Conceptual Imagemaking
This project centered around creating conceptual content. We chose an article and worked
on conveying its compelling meaning and grabbing a reader's attention through an
illustrated image. The project was similar to portraying a designer developing the cover of
a magazine based on an article.
on conveying its compelling meaning and grabbing a reader's attention through an
illustrated image. The project was similar to portraying a designer developing the cover of
a magazine based on an article.
I chose the article "Why Your Dog Cries When You Come Home, According To A Study"
The article enlightens readers on a study that connects dog tears to an emotional
response. Some owners had noticed that their dogs' eyes watered when they arrived back
home after a long day out. This article tells us that those tears are happy ones, a reaction
to being grateful their human is home.
The article enlightens readers on a study that connects dog tears to an emotional
response. Some owners had noticed that their dogs' eyes watered when they arrived back
home after a long day out. This article tells us that those tears are happy ones, a reaction
to being grateful their human is home.
To try to capture the message of this article, I began with creating concept sketches.
These were quick, rough drawings focused on getting many different ideas down on
paper. Most of these sketches were born through combining a symbol for sadness and a
dog/a symbol for a dog. The sketches marked with stars were the ones I received the
most positive feedback on and continued to further explore.
These were quick, rough drawings focused on getting many different ideas down on
paper. Most of these sketches were born through combining a symbol for sadness and a
dog/a symbol for a dog. The sketches marked with stars were the ones I received the
most positive feedback on and continued to further explore.
Next, I used Discord/Midjourney to try to make these sketches come to life. I chose to focus on a dog with teary eyes, looking up at his/her owner when they arrive home. The first round of 20 was focused on trying to see what aspects of each prompt gave me what I was looking for. I learned that the end products tended to have a darker, ominous tone so I used words like "cartoon", "cute", "pixar" to try to lighten the photos up. As you can see, I also struggled with my dogs having more than one head, which was very difficult to avoid.
After sharing the above images with fellow classmates and talking about shared struggles, I felt more confident that I was closer to finding what I was looking for. I began creating the next batch of 20 images and learned that phrases like "very realistic", "oil painting", "light color scheme" and more helped me towards my end goal.
I then picked my favorite of the above images and began to try to mimic how Vice, the site of the article, would promote this piece on their social media. I used the same font and style to produce my end product, which you can see below.
