Bootcamp Reality Check

This week we were asked to watch tutorial videos on Lynda.com, mark up newspapers to learn the elements of newspaper and newsletter design, edit a newspaper template for the typesetting assignment, and finally jump in to the Adobe Photoshop and InDesign programs. I will admit, bootcamp was a tough week! I spent hours working through these videos and learning the material. However, despite some struggles working with these new programs, it was so cool finally understanding and grasping how to work with Photoshop and InDesign. It was a lot of fun!

At first, I was very overwhelmed with all of the Photoshop and InDesign videos and following along with the exercises. It took me hours to go back and forth between the exercises and doing it on my own. At some points during Photoshop, I felt defeated and frustrated. For example, I simply could not understand how to move the pizza in the right direction without the background completely messing up. I watched the tutorial about ten times before magically clicking the right buttons to get back on track. There were many moments where I had to step away from the computer and take a quick little break in order to refresh my mindset.

I think that I felt frustrated at points because I had underestimated the difficulty in learning programs like Photoshop or InDesign. These programs are not easy! I am not sure why I believed that I could complete all these assignments in no-time, because I was definitely wrong.

At the end of bootcamp, I finally felt accomplished and relieved. I did it! I finally learned how to use Photoshop and InDesign. Wow, what an amazing feeling. I cannot wait to continue to use these programs through out the semester and dive deeper into playing with them.

Here are a few pictures from my first week working with Adobe Photoshop and InDesign: