Summary -
For the Compelling Composites Project, I created a story in Photoshop. The story is based on a single image that I made by putting different pictures together. The objectives of this project were to use the knowledge I have gained as a student in Design Tech and put it to use. I had to use many Photoshop features to complete my story.
Goals -
For this project, my goal was to learn how to make all subjects look natural even if they are from different images. I wanted to learn more about lighting and color adjustment. I want to make sure I have depth in the enclosure. One important main goal is to make it look like the snake is outside of the glass and the human is in the enclosure. I also wanted to use tools I have never used before to perfect the piece.
Ideation Questions -
1. What themes would you like to explore in this work? - Freedom of animals.
2. What feeling(s) do you want to convey in this work? - I want to convey the feeling of being trapped in through the eyes of people instead of animals.
3. Who is your protagonist (and/or antagonist)? - My antagonist would be the human on the inside of the enclosure. My protagonist would be the the snake looking in the enclosure
4. Is it necessary for us to see the protagonist to understand the story? - It is necessary to see the protagonist, as they are the story's main focus.
5. What events led the protagonist to this point? - The events that led the protagonists to this point were keeping animals in the zoo, and taking them from their natural habitat.
6. What might happen next? - The human may try to escape the zoo, or the animals may want to eat the humans.
7. How can symbolism be used in this work? - The entire work itself is a symbol. The humans is caged while snake watches. It is a “what if” reversed situation.
8. What might your composition look like? - A snake will be looking into a small human enclosure. The enclosure will include a mouse, substrate, plants, etc. The person will be afraid and seem big compared to the enclosure to promote the idea that the enclosures for those animals are too constricting.
Preliminary Sketches -
The sketches above were the preliminary sketches that I did to get ideas about what my final image would look like. The starred sketches on the left were my final three options. As you can see on the right, the starred sketch was my final choice! I took a very small amount of time on each sketch, maybe a minute or less. The point was not to look too far into it and just go with the flow.
Final Sketch -
Above is my final sketch. Now that I have finished my project, the final image does resemble the final sketch, but not exactly. Along the way, I changed several things and got feedback from my professor. Although, I am much happier that it turned out the way it did.
Work In Progress -
These photos are my work-in-progress photos. Starting at the top, I found an image of an enclosure that I liked. From there I selected the top part of the enclosure and then copied it and pasted it to make the bottom white part filled to look natural. The second image is when I first inserted the man I found. As seen, the lighting is too warm and he is too dark compared to the atmosphere of the enclosure- so I lightened him up! (seen in the third image). Finally, I edited and moved some plants around, added a few shadows, covered the man's feet to make him look like he was inside, and used an AI generator three TIMES to make my snake in 3 separate parts. First the body, then the neck, finally the head.
* Final Work *
Knowledge Gained -
During my process of completing this project, I learned a lot about not only Photoshop but myself as well. I learned that sometimes you have to accept that you do not know everything, and that's ok. I learned how to adjust lighting, even if it is not perfect. I figured out how to make things work when I thought they wouldn't. Using everything I have learned so far in Design Tech class was so helpful for me during the project. In the beginning, I had much more planned for this project but after working on it and spending time thinking about how to make things work I learned that it isn't as complicated as it may seem. Progress started to become easier for me and I feel that my final piece turned out well!
