Gwendolyn "Gwen" Allen
Art Portfolio
I'm Gwen Allen.
When I first started at Illinois Central College, I decided to pursue a degree in graphic arts as it has always been my passion to work with computers and other forms of technology. Not only did I get to delve into numerous classes like typography, graphic design, and photography, I was even given the opportunity to design logos and brochures for a few businesses in order to put my newly learned skills to work. After achieving my associateās degree, I transferred to Illinois State University to continue my education and broaden my technological horizons beyond just that of graphic design.
Through the arts technology program at Illinois State University, I built upon my previous knowledge by working with many real world and virtual applications: sound design, collaborative interdisciplinary installations, computer art applications, software design, object oriented programming, digital and interactive media. I even adapted several of these applications and skills into my projectsāwhen I was tasked to work with other studentsāin order to create interactive games people of all ages could experience. At the end of all challenges I faced and all the countless hours of work I put in, I was able to achieve my bachelor's degree in computer science.
Personal Work
Media I have created for college classes or for personal studying and growth.
Commission Work
Mixed Media
States and Arrays
Boxy was made as part of an assignment to practice using arrays and states, in Processing, to create an interactive narrative story. The user can click the screen to emit a high pitched sound and press the arrow keys to move the box in four directions.
Story Through Audio
This project was created in Audition with the intention to portray a short story solely using audio.
Firebox
An interactive project where colored lights cause a sensor inside the box to trigger select LEDs at different rates.
Wwise Audio Implementation
With this project I learned how to add and replace sounds based on triggering events for different actions. For the video, I wanted to theme all the audio to not only be from World of Warcraft but to also make it hilariously goofy sounding as well.
Independent Study
During the final semester of college, I took an independent study class in which I could do anything I wanted as long as it pertained to the degree I sought. Thus, I wanted to create a game from scratch so that I could not only get a better understanding of the ins-and-outs of programming but to also create something in which I could rightfully call my own. Below is a video showing an overview of the process in which I taught myself how to use a gaming engine (which I never touched before the start of the class) and used that knowledge to bring the framework of my game to life.