Binder Cover
Artist Statement:
Several things that I am very passionate inspired me when creating my binder cover. I have always loved the ocean and swimming, so I choose a waterfall as my background and put a beach ball and sand tools in my piece. I also love animals that live in water and the oceans, so I placed a frog in the tree. Finding Nemo, my favorite movie ever, is also depicted in my artwork, with Nemo jumping out of the water. Finally, music notes repeatedly run along the rocks of the side of the picture. The piano is my favorite instrument, and I have played it since I was a small child, so it was fitting to include the music notes in my project. I love the water/oceans and the color blue, and I hoped to give a natural and happy feel to my project to express the things I enjoy and make it something fun and happy to look at.
I tried to challenge myself by adding different levels of depth to my project. I tried to size things appropriately in their relationship to their position in my picture. Things in the back are smaller than those in front of it. Also, I tried to angle my music notes especially to the direction of the surface they were on to make it look like it could possibly be part of the actual picture. The most successful aspect of my project is the music notes on the rocks. I really like the way they turned out and how they looked once i finished playing with their angles and sizes. Least successful I feel like is a lack of unity. I know the project represents things about me and all my interests are different, but I feel like it lacks a common theme to pull it all together and just make it look really clean.
Through this project I learned about transparent backgrounds on pictures. I did not know when there was a grayish checkerboard behind an image that it meant the image would just be copied like that, without any background. This was really useful for me in this project after I discovered it since I did not do it in Photoshop.
Several things that I am very passionate inspired me when creating my binder cover. I have always loved the ocean and swimming, so I choose a waterfall as my background and put a beach ball and sand tools in my piece. I also love animals that live in water and the oceans, so I placed a frog in the tree. Finding Nemo, my favorite movie ever, is also depicted in my artwork, with Nemo jumping out of the water. Finally, music notes repeatedly run along the rocks of the side of the picture. The piano is my favorite instrument, and I have played it since I was a small child, so it was fitting to include the music notes in my project. I love the water/oceans and the color blue, and I hoped to give a natural and happy feel to my project to express the things I enjoy and make it something fun and happy to look at.
I tried to challenge myself by adding different levels of depth to my project. I tried to size things appropriately in their relationship to their position in my picture. Things in the back are smaller than those in front of it. Also, I tried to angle my music notes especially to the direction of the surface they were on to make it look like it could possibly be part of the actual picture. The most successful aspect of my project is the music notes on the rocks. I really like the way they turned out and how they looked once i finished playing with their angles and sizes. Least successful I feel like is a lack of unity. I know the project represents things about me and all my interests are different, but I feel like it lacks a common theme to pull it all together and just make it look really clean.
Through this project I learned about transparent backgrounds on pictures. I did not know when there was a grayish checkerboard behind an image that it meant the image would just be copied like that, without any background. This was really useful for me in this project after I discovered it since I did not do it in Photoshop.
Mondrian Layout:
Firework Meme:
Artist Statement:
My project represents the WEBN fireworks and how they are special. Not everywhere there is a fireworks show it is above water, and you can see the reflection of the show in the water. This makes the WEBN show special. In my project the WEBN frog is on a barge, shooting off the fireworks that can be seen in the sky and reflected in the Ohio River. The WEBN firework show itself inspired this work of art. The way the fireworks glow and shine is exhibited in my artwork with the special lighting effect.
I challenged myself in this project by using the new skills that I had learned to make it look more realistic. The light source can be seen shining on the WEBN frog, making the effect look realistic, like if the light really were shining, it could be seen on the top of its head. Most successful about my project is the reflection of the fireworks in the water. I feel that is looks very realistic and eye catching, even though it has a low opacity, it is a realistic touch to the image that gives it something special. Least successful I believe is the WEBN frog. I'm not necessarily 100% happy with his placement in the meme. I couldn't get him angled/distorted to look exactly how I wanted him to, and feel I may have been able to improve that.
I learned many new things during this project. I learned how to use the bevel and emboss effects/layer style in Photoshop and many things you can do with it. The new thing I learned that was the most fascinating was the mask. I thought the whole idea behind it was very creative, and I enjoyed using it, going back and forth between the black and white to cover up or show the color I wanted. It was something I never even thought was possible to do/considered something of that nature in Photoshop.
My project represents the WEBN fireworks and how they are special. Not everywhere there is a fireworks show it is above water, and you can see the reflection of the show in the water. This makes the WEBN show special. In my project the WEBN frog is on a barge, shooting off the fireworks that can be seen in the sky and reflected in the Ohio River. The WEBN firework show itself inspired this work of art. The way the fireworks glow and shine is exhibited in my artwork with the special lighting effect.
I challenged myself in this project by using the new skills that I had learned to make it look more realistic. The light source can be seen shining on the WEBN frog, making the effect look realistic, like if the light really were shining, it could be seen on the top of its head. Most successful about my project is the reflection of the fireworks in the water. I feel that is looks very realistic and eye catching, even though it has a low opacity, it is a realistic touch to the image that gives it something special. Least successful I believe is the WEBN frog. I'm not necessarily 100% happy with his placement in the meme. I couldn't get him angled/distorted to look exactly how I wanted him to, and feel I may have been able to improve that.
I learned many new things during this project. I learned how to use the bevel and emboss effects/layer style in Photoshop and many things you can do with it. The new thing I learned that was the most fascinating was the mask. I thought the whole idea behind it was very creative, and I enjoyed using it, going back and forth between the black and white to cover up or show the color I wanted. It was something I never even thought was possible to do/considered something of that nature in Photoshop.
Kaleidoscope Project:
Artist Statement:
My project consists of kaleidoscope designs hidden/placed in a underwater coral setting. There are lots of bright vibrant colors in my artwork and it really catches the eye. My love for oceans and sea creatures inspired my idea behind this project. When I finished my radial designs, their bright vibrant colors reminded me of this beautiful setting, so I decided to put my radial designs in a coral habitat. The special effects I used were to try and make each radial design seem like it was in a different location in my project, whether that was the foreground or the background.
I tried to challenge myself by adding as many elements as possible to my triangle in the very beginning and each radial designs layers. With my initial triangle, I tried not to repeat shapes too much and tried to use a wide variety of different shapes in my design. Also when I was making each ring of my radial designs look different, I experimented and added lots of different effects to several layers to achieve a unique look. Most successful in my project I think is the colors and uniformity that I feel like I achieved through this peace. My piece, put simply, is very bright and vibrant, and I feel like each element carries through with this, and it looks pretty uniform. Least successful I feel is the shape in the foreground of my artwork. I couldn't exactly get the shape just right for how I wanted it to look, which I feel may take away a little something from the artwork by making that shape stand out a little more than the rest.
I learned several new Photoshop tools while working on this project. I learned how to warp shapes to make them into almost anything you can imagine. I also learned how to condense layers in Photoshop and simplify multi-layered objects to make it easier for Photoshop to handle the objects. I also used some new effects on this project, attempting to add depth to each radial design, and making each separate one appear to be at different locations in my final project.
My project consists of kaleidoscope designs hidden/placed in a underwater coral setting. There are lots of bright vibrant colors in my artwork and it really catches the eye. My love for oceans and sea creatures inspired my idea behind this project. When I finished my radial designs, their bright vibrant colors reminded me of this beautiful setting, so I decided to put my radial designs in a coral habitat. The special effects I used were to try and make each radial design seem like it was in a different location in my project, whether that was the foreground or the background.
I tried to challenge myself by adding as many elements as possible to my triangle in the very beginning and each radial designs layers. With my initial triangle, I tried not to repeat shapes too much and tried to use a wide variety of different shapes in my design. Also when I was making each ring of my radial designs look different, I experimented and added lots of different effects to several layers to achieve a unique look. Most successful in my project I think is the colors and uniformity that I feel like I achieved through this peace. My piece, put simply, is very bright and vibrant, and I feel like each element carries through with this, and it looks pretty uniform. Least successful I feel is the shape in the foreground of my artwork. I couldn't exactly get the shape just right for how I wanted it to look, which I feel may take away a little something from the artwork by making that shape stand out a little more than the rest.
I learned several new Photoshop tools while working on this project. I learned how to warp shapes to make them into almost anything you can imagine. I also learned how to condense layers in Photoshop and simplify multi-layered objects to make it easier for Photoshop to handle the objects. I also used some new effects on this project, attempting to add depth to each radial design, and making each separate one appear to be at different locations in my final project.
Color Theory:
Artist Statement: The most difficult part of this project was getting used to blending. There was alot to consider/do when blending, like changing the opacity, getting enough of each color, and other things. More specifically, I thought the blending was relatively easy on the value scales, but on the color wheel it was significantly harder because you had to blend completely different colors not just shades of the same color. I also thought mixing the colors on the color grid was relatively easy and the most fun part of this work. Essentially everything this project was new information for me to learn. I had no idea you could mix colors in Photoshop just like using paint in real life. This was something that I enjoyed and thought was really fascinating.
Animal Morph Project:
-Face Mask Practice
-Face Mask Practice
Artist Statement: This project was created using the masking technique in Photoshop. I combined the skin of a snake and the face of Albert Einstein to create this project, and practice with the masking. This was my second time using masking, but the first time was very brief, and just consisted of the basics. From this project though, I learned alot about this process. I lowered opacities and played around with settings to help give the face shadows and highlights, thus making it look more realistic. All these aspects I experimented with were new techniques I was taught for the project. Overall, I think this practice was very helpful an successful, and overall will make my next/future projects better.
Animal Morph Project:
Artist Statement:
My project consists of a cat body morphed with an owl's head. The morphed creature is then located in an owl's nest, but has a ball of yarn and cats foods bowl with it, incorporating both aspects of each individual animal. I was partly inspired to create this artwork because of my cat, Larry. He is a big part of my life, and I have come to love cats, so I really wanted to use this animal in some way for this project. All the special effects I used like shadows, burning/dodging, and others were in hopes to make it look as realistic as possible.
I challenged myself through this project by adding an extra object to it to really help get my story across. I also used new effects like the shadow to make it look as realistic as possible. Through these effects, I feel everything looks unified and realistic. Compared to my Meme project, I am much prouder of this one. In the Meme project, I just felt like I could have done better or added a few details to make it look more realistic. I however successfully achieved this in my animal morph project to the extent I hoped to in my previous works. This being said, I think the most successful part of my project is its unity. Each aspect looks like it belongs, and not like its several different pictures. My morphed animal really looks like it's merged together, and its placement in the setting really works, I feel. The thing that was least successful in my project was probably the sky. Especially on the right side I felt it may be a little grayer than it should have been, considering the way the picture originally was with its color.
I learned about several new tools in Photoshop during this project. For example, I learned about/how to use the burn and dodge tools. I also learned about the black and white mask, and how to apply this in a project. I also learned some new art terminology, like local and non-local colors.
My project consists of a cat body morphed with an owl's head. The morphed creature is then located in an owl's nest, but has a ball of yarn and cats foods bowl with it, incorporating both aspects of each individual animal. I was partly inspired to create this artwork because of my cat, Larry. He is a big part of my life, and I have come to love cats, so I really wanted to use this animal in some way for this project. All the special effects I used like shadows, burning/dodging, and others were in hopes to make it look as realistic as possible.
I challenged myself through this project by adding an extra object to it to really help get my story across. I also used new effects like the shadow to make it look as realistic as possible. Through these effects, I feel everything looks unified and realistic. Compared to my Meme project, I am much prouder of this one. In the Meme project, I just felt like I could have done better or added a few details to make it look more realistic. I however successfully achieved this in my animal morph project to the extent I hoped to in my previous works. This being said, I think the most successful part of my project is its unity. Each aspect looks like it belongs, and not like its several different pictures. My morphed animal really looks like it's merged together, and its placement in the setting really works, I feel. The thing that was least successful in my project was probably the sky. Especially on the right side I felt it may be a little grayer than it should have been, considering the way the picture originally was with its color.
I learned about several new tools in Photoshop during this project. For example, I learned about/how to use the burn and dodge tools. I also learned about the black and white mask, and how to apply this in a project. I also learned some new art terminology, like local and non-local colors.
1st Quarter Reflection:
I have learned alot this first quarter in Digital Imaging. I had previously used Photoshop in Middle School, but alot of the skills I had forgotten or we never used. For example, masking is a completely new concept I have learned that I have particularity enjoyed. In regards to participation, I feel I have put in strong effort everyday in this class. I have perfectionist tendencies, and work my hardest to make sure my artwork is almost exactly how I want it to be, even if it means staying after school/putting in extra time. Overall, I have really enjoyed this classes setup, both in class and rubric/grading wise. The only thing I have not liked about this class so far is the timing. I have felt a little rushed lately on projects, not alot, but just a little.
Through the rest of my time in this class, I would like to learn how to make things from scratch or from photos we take ourselves. I would like to learn/do these things because I feel like it would make the artwork more personal and open ended for a project. Also, this could make it even more useful in real life, editing actual photos and things like that.
I have learned alot this first quarter in Digital Imaging. I had previously used Photoshop in Middle School, but alot of the skills I had forgotten or we never used. For example, masking is a completely new concept I have learned that I have particularity enjoyed. In regards to participation, I feel I have put in strong effort everyday in this class. I have perfectionist tendencies, and work my hardest to make sure my artwork is almost exactly how I want it to be, even if it means staying after school/putting in extra time. Overall, I have really enjoyed this classes setup, both in class and rubric/grading wise. The only thing I have not liked about this class so far is the timing. I have felt a little rushed lately on projects, not alot, but just a little.
Through the rest of my time in this class, I would like to learn how to make things from scratch or from photos we take ourselves. I would like to learn/do these things because I feel like it would make the artwork more personal and open ended for a project. Also, this could make it even more useful in real life, editing actual photos and things like that.
Harper Project:
Artist Statement:
I was partly inspired by my animal morph project for this project as well. For the animal morph project, I did a cat body with the head of an owl, but for this project, I did the body of an owl with a cat head. The setting of my artwork is at night, giving it a dark, grayish purple color scheme. The only part that does not fit with this is the cat's head, which is orange, but is still a darker, burnish orange, keeping the dark theme unified throughout my project. All my effects/patterns were used to make the scene as realistic as possible, making the moon actually shine in my project, and the animals/object have shadows and highlights. Also, all of my patterns/textures are completely realistic, adding a sense a realism to the simplified work.
In this project, I challenged myself by adding lots of depth into my background. There are alot of overlapping shapes and textures to give a real feel for the story/setting. Also, for the entire project, I never used a pre-programmed pattern in Photoshop. All my patterns I found specifically based upon what I wanted, and then incorporated them into my project, giving it another level of detail. This was different from the Kaleidoscope project, where every style/layer effect I used was already in Photoshop ready to use. Most successful in my project is my actual creature. Although it is simplified down into basic shapes, I feel like it still has a good amount of detail, so you can tell exactly what it is. I also like how my creature overall looks, with its different patterns and colors, it looks like one uniform creature, even though it is made of two. Least successful in my project is the shadows. I struggled with making them in the right positions and other things because of the night setting of my project and the positions of everything. I think it still looks good and generally realistic, but they are my least favorite part of my project.
Through this project, I didn't use any methods/technology in Photoshop that I had not previously already learned. I did learn alot about art though through this project. Working on this project we talked about Charley Harper, who was someone I never had heard of before. It was interesting to learn about him, especially since he was from Cincinnati, and the artwork of his that can be found around where I live. I learned alot about his style, life, and inspirations during his time as an artist.
I was partly inspired by my animal morph project for this project as well. For the animal morph project, I did a cat body with the head of an owl, but for this project, I did the body of an owl with a cat head. The setting of my artwork is at night, giving it a dark, grayish purple color scheme. The only part that does not fit with this is the cat's head, which is orange, but is still a darker, burnish orange, keeping the dark theme unified throughout my project. All my effects/patterns were used to make the scene as realistic as possible, making the moon actually shine in my project, and the animals/object have shadows and highlights. Also, all of my patterns/textures are completely realistic, adding a sense a realism to the simplified work.
In this project, I challenged myself by adding lots of depth into my background. There are alot of overlapping shapes and textures to give a real feel for the story/setting. Also, for the entire project, I never used a pre-programmed pattern in Photoshop. All my patterns I found specifically based upon what I wanted, and then incorporated them into my project, giving it another level of detail. This was different from the Kaleidoscope project, where every style/layer effect I used was already in Photoshop ready to use. Most successful in my project is my actual creature. Although it is simplified down into basic shapes, I feel like it still has a good amount of detail, so you can tell exactly what it is. I also like how my creature overall looks, with its different patterns and colors, it looks like one uniform creature, even though it is made of two. Least successful in my project is the shadows. I struggled with making them in the right positions and other things because of the night setting of my project and the positions of everything. I think it still looks good and generally realistic, but they are my least favorite part of my project.
Through this project, I didn't use any methods/technology in Photoshop that I had not previously already learned. I did learn alot about art though through this project. Working on this project we talked about Charley Harper, who was someone I never had heard of before. It was interesting to learn about him, especially since he was from Cincinnati, and the artwork of his that can be found around where I live. I learned alot about his style, life, and inspirations during his time as an artist.
Signature Activity:
Artist Statement:
My favorite signature I created was the third one down, because I think it is the most artistic and different from the original signature. It's very unique and catches the eye, so it is my favorite. Through this activity, I learned a lot. Before this experience, I was not very experienced with using a drawing tablet, but this exercise helped me to become more capable and comfortable with this technology. We also used an entirely new program for this project called Illustrator. I learned a lot of new information about tools that are unique to Illustrator, like the line width tool, the different arrows for selecting, and how things as simple as copying and pasting are drastically different from Photoshop, which is all we have really used so far this year. There are also a lot of new exciting effects you can add to your lines, like one can see exhibited through the different forms of my signature. I learned how to use these tools like the brush tool and the stamps/stickers option. This line weight activity was very informative and a fresh mix up from what I am used to in Photoshop. Overall, I really liked the turn out of this activity. These unique signatures are very practical even for use in real life, and stand out from an ordinary signature. I like the way all of them look and each one represents something about me in a way. I had a lot of fun using the new program Illustrator and look forward to working with it more.
My favorite signature I created was the third one down, because I think it is the most artistic and different from the original signature. It's very unique and catches the eye, so it is my favorite. Through this activity, I learned a lot. Before this experience, I was not very experienced with using a drawing tablet, but this exercise helped me to become more capable and comfortable with this technology. We also used an entirely new program for this project called Illustrator. I learned a lot of new information about tools that are unique to Illustrator, like the line width tool, the different arrows for selecting, and how things as simple as copying and pasting are drastically different from Photoshop, which is all we have really used so far this year. There are also a lot of new exciting effects you can add to your lines, like one can see exhibited through the different forms of my signature. I learned how to use these tools like the brush tool and the stamps/stickers option. This line weight activity was very informative and a fresh mix up from what I am used to in Photoshop. Overall, I really liked the turn out of this activity. These unique signatures are very practical even for use in real life, and stand out from an ordinary signature. I like the way all of them look and each one represents something about me in a way. I had a lot of fun using the new program Illustrator and look forward to working with it more.
Emoji Project
Artist Statement:
As a part of the Peer Tutoring program here at our high school, I thought it would be a fun and practical choice to make an emoji that shows this that could be impactful for something that I do in my everyday life. Our schools colors inspired my design, as these are the colors of the two student’s shirts. Also, since we have a great program, I decided to showcase that through the grade a student is receiving through help from the program, so an A+ can be seen on the paper. I based this emoji off of real life, with two students working at a desk, with some classic school items like a pencil and an apple. I decided to use a unique perspective for my emoji to make it a little more interesting, so we only see the image from the back. For this project, we used an all new program called Illustrator. Some tools and skills I used in this program for this project are the selection tool, the direct selection tool, the pencil, the paintbrush, the pen, the width tool, changing the weights/styles of lines, using the artboard, copying and pasting in Illustrator, using anchor points on lines to change their directions and alter them to our specific specifications, and exporting a file as a jpeg.
This project shows that I have challenged myself by the level of depth and detail that are in my project. For example, in the Animal Morph project, we had to add at least one extra object to create a story, and so I added two to that project, but with this project, I added lots of extra objects. The paper, apple, and pencil help to send the message of what my emoji is really about. Most successful in my project is the shapes and the colors of all the aspects of my project. I made all the shapes as close as possible to the actual object while still keeping it abstract, and my work mainly consists of darker colors that all work and pair together nicely that really bring some realism to this abstraction. Least successful I would say is my outline, or more specifically the line weight aspect. I spent some time struggling with this aspect of the project, and every part wasn't as perfect as I would like it to be, making it my least favorite part of the project. However though, this is the one project I have made this year that the thing I find least successful isn't by much, and it doesn't make my dislike the project in any way overall.
I didn't learn anything new in Photoshop while creating this project, but I learned a large amount of new information about an entirely new program called Illustrator that we used for the second half of this project. All the tools I mentioned earlier that I used in this project were brand new and had to be learned about this technology so I could accomplish this project.
As a part of the Peer Tutoring program here at our high school, I thought it would be a fun and practical choice to make an emoji that shows this that could be impactful for something that I do in my everyday life. Our schools colors inspired my design, as these are the colors of the two student’s shirts. Also, since we have a great program, I decided to showcase that through the grade a student is receiving through help from the program, so an A+ can be seen on the paper. I based this emoji off of real life, with two students working at a desk, with some classic school items like a pencil and an apple. I decided to use a unique perspective for my emoji to make it a little more interesting, so we only see the image from the back. For this project, we used an all new program called Illustrator. Some tools and skills I used in this program for this project are the selection tool, the direct selection tool, the pencil, the paintbrush, the pen, the width tool, changing the weights/styles of lines, using the artboard, copying and pasting in Illustrator, using anchor points on lines to change their directions and alter them to our specific specifications, and exporting a file as a jpeg.
This project shows that I have challenged myself by the level of depth and detail that are in my project. For example, in the Animal Morph project, we had to add at least one extra object to create a story, and so I added two to that project, but with this project, I added lots of extra objects. The paper, apple, and pencil help to send the message of what my emoji is really about. Most successful in my project is the shapes and the colors of all the aspects of my project. I made all the shapes as close as possible to the actual object while still keeping it abstract, and my work mainly consists of darker colors that all work and pair together nicely that really bring some realism to this abstraction. Least successful I would say is my outline, or more specifically the line weight aspect. I spent some time struggling with this aspect of the project, and every part wasn't as perfect as I would like it to be, making it my least favorite part of the project. However though, this is the one project I have made this year that the thing I find least successful isn't by much, and it doesn't make my dislike the project in any way overall.
I didn't learn anything new in Photoshop while creating this project, but I learned a large amount of new information about an entirely new program called Illustrator that we used for the second half of this project. All the tools I mentioned earlier that I used in this project were brand new and had to be learned about this technology so I could accomplish this project.
Semester Reflection:
After this first semester of Digital Imaging, I have learned an exorbitant amount about Photoshop and learned the basics of how to use the program Illustrator. I have had alot of fun this semester learning all the new tools, techniques, and unique qualities/abilities the programs give you to make interesting artwork. Many elements go into making each individual piece of art, from the numerous amounts of tools, processes, and special effects you have to learn and be able to apply to successfully make a piece of art. Looking back at the end of the semester and seeing the list of skills/tools we have learned broken down and listed out really showcases how much anyone in this class has learned from just half of our time in it. I am proud of all I have retained this semester, and look forward to only learning more and refining the skills I have already acquired.
Through the course of the semester, we have done numerous projects, some turning out more successful than the others. My least favorite project of the semester was the very first one we ever did, or the Meme Project. The entire time we were working on the project, I just struggled with an idea and was never really quite sure what I was going to do next. I never really felt like I had a good focal point and that my work overall lacked refinement. Overall, it came down to struggling with an idea from the beginning, and despite my best efforts, I never really enjoyed the final product. One unique thing that I learned from this project, though, that I have utilized and gotten better with is creating a light source in my projects. I thought this was really cool and it was something I had never done before in Photoshop. Overall it gave a sense of realism to the fireworks in the piece, and I loved the way that this specific element looked in the piece. Overall from this piece I realized my need for really planning out an artwork, and how picky I am about the details in my art. Since this first piece I have learned alot and not totally disliked a piece.
My favorite/most successful and also most difficult project of the semester was the Emoji project. I would say that I learned the most from this project and really utilized a whole arsenal of tools to make my work turn out as close to perfect as I could get it. Through this project I learned about and used line wight in my work, and also got to experience the program Illustrator for the first time, using the brush tool, pen tool, and the anchor points/handles to outline my emoji, giving it an extra level of depth and sophistication as artwork. I loved the final look of my emoji, and although it is an abstract piece of art, the colors and all the work I put into made every object look exactly how it should in its simplified form, and still looked polished and detailed. I learned alo about new technologies and programs from this project, and although it was difficult and took alot of work, the final product made my efforts worth it.
Skills I have learned in this class will help me beyond the classroom. Not only have we just made art, but we have talked about influential artists, like Charley Harper. Not only was he "just some artists" but he created his work right here in the city we lived in. We live our everyday lives walking around and being able to see/be influenced by his work, so knowing about him and who he is only helps make us more rounded and informed citizens. Also, basic art techniques like blending colors and designing things with contrast or unity can be useful in daily life when designing or putting virtually anything together. This class has taught me alot so far, and I can't wait to see what else I can learn in the second semester.
After this first semester of Digital Imaging, I have learned an exorbitant amount about Photoshop and learned the basics of how to use the program Illustrator. I have had alot of fun this semester learning all the new tools, techniques, and unique qualities/abilities the programs give you to make interesting artwork. Many elements go into making each individual piece of art, from the numerous amounts of tools, processes, and special effects you have to learn and be able to apply to successfully make a piece of art. Looking back at the end of the semester and seeing the list of skills/tools we have learned broken down and listed out really showcases how much anyone in this class has learned from just half of our time in it. I am proud of all I have retained this semester, and look forward to only learning more and refining the skills I have already acquired.
Through the course of the semester, we have done numerous projects, some turning out more successful than the others. My least favorite project of the semester was the very first one we ever did, or the Meme Project. The entire time we were working on the project, I just struggled with an idea and was never really quite sure what I was going to do next. I never really felt like I had a good focal point and that my work overall lacked refinement. Overall, it came down to struggling with an idea from the beginning, and despite my best efforts, I never really enjoyed the final product. One unique thing that I learned from this project, though, that I have utilized and gotten better with is creating a light source in my projects. I thought this was really cool and it was something I had never done before in Photoshop. Overall it gave a sense of realism to the fireworks in the piece, and I loved the way that this specific element looked in the piece. Overall from this piece I realized my need for really planning out an artwork, and how picky I am about the details in my art. Since this first piece I have learned alot and not totally disliked a piece.
My favorite/most successful and also most difficult project of the semester was the Emoji project. I would say that I learned the most from this project and really utilized a whole arsenal of tools to make my work turn out as close to perfect as I could get it. Through this project I learned about and used line wight in my work, and also got to experience the program Illustrator for the first time, using the brush tool, pen tool, and the anchor points/handles to outline my emoji, giving it an extra level of depth and sophistication as artwork. I loved the final look of my emoji, and although it is an abstract piece of art, the colors and all the work I put into made every object look exactly how it should in its simplified form, and still looked polished and detailed. I learned alo about new technologies and programs from this project, and although it was difficult and took alot of work, the final product made my efforts worth it.
Skills I have learned in this class will help me beyond the classroom. Not only have we just made art, but we have talked about influential artists, like Charley Harper. Not only was he "just some artists" but he created his work right here in the city we lived in. We live our everyday lives walking around and being able to see/be influenced by his work, so knowing about him and who he is only helps make us more rounded and informed citizens. Also, basic art techniques like blending colors and designing things with contrast or unity can be useful in daily life when designing or putting virtually anything together. This class has taught me alot so far, and I can't wait to see what else I can learn in the second semester.
Positive GIF
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1STmbuHFfmZGzCC9clenVnQWbuXVo7Ra3HqTeEJqhlIo/edit#slide=id.g198ec3ce33_0_205
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1STmbuHFfmZGzCC9clenVnQWbuXVo7Ra3HqTeEJqhlIo/edit#slide=id.g198ec3ce33_0_205
Artist Statement:
The message in my GIF is to let the past be the past, and not worry about the things you did yesterday or today because there is always tomorrow to do better and come back from your defeats. This is a message that is important to me, because sometimes it's hard for me to stop thinking about things that I have done or wish I could have done better, so it's almost like personal inspiration to move on, and stand up ready and willing to work hard after I fall down.
I used Photoshop's animation timeline to make this GIF. I searched the internet for inspiration quotes, and I picked one that spoke to me. I then put my text in Photoshop, and picked a serene and inspiring background of the beach. I then added the clipping mask of pebbles to my text, as it matched with the background scenery. I then made 10 layers, and changed the opacity of my words from layer to layer, making the first part of my message disappear, and the second part of the quote appear, almost like a setting sun to symbolize the dawning of a new day. I also added bevel and emboss to give my text a more unique look, and an outer glow to the second half of my phrase, as it was the command/more inspirational part of the quote.
My GIF meets the project requirements as the text is very large and the main part of my picture. It is also easy and clear to read as it does not fade too quickly. I also added a clipping mask to my text and layer styles to help match the mood/message of my text, which were also requirements. The text changes it opacity from layer to layer, and the font is a serene, wavy, beach like font, which matches the background, and the inspirational message of the text.
Outside of class, I could use this GIF just to send to a friend if they are in a time of need to help lift their spirits. It could also be a unique background or profile picture for something.
The message in my GIF is to let the past be the past, and not worry about the things you did yesterday or today because there is always tomorrow to do better and come back from your defeats. This is a message that is important to me, because sometimes it's hard for me to stop thinking about things that I have done or wish I could have done better, so it's almost like personal inspiration to move on, and stand up ready and willing to work hard after I fall down.
I used Photoshop's animation timeline to make this GIF. I searched the internet for inspiration quotes, and I picked one that spoke to me. I then put my text in Photoshop, and picked a serene and inspiring background of the beach. I then added the clipping mask of pebbles to my text, as it matched with the background scenery. I then made 10 layers, and changed the opacity of my words from layer to layer, making the first part of my message disappear, and the second part of the quote appear, almost like a setting sun to symbolize the dawning of a new day. I also added bevel and emboss to give my text a more unique look, and an outer glow to the second half of my phrase, as it was the command/more inspirational part of the quote.
My GIF meets the project requirements as the text is very large and the main part of my picture. It is also easy and clear to read as it does not fade too quickly. I also added a clipping mask to my text and layer styles to help match the mood/message of my text, which were also requirements. The text changes it opacity from layer to layer, and the font is a serene, wavy, beach like font, which matches the background, and the inspirational message of the text.
Outside of class, I could use this GIF just to send to a friend if they are in a time of need to help lift their spirits. It could also be a unique background or profile picture for something.
Video GIF:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_UjGDsLvlijSpC2OeXA_9aDU1tDBEc207SHstfzrxLo/edit#slide=id.g198ec3ce33_0_205
Artist Statement:
The cause and effect relationship in my GIF is in the dive. By jumping off the board, the diver is now free falling and performing his dive until he eventually splashes into the water. I have also created a cause and effect within the Photoshop skills/objects I added into my GIF. As the diver speeds up in their dive, flames start to shoot out from behind him and gets brighter at the beginning as he speeds up. At the end, the effect of this "flaming dive" is the effect of smoke as the dive is finished. This GIF is important to me because as I was choosing the video to alter for my project, I was really trying to look for things that I enjoy. I love swimming and diving, and every 4 years during the summer when the Olympics are on, diving along with swimming are probably my favorite events that I follow the closest. With this is mind, I chose the subject matter for my GIF to be something I was interested in and would enjoy watching.
After uploading the original video, I copied and pasted a picture of flames into around the 35th frame where the diver begins spinning. I used the move tool and the magic wand tool to cut out the shape and place it in its correct space as a path behind the diver. I then used control J to copy the flames for almost every subsequent layer, using the move tool to reposition the flames behind the diver in each of the frames. Towards the end as the diver started to enter the water, I used the eraser tool to slowing erase the flames as the diver disappeared in the water, and the flames were put out. I also used the opacity effects at several points during the video, making the flames get brighter as the diver sped up at the beginning, and fading a little at the end as they began to get put out. For the filters, I used control F to copy the filters I wanted on every layer. I made the main action/emphasized part of the actual spinning of the dive a brighter and different filter from the rest to draw attention.
My GIF meets the project requirements because I have filters on every layer and I added Photoshop effects of a changing object from frame to frame to emphasize the actual dive part of the GIF/the action of the dive. I also worked hard on this project, scraping a few ideas and restarting before I came to the final product. I worked diligently on the details of my GIF, and think it exhibits good craftsmanship, as usually there is something I do not like about my final products of art, and there is nothing that dissatisfies me about the craftsmanship of this project.
When the Olympics do come back around, I could use this GIF on social media or something of that nature to express the skills of a diving team or try and advocate for people to watch the competition. I also could potentially use the GIF as a background or fun profile picture for something to express some of my interests.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_UjGDsLvlijSpC2OeXA_9aDU1tDBEc207SHstfzrxLo/edit#slide=id.g198ec3ce33_0_205
Artist Statement:
The cause and effect relationship in my GIF is in the dive. By jumping off the board, the diver is now free falling and performing his dive until he eventually splashes into the water. I have also created a cause and effect within the Photoshop skills/objects I added into my GIF. As the diver speeds up in their dive, flames start to shoot out from behind him and gets brighter at the beginning as he speeds up. At the end, the effect of this "flaming dive" is the effect of smoke as the dive is finished. This GIF is important to me because as I was choosing the video to alter for my project, I was really trying to look for things that I enjoy. I love swimming and diving, and every 4 years during the summer when the Olympics are on, diving along with swimming are probably my favorite events that I follow the closest. With this is mind, I chose the subject matter for my GIF to be something I was interested in and would enjoy watching.
After uploading the original video, I copied and pasted a picture of flames into around the 35th frame where the diver begins spinning. I used the move tool and the magic wand tool to cut out the shape and place it in its correct space as a path behind the diver. I then used control J to copy the flames for almost every subsequent layer, using the move tool to reposition the flames behind the diver in each of the frames. Towards the end as the diver started to enter the water, I used the eraser tool to slowing erase the flames as the diver disappeared in the water, and the flames were put out. I also used the opacity effects at several points during the video, making the flames get brighter as the diver sped up at the beginning, and fading a little at the end as they began to get put out. For the filters, I used control F to copy the filters I wanted on every layer. I made the main action/emphasized part of the actual spinning of the dive a brighter and different filter from the rest to draw attention.
My GIF meets the project requirements because I have filters on every layer and I added Photoshop effects of a changing object from frame to frame to emphasize the actual dive part of the GIF/the action of the dive. I also worked hard on this project, scraping a few ideas and restarting before I came to the final product. I worked diligently on the details of my GIF, and think it exhibits good craftsmanship, as usually there is something I do not like about my final products of art, and there is nothing that dissatisfies me about the craftsmanship of this project.
When the Olympics do come back around, I could use this GIF on social media or something of that nature to express the skills of a diving team or try and advocate for people to watch the competition. I also could potentially use the GIF as a background or fun profile picture for something to express some of my interests.
OP Art Project:
- Hollogram
- Hollogram
Artist Statement:
I learned about some new Photoshop tools turning this project. I experimented with new layer styles and filters I haven't used before on this project, and worked a great deal with the liquify option in Photoshop for the first time to give my collage of different OP Art pieces a uniform look. During this project I also learned about OP Art's history and it utilizes line weight and other art tools to trick the eye into making it an optical illusion.
I used copying and pasting, the magic wand, and lasso tools to cut out the three different OP Art pieces that I collaged together. I then used the move tool to put them together, and then merged the three shapes together. Then I used the liquify option in Photoshop to put matching lines through all the shapes to help achieve a better movement look and to unify the three separate designs, helping it look more 3D. I then used Bevel and Emboss, the gradient tool, and the burn tool to add shadows and make the image look more 3D.
My project meets the requirements because it utilizes line weight and spacing to create a 3D effect when it is viewed through a hologram viewer. I also used a set of complementary colors, yellow and purple, to create contrast. I also added a gradient and shadows to my piece and arranged it in a 4 copy composition.
I liked the OP Art hologram better because it was more unique than the other project. I have never done anything before with holograms or had any sort of experiences with them, so this was something new and exciting that took Digital Art to the next level. I really liked how the project turned out and it was fun to make the hologram viewer too.
I learned about some new Photoshop tools turning this project. I experimented with new layer styles and filters I haven't used before on this project, and worked a great deal with the liquify option in Photoshop for the first time to give my collage of different OP Art pieces a uniform look. During this project I also learned about OP Art's history and it utilizes line weight and other art tools to trick the eye into making it an optical illusion.
I used copying and pasting, the magic wand, and lasso tools to cut out the three different OP Art pieces that I collaged together. I then used the move tool to put them together, and then merged the three shapes together. Then I used the liquify option in Photoshop to put matching lines through all the shapes to help achieve a better movement look and to unify the three separate designs, helping it look more 3D. I then used Bevel and Emboss, the gradient tool, and the burn tool to add shadows and make the image look more 3D.
My project meets the requirements because it utilizes line weight and spacing to create a 3D effect when it is viewed through a hologram viewer. I also used a set of complementary colors, yellow and purple, to create contrast. I also added a gradient and shadows to my piece and arranged it in a 4 copy composition.
I liked the OP Art hologram better because it was more unique than the other project. I have never done anything before with holograms or had any sort of experiences with them, so this was something new and exciting that took Digital Art to the next level. I really liked how the project turned out and it was fun to make the hologram viewer too.
OP Art Project 2:
Artist Statement:
I created this project by using the warp tool to transform my original square OP Art design into a more kinetic shape. I then used a distort filter to give the shapes a more unique and 3D shape. I then arranged them with the move tool into a swirl like design and made the shapes in the back smaller. I also used Bevel and Emboss on all the shapes to make them look more 3D. Finally to help add to the movement, I added a black color overlay to the shapes in the back to make it seem like they were at a distance and added an inner glow to the shapes at the front. I also added a gradient to my background to give it a dark, shadowy look.
From this project, I learned a lot more about Photoshop filters than I new before, and I worked with/tried lots of new ones on my project while I was trying to figure out the plan for my project. I didn't know there were filters that distort your shapes for you and give them different, unique looks. I had fun experiment with these new Photoshop techniques and enjoyed the project.
In regards to the final product, I enjoy how it turned out. All of the shadows and effects I added helped give the project a cool, 3D like effect. The project turned out similarly to how I envisioned and all the colors and contrast give the piece a nice effect.
I created this project by using the warp tool to transform my original square OP Art design into a more kinetic shape. I then used a distort filter to give the shapes a more unique and 3D shape. I then arranged them with the move tool into a swirl like design and made the shapes in the back smaller. I also used Bevel and Emboss on all the shapes to make them look more 3D. Finally to help add to the movement, I added a black color overlay to the shapes in the back to make it seem like they were at a distance and added an inner glow to the shapes at the front. I also added a gradient to my background to give it a dark, shadowy look.
From this project, I learned a lot more about Photoshop filters than I new before, and I worked with/tried lots of new ones on my project while I was trying to figure out the plan for my project. I didn't know there were filters that distort your shapes for you and give them different, unique looks. I had fun experiment with these new Photoshop techniques and enjoyed the project.
In regards to the final product, I enjoy how it turned out. All of the shadows and effects I added helped give the project a cool, 3D like effect. The project turned out similarly to how I envisioned and all the colors and contrast give the piece a nice effect.
Hologram Group Project:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nPQ1fOkDHFtmitJVUp0OLhdEWkvxvDwcFvsZ7h2aN3I/edit#slide=id.g1cf0334971_0_145
Project Overview: Our design goal for this project was to make a more vivid, larger 3D hologram of a jellyfish. We used Photoshop, scissors, Sharpies, and plastic sheets to make our hologram and the viewer. For the Photoshop file, we started by finding the most contrasting and colorful picture of a jellyfish we could, and then we chose that to use for in our hologram viewer. We then put that picture in Photoshop, copied it four times, and arranged it in the proper way for a hologram. We then used the burn and dodge tool to add even greater highlights to the glowing jellyfish near the top, and burning/adding shadows to the darker, blue tentacles. The only thing we adjusted along the way was moving our four pictures closer together when we tested our hologram and realized that the hologram didn't fit inside the viewer because they were too far apart. For our viewer, we wanted to change the color in a way that would emphasize the details of our jellyfish. On the jellyfish we noticed that though there was a lot of blue, there were some hints of orange, red and pink. For that reason, we decided to use a red Sharpie to draw out those red shades. We also enlarged our hologram so that our picture would appear clear. Overall, this all worked. We did try to use paint to tint our viewer, however, not enough light was able to get through.
Video Hologram:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qx-n_OfWF6AnBq-f24cyq4xEGJAm48saFMCVv9HqFPg/edit#slide=id.g198ec3ce33_0_205
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qx-n_OfWF6AnBq-f24cyq4xEGJAm48saFMCVv9HqFPg/edit#slide=id.g198ec3ce33_0_205
Artist Statement:
While working on this project, I learned a little more in-depthly about how to work with videos in Photoshop, and editing them frame by frame to create a consistent and cohesive video, even after editing step by step. The main thing I learned from this project was how to use many new tools in Photoshop to erase the backgrounds of images, like the background eraser tool and the magic eraser tool. This tools were new to me, and help me become more well versed in Photoshop and how to accomplish tasks faster and more efficiently with the best tools for the job.
My project meets the requirements because it is able to be seen as a 3-D moving object in through the hologram viewer, it has a (mostly) black background (to help counteract some unforeseen issues), all the layers and separate images move in sync, and it set up properly for this project, with the four copies of my images arranged in their square like fashion. I met all of the requirements to the best of my ability, with only not completely one requirement fully. After some missed work time, there was an unforeseen problem with pieces of the background still not completely erased, but by using a different, but approved, background style, the issue was worked around relatively well, but with better craftsmanship at the beginning, the issue could have been avoided.
I liked the OP art hologram the best, because personally, I have always wanted to create my own sort of optical illusion type piece of art. I enjoyed making the project with its more free form designing guidelines, and overall had a lot of fun with it, using the bright colors and hypnotizes designs. It was a fun project that I enjoyed every step of the way without frustrations, so I enjoyed it the best.
While working on this project, I learned a little more in-depthly about how to work with videos in Photoshop, and editing them frame by frame to create a consistent and cohesive video, even after editing step by step. The main thing I learned from this project was how to use many new tools in Photoshop to erase the backgrounds of images, like the background eraser tool and the magic eraser tool. This tools were new to me, and help me become more well versed in Photoshop and how to accomplish tasks faster and more efficiently with the best tools for the job.
My project meets the requirements because it is able to be seen as a 3-D moving object in through the hologram viewer, it has a (mostly) black background (to help counteract some unforeseen issues), all the layers and separate images move in sync, and it set up properly for this project, with the four copies of my images arranged in their square like fashion. I met all of the requirements to the best of my ability, with only not completely one requirement fully. After some missed work time, there was an unforeseen problem with pieces of the background still not completely erased, but by using a different, but approved, background style, the issue was worked around relatively well, but with better craftsmanship at the beginning, the issue could have been avoided.
I liked the OP art hologram the best, because personally, I have always wanted to create my own sort of optical illusion type piece of art. I enjoyed making the project with its more free form designing guidelines, and overall had a lot of fun with it, using the bright colors and hypnotizes designs. It was a fun project that I enjoyed every step of the way without frustrations, so I enjoyed it the best.
Genius Hour (3rd Q):
Artist Statement:
My project is a realistic landscape type piece that consists of boats docked on a shore of a lake with separate mountain ranges in the background. A rainbow also stretches across portion of the cloudy sky. I was inspired by a piece we were showed that was sent to the Scholastic Art Competition. One of the artworks was created by using a collage of images (pulling different images together), and I thought it was a fun ideas to try myself. I used lots of tools to create this project. I used all the generic tools, like the move tool, eraser tool, etc. among some others like the mask function, the burn and dodge tools, and some other more common ones like the eye dropper. These skills I used as they were necessary to complete my project. Some new tools I used for this project were a special gradient tool, new filters that we have never used before (like Gaussian blur), and displacement maps. These tools I used to help advance my works refinement and realism. My goal for Genius Hour was to create something that was unique and different from anything we have done in this class so far, but have it be a very realistic scene that looks like it could be a picture taken in real life, even though it is a collage of separate images. These tools I used help do things like add ripples on to my water reflections and put the rainbow in the sky, which helped me add to these realistic aspects in my piece.
This project shows I have challenged myself through all of the new concepts I learned. Described in detail in the previous question, I learned how to do lots of new things through this project like creating a realistic water reflection and making a rainbow to name a few. With every other project we have done this year, we have gotten step by step guidance and instruction on how to accomplish new Photoshop ideas, but through this project, I learned several new and fairly complicated and multi-step effects through my own research, which was a challenge. The most successful aspect of my piece is the way the three images make a scene together. I feel like the three separate images I used look really well together, like they form a real life scene. Least successful, I would say, is the highlights I added on to the boats at the foreground of the piece. I kept redoing this over and over for a long time, but I could never get it looking just right for how I wanted.
I learned a lot of new things about Photoshop through the creation of this project. I learned how to use new types of filters (like the Halftone Pattern and Gaussian Blur filters), displacement maps/displace filters, a special gradient tool (to make rainbows), how to bring multiple images into a Photoshop file, and how to effectively layer a gradient on a layer mask.
My project is a realistic landscape type piece that consists of boats docked on a shore of a lake with separate mountain ranges in the background. A rainbow also stretches across portion of the cloudy sky. I was inspired by a piece we were showed that was sent to the Scholastic Art Competition. One of the artworks was created by using a collage of images (pulling different images together), and I thought it was a fun ideas to try myself. I used lots of tools to create this project. I used all the generic tools, like the move tool, eraser tool, etc. among some others like the mask function, the burn and dodge tools, and some other more common ones like the eye dropper. These skills I used as they were necessary to complete my project. Some new tools I used for this project were a special gradient tool, new filters that we have never used before (like Gaussian blur), and displacement maps. These tools I used to help advance my works refinement and realism. My goal for Genius Hour was to create something that was unique and different from anything we have done in this class so far, but have it be a very realistic scene that looks like it could be a picture taken in real life, even though it is a collage of separate images. These tools I used help do things like add ripples on to my water reflections and put the rainbow in the sky, which helped me add to these realistic aspects in my piece.
This project shows I have challenged myself through all of the new concepts I learned. Described in detail in the previous question, I learned how to do lots of new things through this project like creating a realistic water reflection and making a rainbow to name a few. With every other project we have done this year, we have gotten step by step guidance and instruction on how to accomplish new Photoshop ideas, but through this project, I learned several new and fairly complicated and multi-step effects through my own research, which was a challenge. The most successful aspect of my piece is the way the three images make a scene together. I feel like the three separate images I used look really well together, like they form a real life scene. Least successful, I would say, is the highlights I added on to the boats at the foreground of the piece. I kept redoing this over and over for a long time, but I could never get it looking just right for how I wanted.
I learned a lot of new things about Photoshop through the creation of this project. I learned how to use new types of filters (like the Halftone Pattern and Gaussian Blur filters), displacement maps/displace filters, a special gradient tool (to make rainbows), how to bring multiple images into a Photoshop file, and how to effectively layer a gradient on a layer mask.
Kara Walker:
Artist Statement:
My project consists of a large woman sitting at a table in a kitchen with bowls of food sitting on the table, and a trashcan of overflowing food and scraps. The trash can is trapped inside chains, along with all the waster food, and further to the right, a haggard person and arm are trying to reach an apple that has managed to escape from the capture trashcan. There is also a haggard hand clutching the window, struggling to get inside. I then put my message on a billboard because it is something people should be aware of, but the billboard is also in a deserted and graffitied place, showing that although it is a large problem, it is not something we typically think about everyday when we throw out food. I was inspired to create this project by the social issue of hunger/food wastage. After having trouble trying to decide what to pick for my issue, I saw hunger as an idea on a website that listed examples of social issues, and I was immediately inspired and struck with an idea. To create this project I used the move tool, filters, lasso tools, paint bucket tool, eraser tool, magic wand tool, background eraser tool, warp/change perspective tools, paintbrush tool, and the selection tool. I used these tools as they became necessary in my project to get images from the internet, cut them out, and turn them black or add special effects to them. I used these tools as they were necessary to complete the project and were the most efficient means to do so.
This project shows that I have challenged myself because there is a deeper meaning behind every element in my piece. This is the most in-depth project we have done so far in regards to having meaning behind the art we create, so I tried my best to make every choice conscious and purposeful in my art project. Typically in other projects like the Charley Harper project, backgrounds are sometimes as after thought when you just dump a colored background into a piece or something with not much thought behind it. However, in this piece, my background has a strong correlation to and representation in my piece, showing how I have challenged myself (See previous writing for explanation of background's effect). Most successful with my project, I think, are the silhouettes themselves. I got them cut out really neatly with crisp lines and they all look clean cut. This allowed them to still look like what they are supposed to while still being abstract. Least successful with my project would have to be with the way I layered my silhouettes around the trash can. While I think it is pretty clear when you look at it more in-depth and abstractly, the overlapping that happens there may not resonate with some when they look at my piece, but I liked how it looked abstractly.
Through this project, I learned a little more about filters and how you can use them to help blur the edges of an image if they look jagged when you cut them out. I also learned how to better change the perspective of an image with the warp and perspective warp tools. I also learned about the history/background of a new artist, Kara Walker, and how she addressed issues and invoked strong emotions through her work.
My project consists of a large woman sitting at a table in a kitchen with bowls of food sitting on the table, and a trashcan of overflowing food and scraps. The trash can is trapped inside chains, along with all the waster food, and further to the right, a haggard person and arm are trying to reach an apple that has managed to escape from the capture trashcan. There is also a haggard hand clutching the window, struggling to get inside. I then put my message on a billboard because it is something people should be aware of, but the billboard is also in a deserted and graffitied place, showing that although it is a large problem, it is not something we typically think about everyday when we throw out food. I was inspired to create this project by the social issue of hunger/food wastage. After having trouble trying to decide what to pick for my issue, I saw hunger as an idea on a website that listed examples of social issues, and I was immediately inspired and struck with an idea. To create this project I used the move tool, filters, lasso tools, paint bucket tool, eraser tool, magic wand tool, background eraser tool, warp/change perspective tools, paintbrush tool, and the selection tool. I used these tools as they became necessary in my project to get images from the internet, cut them out, and turn them black or add special effects to them. I used these tools as they were necessary to complete the project and were the most efficient means to do so.
This project shows that I have challenged myself because there is a deeper meaning behind every element in my piece. This is the most in-depth project we have done so far in regards to having meaning behind the art we create, so I tried my best to make every choice conscious and purposeful in my art project. Typically in other projects like the Charley Harper project, backgrounds are sometimes as after thought when you just dump a colored background into a piece or something with not much thought behind it. However, in this piece, my background has a strong correlation to and representation in my piece, showing how I have challenged myself (See previous writing for explanation of background's effect). Most successful with my project, I think, are the silhouettes themselves. I got them cut out really neatly with crisp lines and they all look clean cut. This allowed them to still look like what they are supposed to while still being abstract. Least successful with my project would have to be with the way I layered my silhouettes around the trash can. While I think it is pretty clear when you look at it more in-depth and abstractly, the overlapping that happens there may not resonate with some when they look at my piece, but I liked how it looked abstractly.
Through this project, I learned a little more about filters and how you can use them to help blur the edges of an image if they look jagged when you cut them out. I also learned how to better change the perspective of an image with the warp and perspective warp tools. I also learned about the history/background of a new artist, Kara Walker, and how she addressed issues and invoked strong emotions through her work.
Caricature:
Artist Statement:
My project consists of a doctor standing in their work/desk area with their name on a nameplate on the desk, a stethoscope around their neck, and a doctors bag on the floor. There is also some handyman tools/tool box on the back counter. I was inspired throughout this project for all of my elements because the character depicted is someone I know very well, and all the subject matter or elements I added to the piece had something to do with things that he likes or depict aspects about him, like his career. Overall, the skills I used the most for this project were filters and digital painting. Essentially all the warping to make the actual character itself was done through options in the liquify filter, and then the bulk of the project after that was spent on refining and airbrushing the face to make it look like a caricature and add contrast to it. Filters were also important with the background elements to the piece, as using certain ones could help make the background/other objects look a bit like they had been airbrushed too, adding to the uniformity in the piece. I utilized these skills to help make my image as caricature-like as I could and to help add to the uniformity and quality of the piece like I mentioned previously.
This project shows I have challenged myself through the attention to detail. For example, shadows and highlights/the contrast matches very well in between my background and the face of my character. I also added shadows to all of the objects I added into the picture to help make them look like they were sitting on the surfaces I placed them on and added an extra layer of brightness to one of the bulbs in the picture to help add a realistic source for the highlights on the side of my characters face. Overall, I feel like I tried to pay attention to all the little details throughout this project, and really ended up challenging myself along the way, which only helped make my final product better. In another project, for example, the OP Art project, although I wasn't fully satisfied with the way some shapes were warped at the end, I didn't really bother with the little details of some of the shapes formation, and I feel like I would have liked it better if I had paid attention to those details a little closer. Overall, most successful in my project I would say is the airbrushing I did on the face because I spent a lot of time working on it and had a lot of struggles I had to push through with the original photo quality and such, but it ended up turning out great. Least successful is probably the tool bag. It is a little busy for the overall image itself, I think, and while it doesn't;t take away any attention from the main focus, I feel I could have possibly chosen a different tool box. This being said though, it is only a minor detail that doesn't really concern me too much, and I am overall greatly pleased with the final result of this project.
I learned a lot of new things through this project. For example, I learned how to use new filters in Photoshop I did not know how to use before or even knew existed. I also got to practice digital painting and use it in an actual art piece, as well as become accustomed and and somewhat skilled in this aspect of digital art. I also learned a great deal more about contrast in art pieces and about the codes every color in Photoshop has that you can use to help find a color, or get a rating on the contrast between two colors you are using.
My project consists of a doctor standing in their work/desk area with their name on a nameplate on the desk, a stethoscope around their neck, and a doctors bag on the floor. There is also some handyman tools/tool box on the back counter. I was inspired throughout this project for all of my elements because the character depicted is someone I know very well, and all the subject matter or elements I added to the piece had something to do with things that he likes or depict aspects about him, like his career. Overall, the skills I used the most for this project were filters and digital painting. Essentially all the warping to make the actual character itself was done through options in the liquify filter, and then the bulk of the project after that was spent on refining and airbrushing the face to make it look like a caricature and add contrast to it. Filters were also important with the background elements to the piece, as using certain ones could help make the background/other objects look a bit like they had been airbrushed too, adding to the uniformity in the piece. I utilized these skills to help make my image as caricature-like as I could and to help add to the uniformity and quality of the piece like I mentioned previously.
This project shows I have challenged myself through the attention to detail. For example, shadows and highlights/the contrast matches very well in between my background and the face of my character. I also added shadows to all of the objects I added into the picture to help make them look like they were sitting on the surfaces I placed them on and added an extra layer of brightness to one of the bulbs in the picture to help add a realistic source for the highlights on the side of my characters face. Overall, I feel like I tried to pay attention to all the little details throughout this project, and really ended up challenging myself along the way, which only helped make my final product better. In another project, for example, the OP Art project, although I wasn't fully satisfied with the way some shapes were warped at the end, I didn't really bother with the little details of some of the shapes formation, and I feel like I would have liked it better if I had paid attention to those details a little closer. Overall, most successful in my project I would say is the airbrushing I did on the face because I spent a lot of time working on it and had a lot of struggles I had to push through with the original photo quality and such, but it ended up turning out great. Least successful is probably the tool bag. It is a little busy for the overall image itself, I think, and while it doesn't;t take away any attention from the main focus, I feel I could have possibly chosen a different tool box. This being said though, it is only a minor detail that doesn't really concern me too much, and I am overall greatly pleased with the final result of this project.
I learned a lot of new things through this project. For example, I learned how to use new filters in Photoshop I did not know how to use before or even knew existed. I also got to practice digital painting and use it in an actual art piece, as well as become accustomed and and somewhat skilled in this aspect of digital art. I also learned a great deal more about contrast in art pieces and about the codes every color in Photoshop has that you can use to help find a color, or get a rating on the contrast between two colors you are using.
Pop Art:
Artist Statement:
My project consists of the repeated image of a lion repeated twelve different times, all with a different arrangement of colors. I was inspired to use this subject matter because I really like how lions look, and I thought all the lines that would make up the lions mane when the image was simplified would look really interesting when I added all the different colors to it. The color choices I make in my work were inspired by the art style of Andy Warhol. I used really bright and contrasting colors in my piece like he did, and mimicked his type of style with my choices. The skills I used the most to create this project was using a fill/adjustment layer, clipping masks, changing the blending modes, and the lasso tool. I used these tools because they were necessary for selecting the specific areas of my project that I wanted to color, and adding the color to the image. The image adjustment features were also vital to this project, as these are what I solely used to help change the colors of my original image to make the rest of the eleven. I also utilized the move tool alot to help arrange my composition from its original twelve separate images.
I challenged myself by using multiple different strategies to change the colors on my piece for each image. I used the color replacement tools, the fill layer, and the color balance tool to try and learn and become experienced with as many new techniques as possible through this project. This was different from other projects, like the Op Art project, where I mainly utilized similar tools over and over to create shadows or use the same filters repeatedly on almost every object. Most successful in my project are the colors. They are very bold, contrasting, and really make the piece pop. I feel like my piece catches the eye, and my colors truly reflect on Andy Warhol's style and the essence of pop art. When it comes to what is least successful with this piece, this is a rare instance where I feel like there is nothing that doesn't appeal to me about my piece, and there is nothing I want to change. If I have to pick something though, it would be that a few of my individual rectangles may not be perfectly lined up with the others at close examination, but overall, I am super pleased with my project.
I learned a lot of new information about art throughout the course of this project. Through watching all the Ed puzzle videos, I got to learn a lot more than we usually do about the style of art we were working on, and different artists that actually made this type of art. I enjoyed learning about the history and artists who made pop art.
My project consists of the repeated image of a lion repeated twelve different times, all with a different arrangement of colors. I was inspired to use this subject matter because I really like how lions look, and I thought all the lines that would make up the lions mane when the image was simplified would look really interesting when I added all the different colors to it. The color choices I make in my work were inspired by the art style of Andy Warhol. I used really bright and contrasting colors in my piece like he did, and mimicked his type of style with my choices. The skills I used the most to create this project was using a fill/adjustment layer, clipping masks, changing the blending modes, and the lasso tool. I used these tools because they were necessary for selecting the specific areas of my project that I wanted to color, and adding the color to the image. The image adjustment features were also vital to this project, as these are what I solely used to help change the colors of my original image to make the rest of the eleven. I also utilized the move tool alot to help arrange my composition from its original twelve separate images.
I challenged myself by using multiple different strategies to change the colors on my piece for each image. I used the color replacement tools, the fill layer, and the color balance tool to try and learn and become experienced with as many new techniques as possible through this project. This was different from other projects, like the Op Art project, where I mainly utilized similar tools over and over to create shadows or use the same filters repeatedly on almost every object. Most successful in my project are the colors. They are very bold, contrasting, and really make the piece pop. I feel like my piece catches the eye, and my colors truly reflect on Andy Warhol's style and the essence of pop art. When it comes to what is least successful with this piece, this is a rare instance where I feel like there is nothing that doesn't appeal to me about my piece, and there is nothing I want to change. If I have to pick something though, it would be that a few of my individual rectangles may not be perfectly lined up with the others at close examination, but overall, I am super pleased with my project.
I learned a lot of new information about art throughout the course of this project. Through watching all the Ed puzzle videos, I got to learn a lot more than we usually do about the style of art we were working on, and different artists that actually made this type of art. I enjoyed learning about the history and artists who made pop art.
Abstract Expressionism:
Artist Statement:
My project consists of a black background, white swirls of paint, and yellow streaks/spots of yellow across the piece that have multiple bright lines of color peeking through. I was inspired to create this project by a song by Echosmith called Bright. In the song, they talk about seeing shooting stars and being dazzled by constellations in the sky. So, with my three abstract expressionism pieces, I used the streaks and spots of yellow to abstractly mimic stars and shooting stars in the night sky. I also used bright colors and movement to help add to this abstract portrayal of a night sky, and invoke the emotions that I experience when I listen to the song. The main tools I used to complete this project where paper, paint, markers, tin foil, a scanner, and blending modes/image adjustments in Photoshop. I needed these tools for this project to make my abstract expressionism pieces, scan them into a computer, and combine them into one piece.
This project shows that I have challenged myself because from the very begining, I worked very consciously and purposefully to create an art piece that truly represented the feelings and emotions I experience when listening to the song that was my inspiration for this project. Every choice I made with the colors and movement in my piece was very controlled and purposeful through this entire process, and I feel like this careful planning and control really helped make my work on this project successful. The colors and shapes I used helped to create the exact image I wanted them to, which was the appearance of a night sky, and invoked the exciting and wistfulness of childhood I hoped it would. Comparing this project to another, the conscious sense of direction is really what helped make it successful for me. For example, in the meme project, direction was lacking throughout the process of creating that piece, and I never really had an idea of what I wanted to do. This came through in that piece, as it was one of my least favorite pieces that I have made. This project however had something other projects like that one lacked, and helped make it successful. This being said, most successful in my project I would say are the yellow lines in my piece that represent shooting stars. They really help to create movement in this piece, drawing one's eye across it, as well as helping to add to the readers comprehension of what my whole piece is "supposed" to look like. Least successful in my piece is the white swirls of paint. While they help to represent the image of the sky, I do not like some of the bigger blobs of white that appear on my piece. I originally just had some light white dots and swirls to help add to the depiction of the sky, but as I was splatter paining, some bigger blobs fell on the piece.
I learned some new things about technology working on this project. Prior to this project, I have never used a scanner to scan and make digital versions of physical art pieces I have made. I had never even considered this blend of digital and physical art before, and this project taught me how to use a scanner to combine these two art types.
My project consists of a black background, white swirls of paint, and yellow streaks/spots of yellow across the piece that have multiple bright lines of color peeking through. I was inspired to create this project by a song by Echosmith called Bright. In the song, they talk about seeing shooting stars and being dazzled by constellations in the sky. So, with my three abstract expressionism pieces, I used the streaks and spots of yellow to abstractly mimic stars and shooting stars in the night sky. I also used bright colors and movement to help add to this abstract portrayal of a night sky, and invoke the emotions that I experience when I listen to the song. The main tools I used to complete this project where paper, paint, markers, tin foil, a scanner, and blending modes/image adjustments in Photoshop. I needed these tools for this project to make my abstract expressionism pieces, scan them into a computer, and combine them into one piece.
This project shows that I have challenged myself because from the very begining, I worked very consciously and purposefully to create an art piece that truly represented the feelings and emotions I experience when listening to the song that was my inspiration for this project. Every choice I made with the colors and movement in my piece was very controlled and purposeful through this entire process, and I feel like this careful planning and control really helped make my work on this project successful. The colors and shapes I used helped to create the exact image I wanted them to, which was the appearance of a night sky, and invoked the exciting and wistfulness of childhood I hoped it would. Comparing this project to another, the conscious sense of direction is really what helped make it successful for me. For example, in the meme project, direction was lacking throughout the process of creating that piece, and I never really had an idea of what I wanted to do. This came through in that piece, as it was one of my least favorite pieces that I have made. This project however had something other projects like that one lacked, and helped make it successful. This being said, most successful in my project I would say are the yellow lines in my piece that represent shooting stars. They really help to create movement in this piece, drawing one's eye across it, as well as helping to add to the readers comprehension of what my whole piece is "supposed" to look like. Least successful in my piece is the white swirls of paint. While they help to represent the image of the sky, I do not like some of the bigger blobs of white that appear on my piece. I originally just had some light white dots and swirls to help add to the depiction of the sky, but as I was splatter paining, some bigger blobs fell on the piece.
I learned some new things about technology working on this project. Prior to this project, I have never used a scanner to scan and make digital versions of physical art pieces I have made. I had never even considered this blend of digital and physical art before, and this project taught me how to use a scanner to combine these two art types.
Genius Hour (4th Q):
Summary:
The first project I worked on during Genius Hour this quarter was more like an activity/exercise I did in Illustrator to experiment more with digital drawing and using the drawing pads. For two weeks of Genius Hour I explored this, drawing two of my favorite characters from Disney movies (Bruce and Flounder) in Illustrator. The second project I worked on was based solely on my desire to experiment with adding rain into a Photoshop work. This project consist of a woman sitting on the edge of a dock in the midst of a storm that is coming on and spreading across the sky. The last week of Genius Hour, I spent most of my time looking for new project ideas, and I started experimenting/following a tutorial of how to create a glass shattering type of effect on a piece in Photoshop. I just barely got started with this though, and then worked on this final summary during the last week of Genius Hour. Something that was easy about Genius Hour was the new system that was put in place this quarter for keeping track of our progress throughout the weeks of Genius Hour. I liked the simpler and more straightforward power point with the three stages of pictures for each day of Genius Hour and found it faster to complete, allowing me more time to work on art. Something that is usually difficult for me in regards to Genius Hour is finding ideas/projects that I want to complete, and quality directions to create the pieces I want to. I have found that some of the tutorial websites and videos for Photoshop out there are not the best, and I have struggled with some of them in the past when I got deep into a project, and it seemed like they were missing steps and not explaining how they got to certain places. Moving forward, I think the skills I have learned during this Genius Hour, like digital drawing and creating rain, could be useful for me in the future in regards to the fact that I am taking the advanced level of this class next year. Next year when we are creating more in-depth and complicated projects, these more refined/complicated skills could come in handy to help add to the complexity and refinement of my pieces.
The first project I worked on during Genius Hour this quarter was more like an activity/exercise I did in Illustrator to experiment more with digital drawing and using the drawing pads. For two weeks of Genius Hour I explored this, drawing two of my favorite characters from Disney movies (Bruce and Flounder) in Illustrator. The second project I worked on was based solely on my desire to experiment with adding rain into a Photoshop work. This project consist of a woman sitting on the edge of a dock in the midst of a storm that is coming on and spreading across the sky. The last week of Genius Hour, I spent most of my time looking for new project ideas, and I started experimenting/following a tutorial of how to create a glass shattering type of effect on a piece in Photoshop. I just barely got started with this though, and then worked on this final summary during the last week of Genius Hour. Something that was easy about Genius Hour was the new system that was put in place this quarter for keeping track of our progress throughout the weeks of Genius Hour. I liked the simpler and more straightforward power point with the three stages of pictures for each day of Genius Hour and found it faster to complete, allowing me more time to work on art. Something that is usually difficult for me in regards to Genius Hour is finding ideas/projects that I want to complete, and quality directions to create the pieces I want to. I have found that some of the tutorial websites and videos for Photoshop out there are not the best, and I have struggled with some of them in the past when I got deep into a project, and it seemed like they were missing steps and not explaining how they got to certain places. Moving forward, I think the skills I have learned during this Genius Hour, like digital drawing and creating rain, could be useful for me in the future in regards to the fact that I am taking the advanced level of this class next year. Next year when we are creating more in-depth and complicated projects, these more refined/complicated skills could come in handy to help add to the complexity and refinement of my pieces.
Surrealism:
Artist Statement:
Our project is essentially an animal basketball game. We have two teams or animals, the owls and the bunnies, on the court "playing" the game, fans in the stands and the air, and a referee turtle on the sidelines. We were inspired to create this project by our favorite animals and the backgrounds we were given to choose from for this project. The gym picture we chose for the setting inspired the fun idea of an animal basketball game and all the separate animals were all chosen originally based upon our own personal likings and preferences. All the special effects and colors we then added were to help add to the surrealism and cohesiveness of the project. We added lots of highlights and shadows to help make all the separate images look like they belonged together while also adding colors, patterns, and additional objects to help add to the surrealistic scene we had created. The main tools we used for this project were the magic wand/other selection tools to cut out our separate images, the burn and dodge tools/image adjustments to add to the contrast in our piece, the paint bucket and color overlay function to add color, and the move tool to arrange the items in our composition. We utilized these tools during the course of the project as they were necessary to complete and meet the goals of the assignment.
This project shows that I have challenged myself because I tried to incorporate multiple different types of surrealism into the project. While in general our project is based on the surrealistic principle of dislocation, or putting objects in places where they don't belong, I also tried to incorporate the surrealistic idea of transformation, or changing one object into a different material. I did this by making the shell of my turtle, which was my personal element of the piece, turn into a waffle. This was different and a little more challenging compared to say, the Pop Art project, as in that case we could just pick one artist's style to mimic in our work. In this project, I tried to incorporate different styles/aspects of surrealism in an attempt to help add to the intricacy of the piece. Most successful in our project, I would have to say, is the story that we created in our piece. While these wild animals are completely out of place in a school gym and would never play sports, we still created a clear story in our art with their placement. We have two teams on the court, a referee, and fans watching this alleged basketball game we created between these creatures. While these animals would never belong here in the first place, they are arranged in a way that makes sense for the background they have been placed in. This creates a nice level of juxtaposition as the placement of all the objects in the piece makes for a seemingly cohesive and sensible story, but what the objects actually are make no sense for the setting. On the other hand, the thing that was least successful in our piece was the number of some of the objects we had. I feel like we put too many owl and penguin spectators in our piece, almost to the point of it being a little overwhelming. We could have cut those numbers down a little bit to still have the same effect we were looking for, but not start to overwhelm the viewer/have too much subject matter in our piece.
While I didn't really learn any new Photoshop skills through this art project, I did get to learn more about art. I got to learn more about surrealism and its history, which is something I have only briefly learned about in previous classes. Through this project though, I got to learn more about its history and some of its artists, like Salvador Dali. We also got to learn more about analyzing art by looking at Dali's Persistence of Memory, and analyzing the symbolism and surrealistic qualities within it.
Our project is essentially an animal basketball game. We have two teams or animals, the owls and the bunnies, on the court "playing" the game, fans in the stands and the air, and a referee turtle on the sidelines. We were inspired to create this project by our favorite animals and the backgrounds we were given to choose from for this project. The gym picture we chose for the setting inspired the fun idea of an animal basketball game and all the separate animals were all chosen originally based upon our own personal likings and preferences. All the special effects and colors we then added were to help add to the surrealism and cohesiveness of the project. We added lots of highlights and shadows to help make all the separate images look like they belonged together while also adding colors, patterns, and additional objects to help add to the surrealistic scene we had created. The main tools we used for this project were the magic wand/other selection tools to cut out our separate images, the burn and dodge tools/image adjustments to add to the contrast in our piece, the paint bucket and color overlay function to add color, and the move tool to arrange the items in our composition. We utilized these tools during the course of the project as they were necessary to complete and meet the goals of the assignment.
This project shows that I have challenged myself because I tried to incorporate multiple different types of surrealism into the project. While in general our project is based on the surrealistic principle of dislocation, or putting objects in places where they don't belong, I also tried to incorporate the surrealistic idea of transformation, or changing one object into a different material. I did this by making the shell of my turtle, which was my personal element of the piece, turn into a waffle. This was different and a little more challenging compared to say, the Pop Art project, as in that case we could just pick one artist's style to mimic in our work. In this project, I tried to incorporate different styles/aspects of surrealism in an attempt to help add to the intricacy of the piece. Most successful in our project, I would have to say, is the story that we created in our piece. While these wild animals are completely out of place in a school gym and would never play sports, we still created a clear story in our art with their placement. We have two teams on the court, a referee, and fans watching this alleged basketball game we created between these creatures. While these animals would never belong here in the first place, they are arranged in a way that makes sense for the background they have been placed in. This creates a nice level of juxtaposition as the placement of all the objects in the piece makes for a seemingly cohesive and sensible story, but what the objects actually are make no sense for the setting. On the other hand, the thing that was least successful in our piece was the number of some of the objects we had. I feel like we put too many owl and penguin spectators in our piece, almost to the point of it being a little overwhelming. We could have cut those numbers down a little bit to still have the same effect we were looking for, but not start to overwhelm the viewer/have too much subject matter in our piece.
While I didn't really learn any new Photoshop skills through this art project, I did get to learn more about art. I got to learn more about surrealism and its history, which is something I have only briefly learned about in previous classes. Through this project though, I got to learn more about its history and some of its artists, like Salvador Dali. We also got to learn more about analyzing art by looking at Dali's Persistence of Memory, and analyzing the symbolism and surrealistic qualities within it.
Class Reflection:
Although it was one of the more simplistic projects we did this year, my favorite project of the year would probably have to be the Pop Art project. There was just something that was so fun and bright about it with all the bold and contrasting colors that come along with this type of art, and I ultimately loved how my final product for this project came out. Typically there are things that I'm not one hundred percent happy with when I finish a project, but I was completely satisfied and pleased with my final Pop Art piece. I feel the color, movement, and contrast I was able to create in the piece was really representative of the artist (Andy Warhol) that inspired it, and it was a lot of fun to make. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I would have to say my least favorite project of the year was the first one I ever made in the class. I think part of this was that from the very beginning I was a little bit uncomfortable with the whole idea of making a meme, and I was really into what we were doing. But, what I think ultimately made this project suffer was my lack of direction and vision for this project. I never really knew what I was doing or trying to go for, so I feel like this project is just a little unorganized and the placement of some things is just off.
Through my personal experience this year, I think this class was taught and managed very well. Directions and deadlines were always incredibly clear, in-class demos and instructions were always in-depth and helpful, and extra help or time to work was always very available. I also think that projects were spaced appropriately and there was adequate time given to accomplish what was asked of us. There was also a wide variety of projects throughout the year, which is something that I really enjoyed. I especially liked how in our Abstract Expressionism project we had to incorporate art we psychically made ourselves into a digital design by scanning digital copies of our pieces. I thought this was a fun and unique project, and would hope to see this incorporated in other projects at the more advanced level of this class. Genius Hour was also something that I really enjoyed doing this year. It was nice to have time to ourselves to explore our own individual learning interests and try to find projects we really wanted to try making. Throughout the year, I would say the class environment was generally good and relaxing with the lighting and music we had in class everyday. In regards to our teacher, she treated everyone with respect and fairness, which lead to a great class environment.
For many of the reasons I have described in the previous paragraphs, I would wholeheartedly recommend this class to a friend. There are a wide variety of fun projects incorporated throughout the course of the class and there is also a lot of freedom to choose when it comes to subject matter, styles, or even colors. These things make this a potentially engaging and fun class for anyone to take, as they can incorporate their own interests into their art. The environment of the class is also very fun and the classes straightforward setup makes it easy for anyone to stay caught up and know exactly whats going on. Moving forward, I most defiantly plan to take the second level of this class. At the very base of this desire to move onto the advanced version of this class is the enjoyment I get from making art and the interest I have in digital design. The teacher and class structure also play a relatively large role into this decision as well, and since I greatly enjoy both these aspects of this class, I plan to take the next level of this class next year.
Although it was one of the more simplistic projects we did this year, my favorite project of the year would probably have to be the Pop Art project. There was just something that was so fun and bright about it with all the bold and contrasting colors that come along with this type of art, and I ultimately loved how my final product for this project came out. Typically there are things that I'm not one hundred percent happy with when I finish a project, but I was completely satisfied and pleased with my final Pop Art piece. I feel the color, movement, and contrast I was able to create in the piece was really representative of the artist (Andy Warhol) that inspired it, and it was a lot of fun to make. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I would have to say my least favorite project of the year was the first one I ever made in the class. I think part of this was that from the very beginning I was a little bit uncomfortable with the whole idea of making a meme, and I was really into what we were doing. But, what I think ultimately made this project suffer was my lack of direction and vision for this project. I never really knew what I was doing or trying to go for, so I feel like this project is just a little unorganized and the placement of some things is just off.
Through my personal experience this year, I think this class was taught and managed very well. Directions and deadlines were always incredibly clear, in-class demos and instructions were always in-depth and helpful, and extra help or time to work was always very available. I also think that projects were spaced appropriately and there was adequate time given to accomplish what was asked of us. There was also a wide variety of projects throughout the year, which is something that I really enjoyed. I especially liked how in our Abstract Expressionism project we had to incorporate art we psychically made ourselves into a digital design by scanning digital copies of our pieces. I thought this was a fun and unique project, and would hope to see this incorporated in other projects at the more advanced level of this class. Genius Hour was also something that I really enjoyed doing this year. It was nice to have time to ourselves to explore our own individual learning interests and try to find projects we really wanted to try making. Throughout the year, I would say the class environment was generally good and relaxing with the lighting and music we had in class everyday. In regards to our teacher, she treated everyone with respect and fairness, which lead to a great class environment.
For many of the reasons I have described in the previous paragraphs, I would wholeheartedly recommend this class to a friend. There are a wide variety of fun projects incorporated throughout the course of the class and there is also a lot of freedom to choose when it comes to subject matter, styles, or even colors. These things make this a potentially engaging and fun class for anyone to take, as they can incorporate their own interests into their art. The environment of the class is also very fun and the classes straightforward setup makes it easy for anyone to stay caught up and know exactly whats going on. Moving forward, I most defiantly plan to take the second level of this class. At the very base of this desire to move onto the advanced version of this class is the enjoyment I get from making art and the interest I have in digital design. The teacher and class structure also play a relatively large role into this decision as well, and since I greatly enjoy both these aspects of this class, I plan to take the next level of this class next year.