Table of Contents

This is my Table of Contents project for DMF. I did what I could to replicate the example on our class blog, but I know that a couple things are different. I searched thoroughly and could not find the exact same fonts that were used, so I found similar ones. I used text edit to make it look as similar as I could, by doing things like adjusting the spacing between letters and the height of the letters. I also used different images for the boxes. I think this adds a bit of my own flare to the project.

Visual Culture 2, Week 7

Objects:
Guitar
Tree
Roots
Sky
Clouds
Mushrooms
Fish
Egg
Treble clef with wings
Mountains
Records (hanging from the tree).

This image caught my attention because of its musical inclination. I am a Music-Business major, so, of course, a huge guitar is something that catches my eye. I found this also in a search for desktop wallpapers, but I think that this piece could exist on its own as abstract art. The tree reminds me of the one used in the logo for the film Big Fish. To me, the image represents the unearthing of new music and the growth/evolution/journey that is continuous for all types of music. Because of the mountains and earth coming from the guitar, it makes the point that a person who is passionate about music can make music his/her entire world. Once the viewer of this art takes in the enormity of the guitar and the tree, the eye moves upward to the treble clef that has hatched from an egg in the tree and taken flight. While studying this piece, I also noticed the isolation of the image. Despite the giant size of the guitar, it floats in the middle of space with nothing but clouds to surround it, and one small treble clef floats above it all. Nothing else matters but the music and the life that is a result of music.

Visual Culture 1, Week 7

Objects:
Trees
Bird
Person climbing
Person diving
Person on hill
Bathroom sign people
Color stripes
Sun rays
Cloud shapes
Abstract graphics

Today I was looking at images that are meant to be used as computer backgrounds. I change my computer wallpaper frequently, and it got me to thinking about how the need for a wallpaper on a computer desktop has opened up a window for a new kind of art. This was one of many backgrounds that appealed to me. I was attracted to the color combination of the three stripes (green, red and dark grey) against a fairly neutral background. I noticed that the green stripe creates a hill which appears to have a distant sun behind it, and the sun is issuing rays across the image. Even though this piece is abstract, there is a definite light source. I think the use of trees as silhouettes adds interest to the art, along with the scattered images of people. I was amused to see the figures in the bottom right corner that usually appear on bathroom signs. I don't know why they are there but, once again, it adds interest.

Midterm Project

Advent Calendar

Interactivity

A couple classes ago in DMF, we were discussing movie posters, and an example was President Obama's campaign poster (HOPE lithograph). It turns out that there is a website you can go to and make a similar poster using any photo you want. I decided to visit this website and play around a little bit. One of my friends, Gabby, is a redhead and a bit crazy, and she is constantly telling people that they are dumb. So I took an awesome photo of her and uploaded it on the Obamicon site, then used the slogan "You're Dumb" on the bottom. What a highly entertaining interactive site! I posted the final product on Facebook and got numerous comments about it. The interactivity of the site is simple in that all it really does is adjust the colors of a photo to dark blue, sky blue, cream and red to make it look like the Obama posters that we all recognize. Even though anyone can easily use it, I now have other people asking me to use their photos to do the same thing!

Visual Culture 2, Week 6

Objects:
Masked Man
Female
Crowd of People
Light Beams
Title
Film Credits

I had never seen this particular poster for V for Vendetta before, but I love it. I think that it should have been used more for the advertising. I have unfortunately only seen the beginning of the movie, but I think that this art captures the essence of the film. The colors are strong and bold, in addition to being ominous. I notice the same characteristics that we talked about in class such as creating lines that move on angles and making artwork out of the lettering. The title stands out, as well as the tag line "Freedom! Forever!." I think that the way the characters have been altered to look more like cutouts is effective in that it adds drama to the image. I also enjoy the overall vintage style of the poster and I think that posters should be designed with a vintage flavor more often.

Visual Culture 1, Week 6

Objects:
City
Man
Title
Searchlights

This week I was looking specifically for vintage movie posters, since our assignment is to create a movie poster. This was the first one that caught my eye. I noticed how the text is not just a title, but also part of the artwork. I was first drawn to the city in the center because of the light issuing from it, then to the title which is made using a unique font, and then to the man carrying the city on his back. The background is very simple, and the use of mainly yellows against the black create a luminous quality. There is light issuing from the city, and also focused on the man's face and torso front. I like how the searchlights from the top of the tallest building lead into a semi-circle that pushes the eye back up to the title. It is a very effective technique.

Movie Poster

This is the final copy of my movie poster design. My boyfriend, Brennen, is playing a part in a full-length feature that is being produced by theater students of SOU. The film is called Ambivalence, and I only knew a few things about it when designing the poster. It is about a man who is working at Blockbuster and is very unhappy with his life. It has a dark aura because the main character is very depressed and living in a filthy apartment. He only pursues another life at the very end of the movie when he leaves for Hollywood. The main prop in the film is a DVD of his acting monologues. This was the information that I used to create the layout. I knew I wanted Hollywood in the background to represent his dream of a better life. I tried to use techniques that we discussed in class such as splitting an image down the middle, and creating angled lines instead of straight horizontal/vertical ones. This is why I skewed the Hollywood image in an angle and why I cut the image of the man down the middle. I used the artistic filter to make the image of the man look more like a drawing. I used a half-and-half color overlay of blue and yellow on his face to represent Blockbuster. I added the image of a DVD because I knew that it was important to the plot. There was some empty space in the bottom right corner and upper left corner of the canvas, so I decided to add another color to the theme. I chose a blood-red tone to help set the mood of the film. The final portion was the title, which I had the most difficulty with. I wanted it to really pop. I chose a very geometric font to contrast with the Hollywood sign. I stuck with the blood-red color to accent the color scheme. I then added an outer glow to the letters, which complimented the yellow overlay on the man's face. I still thought that the title could pop out a bit more, so I tried to put a rectangular background behind it, but then the poster started looking a bit too geometric. I decided that I was at the point where messing with it more would take away from the image instead of adding to it. I chose to leave it alone, which was difficult for me because I often feel that I can make something better if I just tweak it some more. However, I am satisfied with the final product.

Collage Revisited

This is my revised copy of my collage. Originally, I got the idea for this when looking at example blogs and finding the Marylin Monroe collage. I am an Audrey Hepburn fan, so I thought it would be fun to take that idea and do something similar. However, my intent was to focus on Audrey in her own personal life instead of her screen characters. I chose photos like the one of her on a bicycle and carrying a child during her work for UNICEF because those represent the person that she really was. I recently read her biography which taught me much more about the non-Hollywood Audrey. I learned that she loved gardens, which is why I chose a background that included flowers and trees. The first time I posted this collage, there were a few things that I was unsatisfied with. I have now gone back to adjust them, and this is the final product.

Visual Culture 2, Week 5

Objects:
Woman
Pictures of meat
Japanese or Chinese writing (not sure which!)

I was interested to find that upon doing a Google search for collages I came across many of the type that we discussed in class as being "not very good." A majority of them were just a series of rectangle pictures that were cut and pasted together. Then I found a site for the artist of the above work. I like all of his collages, but this one was my favorite, mainly because of the color blocks and interesting images that he used. It doesn't make sense to me at all, but I'm pretty sure that is part of it. I found my eye drawn first to the word exercise strewn across the top, and then to the female in the middle who seems to have attained an extra set of legs and arms. Then I started to notice more of the detail, such as oriental writing symbols and pieces of meat around the edges. I enjoyed wondering what in the world was going on in this image, and it kept my attention for a significant amount of time.

Visual Culture 1, Week 5

Objects:
Doors
Windows
Floor

This week I was looking specifically for collages that were interesting to me. We are working on our own collages right now in DMF, so I wanted to see other work that is out there in the world. I think this one caught my attention originally because of the gourd shape. When working on my own collage, I only ever thought of using a rectangle as the canvas shape. I was also really attracted to the bright blue coloring in the center, which is the part that really draws in the eye. I find it interesting that the layout is set up like a reflection, but the bottom is a different image from the top. It made me think of Alice falling through the rabbit hole to come out upside-down in another place. Even though there are two distinct images, I think that they work well to create a new art piece because of the way that they are each broken up and then connected to each other. It is appealing as a single piece of art.

Goals for DMF

I have recently posted both the Picturing the Other assignment and the Collage assignment, but I consider them both to be first drafts. Yesterday in class, we talked about how to adjust a photo to remove unwanted shadows. As soon as I have time, I will head to the lab to work on Willy's photo and taking the shadow off his face. I am fairly happy with the collage, but I still want to adjust a couple things. I did not intend to leave the canvas visible so that there are white borders, so I need to remove those. I want to take the eyes and feather the edges a little more. I also want to do the same with the figure of Audrey as an angel. That way, the transition between the cut out images and the background will be a bit smoother. Finally, I would like to try and use the clone stamp tool to put grass in the middle of the bicycle wheel so that it looks a bit more like a new picture rather than a cut-and-paste. Hopefully I will get to all these changes this week. I am writing them down now so that I will remember everything that I want to work on.

Goals for Advent Calendar

I have been working hard on my advent calendar, and I have gotten it to where all of the buttons function in a way that makes sense, hoorah! Now I really want to make it look nice. I plan on adjusting the animations so that they are longer and more fluid. I also would really like to add sound so that music plays each time one of the Mickey doors is opened. I am excited to take the functional calendar I have created and make it look really good!

Collage

Advent Calendar Thus Far

Calendar