The Program
The Sharks x Adobe Creator Fellowship Program gives eight emerging creators the opportunity to immerse themselves and work alongside the Adobe and Sharks Creative Teams for four months, learning and developing skills in the areas of creative design, motion graphics, photography, and videography.
This four-month program takes fellows through bi-weekly classes led by Adobe and the Sharks Creative Teams. Each class focuses on a different creative field and the Adobe Creative Cloud program applicable. Throughout the program, Sharks Fellows and their work are also featured on the Sharks social media channels. The program cumulates in a capstone project to displayed during a Sharks game at the SAP Center.
Class #1: design
Lead by: laurence roman, Sharks Senior Graphic Designer
Homework: static wallpaper (Photoshop)
Designed a mobile wallpaper utilizing elements from the Adobe Stock library and official Shark's photography. I was inspired by retro sci-fi/horror movie poster and incorporated that with frozen ocean imagery like the northern lights and shattering glaciers. The following class we critiqued each other's wallpapers and incorporated that feedback into a final version.
First Draft
Revised Final
Class #2: Branding
Lead by: michael jarrott, Adobe Creative Director
Homework: About Me (Photoshop)
Using what I learned about Adobe's branding, I created an "About Me" image in 2 sizes that would serve as both an extension of my personal brand while playing into larger brand themes of the Sharks x Adobe program. Former Sharks photographer Amanda Cain took some great headshots for me on the first day so I was happy to get chance to mix those with my own art style. Elements were drawn on paper and then scanned into the final image in Photoshop.
Hamburger Orientation
Hot Dog Orientation
An obscure meme reference for the copy under my headshot photo
The hand drawn elements
Class #3: Photography
Lead by: Amanda Cain, SHARKS Photography Manager
Homework: Storytelling Social post (SCRL app)
For our homework we were tasked with utilizing the Shark's photography library and the SCRL app to tell a story from an event. My story is a bit edgy- starting in the dark pits of the underworld, and then souls band together to ascend thru limbo to heaven. Basically a high fantasy version of losing the previous game but then fighting hard and winning the next one!
Underworld
Band Together
Hope and Pray
Limbo
Ascension
Pleroma
Class #4: Motion Graphics
Lead by: Jamie McNeil, SHARKS Motion Graphic Designer
Homework: Animated Wallpaper (Photoshop + After Effects)
After a crash course in the basics of After Effects, our homework was to animate our previously revised wallpaper designs from the first class! I had no idea I would be animating my design when I created it, but all the action ended up being an enjoyable challenge. Jamie really made After Effects feel approachable and I'm happy to say that even after the program I have continued to use After Effects to streamline certain elements of my personal art.
Class #5: Videography
Lead by: JAke Heindel, SHARKS Producer
Homework: Hype video for Socials (Adobe Premiere Pro)
One of most memorable realities of Jake's job is how you often need to shoot and edit in the same night since there's such a quick turnaround time often needed by the social team. Luckily we had a few days to work on our projects. Our homework was to use Shark's 4k video footage, stock music, and effects to create a hype video in Premiere Pro editing software. It was a bit of a challenge using such high quality footage, and I really understand the need of external hard drives when editing now!
30 second Hype Video- challenged myself to create a few tonal/mood shifts within the short time limit. I'm most proud of the sound effects and timing on the sharks logo at the end.
Final Project: "ocean of Fans"
LED Static Graphic
PROJECT DETAILS: "Create LED static graphics to be showcased during a sharks game on the Fascia and Halo LED display. You have creative control on how you want this to look. It's a very thin dimension so get creative with it. Showcase your style and integrate what you've learned throughout the Fellowship."
When I found out our designs would be shown on the stadium fascia ring I knew I wanted to do something that blended cartoons with reality. It would also allow me to make use of the very thin dimension, in a sense creating a a new seating row in the arena. I called it "Ocean of Fans" to play to the Sharks theme as well as to represent the diverse group of Shark's fans around the world not physically present at the game.
That's a wrap! It was an amazing experience with wonderful creative people. San Jose is the only home I've ever known, and I'm thankful that the companies I grew up around are invested in the growth of local creators and artists.
Program wrap video