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Design ReportUnit 38: Mixed Media Image MakingBy: Patricia De GuzmanThis unit has expanded my knowledge and allowed me to learn new skills in Adobe Photoshop, which is useful for enhancing pieces of work effectively. Although many effects can be created in Photoshop, it should not be used solely for creating design work. Instead, using mixed media (which is merging traditional and digital mediums) is effective as creating something from scratch would make the piece completely yours.Collage is a perfect example for creating mixed media work, which is what this unit required me to create.WOMAD Festival PosterOne of the assignments for this unit is to create as poster for the WOMAD (World of Music, Art & Dance) festival. Before creating the final piece, I gathered images of official WOMAD posters and miscellaneous festival posters that I found appealing. The logo for WOMAD is a silhouette of a lion, which is an aspect I wanted to incorporate in my design. Although, I wanted to design a lion to look completely different as it was simple to just copy and paste or recreate the official logo to my work (which is something I did not want). The images I gathered for my research were brightly coloured as the festival is set in the summer and it is a theme I wanted to use. Majority of the images uses illustration, which I believe is one of my strongest points. The WOMAD festival is set in different locations around the world, and during the research process, I was uncertain which location I would make the poster for. After gathering images, I downloaded typefaces from fontsquirrel and experimented with which typeface would look fitting for the poster. I also experimented with different colours schemes and the colours I wanted to use were a contrasting combination between pastel and bold colours. I wanted a pastel colour to be used as a background as this would make the poster appear less busy, and bold colours for the imagery to make it stand out. After completing my research, I began my development work, consisting of brainstorming ideas and sketching possible layouts. Using a black fine liner pen and an image from Google Images, I created to drawings of lions that were drawn with a sketch-like quality. After choosing the drawing, which I thought, was perfect for my design, I scanned the image digitally then commenced with creating the final piece on Adobe Photoshop. For the final piece, I first made sure that the canvas size was A3 with the dpi set to 300. Then, I collected an image of a watercolour paper texture and used it as the background for my work. I imported the scanned image of the drawing and, using the lasso tool, cut around the image, leaving a white border, which creates the effect of the image being stuck on. I added a “Drop Shadow” Layer Effect which enhanced the cut out effect. I then collected a number of images of brightly coloured flowers and copy and pasted them to the side of the lion. The flowers are of different colours and sizes, which act as the attracting point of the poster. Then, using my chosen typefaces, I added the title and information at the bottom of the lion. I also added sponsor logos beneath the information, which is seen in many festival posters. At this point, my festival poster was complete. Although, the white border around the lion made the poster appear slightly busy so I changed it by using the Darken blending mode, which made the white area completely disappear. After, I experimented with Curves, Hue/Saturation and Photo Filters.I believe my poster is very effective as the colours used compliment each other very well, and the images are well placed. The sponsor logos also add professionalism to my work. 2.Conceptual CollageFor the second assignment, we had to create a collage (traditional, digital or mixed media) that has concept. The concept I chose for my work is the poem by John Keats titled ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’. I chose this poem as it contains detailed imagery such as flowers and seasons. The subject matter also contrasts from the beginning to the end as the opening section portrays life and beauty, and the ending section presents death.Similar to previous assignments, I first started with gathering images of collages for research. The collages I found were a mixture of both traditional and digital, and differentiated between beautiful and macabre. The collages I found appealing were ones with torn/ripped images, which is something I wanted to incorporate in my work. After gathering enough information from my gathered images, I began my development work. I created sketches of what I wanted my collage to look like and images I wanted to use. My designs included portraits of people and nature-related imagery such as flowers.I then gathered stock images, which were suitable for my design. After completing my development work, I began my final pieces.The first collage I created is made entirely on Photoshop. I used a black & white portrait of a female as the main subject, and used an old paper image as the texture. I removed the background of the female portrait using the Magic Eraser tool then, using ‘torn’ brushes downloaded online I erased the outer edges. I then used the Paint Brush tool and outlined around the image with the ‘torn’ brushes to create a ripped paper effect.The flowers included in the collage represent the ‘beauty’ described in the poem. The red rose placed on the woman’s eyes present the mystery surrounding the woman in the poem, as well as her beauty. The image in the circle behind the portrait of the woman shows the season winter, which is an important subject matter in the poem.The second collage is created using mixed media. I printed out two Black and White portraits of both a man and a woman then cut around them. I then tore the portrait of the man in half and placed it on the woman, which formed a ‘new face’. After taking a picture and importing it in Photoshop, I gathered images of roses of different colours and sizes then formed a flower crown over the subjects’ forehead. I added a tea-stained paper texture (using the blending mode ‘Multiply’ to blend well with the subject), which made the collage appear vintage. I found an image of a drawn skull then embedded it on the male’s side of the face then lowered the opacity. The skull represents the subject matter ‘death’. After, I collected images of winter trees and placed them on top of the flowers, representing the season winter.I believe both of my collages narrate the poem effectively, as relevant imagery is used. However, I could’ve experimented more with mixed media instead of relying mostly on Adobe Photoshop, as this would allow me to be more versatile with my work. ................
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