One World Flag: Reflection

TECHNICAL
Technical steps I took in creating this piece were using brushes, shapes and pictures and combining them to create a very simple one-toned flag.  I used a brush if the tree and then copy and pasted parts of it to create leaves blowing off of it.  I used different colours.

IDEA OR CONCEPT
Ideas I used in this piece were to show in this piece was to show one united world.  I showed a man's strength and individuality by showing one tree.  I showed undividedness by using a circle, I linked them together to show strength that comes with unity of everyone.  I tried to show freedom and peace by the gracefulness of a flying bird.  I showed an earth y using dots to show people across the world.  My idea which changed throughout the creation was using multi-coloured objects or a lot of colour within my flag.  I wanted to use this to show equality, but in using a few simple colours, which were balanced, I created the same effect.

INFLUENCES

The piece which influenced me the most in creating this image was an Internet example shown of the earth in red made into a cartoon heart shape, with a white circle around it with a blue background.  I liked the colour combination and simplicity of the flag.

COMPOSITION
I balanced my flag asymmetrically.  I put emphasis with my tree by putting it on top of the other graphics and creating it red.  Movement is created in this flag by having leaves blown off of the tree around it.  Movement is also made by having the birds fly in a group to the one side as well.  The viewer eyes move around my piece beginning looking at the tree, then to the circle surrounding the tree with the dots in it.  Eyes next move to the circle linked to the other and then to the flying birds.

MOTIVATION
Beyond fulfilling the requirements for this assignment, my motivation for creating this piece was to be able to portray a symbol or symbols which represent everyone across the globe.  I also wanted to show togetherness and something which could bring people together similar to how Olympic games are supposed to, only being able to reach everyone, unlike the Olympic games.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
Elements I find most successful and interesting are the contrast of the blue and red.  Although they are not direct compliment colours, they are so close they are able to create contrast and interest.  I also find my world successful as it unlike the classic image of the earth in the globe but still shows that it is the world as it has the effect of the dots inside the circle.  Parts of the process of the creation of this piece that surprised me was how difficult or how much thought must be put into such a simplistic graphic images.  With additional time, I would like to improve my tree.  Because my tree is composition of two tree brushes, there are parts of the trunk in the centre which do not mesh or blend together well.

One World Flag

Part 8: Usability

Navigation throughout my portfolio I believe to be easy to understand and  click by having them visible, readable fonts which remain in the same spots throughout the pages of my portfolio.  I plan on having something similar to a logo for myself, of my name on each of the pages, in the same spot in order to increase the ease of navigation.  The information will be clearly identifiable and readable by using a legible font and by organising my ideas .  For one of my pages I have my work being displayed through a key hole into my dresser drawer.  My work is displayed on pages in it.  By having the work organised, it will more usable.  Information and text will be easy to find and display by using contrasting colours from background and text and making sure emphasis is put where it should be (on text for my resume, about me page, on my work for that page)  and not by distracting too much by the background from the important information.  This will be a combination of professional and creative because it uses a creative theme, but this theme is more simplistic and lighter colours will be used.

Flash Interactive Architecture Reflection

TECHNICAL
In creating this piece I used Photoshop to edit the pictures and then animated and added sound in Macromedia Flash.  I began by changing the colours in the picture to make them more realistic, normal colours (changing the yellow walls to white) and by dodging and burning the slightest bit the image.  I then used the clone stamp tool to edit various unnecessary, distracting people and objects out of the image.  I added neon looking letters to the stage by adding a layer style to the text layer which gave it an 'outer glow'.  I created the stage lights by making cone-like shapes, and erasing parts of them and making them with a gradient.  I created floor lights by making rectangular shapes and changing their opacity and style to 'luminosity'.  I also added the picture of speakers and created lights on the wall by creating shapes and just as the text, changing the layer style to 'outer glow'.

IDEA OR CONCEPT
The idea I eventually used in this piece was that school spirit encourages school community which is important to build and maintain.  The message of this space in this piece is to encourage excitement and community with the school.  The purpose would to encourage students to get greater involved and excited about the school. I kept my original plans, which was to have lights in the floor which interact with people walking on them, as well as music being played.  I was unable in this animation to show the cheers being displayed on the floor.  I was also unable to show the lines or courts being not painted on the floor but made of LED lights.

INFLUENCES
An piece of interactive architecture which inspired me in creating this piece was,  the Ocean of Light.  Its interaction with the viewer with its use of changing LED lights was what I found inspiring to create this piece.

COMPOSITION
The balance of this piece is symmetrical.  I put even amounts of colour and lights on both the top and bottom as well as the left and right.  There is emphasis put on the lights on the stage because they change colour and are bright.  I also tried to show the interaction between the floor and players as important by having the players move and the lights move with them.  Your eye move around the image as in the beginning you are simply looking at the players but as they move and the lights shine and change, the viewer understands it is not only about the game, but the school.

MOTIVATION
Beyond fulfilling the requirements of this assignment, my motivation for completing this piece was to be able try to show the importance of school community through this piece.  It is very easy to go through high school without appreciating the experience.  Without stopping to realise that students and teacher interaction can be very important, especially through ages which you are growing.  It is good to rely on others and being able to show that within a community, there are people there to help you.  I wanted to show that it is perhaps not easy, but it is important to interact with all of the classmates around you.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
Elements I found most successful in this piece are the use of neon changing coloured lights on the stage.  I found these successful because I was able to actually show the letters as glowing letters which I like.  I also found the animation of the changing stage lights successful because, although it is simple, it is also effective.  The sound within the animation, I was pleased with because I struggled with creating a stop and start with the sound, as while trying to do it, I found myself almost wrecking the rest of the animation.  Elements I would improve, with time allowing me would be the animation of the players and the lights.  I would have liked to show the players walk and actually have some of the lights disappear as they moved. Parts through creating this piece that surprised me would be how difficult I found it to create the floor lights and that I was mostly able to remember how to animate using flash.

Portfolio Page Sketches #2

One World Flag Brainstoming

1. Do a Google search of World Flags. How many colours does the average flag have? What are some characteristics of flags? (Ex. Solid colours, clean edges).
The average flag has two to four colours some with some occasional small splashes of colours throughout some of the flags.  Some characteristics of flags are simple, one toned- graphics, primary, simple colours (sometimes used as banners across the flag.)

2. Brainstorm five words that make you think of world unity. Beside each word, write the name of a picture that could represent the idea of world unity.

UNITY

Undividedness:  Circle

Whole: Earth
Together: Hands holding

One/ Diversity: Multi-coloured objects
Stregth in Numbers: Many people/ Chain links
Marriage: Ring
Stregth: Tree
Peace: Dove

Part 7: Sketch It Up

Originally for my portfolio I had thought of having a professional looking portfolio.  After much consideration and thought, I thought of creating a quieter conceptual portfolio.  I didn't want my portfolio to be over the top, but I had the idea to create a vintage based theme in my portfolio.  I thought I could also create this to be personal by basing it off of an antique dresser I have, and almost always have had in my bedroom.

Interactive Arcitechture: Mood Board

Interactive Architecture Brainstorming

a. What area of the school could really benefit by coming alive?

An area of the school that could really benefit by coming alive would be the bottom of the stairs by the gym or the SAC hall.

b. How could this space be brought to life? (ex. what kind of theme? lights, sounds,textures?)

This space could be brought to life by the use of LED lights on the floor.  The lights would be lit when someone steps on the ground.  This start in the Gym hall and lead into the gym.  It would also display slogans such as "Go SHHS!" and would act as a disco ball for school dances.  The lights could change for the different sports, change from badminton court to futsal.  It could interact with music played in between quarters of basketball etc.

c. What would the message of this space be? What will this piece of art create a conversation with the viewer? How will your interactive piece be especially important for teenagers and our Catholic community?
The message of this space would be to encourage exitement and community with the schoool.  The purpose would to encourage students to get greater involoved and exited about the school.  It would encourage a greater community within the schoool because everyone would be able to interact with the piece but would be encouraged to interact with eachother by encouraging those who play sports, go to school dances and even play sports themselves.

d. How would the viewer be able to interact with your piece of art? The viewer would be able to interact with their piece of art because if you simply walking through the gym, the lights would light up your way.  It would show cheers and courts (instead of having them painted on the gym floor).    It would also be able to play and interact with playing music.

Part 6: Creating the Base for an Original Portfolio

Mood Board For My Portfolio

Interactive Architecture Examples Reflecting

Monomyths: Reflect on what is your favourite piece of the group and why.
My favourite piece in the house was the mirror that recorded their actions and played it slightly after the person had done them.  This allows the viewer to look into the past as they do actions.  It looked almost magical doing something and being able to see it as you did the next movement.  I like this piece because it lets viewers to interact and tell their own story and also see it.  I would almost say the art isn't the piece, but the stories and actions people do, record and view.
Luminous Ceiling: How do you think this could be considered a piece of interactive architecture?This could be considered a piece of interactive architecture because it takes the viewer to another place.  Although the viewer doesn't interact with this piece by talking, touching or hearing it interacts with the onlooker interacts with the piece by looking.  By looking the viewer is able to be taken to another place and to feel as if they have stepped into a whole new world.  The viewer interacts with it by allowing the piece to take them somewhere else.

Ocean of Light: How do you think this could be considered a piece of art?
I think the LED lights in this piece as quite beautiful.  It reminds me of scuba diving in the Ocean.  Being deep in the sea and seeing the beautiful sea creatures.  I think this could be considered a piece of art as it is an expression of someones experiences.  It takes the audience to whole other place and into the creator's world, deep in the sea.

Culture Jammer Reflection

TECHNICAL
For this assignment I used different opacity, a variety of sizes of images, dodged and burned the images, I used different filters, and I changed a lot of colours, saturation's and hues.  I also used the blur, brushes and the band aid tool.  I changed the person's skin tone and I changed the colour variations to have the same tone and theme throughout the image.

IDEA OR CONCEPT
I used the idea against Tim Horton's of showing them as a corporation which uses slaves to grow and or pick their coffee beans.  I used this as they are non fair trade coffee. I showed this by showing coffee beans in the background, a boy with a basket of coffee beans, hands reaching out of a Tim Horton's coffee pot into cup.  My idea stayed relatively the same throughout the process of creating this image, I wanted to show the story of the coffee growers through a spoof ad for Tim Horton's.  I had the idea of showing more, with a greater opacity the boy.  I decided to change this, showing the disappearance of his story and life.

INFLUENCES
My influences in creating this image was ad busters.  The advertisements I saw which were created by them were interesting and made me want to create an image which went against the grain of the regular culture.  I liked how the images were all different and made fun of our everyday advertisements.

COMPOSITION
The composition of my image is asymmetrical.  The movement throughout the image, begins at the coffee pot, being poured into a coffee mug to the boy and up to the text.  Then back the coffee pot.  Their is emphasis on the pot, mug and arms because they have a greater opacity.  The lesser opacity against the greater opacity creates emphasis and greater importance than others.

MOTIVATION
My personal motivation for creating this piece was to be able to think differently about society.  I wanted to explore being able to create an advertisement which looked very much like a Tim Horton's advertisement, but being a spoof ad.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
The elements I find most successful is the arms reaching out of the coffee mug and the coffee beans as the background.  I also like how the font looks like a legitimate Tim Horton's advertiseing font.  What I found surprisingly difficult was making the arms looking realistic like they were actually in the coffee.   With addional time, I would choose to improve the look of the arms.

Ad Buster

Culture Jammer Brainstorming

Companies/Corporations to create my own culture jam:
Tim Horton's: slave labour picking beans (non Fair Trade Certified coffee)
Estée Lauder: perfume products created with harmful killing chemicals
Aeropostale: Clothing with only the brand name on it brands the consumer.

Analysis Culture Jammer Advertisements

This advertising is under minding McDonald's and is directed towards the audience of those who consume or who may consume McDonald's products.  It uses the McDonald's colours and the text which says "Eat Fast, Die Young".  This message refers to the unhealthy food choices which are offered by McDonald's.  It is telling the advertisement the food you consume may cause an early death, lead from an unsupported, over-consumed  body and mind.  The advertisement was successful in creating a clear, strong message.

This advertisement subverts Nike clothing by re-writing the slogan of 'Just do it'.  The advertisement is advertising how buying and wearing the clothing made by Nike is much like following the heard and not being an individual.  In the advertisement they create imagery by having a picture of sheep in background.  The target audience for this ad would be consumers, specifically those who may think of buying Nike products.  It asks the consumer to think of why they are buying these products before doing so.  This contains a clear, understood message.  The ad could be improved by keeping the all capital font with the "baa" at the end.

 This advertisement subverts GAP clothing company.    It shows the GAP logo across a person's head, creating imagery and making referring to acting brainlessly (having a gap in your head instead of a brain).  The message in this advertisement would be that in buying GAP products not only are you simply following others in the crowd but acting without thought.  The target audience would be consumers.  It conveys a clear strong message.

  

 This advertisement subverts McDonald's.  It is created giving the image of a destroyed animal head.  This advertisement is telling consumers of the cruelty towards animals which occurs to create the food for McDonald's food products.  The text in the image says: "Do you want fries with that?  McDonald's. Cruelty to go."  This is strong words which conveys the strong message against a big corporate company.   This text seems to add a sort of dry humour also.  The advertisement was successful in communicating its strong message.

  

Photography

3D Post Apocalyptic Scene: Reflection

TECHNICAL:
In my 3D image I changed a lot of layer opacity, filters, hue, saturation and brushes.  I  used shapes and brushes to add details and textures.

IDEA OR CONCEPT:
I wanted to display the destruction left after an apocalypse.  I didn't want to show much of the reconstruction of society after an apocalypse but rather the low society first comes to before it is able to move forward.  I first thought I would show the beginning of the reconstruction which would show more hope, but as I began to work, I did not end up doing so.  I had trouble with developing a scene of hope or of the future after the apocalypse.

INFLUENCES:
The art which influenced this piece would be Tyler Brett and Tony Romano.  They have created art and put together a book of their post- apocalyptic world.  They used technology we have today such as cars, to create their work. Their pieces mainly show the world after the apocalypse, unlike my piece.

COMPOSITION
My piece's composition is asymmetrical and off balance.  The viewers eyes move around the piece with the different levels of 3D (With the front sitting in front (red), the middle ground being green and yellow and the background being blue, sinking in the back the most.)Your eyes also move in circle, beginning in the bottom, with red road and move up  to the right, where there is walking people and graffiti.  Your eyes follow the buildings above and over to the robot and planet then to the other buildings ad back to the road.  I put emphasis  on the road and destroyed buildings by making them in brighter colours.  This works with the movement in the piece as they are the two things which are looked at the most when looking at the image.

MOTIVATION
My motivation in finishing this assignment was to successfully create a 3D image.  I had difficulty in creating the 3D images for practise so, I was scared and excited about creating a scene which was 3D.
 
CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
What I like about this image is is the fact that the image was actually 3D and pops out from the screen.  What I also find successful is the textures within the piece such as the cracks in the road and paint on the blue sky.  I also like the use of line and shapes near the robot, it gives it more a look of lasers.   With more time I would change the awkward transition between the colours (from red to green and green to blue).

3D Post Apocalyptic Scene

Part 5: What is a Conceptual Portfolio Design?

I found this portfolio very creative and different in order to scroll throught the portfolio I had to scroll by placing my cursor either to the left or right.  While scrolling through I found the buttons which said 'identity', 'web' and 'about'. 

This portfolio is different from others because it is uses the idea of a bookshelf .  It is easy to use but it uses a more creative and colourful approch to their portfolio then a professinal portfolio. 

I like the look of this portfolio.  It is vibrant with the bright colours and creative design but, it also is easy to navigate through.  It display one theme but it doesn't distract from the work.

 This portfolio had a lot of vibrant colours which exploded off the screen.  It was very different and unique but not overbearing.  It had music playing and the theme colour was different as you scrolled down.

I found this porfolio creative it had a drawing repeated on what was to look like paper pieces in different colours.  This site had music playing and was easy to navigate through.   

Part 4: What is a professional potfolio design?

 This portfolio is professional because it is highly functional and easy to get around in it.  The typography is very clear and the colours are very light.  The layout is well balanced and there is a clear identity though out the site (Matthew Carin logo which doesn't move in the top left corner).

 This portfolio, although contain more colour, uses soft colours and the large image- which changes display their work.  This site was easy to use and used fonts which were very clear.  Their identity was easy to find and it did not change across the site.

This portfolio is simple and elegant.  It is professional looking because of the light colour, which balances well with the dark brown colour used. The layout is well balanced, also by using the colour to the left. The portfolio focuses on their work.

This portfolio is professional, eventhough it used a very dark black background.  Because this portfolio only uses the two colours, it makes simplistic and usable.  There is a clear identity throughout the site and it uses a clear typography which is easy to read.

I thought this portfolio was professional looking even though it's background and colours are louder than other professional portfolios.  It had a clear identity through out the site and it was well balanced.  I found it very use able and the typography very readable and simple.

Post Apocalyptic World: Brainstoming

1. I think possible ways the world could end are various natural disasters leaving our world destroyed and few survivors, or a technology revolt in which technology would become so advanced it would destroy us ( robots and such technology we have created would have the power to take power over us.  Ultimately they would be able to destroy us in the future).  Our creations would begin to turn against the creators and destroy the world around us.  The world would technically end by a war between robots/technology vs. humans.  I think the environment around us would have to take many  explosions, leaving a lot of destroyed, charred buildings, not a lot of nature left.

2.  An aspect I think I would like to show in my piece of art would be the destruction left behind in this post-apocalyptic world.  I would like to show the debris and destruction left from the world. I would like to set this in city landscape rather than country and the impact would be greater.

3. Things I think would survive my apocalypse are:  buildings, technological items that we have today, such as vehicles, a bit of nature (not a lot of plants would be well- sustained), the Internet, few humans and people with power, robots, charred buildings, debris, strong buildings or great buildings of the world (Taj Mahal, Vatican)- perhaps only parts of them though, not many, but some fields to maintain the remaining humans.

4. After looking at T&T and Onward Future I think that, although their pieces look very simplistic, complexity within their pieces comes from what it represents and the planning of the pieces. I like the creativity by using things that we already have in our society and the bizarreness of their created world.  .Their art appeals to others because it has a futuristic theme and because it makes you imagine what a post-apocalyptic world what look like.

On-line Portfolio Link

http://www.krop.com/bethanyweberart/

Building Your Digital Portfolio: Part 2: Elavator Pitch

First Assignment:  Organized Ideas, detailed designs and imaginative pieces happen here.

Second Assignment: 

a. I am good at organizing or laying-out ideas, whether it is on a page or throughout my day.  I am good at taking pictures, and putting images together to create something new  I  can create orginal pieces of work by using my creativity and original ideas.  I am good at challenging myself and goal setting to be constantly improving myself. I am a diligent worker who is good at working as a part of a team as well as alone.

b.  I would like to imporove and build upon my ability to crete 3D images.  I would like to improve my animation abilities. I would like to be better at creating a vocal point in my pieces and a place which stqands out from the rest of the piece.  I would also like to work more on creting an interesting composition in my pieces by working with colours and various materials without over-doing, and having too  "busy" of images.

Bethany is an imagiantive young artistwitha keen eye for detail, looking forward to advancing her knowledge in various photo editing and animation programs.

Building Your Digital Portfolio: Part1: Strategy

a. I think family, friends and art schools expect to see a variety of art pieces within my portfolio, using a variety of styles.  They would also expect to see progress made throughout my portfolio by looking at my pieces.  I think they expect to see information about who I am (About Me section of the portfolio).  As well as what inspired me to create certain pieces or what techniques I used to create them.

b.  A way I will stand out from the crowd is to create a personal, reflective portfolio.  By, making it personal and inspiring to myself it will be different from others and will make me want to work harder on the portfolio.  To surprise them, I will show my attention to detail while creating the portfolio while adding small animations to capture their attention.

c.  I would like to create a a subdued and reflective look to my portfolio, to display more of my pieces and not distract from my art.  I also think it will make my portfolio more approachable and easier to connect to.  It is easier to communicate an idea through this, which I find most important in my portfolio.

d. My audience  operates in a realm where commercial impact, practicality and clear communication rank highest in priority.

e. My audience puts more importance on creating a portfolio which is commercial and professional.  Although, I think uniqueness and creativity would be appreciated in a portfolio.  I would be willing to add animations and  sound to add and make the my portfolio mine as apposed to simply putting my images in it.

3D Images

Handmade Photoshop Assignment Reflection

Technical
The technical steps and/or developments I used in Photoshop were dodging and burning, brushes, various layers, different opacities, composition (trying to keep the images to the side and not the middle, using a few colours and placing images so your eyes move around the picture). In my photography, I tried to keep the image to the side and tried to capture images on the same level as they are. I also did not use my flash to keep the shadows in my images.
Idea or ConceptThe ideas I ended up using in this piece are using the paper element of hand-made theme. I showed this by using the pictures of my sketches and some notes on paper. I also used stamps (postage stamp brushes, creating the image of the flying bird to look more like a stamp). I ended up changing my idea of my colour swatch and not using any neon signs (even though I drove to a fair and took pictures over a weekend). My idea stayed the same throughout the creation of this image though it didn’t turn out exactly how I had in mind.
InfluencesI didn’t have any artist influences in creating this image, though in choosing my musical artist for designing the cover for I had gotten ideas from their CD label name "Light Enough to Fly" (giving me the idea to have the feathers and birds).
Composition:I used asymmetrical composition for my CD back and symmetrical composition for the front cover. For the front I put emphasis on the birds and flying by making their opacities the strongest and the colours different from the rusty browns of the background. I also tried to show the emphasis on the text by creating it a colour which stood out from the background. The back there was emphasis put on the street sign and text by creating it different colours and opacities greater than the rest of the image. Eyes move around my image by having the feathers falling from the birds and following the birds to the stamps in the sky and back around by the text. The back has movement created by the street sign, the flying birds and the text.
Motivation
What made me want to complete this piece was being able to create a album cover for one of my favourite musical artists.  I wanted to do good with this piece because I wanted the artist to be well represented in my cover design.
Critical Assessment
The elements I find most interesting and successful are the stamp-like birds who are flying with feathers falling. I find this successful because it creates movement and a focus point in the piece. I enjoyed being able to use all my own photography.   With additional time I would change my font or colour choice.  I would change my colour choice to colours which better compiment eachother. (Using a blue to contrast the rusty, brown/orange colours throughout the piece).  I would change my font to a more handmade or thick/darker font.

Hand-made CD Cover

Mood Board

Hue-Saturation

Yearbook Reflection

1. I like the use of layers, different opacities and the brushes. I like the complexity that is added by using many pictures, especially in the background. I also like the use of only certain colours (vintage colours such as yellows, golds and greens). I also was happy that I was able to keep all of the designs looking similar using one theme (scrapbook, film/vintage). I like the use of small, medium and large images as well as the non-centred images.
2. I think the images could be improved by using less boxed/rectangular images- by cutting out the people, places and things out of the images. I could have added more complexity or depth by using more brushes or erasers. I wish I could have found more than 1 picture of our school’s chess club for the chess page. I also wish I could have designed or made pictures of other things or arranged the pictures of my front cover page so that it would have been different than my other themed pages.
3. My design is unique nad creative and could be selected for the real yearbook design beacuse my theme is appealing and it displays within it’s theme what the yearbook is for. It is a scrapbook theme, which is a collection or display everyone’s memories- which is what a yearbook is used for also. The images are able to be displayed in a variety of ways- in the photograph, film strips, and in the background using a lighter opacity- the images will not all be the same, making the pages more interesting. It also uses more appealing colours and images and the colours match the theme.

Yearbook Pages Continued

Yearbook Pages

Yearbook Design Brainstorming

> A possible Yearbook design theme would be to have a candy theme with a slogan "Eating Dessert First" Showing in the past year we (the students) have lived in the moment throughout the year.  The theme would include a chocolate brown with different shades of pink or red.  Or Black and White with punches of colour- such as red and blue.  I would used handwritten fonts and images of candy and desserts.
  

>Another possible Yearbook design Would be a notebook-type theme (using stressed fonts and ripped paper) including doodles and such with a slogan of "Colouring outside the Lines"  Showing the need of teenagers  to be careless sometimes or to break some of the rules.  The theme would be a mostly Black and White with punches of orange or yellow.  This could include various picture of crayons and writing material.