Computer Art and Design 1

Computer Art and Design 1 focused on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.  These are some of my better works done in Fall 2010.

This was an in-class assignment but I liked learning how to put different backgrounds on images.

This assignment was using an image (the hazard mask) to make a brush setting.  We then used that brush as a stamp to apply to an urban setting photo (the grungy door).  We were taught how to make the mask faded in certain areas and put scratches on it to make the stamp look more like it was really a stencil someone sprayed all over the door.

I really liked this assignment.  We were told to do something with an Andy Worhol vibe.  (If you don't know who he is, shame on you!)  We could also channel other Pop Art artists.  I used the threshold tool in Photoshop for the background, which was originally a really cloudy photo.  I applied a starburst effect on the orb.  This piece was inspired by a scene in Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life.

My idea for this project was just to float away (also the title of the piece) from all your problems.  The aerial image was after a flood (probably after Katrina).  You can see the muddy water surrounding all the buildings and trees.

The metamorphosis project was inspired by Greek mythology.  There's a story about the god Dionysus turning a bunch of sailors into dolphins.  I decided to sorta recreate this scene using Photoshop. 

This assignment I actually did wrong.  The artist we were supposed to be inspired by was Aubrey Beardsley. If you are thinking about googling him, don't just yet if you are on a computer that is monitored.  Some of his stuff gets pretty explicit in a sexual way.  Most of it is humorous, but your boss might not appreciate the graphic nature of some of his works.

Anyways, Beardsley doesn't incorporate midtone values in his works.  So that's why mine isn't "correct."  But I did like using the Bamboo tablet for this assignment!

Lastly, the M.C. Esher inspired assignment.  When presented with the criteria for this assignment, I about had a panic attack trying to think of how to do something as elaborate as Esher's works in only a week.  But I found this assignment to be really fast and easy using a little trick.  I created a design (black box, one large star and two small stars) to rotate.  Once I had a completed rotation, what we graphic designers like to call a "design unit," I copied this unit a bunch of times and lined them up in the correct places.  Colors were added using the paint tool.

More soon! :-)

Design Fundamentals 1: 2D Design

Some of my better works from my 2D Design class taken Fall 2010.

Our first assignment.  I did a lot of brainstorming for this one.  After writing 25 words that remind me of the sun, I picked 3 of my favorites, then narrowed that down to just one.  That word was "energy."  Thus, my sun symbol concept was to convey "energy."  India ink (brushed) and micron pens.

Part 1 of the Line Assignment.  I was given these 9 words to portray only using lines.  The first box is in pencil; the second in ink.

Part 2 of the Line Assignment.  Examples of implied, psychic, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and vertical and horizontal together.  Micron pens and Sharpie.

Part 3 of the Line Assignment.  My professor gave me a colored picture of a painting and told me to transfer the contour lines (edge lines) then shade using the cross-hatching method.  Micron pens.

This was the Scale and Proportion Assignment.  The goal was to make an odd looking face with magazine cut-outs by changing the proportions of the face.  I used newspaper (mainly because I forgot old magazines from home).  The images I found were pretty cool, because they had more of a grungy, dirty look to them.  And the creepy vampire teeth were just an awesome find! 

On the right side, I painted the collage in gouache paint.  This proved to be difficult mixing colors.  The worst part is the paint quality.  Gouache dries REALLY fast!

Part 1 of the Illusion of Space Assignment.  One-point and two-point perspectives done in gouache paint.

Part 2 of the Illusion of Space Assignment.  The bottom two were my favorite.  The bottom left box was showing space by size and color temperature.  Cool colors (blues and violets) recede in space while warm colors (orange and red) advance.  Cut paper, gouache, and graphite.

Part 3 of the Illusion of Space Assignment was equivical space (graphite and micron pen).  For those of you who don't know what that means, equivical space means all the different dimensions can't be distinguished from one another.  The best way to explain it is imagine having transparent layers of colored paper over lapping each other.  If you view this straight on, you can't tell what colors are on top or bottom.

The Spheres.  I didn't particularly like the process of doing these but I loved how they turned out!  The media were everything we used throughout the whole semester.  (Graphite, pens, Sharpies, gouache, ink and brush, and colored pencils.)

My midterm assignment.  I did a lot of brainstorming (just like with the sun symbol) for the midterm.  Because of my brainstorming, my design came out being pretty symbolic.  I originally started out with a statement that meant something to me:  people should follow their dreams.  From there I thought of 25 words that went with my statement (such as day-dreams, nightmares, fear, etc).  The idea is to keep branching off of the words until you get something that you can convey visually.  I ended up with a concept of hope in an impossible situation. Color combinations had a lot to do with this class so I used complements blue and orange for my design.  The ball is trapped on this platform in a spiky, dark cave, yet it still emits a warm color and light (note the bounce light on the spikes).  I just really loved this assignment.  

Stay tuned for more! :-)

Drawing Fundamentals 2 Works (continued)

So I couldn't upload all the photos from this class last week, but here are the rest!  (-presented in a much better way than last post!)

This assignment was drawing 3 things from nature in 3 different media.  7/7/10

Bark; 4B and 6B pencils

Leaf; Charcoal

Little Tomato; Pastels

This assignment was a still-life, fabric study done in charcoal.  7/12/10

This tree study done in charcoal at Lakeside Park was the midterm project. 7/19/10 

The house assignment was to study different methods to convey textures in graphite. 7/21/10

Another still-life!  But, the media was white pastel and white conte crayon on black paper. 7/26/10

This was our pet portrait assignment done in pastels.  I did my cat, Lucy "Lu-Lu."  7/29/10

Our final assignment was anything we wanted to do.  One of my strengths is charcoal so I decided to use that to draw a lot of reflective surfaces.  All these are made of glass.  8/4/10

More will be up soon! :-)

Drawing Fundamentals 2 Works

The following artwork is from my drawing 2 class, taken over the summer of 2009.

"Go Dons!" IPFW's Bronze Mastadon; woodless graphite; 6/29/10

"Hands" 6/30/10

Open Hand; 4B graphite pencil

 

                                     1/2 Closed Hand; soft charcoal pencil

Closed Hand; conte crayon

"Man vs. Nature" Lakeside Park Pillar and Rose Bush; woodless graphite; 7/1/10 

"Panther Statue" Wooden Panther; pastels; 7/6/10

More posts soon! :-)

High School Artwork

The following photos are works I completed in high school.

This piece is titled "Black and White Portrait" with the media of charcoal.  I drew this from a photo when I was taking a drawing class.  This was the first major artwork I completed that showed skill rather than just fulfilling the requirements of the assignment.  I entered this portrait into the Wells County Art Show.  I won best in my category of Black and White and the best in show award.

For this assignment we had to cut our own support and stretch our canvas.  The canvas shape was supposed to be abstract but only by using 90 degree angles.  For the image the class was told to cut out an interesting crop from a magazine.  The next thing was to abstract the images we found to be unrecognizable.  Instead of abstracting the shapes in my image, I chose to abstract the colors and used oil paint to mix them.

This work is titled "Solar System," and the media is pastels.  I did this one day when I was bored at home.

"Stormy Night" was done in oil paint.  I painted this from a photo when I was a Senior in high school.  It was my independent study work.

This is a detail of "Stormy Night."  This was my favorite lightning bolt in this painting.

Keep checking back for more posts!

First day of blogging: Expectations

First of all, I would like to inform any readers as to why I have started this blog.  I needed a place to securely post my artwork and designs where they cannot be stolen.  In the terms of use for blogger.com/ blogspot.com, Google insures any post, photo, comments, etc. are property of the blogger.  Thus, all the information on this blog is property of me.

The second reason for this blog is to document all my work for friends, family, and/or potential clients or prospective employers to view.  I hope all of you feel comfortable in giving me feedback about my designs.  I look forward to reading your comments!

(This blog is open to people not signed up with a Google account as well.  If you don't have an account, you will be shown as an anonymous user.  I encourage you to add your first name and last initial to your comment so I know who it is.  That or contact me through my Facebook account with your feedback.)

Viewers should expect to see photos of my works (assignments from a college class, commissions from clients, and/or works done in my free time) and descriptions about the artistic process involved in each piece.

If anyone needs design or artistic work done and you like what you see here, leave your email address in the comments and I will contact you! :-)

Keep checking back for more posts!