Artist Research

Erik Almas

I chose this image by Erik Almas because of his outstanding landscapes.

The artist has manipulated this piece using four different images, which I think is very hard to believe when looking at it. Another thing is that the seagulls were not in any of these four images. He has created a very dramatic scene by looking out to sea; this is enhanced with waves that are crashing into the rocks. He has also used a wide range of shadows which also help emphasise the dramatic effect.

The artist has used little colour, not to say it’s a bad thing at the slightest. It’s also very dull but at the same time gives off an excellent effect of a storm brewing, the clouds within the sky also help contrast with the colour to improve the effect which creates a great final outcome of being a dull yet exciting and dangerous environment.

The artist has chosen to give the man dull colours very similar to the background, in fact, the only part of the image that doesn’t correspond to the theme is the boat – perhaps this is to emphasise his journey from sea? Or where he has been? On the other hand, the man in the image is most likely to attract the viewer’s attention the most and create the biggest impact. He is likely to be a crab farmer that looks as though he has come back from a long day of fishing – the only thing that seems to be unordinary is that he has come back empty handed. This could suggest the idea that he has given up, or even afraid? 
The lighting has a very strong impact on the audience, it captures the viewers eyes and draws them towards ;the man which helps convey the main element of the image.

 Overall all four parts of the image have been put together very well, the main four elements; the rocks, the man, the sky and the sea have worked very well to adapt with each other to create such a dramatic filled landscape. 

Garrigosa Studios

I chose this image because of the strong effect it had on me as I like landscapes but also this particular image has a purpose.

The artist has created this piece using several different images which have been manipulated together for Yamaha. The idea of this image is very original but has been done very well; the landscape is divided into two sections, the futuristic city and the bright green forest.

 The bridge is the main impact; it has been manipulated into the shape of a motorbike for idea of it being set free the roam the world. The artist has gone into depth creating the bridge, perhaps to give the audience the effect that Yamaha do the same with their bikes?

The artist has created a strong relationship between the two but also focusing mainly on the bridge. The bridge could represent the division between good and evil, the pathway between the future and past, or because of the bridge being almost like clockwork structure; a metaphor to show how the artists work has developed over time?

The main lighting involved in the image is central, which is coming off the bridge – this is shown using beams of light creating a godlike effect emphasising the bridge as it certainly creates a huge impact on the audience as well as drawing their eyes towards it.

The lighting is a lot darker on the left side than the right side, which links back to good and evil, or it could be to highlight the problems of pollution? The artist has also only chosen to show several lights on the buildings. The image contains very few colours to express its meanings using several primary colours, but it then corresponds with the way of life. In terms of impact the image demonstrates the cycle of life in a dream.

Richworks

I chose Richworks because of the weird, obscene yet amazing work they produce. Richworks has made several similar images to this but this is the one that caught my eye the most.

The artist has manipulated some form of alien beetle into this room,  of course the alien is what caught my eye the most, but, the use of bright, flashing lights correspond well to the situation – they help improve the dramatic environment and also help trigger the idea of an alarm going off, also known as a code red situation.

As the artist has only chosen to show the inside of this room the audience could be blinded with the real whereabouts this is set, perhaps it’s not even on Earth? If so, this could suggest that the alien is in its natural habitat, therefore creating an entirely different meaning - assuming that is the case, the alien could be here for good reasons which could suggest a humourous scene.

The light incoming from the door creates a powerful impact on the alien’s status, for good or for bad? The audience cannot see beyond the door which could imply that the artist wants people to generate their own ideas towards what the situation is? The artist has chosen a very strong and powerful stance for the alien, this is what drew my attention to the image – the stance is very balanced, ready for anything, almost as like he’s about to attack something.  Not only that but the shadow that’s created from the light, it’s commanding. The size of the shadow is almost twice the size of the alien which at first look emphasises its impact on the viewer. In terms of impact the image displays a mystery, a scene that shows many different meanings with depicted humour.

Jenovah-Art

I recently discovered this artist upon searching for landscapes and his work is definitely something else – this isn’t my preferred image due to importing but I still like it.

The first thing that caught my eye in this image are the intense, bright sunrays coming from what appears to be the sun. The artist has structured them very well – they almost look as if they are lasers that are destroying the city which imposes a dramatic effect. The artist has used many dark colours within the image witch emphasise the beams creating a strong impact on the audience. The artist has also chosen to use a wide variety of shadows in the clouds witch gives the audience an image of some sort of destruction which conveys well with the sunray beams, it’s almost as if it’s the end of the world.

Assuming that the image was separately sourced, the final image has been constructed with great detail, looking closely at each individual building I noticed a variety of shadows that helps put through the message of destruction, the dark and gloomy scale of this image also helps show this throughout the landscape. The artist has displayed a great amount of detail within the clouds, using many different textures, fine lines and shadows which increase the dramatic effect this image conveys. The artist has also chosen to show the clouds in a way that almost uses them as guidelines, drawing the audience into the main building right in the middle of the image. Perhaps the artist is trying to display a message that the building is of some importance? Overall, this image shows in depth a very strong message and many visual aspects that together create an amazing, powerful scene of a city that has been destroyed, but why has it been destroyed?

Under Water Scene Demo

This is a demo we followed today on creating our own underwater scene from three images found on the web that were given to us by our tutors, to start off with we opened up all three images in Photoshop, 

We then set the adjusted the Hue/Saturation by selecting the background image and alt clicking the black and white circle symbol below the layers then selecting Hue/Saturation, we then inputted numbers given by our tutor so that the colour of the gravel in the background image to act as a seabed. 

We then created a new layer, selected a nice blue colour, then using the "Gradient" tool with "Foreground to Transparrent" set we created what is shown in the screenshot below, 

We then created a reflection to go at the top of the water by creating a new layer then with two different shades of blue selected we drew another gradient this time without foreground to transparrent set,

We then added the ripple effect to it by going into "Filter" then "Distort" then "Glass" and set the distortion to 20 and the smoothness to 5,

We then flipped the layer and distorted it like so,

The next step was to create some detail within the image by making some plankton, to do this we created a new layer,

We then jumped into "Filter" "Noise" then selected "Add Noise" then set the amount to somewhere around 170% and ticked the box "Monochromatic"

The next step was to create a light source that looks as though it's coming from the surface of the sea, to do this, we firstly created the outline of the light using the "Polygonal Lasso" tool

We then filled in the selection we made using the "Fill" tool then adjusted the opacity to our liking, we then (optional) duplicated the layer to create a second light source then using the "Free transform" tool to adjust it

We then made the image of the sunken plane fit nicely into the background of the underwater scene by adjusting the blending mode to the one that suited it best,

The final step was to then make the shark image fit in with the rest of the piece, to do this we created a layer mask and inverted it by using a white brush instead of black which makes the background of the image dissapear

This is the final outcome of the demo, all in all - I really enjoyed this demo as it was different to the demo's we usually follow, I liked the way that the piece ended out looking real with so much detail within just by using effects and tools etc in Photoshop.

Curves/3D Demo

Today we followed a demo on how to create a 3D image using "Curves." Firstly we opened up this image of a piano to work with,

We then duplicated the layer and named one "Cyan" and the other "Red"

 We then opened up curves from the image adjustments tab,

 We then set the curve level of the Output to 0 and the Input level to 251 which changed the colour of the layer to cyan,

 We then changed the colour of the "Red" using curves, again we set the output level to 0 and the input level to 251

We repeated the process once more but this time on the same layer,

We then created some final touches by changing the blending mode to "screen"

This is the final outcome, put on your 3D glasses to test it though!

Overall, this demo was very exciting as it was something new and showed me how the whole 3D proccess works, I will be creating more from this demo, using it in other work.

First Adaption Of Curves/3D demo

To start off with I opened up this image I found on the web in Photoshop,

I then duplicated the image and renamed the layers, one "Red" for red and the other "Cyan" for yes you guessed it, cyan. 

The next step was to create the curves witch change the colour of the layer that create the 3D effect

Changing blending modes to suit the image

I then cut out the image from the background so that it would make it stand out more after i completed the 3D process. I then moved the first layer slightly to the right and the second layer slightly to the left

This is my first adaption towards creating a 3D image, I started by using this image as an experiment of cutting out so that the layers would stand out to look more 3D, although it did not work as well as I hoped it would, I think this could be caused by the black background.

 Second Adaption of Curves/3D Demo

This is my second adaption on creating a 3D image using curves, for this piece I took a lot of time in finding the right image for what I wanted to achieve,

Firstly, I decided to cut-out the Yo-yo so it creates more depth once the 3D process is complete, even though it didn't work as well as i hoped in my last piece,

I then changed the curves of the layers which creates the 3D effect to to red, blue, green and cyan

 

I then moved the first layer slightly to the right and the second layer slightly to the left to create the 3D effect

 This is the final outcome of my second 3D image, I think this piece works better than the last because of the use of different layers and that they don't involve a bland black background. I chose this image because of the depth between the man and the yo-yo which helped alot in creating that 3D effect.

Blending, masking & Selection Experimentation

I decided to do some experimentation around the areas of blending, masking and selection to adapt on my skills and techniques I have learnt from recent demo's. To start off with I opened this image of two swans in Photoshop

I then copied an image of a dotted pattern into the original image so that I could blend it with the swans so that it would create a decorative  pattern on them, next I set the blending mode to "Difference"

I then created a new masking layer and set it to reveal all so that I could make parts of the copied image appear or disappear depending on what colour brush I use. I then removed any access black parts to the image so that I was just left with the dots, that way the image would fit in with the original background,

Using the "Pen Tool" I cut out the swan,

I then dragged the cut-out swan into this image of a more detailed, brighter looking lake scene, I then made a shadow by duplicating the swan layer then filling it black and scaled it to fit the background,

I then removed any parts of the duck that were still showing on the new image using the "Clone-Stamp Tool"

I then decided to create a new design for my swan, I found an image of a tiger from the web and imported to Photoshop, I set the blending modes to "Hard Light" next I added a new masking layer and set it to reveal all again,

Using the "Brush Tool" with a black color I removed parts of the copied tiger image that were not wanted, lastly I created an "Inner Shadow" using blending options.

This was a great use of experimentation, it helped me re-cap the techniques and tools used in recent demo's and allowed me to improve on those skills further so that they will be more clear when using them in the future.