NAAP Project II: Dream World

This project, like the first, was created from following a tutorial from Photoshop User Magazine. The images used were available for download through the website for NAAP members and the moon was found though a google image search for "public domain moon".

The tutorial for this one was much more open ended than the one for the first project. Instead of saying set this to specifically this number, it said to mess around with the settings until it looked something like this. It also did a better job of explaining why certain tools were used and what they controlled. However, sometimes the lack of detailed instruction made it impossible for me to nicely replicate the effect from the example image and I ended up having to leave out certain parts entirely. For example, the lighting and shadows are off, and the example image had smoke trailing out of the chimneys, but I couldn't get mine to look right so I left it out.

I learned quite a bit from both of these tutorials, despite my frustrations, and I'm very proud of both resulting images.

NAAP Project I: Hunger Games District Seal

For this project I followed a tutorial in Photoshop User Magazine. The base images were available to NAAP members for personal use through their website. From there I followed the instructions step by step until I got the final product. The tutorial was very guided and told you exactly what colors and settings to use, which I appreciated. The tools mostly involved adding special effects like inner glow, drop shadow, and embossing and messing around with channels and paths in addition to layers. However, it didn't really explain why you made certain changes or what certain tools did. I got an awesome result but it felt more like a science than an art. Of course I got an excellent image in the end, I followed the directions and put all the right stuff in, so the right result came out. By the end I had figured out on a basic level what some of the tools did, which was interesting because I'd never have figured that out on my own, but it didn't feel like I really created this piece. All the hard work was done for me, I just went through the motions.

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Image Sources:

Skull:http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t166/thegreatgallina/Poor_Yorick_Skull_Shakespeare_Hallo.jpg
Stage: http://appsummer.org/sites/appsummer.org/files/media-resource/stage-w-chair.jpg
Collar Ruff:http://www.wyrdrune.com/Costume/index.html?ruff/index.html~right

This event I am personally involved with, so I thought it would be fun to make an advertisement for it. Myself, and several other of my theatre friends will be competing by performing a Shakespearian monologue that is 20 lines or shorter, which isn't very much in terms of Shakespeare, so a lot relies on being able to put a lot of emotion into the performance instead of letting the language carry it. 

Kaleidoscope Project

This project required the use of a photoshop tutorial found on youtube. The tutorial was simple and easy to follow; understanding the directions was easy. Following them on the other hand, was much more difficult with one step in particular. When it came to skewing my rectangular selection I could not get it at a perfect 45 degree angle to save my life. It just would not give me the option no matter what I did! I was about to fling the entire keyboard across the room in frustration. So in the end, I gave up and made it as close as I could.

For the first project like this, I had to use an original photo, which was difficult because all my photos were of people and people don't typically work well when creating kaleidoscopes. So I used a small section of an arm crossed over a shoe that wasn't easily identifiable so it would look more abstract. 

The second project I used a picture of a mask. I loved this image so much I actually made two colleges using different sections of the image. The bright colors and patterns really caught my eye and they melded together seamlessly when the image was completed. They're currently some of my favorite images I've created so far. 

All in all, this project was frustrating, but the effect I got out of some of the projects was well worth it. 

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Photo-Editing Sites Review

Taaz.com:

This site allows you to do a complete virtual makeover on a model, or even someone in a photo of your own. Taaz is fun if you want to play around with different colors and makeup tools to see how they'll look on you, without you actually having to buy them. It's relatively simple to use; the most difficult aspect is getting a good photo. It has to be a headshot style of pretty high quality in order for the selections you make to look accurate. This site works by having you select different parts of the face upon the site's direction so it knows where to apply a certain effect. This site exclusively deals with hair and makeup, so it's obviously not as complete as photoshop, but would be useful for touching-up makeup, a common use for photoshop. This site is mostly targeted towards girls roughly in their teens and twenties. Although it's uses are fairly limited, it does a good job of doing what it does.

Aviary.com: 

Aviary.com allows you to make basic changes to a photo; it's much less extensive than photoshop, but it's simplicity works to its advantage. Photoshop can be daunting, and it can take hours to watch all the tutorials you might need and even longer to figure out the tools on your own, but Aviary makes it easy. The basic changes that most people would use photoshop for like: getting rid of red eye, changing the lighting, covering a blemish, etc. are included and all you have to do it select a change, it will be displayed on the photo as a preview from which you can choose to alter the change or apply it. Aviary seems to be targeted at teens and preteens because its very user-friendly and bright.

I chose to play around with the demo which automatically gives you this default image:

And this was the result after I had made some changes:

Pixlr.com

Pixlr has several different levels of complexity when it comes to editing. The simplest is the Pixlr-O-Matic (which was what I chose to make my example below). This allows you to do basic cropping and add filters which change the light and give the image a cool vintage effect. Pixlr Express gives you a few more options and ability to tweak the presets from the Pixlr-O-Matic, this is a little more complicated than Aviary, but still very understandable. Finally, the Pixlr Editor is more like a mini version of photoshop. Pixlr so far has been my favorite because it offers these three different levels of difficulty than can be used by people who have both very little experience in digital editing and those that have lots more. This would be my choice to link on the webpage.

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Citrify.com:

Citrify is best described as a mini photoshop directed at teenagers. It's bright design is easy on the eyes and it explains what some of the adjustments do when you hover your mouse over the option. It doesn't give you a whole lot of explanation or hold your hand while guiding you through the editing process, but that allows for some freedom and creativity. Basically. Cirtrify could be the "training wheels" before Photoshop because it is set up in a very similar way, but is aimed to get beginners used to the names and tools that are available when it comes to digital editing and isn't as overwhelming as Photoshop.



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Inside Out Project: Faceless

My idea for this project was inspired by this one song that I was listening to while brainstorming; the song is "Faceless" by RED, and I included some of the lyrics on the left. I've always really been drawn to masks in general, but it wasn't until I heard this song and saw a similar political cartoon that I had the idea for making someone faceless underneath the mask.

First I began looking at pictures of masks, I wanted one that was smiling, but slightly creepy, so a harlequin mask seemed perfect. The mask needed to actually be potraying an expression because I wanted it to contrast with the face (or lack thereof) underneath.Then I searched for a headshot of someone in black and white photography. Once I found the two images I wanted to use, I layered them on top of each other, cutting around the mask and re-sizing it to get it to be proportionate to the actual face. Then, I went back to the image underneath and used the smudge tool to slowly get rid of the eyes, mouth, and nose by scooting the skin color around over it. This was very time consuming and often frustrating, but the result was worth it. Finally, I added in the lyrics with the text tool, and voila~

"Marla" Abstract Work: Abstractions

This project was short and easy, I created an abstract work by playing around with different brushes, colors, opacities, and flow in photoshop while listening to music. The brush strokes tended to vary depending on the song I was listening to. For example, I used the red while listening to an alternative rock song and softer purple strokes while listening to a softer folk song.