Alchemy

These are some abstract images I made using Alchemy, and then modified with Photoshop. Alchemy is a free abstract drawing tool that is very useful for being creative with wild shapes. I consider using both of these programs in a workflow to be a fun and interesting method of making random art. For example, I used the posterize effect on the first image to create the second image. You can download Alchemy here: http://al.chemy.org/

Color Wheel

For this assignment, we were to take six or more of our own pictures, place them in a unique outline, and color each one individually, so the whole spectrum of a base color wheel was present. I decided to once again use Source Filmmaker to pose the nine characters of the game, "Team Fortress 2" featuring an expression that reflected a portion of their personality. I arranged all camera placements, facial poses, and lighting for each photo. Then I resized and cropped each one to be a circle. The outline stencil I used is the logo for various programs that use the Source Engine, such as games, developer kits, and the Source Filmmaker itself. I placed each character into the center circle of the logo. I then chose what basic color each would be. Since there are nine characters, I had to reuse some base colors, but altered them so they were noticeably different, such as light and dark blue. All nine images were then formed into a circle, and placed in the order of a color wheel. For the background, I chose to trace and color the Team Fortress 2 logo. Then in the center, I used the popular abbreviation for the game, "TF2" and used various layers on the T, F, and 2 to make them more dynamic and fitting to the game's style, with a black border and gradient brown and orange scheme. 

One Word Text

For this assignment, we were to illustrate a single word using themes or images that were connected to the movie The Power of One. The original idea for the assignment was to place images inside the letters of the word, but I actually placed these images around the word instead. I chose the word, "Contravene" as it means to counter to or oppose. The movie shows how one man can inspire many people to rise up and oppose a threat. The man being the protagonist, Peekay, the people being the abused African tribes, and the threat being the Nazi soldiers.

Morgan Freeman on the left plays a character who teaches the protagonist how to defend himself, so it is thanks to him that the revolution begins. The boxing ring is also where the protagonist is taught by his trainer. The ring symbolizes both conflict and mutual agreement, as the fighters are very respectful.

I found a picture of a clenched fist, and traced it with the brush tool. Then typed the word and used liquify to give it more dynamics, and perhaps appear as a tattoo. I found a picture of a boxing ring, made a duplicate of it, changed the layer to color, and made it fit in with the red and black theme. I did the same thing for Morgan Freeman. I used the select and eraser tools for the splatter effect around the images, as that splatter can represent both the chaos of the battles and the tears that are shed over the fallen. For the background, I used a gradient of two reds, and another layer on top with various brushes to give it a grainy tone. To refine some lines, I used the eraser tool.

The Power Of One Movie Poster

For this assignment, we were to create our own original poster for the movie we watched, The Power of One. At first I wanted to feature the silhouette of one man, and fill him with symbolic images that relate to the movie. But I decided that's been done too many times, and made the symbolic images themselves a silhouette, all mixed together. I used only black and white to stress the effect of contrast. Some white lines are used for detail in the black spaces. The four images I first traced were of an African American singing, a group of nazi officers, a boxing glove, and an elephant. Each one portrays an element from the movie, unity, oppression, strength, and geography, respectively. I'm happy with the outcome, but I'm not sure if adding the names of actors takes away from the impact of the centerpiece. 

MET Digital Photography Exhibit

I found this piece by Nancy Burson, titled "Warhead," to be one of the more interesting works that are on display. Made in 1982, Burson combined five pictures of world leaders, each portrayed proportionally to the number of nuclear bombs or warheads that their nation owned. I think having an identity or face to represent such a catastrophic weapon is a unique idea, and doesn't heave blame upon a real individual. The almost sinister expression is also very fitting. It's as if Burson was saying to fear this man, not only by his power, but also fear becoming a part of him. I'm also very impressed because this is one of the earlier works with the invention of digital imaging.

Little Sister

This is the second part of the project where everything in the image is 100% original content. I sketched the girl with a mouse in the free program, GIMP. I used a picture of a Little Sister from the game BioShock as a reference image, and I found a picture of a porkpie hat to also use as a reference image. I  did the faint blue brush strokes in the background with a tablet in Photoshop. The sketch itself is only black and white. I wanted to focus on shading and ripples in clothing. Overall I'm happy with the outcome, part of me wanted to draw her from head to toe, but I think I like it ending at the dress more.

Sky Hook

For this assignment, we were to combine a photograph that we took, as well as a drawing of our own. I decided to make it look like I was holding something iconic from a movie or game. I chose the Sky Hook from BioShock Infinite, and sketched it on paper. Then I scanned it and did the coloring and shading digitally. Afterwards, my sister helped me set up a camera with a ten second delayed shot, so I could take my own photograph. I also went up onto my roof and took multiple pictures of the clouds in the sky. After settling on one, I began putting all the pieces together. I outlined myself and got rid of the background, I set up the sky background, and I positioned the Sky Hook over my arm. Then I realized that both my hand and the handle for the device were not positioned correctly. So I erased my hand, and replaced it with my hand from another photograph. I also cut off the handle, resized and repositioned it, and fit it along my fingers. After that, I did some more shading and editing until I was satisfied.

I wanted to keep the colors on my drawing consistent with the actual Sky Hook, and the shading helped make it more three dimensional. I still wanted to make it apparent that it was a sketch, so I was not aiming for realistic looks. I'm pleased with the outcome, there are a few more areas I could have shaded, but I'm happy with everything else for the most part.

The sky background

 Me posing

Me posing with correct hand placement

 The pencil sketch of the Sky Hook

The digital coloring of the Sky Hook