Intro to Photoshop

I have been working with Photoshop for sometime now, but I am always finding new techniques and ways of doing things that are further simplified and make life easier. For all those who were like me and wanted to learn how to get that model thin look in your photos here is the perfect video. This video shows some of the features of the liquify tool. Used in the correct amounts the liquify tool can be very handy in post processing.

Another great tutorial video I found goes through a lot of the features on the tool bar. I find this video helpful as an overall "what can I do in photoshop" tutorial. I really like the image being used to show how to tools work, which made watching the video a little more interesting. The link is posted below (I could not find it in the upload link)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TvgOR5Tb38

Intro To Illustrator

When first being introduced to Illustrator learning the software seemed like such a daunting task. The first major emphasis was on the pen tool. The way it was presented made the tool seem super easy to use; boy, was I wrong. I had so much trouble with the pen tool in my first few attempts of using it. The way the curves were made was beyond me. I kept getting tangled messes of path line and thought I was hopeless. I did check out some tutorials that helped better explain how to use the tool. One of these tutorials that I became fond of was made by Adobe. I have added the link below.

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-illustrator-cs6/essentials-of-the-pen-and-pencil-tools/

Another tool I had a problem grasping was the gradient mesh. I wanted to be able to create a somewhat three dimensional effect and all I was creating was splotches of random color. I was able to find this tutorial that helped me out greatly.

Logo Design

When we were initially asked to come up with a logo I had no idea where to even begin. How do I know what is appropriate, should it just be my initials, what represents me? All these questions were running through my head. Eventually I just sat down and started doodling. I used my initials to create different shapes and tried to even make images out of them. I didn't really like any of the options I came up with when doing this. I ended up just drawing a circle and figuring out different ways to in cooperate my initials inside. This is what I came up with.

I was happy with the design to the right, it just needed to be smoothed out. I scanned it onto my computer and began working with it in illustrator. In my final design I decided to go with a red palate because I feel one of my most striking features is my red hair. In this way I in cooperated something that set me apart from the crowd within my logo. 

All in all I am pretty happy with the final design. I do wish I had been able to create a mesh gradient throughout the circle to give it a stone-like feel. 

Seahorse Calligram

For those of you who don't know what a calligram is like me when I first heard the terminology, it is basically an image created out or letters, symbols, or words. My initial reaction was this would be a great opportunity to create an image that could potentially be made into a post card. For this reason, I chose to make a seahorse because it is a popular marine animal. I happened to have a picture of a seahorse that was found in the mouth of a grouper at the marina I work at.

I used this photo to create the outline of the seahorse, as well as, create the color pallet for my image. I created the outline first and decided to do so with facts about seahorses. I made the outline the same color throughout to give the seahorse a set perimeter. I filled in the seahorse with jokes and poems I found about them on the internet. To add dimension to the image I selected letter by letter, changing the color to the appropriate one in regards to the picture of the seahorse for that particular area. I feel like it was this choice that really brought the final image together.

I feel that if a bright blue background was added to my image it would make for a nice postcard. 

Welcome to Digital Design

My name is Valerie and I am from Panama City, Florida. I am junior studying studio art with a concentration in photography. I chose to take this class hoping that I could find a way to incorporate digital design into my photography. From the first class I feel that the subject matter will not really help me in the way I imagined. Although, I feel like it could be a good skill to have in order to make me a more well rounded individual. I liked the "50 Things Every Creative Should Know" site. I felt like most of the information was valuable to artists as a whole. Many of the points could even be applied to the lives of the general public.

Illustrator Self Portrait

To start this project I picked out a photo of myself I wanted to recreate and uploaded it in Illustrator.

 This is the photo i used. I had a very difficult time at first using the pen tool in order to create outlines. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried the path kept getting looped together and caused my great trouble. After practicing with the pen tool some, I was able to get a better hang out it and the project became much easier. I am very pleased with how the final product turned out. It took long hours, lots of frustration, and hard work to make this happen. However, this was my first time ever using Illustrator and I am happy to say I was not turned off of the software by this project. At the beginning I was very skeptical, but by the end I feel much more confident in using the software.  This is the final product. 

 

I did still have some issues with the gradient mesh which was used to create the face, but overall I think it turned out great.