FINAL - Self Evaluation

Overall, I think the project definitely succeeded. Once i started i was a little weary about how everything was ring to come together, but i am overall very happy with the result. At first, I was very unorganized and had a really rough concept of what i wanted. Even then, though, I thought my original idea was a good one and did not need to be perfected further. However, once I started to put the images together, I realized that they needed some help and the idea really needed to be revisited. Once it was narrowed down to a nautical theme, the rest was easy and very fun. My love of the beach, also contributed to the outcome of the piece because I enjoyed it even more. Due to the piece trunin g out great, there is not anything i would change about it except the size. The piece would have look better even bigger than it is, but that would have cost a lot more money. Therefore, due to money restrictions, I decided to print it out on 11 x 17 paper, making each square 10x10, with the entire piece being 20x20 inches. All of the colors work well together because they are all very "rich" in color whether is be the navy blues, yellows, or browns. The two larger images complimented the pattern 10x10 squares, too and vise versa. All four squares created a truly classy-nautical look.

In the future, I love to expand on this further. As stated above, the final piece looks like a, ad for companies such as Ralph Lauren, Sperry's Top Sider, and Tommy Hilfigger. As a graphic design major, design ads for companies is a huge role. In addition creating signaled and posters to be hung in the stores is also important. The design I created would also be great as a hanging poster or something to be part of a window display, which I also find intriguing. I also use Illustrator more then Photoshop and I realized (by doing this project) that Photoshop is a greta tool ion creating graphic design-esque creations. In conclusion, I enjoyed this project, with very few regrets and would love to do more of this kind of work into the future.

FINAL - Production Log

The idea of this project came about after completing the first project of the year, where many photographs had to be taken. During that time, I took many photographs on my phone of different textures, ranging from shadows to light reflections to more physical patterns. I realized that I found these images more intriguing then any of the other pictures I took at the same time. Therefore, when the final project was announced, I decide that I wanted to do something with patterns. 

Below are images of the orginal pictures taken for the first project, which inspired my final project:

After realizing what I wanted to do, I started to take pictures of any texture possible, ranging from linoleum floors to textured ceilings  to wood. I had many images of many random textures from around campus.

Below are some of the images that I took that were not used in the final piece, but represent the variety of spaces in which they were taken:

After looking at all of the different textures, I started to play around with them and place them into Photoshop and Illustrator and arrange them into patterns. However, since they were so random, it was not looking right. I started to put color filters on them to make the images for colorful and graphic but it still did not look right. Next, I placed graphic elements on the piece, such as Illustrator-made patterns and lines to enhance the images, but again, the final result was not interesting but confusing and boring at the same time. Then, I realized that I was focusing my attention of the wood images more, due to their interesting patterns, so I eliminated every other image and focused in the wood. After going around looking for more wooden textures to take pictures of, I came across one of my shoe boxes with a Sperry's boat shoe logo on it.

Below is the image of the Sperry's boat shoe logo that was also used in the final piece:

After looking at the logo and back at the wood, I realized that they go "hand - in - hand" as a nautical theme. I now established my final idea for my project: I will take images of nautical patterns and arrange them into interesting patterns. I then started looking around the internet for nautical images and so plenty of driftwood but I also saw a lot of stripes of nautical patterns and colors such as yellow, blue,  greens, and reds. Knowing that i wanted to include these patterns with the wood was a smart choice. Not only did it add a graphic element to it but it also added much needed color amongst the dreary woods. Looking for the pattern stripes was easy, considering many of my shirts were striped. I started to go through my clothes and take pictures of natural colored striped shirts.

Below are some the images used in the final piece, featuring the nautical colored striped shirts:

After arranging all of the patterns into 2 10 inch by 10 inch squares I realized that whole project as a whole looked unfinished. I  know I wanted four 10x10 squares but I knew that four squares of patterns would be too much, so i scrolled through my phone and found images of sea rocks and water and boats. I placed them into Photoshop and edited them, then decided to make two of them, two 10x10 inch squares to simplify but strengthen the nautical theme of the piece.

Below are the two original images used in the final piece BEFORE being edited and cropped in Photoshop CS5:

After the project was completed, I was completely satisfied with the piece and it was noted that it resembled an add for perhaps Sperry's Top Sider, Tommy Hilfigger, or Ralph Lauren. 

FINAL - Research

          For my final Digital Imaging I project, I used, both, Photoshop CS5 and Illustrator CS5. Photoshop was used to brighten or dull images. It was also used to adjust contrast and create the 4 x 4 inch shape of each little pattern square. Illustrator was then used to organize the little pattern squares into the appropriate design. In some cases, Illustrator was used to create a light filter on some of the images to allow the image to better "fit-in" with the surrounding visuals.

           The camera used to take all of the images seen in final design was simply an iPhone 4s camera, the only one readily available whenever an interesting pattern was seen. Though the images were taken with a phone camera, the quality was pretty decent and I am happy with the quality of each image. Anything that needed to be fixed relating to the camera image was done in Photoshop CS5

            The influences that I received through tho project were nautical ones. At first, i was going to use random patterns of random things and arrange them into an interesting larger pattern. However, i decide to stick to a theme and I chose a nautical one. Nautical images of driftwood and rocks inspired the outcome. Also a large inspiration came from nautical patterns, such as stripes and solid natural colors.

Some examples of photos taken with iPhone, used for the final result. All photos below are before they were edited in Photoshop CS5 and Illustrator CS5:

FINAL - Proposal

For my Digital Imaging final, I am going to take pictures of different textures and arrange them into an interesting pattern, creating a quilt-like collage.

FINAL - Photo Collage

ROTOSCOPE

For this project, a rotoscoped animation was created, using Photoshop CS6. First, a short 4- second video was taken of me smiling and then inflating my cheeks. It was then put into Photoshop CS6 and was traced to form the rotoscoped animation seen above. Simple lines were used to create a "quick" unrealistic look. In addition, to contrast the black lines, the color yellow was used.

PROJECT 3: Illustrator Drawing

In tis project, basic shapes were used to create an Illustrator drawing of a lion's head. Colors used were purposefully selected to create a muted color tone and the shapes were meant to be kept basic to create a "generic" lion's head.

QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO

 I am a graphic design major, so I decided to make this particular piece very typical of a graphic designer. The irony is: the images used to compose this final piece were not abstract shapes or generated with a program such as Adobe Illustrator. The faces in the background was a single photo of a comic book-like painting, hanging on the wall in Holman Hall on the campus of The College of New Jersey. They were simply copy and pasted behind the blinds. The blinds were in front of a window, also located in Holman Hall. The only editing done to the blinds was the removal of a crooked blind to the far right, to keep the geometric flow more even.

The second image depicts stop signs placed in a simple geometric pattern. Like the first image, this one I wanted to do graphically, as well. This is a great example of how “simple is better”. It is simply a stop sign shape copy and pasted over again but placed in a geometric pattern. It also represents internal graphing, as you can see from the faint grey line. The entire image roughly forms an “x” shape image. The strength of the red sign against the white background was enough to allow me to not add more.

You can see a Georgian-style building, complete with plant-life and bushes in the foreground. This image was composed of three separate images: Green Hall (located on the campus of The College of New Jersey), a clouded sky, and bushes. The sky image was taken at Sourland Mountain Reserve in Hillsborough, New Jersey. Green Hall was kept the same (only the sky of the picture was removed). Finally, the shrubs were placed in front. The shrub in the front was slightly altered color-wise so it could show-up better. A slight blur was added, as well, to add depth to the final piece.

PROJECT 3: Photo Correction

In the project, three photos were enhanced using Photoshop. By using tools such as, Vibrancy, saturation, the Pattern Tool, etc, the images below were enhanced from their original state. This created and resulted in a more pleasing, professional-looking image. 

The first example is a photo of three pastries on a red surface. The original image dull, crumbs are everywhere, and the surface is scratchy and smudged. After using Photoshop (Vibrance Tool, Saturation Tool, Pattern Tool, etc) the final image is more vibrant and looks like a food ad.

BEFORE

AFTER

This second example is a photo of three birthday balloons. By simply using the Vibrance and Lightness  tools, the image looks more colorful and cheerful.

BEFORE

AFTER

This final example displays a view from a lighthouse in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. The original picture was taken on a cloudy day, thus creating a dull image. to lighten-up the image, I used Vibrance, Saturation, and Auto-Correct. The final result was a more summer-like image, with strong blues. Though the image may not be realistic, the strong blues create a feeling of summer and allow us to visualize what we believe the beach is all about.

BEFORE

AFTER

MIDTERM PORTFOLIO

For my “Midterm Portfolio”, six pieces were chosen from a range of projects I we completed. All of them display skills used in Photoshop CS5. While some of the skills, such as the idea of “photo correction” might seem basic and simple, they produced a more eye-pleasing image. Compositions that took a longer time to complete, such as the combing of different images to create a new and composited image, was equally as interesting.

            I will begin with first piece displayed below. Unlike many of the other pieces shown in this “Midterm Portfolio”, this one in particular would be classified as a more graphic and abstract piece. I am a graphic design major, so I decided to make this particular piece very typical of a graphic designer. The irony is: the images used to compose this final piece were not abstract shapes or generated with a program such as Adobe Illustrator. The faces in the background was a single photo of a comic book-like painting, hanging on the wall in Holman Hall on the campus of The College of New Jersey. They were simply copy and pasted behind the blinds. The blinds were in front of a window, also located in Holman Hall. The only editing done to the blinds was the removal of a crooked blind to the far right, to keep the geometric flow more even.

            Moving on to the next piece, you can see a Georgian-style building, complete with plant-life and bushes in the foreground. This image was composed of three separate images: Green Hall (located on the campus of The College of New Jersey), a clouded sky, and bushes. The sky image was taken at Sourland Mountain Reserve in Hillsborough, New Jersey. Green Hall was kept the same (only the sky of the picture was removed). Finally, the shrubs were placed in front. The shrub in the front was slightly altered color-wise so it could show-up better. A slight blur was added, as well, to add depth to the final piece.

            The third image depicts stop signs placed in a simple geometric pattern. Like the first image, this one I wanted to do graphically, as well. This is a great example of how “simple is better”. It is simply a stop sign shape copy and pasted over again but placed in a geometric pattern. It also represents internal graphing, as you can see from the faint grey line. The entire image roughly forms an “x” shape image. The strength of the red sign against the white background was enough to allow me to not add more to this image.

            The fourth image brings us back to “real life” and more realistic images. It is a “before an after” piece, depicting a color change to make the photo look more pleasing. To begin, I used the Pattern Tool to erase the crumbs to make the image look cleaner. Next, a color change via saturation and vibrancy made the image more lively and appealing. It is important to note that image may not look 100% realistic. However, what is more important is that it looks more appealing. It looks like what we interpret “realistic” and “perfect” to look like. This type of image could be seen in a magazine ad, food poster, etc.

            Piece #5 is an ironic, but realistic image. The piece consists of two photos edited together to form a composite image. The first one was an image of a street and shops along that street in downtown Princeton, New Jersey. In the foreground is where the second image is located. The second image is that of lawn chairs, sitting in the snow. This image was taken on the campus of The College of New Jersey. The lawn chairs are seen sitting in the road and in snow. This is a very ironic picture because of the fact that summer lawn chairs are sitting in snow and that the chairs, which represent relaxation are placed in the hustle and bustle of one of New Jersey’s most exclusive towns.

            Finally, the last piece is a physical/digital drawing and painting. More specifically it is a self-portrait. First, I drew with a pencil, the basic outline of the face and features. Then I scanned the image into the computer. Using Photoshop CS5, I painted on top the pencil outline. I wanted to keep the colors light but make my eyes really stand out and be the focal point.

Self- Evaluation:

I started using Photoshop about a year ago and ever since I have grown to like it more and more. The pieces depicted in this Midterm Portfolio express the knowledge that I have acquired both in and out of the classroom.

Though I believe that the pieces are well done I always think there is room for improvement (no matter what the topic). Especially with a program like Photoshop, that is so complex and changing, it is impossible to learn everything at once. For the knowledge that I currently posses, I feel that the projects I have completed are completed in a clean and organized manor. I am happy with the projects I have chosen for this portfolio and feel that they represent the "best" of my work.

PROJECT 2: External Composite

For the second part of this project, images and graphics that I designed in Adobe Illustrator were combined into a composite. This external image is classified as such due to the Rule of Thirds. It displays a simple farm scene, complete with a barn and farmland.

PROJECT 2: Internal Composite

This piece displays internal graph composite. It consists of Stop signs followed by a Go sign. The red and white stripes in the background were designed and placed to add a purposeful, conflicting pattern. The stripes also serve as a different shape. This is internal due to the fact that the stop signs are roughly displayed in an "x" format.

PROJECT 1: Final Combined Images

The second part of this project, shows the combination of different images, to make one different or slightly different image. The first two would be classified as representational, while the last would be abstract. 

In this finished piece, we have Green Hall as the main viewing-point. Three separate images were using to compose this final piece. The first, being the clouds and sky. The second, Green Hall. The third, the bushes and plant life. 

This final piece take an image of downtown Princeton and an image from the campus of The College of New Jersey and merges them together. As you can see, the image depicts chairs resting in a snowy downtown street. It is quite an ironic place for chairs to be.

This point of this piece was to be graphic and bold. I wanted more of an "artistic" feel, rather than a "realistic photo" feel. The image consists of blinds and of a comic-book like face. The blinds were edited slightly to create a uniformed look. The faces were simply arranged in a an abstract order.

PROJECT 1: People/Portrait Photos & Digital Drawing

This final section of the first part of this project displays people. The first image, is an abstract, close-up view of a pop-art dot painting of a lady's face. The second image is one of me,  looking into a smudged metal sign (also abstract). Finally, the representational photo of the group is that of a girl standing in the doorway, outside of a building. The digital drawing is a self-portait of me. 

This first photo was taken in Holman Hall. On one of the walls of Holman Hall there are many graphic, comic-book like images of a woman's face. When I took this picture, I simply zoomed-in with my camera on the detailed dots, mouth, nose, and part of hair.

This image, also taken in Holman Hall features me taken the picture. The reflection was caused by the dirtiness and smudges of a sign. The bold number 3 creates grounding and contrast and helps create a more interesting image.

This phone-like image was taken outside of Holman Hall. The blurriness of the image adds to its style of allowing it to look like it was taken with a cellphone camera. The irony, being that the girl in the photo was also looking at her cellphone.

This piece was created using a standard pencil, and Photoshop. First, I sketched out a quick outline on paper, then scanned it into the computer. After that, I used Photoshop to paint the image, within the pencil lines.

PROJECT 1: Movement Photos & Digital Drawing

This next section consists of photos and a digital drawing that represent movement. Two of the photos, show movement through blurriness. These two would be abstract. The remaining photo is that of me walking, which would be described as representational. Finally, the digital drawing is a tree, whose branches are blurred with movement. The image seems to have an energetic feel to it.

This photo was taken in downtown Princeton, New Jersey. The original photo was that of some of the historic, upscale stores located in this town. To add a sense of movement and rush, I created a blur effect, using Photoshop.

This image was also taken in Princeton, New jersey but it was more specifically taken on the campus of Princeton University. The original image had no movement involved. The blur you see here was added using Photoshop as well.

Here we have a photo of me walking. The perspective was taken from where my head and eyes would be, thus creating a sense that the viewer is me, looking down.

This piece was generated using Photoshop. Many affects were used here but I wanted to keep the color scheme minimal. I stuck to black, white, and grays to get my message of a windy/stormy day across.

PROJECT 1: Environmental Photos & Digital Drawing

This category consists of photos taken of an environment, followed by a digitally produced drawing. The photos were taken around the campus of The College of New Jersey. The one consisting of summer-like chairs would be classified as "representational". The remaining two are classified as abstract. One is a black floor, while the other is an image of window blinds. The digital drawing is an image of an island.

This first photo consists of three chairs sitting in snow. I chose to take a photo of three chairs, due to the idea that an odd number of things is more pleasing to the eye. The photo, itself, is quite ironic because the chairs are summer-like but are resting in the snow.

This photo was a taken of sunlight sand shadows being casted onto a black tile floor. The pattern reminded me of a sleek and graphic design. The colors: black, white, and grey help keep this sleek look.

This photo was taken of blinds in Holman Hall. I was standing inside the building and looking out through the blinds. This created a geometric, graphic image, as well. The pattern of the tan blinds is broken-up by the naturalness of the outdoor nature.

This piece was painted, using Photoshop. It depicts an island scene with strong, unnatural colors. At first, this piece was meant to be more complex and more realistic. However, as I began, I decided to keep is unnatural and basic. The playing with positive and negative space is clearly seen in this painting.