Digital Image Editing (WK2) - Design Blog

While working on the "emotion" piece this week, I learned a lot about design and different techniques. Using multiple pictures to explain emotion sounded easy enough, especially since I had a lot of songs to choose from (music makes me emotional, what can I say?). However, it proved to be a lot more in-depth than I anticipated. 

I had a lot of difficulty finding images that worked with the idea I had. Because of this, I had a lot of lessons in pivoting and not getting too attached to an idea. I knew that I wanted to convey the feelings of hopelessness turning into hope, transformation, and growth. Originally, I wanted to use the imagery of a woman underwater, swimming to the surface. I got about halfway through putting it together and realized it really wasn't portraying the right emotions. So, I had another idea. Butterflies are often a symbol of transformation, so I was really attached to using them in the piece...but finding renderings of butterflies on fire was becoming more and more difficult. I tried using Photoshop's generative AI to create them as well, to no avail. In the end, I was able to find what I needed. Then the problem came of making everything look cohesive. I wanted to lean into a dark composition, but didn't want to dim the light of the fire elements. This meant using masks, separating some elements and working on them individually, and finally experimenting with the harmonize tool. 

In addition to this project, my sister also asked me to help her with some issues with her wedding photos. Most of the photos from the photographer are gorgeous, but she was having trouble resizing them for personal use, as well as some cosmetic edits (which thankfully I'm pretty familiar with) - but I was able to put the knowledge I learned last month and this month to real-life use for her. I also couldn't help but notice a lot of composition issues, such as the subjects being out of focus in almost half of the gallery, or the horizon not being straight - things I may not have noticed in the past.


The photo on the left is the original; she asked that I make it black and white. I also leveled the image so that the lines were straight and horizontal, as well as removing the trash cans, cloning the bricks from the castle and placing them where the cans were, and removing the tattoo on her shoulder (at her request). Most of these edits were new skills I've learned over the past month and a half, so I'm excited to be able to help her and give her photos she's excited to hang in her home! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Social Media and Digital Marketing (WK1) - SMART Goals (Vans)

Image
*Please click the image to enlarge for clear viewing* I know, I know...I went over the top when completing this assignment. I've finished quite a few SWOT analyses and SMART goals (before The Art Institute closed, I took an E-Commerce and Social Media Marketing course, as well as doing these for my own business); therefore, I am intimately familiar with this process. I have a preference for coordinating branding when it comes to assignments like this, so naturally, I applied that to my SMART goals to match my SWOT analysis.   
Read more

Graphic Design Theory: Project 1

Image
Hello again! Long time, no speak (haha).  This week, we were tasked with creating a 3.5" x 2" business card in Adobe Photoshop, being mindful of our use of color, whitespace, typeface, and C.R.A.P. (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity).  I have some experience with Photoshop, and this still proved to be a challenging assignment - I couldn't stop picturing the business cards I had previously made, which go against many of the rules we were taught this week. I really wanted to start from scratch and learn the proper process, versus just editing an old design!  I spent a solid 30 minutes getting reacquainted with the program before creating this. There was a lot of trial and error (mostly error) before I decided this was the route I wanted to take. I used my small business as a guideline, as it gave me a jumping-off point for the color palette.  My business colors are black, purple, and silver/white, and I have a tendency to use imagery that reflects th...
Read more

Digital Illustration (WK2) - Project 3 "Identity Package"

Image
For this assignment, we were asked to create an identity package using our own subject and original artwork. I chose to redesign my business identity and go with a more "metal-inspired" approach.  For the updated logo, I created a font by drawing it by hand first. I knew I wanted it to look vampiric, but also take inspiration from band merchandise that I've seen over the years.  I was able to get more comfortable with the freeform gradient tool, which is what I used for the letters in the new logo.  I also used the gradient mesh tool for the moon, which I believe helped to give it some dimension. I learned a lot about this tool while doing this project, and I'm excited to use it more in the future!    For the second part of the project, I needed to create stationery using the new logo. I liked the idea of putting a trim at the bottom (demonstrated in the textbook), so I drew the heart chain on paper first and then traced it in Illustrator (I'm not a very skilled...
Read more