Photoshop Pop Art

Pop Art

For this project, I was partners with Audrey Young and had her as a subject to create pop art. To begin with, I cropped out the background so it was only her and then made it into black and white. With the background, I tried to have the repeated circles of Roy Lichtenstein's comic style, and also made it cool colors to add further contrast with the bright, warm triangles and horns. The is some influence of Warhol with her inverted image, so that the subject is also repeated. I tried to have it be flashy like theirs to balance out the black and white adjustment mode. 

Over this adjustment mode, I used some layers with the Color blending mode or Overlay blending mode to retain the feel of the original image, just with some Pop! The main filter that I used for this were the Blurs, seen with the inverted subject and then the triangles. There were many masks to keep the desired effect in a specific area and to add back color. I wouldn't say I have a true color scheme, just various forms of warms with cools, so almost complementary colors, and then there is contrast with the black and white focus.  I would say I was effective in creating my design, as I was able to easily add and take away additions to her, and had a lot of freedom in what I wanted to do. 

Photoshop Challenge

Editing the Nature Man

With this project, we had to combine what we learned from the 2 previous tutorial groups to create an edited version of the given Nature Man or someone we found online. The only conditions were that his face had to be shown, and that we had to have blend modes, layer masks, and adjustment layers. For it, I chose mine to be flowers, being inspired by the video tutorial we had, and kept the man instead of finding someone else. I already knew that I wanted it to be yellow and very vibrant, and thought that a sunflower would be best in place of his hair. Though I slightly changed what I planned, it stayed pretty consistent.

To use the required items, I used the blend mode Overlay on the jacket flowers. Before this, I made a layer mask with this layer so that they would only be on the jacket and not the background or his shirt. Overlay was able to give me the best color and also keep the details below, like texture and wrinkles. They were originally yellow, but with a color balance layer adjustment, I changed them to be purple so that I could have complimentary colors and the image itself became less uneven. With the head flowers, I used multiple layer masks, patching and healing, and copying different sections to move and have the petals I wanted throughout his hair. There is some green I kept because I felt I had distorted the images enough. Also, I used Curves to change some of the shading so that the various pieces could fit with one another.

Honestly, my end result didn’t really match my vision of it. Without video tutorials to follow, it was difficult to decide what I needed to do to reach my goal. The hair was pretty similar, but it looks too unnatural and doesn’t have a flawless transition, so I will have to find out a better way to incorporate multiple photos into one. My jacket was changed, but I like how it turned out better than what I was originally going to do. The yellow it was happened to be too much for me, and also before I worked it out, you couldn’t see any of the jacket’s details. I would also improve on using adjustment layers and blend modes so that I am able to go even further with my projects. Overall, I would say that I did well on my first challenge and can’t wait to see where the next lessons and practice takes me.

Graphic Design Basics

Photoshop Tutorials

Scope of Project

To begin with, we had tutorials to teach us more of Photoshop skills and review ones from last year. The process was generally watching certain videos to one of the 6 tutorials, then working alongside with it to edit the given images. To make the edits, we used the Content Aware Fill, Patch Tool, Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, and Spot Healing Brush, all of which will be mentioned below. These skills that we worked on would be great for photographers and magazines as they are able to fix what was missed and provide necessary adjustments for publication. Out of all of them, my favorite tutorial was the original Patch Tool. Though we jumped right into working on the computers, these tutorials will make future projects easier and more understandable.

Content Aware Fill

The first of the videos was the content aware fill, which uses a selected area's surroundings to replace it. There were 4 photos to do of these, and they only worked if given enough space to copy from. This skill is used for minor edits, like an unseemly background blemish or a logo that can't be used. If the Fill didn't come out exact, you are able to change the layer's lighting for a more even look or choose from smaller areas. I can already tell that this will be used often in the future for quick fixes.

Patch Tool

Next comes the Patch Tool, do go even beyond what the Content Aware Fill can do. On some areas, like the man's shirt from before my version, the Fill doesn't have enough area to mimic the shirt. So, with selecting the desired area, you can then drag it away to bring in the portion of the shirt you want. You can also copy shadows and texture this way to give it a natural look. If one area was too bright or didn't, you can continue to drag smaller areas for precise adjustments.

Clone Stamp and Healing Brush

After that, we went onto something harder: removing a tag while preserving texture of the item. To do this, we had the clone sections of the coat nearby the tag in the pocket to continue on the shadows and pattern we'd see from the clothes. Then, we had the find sections of the pocket to copy and layer. With the Healing Brush and some Filter editing, we removed the soft and blurry look that had occurred and made the coat lose its natural look. The Filter was able to add back Noise that creates the texture, and the Brush fixed small problems. This was the first usage of the Clone Stamp, but it plays a huge role in the following tutorials, being one of the easiest ways to continuously fix an image once removing an object from the
photo.

Clone Stamp and Patch Tool

This next tutorial combines the previous ones to erase a larger part of an image with a more complex background. First, we had to clone out most of a pole which was coming from the man's head. There was a small section of Content Aware that you could do, also. Then, you had to fix his hairline and patch the sky back in. Once that was finished, we had to blend out the sky to keep the original gradient and a smooth finish, making it seem like there was nothing to interrupt the background at all.

Spot Healing Brush

For this tutorial, we worked on quickly removing blemishes, in this case it was dirt, and over large expanses of a photo. At first, we used this brush to individually clean up the image, but it was difficult to get all of them since we had to work with a smaller brush as to not cause inconsistencies with the skin. To combat this, there were masks and layer additions to be added to the end result, and the results were immediate after using a normal brush set to black on the mask itself: a picture perfect kid that no one would have guessed was just outside. 

Building a Portrait Collage

This final tutorial was the most engaging and time consuming of them all. In one way or another, we used all of the previous skills to create the collage. To begin with, we set up the photos in the order they would be in, then edited the one of the left to be near the same height. Then, we extended the background by first cleaning up the branches with the Clone Stamp and patching the sky and making a new layer to extend the background so that the center image had a place to rest. Any transparency above the head was fixed later on by cloning sections on all layers.

I think the hardest part of this tutorial was working with the middle girl. There were constant revisions to the hair and clothing; to make the sleeves, we had to take them from a different image and line it up, then work with filters and various brushes and masks to have it look natural. Once the center image was ready, we had cropped the image and finished the placements for every layer. The final touches were done by editing the color and tone. We had the background be muted so that the extra saturation on the center really popped. By finishing this collage, we concluded the first set of Photoshop tutorials.

Reflection

Before doing these basics, I had no idea what Photoshop was truly capable of. I now know how to fix problem areas, how to merge two different images, what masks can do and to use black or white brushes to affect them, and especially the importance of all the brushes and selection tools. Also, I have become aware of how time consuming and precise the process must be. I'm no expert yet, not even close to it, but these have forced me to always be problem solving and to bring together all the skills I have to work on one issue. Looking back, I can already see what I need to work on, and plan to continue using the next set of tutorials as a way to refine and develop my abilities. 

4th Quarter Reflection

Final Exam

4th Quarter Project

Our final project in e9 was to create a product by using all of our skills from graphic design, animation, and video. This project took the whole quarter, with us rotating every 2 weeks to go to the next section. Some challenges I faced included redoing a large portion of our items and having a steady team. Along the way, I learned how to do more within Photoshop when animating and was able to do things more quickly towards the end. Some feedback given to us included making everything set for school, providing more information the product, and talking louder without it being stilted when moving around the team. We changed the cost and vines used for our product to make it more appealing for all and appropriate. Overall, I like to think that I did my best work on the ads and their animations, but less so on video.

Below is what out team decided to create, virtual reality Vine glasses by Totally Not Vine Co. called Vinels. I have included the two animations and coupon I created and then there are screenshots to the side of what the website looks like along with it's layout and items included. We created Vinels as Generation Z and often Millennials miss the famous video app, and have watched every compilation. With it, you can watch everything new and create your own on the go. Our color scheme was monotone green to add CARP (Contrast and Repetition). Katie worked mainly one the website and top banner, Blake on the 3d animation and was the cameraman, and Audrey was the actress and creator of one of the ads and the final logo. For the project overall, we had 4 style of ads, a web banner, a slogan and logo, website (with various pages of information), commercial, and 2 animations showing the product itself. A lot of work and time went into this project and I know we have all grown as students and people by doing it.

 

Class Time Used

During class time, we did what had to be done at these computers, like building the website, using Photoshop and Sketchup, and at the beginning of the quarter, filming and editing the commercial. I stayed productive by either improving on what I had done before, like editing with newfound skills, or by looking ahead on what we would need for the product. I also made sure that my team was working on what was needed and that they were also caught up. Once outside of class, I worked with another e-Comm group in their commercial as they needed help, and I helped myself and others with critiquing and edits to better the design. Also, most of our team agreed on what was needed to complete the website and have all the necessary components for a good grade, and wrote a script then. Throughout this project, I made sure to constantly check in at times so we had decent time management.

Strength and Improvement 

My areas of strength include graphic design and animation. In these two, which I plan to focus on next year, I have spent most of my so far e-Comm career. I have gotten used to the basic functions of Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, and can maximize my strength by going beyond what school teaches us and watch more tutorials on subjects I wish to learn. With the animations, I used both frame and video to utilize both of these skills, and next time can go even further in how I create a product. We can all expand our strengths by also looking at our weaknesses to use more ideas on what makes us good and targeting what is difficult for us.

My areas that need improvement include video and website design. With video, I think my editing skills are good, but I haven't had much experience in filming and creating the story to shoot, so to support this I plan to work on a short film with my friend and I helped others when filming in a way to familiarize myself with video. On website design, I didn't have much work to do for creating one, so I checked in with Katie to make sure it looked correct, had CARP, and edit what was needed. To continue improving these areas, I can work outside of my comfort zone and take on more responsibilities with projects.

Summary of Quarter

What I loved the most about this quarter was having more freedom on what we can do. It wasn't just a strict guideline, but had one thing to follow while the rest was up to us. By learning from doing in this project, next time I would have a stronger idea on what we would be presenting before hand, and would spend more time outside of class with my team so that we would be better prepared and connected. This quarter has taught me how to have all of your skills intertwine to create one item, and how to manage everything when having an on-going and constantly changing project. One goal I would like to set for myself next year would be to do even better on graphic design and animation by learning more of what goes into them. My final thoughts are that this quarter was a good way to see all of the various branches of e-Comm in work, and that I now know what goes into a good creative team, along with what type of people go into them.

CSS and CARP Design

Web Design Project

The Project Overview

This project was to use CARP and CSS to improve how a page looked. The beginning of a page is just HTML, the code and basic format of some sites. With the CSS style, the designs come and bring the page to life. By using specific styles, you can add principles of design. With it, we could add CARP: Contrast, Alignment, Repetition, and Proximity. 

Contrast

With just HTML, you get simple black text on a white background with little variation. While this is a form of contrast, it's not pleasing to the eye or effective. However, once the style was added, there were multiple colors, with the brighter ones jumping out of a black background, having an extreme contrast. Also, the notice text and link are now more prominent. With the image, the dark face pops out of the background onto the body section. CSS styles allowed a more interesting distinction between the various text with the size, font styles and color usage, thus removing the bland look. 

Alignment

In the first photo, all text and the photo are aligned right. With it, though, there are various alignments and a floating image on the right. The notice, body, and author are aligned right while the title is centered. This way, you can better use Proximity by changing where on a page something falls. CSS styles allow us to manipulate positions, which draw attention to various sections of a page and guarantees that not all of it will be similar in location and provides items to be in the correct place.

Repetition

In the first photo, the only factors that may count as repetition are the black color, some bolded text, and how the poem is separated. In the second photo, you have more varied repetition, like getting the website's colors from the dog itself, having the titles have the same Alignment and color and the body text is like this too. This also allows greater attention to the important areas and draws relations between the page's ideas. CSS styles allowed more input on how repetition is used and broadens the HTML limits of it.

Proximity

With just HTML, the grouping is altogether except the text the comes out of the photo. However, with the style added, the text is divided into the notice, title. body, and author at the bottom. This allows related ideas to be near one another, making it easier to understand. One way this works is by changing Contrast and Alignment. CSS styles allowed to have grouping on pages, a layout, and develops relationships to distinguish between the ideas.

CSS and Conclusion

Overall, I learned how to use CSS styles to manipulate a page's design and to make it more appealing. One thing I now know is how to use colors from a photo to form Contrast. I wouldn't have though to use photos already in the page to make up the text color, but it just brings everything together. This, now that I actually have a better understanding of Dreamweaver, went quicker than last time since I knew the general locations for editing the style. For the little Web design we'll do, this was a nice experience for how to set up a page and how to utilize CARP.

My Personality Type

The Myers-Briggs Test

INTJ

When taking the personality tests, I got INTJ. This means that I prefer to have alone time rather than a lot of social activity (I), live in the future, have great memory, and am creative (N), am critical and for facts rather than emotions (T), and plan everything to have an organized life (J). So it's pretty much those who like to stay inside and think of the future while analyzing what the plan for the day will be. Susan B. Anthony and Jane Austen also shared this type.

Though this type does represent me well, I have gone between this one and being an INTP over the years. One thing that is me full on is that I have high standards and a great drive for reaching goals. However, being able to recognize patterns quickly isn't something I'm the best. Also, while I'm able to organize jobs, on some cases, depending on the importance or other factors, I might not finish it for a while. Overall, it hits the mark mostly, but people are fluid so some things apply, some at different times, and some not at all.

By looking at these results and their explanations, I can see why I like to spend a lot of time alone and thinking. It's reassuring to know that I am caught up on the future and how to get where I want to because of my personality. I always knew I was a creative introvert, and that planning is something I enjoyed. However, with the critical analysis, it's nice to know where my blunt honesty comes from; it's not meant to be mean, but to help further others along! In addition to others, I like working with other introverts because then we don't have to talk, but then being with extroverts if I want something on the outside done.

With the above, I like taking on the background, but equally important, roles because those are where I truly shine. I prefer to do the writing or drawing, while hopefully a extrovert presents all of it. This way I feel the most comfortable and am able to utilize all of my potential. While I understand that sometimes you have to go outside your comfort zone, being the one in the spotlight has never been me and I can explore as much as I want when not in focus! If I am put into one of these roles, I'll do my best to fulfill it, no matter what, because I am here to get a job done.

Though, despite all of this and the knowledge of knowing what I am like, some people want me to engage more. I'll often ask questions, but not when the teachers tell students too, and I'll only be truly happy in some group settings, and otherwise, I'm just doing things that fit my needs. Some don't approve on how little I talk, or how sometimes I'll just be caught in my own mind, but these are a part of me and only with certain people will I actually show some extroverted characteristics. Even with this, I would say I have an even mix of introvert and extrovert friends because we just make it work and have a good balance.

By doing this assignment I have a better understanding of the different personality types and how we're all different and similar, you just have to find what works and how you work to get by in life. I am kinda surprised I'm an INTJ again after a few years being an INTP, but that just goes to show how people grow and develop, and I'll look forward to where my beloved future takes me next. I've always focused on the introvert part, but now I'll be sure to look more into the other types because my friends are diverse in their types, even I didn't know what I truly was. Now, with this information, we can all work to relate and, well, just to work with one other and utilize what separates us to bring one another together with a common goal.

Lion/Otter/Golden Retriever/Beaver Test

Lion

From the second test, I got the highest score for Lion, and then Beaver second. The Lion personality is similar to INTJ in the way that they take challenges, are always looking to improve (for the future), and are focused on a goal. Beaver's are also focused, and very creative. I think I'm a mix of both, and I do share their strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. However, unlike the Lion, I don't believe I'm too dictatorial, but can be too direct, and unlike the Beaver I do see the optimistic side, but do have high expectations and standards. From this test, we can see more of the traits that are like us, and of others around us, to also use with the test above to get a good idea on who we are and what makes up our lives. 

AB Sequence Video

Going From Point A to B

The Video Brainstorming 

For this project, along the previous one, we needed to use the 6-shot system to get the clips we needed. To decide the main ones, for this was a longer and more complex video, we used a storyboard, at the end it being 2 pages. My group decided that this video was going to have a more suspenseful theme, as one person tries to find another. We didn't have a true establishing shot, but the beginning fit the give a general location and the subjects. We had to sequence the film as a journey with obstacles, so we were sure to add in a few missteps in it and notes to drive them along the correct way. Once we got done the basic movement, location, and shot style, we moved on to filming.

The Creative Process

The filming took place over multiple days, seen by the changing lighting, but we tried to get them to look as similar as possible to meet the deadline given. The story is seen from the entrance of the auditorium, to the orchestra hall, going down the way to the band hall, stop at the gym doors, then back to the auditorium. As mentioned above with the obstacles, we wanted her to go down the wrong way before the notes direct her back, efficiently starting and ending her journey. Once done with shooting, we had over 30 clips to chose from when editing. On Premiere, first you have to input the shots, and then begin going through all of them to best convey the story. At one put, the shots jump due to a missing one, but we made it work the best we could. Once it was laid out, we locked the clips to trim the sound. The song I chose for this did come off strong, but I liked how at some points it aligns with the movement, so I decided to keep it. Finally. we uploaded it to YouTube, and then embedded it within this post.

Thoughts and Conclusions

The collaborative process of this project, with 4 people in a group rather than the 2 for the printing video, meant more opinions and while it did make the story more interesting finally decided upon a storyboard took more time. Though the work went well in the end, you had to put in effort into this to be an efficient group. Next time, I will be sure to more involved with the storyboard instead of going with the flow to make sure I leave a mark in the video, even though I did get a lot of say in this. Also, I will be sure to make it clear which job I want, and guarantee that everyone has a say and doesn't just do something to please the rest. Along with this, we all need to play with our strengths and find our weaknesses. This project was more informative than the last, which was just to get us comfortable with video, and now I know what to work on and how to better provide a video and what challenges you'll meet along the way.