Do I feel stress when I feel I'm under-prepared?
Do I lack the confidence of my group members to actually complete the tasks at hand?
Do I feel superior to those around me, making their thoughts and opinions obsolete?
Maybe all of the above. I am definitely one to over prepare. There is nothing worse to me than not having a plan. Never will you see me going out on a whim; there is always an itinerary. This could easily be my downfall. All my life I've been told "let loose", "relax", "stop caring so much". I don't know about you, but I was raised to always care and never to run into anything head-on. How do you stand in front of a class, awaiting to begin your discussion, when you don't know the overall feel of the subject at hand? You have no idea what your group members will be discussing, and what views they will take or advocate. You have no idea in what order your slideshow will go in; the overall direction of the discussion is now compromised. How are people comfortable with this approach?!?
I feel that my attributes may also be my downfall. I contemplate most all of my decision and thoughts; over-analyze my situations and roadblocks. I always thought this was a great competency. Who wants to make a decision that will do more harm than good? Then again, how do you learn if you don't make any mistakes? I'm scared to make mistakes, worried to take a step back. Life is all about progression, is it not? This just goes to show how far confidence can take you in life.
It must seem like I could be a Psychology subject. Chapter Four: Discerning the Mind of a College Student.
And now you've learned why I feel compelled to take Psychology in University.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Douglas Adams 1952-2001
I had always heard about The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, but blew it off numerous times. It never seemed to have much of an appeal to me. Then again, I really wasn't an avid reader. I only ever managed to finish the Harry Potter series, and spending hours staring at words really didn't spark any emotions.
My roommate, who was just a co-worker at the time, lent me The Hitchhiker's Guide. After just finishing The Hunger Games trilogy, I was craving something to keep that rush going. You know, the rush where you have only two chapters left in a series and your tapping your fingers with angst as to the final outcomes. Suddenly the book is finished, and with it comes a sense of completion but also void.
Finally, after years of deciding that there was always something better, I was reading The Guide. I was glued to it instantly. From the first sentence to the last, my attention could not be drawn away. I brought the book back to my friend. He asks, "looking to borrow the Restaurant", which is the second installment. I look back at him and say with complete confidence, "nope, but I'll take all four from you!"
Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series opened my eyes to many different authors and styles. After finishing them, I immediately dove into Brave New World by Alodus Huxley, and became familiar with Orson Scott Card, George R. R. Martin, and testing the waters of Issac Asimov.
What brings me to talk about Douglas Adams' today is a video I saw on Facebook via Science is a Verb page. This video (link below) was recorded at UCSB, in which Adams' gave a talk about various endangered species, and included origin, adaptation, and eventual demise at the hands of human beings. This talk is called Parrots, The Universe and Everything. He takes a firm Conservationist view on the world and the various situations we see ourselves in.
I noticed something as soon as Adams' begins to discuss his ideas; he writes exactly how he talks. As a casual writer, this blows my mind! I believe this is why he is so successful, and how he brings his own humor and emotion to his work. I feel as if I am reading a new entry into the Hitchhiker's series while I watch this talk.
The last thing that stood out to me was a phrase he mentioned. At 1:11:55 Adams' says ,"We do something with intention. We boil an egg so we can eat it."
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZG8HBuDjgc
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Welcome To All!
...including myself! My name is Mathew Couturier, if you cared not to read the sidebar. I created this blog waaaay back in April of 2010. It was a different life for me at that time. As you can tell from my previous and only posts, I was studying as an artist. Specifically, a video game artist.
I was attending classes at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario, for Video Game Development. To be honest, it's really not that different than an artist of any other genre. The only difference really comes down to technology. You start your concepts and designs on paper, then transfer to digital.
I was 21 years old at the time. Picture your typical young adult, believing he has an infinite understanding of the world because he knows it rotates once every 24 hours. That was me, living with my high school sweetheart, in a brand new environment. I had just moved to Toronto after spending 20 years in my hometown of Ottawa. Like most whipped young guys, I picked up and left my life to follow my heart. No, not school, education, or a career, but for a girl. After five years, a broken relationship, a college failure, and a soul feeling lost, I decided to make my way back home.
Now here we are! Or, I should say, here I am. Four years older now (25 in May, 2013), I am currently attending Algonquin College for Police Foundations. I am in my first year, second semester. For the first time in my life, I can say that I made the best decision of my life. The teachers that I've met, the students in my class, and the people that I have met through volunteering and participating in school events have made the biggest impact on me since my early teenage years. I have learned more from these people than I have from almost everyone I've encountered in my life. If you guys are reading this, thank you!!!
Now, currently attempting to complete my third trial in college, you would think that I have a bit of a grasp as to what I plan for myself. In reality, I still have no idea. It always blows my mind to think all the way back to elementary and high school, when teachers would tell you to prepare for your future career, to figure out what you really want to be, and that you can be whatever you want to be. I have no idea what I want to be!! I'm still stuck on my childhood dream to be an astronaut. To this day, I would offer my life in exchange to spend some time in space. But let's be realistic, why don't we. I am almost math-illiterate, without any understanding of a single physics equation. E=Mc2? Sure, energy equals mass something squared. I've decided that astronomy and physics will always be my hobby, something that will keep me from losing my mind when dealing with all of life's ups and downs.
That leads me to some other areas of interest. One of them is the reason that I have started to blog, Journalism. I've always thought that I was a good writer. I have to give a lot of credit to my current Issues in Diversity professor, Mr. Willis. Our assignments consist of online journals relating to First Nations people and diverse cultures, as well as written Media Report summaries. Essentially, all of our assignments involve research on a topic and a written component explaining the topic researched, including our personal thoughts and opinions. Mid-exam, Mr. Willis approaches my desk. I see a slight tap on the corner of my desk. I look up. Mr. Willis, with a clear and strong voice, says to me, "Mat your journals are excellent. You could be a writer". You watch a lot of these movies where a speech or phrase suddenly inspires the protagonist to do something good or complete a personal goal. That's exactly how I felt in that minute. I took it directly to heart. That one phrase has led me to this blog today. Thanks Mr. Willis!
My other field of choice (at the moment) is Psychology. The brain fascinates me, as I think it should everybody. I've always been awkward in social situations. I find it very very hard to understand people, what they do, why they do it, and why people say the things they do. This is where psychology steps in. Having the ability to learn how the brain works, from the conscious to the unconscious, is amazing. Fruedian theory also interests me. I am determined to figure out why so many people feel his theories are obsolete.
One thing I plan on accomplishing with this blog is to try and explain, all the while learning, some new scientific concepts in everyday language. I'm a firm believer in self-teaching. Absolutely, you learn extremely well from others every day of your life. If you can teach yourself one thing that you didn't know yesterday, you will live a more complete and understanding life. Not only will you leave this world more intelligent, but you will make every one around you that much more informed.
I was attending classes at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario, for Video Game Development. To be honest, it's really not that different than an artist of any other genre. The only difference really comes down to technology. You start your concepts and designs on paper, then transfer to digital.
I was 21 years old at the time. Picture your typical young adult, believing he has an infinite understanding of the world because he knows it rotates once every 24 hours. That was me, living with my high school sweetheart, in a brand new environment. I had just moved to Toronto after spending 20 years in my hometown of Ottawa. Like most whipped young guys, I picked up and left my life to follow my heart. No, not school, education, or a career, but for a girl. After five years, a broken relationship, a college failure, and a soul feeling lost, I decided to make my way back home.
Now here we are! Or, I should say, here I am. Four years older now (25 in May, 2013), I am currently attending Algonquin College for Police Foundations. I am in my first year, second semester. For the first time in my life, I can say that I made the best decision of my life. The teachers that I've met, the students in my class, and the people that I have met through volunteering and participating in school events have made the biggest impact on me since my early teenage years. I have learned more from these people than I have from almost everyone I've encountered in my life. If you guys are reading this, thank you!!!
Now, currently attempting to complete my third trial in college, you would think that I have a bit of a grasp as to what I plan for myself. In reality, I still have no idea. It always blows my mind to think all the way back to elementary and high school, when teachers would tell you to prepare for your future career, to figure out what you really want to be, and that you can be whatever you want to be. I have no idea what I want to be!! I'm still stuck on my childhood dream to be an astronaut. To this day, I would offer my life in exchange to spend some time in space. But let's be realistic, why don't we. I am almost math-illiterate, without any understanding of a single physics equation. E=Mc2? Sure, energy equals mass something squared. I've decided that astronomy and physics will always be my hobby, something that will keep me from losing my mind when dealing with all of life's ups and downs.
That leads me to some other areas of interest. One of them is the reason that I have started to blog, Journalism. I've always thought that I was a good writer. I have to give a lot of credit to my current Issues in Diversity professor, Mr. Willis. Our assignments consist of online journals relating to First Nations people and diverse cultures, as well as written Media Report summaries. Essentially, all of our assignments involve research on a topic and a written component explaining the topic researched, including our personal thoughts and opinions. Mid-exam, Mr. Willis approaches my desk. I see a slight tap on the corner of my desk. I look up. Mr. Willis, with a clear and strong voice, says to me, "Mat your journals are excellent. You could be a writer". You watch a lot of these movies where a speech or phrase suddenly inspires the protagonist to do something good or complete a personal goal. That's exactly how I felt in that minute. I took it directly to heart. That one phrase has led me to this blog today. Thanks Mr. Willis!
My other field of choice (at the moment) is Psychology. The brain fascinates me, as I think it should everybody. I've always been awkward in social situations. I find it very very hard to understand people, what they do, why they do it, and why people say the things they do. This is where psychology steps in. Having the ability to learn how the brain works, from the conscious to the unconscious, is amazing. Fruedian theory also interests me. I am determined to figure out why so many people feel his theories are obsolete.
One thing I plan on accomplishing with this blog is to try and explain, all the while learning, some new scientific concepts in everyday language. I'm a firm believer in self-teaching. Absolutely, you learn extremely well from others every day of your life. If you can teach yourself one thing that you didn't know yesterday, you will live a more complete and understanding life. Not only will you leave this world more intelligent, but you will make every one around you that much more informed.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Characters & Environment
-Three point perspective of pig done in illustrator.
-Mage, leprechaun, and environment done in photoshop.
4 Point Character Designs
These are two character designs I created using 4 point perspective. Shades done with Prismacolor Premier Greyscale.
"ULRHA" Game Box Art
I created a fictional game called "ULRHA", creating the game box art. Front and back were drawn in Photoshop cs4. Used occlusion box in Photoshop to create the 3D effect.
First Post!!
Hi there!
My name is Mat Couturier. I'm 23 years old. Live in Toronto, and am an aspiring artist. My focus is to work towards a Game Development diploma at George Brown College. I am using this blog mainly as a portfolio of my work for others to see.
I hope you enjoy my artwork. Pictures to come soon!!
My name is Mat Couturier. I'm 23 years old. Live in Toronto, and am an aspiring artist. My focus is to work towards a Game Development diploma at George Brown College. I am using this blog mainly as a portfolio of my work for others to see.
I hope you enjoy my artwork. Pictures to come soon!!
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