Steve Carell image edited for the holidays

Steve Carell image edited for the holidays

For the holidays, I decided to make a festive image of Steve Carell edited to look like the ghost of Christmas past. Recently in class we've been learning about how to use Adobe Photoshop CS6, and I decided to use different tools and techniques to turn Steve Carell into a ghost. I hope you get a warm fuzzy feeling from this image, and hope you have a happy holidays!

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Photo Background Transfer

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Photo Background Transfer

In Adobe photoshop CS6, we learned many photoshop techniques. This is an image that I created by adding a person to another background and using an adjustment mask. Here's how I did it.

1. I created a new file in Adobe Photoshop CS6, and opened up a background image.

2. I opened up another image-the image that I was going to transfer over onto the background image (pikachu).

3. I clicked on the image that I was going to transfer over onto the background image (pikachu), and I dragged it onto the background image file.

4.I deleted the lock on the background layer, and I zoomed into the image on top of the background image (pikachu).

5. I then clicked on the quick selection tool, and selected the areas of the image on top of the background (pikachu) that I wanted to keep.

6. After selecting the areas that I wanted to keep with the quick selection tool, I then opened up the refine edge window, and changed the view mode to on layers, changed edge detection to radius at 4.6, and changed output to new layer with layer mask.

7.I then used the refine edge tool and cleaned up a bit around my subject (pikachu) and erased some leftover white marks from the original background that pikachu was in.

8.Afterwards, I went to the adjustment layers and I chose brightness/contrast adjustment layer. I increased the brightness and lowered the contrast. I went to mask in the brightness/contrast tab, and increased the feather (lightness) and lowered the density. 

9.The last step was saving the image.

I was supposed to use a person for this image, but that didn't work out too well (Steve Carrell was too small in comparison to the background). I hope you enjoyed this image and try playing around with different Adobe photoshop CS6 techniques, maybe you'll learn something totally brand new! Hope you have a happy day!

Thumbtack stop-motion animation

Thumbtack stop-motion animation

This is a stop-motion animation that me and my group created in CyberARTS tech class about Social Interactions and Relationships in community while using thumbtacks. The story is about a lonely thumbtack that gets cheered up by some friends. It took two days to film the entire animation. We used almost 148 thumbtacks in total as well. The video came out really well, and I hope you enjoy watching it!

Three Paintings From MoMA And A Bonus MoMA Artwork

Three Artworks From MoMA And A Bonus MoMA Artwork

I was looking around for interesting artworks on the website of MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) to reference in a painting for an assignment that I'll be doing soon. I found three (and one extra!) interesting artworks to write about.

Title: Uphe 

Date: 2011

Maker: Tomma Abts (German, born 1967)

Medium: Synthetic polymer paint and oil on canvas

Dimensions: 19 x 15" (48.1 x 38.1 cm)

Why I like this style of painting

I like this style of painting because of the overlaying and conversing of triangle like shapes which cross over top of one another is an interesting way, especially with the use of one hue that had various tones and values to it. It made for an interesting artwork that utilized it's colour and composition well. 

                                                      Title: Chronochromeset 10

Date: 2011

Maker: Cheyney Thompson (American, born 1975)

Medium: Oil on canvas, in two parts 

Dimensions: 47 x 75" (119.4 x 190.5 cm) and 25 x 75" 

(63.5 x 190.5 cm)

Why I like this style of painting

I like this style of painting because of the interesting use of medium to create a somewhat textured appearance and depth to the piece. It gives visual interest, and I feel that it completes the piece itself as well.

Title: Untitled Painting No. 6

Date: 2008

Maker: Blake Rayne (American, born 1969)

Medium: Synthetic polymer paint and gesso on linen, and lacquer on wood

Dimensions: Overall dimensions variable

Why I like this style of painting

 I like this style of painting because of the use of shapes and colours that relate to each other. Although there isn't many warm colours in this piece, the aura and mood of the artwork itself still feels quite warm. The quirkily (if quirkily is a word) cut out shapes fit well with the colours used in the composition, and the composition itself, which I really resonated with.

Title: Work No. 227, The Lights Going On And Off

Date: 2000

Maker: Martin Creed (British, born 1968)

Medium: Electrical timer (frequency five seconds on/five seconds off)

Dimensions: Dimensions variable

Why I like this style of painting

Okay, so this isn't really a painting nor is it a painting style. I really couldn't help myself from posting about this once, it really drew my attention and seemed to call out at me and said "Pick me pick me!" So, I had to pick it. Although it doesn't have a painting style I really do enjoy the way that the artist used space "Dof" (Depth of field) to make certain objects appear farther than others and be more visually interesting and appealing.

Pioneer painting

   Pioneer painting

 

This is a picture of a painting that I took on the side of an old building while visiting St. Jacob's on the way to Stratford this Summer. I really enjoyed this piece because the town of St. Jacob's is quite small has been around for a very long time (8 out of 10 buildings there very probably built before the 1900's), so seeing a depiction of what the town might've looked like before the 1900's is really interesting. I really enjoyed this painting too, since it fitted in well with the atmosphere of the town as well. Hope you enjoyed this painting, look around some smalls towns nearby your area, you never know what artwork you might find! Hope you have a happy day!

Stop-motion animation principles

Stop -motion animation principles

I have chosen four principles of stop-motion animation to present. My four are: Timing, Exaggeration, Solid Drawing, and Appeal.

Timing
The idea is that the more drawings you have between poses, the slower and smoother the animation will look. The fewer drawings you have between poses, the faster and crisper the animation will look. Combining slower movements and faster movements makes the animation more visually interesting, and adds more texture to the animation as well. Generally animation is done on twos (a drawing photographed twice on frames or film) or ones (a drawing photographed on one frame or film). Twos are mainly used, but ones are used when a subject is moving (car moving, pan flipping) or for a small movement with a little bit of dialogue. Timing is also used to display emotion in a character, especially when one character is reacting to another characters movement or situation. Actors are often studied to help animators create movement when using animation. Film is an excellent way to study and understand this process of "timing".

Exaggeration
The principle 'Exaggeration"in animation is completely opposite of the word "exaggeration". The principle actually means the facial expressions and actions of a person. Actions traced from live action film can be accurate, but not life-like. For feature animation, characters only move broadly to look life-like, this also applies to facial expressions, but the action shouldn't be as broad to resemble a cartoon style. Exaggeration can help make even the smallest movements make your animation have more appeal. Use common sense and ideas to make sure that your animation doesn't become to life-like.

Solid Drawing
Solid Drawing refers to the way that you display form, weight, volume solidity, and the illusion of three dimensional styles to make your drawing look professional. This refers to the way you draw drawings, while using pencil sketches to reproduce life. You can transform these into colour and movement, thus giving your characters the illusion of three-and four-dimensional life. Three dimensional is movement in space, while fourth dimensional is movement in time.

Appeal
Appealing animation isn't cute or cuddly, it's something useful that all characters have, even when they are evil, heroic, cute, etc. Appeal is a clear drawing, easy to read design, and personality development which helps build a character. Artists have learned how to produce a feature that was needed for story continuity, character development had started to increase and evolve to create a higher quality of artwork. The feature had to be mentally appealing as well as visually appealing.

Here's a video that shows all twelve principles of animation.

Hope you enjoyed this video, and in your spare time try to search up other techniques in art and animating, you'll never know what new things you might learn! Have a happy day!

Shakespeare statue

"Shakespeare statue"

 While visiting Stratford this Summer, I went to the Stratford theatre and I saw many of their displays and statues they had outside such as: gardens, ponds, columns, pillars, bronze etched acknowledgement plaques, sundials, statues, etc. After watching one of the theatre's many great plays (Merchant Of Venice actually), I went outside to do some site seeing around the building.
 I was quite impressed with what they had to offer in terms of land structure and decor, and then I found this- the statue of Shakespeare himself, seeming to be made out of a base metal or silver, was standing atop a small platform.
 He was enclosed by a sundial that circled around him. Directly in front of him was a silver-ish looking tablet (which was quite long in length) that proclaimed the history of Shakespeare and the history of the theatre itself. It looked very interesting, so I took a picture of it to keep as a souvenir.

 I had a great time in Stratford, and try visiting some cool places this Winter, who knows what you'll discover. Don't forget to read up about Shakespeare, he had an interesting life and even more amazing plays written by himself. Hope you enjoyed this post, and have a happy day!

Stop-motion animation tips

Stop-motion animation tips and tricks

I was searching through the internet for a video about stop-motion animation tips and tricks and here's a neat one that I stumbled upon that I think is useful. Take a look at it. The video is about animating facial features with a character in stop-motion animation.

 

This tutorial is about how to animate facial features with a character in stop-motion animation. I feel that this is a useful video, because without proper facial expressions in a character, a story cannot be told properly in stop-motion animation. I feel that without a decent understandable story, animation is just pictures with words attached to them. This video also helps stop-motion animation rookies with developing their characters and properly preparing their characters to be used in the spotlight.

 I also found a few short tutorial videos on the whole process of stop-motion animation. Here's the videos in order.
                                       
The first video:
                                        Sony's guide to stop motion animation: tutorial 1

The second one:
                                          Sony's guide to stop motion animation: tutorial 2

The third one:
                                        Sony's guide to stop motion animation: tutorial 3

And the fourth one:
                                       Sony's guide to stop motion animation: tutorial 4

Optical Toys- The Magic Lantern

Optical toys- The Magic Lantern

History:
The Magic Lantern was created in the 1600's and ever since then, it has played an important role in the history of entertainment. Magic Lantern's are basically old versions of slide projectors, but with a couple of strong differences.
 Magic Lantern's used fire to illuminate the slides, whereas slide projectors used electricity. The shape of the slides are different too. Magic Lanterns had slides that were big, bulky pieces of glass that were held together with wood or metal. Today's slides are the exact opposite, since they are lightweight, thin, and came in single frames. Magic Lanterns also have mechanical features that had limited movement of one or more slides within a projector, which is something that modern slide projectors don't have. Lastly, lots of Magic Lanterns could display images that were more complex than more modern day slide projectors.
                                                        "Magic Lantern"

Here's the link to the website that I found the information on:
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit02.htm

How it works:
A Magic Lantern has seven working areas: The lamp, reflector, condensing lens, lens tube, body, base, and smokestack.
 The lamp is the only source of light, which usually came from burning oil or gas, or calcium, or eventually, electricity. The job of the reflector is to reflect the light from the lamp toward the condensing lens, which concentrates light onto a slide that is being projected. The lens tube magnifies the illuminated slide so the image from six to twelve feet wide is allowed to be obtained. The body is usually made out of complete metal, and is a shell for all of the areas said earlier except for the lens tube. The base elevates the Magic Lantern when it's atop a table. This part is used to make sure that the table doesn't get burned, since the lantern heats up and gets very hot at times. Lastly, the smokestack vents out the smoke coming from the lamp, so that way the smoke doesn't get trapped inside of the lamp and causes the lamp to be caught on fire.
 Hand-painted or photographic slides are inserted horizontally between the condensing lens and lens tube, through metal runners at the top and bottom.
 Someone who is skilled in using a Magic Lantern can flip through the images quickly and make them appear to be moving, creating the illusion of movement. Some slides create detailed, fast moving displays, which says that The Magic Lantern isn't just a still image displayer.

The site:
The site that I had found the information about the optical devices on had a neat and orderly layout, and the information on the optical devices was easy to access and understand as well.

What I find interesting about The Magic Lantern:
What I find interesting about The Magic Lantern is the process of how it creates an animated display and the history of it.
 I've heard a little bit about Magic Lanterns before, but I've never heard the whole history about it in this way. It has an interesting and complex history and process on how it creates visual displays, and it has a very alluring appearance.
 In conclusion, I feel that The Magic Lantern is an important part of the history of animation since it influenced the making of the modern day slide projector, and it helped to revolutionize the evolution of animation, and I personally think that Magic Lanterns are intriguing and amazing. 

Stop-motion animation

Stop-motion animation

I was watching some interesting stop-motion animation videos in CyberARTS class today and here's one that I really enjoyed.
It's called "GULP".                            

                                  I was watching the video on how it was made also.
                                                           GULP the making of.

 I learned that "GULP" was actually made on a nikon camera, and that it was created using real-life objects and people. They used a crane to shoot most of their scenes, which I thought was pretty cool. An interesting technique that I noticed that they used was that they used garden tools (rakes, hoes, etc) to create most of the scenery (sea, birds, etc) in the video. They also used a "Pixelator" to replace using a constructed puppet. A "Pixelator" is a human puppet essentially. They also used a bluetooth keyboard to control the camera, and they also have a video feed to the monitor which gives a video feed to all 3 cameras which gives a view to what they're shooting and what's happening. I learned that stop-motion animation takes a lot of precision and skill to execute properly.

Here's another really cool stop-motion animation video that I found it's called "Fireworks" By Pez. I was interested by the unusual materials and objects that were used in the video. 

Hope you all enjoy watching these videos, and try to search up other techniques and videos on stop-motion animation and how it's made. Have a happy day, Bye!

Chess Piece Composition

                         Chess Piece Composition

                           Title: Oh my, I'm falling!

This is a drawing that I created of a chess piece while paying attention to: Line, pattern, rhythm, and value- while making it complex, thoughtful, and realistic but also displaying movement without the chess piece being in the center of the page. Now isn't THAT tough? 

First, I chose a chess piece: mine was the Rook. Then, I started off by making thumbnail sketches of some of my ideas for the drawing. I drew them in my sketchbook while using HB, 2B, and 6B pencils. 

I had created some ideas, but the one I chose to draw was an idea that I had envisioned from a fellow CyberARTS student that was sitting at my table.
 We were exchanging various humorous suggestions for chess piece drawings, when she mentioned one about a chess piece falling out of the sky.
 I didn't take too much thought into it at first, but after maybe a few seconds I stumbled upon the vision of the chess piece falling out of the sky in a comical sort of way.
 I fabricated the design for my chess piece with careful consideration about proportion and placement- the chess piece was placed to the mid right, clouds placed at the top left, mid right, lower left, and the bottom right. 
Then I added lines depicting movement that are directly above and below the chess piece, and a parachute connected to the top of the chess piece that is leaning to the left. I decided to add those details into the image because I figured that it would add more visual interest and the piece would become more balanced.

After I knew what I wanted to create and how to create it I proceeded with the steps from there. I started to make some page-sized sketches of the chess piece in my sketchbook using all three of my pencils (HB, 2B, and 6B) also a ruler, sharpener, and a kneadable eraser as my tools. 

Once I got all my tools ready, I started off by making an outline of everything that was going to be filled in with value. Then, after that was done I started to fill in the drawings with surprise surprise, Value! I made a gradient value on the clouds (Edge of the clouds are dark, and their tone starts to fade inwards), and I placed the chess piece on an angle in the light to get the highlight and shadow of the chess piece just right.
 For the parachute, I made a pattern. I shaded the 1st and 3rd section of the parachute with my 2B pencil horizontally. I shaded everything in with my HB pencil first, then I went on to the 2B and then finally 6B. If I really needed to, I would've used my HB pencil to shade over certain areas more than once.

 After I had finished my final draft, I cleaned it up a bit and then took a photograph of it. I then proceeded into the computer lab to start cropping, grey scaling, and using the burn tool on Adobe Illustrator CS6 to edit the photograph. First, I cropped the photos size, then I clicked on grey scale to make the image in black and white, and finally I used the burn tool to darken up the parachute (the burn tool is used to darken up selected areas of an image).  After ALL those steps were finished, I got to do the last task- putting the image on my blog and writing about it for a fabulous post. 

I gave my piece the title: Oh my, I'm falling!, because it's one of the first things I thought of while creating this piece- and also because I figured it would be a PERFECT title for my piece (I mean come on, you can't deny it).

Chess Piece Artist Statement

My chess piece is drawn fairly realistic in relation to it's proportion and value, since there is a reasonable amount of extension in the variety of the chess piece's value and the proportion is quite similar to the Rook that I was modelling the drawing after.

I created pattern in the piece by adding the parachute, since the parachute has a colour pattern on each of the parachute's sections (grey, white, grey). I created movement by adding lines directly above and below the chess piece to depict falling. Since the chess piece is on somewhat of an angle, it adds to the affect of it appearing to be falling, which creates movement. Following that, the clouds are also an example of rhythm, since the way that they are arranged creates balance and rhythm.

I used value throughout my composition by using value to help define most of my images and my focal point (the chess piece) with attention to realistic details and complexity. Adding value makes the composition seem more bold, professional, and optically striking to the viewers eye.

I chose to place my chess piece in my composition on a third of a way in and a third of a way down. This is referring to the rule of thirds (rule of thirds is where a picture/image is divided up into thirds). Or, to put it simply, I placed the chess piece to the mid right.

I made my chess piece the focal point by adding an extensive amount of value in it, and by placing it on an angle. By placing it on an angle, it gives a different view than the other images in my composition, thus making it draw your focus more than the other images in my piece.

While typing this post, I felt enlightened a bit when I figured that this composition reminded me of a book our teacher read to us during art class one day titled: "The Z Was Zapped". It reminded me of this fond memory because in the book it displays letters of the alphabet being destroyed by something that started with the same letter as itself in a somewhat dramatic way, such as the Z being zapped, the M was mashed, etc. The way that the chess piece is somehow appearing to be escaping or arriving somewhere comically in this composition reminded me of that book in a strange way (talk about nostalgic right?).

In conclusion, I believe that this assignment turned out pretty well. I learned about and got to use different tools and ideas while fabricating this piece, and I feel that it was an excellent assignment to help teach me about different ways to create value and how to use Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Art Atop Bench "Bench In the Sky"

                               Art Atop Bench

                              "Bench In the Sky"

I am VERY excited to post about this photo that I took about of a bench in the sky.

 I took it about a year ago at a local park nearby my old school on a windy day during lunchtime.
 I bet your wondering, why am I so excited to post a picture about a bench in the sky? Well, the answer is, I just LOVE this photo! It's a terrific photo that has a great amount of depth and some value, and it brings me back good memories from my old school (Ah, nostalgia I remember you like it was yesterday).
 Another good thing to note is that yes, this is a bench and yes, it is in the sky. But why exactly is it there? It's such a surreal location for a piece of park furnishing, and how did it get up there? 
Well, It's a funny story actually.

 It was found there one lunchtime and some guys I knew declared it unsafe and that the bench was gonna fall off the top of the play scape at any minute. Well, it did! And I was right in front of the scene when it happened. It was one of the most funniest things that I had ever witnessed, and I still get a good chuckle or two from thinking about it.
 They cleaned up the bench- or in this case "Body" and placed the remains in a shopping cart found on the sidewalk and decided to have a funeral for it in a pond just a few meters away from the "scene of the death" to commence the death of the bench.
 They named him "Joseph bench" and they held the funeral later that lunchtime- I attended it as well.

 I'm also excited about this photo because I had such a difficult time posting it on my blog in the first place, But when everything is said and done, I feel as if it is a nice photo to look back on and remember from awhile ago of good old times with buddies, and a bench in the sky.
 I also enjoy the overall view of the photo- a bench in the sky. It's not something seen everyday but it still looks pretty cool.

 Well, that's the story of "The Bench In the Sky" I hoped you enjoyed this photo and try to take a look around your community, you never know what local art or "Hidden art" you might find lying around. Have a happy day!

"The NEWZEALAND Shop"

"The NEWZEALAND Shop"

 

This is a picture I took about a year ago at the St. Lawrence Market during a class trip. I took this picture because at the time it was an inside joke that I had shared with a friend of mine (Totally irrelevant, but still) from having a supply teacher try to explain a geography globe to us while I blurted out something like, "Yeah, like Newzealand right?" during class time.
I very much enjoy this picture since it reminds me of such good memories from when I was with my friends, and because I enjoy this sign so much as well. I probably would've bought the sign from the store and hung it in my bedroom if I was allowed to.
The store also had an interesting concept, Since it was selling strictly Newzealand merchandise (You know, stuff from and related to Newzealand?) from what I remember.
I'd say it was a pretty fun trip to the St. Lawrence Market, and I definitely recommend that anyone should check it out one day, It's very interesting. Hope you enjoyed this post and have a happy day!

"Tower of boxes"

This was a picture I took on Friday night at a local No Frills I was shopping at with my aunt.
 The title: "Tower of boxes" came to me when I was taking this picture.
 I took the picture when we were finding a lineup to checkout. I saw it and I thought "Oh, this is just too good." I said to my Aunt, "Find a lineup, I'll be back in a minute, I just gotta take a picture of this."
  And that's the story of the "Tower of boxes".

Logo Assignment- In the making and the finished product

Logo Assignment 

In the making & the finished product

 Qualities I possess

The qualities I possess are: Hard worker, active, and athletic. These qualities would serve me well in a CyberARTS career because these are qualities that are commonly used and are needed when dealing with the "Arts" industry. These are qualities that I feel are necessary, and some people lack when they are placed with a challenge or a day-to-day assignment/job.

 Being a hard worker is an element that most people that are hiring and or company firms are looking for. For example, let's say a well known company is looking for a sharp, strong, young artist that has the stamina to keep up with demands, due dates, and expectations to help create a new label and presence for their company. They would likely chose the person who is a hard worker over someone who they have to take a chance on to see if they'll get a new logo or company design finished just in time for an important company meeting or new product release. That isn't just something that you put a minimal amount of time into and give up on or take breaks consecutively because you don't "feel" like working.

It takes a hard worker to get the job done, and that's where I would come in. 

I'm also active, which isn't a very common quality nowadays, but is very useful. Most people my age are decreasing in activity. They just seem so tired, unmotivated, and depleted of energy these days. I seem to find myself to be the opposite, Active, energetic, excited, motivated, etc. I try to find the positives in all kinds of work ethics and assignments I am placed with. I usually find that I am more awake and motivated than most people I meet in class (Not to brag that is). I think that being active goes hand-in-hand with being motivated and being on the mark when dealing with deadlines, assignments, and idea making.

  Last but not least I am athletic. Although when dealing with the "Arts" industry being athletic seems to take a back seat in most peoples minds, But in my mind, it's a handy and useful quality to have. Let's say, you are on a job site where you're doing large scale canvas paintings. Your going to need to move the canvases, brushes, and cans of paint all by yourself. That's right, it's all you. You can't decide not to finish a painting because you can't even carry the bucket of paint to where you're working. It's embarrassing as a rising star in the art world and it just isn't an alluring feature if it's your first time on the job. Since I'm quite athletic (I'm pretty sure I can hold my own, just saying) I won't need extra crew or extra help for me to import, export, and move around equipment on a job site. It's also a smaller expense, since hiring further help takes extra time AND money (and it just doesn't make you look to strong either). 

In conclusion, with the qualities that I possess in mind, I feel that I would be a reliable, dependent, and capable worker when being placed in a CyberARTS career.

 Animal I chose to represents me

The animal that I chose to represent me was a Wild Stallion. I chose a Wild Stallion because it seemed to share a vast amount of characteristics and qualities with me, such as being a hard worker, being active, being athletic, AND having great hair ( I don't feel that it's an extremely important example of a quality, but I just wanted to add that one in too). It seems that Wild Stallions pretty much match up with who I am and what fully represents me as a person since we are very tough creatures that don't give up so easily when faced with a task. Wild Stallions and I seem to be very much so alike, Although I am repelled by most horses and stallions and I see no pleasure in being near or around them whatsoever ( I don't understand how people ride those things, It isn't comfy at all!).

 In conclusion, I speculate that Wild Stallions and I may seem to be loud, wild creatures that don't seem to know what they're doing at times, but deep down inside of our tough heads, we've got a whole system of information and ideas being transferred and transported all around our minds. I suppose we just seem like we're running around for nothing, but we generally know what we're doing (I mean come on, we can't always be sitting still). 

Elements and principles
For the logo, I chose to use a few shapes, well actually five. Pretty much all of the shapes are unsymmetrical and are somewhat blockish, but they still have a bit of a curve in them.

 I decided on using a colour scheme that is generally identical to most horses and stallions (a medium tone tan colour for the body of the stallion, and a dark cocoa colour for the mane and tail).
 The line quality is a regular, thin quality. I used a thin, regular quality of line for the logo so the attention is mainly on the middle section of the horse, because that's where the most colour is, and it'll lead your eyes all over the logo at a calm pace. The lines directions are thin, but not too thin, since it is still visible. The lines are mainly on a slant and also are horizontal. The lines are slightly smooth, but aren't exactly smooth, since you can see where some of the marks meet, which creates a slight edge in the line smoothness.

 The texture for the stallion is smooth in the main body portion, but is a bit sharp-ish texture with a bit of a smoothness in the mane and tail as well.
 The logo uses up a somewhat equal amount of space, since it's pretty much symmetrical in the sense that it's balanced to the space ( It's smack dab in the middle of the page, but the shape itself isn't symmetrical).

 I added only one piece of typography- the logo of my company, "The Cracker Factory". The font I used was Britannic Bold font and the font's colour was a light pale yellow colour. The font has very straight, thin, crisp lines. Some of the shapes in the font are half moon shapes, but most of them are upright rectangular shapes. I used that font because It reminds me of one of my favourite fonts, Broadway font. It also reminds me of an old-days somewhat pioneer style, since the large-ish bold font is still plain and simple, like a cracker. That's probably why I was steering towards this font as much as I was (my company is named the cracker factory, so the simple and plain font and colour has the character of a cracker, get it? ironic, right?). The lettering is a bit corporate, but also has a bit of modesty to it. It says "We aren't flashy, gimmicky or stealthy, but we come across as what we are: a modest, earnest, noble, and creative company, and thats how we enjoy being".

 The design of the stallion was a design that I had searched up. It was a stallion standing upright with it's arms in the air, as if it's throwing it's arms in the sky as a sign of being determined almost. The way that the stallion looks, it seems like it's about to leap out at you, or begin to race somewhere. 

 There isn't much of a change in colours drastically, but the majority of emphasis is on the stallion, since it is the biggest and most attention grabbing image in the logo. Since there is the most colours are in the body, mane and tail. The colours are mainly darker, since those simple colours help to emphasize the stallion. 

There isn't much rhythm in the logo though, except for in the mane and the tail, and even THATS a stretch.  There is some rhythm in the mane and tail since the lines are a bit jagged and unsymmetrical, which creates a slight amount of rhythm.

 There is unity in the logo, since the image seems pretty balanced and even. There is  also a terrific quality and quantity of unity, since there is an excellent amount of elements and principles of design that are executed successfully within the image.

 In conclusion, I feel that the logo I created is a very well thought-out, and very well created image. 

 

Getting Technical
The first thing I did when creating the logo was select the image that I wanted to use and open a blank page in Adobe Illustrator CS6. Then, I added a second layer so I could trace over the image that I wanted to use. To trace over it I used the pen tool. After finishing tracing the image, I added colour to each area that I traced. I started with the main area of the image- The horse's body. I filled in the body with a tan-ish brown colour, then I applied the same process for the tail and mane, except using a darker brown colour. Afterwards I added a name for my logo and company- "The Cracker Factory". Then, I picked a font, size, and colour for the name.

 That pretty much sums up the process that I went through to create my logo.
 While making my logo, I learned that to use the pen tool effectively you must curve the line, and click on the anchor section of the line afterwards to make a continuous point.

Also, I learned that with using a simple font, you can give a name and label to about almost anything.

 The tools I used were: Type tool, Pen tool, the fill tool, stroke tool, and the selection tool. I originally had to restart the making of my logo about 3 times.
 I also didn't use any effects for the logo. 

In conclusion, Me and computers don't usually work together, since I'm not too good with using computer programs and such. But I feel that after a good solid 3 times of trying to figure out how to make a logo, I now can create a logo that is thoughtful, interesting, and painless, with ease.

My Thoughts and Opinion
I am happy with my logo and the way it turned out, But to be honest I feel as if it could have been slightly better. I feel as if the line quality could have turned out a bit smoother, but besides that I feel as if it turned out superb in all.

 I learned how to use the pen tool effectively ( and how to use it at all). Also, it takes a lot of practice to use tools effectively for the first time in Adobe Illustrator CS6.
 Now that I know how to use Adobe Illustrator CS6, I might consider creating more designs and logos using Adobe Illustrator CS6 in the future. 

In conclusion, I realized that to create a beautiful piece of art, or a cool logo, you need to use the right tools first. 

By: Alex.M
                                                           Colour version

Black and white version

 

Group art piece

Honoré Daumier third class carriage

Group artwork made by CyberARTS class

This is a group artwork that me and the CyberARTS class made using separate pieces of paper that ended up being attached together and placed on a large board.
 We used charcoal to draw the image, and then we placed the pieces of paper together afterwards.
 It was a really fun and strange process, since we didn't know what the image was when we were drawing it, but it was still really fun anyways. 
Although this is just a drawing that we made, I believe that it resembles the actual piece that this one is originally based off of quite well, since the value and faces that were drawn are somewhat alike to the actual piece. 
Hope you enjoyed the drawing, and have a happy day!

Tank top Backpack/purse

I created this backpack/purse from surprise, surprise, an old tank top. 

Here are some steps on how YOU can create a uniquely-cool and cost effective backpack/purse from an old piece of clothing.

1st: Get an old tank top. Any tank top will work, but I used one that had a slightly higher spandex amount so it can hold more stuff with less weight on your back.

2nd: Make sure you have: A sewing needle, thread, scissors, and ribbon. (whichever colour you want but make sure it can be used as straps and can be sewn easily.) 

3rd: thread your needle with a thread colour that won't be as visible when sewn onto your fabric. Then sew up the bottom portion of your tank top. Sew the outsides in. (This can be done easily by flipping the tank top inside out). 

 *WARNING* Make sure that you cut off the original straps of the tank top before doing this step.

4th: Then, measure 2 symmetrical pieces of ribbon, you can cut them any size, but I cut mine at aprox 24 inches each. Then, sew one side of the ribbon about half an inch below where the original strap was in the top inside part of the tank top ( Or you can place them exactly  where the original straps where, depends on your preference). Then, sew the ribbon and repeat the step for the other side of the ribbon and for the piece of ribbon as well.

5th: Now that you've got the straps out of the way, You can decorate your tank top. Get a piece of ribbon (You can use the same ribbon that was used for the straps) and cut it at aprox double the width of your tank top. Then, fold it in half and sew one of the ribbon's sides onto the middle section of your tank top where the stitches line up from where it was originally machine sewn from the manufacturer. (Sounds confusing, but just find the part where one side is slightly lower than the other, as if it's walking over a ledge, so to speak.)  Then, sew the other ribbon's side on top of where the other side of the ribbon was sewn. 

Then, Ta-da! You've made yourself a backpack/purse from an old piece of clothing, Pretty nifty isn't it? Currently I'm using mine as a ribbon holder.  Now, if you want to decorate it even more, you can hot glue on gems, flowers, beads, etc. Hope you enjoy this clever conversion from tank top, to clever tote bag, hope you have a happy day!

Art Piece Critique

The image I chose is called Tiffany Studios Grapevine.  1905, MMA, NY. Tiffany: Glass Menagerie.

Imitationalism
The image displays no literal question, since it is just a stained glass window. The image has some precise detail but not a lot to be impressed or "wowed" by. It displays some texture, (the texture and quality of the leaves) But again, not much to be impressed or "wowed" by. It is somewhat life like, as it does look like a real depiction of a stained glass window that displays leaves, but it doesn't resemble an actual life like object and or image I’d say it looks real, it resembles leaves growing on a stained glass window, it's as real looking as a stained glass window can get right? but it is not realistic since it isn’t something that is naturally organic or something you can see outside (you can’t look out a window and see stained glass leaves growing out of the ground or walking around a street). It doesn’t look exactly like a actual stained glass piece, since there isn’t little pieces of glass that create the image, but it looks as real as a painting of a stained glass window gets I suppose.

Formalism and Design Qualities
It does have principles and elements of design that are executed well. It does have well use of line, shape, hues, harmony, space, movement, rhythm, and balance.
It uses lines as the stems that connect the foliage together, the shape of the leaves are proper too. It also has good hues in the colour of the foliage, it has harmony throughout the piece, it uses space well since there aren’t too many blank spaces in this image, and there is movement by the curving stems displaying growth in the leaves. There is rhythm by the placement of the stems curving lines that make your eyes follow, and there is balance by the way the stems and leaves are placed all over the image, but in a way where is draws your eye in a positive method. The piece does have unity since the image isn't cluttered, strained, or too busy.

Emotionalism and Expressive Qualities
This piece doesn’t really have many emotional or expressive qualities, but it does make me feel positive and mellow because of the use of the different hues of green and yellow that create somewhat of a "creative" and "organic/Eco" feel. The use of the few cool and warm colours make a relaxing feeling. Also, I enjoy stained glass pieces so that’s probably why it’s tough for me to critique this one as much as I would any other piece, but it's also probably easier for me to love stained glass pieces too. Overall, including all 3 qualities, I’d say this piece is an acceptable piece, but not and over the top amazing piece.

Alex.m

Logo Assignment-What animal represents you?

The animal I chose for my logo assignment is a Wild Stallion.
I chose a Wild Stallion because it has the same characteristics and best represents me and what my personality is like.
 Wild Stallions and I share the trait of being active and athletic because I ADORE being active and moving around, I mean I just can't sit down for more than 5 minutes or I'll get bored and start to fidget or I'll just go crazy!
I'm also athletic similar to the Wild Stallion, since I LOVE sports and running around. Stallions are pretty good runners and so am I, not to brag that is.
 Wild Stallions are also hard workers, such as myself. I always try to take professionalism and dedication in mind when I have an assignment or a project to do for a class(even if there's a class I don't like as much!). I say that if your not motivated, then you aren't really learning. I believe that being a hard worker goes hand-in-hand with that.
 Wild Stallions also have great hair, (Not to brag But so do I) So running around all the time like a Stallion can make your hair dance in the wind too.
 In conclusion, This is why I believe that a Wild Stallion has the same characteristics as I and also best represents me and what my personality is like.

Repetition and Rhythm Assignment

These are the two images I created for my Rhythm and Repetition Assignment.

Both of the images work in a different way. The steady line image has bold, straight lines that intersect through the middle of the image, and cross through the middle as well.

The steady image’s lines have a somewhat-fast movement and rhythm. The dynamic line image has varying line width, the line is somewhat bold, and the line varies in size.

The dynamic line image’s line has a slower movement and rhythm. I had the thought to create the steady line image by thinking of symmetrical intersecting lines, and then some shapes. I knew that I somehow had to arrange them in a way that made them “even” and then I was ready to go. I also had a similar thought for the dynamic pattern (where I had a clear vision of it in my head, but I just had to arrange it in a way where it would work) but instead I swapped out symmetrical intersecting lines with a nonsymmetrical non-intersecting line that didn’t include shapes or a specific direction to go in!

I think that they both worked well, considering that they were the images I first thought of creating anyways. I feel that they also match the description of what they are representing (steady and dynamic line). They were also very well balanced since their proportion seemed equal to the capacity/space that they were occupying. Their lines were also very strong, bolded, and eye grabbing. It’s tough for me to choose, but I feel like the dynamic line image works better than the steady line image (I had a tough time deciding which one I liked more since I liked them both SO much!).

 I think that the dynamic line image worked better because it has more interesting qualities to it, such as the varying line length, the transition of the line’s boldness, the design of the line, and the way the line is placed (right in the center of the page) just makes me favor it more.

I think that they are both pleasing to the eye because they draw your eye in a way where it’s not because the images are too loud, but because the images are constructed organically and have a very different view and interesting design to them. The images also have a very natural and organic rhythm to them. The dynamic line image has a line that flows, and the steady line image has lines that are sharp and crisp. They are easy for your eyes to follow and understand. The fact that there aren’t as many significant changes in length, boldness, nearness, and width that are unpleasing to the eye in the steady line image is pleasant. It also plays with having different lengths that balance it is also interesting. The dynamic line image also has the exact opposite factors of the steady line image (totally non-symmetrical different line lengths) which makes a very appealing transition from one image to another. The images also don’t clutter the capacity of the space, but instead seem to “balance the space”.

 To be honest, I did have actual objects and images in my mind while thinking of a steady and dynamic line image. The steady line image has shapes in it that remind me of a stained glass window and, also has intersecting lines that reminded me of a character from an anime show, since the character is obsessed with “symmetrical balance”. There are several shapes on top of shapes that create a bit of an optical illusion which I feel was a pleasant surprise while creating this image. The dynamic line image reminded me of dripping/oozing slime, since the way the line droops and curves and the width, length, and boldness of the line transitions throughout the image.

Also, since I placed the line in the middle of the page, it also creates a bit of an optical illusion. The optical illusion is caused by the line being placed in the middle of the page, so it looks like slime is dripping/oozing upwards and downwards on the page.

I think that both images are fairly coordinated, since they both are fairly repetitive with their design and have a good amount of rhythm. In conclusion, this is my “analysis” of the two images I created using steady and dynamic lines. I really enjoyed creating and writing about both of the images as well.

CyberARTS Year One Tech-TGJ 1OP

Ms.Silverman-Room 124

Thursday September 19,2013

Alex.m

                                                         Dynamic line image

Steady line image