alvinycpsarts

[alvinycpsarts]

CPSA201: Pentathlon Event 4

"Tideline" by Elizabeth Bear, Levar Burton Podcast (APR 12 2020)

The story was about a robot who was built for war, was stranded in an island, and had nothing left to do because the war was over. From what I could hear, the robot was nearing the end of its lifespan. She (the robot apparently had a pronoun of "she" in the story) met a young boy and told him stories about war. The boy also found new companions, each homeless and without anyone else they could go to. As the robot reaches the end of its life, it was up to the boy to spread the tales of war. That's the best I could remember of the story as it has been a few weeks since I heard it.

When I think of sentient artificial intelligence, I think of AI that look just like humans, able to experience human emotions, think like humans, and talk with a tone similar to humans. The robot portrayed in this story wasn't as I initially expected. Based on the sounds effects used to represent it, I could hear a bunch of mechanical parts. It's tone sounds just like a robot and I might have taken a while to know that it was a sentient robot if I hadn't read the description beforehand.

It seems that the robot wasn't smart enough to bypass its design and learn to do things it wasn't programmed for. My initial thought would be that humans would be much better at handling these scenarios and adapting. But are we not at least in some ways similar to the robot who has seemingly lost its purpose after wars ended? In a way, we humans can sometimes fall into habitual patterns of comfort and stop finding the need to learn new things stay up-to-date with technological advancements. I'm not saying that's wrong. Our occupations can be too demanding of our time for us to branch off into different paths. But when our abilities are very limited, and we're obstructed from being able to perform those abilities, we become "stuck"--unable to do anything. The COVID-19 and quarantine situation is a great example for this. Those who're only used to in-person jobs will suddenly find themselves jobless and maybe feel purposeless in more extreme cases. Again, this isn't to point out a fault for those who didn't prepare themselves for online work, just like it isn't the robot's fault that it can't do much beyond fighting in a war. It's just unfortunate in both scenarios and I thought that that connection was interesting.

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal #10 - Second Look Presentation 

Show and Tell

This video shows two scenes. First is my first lip syncing scene that I mentioned in last week’s entry. Second scene (starting from “defeat me..”) was the main scene for this week. It was one of the more “packed” scenes in terms of action and VFX; taking an estimated 6 hours to animate and another 7 hours to render. 

Second Look Presentation

The main problem with my animation is with the polish. Some actions could be made more natural and/or expressive. The edits are also a bit awkward at points. If this were a live action video, this would be unsatisfactory. But because this is animation, I basically have just enough footage (frames, specifically) for everything leaving little room for adjustments in cuts. This further emphasizes how important the planning process is for animation. Unfortunately, the storyboard that I made during the beginning of the production process could have been better. I’ve said before that to have this completed some corners will have to be cut; and they’re showing up in the polish stage.  

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal #9 due 04/12 -- Advisor Conference #2

Show and Tell 

Today I finally did my first lip sync animation for my Minecraft character. It took a bit of frustrating set up (including switching Minecraft character rigs 2 times to fix certain issues in the program) but the animating process wasn’t as complicated as I thought it would be. Sadly, it took most of my afternoon and evening to do it so I didn’t have time to render it all out and I can’t show anything right now. 

Advisor Conference #2

The above image actually has to do with what I got from advisor conference feedback. The thing was that there were a bunch of items on my desk and they were really distracting. So I photoshopped them out. Because the right half of the frame is basically a still frame in the actual video, using a masking technique I can edit out all instances of those distracting items. 

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal #8 : Curation Plan (due 04/05) 

Show and Tell 

Shots / Scene List 

(Voice only) I feel like this world is against me

Steve wakes up in an unfamiliar world

Steve tries to punch a tree but it doesn’t work (Voice narration)

Steve complains to Alvin about his situation (Lip Sync)

Includes a flashback on how he came here. (Portal VFX) (Lip Sync)

Steve thrown out of portal into real world

Steve meets Suspicious Minecraft Character (SMC) and gets his butt kicked (Lip Sync)

(Cuts to) Alvin shows promise of sending Steve home (Lip Sync)

(Cuts back to) Steve gets kicked around

Portal opens in Alvin’s room and Alvin waves goodbye to Steve; Steve walks through; Alvin closes the portal with his hands

Steve arrives in a desert world; SMC waits for him and says “you thought that was it” (One word lip sync)

The past week has been a wake-up call about the quality I want in my final video vs what I’m headed towards. In my preliminary edits using storyboard drawings, I had the video planned to be almost 3 minutes long. However, 3 minutes was barely realistic with the amount of free time I had during spring break, and now I don’t think I can make it at all without significant corner cutting. The video itself also wasn’t interesting the way it was edited. That took a toll on my overall motivation levels to work on it. 

The main issue was that I was stuck between having the video as a trailer or as an animated short with a more coherent story. Unintentionally, I had the video a mix of both which made them terrible at doing either job. I eventually chose the trailer option and edited the video down to 1:30~ long, removing anything I saw unfit. Above is the current scene list I have to complete and the scenes I’ve completed at this point. I feel a little more confident and motivated about animating this now. 

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal Entry #4 due Feb 26 (Super late entry) 

Show and Tell 

I honestly have no clue what I had between Entry #3 and #5. 

First Look Presentation (Presenting)

The main thing that puzzled me was regarding the overall message I wanted to portray. It felt really unintuitive because I didn’t approach the project with a deep and meaningful message. My main goal is just to present a Minecraft animation with a different twist to it compared to what someone might expect. That different twist took the form of a “what if” situation where a Minecraft character would stumble upon the real world that the audience would be familiar with. It would be lighthearted exploration for what kind of things might happen during the process. 

[alvinycpsarts]

CPSA201: Pentathlon Event 3

Coffee and Crafts, Orgami at Bel Air Lounge on MAR 02 2020, MON

The most difficult part of this session was to understand what the instructions sheet wanted us to do. After a while I gave up trying to follow instruction sheets and relied on YouTube tutorials instead. I didn't know the frog origami could be made to "jump."

It was kind of stressful trying to make these. The crane and frog were alright but when we went to make the elephant, even following a clear video tutorial, it was challenging to follow along. The mindset became to get to the final elephant no matter what, trying to not having the time spent be "wasted." The process thus wasn't very calming or enjoyable.

This experience has some important implications for how I should approach my Capstone project. At this point, I am already seeing some of the same mindset, focusing too much on sprinting to the goal by the deadline instead of taking a look at what I am learning.

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal #7 due 03/25

Show and Tell 

Since the previous entry, I have done a number of thing. I completed a very rough storyboard and laid it out in my video editor to form an animatic (with sound effects). Initially I had given up storyboarding since I was so far behind with the animation stage (my original plan was to start animating back in January), but it turned out to be a very important part of planning. It allowed me to get a basic idea of how my video will turn out. I also took pictures and videos that would become the basis for environment design. 

I also finally started on the animation stage. Being so behind schedule, it inevitably means I have to cut some corners. I cannot get caught up with refining the animation to what I feel is “perfect.” I will also have to limit camera movement and angles because I don’t have time to build complex scenes that would allow a camera to move more freely. This will ultimately mean some shots will feel a little awkward. 

Creativity Strategy Reflection 

By the time the creativity lesson took place, a lot of my most creatively demanding stages had already been completed, so I wasn’t able to utilize the strategies that much. However, I was able to find correlations to what we learned in class to what I did during my process. 

A big thing I did during my story planning process (back in previous semester) was using constraints. By that I don’t mean time constraint but rather story element constraints. That meant I would try to come up with a story that maybe only had a specific amount of character or only a limited number of location. I found that it allowed me to generate ideas easier compared to having completely open possibilities. 

Another thing I noticed was most of my ideas came at night when I was ready to settle down and stop working. My best interpretation is that ideas come when I finally stop trying to get good ideas and stop being stressed over the time limit. This happened quite a few times that I just allowed myself to not get any ideas during the day and have them come during the evening. As a result, a lot of my memory of writing down good ideas happened in the evening. 

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal Entry #6 due Mar 11

Show and Tell 

I would post some audio files, but Tumblr doesn’t seem to accept .wav files. But here’s the link to my final script: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EVlXKr6c61B21LzPXco_rzi2tzjqVdzRpa9wApxjHcw/edit?usp=sharing

One important progress that was made was the coordination with a friend who was the voice actor for the animated character of my video. We managed to get all the recording over with before the Spring Break which was great. 

Alumni Insight 

One important thing I learned from the alumnis were that the Capstone project is more flexible than I thought. My original expectation was that if I hadn’t started from the very first day of the semester and make a ton of progress every single day, the whole project would be messed up. This new perspective is very reassuring. As much as I have to re-establish more manageable goals, I do think I will have something cool to present for ArtsFest. 

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal Entry #5 due Mar 04

Script (Draft) 

Minecraft, Attack on Reality (Trailer/Script)

Note : 

Mark is the placeholder name for the human friend 

Xenon is the placeholder name for the evil minecraft character

Waking up in the Minecraft World

(Alvin as a Minecraft character, wakes up on the ground) 

Alvin: Where am I? 

(Alvin looks around him and at his hands)

(Alvin sees his friend on the ground too)

(Alvin goes into flashback)

Unexpected guest 

(Alvin walks back to his dorm--outside of Bel Air) 

(Alvin sees Steve--a minecraft character--holding a sword) 

(Alvin is startled and tries to hide away before he realizes Steve is trying to punch a tree) 

Steve: (Punches a tree and very quickly shows a face of pain)

(Alvin slowly walks up to it)

Alvin: Yeah you can’t do that in this world. 

(Steve shows a face of startle and trips to the ground)

Alvin: Bruh I’m the one who’s supposed to be scared here. 

(Mark walks up)

Mark: Yo Alvin what’s up. 

(Mark sees a Minecraft character and gets startled)

Mark: Woah what is that! 

Alvin: Yea, I think we should get him somewhere out of plain sight

Interrogation (dramatic music start to play)

(Setting: Some kind of room) 

(Alvin and Mark sit down on a chair) 

(Steve is standing there doing stuff)

Alvin: So. How did you get into our world?

(Cutaway) Show the evil minecraft character--Xenon--dropping into our world; not showing his face

(Steve looks at them without saying anything)

Alvin (dramatic): Is this some kind of joke to you? You think I asked you a question just for you to not answer? 

(Steve scratches his head) 

Mark: Maybe he can't talk

(Alvin looks at Steve weirdly)

(Cutaway) Show Xenon walking with his sword sparking

Introducing Evil Minecraft Character 

Alvin: So you weren’t the only one who came to this world. 

Mark: Wait… when did he say that. He can’t talk remember?

Alvin: Yeah.. where did I get this information

(Alvin looks up rapidly when he heard a sound) 

(Xenon appears in our face for a moment, when flashes away) 

(Steve appears to have a headache and remembers something) 

(Steve chases after Xenon) 

Mark: Wait, where are you going? 

Steve gets completely defeated in battle (music intensifies here)

(Setting: McKeldin Mall) (Ideally be free moving environment) (Day time) (use panorama as background with some geometry for foreground)

(Steve goes for the attack but Xenon swings his sword once and shoots out an energy wave that knocks Steve way back) 

(Xenon brings out his wings and flies over to Steve and grabs him up and tosses him down) 

(Cutaway) Alvin: So what, is the world gonna end now? 

(Xenon throws Steve up and kicks him away) 

(Cutaway) Mark: Don’t be so pessimistic. I’m sure Steve will handle that guy just well. 

(Mark looks up in face of shock) 

Minecraft takes over reality 

(Xenon standing in front of Alvin and Mark, dragging unconscious Steve and dropping him on the ground)

Xenon (vibrating voice): Your turn. 

Alvin: Run…

(Xenon shoots a beam and it hits Alvin and Mark)

(Alvin and Mark drop to the ground and both get turned into Minecraft character)

Xenon (vibrating voice): Enjoy your new reality.

(Xenon sends out an energy field that glitches our world into a Minecraft world; humans into minecraft characters) 

Ruminating

(Alvin mines a piece of stone on a wall)

(Camera pans out and shows them both working on surviving in this new world) 

Alvin: There’s gotta be a way to fix this. 

--  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  

Unfortunately I don’t have a completed script as I said I would have in the Learning Agreement. I currently have a completed draft of the script which I plan to make some more changes on. The main thing, I only realized recently, was that I forgot to include goals and motivation for the characters in this story. So that will be the main focus for now. I did, however, got my hands on a tripod and discussed with friends who’re willing to be actors in my video. 

First Look Presentation (not presenting)

One thing I got from these presentations are a general idea of my fellow classmate’s timeline regarding this project. Seeing other people’s progress makes me feel normal about not having a whole bunch of things already done. According to my original plan, I should have started the animation stage by the first day of the semester. I had to keep pushing the animation stage back because I couldn’t finalize my script which was stressful. 

Alumni Questions 

1. Did you come to a point where you had to make changes really late into the process? Were those very costly (as in you had to throw away a ton of completed progress) changes?

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal Entry #3 due Feb 19 

--- --- --- 

Rough Story Outline

Story Outline 

Expressing my unhappiness to this world 

I come home, expressing resentment for the interviewer not being able to take a joke

Steve gets summoned by…

I said “I wish this world was Minecraft. Things would be much simpler.”

Then a sheet of paper pops onto my face. 

Me putting onto a “sheet of paper” that I want Minecraft to become reality 

That sheet of paper says “Let’s play a game. Name something that you want to become reality.” 

I thought that “sheet of paper” was just a prank, so I wrote Minecraft in it and tossed it aside, but it turned out to be a real thing

I went to play Minecraft, but then the paper burned up in purple flames without me noticing

Meeting Steve

I come back from school only to meet Steve back facing me staring out the window 

However, for whatever reason, he wouldn’t/couldn’t talk. He just responded with noises that minecraft villagers make

I tried to introduce Steve to the humans in this world but...  

My friend rejects it completely the moment he saw it. 

He was too frightened by it and did not want anything to do with this unknown Steve. He also ran away from me 

Steve tries to punch a tree and ends up hurting his hands

It doesn’t work that way in the real world, I tell him. This world is not that simple

Realizing Steve’s intentions 

I go into overthinking mode. 

I start to think about how Steve even got summoned into this world

I remembered that sheet of paper. That was a real sheet of paper. But wait, I didn’t put “Minecraft Steve” in it, I put “Minecraft”

If that sheet of paper really does have the power that it has then… 

Talk with Steve 

Steve tells me that I created him by setting down that wish on that piece of paper

I told him “I was just joking when I said to turn this world into Minecraft. You don’t have to do this.” 

Steve makes a comment saying “Wouldn’t it be better if it was a world where you could punch a tree and it drops as wood?” 

Minecraft takes over real world 

Steve releases an unknown energy wave. That wave starts to glitch the entire world and turn them into “Minecraft matter.”

I tried to run away but that wave (obviously) still hit meI become a Minecraft character. Some people become minecraft characters (mutated), most just die 

I regret my decision but it was too late

--- --- ---  

This was a story outline that I came up with. There are a few problems with this outline though. Firstly, there isn’t enough that are action-packed that will make for interesting shots to put into a trailer--a trailer thrives not on heavy story but action that grab people’s interest. Secondly, the story is a bit too dark and cynical for my liking. I was feeling a bit heavy when I wrote this and when I read over it later I knew this wasn’t something I wanted to make. My motivation crashed at the thought of creating a story like this, even though I wrote it myself. I guess I prefer more lighthearted story elements with humor added throughout. 

Advisor Conference Feedback

For advisor conference, the main feedback I gotten was to demystify myself with the process of animating and VFX so I can more accurately determine what is realistic. Last entries animation demo was the start of me doing that. As I’m writing out my scenes, I will also be doing more VFX shots using camera projection to prepare for the actual production. 

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal Entry #2 due Feb 12

Currently I have experimented with Camera Projection, a process by which a photograph is turned into 3D space which a camera can move through. I also have a bit of story written down as well as an animation test. (This animation test is just a test and will not show up in the final video) 

This animation test is meant to give me some idea on how long I might take to animate a certain action (this particularly one took me 3-4 hours from start to end. It really showed me how difficult it is to create poses for the action I have in mind, especially during the beginning where you have nothing to work with. For an inexperienced animator like me, it’s a tricky process where if I have too little then it’s difficult to start, but if I have to many details it might be too difficult to fix. 

After my partner saw the animation demo, her main concerns were in regards to the audio portion of the animation. I do plan on adding sound effects and music, but I most likely won’t add any dialogue to this. This puts the load of storytelling on the character acting, music placement, and color grading, which puts me at a little disadvantage. What this will mean is that my story will need to be more action-based and involve things that I can point a camera to. Everything will have to be made extra clear just so the audience might not miss it as long as they are paying attention. 

In regards to opinion-based feedbacks, critical response feedback can give more power to the artist in the type of ideas they choose to receive. It also gives the person giving the feedback some more confidence that their ideas is something that wants to be heard.

Another thing that eased my worry about feedbacks is just an honest discussion about feedback in general. I realized that I am not alone in the things I feel when it comes to giving and receiving feedback--such as being concerned about carefully crafting our opinions so it doesn’t hurt someone’s feelings too much. 

[alvinycpsarts]

Process Journal Entry #1: Learning Agreement due Feb 05

Vision Statement: I will portray an unusual style of Minecraft animation that tells a story involving a crossover between the Minecraft world and the real world. This project will be presented as a 2-3 minute short animation. For this project, I will further develop my skills in character animations as well as learn techniques for mixing computer generated objects with realistic source materials (i.e. photographs and/or videos).

Objectives:

I will learn, through hands-on practice, the process of creating and refining animations from a rough stage to a presentable polished stage.

I will learn the process of integrating computer-generated objects into source materials that depict a “real world” setting (i.e. photographs and/or videos). Computer-generated objects will be integrated in a convincing way that includes elements such as shadows. 

I will write a story that is entertaining and utilizes the pre-determined “real world” setting. 

Approach:

Tasks  - The animating process will involve constantly going online to find references as well as finding tutorials to learn and troubleshoot my animation. This will make up the bulk of my research as I go deeper into the project.

Process Journal – I will document my work in Tumblr. Documentation may include screenshots and/or videos of the animating process. 

Faculty Advisor – Faculty advisors can be helpful in assessing the reachability of the goals I set in the amount of time I have. 

Studio Time – Wednesday 4 - 6 PM in Bel Air Lounge 

Resources:

“Add 3D Effects to Your Photos with Camera Projection Mapping in Blender 2.8” (Youtube) https://youtu.be/dHXRrpG_oSk

“Fspy with Blender 2.8 | Camera Matching Tutorial” (Youtube) https://youtu.be/PSeBh5HdDVs

“Create Realistic Grass in Blender 2.8 in 15 minutes” (Youtube) https://youtu.be/-GAm-7_3N6g

“Procedural Landscapes in Blender 2.80” (Youtube) https://youtu.be/yrMee2gcS20

Work Plan & Project Timeline: 

Week 2 (2/3-7)

Complete an animation demo to give myself a “warm up” to the process of animation that will come up 

Find at least 2 Youtube tutorials on how to place shadows and reflections of computer-generated objects in camera projected shots 

Find at least 2 Youtube tutorials on how to animate the holding of an object by characters 

Week 3 (2/10-14)

Finalize the story. This means it will be clear how many specific settings are needed. It will be clear what kind of objects need to have 3D models. 

Create 2 camera projected shot using an photo taken of the campus--one in-doors and one out-doors

Find at least 2 tutorials on how to create an energetic portal effect and create a demo 

Find at least 1 tutorial on  how to create a grassy field

Find at least 1 tutorial on how to create a low-poly forest

Week 4 (2/17-21)

Find 3 pieces of music that will be helpful for my animation 

Gather all necessary Minecraft sound effects 

Have all of the necessary CG elements I will need for my animation (all characters, environments, objects) 

Week 5 (2/24-28)

Pick 3 scene and create a rough animation for it

Find 3 more pieces of music that will be helpful for my animation 

Week 6 (3/2-6)

Pick 3 more scenes and create a rough animation for it 

Week 7 (3/9-13)

Complete rough animation for all scenes 

Week 8 (3/16-20) SPRING BREAK—NO CLASS 

Pick 3 scenes and refine the animation 

Week 9 (3/23-27)

Pick 3 more scenes and refine the animation 

Week 10(3/30-4/3)

Final refinement of the animation portion of the project. 

Final addition of any visual effects from 3D software

Week 11 (4/6-10)

Complete rendering of animation 

Add color grading to the animation 

Week 12 (4/13-17)

Add all music and sound effects for the animation 

Export final video 

Week 13 (4/20-24): Dress Rehearsals for ArtsFest

Friday, 4/24

Arts Fest exhibition and display set up (4pm-6pm) and Opening Night (7:30pm-9pm).  All students expected to attend.

Saturday, 4/25 

Arts Festival @ Adele H. Stamp Student Union.  All students expected to participate throughout the day.

Week 14 (4/27-5/1): Dress Rehearsals for Academic Showcase

Friday, 5/1: Academic Showcase

[alvinycpsarts]

CPSA201 Pentathlon Event 1 

Title: Concert In Close Quarters: Leyla McCalla

Date: JAN 28 2020, WED 

Venue: Cambridge Community Center 

I liked the songs that she sang. A lot of them give off a mysterious and uncanny vibe, partially due to the melody, partially due to how it’s in a language I’m not familiar with. The song that stood out to me (and I would believe stood out to most people in the room based on the applause) was the one about money and how people treat you for the amount of money you have. I think it’s a valid critique on societies in general where there exists a “survival of the wealthiest” mindset and a “blaming and punishing the poor for being poor” attitude. The part, where the song says the wealthy people can commit murder and get away with it, it instantly reminded me of similar cases in the context of racism. It just portrays to me how these societal problems are linked with one another. 

[alvinycpsarts]

CPSA200 Pentathlon Event 4

Date: NOV 07 2019, THU

Title: Concert in Close Quarters featuring Stefon Harris

Venue: Cambridge Community Center

There were a few ideas that I found pretty interesting. 

(1)  Creativity and skills in craft are just tools to express your unique perspective in life. It was a new way of thinking about training art skills. Under this view, the purpose of making art is to show others how I personally see the world--not just to make something that looks cool or pretty. Unfortunately, the latter is exactly how I tend to think about art--to make things that look cool. I get how that is really close-minded but the problem is I also can’t find myself appreciating (and evaluating) art to the full nuances that people around me do. 

(2) There aren’t any cookie cutter methods to success that is universal to everybody. This is something that feels like common sense but is actually something that isn’t easy to sink in. The way Stefon Harris achieves his success is heavily dependent upon the time and environment he was in--way different than were we are right now. My journey in life is also going to be dependent on the environment I’m in. What solves my problems may not be exactly what solves other people’s problems. Sometimes that idea doesn’t feel very intuitive. 

[alvinycpsarts]

CPSA200 Event 2

Date: SEP 25 2019, WED

Title: Coffee and Craft (Bracelet Making)

Venue: Bel Air

Bracelet making was indeed a calming and meditative experience. The green and blue bracelet (I don’t know their names) was quite easy to get the hang of. I was able to tune in to the movie in the background with no problem. Unfortunately it was short lived because it was completed really quickly. The orange and white one was a little bit of a different story. Each “knot” I made required some more effort to tighten up and thus I got impatient quite a few times. Overall I enjoyed the coffee and craft. The results I produced look not like bracelets but more like bugs. 

[alvinycpsarts]

CPSA 101 Pentathlon Event 4: Coffee and Craft (Paper Marbling)

Attended: Apr 16 2019, Tue

Paper Marbling is like painting except the colors placements are even more uncontrollable than paint. The second photo (the top right one) was actually an attempt to portray Aang from Avatar trying to bend air. The defined forms, to my initial surprise, turned into blobs of color. I realized that this medium is best suited for things such as fire, smoke, or water--anything that doesn't have a definite volume. In hindsight, I should probably have stayed away representational art and made it all abstract. Ultimately, paper marbling has a really simple process yet the results are really satisfying and pretty.

[alvinycpsarts]

Pentathlon Event 3: Stress Glitter Jar in Bel Air

I didn't know exactly what I was going to make. I was drawn here because the description promised something similar to a snow globe, which I thought would be cool to have.

There were way less people than I expected at first (later a lot more people joined). The making of the jar itself was actually pretty simple. Though I did have my own mess-ups that I later had to save. One such case was adding glitter of too many different colors. While other's said it was fine, it just didn't look right to me. It looked like mess until I added some food coloring to create the blue atmosphere of the jar. I also added a bit too much glue to this one making the glitters move really really slowly. The second jar was my endeavor to make a more polished one. After all there's only so much you can do to fix a mistake. On the second jar I put in a little less glue, a little less glitter, and tried to make a better color composition.

Overall it was a really relaxing experience making these jars. At least that I can say. But I'm not sure if this would be too much help in the future in terms of relaxation.