Shape to Symbol Reflection

While using Photoshop, I found that the most difficult part of creating the animation was creating each layer before actually making different frames for the animation.  The process was a bit tedious because I had to have all of the layers in one spot and individually make certain ones visible for every frame.  While the process wasn’t all that bad, at times, creating all the layers just made it difficult for me to keep track of everything.

That said, after completing the project, I feel a lot more confident in using the layers tool.  I’ve used Photoshop in the past but never quite had a grasp on how to use layers or what they were for.  I now see that they can be very beneficial when drawing on Photoshop because I can create individual parts, which allows me to work on separate areas without risking making a mistake on the whole drawing.  Layers can be moved or shifted as well, so if I didn’t like the placement of something, it was quite a bit easier to change that without erasing everything and possibly getting rid of parts I wanted to keep.

If there’s one tool I wish I were better at using, it would be the paint tool, such as the brush.  Clearly those tools are important for making a drawing and while I think improvement will come with time, at the moment I’m still having some trouble making clean lines and shapes.  Drawing on Photoshop is a lot different than drawing with pencil and paper and in some ways proves more challenging.  Even though mistakes are easier to correct with Photoshop, I find the process itself a lot more difficult.  Hopefully as I use the program and that tool more, it will begin to come more easily.

What I’m looking forward to doing next with Photoshop is photo editing.  I’ve always been interested in that and would like to learn how to tweak or enhance photos.  I used to take pictures a lot and sometimes I would want to change things like the light in just one area, or the hue in another.  While I have used basic editing before, I’d really like to learn how to in more depth and edit specific areas, and just become more familiar with it overall as I think sometimes editing certain parts can create more drama and pull the viewer’s attention to what was intended.  So, I’m excited to learn more about this program.

Symbol Project: Winter GIF

Symbol Project: Winter

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Effective Graphic Design
This ad catches the viewer's attention with the bright orange color that's hard to miss.  The orange can also be seen on the actual product which draws your eyes to the center.  There's very little text on the page which serves to make the product the focal point.  What's written is brief and includes where more information on the product can be found.  At the bottom is the logo.  The overall simplicity of the design gets the point across and makes it easy to understand.

Inspiration

I normally find inspiration by looking at other artists' work and this can range from paintings, to photography, and even sculptures.  Anything can spark an idea, just because I'm usually drawing doesn't mean I can't find something inspiring in another medium.  One painter's work I really enjoy looking at is Edward Hopper's.  In a lot of his paintings there's this feeling that he's observing or lurking from afar and I think the fact that this translates to the viewers makes his paintings all the more impressive.  He's able to convey that feeling quite well - there's almost a loneliness in his works.  I'd love to one day be able to create a piece that's just as expressive.

Nighthawks
One of Edward Hopper's most famous paintings.

Aside from paintings, I enjoy looking at photography as well and one photographer who's work has really stuck with me is Diane Arbus.  A lot of her pictures were taken in New York during the 60's to 70's and looking at photographs of the very place I live can be inspiring in itself; it's interesting to see how things have changed and how someone else can find special things in the very area that you're around all the time.  She photographed a huge variety of different types of people and a lot of the photos are very unusual, even eerie, but in the best way possible.  Through her photographs, I feel like I can get a sense of how she saw the world and what everything looked like through her eyes.  Again, with these pictures she's able to communicate a feeling to the viewers that's difficult to put into words, but seems to be there.

Here are some of her photographs.

Letter Project Reflection

1.     My process of creating the letter project consisted of drafting out different designs, making various sketches, and finally settling on one.  I found the process of making thumbnail sketches very helpful.  At first, making twenty sketches seemed a bit much but it helped me to fully explore every idea, gave me options, and pushed me to think outside the box.  Thus, the overall process was helpful to me.

2.     I arrived at my concept for this letter by considering my interests as well as how that could creatively translate to a letter.  My concept was nature and I represented this by making a letter out of vines and branches.  As someone who lives in the city, I’m around lots of geometric shapes and buildings so, I wanted to derive inspiration from something I might not be around as much.  I don’t observe nature as often as I do other things and I thought it would be interesting to try it out for this project.  This can be seen in the design itself.  I also wanted to work with color because I don’t often do this and so, while I used green for the vines, I tried to incorporate other colors into it such as red and brown in order to explore color further.

3.     I think the most challenging aspect of this project was coming up with the initial concept.  Once I had decided on something, it was easier to execute the idea, but I usually have more difficultly thinking up an idea.  I wasn’t sure which direction to take, how complex it should be, what materials I would use, etc.

4.     I think it’s hard to ever be completely satisfied with any type of project, but I think I drew everything I had set out to do so, in that sense, I feel that I completed it or followed through with what I had planned on.  Aside from this, in terms of how it actually came out, I’m not as familiar with colored pencils and upon examination, some of the areas look a bit flat or lack depth because I don’t have as good a hand with the material, but I did try to use them to the best of my ability, and I’d like to work on my blending and shading with color in the future.

5.     If I could change anything about my design, I would probably make it a bit more complex.  I didn’t want to get carried away with the details because the design I have is already complicated, with the many intertwining branches, but ideally, I may have wanted to add some leaves to the branches and maybe the background as well.