blog 5

I think that my most significant accomplishment would be creating a vector for my final project. I have always wanted to learn how to make vector images and my final allowed me the flexibility to do just that, and play around with the different techniques I found online. As tedious as it is, it was also the most challenging task that I chose to undertake, so I am proud of that as well. I don't think my final project is as meaningful as my midterm, so in terms of self-expression, i think my midterm won in that area. I had a more defined big idea for my midterm so i knew exactly what to do. 

The most difficult technique that i learned was definitely using the Pen tool to create vector shapes. We didn't take this up in class, so it was something that I had to learn on my own, which was a challenge in itself. It is a very time-consuming technique, but if done well, it can make really amazing artwork. I still can't say that i've mastered it, but i have definitely gotten the hang of it and can create basic art with it. 

I don't think that any of my quizzes had much special meaning to me, so my midterm was the most meaningful project that i've done so far. it was great to be able to express myself without worrying as much if it looked believable or not retouched, because it was something that i made out of scratch. My movie poster quiz was one of the quizzes that i could really express myself in, so i chose two movies that i thought were funny and playful, which shows off my quirky personality. My midterm still showed that quirky side of me, but was more personal because it represented my dreams and aspirations. 

Blog 4

I have always wanted learn how to create vector images after seeing my friends in high school design a few that looked really good. The big idea that I would like to use for this particular work is happiness, so I would like to do it on a picture of myself with friends or in a place that I love. I want it to be vibrant and colorful, with many of my favorite colors. I always want my works to be bright and cheerful because I’m the one who has to look at it all the time, and if ever I end up printing it out and framing it, I want it to lighten my mood. Vectoring seems like it can be very time consuming so I want to start learning how to do it now and slowly practicing until I’m confident with the skill. For my final project, I wanted to challenge myself and do something that I’ve never tried before but have always wanted to do. I imagine my vector art to be used in a poster or print ad for a youthful brand. I can see brands like Coca-Cola or Apple using vector images of young happy people in their ads.

For inspiration, I looked at the Vector Vault (vectorvault.com) and saw a bunch of really amazing vectors, and hopefully mine will be just as good. I think paying attention to detail is one of the most vital factors in making vector art, because the more detailed layers you have, the more believable the image.

These are the vectors that i found, all from Vector Vault.

Blog 3 - Digital Artist Inspiration

Rafael Fergo (http://rafaken.deviantart.com/)

I think this artist's work related most to my dream concept, and I absolutely love his work. His theme seems to be some sort of "out of this world dream", judging by his use of flying and floating objects surrounding the earth. The clouds and different shades of blue also give it a very dreamy feel. The thing i like most about his work is the fact that he used different images that aren't necessarily connected to each other, and combined them into one cohesive picture. This is what i would like to do with my artwork, so I can definitely pick up some ideas and techniques from these works. The seamless layering is what i would like to be able to do the most, because I'm not making a collage and would like for my picture to look as believable as possible.

Marta Nael (http://martanael.deviantart.com/)

What i loved the most about this artist's work is the fantasy concept that she used, which i think is what attracted me to the pictures in the first place. She makes all her artwork on photoshop, and it takes her about a week to finish each piece. I really admire that kind of dedication, and obviously her hard work really paid off. I think the pictures look sort of eerie and mysterious, which is another thing that intrigues me about these pictures. Her skillful use of colors, shadows and highlights evoke emotion in viewers which is something that i would like to do with my work too. I can't imagine how much effort she put into making these, but there are definitely some techniques that I could pick up just by looking at them. As i said before, I want my work to look as believable as possible, even if it's supposed to be a "fantasy" or "dream" artwork. 

Photoshop Tutorial - Playing in the Sand

http://www.worth1000.com/tutorials/162976/playing-in-the-sand

I started off with this picture of a beach that i got off the internet.

the point of the tutorial is to be able to add a figure to the beach picture and make it look like a sand sculpture by adjusting the texture and color of the image.

I then found a picture of this statue, cropped the statue out with the magnetic lasso, and pasted it into the beach picture. I used the hue/saturation adjustments to make it closer to the yellow sand of the beach, and also adjusted the background layer to match the statue. 

I got a picture of sand, used the "create clipping mask" function, and changed the blending property to "overlay." I then adjusted the balance, and this is what it looked like.

finally, i blurred and smudged the image a little so that the statue wouldn't stand out as much. I don't think that the picture came out as well as i wanted it to because the statue still doesn't look like it should be part of the picture, but i think i definitely got it to look more sand-like than it did at first. i learned how to use overlay and colorize so it was an interesting learning experience.

art

Lillian Schwartz

Mona/Leo

The picture denotes half of Mona Lisa’s face, and half of Leonardo Da Vinci’s face, connected perfectly at the middle. This particular copy of the artwork was made black and white so that the colors wouldn’t be as distracting, making it easier to compare the two. After reading a bit about the painting, I found out that Schwartz was trying to show that the Mona Lisa could actually be a self portrait of Da Vinci. She used the two pictures to show the distinct similarities between the two faces, which is really intriguing since they are two very different characters – Mona Lisa being a young woman, and Da Vinci being an older man.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

After Picasso

The artwork denotes two faces, one girl and the other one a sort of ambiguous mask looking face. There is an eye in the middle and scattered around the picture are other distorted body parts. I couldn’t really find anything online about this particular artwork, but the colors and techniques used are very interesting. The woman on the left looks like a simple drawing, while the face on the right has color and texture. I think the bright colors connote a very happy vibe, but the actual faces seem indifferent or sad, which is a stark contrast from the vibrant colors used. Really paying attention to the expression on the faces, I feel like the work connotes a depressing vibe, where the girl is trying to mask her sadness and emptiness.   

https://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/lesson9.html

(70) future students

Dear English 110.01 student,

You are probably thinking one or more of the following:

1)      1) I hate science fiction

2)     2)  I’m already good at English I don’t need this

3)     3)  Blogging everyday is going to be such a pain

I know this because those are the exact same things I thought during the first day of this class. After going through the whole course, I can honestly say that those three ideas were completely altered. (Well, maybe 2 of the 3). I’m still not really into science fiction, but I’m definitely more open to watching it now. Dollhouse was a pretty interesting series, and I would highly recommend it for the academic research paper. From the comments and feedback from my teacher and peers, I realized that I’m not nearly as amazing at English as I thought I was. Remember that there’s always room for improvement. Blogging started off as being really annoying, but once you get used to it, 250 words isn’t bad at all. It really helps you practice your writing skills and be more aware of your grammar and spelling. I suggest the following things to pass this course:

1)     1) Stay on top of your work. Do all the blogs, comments, memos, etc. The points can really rack up, and it secures your grade.

2)      2) Go to the writing center. I failed to do this enough and only got 2 extra credit points, so I highly suggest that you don’t follow me.

3)    3)  Consider feedback. Take all of the constructive criticism into consideration and use it to improve your paper.

Good luck, and take it easy!

Sincerely,

Former English 110.01 Student

(69) culture

I don’t know if this is conceited or not, but I’m pretty fascinated by my own Culture. Filipinos have a language and a way of doing things that used to never really mean much to me since I’d see it everyday, but now that I’ve experienced living elsewhere, I’d say I appreciate my culture a whole lot more than I used to. In the Philippines, the first thing a homeowner says when a visitor arrives is “kumain ka na ba?” which is Tagalog for “have you eaten yet?” I think this is pretty interesting now since I’ve visited a couple of houses and not once have I been asked that at arrival. I guess it shows something about Filipino culture and how much we love food. Another thing that I love is our language. My friends here have heard me speak it and they think it sounds really cool, but I actually think it sounds pretty weird. This may be part of the reason why I think things said in Tagalog are generally funnier than in English. Jokes, snide remarks, things like that. We have words that I have absolutely no idea how to translate into English, and usually those words are the ones I use a lot. The one thing that I love most about our culture is our cuisine. I love Filipino food. Most Americans have never had it before, unless they’re close to a Filipino. I used to have it all the time, for every meal, but now that I don’t, I really miss it. I can’t wait to have it again when I get to California!!! 2 more days!