Magazine

I've always loved looking at whatever bizarre new stuff is headlining the world of fashion, so this idea really jumped out at me- it seems like such an obvious disconnect between product and consumer that I'm stunned the industry can make any money. I mean, look at that thing on my front cover- who would wear that?! But this isn't about my opinions on fashion, it's about my opinions on InDesign. Overall, I think I liked this program less than Photoshop or Illustrator, but I didn't exactly hate it. I think the hardest part was keeping the smaller text legible- a feat I'm not convinced I accomplished. But I'm glad to have learned what doesn't work now so that, should I need to in the future, I can use InDesign more competently and confidently.

Propaganda

I don't know why this uploaded all the extra space outside the page borders, but it provides a nice WIP look.

Net neutrality is a matter I feel very strongly about, so I immediately wanted to do a poster relative to it. And I feel that the constructivist Russian vibe really meshes with the tone of the piece- almost makes some extra suggestions about Russian hackers selling information. That's not directly linked, though- the poster's more about in-country service providers charging more for sites or streams that they know are more desirable. It's the most obvious attempt to change the law in the name of a sleazy cash grab, and I still can't believe it's passed. The idea of repealing net neutrality is distinctly un-American to me- so perhaps the Russian format is all too appropriate.

Logos

While I hate to turn my back on any work of mine, I think this was by far my worst piece in this class. None of the logos turned out quite like I wanted- partially because I rushed it to make a deadline that I was wrong about. Had I taken more time, perhaps I wouldn't have quite this level of disdain for these works, but they are what they are and frankly these are just mediocre.

Calligram

Calligram

While my original idea utilized text straight from the movie, you requested that I use original text, and while at first I didn't appreciate the extra work that gave me I ended up really running with the restriction. Having to use new text let me experiment with different ideas- like using text relative to certain features, like having "he's lying to you" forming his mouth. I really like how it turned out, even if it isn't what I initially had in mind. Artists have to be able to roll with unexpected changes, so I appreciate having an exercise in that.

HTML

HTML

This piece might have been my favorite so far. I had so much fun fiddling with all the different commands and codes trying to get everything just right, it was a ball. It probably helped that I've got a fair amount of coding experience, so most of this was stuff I've either experienced firsthand or have seen similar techniques. But even the stuff I've never used was a blast to figure out.

I'm a Toy

I'm a Toy


I had a lot of difficulty achieving the effect I wanted with this piece- in fact, I'm still not fully sold on it. But the opportunity it gave me to experiment with my effects did not go unused. It certainly helped to use this particular photo format- having examples of the statues I'm trying to replicate right next to the one I'm working on helped immensely. I'm not entirely satisfied with how this piece turned out, but I certainly know I gave it my all and it came out well enough.

Restoration

Final Product

Work in Progress

I really enjoyed working on this piece. Photo manipulation is something I've dabbled in, but never in a restorative sense- I mostly edited silly stuff, like a shark attacking my friend at the beach. But using these tools I know for a significantly more legitimate purpose was fun, and I enjoyed the challenge of restoring this lower-res image.

Multiplicity

In-Progress Photo^

Final Copy >

I think the biggest challenge in this piece was balance. Finding a good number of figures that spread across the image was tricky, but I feel that I did a good job making it flow from one to another. My biggest irk about this piece is that, only after finalizing and turning it in did I notice the floating blob of water on the left. I mean, SECONDS into the critique my eyes made a beeline to that blotch of error. So from here on I'm going to be quintuple-checking my final products.

Form Painting

 W.I.P

Final

Drawing in photoshop is something I'm very familiar with, so this wasn't much of a turn for the unusual for me. The only thing that was interesting to dabble in was complex shading- I usually only do a line of highlight, line of shadow, even them out. So overall I'm glad to have a new ability in my repertoire.

I'm going to assume that, as a personal blog post, a more conversational tone is allowed- it gives a bit better insight into my usual writing style, anyways. As a film major, I've been writing for years both as a hobby and for projects and jobs here and there, and have developed a very casual demeanor, so I'll be using that for the majority of this post. And, while a good establishment of my writing style, that intro also served to segue into a description of myself; a film major. I remember back in freshman year of high school when, on a whim, I decided to take Video and Film, an elective offered by the school. I remembered having fun making video projects with my friends in earlier classes, and thought the class could be fun too. That one class turned into what is now going on 7 years studying film, and hopefully many more working in the industry.

It is in pursuit of that major that I took this class, under recommendation from my advisor. At first, I believed 'Digital Media' to be in reference to video- as in, web shorts or other online film works. However upon learning the true curriculum I stand still excited for the course- I've never shied away from any sort of artistic endeavor. I'm eager to become more accustomed to Illustrator- Photoshop I'm a bit more comfortable with already, as I used to use it regularly for drawing before switching to a more available program. And in line with that comes my familiarity with Wacom tablets- however, the ones you said we'd be using in class are a more expensive model than my own, so I'm excited to try one of them out.

All in all, I hope I've expressed a mild familiarity with most of the topics we'll be covering in course- and as far as what I expect to get out of it, I'm always eager to improve my proficiency in any art-related field. To be able to alternate between different mediums is an important ability to me, so any improvement in that is welcome. So I look forward to the course, and I look forward to becoming a better digital artist.