Moving forward...

Its been quite some time since my last post. Much has happened since then! My three ghosts have been doing well. The largest of them is on its last stage, full wings and all. Next down is on his last molt before adult stage. The tiny girl who's the star of the pictures here has turned an olive green color and is 2 molts from adult stage. I wish I knew how to get rid of and prevent mites. I can't identify them but I've cleaned my tank out twice and they keep coming back. They're little transparent guys about 0.5mm wide, or less. TINY, annoying, and everywhere. I completely redid the whole tank with new sticks, substrate, and new food, hoping it would kick the mites out for good. They were gone for a few weeks but they're back! They seem to start out at microscopic sizes, so they've probably been there all along. Anyways, now I need a male! Raising mantids isn't a complete journey without successfully breeding!

Other Headers

While browsing the world of blogs, I came across many headers I like. One page called Sozidatel Real Estate uses a font I like and includes small graphics of blueprints and cameras. These graphics work well with the site, as it is promoting architecture and real estate. Mike's page, Emotions, has an enjoyable header. The graphic is simple and fun and his title is artistic and stylish. Pen and Think has a creative header made to look like a polaroid. I thought this was an interesting way to show what they do: Freelance photography. I looked at their new site design and I think its horrible compared to what it used to be, I don't know what they were thinking! 

New Header

While browsing for new fonts, I realized that I liked one I already had. Century Gothic Bold looked best to me. I think it is also a common font so if I use it anywhere else on my page, viewers will be able to load the font without any trouble. To make my header, I created my title and then added a gaussian blur drop shadow filter. This gave the letters a more distinct look backed against the gray. I chose the low-light blend mode as it made the icy blue pop even more. As for the picture, I took on of my own photos and opened it in Fireworks. I used the magic-wand tool to highlight the background around the mantis. I then deleted everything in the background that I didn't want to show, instead I wanted the gray of the header to show through. I then placed the photo on my header and used a glow filter with the same color as the title font. This glow made the photo more distinct against the gray. I had trouble finding the correct length for the header to fit nicely with the rest of the blog. I tried 1000 pixels, 900, and then eventually noticed the resize amount (which wasn't working) was 820. I tried 820 and sure enough, it fit just right.

Photo Editing

Here is a cropping technique that creates a unique look. The new look would work great in a title banner or side column.

Image Formats on the Web

As I was browsing the net, I found sites with the image formats I've been working with. Wild Madagascar is a site that uses gifs as their image format. Photo.net had a great jpg, very fine quality. TuxPaint uses png as their image format, small image size means faster page loading and easier downloads.

Jpg, Gif, or Png?

I have optimized the following photo in different formats to test any loss of quality between file types. In this photo, I simply cropped to a size with less negative space as I did before. In order from top to bottom, the png is top, then 32color gif, then 64color gif, then the best quality jpg. As you can see, if you want to save quality and have a nice photo on your blog, use jpg. If you want to lessen your filesize so the page will load faster, use gif or png.

Optimized/Cropped Jpg

In this photo, I cropped the
image to cut out negative
space. I then optimized as
jpg to make the most out of
the colors.

Blogs and Colors

As I was browsing through the land of blogs, I came across a simple monochromatic color scheme at Afrikboutik. Instead of using contrasting colors to fluff up the site, they kept it simple and unified. I found an analogous theme at Analogousblog, what a surprise! I'm not a fan of analogous color schemes, in my opinion the colors don't work together and they're hard on the eyes. As for complementary color, I found Mr. Techie's blog which has a scheme similar to my blog. I don't like the way white works with his color choices though. Rainbow Garden is a great example of saturated colors. Aspire seemed unsaturated to me, perhaps I have the wrong definition of saturation though. To me, anything unsaturated is boring.

The NEWEST Look

In this new look, I was experimenting with color scheme. I chose this color scheme to match the pictures I had taken. I also wanted it to give a pleasing look by using a complimentary color scheme. The base color is an aqua blue. I used tints and shades to reduce the "pop" of the colors, I want a soft, shady look. The colors are both warm and cool because of the complimentary scheme. The colors in this new design create contrast using hot colors to separate posts. The colors also create repetition in each post, helping the viewer navigate the blog.

The NEWER Look

This new layout was downloaded from http://www.ourblogtemplates.com/2008/08/blogger-template-mantis.html ...the template looked pleasing and happened to be named Mantis also. The grid is again the 2/3 layout. Instead of links along the right column, the template has the links below the title. The contrast between colors guides the eye through the page. The size of the text, and how bold it is, directs the eyes to the posts. The template uses blank space to keep the page focused and neat. Each column and gadget is boxed, creating proximity. Again, color choice repetition causes grouping.

The New Look

The new look and layout of my page is sharp and organized. There are two columns on the page. The columns in the grid follow the rule of Divine Proportions. Contrast is used between the colors in each column to make the posts pop and attract attention. Size is also used to attract attention simply by amount of content in the posts, also by the size of the title of the page and of the posts. Space is used in between the columns to create asymmetry. Proximity is used in each link section to create groups of similar links. And lastly, repetition is used in the colors of the post titles, and the text, creating grouping.

The Forum

Not many people have heard of keeping mantids as pets. This makes it very hard to find information when you need tips or help. Pet stores don't have a clue. The best way to get anything you need regarding praying mantises is through the breeder forums. A huge fraction of breeders live in Europe, making it hard to find anything local. Although, because its so popular in Europe, the American breeders use their forums! http://www.dragonscrest.co.uk/forums/index.php is the best forum I could find and I have used it to get many tips. I don't have a favorite website, but I have been visiting this forum often.

Hi class!

My name is Ben Franke. I'm taking this class to complete a Fusion Agreement (transfer agreement with a snazzier name) in order to transfer into Cogswell Polytechnical. ...And of course I'm a fan of the internet, why not learn how its done? I've made simple sites before, perhaps I'll learn how to improve in this class. Sadly, I have no idea what a blog is...I always thought it was just a site of your own on which you post little comments/stories, kinda like a journal. If thats true, then cool, I recently bought three Phyllocrania Paradoxa, or Ghost Mantids. I'm raising them and want to keep track of their growth, here's my chance!