This project was a gold key winner in the state of Colorado for scholastic art & writing competition in 2018
1. Understand the Problem
- A cyanotype is a blue print that combines digital and hand done work
- I want my cyanotype to stand out, but still work
- I want to paint the sky
- It's unique because it combines digital work with human flaws, it's a way for us to show our flaws as beautiful
2. Research and Investigate
- There's a lot to do and a lot of chemicals to do it with
- There's a lot I could do and a lot that has been done.
- I should probably do a few adjustments to the photo before I print it
- I can do some stuff in photoshop too
- I can do anything and it's freaking me out
- A cyanotype can be an image of anything
- I need to create an image that speaks to me and works when turned blue and white
- Most of these have been cropped or done so that you can't see the painted edges
3. Generate Possible Solutions
- I like photographing nature, particularly water
- I really like photographing the sky
- Especially the night sky
- I really like the moon and stars and clouds
- I could merge several photos, the mountains with the bright morning or afternoon sky over a pond, lake, or river and then add the night sky with the moon and stars as the reflection
- It might be a little too busy and I should come up with a few other options
- I think I will focus on the water or the moon for this project, since I can get some better contrasts
4. Plan and Develop Best Solution
- I think the best way to do this is take a picture of a scene in the daytime and then leave everything set up and wait to take the same photo at night, but there are a few other options I could consider to do this
- I think it would be better to just do simple adjustments to a single photo rather than trying to merge several and make them all flow together well.
- I think I'll stick to night scenes, the moon, stars, clouds, etc.
- I'm going to volunteer at a rescue Saturday, so some animals
- Landscapes might look good
- Splatter the chemical onto the paper, I like chaos
- Small brushstrokes might look nice
5. Model and Prototype
6. Test and Evaluate
- I like the negative a lot, even though it's a little
- The first print turned out really light, but would've looked really nice if it had been exposed longer
- I used a little brush and did brush strokes for the first print
- For the second print I splattered it and let it drip off.
- My second print looks a lot better, though it is a little dark.
- I will do 2 more after break and try and stop going from one extreme to the other
7. Produce
- I think the negative was very successful and the way I painted the paper
- The splatter looked really cool and the brush strokes looked nice too
- I don't think the splatters suited the image though
- I think the brush strokes would look better if you could see them more clearly
- I learned that the sun is very angry at me and that the amount, thickness and position of the clouds can effect my cyanotype a lot
- My first print was to light and my second print was to dark
- I discovered that the splatters looked better
- My third print was once again a little light
- My final print was the best and was the one I turned in, I think it turned out perfect.
