Digital Surrealism

Prezi link: https://prezi.com/awejrwsm5ary/leonora-carrigton/

Digital Surrealism Written Statement                                                                    

The title for this piece is called The Ghost Girl. The message I intended for this is for the “ghost” kids out there. It’s the kids who are there in class but the people who should know them ignores them. They want to talk to people, to interact with them but they can’t because they are too shy or quiet. Some try to talk to them, but they won’t listen to them. So they just sit there, with no one noticing, like a ghost. In the photo, there are 2 girls chatting like they are having fun. Then there’s the other girl who is reading. This girl is different, because she is not entirely visible and you can see the lockers through her. The ghost girl is trying to interact with them, but she can’t talk because she is too shy. Instead, she used the big “HELLO” text on the locker to get to notice her. But the 2 girls who are talking don’t notice her, even with the big “HELLO”. That how it feels for them to try to talk to you. This is to raise awareness about the “ghost” kids. There are a lot of them out there and they are tired of being a ghost.

When I tried to make this piece, I drew some sketches of how to place things. I know the ghost girl is going to be the focal point, so I need to balance it out. So I then thought to add 2 girls chatting to make contrast and asymmetrical balance. I took 3 photos: one of the lockers, one of the girls talking in the same area, and one of the last girl in the same area. Then in Photoshop, I put the locker photo as the main background. Then I put the photos of the girls and the ghost girl. And then I started cutting out just the girls and the ghost girl.

First I selected what I want to cut out using the quick selective tool. After selecting it, I use that to make a mask. Now the one I selected is white and the background is black. White shows and black covers it up. The edges look a bit rough, so I refine the edges and use the blur tool to smoothen it out. I did the same to the ghost girl.

I wanted to make the ghost girl look like a ghost, so I lowered the opacity of the mask so you can see the background. Since this is 3 separated photos I want to make the lighting the same as the main background. In order to do that, I command-click the 2 masks and use command-J on the main background layer to make a copy of the main background in the shape of the 2 masks. Then I move the layers on top of the original 2 photos and lower the opacity down so you can see the photos.

And then I drew the “HELLO” text using the brush in a new layer under the people and lowered the opacity and blurred it out to make it kind of faded. After that, I adjusted the entire thing using adjusted layers.

From doing this, I learned how to make the lighting the same and on how to refine the edges. I also learned more about using masks and the quick selection tool. I’m satisfied with this piece because I am raising awareness to those people out there even though it might not look good. I like to thank my classmates for being my models. They have been a great help.

3:6:9 Video

 This video was done by Robin, Farren and Makayla.

What was great about the video is how the music sync so well with the video. What wasn't great about it is on some parts of the video, there was some shakiness from the camera and that it kind of ruined the mood of the video. We wanted the music to be sad and thoughtful because the video doesn't look bright from the lighting. It would be confusing if we put happy music on a dark place. Since some parts have shakiness from the camera, we cut most of the shaky parts. We also tried to cut the bad parts out and doing that somehow made the video be in sync with the music. So it happened by coincidence.  The pace is slow and the transitions faded so it can help make the mood of sadness and thoughtfulness. Me working with Robin and Farren was great because we get to share our knowledge and experiences. I also had fun with them.

Black and White + 1

In CyberARTS, we have to make a photo black and white with a certain thing in colour. In order to do this we used masks. 

What I first did is make a gradient map adjustment layer to make it black and white. Then on the same layer, I made a mask to block out the adjustment so the colours can show.

I wanted to do something more with it, so I made a posterize adjustment layer and used the mask on the same layer to block everything except for the sunflower so the adjustment will only affect the sunflower. 

After that, I made a brightness and contrast adjustment layer to do some final touches. I like the result but I don't like the blown-out part on the top-right corner. But since it was cloudy when I took that photo, I can't help it.

Black and White Photos

This is the original photo

The first technique I used is the channel mixer technique. It's an adjustment layer so I founded it in the adjustment section. When I opened it up, I clicked on the monochrome so it will become black and white.  Then I adjusted it to my likings by changing the red, yellow and blue channels.

The second technique I used is the black and white adjustment layer. I founded it on the adjustment section. When I opened it up, there are more colour levels I can adjust. There are: red, yellow, green, cyan, blue and magenta. I have more options on how I can change it. Then I adjusted it to my likings by changing the colour levels.

And the last technique I used is the gradient map. I founded it on the same place just like the others. When I opened it up, I clicked on the gradient bar and a new window popped up. There are these icons that you can move to change on how it will look. I moved around the color stoppers on the bottom of the bar to my likings.

Realistic Chess Piece

This is my chess piece drawing.

In CyberARTS, we have to draw a realistic chess piece that shows movement and pattern while the chess piece is the focal point. 

My drawing shows movement because there's the king pointing his sword at the chess piece, making your eyes go there. Then the chess piece's shadow falls to the right and the robes guide you to the king again. This makes a loop so you can view it longer. Also, my drawing shows pattern because I drew a chess board. 

And I made sure that the chess piece is the focal point by making the piece bigger than the king. Then in the background, I made the right side the darkest while on the other side, the lightest to make contrast.

The whole meaning of this drawing is that there's a spirit in the chess pieces like the king being the spirit of the king chess piece. I feel like I did a real good job making the chess piece realistic, and the rest of the drawing is good too. Overall, I'm really satisfied with this drawing because I had a lot of fun drawing it.

T-shirt Design for the LCI Technological Skills Challenge

In CyberARTS, we have to make a design about the technological stuff that we do in LCI such as the culinary works, cosmetology, auto, wood shop, and CyberARTS.

I got my inspiration when I was looking in Pinterest. I found this image: 

 I took that pattern and thought to myself that I can make icons that represent the technological stuff in LCI.

I sketched a draft in my notebook and then made it in Adobe Illustrator. There was a shape tool where I can make a polygon. This makes it easier to make my design. Then I made the pattern black because it looks simple enough that everyone can wear on a white t-shirt. I made that layer the background. After that, I made the icons in a separate file for each one. Then I copied it to where my pattern is in separate layers for each icon. After that, I made my text in a new layer. I wanted it to look bold so it have emphasis.

After that, I made variations of it in a new file.

I wished I can put more than one colours so I can make more varieties, but only one colour is the rule. I think this design sends out a message about how fun technology can be in LCI. But then I realized that there is nothing that represent LCI other than the text. Maybe I should make a phoenix because that is our animal in LCI. Overall, I'm satisfied with the design because I worked so hard on this.

Charcoal Grid Drawing

In CyberARTS, we did a class work where we have to draw on small pieces with charcoal that makes up into a big picture like a puzzle. This picture is called The Third-Class Carriage by Honore Daumier.  The trick to this is to draw what you see, not what you think you see because it might be something else. The charcoal was messy, but I had fun with this.

 To me, this doesn't look real. There is space like the background, but the lines are too visible. Also, the lines' thickness varies throughout the picture. There were good details and shading, but I think there wasn't enough details on the faces. That's what I think for the imitationalism part.

For the formalism part, I think this doesn't have unity. Since each piece was made by a different person, it's not easy for the pieces to match. This makes it asymmetrical with the different values. The darks have emphasis but they are in different parts of the picture, which breaks the unity. That's what I think for the formalism part.

And for the emotionalism part, I think this feels very somber. The colours are dark, and the expressions on the people's faces are dull. And because of mixed values that don't match makes it also scary. And that's what I think for the emotionalism part.