Collage



For the final collage project, I did not know what my theme was going to be initially and I had no idea what to do. Then after some thinking and looking at the suggestions, I decided on depression, because it is a theme that personally applies to me. For the collage itself, I chose photos with little color and emotion. The words further illustrate the concept. Overall, I'm satisfied except for one thing: the "Pain, No Gain" at the top isn't perfectly parallel with the page, but other than that I think it looks good.

I didn't particularly like the hands-on part of the collage, I more enjoyed the projects we did in Photoshop.This is because I find it easier to work and do art on a computer screen with an easily controllable mouse, instead of paint and other materials that I could easily mess up with one mistake.Whereas in Photoshop if I make a mistake, I can easily undo it and take as many tries as I need.

Movie Poster

For this project, I made a horror movie poster. I chose this genre not because I like it, but because it seemed easy, initially. I figured all I had to do was desaturate everything and use dark colors and lots of shadows. Which was what I did, and it worked well (although it wasn't as easy as I had thought). I started with only two initial images: the ground and my hand. I had to create the fissure in the ground and add filters to everything (like the hand, I added a texture). I think the poster is successful overall: the text is readable, the colors convey the mood and genre, and I think that horror movie lovers would want to see this movie after seeing the poster. I started with a tutorial for making a zombie hand, but I ended up not using it and improvising my own. My only concern is the size of the credits; I had to squeeze them into the black part so they would be readable, but that made the size quite small. Other than that, the poster is a success in my opinion.

Movie Poster Emulation

I think that this movie poster is a very good example of a poster created for a horror movie. I'm not sure yet that that is the genre I will select to make a movie poster for, but if I do, I will emulate this poster. The shadows and darkness in the image make for a scary, uneasy feeling which is what the movie is probably about. The moonlight behind the man standing front and center is also very eerie. There is also a misty-looking texture which shows mystery and uncertainty.

Surrealities

While working on this project, I had many problems to overcome. First, I had to figure out how to make a candle made of water, which proved the most difficult part. I ended up using this tutorial for it: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/water-drops/. It turned out fairly successful and was the best result I could get. I also used tutorials for the comets, smoke, and rocks on the ground. But in the end, the candle ended up taking about two-thirds of the time spent working on this project. The three original images I used were the candle, dried mud (for the texture of the rocks on the ground), and the background/sky. Now if this work illustrates the concept of order and chaos, I'm not so sure. The water is meant to represent order and the fire chaos, but that's not necessarily obvious.

Surreal Project

This image shows what concept and technique I plan to use for my own surreal artwork. My theme is order & chaos, which I believe is shown in a flame made of water (fire being chaotic, water being orderly). The concept itself is successful in my opinion, which is why I am emulating it. One thing I plan to change, however, is the soft blue color in the background. It feels too calm to have chaos as part of the theme. I am also considering adding some sort of fire to the picture to make sure that the chaos is noticeable.

To create a water effect, I will be using the technique shown in this tutorial: http://www.invano.com/tutorials/photoshop/elephant.php

Photo Letter Project V2

Initially, I had no ideas for this project. But after some thinking, I rearranged the letters and applied filters to them to assimilate all the colors to red. Then, I took original letters and repeated them in the background with a semi-transparent layer above them to enhance the concept of repetition of color and design. I debated between making the letters themselves a little bit transparent to blend them in with the background, but decided against it because they need to stand out. The composition turned out well, but could always be better. The background isn't perfectly aligned with each letter, but it doesn't have to be because it's an informal piece of art.

Photo Letters Project V1

While working on this project, I learned many things about Photoshop such as layer styling, changing brightness/contrast, blending modes, and adjustment layers. I tried to use these tools to refine the photos I took and make them look visually appealing. When I first uploaded the photos from my camera, I had difficulty getting a clear, in-focus image. I tried tinkering around with settings on my camera and did the best that lighting at the time would allow. Overall, I would say the design turned out well, but could be improved (as in photo quality). Even so, I am satisfied with the outcome.