at least one post from everyone in the class if I’m not mistaken.
It might not mean a lot to certain people but commenting on your post just gives you a sense of recognition. The feeling of…”oh I didn’t write this for nothing, someone actually read it 🙂 “
Even with this, I have been slacking in the participation department. Unlike others in the class who leave Prof Ryan hanging when he asks a question I’ll give him a thumbs up and nod if I agree with what he’s saying.
We don’t really engage in conversation until after class is unofficially finished. I’m not sure if the majority of the class can agree but the conversations with Prof Ryan after class about the future of the world, and other random things that come up are so fascinating to listen to and be a part of. If that counts as participation then I’ve definitely been participating.
Moving on to my website…which is a little out of sorts right now, but I did manage to make it look how I wanted on the front end…you can find it at
If it’s too much trouble to click on the link here’s a screenshot of the main page (I’m really proud of it).
As you can see I incorporated similar images that can be classified as Pixel Art which I’ve always admired the aesthetic of. I plan to have this website as a glimpse into my personality and life for those who would like to get to know me. I will be the only one posting and uploading posts, but this might change in the future as it grows and gets better.
Currently, I have a few pages that can be accessed by clicking on the navigation menu in the upper right hand corner or the images that have also been linked to each page.
Those pages are:
This page will showcase all of my digital art and the story I’ve been working on that supports the art.
This page will showcase pics of food that immediately make my mouth water. Potentially recipes as well.
This page will showcase pics and quotes that I find inspirational or things I think that make life worth living. (Mostly sunsets).
This page will showcase completely random posts and pictures of things that I find funny or evocative.
This page showcases a few sentences explaining the purpose of this website and why I made it, as well as my email address in case someone wants to reach out.
Before I forget, I’ve already written two blog posts on my website and they can be found in the Interests and Life Post Categories section of my main page.
After clicking on the “Life” icon you will see my first blog post in this section about my general onlook of Life and how I perceive hardships that are surely in the works.
After clicking on the “Interests” icon you will see my blog post about Anime and a little bit about why I enjoy it so much.
^^P.S. in this blog post on my website I embedded a Youtube video after enabling the Youtube Plug-in, which required a Youtube API Key…something I’ve never heard of or seen before, but because I added this function to my website I now know how to do it.
Happy Great Job GIF by FOMO Duck
Seeing as the main page of my website came out how I wanted it to (for the most part) I will definitely keep working on it and maintain it to the best of my ability. Not only because I want to, but because it’s cool. How many people do you know that can say they built their own website from scratch? It’s the ultimate form of creativity and expression. I will add pictures and make posts about things in my life that I care about without having to worry about my grades being affected.
Speaking of grades…I can confidently say that I deserve an A in this class. I say this because from the beginning of the semester till now I have diligently completed all of the required posts and work asked of us. There have been 2 optional blog posts which I did not participate in which would have confidently put me into the A+ range, however, I did all that was asked/required. All of my previous blog posts have an appropriate amount of text, gifs/memes, and hyperlinks which are all necessary to main write an effective blog post.
Although, I have one absence I emailed Prof beforehand to let him know and I watched the recording of the class so I could catch up. Thus, with everything I’ve accomplished during this semester, I know I deserve an A in this class.
As proof here are all of my previous blog posts in order:
  1.  Assignment 1
  2.  Assignment 2
  3. Assignment 3
  4. Assignment 4
  5. Assignment 5
  6. Assignment 6
  7. Assignment 7
  8. Assignment 9
  9. Assignment 10
  10. Final Blog Post (this post)
I’d like to finish this post off by saying how much I’ve appreciated the hard work and thought Prof Ryan has put into this class. If you’re reading this (which I know you are :)) I hope you know that I’ve had a wonderful semester because of you and this class, thank you so much and I hope to see you again.
See Ya Goodbye GIF by Holler Studios

Assignment #10 – The WordPress Customizing Series, Pt. 1

Assignment #10 – The WordPress Customizing Series, Pt. 1

begin fox tv GIF by Paradise Hotel

Where do I begin? How do I even start to express the magnitude of frustration I felt while designing my website?

Let’s just start with how I ended up choosing a theme that’s not Twenty-Twenty One which made it a little harder to follow the recording of class, but I still managed to get it done with a fair amount of struggle…

I ended up using the Blockbstarter theme and even though it is less beginner friendly I unwillingly welcomed the challenge because I liked it so much. This theme has a lot of pictures embedded onto the main page which meant I’d have to go image hunting to find something I liked.

I soon realized that I was drawn to the aesthetic of Pixel art gifs/media, like this one which I found with a simple Google search of Pixel Art Gifs:

I love the perspective of this image as it looks into the sun, as it makes me think of a new possibilities and journey ahead.
Rainbow Road GIF
As I started playing around with the settings and typography of my website I decided that I would keep the background a nice off-white color to match the bright expansive scope of possibilities.
I added 5 new pages and 3 categories so far (keeping in mind that I’ve already worked on it a lot longer than I would have at the point of which this blog post was supposed to be posted). The pages and categories have the same names which can be a little confusing, however, the pages will house static images and text that I add on to periodically, whereas the categories will house all of the blog posts categorized appropriately.
However, figuring out how to do all of that is a lot harder when you have no idea what you’re doing which is my what happened to me. At first I had no idea how to create a page or add the pages to the navigation menu, but thanks to the Zoom recording I figured it out, and also added the Classic Editor plug-in. THEN I ran into the problem of all my pages being drafts and I had no idea how to publish them and why they remained drafts…until I returned to my Dashboard and saw the option for Pages where I then formatted and published all of my pages.
Happy Stephen Colbert GIF
Most of the pages only have a featured picture at the top and a small amount of text…but at least it’s there!
Look at it!
I’m also proud of my website’s home page and how simple yet aesthetic it looks.

Assignment 9 – Domain Name Registration

Assignment 9 – Domain Name Registration

The time has come…and gone…but NOW we’re going to to talk about it.

Registering a domain name and creating a website that we could use for anything? Who wouldn’t enjoy doing that? I know I definitely enjoyed the process in class even though I experienced some minor hiccups…

Before I get my mistakes…let’s talk about what I did well. I’m happy to report that I followed all the steps during the tutorial in class with Ryan, however, seeing as I didn’t take screenshots throughout the process so sadly I don’t have documentation of my process registering my domain :(.

BUT, following the assignment for this post, Prof Ryan has so kindly supplied us with screenshots of the process while I will use 😈.
After choosing my domain name (Joshsaesthetic.com) I proceeded to enter all of the necessary information like my name, address, and email address but here’s where the hiccup comes in. For the email address I added and extra O to .com so instead of @gmail.com I had @gmail.cOOm. You’d think that wouldn’t cause such a big issue but trust me it did.
Due to that small mistake I couldn’t log into my CPanel account and I couldn’t even verify my account so my domain would be taken down in 14 days. I was freaking out.
After my mini panic attack in class the week after registering the domain, I remembered that Prof had said something about submitting a ticket to CPanel/Reclaim Hosting because they could help with issues like this. So I did just that.
After about a few emails back and forth they fixed the problem and registered the right email to the website like magic. It took them maybe a day or two to figure out what was the issue was which is when they informed me of my typo…
Not my best moment but…the point is that everything was fixed and now I could start working on the front end of my website to make it look nice and cohesive.
Overall I think I’d rate the experience an 9/10 solely because of my stupidity and entering the wrong email, however, the process was simple and easy to follow thanks to Prof’s clear and precise instructions. For Reclaim Hosting on the other hand, I’d rate them an 11/10 because they worked crazy fast to help me fix the problem while also keeping me posted with frequent emails. I found it reassuring and I didn’t feel like I was alone.
Now all that’s left is to actually work on the website…
P.S. Sorry this post is so late 😬.

Assignment 7- Mid Semester Reflection

Assignment 7- Mid Semester Reflection

The time has come….the time we have all known was coming…time to reflect on your work in CT 101 so far😱

As dreadful as this might seem, I actually enjoy self reflecting and do it often in my own life as a reminder that I always have room to improve in various areas of my life like anyone else.
So far in CT 101 I’ve had a HORRIBLE TIME, the hours and workload violate my right to freedom as I’ve been imprisoned in the Multimedia room at night, not to mention Ryan, he’s so chill it aggravates me😡. Despite all of these violently extreme lies that I just said, I’ve had a wonderful time in this class.
CT 101 has become the highlight of my week and I talk about this class with some of my friends from other colleges. I love the creative atmosphere generated in this room and despite the lax vibe, I feel compelled to create high quality work that I can look back on and be proud of. Even though this can be a challenge for me when working with unfamiliar programs producing work that I don’t necessarily align with my “perfectionist” standards. I’m proud of myself for stepping out of that mindset and pushing myself to accept what I create and be proud of it regardless.
I’ve developed so many new skills in this class, one of them being simply formatting a blog post. Before this class I have never written a blog post or carefully curated any body of work that incorporated memes and gifs, mainly because most of the writing I’ve done has been poems or academic writing.
I’ve learned how to create memes and gifs using websites like GIPHY and Meme Generator that take pre-existing media from online and change them to convey what I want them to. I’ve even learned how to convey a story using only memes…which is a lot easier than you think, and here’s a link to one of my earlier posts detailing my opinion on the topic:
More recently I’ve learned how to use digital tools on websites like MMM and Figma that are bursting with creative capabilities. With Pixabay and Photopea also getting a shoutout. This class has taught me so much and the progress is evident when comparing my blog posts from the beginning of the semester to now.
Going through my posts from the beginning of the semester I can see a big difference in just the amount of content in each post and its formatting. My posts have grown in length, but also in quality.
I make sure that every post works to answer the prompt given, while including my process/experience working through the assignment and original thoughts, all relating to the prompt. I constantly use gifs to break up my writing, keeping them funny, yet in line with whatever I’m talking about.
I’d like to think that I’ve come up with a signature style for my posts that feel different from others, but I’d have to ask others for their opinion to know for sure…
Soooooooo what do you guys think? Are my blog posts unique and engaging?
Continuing the conversation about posts, I’m proud to say that I’ve done all of them up until this point like the scholar I am. I’m not bragging just saying 😏, but in all seriousness I have completed all of the work for this class and I’ve been happy to do so because I enjoy doing it.
Now that I’ve mentioned my strengths…let’s discuss some of my weaknesses, one of them being commenting on my classmate’s posts.
For some reason I haven’t been on top of my commenting game. It seems like everyone is, but that’s not excuse for me to let my classmates go without some sort of feedback or support for their posts. We all like a little encouragement, so I’m making a promise to myself to start commenting on at least three or my classmate’s posts every week. I easily reply to others when they leave a comment on my posts, so the least I could do is leave a comment for someone else.
Now let’s move onto my 2nd weakness…
Along with this, my participation in class is not where I want it to be…even though I do speak up from time to time I’d like to more openly answer some of the questions posed when class is still happening, because I usually strike up a conversation with Ryan and other classmates still in the room after we’ve dismissed so I’d like to work on doing that when we’re all still together.
Despite these shortcomings, I think that my overall grade in this class should be an A, given all the improvement, work, and effort I’ve put into all of my posts and this class as a whole. I still have a ways to go to reach my goal but I believe I deserve an A for what I have done so far.
Domain Names

Now moving on to more pressing matters…

I never know what to name things so coming up with a domain name for the website we are each going to make has been a STRUGGLE, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few I actually like:

  1. Jstar
  2. Joshsplace
  3. Jstreet
  4. J.the.Good.Man
  5. Joshthestar
  6. Black Lavender
  7. Aesthetically.Joshua
  8. J.vibe

Assignment 6- Digital Art Making Immediacy

Digital Art Making Immediacy

I’ll be honest…this assignment drained me. I have no idea why…but it probably had something to do with the fact that I had no ideas. I saw the words creativity, the very word that should spark some remnant of imagination and get the creative juices flowing, however, I just went blank. Which made doing this assignment somewhat of a burden 🥲.

With the other assignments there was some semblance of structure, something to work towards and fashion together to reach a common goal, but for this assignment the directions were less formative and left to our own interpretations. I usually enjoy stuff like this, but for some reason I didn’t so much, at least at first.
Maybe it had to do with experimenting with a new website I wasn’t comfortable with, but all of the ideas somersaulted out of my head. After rewatching the Zoom recording of last class I was reminded of something that Prof had said. Don’t get in your head to much, just do whatever…and as painful as that was to do, that’s what I did.

As a person who likes to be organized and remain somewhat consistent, I tried to keep everything cohesive, even though we were warned we’d make things he don’t like or care for…I’m happy I took the first step to get over this hurdle of unorganized creativity so to speak.

MMM

To create my two pages as stated in the assignment I created them on MMM.page along with some assistance from Google Images, and Pixabay. Mostly using the stickers on the website and some weirdly specific images from google I created this first page called “Something” I know…very evocative.

You can view it by clicking on this link >>>here’s Something<<< but here’s a preview for the page👇

I’m not really sure what it’s supposed to be, but it has a space ship in there so I think it’s automatically cool. This being the first page I created on the website came with a lot of experimentation and uncertainty on my part because I didn’t know he extent of what I could do on my own aside from the tutorial on the Zoom recording. I soon fell in love with the variety of stickers and gifs on the website, however, I wish we could crop images into shapes and apply filters to them without having to export the entire page to another program, much like on PowerPoint. Even though no one likes PowerPoint, it still has some good features I can’t lie.
Now moving onto page 2…be prepared.
I called this one “Interests” and even though it turned out completely different than what I thought, that has nothing to do with all of my interests it still looks alright for a new MMM user if you ask me.
You can view it by clicking on this link >>>here’s Interests<<< but here’s a preview for the page👇
The more I look at it the more this page looks like a brochure promoting Japan and it’s anime culture…which is far from what I was going for, but I’ll take what I can get. We got floating cars, cherry blossoms, Mont Fuji, Pokémon in the water, and two of my favorite characters from popular anime Bleach, and One Piece , what more could you want?
I wish I was this content with what I made while was making it because when I was finished I honestly felt like starting over, BUT I knew I had to force myself to like it. After all I made it, and I can always improve in the future.
While I have you…I’d like to discuss AI a little bit. See I’m not entirely against AI, but I do think using it in place of real art, made by people is kind if unfair. Instead of turning to a artist who could do the thing you need you’re having a computer program do it, taking the personality out of the piece and replacing it with a lifeless program. However, I’m not against all AI, I just think it should be used as a guide, or a tool to help artists but not as a complete substitution for art.
⚠️I might come back to add more to this post⚠️

Assignment 5 – Project Flexibility

Project Flexibility

Hello again fellow CT-101-ians…(I know that’s not a word but just go with it). After reading the assignment and having a small scale mental breakdown about which projects from the DS101 Assignments Bank I should choose, I finally found two assignments that I actually had a lot of fun making.

Assingment 1:

When I first saw this assignment I was a little skeptical because…first of all how do I choose just one movie poster out of all the movie posters in the world? If you haven’t picked up on it already I’m a very indecisive person so choosing a movie poster to create in a “silly” fashion was a challenge, BUT I narrowed it down to Men in Black (M.I.B) with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones from 1997.
Using the free photo bank Pixabay I chose some images with transparent backgrounds and arranged onto the movie poster. However, unlike the instructions the assignment which said use Photopea I used a different website which is quite similar, but I know a little more about it seeing as I use in to complete digital colleges/artwork in high school. Pixlr X is another free online photo editing software like Photopea, however it does have a limit of 3 .jpeg documents per day. Despite this I know this program more and was more comfortable doing it on there.
Now time for the big reveal, here’s my silly-fied M.I.B poster:
So let me walk you through my creative process…
After selecting the movie poster I wanted to use, I went to Pixabay to chose images relating to aliens which is where I go the idea to include the flying saucer in the upper lefthand corner and the three alien head silhouettes and ET looking fingers touching the guns. Along with that I included a centipede, because if you’ve ever watched the movie there’s a centipede looking monster/alien living on Earth and they have to find it and dispose of it.
The birthday hats simply add more silliness while the recoloration of the background looked really cool to me so I kept it. For the most part this was a relatively “easy” assignment for me to complete and I had fun doing it.
For this assignment, I wasn’t sure how to go about it, not to mention, nervous because I’ve never created a piece of art with solely pictures, much less pictures of myself. So I thought this assignment would be a good way for me to practice some self confidence and overcome that hurtle.
So to begin, I waited till I got a haircut, because I was not doing this college looking rough. After that I took about 30 pictures of my face with a static background and compiled them into a cohesive piece. I had no idea how to do that but I soon figured it out as I started playing with the layers, setting each one to overlay the others. To be honest with you it looks a bit freaky, but so does the example, so that’s how I know I did something right.
Here it is:
See…it looks creepy, but I still kind of like it. I took the liberty of adding some orange saturation to the image to give it some warmth and added some glitch effect onto the whole thing to make it look like a low quality image from an old camera or video. The eyes, or the black lines that should make up the eyes staring into my soul really add to the creepiness.
Improvements:
After completing both of these assignments I think that a little more hands on instruction/modeling would be required for others to feel completely comfortable in their storytelling skills. It requires practice, intent, and patience. If I’ve learned anything from these projects and making my own art its that practice makes perfect, the more you practice, the more you force yourself to get better, you will start to see the results of your work.
If I had to set a number to the amount of times you should be practicing, I’d say about twice a week. Try every feature you can, make mistakes, make art that you think is horrible because eventually you’ll go back to them in the future and wonder how you made it look so messed up in the first place.
To sum up, practicing a new skill is never easy, and if it is and you’re the chosen one then you’re a lucky case, but for the people like me who struggle and sometimes get frustrated, that’s part of the process unfortunately. You just gotta push through it if you’re serious about getting better in anything, not just digital storytelling.

Assignment #4 – Passions I’m Passionately Passionate About

Passions I’m Passionately Passionate About

Heyyo my fellow CT 101-ians, today I’m going to bring you into my world for a bit, but before I do I have to warn you that it may be a thrilling, or it may be boring and nerdy depending on who you are, but nevertheless I’m here to share it with you.
I’ve always been passionate about writing and drawing. Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved drawing and doodling in the margins of my notebook as I aimlessly zoned out from whatever the teacher was talking about…we’ve all done it don’t lie 😬. Art and creativity always came naturally to me, even now, I always try to add a personal touch to everything I do.
Art Create GIF by GIPHY Arts
I love the idea of transforming a blank piece of paper into a cohesive work of art that I’m happy with. In high school my usual medium was charcoal and pencil. However, I’ve been doing digital art for a little over a year now and…let’s just say it’s very different.  If you’ve ever wanted to get into digital art or designing I suggest programs like Clip Studio, Ibis Paint, and even Pixlr X because they’re free!
Daniel Radcliffe GIF by BuzzFeed
Despite this…I paid $10 for a program called Procreate that works on Apple devices 😖, but don’t get me wrong all of these programs are great and I’ve loved making art on Procreate. I find the process of creation relaxing yet invigorating because I have complete control over the lines, shapes, colors, and orientation of my piece.
Most of my drawings are of my OCs (original characters) from a story I’ve been writing for years…but before I get into that let’s go a little deeper into why I’m also passionate about writing.
take notes GIF
 Me and writing have had a rocky relationship since I was a kid for the most part I believed it was the complete opposite of drawing and creativity. Before I entered high school I always associated writing with distinctively outlined words my teachers found pleasing based on the assignment. I dreaded essays, short responses, anything that came with making words and sentences. It was tedious and there was no room for creativity…the very thing that came easily to me.
And so I associated writing with boredom and torture.
Animated GIF
Until I reached 9th grade, when my entire outlook on writing changed. I had a teacher…let’s call her Ms. H. She opened my eyes to a different type of writing. Creative Writing! This form of writing was a breath of fresh air, because for the first time in my life I felt like I had complete control over what I could write, just like with drawing. Along with this Ms. H also introduced to me analytical writing, which I surprisingly enjoyed, and still do.
Creative writing: This soon became my creative outlet aside, from drawing, as  I loved writing short stories, usually inspired by shows, cartoons, and anime that I was obsessed with at the time. I loved creating complex characters with traumatic pasts and flaws, like myself. I even wrote poetry from time to time…nothing too crazy though.
Analytical writing: This style of writing, which I used to associate with strictly academic writing, can be applied to the stories I write as well. Analyzing the various complexities of underlying messages that contribute to the a bigger picture may sound nerdy…and it is but I enjoy it 🥹.
Homer Simpson Cartoon GIF
As these two styles of writing meshed together in my head, a light bulb went off as I was creating my own story. I could weave in underlying messages and symbols that make it more complex and interesting. This is how my story has evolved from a one dimensional story of good vs. evil into a complex array of themes combating against each other. Racism, war, international sabotage, genocide, and even human trafficking are all part of my story that follows four siblings in a fantasy world on the brink of crumbling.
And so this is how “The Protectors” were born, a story capable of making an only child occupied…😀 I’m not lonely I promise…
SpongeBob gif. While it rains outside, SpongeBob sits alone at a booth in the Krusty Krab, staring blankly at a steaming mug.
Now that I’m done exposing myself…here’s a look at some of the art I created to support my story, which I’ve been writing on a website called Wattpad which has 27 Chapters so far.
For those who might be potentially interested in checking it out, here’s a lil description/premise:

If you’re a nerd and that sounds interesting to you I definitely encourage you to check it out, especially if you like anime. (Just be warned it’s all writing and not many pictures)

            Here's the book cover I made a few months ago^^

Here are some of the characters and OC art I’ve made over the past few years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other than being a way to channel my creativity, working on this story is not just a hobby, it’s my comfort. It’s the thing I turn too when I want to shut the world out and focus on something I can control. My characters are a part of me, and represent the various aspects of my personality or concepts that hold significance in my life.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about my passions.

Memes ARE Art!

Bob Ross Art GIF

Memes ARE Art!

Memes are everywhere! If you’ve ever been on the internet, which all of us have, you’ve seen, shared, or liked a meme that resonated with you, and because of this memes are a seamlessly efficient way of connecting people. Memes, with or without context, can bring people together through shared comedy, or specifically expressed opinions others agree with. In some cases they can be used to share information.

But that bates the question, even though memes are a method of communication…can they be considered art? Short answer…

YES, memes are art! But how? They’re just goofy little posts that people post on the internet when their bored. Well according to the internet, specifically, Oxford Dictionary defines art as, “the use of the imagination to express ideas or feelings, particularly in painting, drawing or sculpture.”
Out of all the definitions I’ve read online, this one seems to be the most accurate one when pertaining to the topic at hand. I wholeheartedly agree with this definition because art is not defined by any one thing. Anyone can make art, whether it’s good or not is subjective and left to the opinion of the viewer, but anything created humans that effectively expresses the artist’s ideas or feelings is and will always be art.
So why would memes be left out if that’s the case???
Even The Harvard Crimson, a well known site from Harvard Law School, declares that meme are art. This article highlights the dissemination of memes across generational borders as some memes are catered expressly towards Millennials, while others are solely for Gen Z’s taste and understanding. Now if the nerds at Harvard say that memes are art, who are we to argue?
Piggybacking off of the article, they also mention how creating memes is a skill and in order to effectively create a meme people need to have idea of what they want to communicate. They then have either find or create a graphic that corresponds with the text that they plan on writing. In other words, you’re literally creating a body of work that you are in full control of, and based on what you’re referencing, your meme will reach your target audience almost immediately the moment you post it online.
 Meme Makers be like….
So now that we’ve established that Memes ARE art, does that mean they are “good” art?
Hmm…subjectively I’ll say that some memes are top tier in their relatability and humor, however, the ones that I don’t understand or don’t resonate with are obviously not going to be high on my list, but that doesn’t mean that they’re bad…you know?
Awkward Cringe GIF by Bounce
Same goes with “traditional” art though. Some pieces you might enjoy looking at a lot and others…not so much.
I will say though, that memes and traditional art are two categories under the umbrella of “ART.” I say this because traditional art, which includes drawing, painting, sketching, sculpting, graphic designing, music making, writing, and even cooking are all things that take time and effort to master. Whereas a meme maker can just decide one day that..”hey I wanna make a meme today” and chooses a random photo and quote and it becomes popular overnight.
Proud Dungeons And Dragons GIF by Hyper RPG
As an artist myself I feel like I’m in limbo on the topic because, yes memes are a form of art, but do they carry a lot of weight, time, sacrifice and patience when compared to other art forms? No. However, at the end of the say it is still art.
Now with that being said, like all subjectively “good” art, can memes convey a story as well?
Of course!! Similar to other forms of art that are strung together to tell a coherent story, memes can tell a story through their alternative humor and whim.
^^See what I did there…I insert a meme that suggests a story time is about to happen😏.
But let’s get serious now… solely using gifs and memes let’s craft a narrative of how I, a 19 year old college student who has a horrible sleep schedule, feel about the semester as it goes on…
This Is Fine GIFHigh School Burn GIF by Cartoon Hangover
Animated GIF
Let’s just say it’s definitely not syllabus week anymore…but see how I created that narrative using gifs and famous memes to convey my anxiety? Anyone can do it!
Speaking of memes and gifs let’s revisit some of my favorites that may be old but are still classic to me:
Celebrity gif. Reggie Sergile, also known as the rapper Conceited, holds a red cup and is listening to someone speak. He looks skeptical as he looks at us and puckers his lips exaggeratedly, looking down and swinging his body around to take a step away in doubt. meme
Rainbow Spongbob meme
While on the subject here’s some strangely specific memes for our class that I made 😀:
Sad Taylor Swift memeGood Guy Boss meme
P.S. I read some of the documents at the end of the assignment and even though I didn’t directly use them, they helped me find the other articles I used in this post.🫶🏼

GIFs ^3^

Wave Hello GIF by Pudgy Penguins

GIFs ^3^

Heyyo everyone!!

To start off, let’s just say that on the first day of class when I walked in and I was like…

season 2 the secret box GIF by SpongeBob SquarePants

Nah just kidding…or am I? No but really, on the first day of class I was pleasantly surprised by the 1) the layout of the room, and 2) the overall vibe that Ryan had created without even introducing himself to us yet.

He just seemed like a chill guy and I knew that this class would be as chill well, and I was correct. I’ve never had a class where the students were actually facing away from the front of the room or allowed to purposely express their creativity through digital media.

Even right now I’m listening to music, scrolling through GIPHY like:

Because I’m enjoying the assignment and enjoying curating my own blog post, which is something I’ve never done before outside of this class. I honestly didn’t think people even use blog posts anymore. Despite that, I’ve been enjoying using the different tools at my disposal here on the class website and finding the appropriate GIFs to piece together a coherent body of work. The creative potentials of this class are endless with GIFs!

Moving onto the course content let’s just say a 10 page paper analyzing the growth and layout of our posts from the beginning of the semester to the end to see how it’s changed is…

When I read this NONEXISTANT assignment I was SHOCKED. A class without a final assignment? We won.  Compared to my other classes which have at least one exam or 5-7 page paper this class is the highlight of my week because I get to be creative and work at my own leisure. Which are things I enjoy as a hobby, but now I get to bring them into my academic life.
I’m curious to see how this will play out and how much we’ll all grow throughout this class. 🫶
P.S. here’s a funny video of cats to make you laugh…(if you can’t tell I’m a cat person)

Assignment 1 – Happy Internet Post

Movie gif. A newly hatched baby Private from Penguins of Madagascar, still wearing the top of his eggshell on his head, gives us a friendly wave.

Heyyo everyone, I’m Joshua or Josh (which ever you want to use is fine) I’m  really excited to be in this class and learn the ins and outs of this website and how to convey story through digital media on the internet, which is a versatile tool accessible to almost anyone.

I’m a pretty introverted person so I might not say much in person however, don’t feel afraid to say hi or make a sarcastic joke, because I will almost always laugh. However, when I’m not laughing at sarcastic jokes I’m usually drawing (because I’m a digital artist) or writing short stories. I’m actually working on one right now on this website called Wattpad.

Wattpad Logo, symbol, meaning, history, PNG, brand

If you’ve never heard of it Wattpad is, in their own words “The world’s most-loved social storytelling platform.” In other words, Wattpad is a place for writers to share their work and network with other writers/readers to get feedback, or just to get their work out there in the world. Sometimes if writers are seriously passionate about making it their career and gain a big following, Wattpad will help to publish that creator’s work.

Now moving on to the part why this has made me happy…well, this website has made me happy this week because, as I mentioned before, I have posted a body of work onto this website and recently I’ve gained a lot of new readers. Someone even reached out to me on the website and told me that they really like my story so far and how I wrote the intricate details of each scene. Had me feeling like…

Nbc Blushing GIF by Sunnyside

Even though I didn’t expect much out of it and only write this story as a hobby, having someone recognize me and taking the time to comment that really made me feel happy because I put a lot of work and thought into it and its characters.

Just a side note…but if you’re a writer or like to read fantasy type books with powers and character trauma✨ feel free to check out my work its pretty much finished so any feedback would be appreciated.

This is random, but I also wanted everyone to see this picture I saw on Instagram of @leroy.dacat while typing up this post that made me smile.