Category: Level 4

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Digital Arts 1 Level 4

Digital Arts 1: Illustrator 1

This week we learnt the basics of Adobe Illustrator and used it to design characters from simple shapes. In preparation for the session I watched the tutorial videos which went over the basics of the software. Similarly to the other Adobe software you first have to select the canvas size and type that you want. Once open, it has a similar user interface as Photoshop and Indesign.

These are the cherries that I made. For this task we were only using simple shapes as a way of creating objects and characters. The cherries are made of simple shapes shapes as rectangles, circles and a triangle. In order to do this I used the different shape tools.After drawing the shapes I manipulated them by using the selection and direct selection tools. Also I used the fill tool to change the colour and stroke tool to adjust the thickness. One key thing was arranging the shapes so the ones you wanted to fully see were at the front.

After doing the cherries, which where basic in their composition, I moved onto doing an otter and koala. The shapes of these animals where more complicated and required me to manipulated the shapes more. Both animals where mostly made up of rectangles and circles. I used the colour swatches panel to add colour and changed the stroke size to 0 in order to remove the outlines. I began to combine shapes using the pathfinder tool to create more complex shapes.

I’m happy with the animals I made as I think I was able to manipulate simple shapes to create characters and have become more familiar with the basics of Adobe Illustrator.

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Level 4 Visual Messaging and Communication

Visual Messaging: ‘Sell your house and buy gold’ week 3

This weeks brief was to develop upon our ideas from the last 2 weeks of working on the text ‘sell your house and buy gold’ and create a more finalised image. Over the last 2 weeks I worked on figure drawings and making a physical structure which I then photographed. I wanted to combine my 2 favourite figure drawings, which I think best represented the text, with the different colours and intensities of light that I explored in week 2.

This was my favourite image from the figure drawing. I think the pose clearly conveys the emotions and atmosphere so I chose to use this hunched over, sitting down pose. In week 2 I explored using intense lighting from different angles. I also looked at changing the colour by adding a red filter. I tested shining a hard red light from above and below the figure.

I preferred this composition with the light above as I think it helped further the themes of isolation and loneliness more.

I wanted to incorporate the hands from this image into my piece as I think the help to represent the text.

After deciding on the overall elements I wanted to include, I began to work on each part in more detail. I decided that I will use a black background to create an ominous and scary atmosphere.

This sitting down hunched over pose is what I decided to use. Using the white pencil I only wanted to add in highlights to create to figure without adding too much detail, especially on the face. I think a minimal figure reflects the theme of the text such as loneliness.

Hands are something that I’ve struggled with before I wanted to include them to try help me improve. I tested out a few different positions, I wanted them all to be reaching out to give the impression that they’re trying to reach the figure. This is a way of representing the theme of shadows that are mentioned in the text.

After working on the figure and hands separately I began to work on the composition. Scale is important for this as I wanted to figure to be small in comparison to the hands which appear to be reaching out tho grab him.

I then decided I wanted the paper to be a long, thin shape to mimic a tunnel or alleyway and make it look as though the walls and hands are closing in on the figure.

Here is my final image for this brief. I used white pencil on black paper. The light source is above the hands so they are much more detailed that the figure which is much more subtle. I wanted the figure to be less detailed to create the ominous atmosphere felt in the text. As mentioned above I tested different lighting but I think they actually take away from the piece so this is my favourite.

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Digital Arts 1 Level 4

Digital Arts 1: Colour and Light, Colour and Mood- Photoshop

After last weeks session learning about how to paint with greyscale tones digitally we now moved onto painting with colour, specifically looking at how colours interact with light and how this can affect the mood of a piece.

This was a piece I did in preparation. I digitally pained this jellyfish on photoshop using a limited colour palette of just shades of green, black and white. I attempted to capture the bioluminescent light using subtle tonal changes.
This is the reference image that I worked from during session. On the right is a simple black and white line version of the image, I used this to select the shapes of the pears which i then coloured on another layer.
I selected 3 pairs from the image to focus on and colour. Through this exercise I became more confident with different brushes and selecting colours. To colour the pears I used soft and hard brushes, making sure to use the pen pressure. I also used a splatter brush to add some texture. To make the right colour I first filled the selected shape with a light base colour. Then I used the eyedropper tool to identify one of the mid tones and worked off of that shade by going up and down the colour picker, to achieve different hues of the same colour. I also worked by adjusting the size and opacity of the brush.
Another practice piece. I’m getting more confident with blending and adding texture to my objects to help make them look three dimensional.

These digital pieces are heavily inspired by traditional oil paintings. In my essay I compare traditional techniques to digital work. I’ve found that digital painting is a faster process than traditional painting as there are useful tool like the eyedropper tool and pre set brushes which streamline the process.

I also started to look at colour and how this can effect the mood and atmosphere of an image. For these 3 images I changed the background to different colours to add a warmer and more vibrant mood than the original image had. I did this by creating a gradient on a separate layer and changing the blending mode to combine the 2 layers.

I really enjoyed this weeks session about painting digitally with colour on Photoshop. I think I was successful in this weeks session and am happy with the pieces I produced. For the most part I used the same tools and techniques and the greyscale work but found it more enjoyable to work with colour. This is a technique I will definitely continue to use as I think it’s a good way of creating colourful and striking illustrations.

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Level 4 Visual Messaging and Communication

Visual Messaging: ‘Sell your house and buy gold’ week 2

This was a continuation of last weeks work on the story ‘sell your house and buy gold’. We moved on from using figure drawing to represent the emotions and atmosphere of the character in the text to exploring the space depicted in the text. We were split into groups of 4 and made a model using a range of materials which we then photographed using different lighting and angles. In the text the space is depicted as dark, gloomy and very atmospheric as well as with the looming sense of danger and fear. We tried to capture all of this through our model.

Our model was a representation of the house that was depicted. We made 3 sides of the house to allow for an open side to make it easier to photograph. Also we distorted the shape of house and the windows to add the the eerie feel. We cut the windows out and used different materials to cover them such as a thin fabric to look like a curtain, a thin red plastic and a material with lots of holes on it. On one we added a cross over the window to try make some interesting shadows. We added a range of geometric shapes to represent the objects in a house and create a sense of chaos. Around the top of the model we put wires and a fabric to look like spider webs. All of this paired with the messy red and black paint create the scary, dangerous atmosphere that we understood from the text.

After completing our model we then photographed it, experimenting with different ways of lighting it. We used a range of larger and smaller lights and hard and soft lighting to see how it interacted with the model. After experimenting we found that the smaller, more concentrated lights worked better as the were able to light only 1 part and add to the eerie dangerous atmosphere. We were able to get some interesting photos from different angles. The windows really helped when photographing as we could get some interesting angles of the model.

This was a close up photo of the window to get the irregular shape and rough painted texture. We put a red sheet over the light to give this bold red which I think represents the space in the text well.
Here’s another close up of the window. I particularly like the bits of light shining through the window which creates some nice shapes and shadows. This is an edited version of the photo below. I turned the brightness and saturation down on photoshop to create a more gloomy feel to the photo.

This is one of my favourite photos we took. I really like the shadows cast by the objects and windows and the soft lighting. I also turned down the saturation on this one. I like that some of the details on the floor are cast in shadows helping create the sense of impending danger.
Similar photo but from a higher vantage point to get a different view of the model.
I like the strong lighting coming through the window which to me gives the impression of a eerie moonlight night.
For this one we used multiple light sources to really show off the details we made on the floor and walls of the model.
I think the cross shadow from the window works really well on this photo.
Another experiment with the red lighting. I turned up the brightness on photoshop to emphasise the red and sense of danger.
I like the low vantage point of the photo.
For this photo we experimented with using both blue and red lighting and I think the combination was very successful is reflecting the mood of the text.

I am happy with the model we made and think we got some good photos in response to ‘sell your house and buy gold’. However, if we were to redo this I would suggest a few changes which I think would help improve the outcome. I think I would add more windows and cut outs as they worked as good vantage points and creates some nice shadows. Also I think I would reduce the amount of black paint used or at least be more strategic about its placement to allow for more bold and obvious shadows.

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Digital Arts 1 Level 4

Digital Arts 1: Painting with light digitally- Photoshop

Before painting with light it is essential to understand how light interacts with an object to create highlights and shadows. This image breaks down the different areas of light and shadow of an egg. I used theses ideas for my own digital paintings.

In preparation for this weeks session of photoshop I watched the tutorial which talked about lighting and tone and how to paint digitally using different brushes. I then made my own digital painting on an apple using those techniques. I’m happy with the outcome as I think i was able to manipulate the brushes and shades to show the shadows ad highlights of the object. The shading wasn’t as smooth as I would have wanted so I want to learn how to achieve a glossier finish.

Digital painting of an apple.
I learnt in more details about different brushes and how to change them. Our task was to some of the cylinders using the Wacom tablet and brush tool. First I selected the area I wanted to shade using the magic wand tool to ensure I wasn’t adding tone to any other parts of image except my targeted part. I selected the brush tool and tested out different bushes and brush settings. I chose to use the soft round brush which is in the general brushes category. I adjusted the settings to allow the pen pressure on the Wacom to be visible. With this I began to shade using the greyscale palette.
Here are a couple cylinders with more refined shading as I further emphasised the dark and light sections.
Another practice piece. For this one I used the soft round brush with pressure opacity to give it a lighter texture.
I then made my own brush using a photo of a rose that I downloaded. First I desaturated it to make it black and white. Then I selected the image, inverted it then removed the background. Next I selected define brush preset and named it.
This is the brush I made and tested out different colours and spacings.

This week we focused on the brush tool and how to effectively use it to add tonal values to an object. In order to do this we had to use the selection tools that we learnt the previous week. I improved my understanding of the relationship between and object and a light source which will help me with my art in general as this is a key aspect of drawing. I started to get more comfortable using the brush tools and testing out the different brush options as well as settings such as hardness and opacity. After leaning about this method of shading I still prefer hand drawn shading as I feel that I have more control of shade and texture.

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Level 4 Visual Messaging and Communication

Visual Messaging: ‘Sell your house and buy gold’ week 1

In this session we began to respond to a text that we read called ‘sell your house and buy gold’. We did this through figure drawing where we had a live model. The text presented many prevalent themes such as fear, dystopia, paranoia, shadows, and disaster. I used these themes to try and shape my work in order for it to better represent the ideas, emotions and atmosphere of the text. Through these sketches I experimented with tone, shape and media.

This is my favourite of the quick sketches. It was a 5 minute sketch so I had the time to add more detail. I chose to use charcoal as it is a good medium to use when trying to achieve solid black tones. I began to add in tone, something I explored more later, to capture the dark, gloomy atmosphere of the text. Also I think this pose is very good to reflect to fearful and sad tone of the text.
These images were done with chalk and charcoal on a mid tone charcoal background. Again, these where done from observation and I began by drawing in the highlights then went in to add the shadows. I think the darker background and dramatic lighting of the figures reflects the tone and atmosphere of the text.
This and the next image are both done exclusively with chalk on a dark charcoal background. I used a piece of tissue to smudge and swirl the background to create a dramatic and chaotic atmosphere. For me the pose reflects the themes of isolation and fear. I think just drawing the highlights was an effective technique to create the drama I wanted.
This is a more abstract piece as I did draw from observation but adjusted and emphasised certain features. For example I only focused on the mannequin and the hands of the model. By leaving the hands black it creates an ominous and elusive feel to the image. These pieces where heavily inspired by the traditional painting technique chiaroscuro which is all about using intense light and dark area to create the appearance of a three dimensional object.

I enjoyed this workshop as I like figure drawing and am confident with the media I used. I will continue to develop my response to the ‘sell your house and buy gold’ brief.

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Digital Arts 1 Level 4

Digital Arts 1: Line, shapes and textures- Phtoshop

Photoshop week 3

In this session I further developed my skills on photoshop, with a more directed focus on composition and colouring. Prior to the lesson I watched a couple tutorial videos which helped me understand the basics. during the session, I experimented with lots of tools and techniques on different images of my work.

I began by opening my image in photoshop and turning it to a normal layer. Then used the crop and rotate tools to make the image easier to work with. I used what I learnt last week to edit the image using the curves, brightness and levels adjustment tools. Also, I cleaned it up using the spot healing tool.
I first thing i tested was adding an image onto a solid colour background. I added a new layer and used this to put the part of my image that i selected using the object selection tool. I copied it to the new layer and used the paint bucket tool to fill the background a solid pink colour.
Using the same process, I selected the other watch face and copied that to a new layer. I made sure to save my selections as I went so I could go back to them if I needed to. I did this by going to to the selection bar at the top and choosing save selection and gave it a name that I would remember related to each part.
I then moved onto experimenting with textured backgrounds. I downloaded a metallic texture background and opened it on a new canvas in photoshop. Then I duplicated the layer into the watch file. Using free transform I adjusted the size and orientation of the object and background.
I then moved onto experimenting with colour using the brush and bucket fill tools to get different effects. Also I adjusted the hue, saturation and opacity to change the way it colours reacted.
Here’s another test I did where I changed the colour of the background and adjusted to image properties.

For this piece I selected the image using the object select tool and inverted it so I could fill just the background using the paint bucket tool. Then using the lasso selection tool I selected different parts of the eyes and filled them in with 2 different shades of red.

For this I used the magnetic lasso tool to draw around the top parts of the chrome sparkles to create a boundary which I then filled in with different opacities of pink using the brush tool.
I made a new layer and coloured it pink then adjusted the colour settings to change how the layers are seen together to get a pink glow behind the rose.
I used the same process as before to add a textured background then changed the colour settings to get the background to shine through the rose.
I created a mask for the rose so the texture would only show through the rose and not in the background. Then I adjusted to properties to create the desired effect.
This was another experiment with changing the line colour of an image.
For this I first created a separate layer with a coloured background and then copy and pasted the same image multiple times to make a pattern of objects. Each one is on a different layer so I made sure to make all layers visible.

This weeks learning built on the basics that we did in the first session. We started to learn about layers, layer mask and the other frequently used tools such as the different selection options. I found some of the more difficult especially neatly selecting an object or part of an object but I began to get more confident with it. The tools we learnt will come in helpful when I want to edit a drawing to add new elements or experiment with colour or composition options.

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Level 4

Lino print Induction

I signed up for an induction into the print making studio, with a specific focus on relief printing. We were introduced to the equipment and machinery in the studio as-well as a type of printing called lino printing. This is a type of printing where you carve parts of a clay-like material to remove bits to create a design. then once your deign is made you roll ink over the surface and press it onto paper using one of the machines in the studio.

We did a group piece where each person made 1 lino cut and they came together to for a body. We then printed the figure and made a reduction print by removing more of the lino then printing it on top of the other colours. As we added more detail, less was printed meaning that some of the first colour showed through. I really liked the way these prints turned out with the two colours.
I also did my own one, where i carved a geometric rose into the lino and printed it in a range of colours. I was happy with the sharpness of lines and boldness of the colours.
This is my favourite of the prints as i think the extra detail help to create an interesting print and the colour came out very strong.

I enjoyed experimenting with lino print and I plan to use this technique more in my work. The hardest part of the process was understanding what bits to remove and leave unprinted in order to create a successful image.

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Level 4 Visual Messaging and Communication

Visual Messaging: ‘Human Library’ Draw to explore 2

This task was an extension of what we did last week with the observational drawings of our partners sentimental objects. I expanded on the ideas I already had and experimented with new styles and techniques. I also began to consider more about how I could reflect Jianyn’s personality and the things we discussed through my sketches.

I continued to experiment with the blue monochromatic style for these watches. for these I used oil pastel and was pleased with the strength of colour I was able to make.
In our discussion my partner said she really likes the colour yellow so I began to experiment with this colour. I think it helps convey her fun and bubbly personality. I used a water colour backdrop with coloured pencil sketches of some of her cartoon food designs, continuing with the monochromatic theme which I really like.
These combined the watercolour background overlaid with a more detailed sketch. I like the aesthetic of having the rough shape of the object then sketching it but slightly moving the subject. It creates this nice mixed media overlapping image.
More of the same style sketches.
Continuing with the overlapping mixed media idea, I tested out doing a marker pen sketch over watercolour. I really like this one as the bold, dynamic marks made by the pen really compliment the subtle orange water colour behind it.
A similar piece of a coloured pencil watch overlapping a marker pen watch.
This sketch incorporates the blue watch with contrasting black lines and a strong purple background. This is all done in oil pastels and I really like the dramatic feel of the dark background which makes the light watch stand out by creating a strong contrast.
At the end of this session I began to think about combining all the styles and still life sketches I’d done into one composition to reflect the personality of my partner. Here is my first rough idea of a composition. It has different angles of the teddy with lots of different sized watches overlapping each other. This creates a sense of movement and dynamism and I included some of Jiayun’s cartoon foods which are interacting with the other components of this sketch. I think this composition is able to portray a fun, cute and bubbly feeling which I believe reflects my partner and would also be aided by the addition of colour which is something I will continue to explore with more roughs. I was inspired by sci-fi and cartoon movie posters as wanted to capture that sort of life and playfulness.
Another rough composition sketch. This one has only 1 teddy with watches surrounding it. I like the foods in this piece and the life they bring to it but I prefer the arrangement of the first rough as it has more movement and the teddy feels more apart of the composition.

Here is my final image for this brief. I took ideas from all three roughs but mostly the first one as it was my favourite. I chose to use a simple colour palette, limiting it to purple, blue and yellow as these are my partners favourite. Each of the three elements is limited to 1 colour. I used water colour to add a subtle backdrop colour and coloured pencils to add in the details and tones.I think this piece is successful in portraying my partners personality through her sentimental objects. I’m happy with the vibrant colours I used and think it creates a fun and playful atmosphere.

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Level 4 Visual Messaging and Communication

Visual Messaging: ‘Human Library’ Draw to explore

For this task we had to pair up with something who is very different to ourselves, whether that be in race, age, gender or any other difference. Then we had to show our partner 3 objects of ours that have sentimental value to us and discuss why they are significant to us. We also asked each other a series of other questions to help get to know each other better. My partner for this was Jiayun so I responded to our discussion with some sketches of her sentimental objects. I used different sketching styles and focuses to fully explore the objects.

All my sketches where done through observation, this greatly helped me capture to true forms of the objects.

The first way that I studied the objects was using a drawing style called negative space, where you only draw the outside shapes of the object and its surroundings. This made me really focus of the shapes and forms to avoid unconscious preconceptions of a subject. It helped me to make clear observations about the subjects.
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More negative space sketches.

Next I experimented with looking at the whole subject and all its details. I attempted to sketch the object, in this case a watch, without looking at the page. These blind contour drawings helped me to focus on what I can see, not what thought I could see. I found this style of sketch challenging as I prefer a more controlled and refined style but it was good to experiment and helped me understand my subject.

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After that I moved onto building up images of the subjects by drawing the simple shapes that I could see. Breaking down a subject into simple shapes made it easier to sketch as the composition became much easier to understand. For example, I was able to sketch the watch from two circles and 2 rectangles, even with this simplified approach I was still able to convey what the subject was.
After using the three techniques above, I had built up a greater understanding of my subjects so was able to more doing more detailed drawings, making sure to still pay close attention to the objects in order to get accurate observational drawings.
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Sketches primarily focusing on shapes, with minimal shading.
I further explored tone using a graphic style of shading, with the black marker to represent the darkest parts, pink to represent the highlights and leaving the mid tones white. Using two different colours to represent the shadows and highlights meant I had to really focus and observe the differences in tone.
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I then explored the texture of the teddy. First I cut out a stencil of the shape used black paint on a rough sponge to convey the fluffy texture of the teddy. Different parts of the teddy had different textures so I represented this by how densely I applied the ink to each part.
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I expanded to my sketches looking at tone by drawing the watch at different angles on black paper, only using the highlights. This further improved my observational skills. This is a form of sculpting with shadows and highlights.
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For this sketch I used two shades of blue and white on paper to show the varying levels of tone on the teddy. This combined many of the elements of my previous sketches together.
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This page has some little transactions of Jiayun’s sketches to reflect some of what we discussed. Also it has three continuous line sketches from different angles of the teddy. This was another way to develop my observational skills as it required a lot of concentration in order to create the form of the object without taking the pencil off the page.
The next three sketches are using experimenting using different chalks and charcoal. For the black one i used the charcoal to block in the darkest parts of the watch.
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This image and the next are both done using coloured chalks to show the golden colour if the watch. I used the flat side of the chalk to convey the tones and the sharp point to add structure to the different forms of the watch. I was very pleased with these as I think I was able to show both the forms and tones by manipulating a medium in two different ways.
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Same style sketch but from a different angel.

Using all these different drawing techniques and styles I was able to study and really understand the subject and create accurate sketches from observation.