Digital Painting

Reflection

1)   What is the strongest part (visual area) of your finished art piece? Why?

The Strongest area of my piece is my hair. I am very happy with how this came out. For me it is the most realistic part of my piece. It looks as though I painted every strand of hair, and it has all of the varying colors that make it look real.

2) What part (visual area) of your art piece can be improved on?  How can it be improved on?

I'm a little less happy with how I did my face. Some of the areas, especially my cheeks, either have no color, or the colors are not blended the way I had wanted, but it doesn't look terrible. Also, due to the time constraints of this project I avoided putting a lot of detail in the background because it wasn't my focus, but I would have liked to put in a little more detail.

3)  What Tools did you use to create your work?How did you use these tools? Explain.

The main tools I used were the paint brush tool, the mixer brush tool, and the the eye dropper tool. All of these tools were essential to creating my digital painting. The brush tool allowed me to first outline all of the color shifts in the image, and then apply color to those areas. The eye dropper tool allowed me to select the general color of an area so that I could apply it to my painting layer. The mixer brush tool was probably the most important tool that I used because it allowed me to make my picture look alive, and realistic.

4) What was easy about this art activity? Explain.

The easiest part of this activity was applying and blending the paint to my digital canvas. I'm no stranger to painting, shading, etc., and photoshop made it extremely easy.

5)  What was difficult about this art activity? Explain.

The hardest part of this activity was just trying to find color shifts in the original image. I think that in a couple of areas I should have had more color/color shifts to make things look more realistic.

6)  Describe how you demonstrated each of the objectives (goals) of this art activity?

The goals for this project were pretty much just to show proper demonstration of brush tools through painting, and using previously learned skills to help along the process. I think I clearly displayed the proper demonstration of brush tools so that my painting blends together well.  As to the demonstration of previously learned skills, I had to adjust and crop the image so that my painting's composition was appealing, and my use with the layer-mask tool aided when it came to the actual painting.

7)   If you could do this assignment again, what would you do differently?

Now that I know how well I can paint textures like hair, I would probably choose to pain an animal if I were to do this project again. I think it would provide an interesting challenge while also allowing me to show my skill with the brush tools.

8) On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), how would you rate your effort in this project? Why?

If I were to grade my effort on this project I would give myself a 10. I am extremely happy with how this turned out. My self portrait from last year's drawing and painting class ended up looking terrible, so for me this was a chance to redeem myself. Therefore I worked extra hard on making sure this looked good, and I think my efforts paid off.

Animal hybrid without the horns

I just posted this because I liked how it looked without the horns. This is not a part of my actual project.

Animal Hybrid Project

Animals used:

Reflection:

1)   What is the strongest part (visual area) of your finished art piece? Why?

I feel that the strongest visual area of my piece is the face of my hybrid animal. I only really changed features in the head and face of my animal, and the picture I started with was very focused on the face to begin with. I also didn't change anything about the body any way, so it is clear that this is the strongest area.

2)   What part (visual area) of your art piece can be improved on?  How can it be improved on?

I think that I could have blended the horns better onto the head. I don't think it looks terrible, but I think blending it a little more would only improve my piece, and make the animal really look alive.

3) What Tools did you use to create your work?  How did you use these tools? Explain.

I used a number of tools to create my work however the most critical to create this piece were the move tool and the layer mask tool. The move tool I used to resize and adjust the original image, and with the layer mask tool I was able to take different pieces from each image, and make them look like they were a whole. I also used the clone stamp tool to help blend things together, and image adjustments to change the colors of the image. This is most prevalent in the eyes of my hybrid animal.

4)  What was easy about this art activity? Explain.

The easiest pat of this activity was applying the lion's face onto the lizard's face. The lizard's facial features and colors were so similar to the lion's that it was really just a matter of resizing the lion face and getting rid of any parts of the lizards face that was not already covered up by the lion's face by using the clone stamp tool.

5) What was difficult about this art activity? Explain.

Honestly the most difficult part of this assignment was finding images that fit well together. I ended up only using three images, but so much time was spent just experimenting with different images to see what looked good and what didn't.

6)   Describe how you demonstrated each of the objectives (goals) of this art activity?

Well the only objective for this project was to  "use the layer mask and clone stamp to seamlessly create a hybrid creature out of 3 or more animals." which I think I did. I also already  explained how I used the layer mask and clone stamp tools to create this image.

7)   If you could do this assignment again, what would you do differently?

If I could do this over again I would probably try to go pack and give my creature lion paws, so that their were more lion elements in it. However I am very happy with how it turned out as it is.

8)   On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), how would you rate your effort in this project? Why?

I would rate my effort on this project to be a ten. I was very happy with how this came out, and for the most part I would say that all of the elements in image came together very well. I put a lot of time into making sure nothing looked to out of place, and this is definitely a creature I could see in a video game or something.

Pop Art Project Reflection

1) What is the strongest part (visual area) of your finished art piece? Why?

The strongest part of my finished piece is probably the lower right image. I think that the colors I chose for this image contrast the most, and are the most visually appealing of the 4 images.

2) What part (visual area) of your art piece can be improved on?  How can it be improved on?

I think that the image in the top left of my piece is the weakest. I feel like I should have played around with the colors more because the blue I used was very bright, and the greens look very similar to the yellows in the image next to it.

3) In what ways was the magic wand tool useful in creating your art work?  What did you do to make your portraits unique?

The magic wand tool made this project extremely easy. I can't imagine trying to this project without it. It made it very simple to change the colors of each image, so I was able to complete this project in a very short amount of time. I tried to use the colors as my main way of making each image unique. So, just changing the colors so the images across from or next to one image didn't look the same. 

4) What was easy about this art activity? Explain.

The easiest part of this activity was preparing the original image so that changing the colors would be easier. To clarify, changing the image to black and white, and posterizing it was very simple.

5)  What was difficult about this art activity? Explain.

The hardest part of this activity was figuring out what colors to use. I tried to use contrasting colors that weren't white or black, so I ended up with one image that didn't use contrasting colors. I don't think it looks bad, but I think I could have done better.

6) If you could do this assignment again, what would you do differently?

If I were to do this assignment over, I would want to play around with the colors more to make a really unique piece. Overall I think my piece is relatively basic/simple. Therefore if I were to do this over again I would use more complex colors, and possibly add more shades of black, white, and grey.

7)  On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), how would you rate your effort in this project? Why?

I would rate my effort on this project as a 9. Overall, I think I just could have done more on this project to make it different, and stand out a little more. I mean it's pop art after all.

Pop Art Project

Clone Wars Reflection

1) What is the strongest part (visual area) of your finished art piece? Why?

The strongest part of my finished piece is probably the left side of my piece. That is where most of the action is going on , and I think your eye just naturally wants to look in that general area to see the reactions of the clones. From there I think the eye works it's way towards the back/right of the picture. I especially like how well I was able to blend all of the clones into the same area while still having a (generally) clear picture that doesn't have strange mistakes that are easily noticeable. 

2) What part (visual area) of your art piece can be improved on?  How can it be improved on?

Just next to the clone farthest to the right is a small area that I couldn't really blend well. With all of the seats in the stadium it is hard to distinguish if something is wrong or not, but the seats around that clone don't line up too well, and the back of the seat he is sitting in is not fully blended correctly. It is easily visible because there is a very rigid cut where the top layer stops and the layer below it begins. I definitely would have gone back to fix it, but due to time constraints I figured that it was small enough to go unnoticed.

3) What Tools did you use to create your work?  How did you use these tools? Explain

For this piece I really only used 2-3 tools. To move and shape the images I just used the move tool, and I used the brush tool and layer masks to make it seem as if there were multiple versions of me. The layer masks allowed me to basically cut holes into one layer so that the layer below could be seen while still appearing to be on the same visual plane. Therefore it looks as though there are are multiple versions of me in different places.

4) What was easy about this art activity? Explain.

The easiest part of this activity was using the layer masks and the brush tool to create "clones" of myself throughout the image. It was a little difficult to learn how to use the layer masks, but once I figured it out it was relatively easy.

5)  What was difficult about this art activity? Explain.

The hardest part of this activity was lining up all the pictures I wanted, so that they would work with the other images. For example, some images I had would have looked nice in this project, but certain parts of the image(i.e. the railings or seats) did not line up well, and much more work would have been required to make it all work. Therefore I had to leave some images out of this project.

6)  Describe how you demonstrated each of the objectives (goals) of this art activity?

For one. I took over 30 pictures and ended up using only six for this project. Secondly, I was able to "Create a Composite photo of 5 or more images using the layer mask tool to merge them all", so I think I accomplished all of the goals for this project.

7)   If you could do this assignment again, what would you do differently?

If I could do this project over again I would make sure all of my pictures lined up as best as I could. One of the biggest pains in the butt about this project was how hard it was to line up the pictures, and how I couldn't use some of my pictures because they were to far of from the others, and if I wanted to make them work I woulds have to change a lot of the things I had already done.

8) On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), how would you rate your effort in this project? Why?

On a scale of 1-10 I would rate my effort on this project a 9. I would give myself a 9 because I accomplished all of the goals for the project, and I think my piece came out well. However I think I took a lot of time doing this project because I procrastinated in getting my pictures so I had to work a little faster to get things done on time.

Clone Wars

Clone Wars Contact Sheets

Original Kaleidoscope Picture

Kaleidoscope Reflection

1)  What is the strongest part (visual area) of your finished art piece? Why?

I think the strongest parts of my finished art pieces are the colors. Overall I think I used very vibrant colors which to me is what makes them look interesting and unique. I like my second Kaleidoscope the most because for some reason along with the bright blues and yellows there are spots where it is just black. I think this gives the piece a little more visual appeal.

2) What part (visual area) of your art piece can be improved on?  How can it be improved on?

I think I could have added more layers to each piece to make them more interesting. In general they are not heavily layered, and for the most part it is easy to see teach individual layer. However I think the bright colors made it harder to tell which is kind of what I wanted.

3) What Tools did you use to create your work? How did you use these tools? Explain.

The only tools I used to create these pieces were the move tool and the polygonal lasso selection tool. However I did play around with the hues and saturation of the pictures to get the bright colors that appear very prominently in each piece. However I think my picture was gray, and I didn't realize it until I had already created each Kaleidoscope and  had begun to play around with the colors.

4) What was easy about this art activity? Explain.

Once I got the base layer of each Kaleidoscope it was very easy to duplicate the layer and then arrange the duplicates into the positions I wanted. I t also wasn't hard to play around with the colors of each layer.

5)   What was difficult about this art activity? Explain.

I thought that the most difficult part of this assignment was just to get the base layer completed. Once I got the selection I wanted it it was hard to copy and flip it in order to cover the entire canvas in a symmetrical way. I found that it was a little finicky at first, but once I got the hang of it it was became easy to do the rest of my pieces.

6)   Describe how you demonstrated each of the objectives (goals) of this art activity?

The main goal of this was to create a Kaleidoscope image using good composition and editing which is what I think I did. My images do not necessarily follow the rule of thirds, but I did create a symmetrical image to the best of my ability and tried to fill up any dead space to keep things interesting from corner to corner. As far as editing I think I did well. To my knowledge their are no gaps, and all of the edges are lined up properly. However that doesn't mean that there are no flaws. For example, something might be off by a degree, or something might be slightly off in comparison to its counter part on the other half of the image.

7)   If you could do this assignment again, what would you do differently?

I definitely think that adding more layers would make my images more interesting, especially on the third Kaleidoscope I made (the green and purple one). I think that using the other half of the image also would have been interesting. Or I could have used a completely different picture to see how different things would have come out.

8)  On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), how would you rate your effort in this project? Why?

I think I would rate my effort on this project to be a 9. I spent all of my class time working on each piece. However I think that I got a little lazy on the third Kaleidoscope and that it might be the the least layered Kaleidoscope I made, and is therefore the simplest one of the group.

Kaleidoscope Assignment

Typography Project Reflection

1) What is the strongest part (visual area) of your finished art piece? Why?

     The strongest part of my finished piece is either the grass or the leaves on the tree. Those are the only parts of my art piece that show what letter I used for the project. I also really like how they came out. To me it looks interesting how it is easy to see all of the individual letters, but they still blend into a cohesive image.

2)  What part (visual area) of your art piece can be improved on?  How can it be improved on?

I think that the cloud in the upper left hand corner of the image could be improved upon. It was a very last minute decision to include it just to fill up some space, but I think it actually made the space a little less interesting. Maybe it would look better if I used multiple shades of white for shading, but since I didn't do that it looks bland. This is also a problem with the tree. I would have liked to have added some shading or texture to the tree, but I never really got around to it.

3) What Tools did you use to create your work?  How did you use these tools? Explain.

The main tools I used to create this image was the text tool, the move tool, and the gradient tool. First I laid down a gradient for the background that looked like dirt and the sky. From there I used the text tool to place and bend the letters into the position I wanted them to be in. Then I used the move tool to place them where I wanted them on the canvas. Some parts of the image, like the leaves and grass, are very clearly layers of V's, but others,like the tree and the cloud, are just a number of V's layered on top of each other to give the illusion of a solid piece.

4)   What was easy about this art activity? Explain.

Coming up with the composition of the image was probably the easiest part. I figured that a lot of people would go with a more random concept, so I tried to do something different by using letters to create a landscape. 

5)    What was difficult about this art activity? Explain.

I found that it was very difficult to arrange the letters the way I wanted to. It was especially difficult because bending text is based around the size of the text box, so I also needed to play around with the text box sizes to get the arrangement I wanted.

6)  Describe how you demonstrated each of the objectives (goals) of this art activity?

I'm not sure if I created an image with a good composition, but it certainly has an interesting composition. I tried to align things so that nothing was right in the center of the image, and make use of all the space on the page, but I think that the cloud in the upper left corner makes that side of the page less interesting. However I did use basic photoshop tools and keyboard shortcuts to help create my design.

7)    If you could do this assignment again, what would you do differently?

I think if I were to do this project all over again I would go with a different layout entirely just to see if it would have a better composition. However if I were to just change things on the design I already have I would put more color into the tree and cloud.

8)  On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), how would you rate your effort in this project? Why?

I think I would rate my effort in this project an 9. There wasn't a moment in class when I wasn't working in on the image, but I think I could have put just a bit more effort into it to make it look better. 

 

Typogrophy Project

Project: Demo