2 More New Tricks!

In the first image, I learned how to manually cross process an image by going to the adjustments panel, then to curves. From there, I manually changed the reds, greens, and blues of the image until I got an effect I desired. The image turned out much brighter and interesting than the original and I really like it. I can now use this knowledge to enhance other photos.
In the second image, I learned how to color a black and white image. This was something I was always curious how to do and was excited I found a tutorial on it. All you have to do is color the section of the image you want on a blank layer and then change the layer mode from normal to color. This keeps the color but also brings back the texture of the original image.

Shadows!

 For this assignment, we had to take a chair, cover it with strips of an image and then make a shadow for the chair. For the first chair, I used strips of an abstract image, dodged the center and burned the edges to create a more realistic chair and made a shadow with the light source coming from the left. I then skewed the shadow to make it more realistic. For the second chair, I used strips of one of my own works dodged the back and outside of one arm and burned the edges and inside of the other arm. I imagined light coming from the right and cast a shadow below the chair. I struggled on the first chair, making the shadow because I couldn't get it to look right, but I think the final product turned out okay. I really like the second chair I did though.

New Tricks!

Today we had to watch tutorials on photoshopuser.com and try out two new techniques. The first image I tried Replacing a Sky. It was super simple, and you didn't have to spend a lot of time making selections. This will be really helpful for future projects and things I do. The other two images I tried Pushing Photos. I've seen a lot of photos like this, and I always wondered how to do them. It was really easy as well and it was fun to play around with the images once I pushed the image through the text.

Inside Outside Anatomy

For this assignment, we had to combine the inside and the outside of an image. I chose to take an image that I took in photography of a row of windows in my house. Then I chose an image of a beach sunset to  place behind the windows to look like the view from my house. It was difficult to delete small areas of the windows, but I really like the finished product. And I wish that this was actually the view from my kitchen.

Midterm

For our midterm, we had to create a collage of images and apply different effects we've learned throughout the year. I chose to use just two images that I took in photography that are both leaves. I really liked the colors in these images and wanted to base my collage off of them. I duplicated them and put them in a checkered form, leaving a blank in each row. I think the blanks really break it up and make the whole image less overwhelming. I chose to make the background a more intense blue from one of my pictures with a less intense orange brush stroke from the leaves to tie everything together. Then I just applied different tools to different images. At first, it was really overwhelming because I couldn't find the image I would want to apply an effect to. Overall, I really like the colors of the image and the uniqueness  the effects add to the whole image.

Filtered Self-Potrait Collage

For this assignment, I took an image of myself. duplicated it 8 times and put them in a grid form. Then I took each image and applied a different filter/effect for each one. I played with the curves on some, desaturated some, put different filters on some, and rotated a few. I then used the line tool to divide up the image. Last, I chose a image to use as my border. I chose an image of colorful shirts because I thought it added a lot of color to the image and all the different lines and angles make the picture interesting. I'm pleased with the final product.

Inspiring Artists

  These two images are both by Michele Harvey. They both look very realistic- almost as if they could be photographs. In the top one, I really like the 3 different images. The one on the left is very dark and kind of mystical. The one in the middle is different than the two on each side, more bright and colorful, but yet it still has a sense of dreariness with the fog surrounding the trees. The right image seems more.. hopeful that the left image of trees, with the light shining through the trees. Together, I think they make a very compelling painting that offers a lot of different emotions and interpretations. In a way, they tell a story through each painting. The second image is very simple, but I love it. The snow perfectly nestled on the branches is exactly what I think of when I think of winter. The little bench a few feet away, covered with a blanket of snow, just adds a certain touch. It makes me think of how it'd be a perfect place to go on a hot summer day, shaded from the sun by the huge tree. The large, dark trunk of the tree immediately draws your attention to the right side of the page. The use of rule of thirds in this image seems very appropriate because your eyes then follow the branches out to each side of the page, surrounded by nothing but snow. Everything is just so perfect and it would be a wonderful place to spend your time. 

   This painting was done by Michel Delacroix and is very different than the two above. It is bright and colorful and cartoonish. It evokes a sense of happiness and seems like something that could be from a children's story, yet it also seems like an interpretation of buildings i've seen in pictures before. I love all the little details and colors of the images. The main browns and blues with pops of tints of red adds depth to the image. I love the little tug boats in front with the steam coming out, along with the smoke from all the chimneys, to horse-drawn carriage and people in the background. The puffy, cartoon-like clouds just pull everything together and complete the painting. If this was an actual place, it would be somewhere that I would love to visit.