Special Edition Blog

Inspiring Work

Craft: The tools used to make these images range in different varieties.  The first image was created through oil on a canvas and is more of a traditional feel to the art realm, while the second two come from the modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago.  The second photo I took was of a neon like that is composed of several different works that coordinate in a flashing rhythm to illuminate the shape of the familiar peace sign, and the last image is a collage that is in a remembrance to those who serve, and have served our country.

Concept: I chose these three images as the ones that inspire me most, because they all show a relation to peace and love in their own ways.  The first image shows the scene of a sunset, but instead of the sun shining through the three it is placed right on top of them.  When looking at this paining I feel relaxed and calm, its more of a peaceful feeling to me, its as if I was sitting on my front porch relaxing and just watching the sun set.  I chose the second piece of art work because I love the peace sign in general.  It just has so much power behind its meaning in this world.  What made me love it more was that is was created through neon light that were words such as "love, human, death, animal, nature, etc."  It pretty much just makes the statement that there is peace in all these things.  The final work of art I chose was the military collage.  This picture really struck home for me and I just wanted to take it off the wall and bring it with me.  Growing up in a military family, and working on my enlistment really makes you realize certain things about how we live our lives from day to day, and the outcome of our actions, and sometimes you just grown up faster than those around you.  When I saw this picture is made me feel so overwhelmed with emotion. I was pissed, I wanted to cry, and at the same time I loved it.  It was my favorite.  Definitely a good motivating collage.  This image demonstrates peace through the fact that we are protected by those willing to fight for our freedom and rights, but along with the neon sign; it confronts death and human nature as well...

Composition:  The first image was composed of oil on canvas and create to look as if it were towards the end of the day as the sun was just going down, but instead of seeing it glisten through the trees, we see this orange/red dot that registers in our minds as the sun.  The second image I took is of a neon peace sign that is composed of rods that are bent and put together to form the circle of the peace sign, whose purpose is to hold the words of the sign in place to form the peace symbol.  Some of the words that are on the sign are listed above, but I will list them again (love, human, death, animal, nature).  The last image I took is of a collage that is composed of two different photos, one being of soldiers carrying the flag covered caskets of fallen comrades and lining them up across the pavement, and the other shows a cemetery which appears to be Arlington. Both images were sliced into strips and placed one next to the other to create the dramatic effect shown above.

Week 9: Barbie Funeral Kit

 

 

Craft: In this image I used the magnetic lasso tool to cut out each of the shapes from they origianl background to rearange them in photoshop.  I took the Barbie out of a picture of three and used the edit menue to go to transformations and flip her horizontally.  Then I held down control and pressed the 't' bottom to scale her down to size and rotate her to look as if she was laying on her back.  I aslo used the eraser tool to cut out her eyes to fill them in with the paint brush to make them look as if they are closed.  To touch up the edges of her eyes I used the smudge tool to blend all the colors together.  I also used the smudge tool to turn barbie's smile into more of an emotionless smile.  The second thing I did was duplicate the casket by right clocking on the layer and using the "duplicate layer" option. I did this so that I could use the magnetic lasso to cut out the pillow, inside, and wing of the casket.  After I did this I placed it above the duplicate layer so that it looked like one whole casket.  The purpose of this was so that I could use the move tool to place Barbie in between the images to give the illusion that she was inside the casket.  After this I moved on to the flower display.  All I did here was use the move tool to place it in the top right corner.  The final thing I did was create the text on the tombstone by using the horisontal type tool and choosing the color, size, and style for the fornt on the tombstone. I want to use the barbie packaging to place the doll into because she does not come with the set. I might also try to place the set inside its own kind of packagin, but since I cant really find what I'm looking for, I might just use the adversiting look instead of the off the shelf stock look. Possibley combine them both.

Concept: The concept of the Barbie Funeral Kit is that children at a young age are experiencing a sense of death.  Its all about the emotional effect that is to be placed on the child. I was thinking about a slogan or some sort of caption that goes along the lines of "Barbie Funeral Kit: Captures the sadness, without real death".  Its not much at the moment, but I know it should be something along these lines.  The children could possibley burry the toy in their own backyard just for fun so I might try to play into that as well. I want this project to look as if it was an actual rejected toy that was recall from store shelves, or not even made into production.... but, the product idea and advertisement was made as a way to introduce the new toy. So this is why I want to show the advertising and packaging aspects of the toy.  I really like the way the child is shown playing with the Barbie set so this is one of the reasons that I want to try and incorporate both views into my project.

Composition: These images are composed of a Barbie Doll that's face was altered in photoshop to make her look as if she is dead.  Its also shows two caskets that when placed together fit around the Barbie Doll to look as if she is actually placed inside them, and a floral arrangement and tombstone as accessories to go along with the kit.  Each of these imahes were found online and changes to create the product shown on the top.  The websites which I borrowed these images from are listed bellow, as well as in the previous blog post.

Dream Store:

http://www.1000barbies.com/025/SUC51569.JPG

Doll Package:

http://minor-project-heather-young.blogspot.com/2009/10/further-research-and-development-toys-r.html

Barbie Doll:

http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/ma/mattel-chic-barbie-doll.jpg

Casket:

http://www.qualitycaskets.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Casket_Store&Product_Code=8378-18ga&Category_Code=Steel_Caskets

Flowers:

http://www.qualitycaskets.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Casket_Store&Product_Code=pwhtheart&Category_Code=flowers

Tombstone:

http://www.germes-online.com/catalog/13/16/670/82127/sell_tombstone_western_style_stone_products.html

Week 8: Misfit Images

http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/ma/mattel-chic-barbie-doll.jpg

http://www.germes-online.com/catalog/13/16/670/82127/sell_tombstone_western_style_stone_products.html

http://www.qualitycaskets.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Casket_Store&Product_Code=8378-18ga&Category_Code=Steel_Caskets

http://www.qualitycaskets.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Casket_Store&Product_Code=pwhtheart&Category_Code=flowers

Craft: I am planning on using the magnetic lasso tool to cut out the shapes in the images shown above to arrange them in a fashion to suit the funeral theme that I am going for.  I am going to start off by creating a first layer that has the barbie on the right shown only.  To so this I will use the rectangle marquee tool to cut off the remaining two barbies.  I will also use the pink casket and duplicate it so that I can use the magnetic lasso to cut away the inside of one of the caskets to give the effect that the barbie is actually inside it.  The tombstone will have "Barbie Doll" placed on it using the text tool in photoshop, and the flowers will be left as is.

Concept: The concept of this toy is to create a Barbie Doll accessories/play set that has not been yet created.  It is to play into the idea that children shouldn't be confronting death at such a young age.  So this toy allows kids to set up a funeral scene in their room or what have you and play with each other in what should be a "sad" moment.  So when playing with toys usually beings joy, this toy brings sorrow and grief.

Composition:  This photo when completed will be composed of one barbie doll who is positioned inside a casket.  There will actually be two caskets to feed into the illusion or Barbie being inside the actual casket, and it will also consist of a floral arrangement and a tombstone that reads "Barbie Doll" as accessories to add to the funeral experience for the Barbi goers.

Week 7: Final

Craft:   The couple that was located in the front of the mouth has been reduced to one figure that is lurking in the front teeth. He represents the sugars and things that come from eating a cup cake(hence the frosting in his head). The cupcake man has also been moves more towards the right of the image to give it a little more balance.  The next change I made was that of the two men that were standing at the light bulb. I got rid of one of them so that it would look more original, and more believable that the defender has captured one of the cavity people. In place of the figure I removed, I added another cavity creator riding in on a candy bar, he is holding a pick axe to show that he is a danger to the mouth and the teeth.  There is also a child that is running off in the distance that is leaving chocolate foot prints all over the mouth and teeth.  He is just being a nuisance to the defender who is trying to fight everyone off.

Concept: In this finished image of the collage a few changed have clearly been made. From the original first collage the figure were just placed in random positions and were not really telling the story I wanted them to tell, so decided to find more photos to add to the mix that will help get my message across and will also be more entertaining. 

Composition:  The changes that have been made to the defender is that she is now shown as a bigger figure than most of the cavity people. She is also armed with a toothbrush in her hands, and with a roll of dental floss around her shoulder.  This is to show that the defender is ready for battle against what ever the cavity creators try to thrown at her.  She has also captured one of them and this is why there is a ball and chain shown around the figures ankle that is kissing the light bulb.

Week 6: Color Review

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2.

3.

4.

5.

 

Craft: I am going to use a different photo of a hand to create the illusion that Aarika is actually holding the tooth brush.  It was brought to my attention that is it just resting between her arms so I am going to take a photo of a hand in a similar position, but one that looks as if it would be holding the brush and use the blur tool to blend them together with a bit of color. I will also need to use a few tools to crisp out the edges that are around the light bulb and Aarika because when she is made brighter it is clear where some of her edges have been cut out, possibly add some shadow effects as well.

Concept: The concept of these images are that different kinds of bacteria and bad things for you teeth enter your mouth through your choice of foods, so I does appear that this concept is lost in the 4th photo, and some of the 3rd.  The man on the candy bar is a rodeo rider because he fits perfect with the idea of riding in on a candy bar.  His outfit is a little too busy for the image so I am going t o try and fix that.  Overall, through the anonymous letters that were placed with my images during class, all three letters seemed to understand my concept quite well.

Composition: Each image is composed of a different saturation, hue, and value changes, but all the images have the same arrangement of characters as to not confuse the viewer. 1, 2, 4, and 5 show different changes in color, texture, and style to the characters only. I wanted to experiment with them just a little. All images except one have changes exposure and changes in opacity as well.  Almost all of the images show the characters with a lower opacity except for number 4. I wanted the characters in number 4 to appear like they are chocolate that is in the mouth so they are composed of a new solid brown layer, that was finalized with a texture that somewhat resembles candy, or a chocolate bar. I am also going to try and keep Aarika and the light bulb the center of the attention in the photos, because it appears that in a few she blends in with the mouth and does not show much importance at first glance.

Week 5: Re-Collage

     In this finished image of the collage a few changed have clearly been made. From the original first collage the figure were just placed in random positions and were not really telling the story I wanted them to tell, so decided to find more photos to add to the mix that will help get my message across and will also be more entertaining. 

    The couple that was located in the front of the mouth has been reduced to one figure that is lurking in the front teeth. He represents the sugars and things that come from eating a cup cake(hence the frosting in his head). The cupcake man has also been moves more towards the right of the image to give it a little more balance.  The next change I made was that of the two men that were standing at the light bulb. I got rid of one of them so that it would look more original, and more believable that the defender has captured one of the cavity people. In place of the figure I removed, I added another cavity creator riding in on a candy bar, he is holding a pick axe to show that he is a danger to the mouth and the teeth.  There is also a child that is running off in the distance that is leaving chocolate foot prints all over the mouth and teeth.  He is just being a nuisance to the defender who is trying to fight everyone off.

     The changes that have been made to the defender is that she is now shown as a bigger figure than most of the cavity people. She is also armed with a toothbrush in her hands, and with a roll of dental floss around her shoulder.  This is to show that the defender is ready for battle against what ever the cavity creators try to thrown at her.  She has also captured one of them and this is why there is a ball and chain shown around the figures ankle that is kissing the light bulb.

Week 4: Collage



Craft: In this collage I used a digital camera to capture the figures and objects seen in the image above.  The tools used were my digital camera, and selected photoshop tool.  The photoshop tools consist of the magnetic wand tool, regular wand tool, eraser, and the magnetic lasso tool.  These tools were all used to cut out and arrange the images in the final product shown above.
                                                                           

Concept: In this image I was going for a random composition of photos of my people places and things.  The overall concept did not come to me until I finished the collage for the first time and it immediately made me think of the orbit commercials "dirty mouth? clean it up" and the object of the light bulb just went right along with that theme, seeing as a light bulb is bright and the orbit gum is focused on brightening your smile. The character known as Aarika seen standing on the light bulb is covered in white paint from when we were on a ministry trip, and composed with her body position I deemed her the defender of the mouth. As for the figures that are lurking around in the front of the mouth, they are suppose to be viewed as a threat to the mouth, like cavity creators. This brings me to the two males standing at the light bulb, they are cavity creators that have been defeated by the defender of the smile and she has recruited them to work as her helpers. They are NOT worshiping the light bulb, they are merely kissing it.

Composition: This overall collage is composed of five different photos that have been cropped and put together into the piece seen above. The arrangement of this collage is of a female figure shown standing on top of a light bulb that is accompanied by two identical male figures that are kissing the light bulb.  There is also a couple that is hiding between the front teeth and the lips of the giant mouth. They are in such a position to look like they are watching what is going on inside the mouth. So for the completing and easiest way to explain the composition: five different photos have been cut and cropped in such a way that four of them look to be as if they are standing inside of the mouth, and the mail bending over was duplicated and placed on the left of the bulb.