Design Software & Processing Mid Term Portfolio The 5 projects below this post are the 5 I've chosen to be included in my mid term portfolio. I chose each project for individual reasons but one thing they all had in common is they all show my progression in learning to use Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop programs in order to exhibit my art work in a new way. I will briefly explain each project ,why i chose the project, discuss any improvements that went into its final production and what I've learned from each project
The first project Ill go into is located the furthest down on this page, The Day Map. This was a project done solely in Photoshop USing several images of myself to express what goes on in a normal day. I used 5 different cut out pictures and separated them from their individual backgrounds. The resulting cut out figure went through various applied effects to give the day map more of a comic book cover feeling. I chose this project because it exemplified me using various artistic elements together in Photoshop to create an aesthetically pleasing outcome. From what I originally turned in, the only major improvement was the addition of color framed outlines to each individual background to give it an extra comic book "umph". I also adjusted the contrast and color on some of the cut out figures of myself. From this project I learned how to more efficiently cut out figures and separate colors from each other for selection.
The second project Ill go into is the next project upward, The Mood. This projects purpose was to choose 5 separate photos and compose them together as cut outs, or as COB's on a background all in PHOTOSHOP. The colors chosen for the background or pictures was supposed to exemplify a mood of personal choice. My mood was "solemn", neither angry or depressed, happy or side, just the perfect medium. Therefore I chose to portray this mood with 2 colors that are seen as opposites: red and blue. I chose this project mainly because I was excited about its outcome, and that it gave off a weird 3-d glasses illusion with the combination of reds and blues. This project taught me how to properly use color overlays and apply them exclusively to one layer at a time. The only improvement I made to the final outcome was I altered the opacity of some of the images to show off more of the red and blue sunset background( a picture I took while flying to Atlanta)
The third project Ill discuss is the glasses project. This project was composed solely in Illustrator with the use of a .tif template as the background for tracing purposes. The main focus of the project was to recreate the template as close as possible in Illustrator. This project was very informative because it initially introduced me on how to do compound paths and effectively separate these paths for color purposes. I chose this project because it personally shows my progression with using Illustrator. I previously tried to recreate this same pair of glasses and remember my outcome not looking anything similar to this production. The only improvements I applied to the final outcome were I changed the opacity if the nose piece within the lenses to make it more prominent and noticeable, I also darkened the color of the shadow of the glasses and added less of a blur to sharpen it up.
The fourth project Ill discuss is the Favorite Ride project. This project was very similar to the project above. I used a .tif image of a dream car of my choice (DeLorean) as a dimmed template and pretty much had to recreate it in Illustrator with a final production as close as possible to the actual photo. This project was very time tasking, but I learned a lot from it. I think I understand the use of layers a lot more after this project and how important layer placing is when you have over 50 layers that add up to a final image. I also became acquainted with the mesh tool, mainly while working on the hood and side panels. I know this project could have been a little bit better, but I am still pleased with the final production, especially since I LOVE THIS CAR! The only improvement I made on this recently finished project is, I worked more with the opacity of the windshield and the elements placed behind it to make the windshield more realistic, I also altered the color and blur on the shadow underneath the car.
The final project Ill discuss has already been discussed on my blog recently , but Ill talk about it some more because I like it just that MUCH. The 2 page magazine spread was a project done solely in InDesign thats main purpose was to get a better understanding of composition, text placement, COB's, scanned photos, and spot colors through recreating an existing 2 page magazine spread of choice. I chose a layout from VIBE Magazine featuring one of my favorite up and coming actresses/ models, Lauren London. From this project I effectively learned how to combine a cut out and work paths in order to eliminate a plain background from a scanned photo. Before this project I never thought so much went into a simple layout such as the one I chose to recreate. A main problem I ran into is that I couldn't find the exact same font that was used for the titles, so I had to use a cheap stencil substitute. It still turned out pretty well though. The only improvement I made from the original is I replaced all the .jpeg scan images I used from the actual lay out and replaced them with .tif images with the proper resolution for print.
These projects as well as the many others I have not posted have given me a sufficient starting point with these programs, letting me know I have much room for improvement.
