Week 10 covers the concept of surrealism as to the application in our artworks that brings a message we want to convey.
Realism
Realism involves subject matters of the ordinary and common world.
Surrealism
Surrealism involves the exploration of the subconscious mind, with subject matters concentrating on dream-like visuals. This concept often aims to distort reality.
Surrealism is often applied in digital art styles which focuses on the expression about the artist's idea. Surrealism artworks can be achieved by many concepts as followed:
Dream-like scenes and symbolic images
Unexpected, illogical juxtapositions
Bizarre assemblages of ordinary objects
Primitive or child-like designs
During the practical, we have learnt about the animation function in Adobe Photoshop. The first way to animate is the animation by layers. We utilized keyframes in order to give a smooth warp from one frame to another, hence, giving a dream-like effect.
Figure 1.1: Practical Exercise #1 created by animation by layers.
Figure 1.2: Practical Exercise #2 created by animation by layers.
Another way to animate in Photoshop is the animation by frames. This involves the traditional animation technique in which each frame must be correlated to give a smooth animation. We have also learnt about the Puppet Warp function in which we can manipulate images by setting down pin points.
Figure 1.3: Practical Exercise #3 created by animation by frames.
Week 11
This week we were introduced to a new design application, Adobe After Effects which is mainly used to produced motion graphics and visual effects. A photoshop file (psd. format) can be imported into AE in which each layer can be individually modified with the assistance of keyframes to produce a simple animation. The modifications that can be made in AE involves:
Scale
Position
Rotation
3D effects
Figure 1.4: Practical Exercise involving motion graphic created in Adobe After Effects.
Final project of Digital Photography and Imaging involves the creation of a self-titled artwork. Self-titled is an exploration project in which we are to express our own individuality and reflect our personality into digital art self-expression. The main idea is to build self-confidence and self-discovery.
Manipulate a personal portrait by applying the concept of surrealism while including elements that represent yourself.
Apply parallax animation to the final artwork based on the Instagram stories format.
Idea Development
A. Personal biography
INTRO
I am Ariel Chin Bei Yi, currently pursuing the Bachelor of Science (hons) Food Science as my major. I am also in my final semester of the second year and entering my final year next semester, hence, I’ll be graduating soon.
PARAGRAPH 1
Science is one of my passions, as I really enjoy Chemistry, especially the theory behind foods. However, my hobby is creating illustrations which it helps me destress by taking a break from all the theoretical learning involved in my major. Thus, I have decided to take design courses as my minor to develop my creativity skills in which I did not had the chance in my major. This semester was a breath of fresh air as I am excited to learn more about myself towards this particular hobby that is a whole different aspect for my current choice of professionalism.
PARAGRAPH 2
My sense of aesthetic often involves the use of fishes. This may be because of my name being the same as the famous Disney character but I have always been really connected to the sea. Hence, I often add the fluidity of fishes to my works. Other than that, I am really interested in Chinese mythology as well as the aesthetic of the Shanghai Era. The images of the bustling night cities of olden Shanghai are filled with inspiration where liveliness can be found at every corner. The signature red lights filled district has a spark in which I am drawn to and would love to include them in my works whenever I can
SUMMARY
I am someone who’s interested in both Science and Arts. I love to mix my theory skills with my creativity and create artworks involving the aesthetics that I love, such as the aesthetic of the olden Shanghai era and swimming fishes.
B. Statement about the work to be designed
INTRO
Self-titled requires us to transform our portrait into a surrealistic artwork that involves the expression of ourselves. As mentioned in my biography, I really like the traditional Chinese aesthetic and fishes, hence, I would like to incorporate both into my self-titled.
PARAGRAPH 1
My first draft includes myself riding on a fish which holds a sign reading as ’24 hours Taxi service’. This idea is based on my imagination when I was young after seeing the cat bus in the Ghibli movie ‘My Neighbour Totoro’. I thought I wanted to sit in a animal-like vehicle and drive people around. The fish is seen swimming around a traditional Chinese district where lanterns filled the sky. The main colour theme should be red with bright yellow lights, giving an overall warm tone.
PARAGRAPH 2
My second draft includes myself sitting in front of a traditional Chinese circular window. This sketch contrasts the free-like tone of the first sketch in which I am more grounded and formal. This instead of representing my inner child like the first draft, represents my loyalty to my own culture. I highly appreciate the beauty of the Chinese culture which is shown through the background as well as the floating lanterns.
SUMMARY
Both my sketches include the elements that I like. However, I prefer the first sketch more as the sense of freedom in the composition gives for more room of creativity. I am excited to bring my child-like fantasies to life through this assignment.
C. Mood board
I have created a mood board to serve as inspiration for my poster design. The common theme is the inclusion of fishes as well as the warm tones of the overall composition.
Figure 3.1: Moodboard consisting of poster inspiration from Pinterest.
Design Direction
I have brainstormed ideas as to the elements that I want to include in my poster. The themes that I like is the traditional Chinese aesthetic to represent my culture. Hence, I sketched two compositions of different posters with similar themes.
Figure 4.1: Draft #1 (left) and Draft#2 (right).
.
I prefer the Draft #1 more as the sense of freedom in the composition gives for more room of creativity. I am excited to bring my child-like fantasies to life through this assignment.
This is followed by searching high resolution images that can be used to created the poster I have envisioned.
Figure 4.2: High resolution images found from Pexels.
During Week 12, Mr. Martin has conducted a photoshoot section in which we were given an allocated time to photograph ourselves in the desired pose based on our sketches. It was instructed that we form groups and help each other to take our photographs. My groupmate, Alefiya, helped me take my photograph. It was valuable experience to me as it helped me understand how to use digital cameras and lighting settings to give a high quality portrait.
Figure 4.3: Photograph of myself.
Execution & Post Production
First, I have imported the images to Adobe Photoshop and layered the images on top of each other to visualize the placement of each elements on the canvas. This is followed by masking out the background of the images using the Select and Mask function. I carefully cropped out my skirt and robe to make me appear as if I am sitting on the fish.
Figure 5.1: Select and masking followed by the compositing placement of selected images.
I was torn between two different backgrounds as they both have their own charm but results in a significantly different tone of the poster. However, I have selected Background #2 as my final choice as I prefer the quite tone over the bustling Hong Kong district in Background #1 which would make my poster look messy.
Figure 5.2: Background #1 (left) and Background #2 (right).
After the selection of my background, I used multiple adjustment layers to make the background more prominent as I layer the other elements on it.
I have used levels to increase the contrast as well as the warm tone due to the lighting of the lanterns.
I have also manually increased the glow of each lantern using an Overlay layer with orange hue.
Field blur was applied so that the back of the background is blurred to show a sense of distance.
Figure 5.3: Progression #1 of Self-Titled.
This is followed by the adjustment of the colors of the fish to match the background.
I have used the Match Colour function in Photoshop which allows an instant match with the background setting as well as adjust the contrast and such aspects.
I have also added a shadow over the fish's body and increase a blue hue to blend into the background.
An Overlay layer with an orange hue is added to emphasize the bright area on the head of the fish.
Figure 5.4: Progression #2 of Self-Titled.
The image of myself is the most difficult to blend into the background. However, the functions in Photoshop have allowed me to achieve the desired outcome.
I have matched the colour of myself to the background but it still doesn't look like I belong to the image.
I used multiple Overlay and Colour layers with the combination of blue and orange hue so that the lighting matches the one on the fish.
I have also added Field blur so that it gives a sense of motion.
Figure 5.5: Progression #3 of Self-Titled.
Finally, I added more elements to enhance the overall visual experience of my Self-Titled.
Traditional Lanterns were added to the edge of the canvas and blurred out to show distance.
Glowing fishes were added using the Blending mode including inner glow and drop shadow.
A glowing thread was added similar to the glowing fishes in which the design principle, movement was applied.
Figure 5.6: Progression #4 of Self-Titled.
I was proud of the poster created as it reflects my personality, culture and interests.
Figure 5.7: Before photoshop (left) and After photoshop (right).
Animation & Finishing
After completing my poster, I have exported the PSD files into Adobe After Effects for animation. I have utilized various deformation tools to create my parallax animation where I am seen riding a fish which is slowly swimming through a quiet district. I have used the following tools:
Transform
Scale: Objects appears into the screen as it scales down.
Opacity: Objects appear to be radiating a soft glow.
Position: Ensure balance in composition of the canvas.
Puppet warp: Allow movement of still images such as the fins of the fish and my hands.
3D Camera: Give an aesthetic parallax effect and realism.
Figure 6.1: Animation in Adobe After Effects.
The most challenging part to rig was the glowing fishes in the scene. The fishes were separated into individual layers and rigged one by one. I used the puppet warp tool and give a different rig every 2 seconds, giving the effect of the fishes wagging its tail to swim. This sections has the most amount of keyframes used.
Figure 6.2: Rigging of swimming animation of the glowing fishes.
Finally, I have added a suitable music to my Self-Titled animation. The music chosen is calm and slow with a graceful tone, which is appropriate for the setting of my composition as well as the slow parallax animation.
Figure 6.3: Addition of selected background music.
My Self-Titled project encapsulates the essence of my identity, embracing everything that defines 'me.' The vibrant scene is set in a quiet Chinese district adorned with radiant red traditional lanterns, symbolizing celebration and paying homage to my Chinese heritage. As a nod to my cultural roots, I am depicted seated upon a giant koi fish that is swimming through the bustling streets. In Chinese culture, the koi fish symbolizes resilience and strength which is an embodiment of the values my parents instilled in me, urging me to always stand strong with dignity. Furthermore, fishes have always held a special place in my heart since birth, hence, ethereal glowing fishes appeared to be gliding in the foreground representing a reminder of them being close to my heart.
Figure 7.1: Self-Titled 'Journey of a Fish' - JPEG.
Figure 7.2: Self-Titled 'Journey of a Fish' - PDF.
Figure 7.3: Self-Titled 'Journey of a Fish' Parallax Animation - MP4.
The final assignment of the Digital Photography and Imaging module was the most interesting out of the assignments. This is not only because of the creative freedom given throughout the progress, we were also given the opportunity to experience photography in a professional setting during the photoshoot session held to take photos for our self-titled. It was a new experience as I had very less opportunity to come in contact with the creative media in the field of photography. It was also fun to see my classmates come up with various ideas to take their Self-Titled photos with themes that represent themselves.
Other than that, due to the assignment having less restrictions on the choice of theme, I had fun experimenting on various Photoshop tools. In order to create the image I have envisioned, I researched on various Photoshop tutorials in which I am able to learn a lot of Photoshop techniques that I have yet learnt in class. For example, the colour matching function in Photoshop allows your object to conveniently blend with the background seamlessly. This tool greatly helped me in bringing the whole image together, allowing me to achieve the desired outcome.
Animation in Adobe After Effect was also a new experience, however, we were given very little time to master the particular application. Nevertheless, our lecturer, Mr. Martin have introduced us the basics of the app and walked us through on how to easily create a parallax animation. Moreover, the internet has provided me with endless tutorials, allowing me to familiarize with the app quickly.
In conclusion, this assignment was the most exciting in which I am able to create a poster that represents who I am. I gained many new experiences as well as knowledge in terms of the utilization of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects.
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