DXB202: ONE PER DAY
WEEK TWO: THE PASSING OF TIME
Image 1
Image 2, Image 3 and Image 4 (Above)
Image 5 (Above)
Technique:
paper, 2H, HB pencil
Process:
I began this process by lighting a candle stick and watching it burn over a period of time. \I would come back to see how the shape had changed and lightly sketched the mould of the candle stick, taking note of how the wax was melting down the side of the candle.
I then began drawing the candle with more defined shape and shading. This first image is the candle shortly after being lit, as the shape is still fairly rigid. From there, the shape of the candle took on a more fluid shape, with curved lines. I think I could have improved on my shading, as this is not a strong point for me personally, but I do think the use of shading to create the illusion of light was effective. As the image has been scanned onto the computer, that also distorts the shading too.
WEEK THREE: COMIC STRIPS
"Spring at school"
Technique:
Paper, Artline pens (0.3, 0.5 and 0.7mm)
Process:
My comic strip depicts a story of a typical spring day at my high school, and unfortunately the daily routine of dodging the vicious Plover birds that were nesting on the school's front lawn, which we had to cross in order to get to the senior building. Often, kids would debate who would run first, as they would be the first to get swooped by the birds.
I began the process by writing the story in simple sentences, and visualising how I would represent the story. I then drew the comic strips out with plain stick figures. From there I developed the characters and landscape, using a light pencil before moving to the artline pens. I chose to portray the Plovers wearing sunglasses and ear pieces, as when they were standing on the lawn at school, they looked liked security guards protecting something valuable, and would allows call to one another continuously with a shrill-like voice.
I used the simple method of line drawing, which is a bit rough around the edges in style, but this is a style I see a lot in newspaper comics. I drew inspiration from illustrators such as Bill Watterson and Charles Schulz.
The school girls in the first frame and last frame depict me with a school friend. We are wearing our high school uniform which includes a hat.
WEEK FOUR: IMAGE AS PERSUASION
Object: Keep Cup
Poster one: 20 - 25 year olds
"Join the Trend - Get a Keep Cup"
Poster two: 70 year olds living a healthy lifestyle
"Set a good example. Keep Cup."
Poster three: Families with young children
"Avoid the spill, get a Keep Cup."
Poster four: Young children
Design your own keep cup!
Poster five: Children's poster developed further
Materials: Paper, artline pens (0.5mm, 0.7mm), watercolour, watercolour pencils. For the redeveloped poster, Illustrator and Indesign was used.
Process:
For each of the persuasive images, I used artline pens, watercolour and watercolour pencils. I chose this medium as we were using watercolour that week in class and I had the materials at home. Looking back at the drawings now, I think brighter colours would have worked better by using textas or gouache. The watercolour was also a bit messy. I employed the concepts we learnt from that week about image as persuasion, and thought about how my images could show to the audience that my product was a positive thing that could benefit them. I think each individual persuasive image was appropriate for the demographic, and tapped into the demographic's wants, needs and interests.
For the final resolved poster, I recreated the children's poster. I used Adobe Illustrator to create the illustrations before putting it together in Indesign.
WEEK FIVE: PIANO ART
Image One: Front of the piano
Image Two: Back of the piano
Image Three: Top of the piano
Image Four: Side one of the piano
Image Five: Side two of the piano
Materials: Artline pen (0.7mm), watercolour pencils
Process: I began by sketching out the template of the each side of the piano. Then, I thought about what theme I wanted to draw. Street pianos are outside and the street piano I often see is in my suburb of West End. When I think of the landscape of West End, I visualise big trees, possums, free-spirits. From this, I decided to go with an Australian backyard landscape theme. I incorporated animals such as the koala and possum, and other Australian iconography such as the eucalyptus leaves and the Royal Bluebell. I firstly drew lightly in pencil, doing a rough template of the animals and scenery. I then went over the drawings with the 0.7mm artline pen, before adding colour with watercolour pencils. I enjoyed this week's task and think that my Australian themed piano would work really well in a Brisbane community environment.
WEEK SIX: PORTRAITS
Image One: Self Portrait
Image Two: Classmate photo - Jane
Image Three: A stranger at a protest
Image Four: Someone I live with - my parents
Image Five: My pet
Materials: iPhone camera, DSLR canon 60D, Photoshop, iMac photo editing tools.
Process: For the self-portrait and portrait of a class mate, I used a DSLR camera and the QUT photo studios which provided a nice, clean background. The portraits capture the top half of the subject, from about the waist up. I really like the photograph of Jane, as she has really clear eyes that focus on the camera. I think these portraits are effective in black and white and it resembles a traditional portrait. The photograph of a stranger was taken at an Adani protest I attended for a photojournalism project. I think this photo is effective as the anonymous woman has an intense stare that connects with the viewer. I also like that the photograph has a story behind it and the viewer can see her protest signs and her cultural attire.
For the photograph of a house mate, I photographed my parents in front of the Gallery of Modern Art at night, where the exterior wall changes colour. This created an abstract and interesting photograph, as the silhouettes of my parents are the main focus. For the photograph of a stranger, I captured the photo of a Polynesian protestor at the recent Adani protest I attended for a separate photojournalism assignment. I like the intensity in her stare as she looks at the camera. For my animal photo, I captured my pet lounging on the sofa, asleep. I like the balance in this photo as she is in the left third but the pillows leaning to the right third create a flow of lines and direction. I also like that the photograph is separated into thirds horizontally, with the sofa in the bottom third, the dog and pillows in the middle third and the negative space in the top third.
WEEK SEVEN: SCALE, ABSTRACTION AND TEXTURE
Image One: Small to large
Materials: DSLR, iPhone, butcher's paper, miniature figurine.
Process: To create this photograph my tutorial group created a backdrop with butcher's paper and positioned the Dr Hibbert figurine on it at the desired angle. Using an app on the iPhone that displayed bright blocks of colour, we put a red light over the top of the figurine. Whilst doing this we photographed the figurine from a lower angle to make him look bigger. The combination of the lighting and angle of the camera makes the figurine look large and slightly sinister! It was interesting to experiment with light, colour and camera angles to change the mood and perspective. I think this is a successful photo. We experimented with torch light and camera flash, but these elements didn't produce an as effective photograph.
Image Two: Large to small
Materials: iPhone camera, iPhone photo editing tools
Process: I found this task difficult. Making a small object look big was an easier task than making a big object look small. My photograph captures a light post that looks smaller than how it appears. I took the photograph from a balcony looking down. I wanted to crop the image, but it would lose its perspective and make the photo less effective. I edited the photo with a single black and white filter to lessen the noise in the photograph produced by an array of different colours, shadows, lines and shapes.
Image Three: Light painting
Materials: DSLR, iPhone torch
Process: For the light-painting photo, my tutorial group went into the QUT photo studio. We went behind the back of the green screen to get as dark a setting as we could. We didn't have a tripod to steady the camera but we managed to get a clear shot. A tripod would have helped as we had a long exposure of about six seconds in order to capture the light. Myself and one other group member had an iPhone each with a torch light and moved the light in different directions. In the above photo, we were trying to draw a face. I was drawing the nose and mouth, whilst the other group member was drawing the eyes. It was quite effective, and looks like quite an abstract face.
Image Four: Texture from nature
Materials: iPhone camera, flower bouquet.
Process: The process for this photograph was quite straight forward. I used my iPhone camera and zoomed in closely to the petals of the flower without losing too much focus or sharpness. I chose to photograph the flowers as the layering on the petals is beautiful and I appreciate the details in the lines, shading and colour. I didn't edit the photo as I felt it didn't need any editing.
Image Five: Texture from man-made object
Materials: my violin, iPhone camera
Process: I chose to photograph my violin as it is a unique and interesting man-made object to look at. It features many interesting details that up close, are very beautiful. The photograph appropriately fits the brief as their are many different textures seen in this photo, including the dust, line carvings, f-holes, metal, and wood markings.
WEEK EIGHT: IMAGE MANIPULATION AND COMPOSITING
Four images used in the final manipulated image:
The images below were separated so they could be used in photoshop more effectively, but count as one photograph.
Final image - Bird of Paradise
Process:
Using the four different images I took, I decided to manipulate them to create a strange animal called the Bird of Paradise. I used predominately the lasso, eraser and adjustments tools on Photoshop to create the image. I used the hands and fingers to create wings and then adjusted the hue/saturation. I feel like I could have extended this image by taking a photo of a national geographic magazine or wildlife poster and putting the manipulated animal image onto it with the text “new species found.” I think an idea like this could have boosted the visual appeal and the visual storytelling aspect. Despite this, I am happy with my effort and the fact that I learnt new skills in Photoshop.
