Evaluation for Play Brief

I have really enjoyed working with this brief, discovering a big range of ways photography can be displayed. At first, I wasnt sure on the project as I didnt like all the computer use that was involved as all we use to record our work on is the blog. However, the further I got in the project, the more I started to enjoy it.

The thing I didnt like about using the blog as a alternative to a sketch book was that I couldnt touch it, or arrange everything to how I do compfortably in a sketch book. I also wasnt very keen on all the editing with brushes, layers, blending ect. Although, having said that, after looking at many other artists work, I started to think this style of photography is more like art, which I did for GCSE and i really enjoyed it. This made me more enthusiastic about the brief and made me more willing to experiment and put more effort into it.

The good thing about using the blog to record your work is firstly, its so much cheaper as there is no printing involved, or materials you would need if producing a sketch book for your work. All you have to do is gather research on other artists, do photoshop work to your images, and then simply upload it all to your blog and add descriptions and evaluations. Also, it makes it easier when scanning as you only have to use the computer, whereas with a sketch book you would have to use the computer to scan and for photoshop, then you would have to print it out and stick it into your sketch book.

If I did this brief again, I would try and experiment more with different techniques as most of my finals are of the same kind of style, with mainly brushes used on an image I have taken. I would have liked to have time to do more acrylic transfers as I really like the look of them. I also would of re-created a lot more work from the research I did from other artists. As well, I would have liked to have had a go at creatnig some images using typography, just because its so different and a different style completly to what I'm used to working with.

The two images I printed out as my finals were chosen because I felt they best represented what I have learned whilst doing this brief, and they best showed the whole idea of 'play'. Although they were both very simliar as well, they were still quite different, as the image of the girl pulling a pose with the colour scheme just black and silver is not very realistic, but very graphic. Whereas the other print of the outlined body with the hand up in the foreground with a blue, black and silver colour scheme.

Overall, I am pleased with the work I have produced in this brief as I feel I have learned a lot with manipulating images to make them look better in a lot of cases, and to add an extra element to them. I have enjoyed working on the blog as well, although I didnt at first, as it has showed me what its like to run your own blog, gave me independance as you cant go to your tutour whenever you please to look through your work with.

Scanning

This scanned in drawing was just me doodling in a lesson, and it ending up to turn out looking really arty and graphic. Although all I did when scanned into Photoshop was crop and adjust the levels and curves, leaving a plain, simple scanned drawing, I still think it was worthy to put onto my blog as its showing I know what I need to do if I were to do anything more complex with it for example, layering it with other images, blending in other images, or adding brushes and text to this image.
However, as this image was drawn doodling in a lecture, it was done on lined paper, making it harder to work with on a broader range of techniques. So if I were to do something like this again, I would make sure I drew the origional image on plain white paper.

One of my potential final prints

This is an acrylic transfer image I produced using acrylic paint, card and a printed image on plain paper. Once I scanned this into Photoshop, I increased the contrasts by adjusting the levels and curves. I also brought out the blacks even more by using the selective colour tool. Although this image is not as graphic as my other possible finals, I do think this is one of the best looking out of them all. When in Photoshop, I did add a paint splash brush, with a matching colour to the acrylic paint I used origionally, just to emphasis the fact I had used paint, and to give the image a little bit extra going on, and to make it look less tidy and more raw.

One of my potential final prints

I have chosen this image as one of my potential final prints because out of all my possible finals, this is my favourite. Although the origional image is not mine, and in fact taken from photographer Perou's website, I do think I have significantly improved the whole look and message of this image with the layers of brush tools I have introduced to it. For example, the origional image is pretty simple, with just the subject in the water. Although the origional image is still very beautiful and elegant, I feel my version is much better as theres more going on. Also, in the origional image its clear the women is in water. Whereas in my image, you almost cant decide whether or not shes in water still, or in fact the sky due to all the stars around. But you are still drawn to the idea of the water as I added mermaid brushes to the body, creating the illusion that the subject is dissolving into the water due to the matching blue curves falling off the body. Therefore, I feel even though this origional image is not my own, I still feel I have put enough time and skill into making my own version, and ultimatly I think my version is much better.

One of my potential final prints

This is another image from my contact sheet shown previously on my blog from the recreation shoot I did. Although this image is similar to the previous glitter themed image I made, its also very different. This image does not look as life like, as you can cleary see its a human body form in outer space due to the fact its not been blended in with the surroundings not nearly as much as the previous one. This is because I have added all the glitter and swirls on the edges of the subjects body to create the illusion that the glitters falling off the subject and shes slowly dispursing into stars in the sky. And if I would of added more black around the edges to blend the body in more, you would not of been able to see the glitter falling off the body, which is my favourite element of this image.
Also, first of all I added a moon in the top left corner, but decided it pulled your eye away from the subject which was the main focus and it distracted you. So I opened it onto Photoshop again and created a layer and on one of the layers I went over the moon with a black brush to eliminate it. After seeing the image without the moon it was clear it worked better without. However, I was left with a big blank space of black at the top of the image, so again I created a new layer and added some more stars and swirls to continue to illusion of her dispursing into space.
I deffinatly think this image is worthy of being a final print on A3 for my project as its such a good looking image to me.

One of my potential final prints

This image is from my contact sheet shown previously on my blog. I firstly only wanted to add the stars brush to the subjects hand, just like the image that I'm recreating with this contact sheet. However, as I went through I ended up adding more and more star and glitter brushes to the whole image, turning the whole body made out of stars. Im really pleased with what its turned out like as its so different. I also have kept the hand the main focus of the image as its a different colour to the rest of the subject. I like the way the bodys been blended into the blackness around it, making it look much much more realistic than if it wasnt so blended in. I started to add a few stars around the body just to eliminate the harsh blackness and to again, blend in the body with its surroundings. I added a galaxy brush to the blackness as well, which accidentally has ended up looking like two eyes above the body. Therefore, with all these elements to the image, I would be happy using this image potentially as my final A3 print.

I took this image from Duane Michals' website. My inspiration for this image came from another image I found of his, showing a man with low saturation blowing out coloured flowers out of his mouth, created on Photoshop. I thought this was a good idea so I transfered another image from Michals' website of an image with a similar look to it and re created it. I like this one because of the skeleton in the background, and with using a flower brush, it automactically creates a contrast in the image. This image is succesful to me because the way ive positioned the flowers around the mans body from the skeleton, and kept the colour scheme matched. But mostly because I think theres a great message in this image, with the skeleton being normally portrayed as a scary, bad thing. But by adding flowers coming from the skeleton, surrounding the man, it no longer portrays the skeleton to be evil or scary, but instead, a nice, almost friendly thing. Whereas before in Duane Michals image, the image was plain with just the skeleton and the man, playing with your mind a little as it made you wonder why the skeleton was placed behind the man and what effect it nwas having on him due to the mans facial expression.

Acrylic transfer

What I did for this image was print out a photograph from my computer, (from my environmental project), and painted over the image with a yellow acrylic paint. I used the colour yellow as these kind of prints work best with bright colours, and I simply thought yellow would suite the image I used. Once covered with paint I pressed some ripped card on top of the painted image and put it in the presser for roughly 5 minuites until it dried. Once dry, I peeled off the later of paper from the card with my finger after dipping it in water, gently. When I was removing the paper with my finger, I had to make sure I wasnt pushing down too hard as if I did I would remove some of the ink from the image. You can see on the subjects arm that I pushed too hard as part of her tattoo has gone and has been replaced by the yellow paint.
I then scanned in the final product into Photoshop and slightly adjusted the levels and curves just to bring out the tones in the image. I also added a 'paint splash' brush just to add an extra feature to the print. I kept with the yellow colour scheme to make it look as realistic and raw as possible, as if the image doesnt look like its been played with on Photoshop.
Overall, I am really pleased with how my print has turned out, as I think the image has stayed well on the card and hasn't been rubbed off very much at all. I also like the effect I've made with the brush I used on Photoshop as it makes it look much more arty and it just finishes it off nicely.

Contact sheet for studio shoot

This is my contact sheet from my recreation shoot in the studio. I made this contact sheet on Photoshop CS2 and then added it onto my blog. I had to go through this contact sheet, looking at every image and analyze them. For example, I had to look at composition of the subject, if the lighting was right, ect. Once doing this I had to select the best images for my final image to add to my blog after being edited on Photoshop.

Jason Munn

These are two of my favourite examples of Munn's work. Although they are relativly simple images, with plain backgrounds and just certain parts of the image that have been played with, they are still very effective and appeal to me. I like the contrast in the top image with a knife, thought of as a bad, scary thing with a floral print imported into the blade, making it look less threatening and turns it into a safe, good thing. I dont quite know what it is exactly that I like about the second image, as theres not really any kind of message or much going on. I think its the simplicity and minimalism of the image that attracts me to it.

Kareem Rizk

I love the retro, 1960's feel to Rizk's images, with the colour used against the black and white images. In the top image, I like the idea how the subjects heads have been removed, making you concentrate on the chlothing, turning the image into a fashion styled one. Also, I like the coloured circles which have been added to the background, taking away the plain-ness of the image. This was also done in the next image below with the two women on a motobike in black and white. I guess it has been blended into the colourful, bring background with patterns of colour on Photoshop. I like this one because if you were just to look at the image in black and white of the two women on the motor bike, it would look very boring where colours concerened, which in effect would make the image boring as a whole. But where Rizk has layered it onto a coloured background, it brings it to life and it also emphasises the fact that the two womens faces look like their having a good time on the motorbike with all the patterns and strong colour, which allows us as the viewer to enjoy ourselves looking at the image.

David Foldvari

I really like some of Foldvari's work as I like the cartooney feel to them. Also, like typography that I've also researched, some of his work is similar, but instead of using words, he uses objects to create portrait images, also with strong colour. He also creates words using peoples heads to make up the letters and then to make into words, which I think is really cool and a good idea! I like the second image down with the all black and white image of a man facing to the side of the image, which looks like its been painted in. Then Foldvari must of added some sort of paint tool or brush as it looks like wings behind him made from a stroke of paint. I think what hes done with that image is a very good idea as it emphasises the idea of a painting rather than a normal image. I will deffinatly take into consideration how he produces his images when I'm working through my blog.

Typography

I found the term 'typography' in  the exhibition in college. As soon as I saw it I wanted to look into it with more detail and time. I really like the way an image can be made out of words which are relevant to the image. For example, the top image of the zebra is just made out of black writing which reads 'zebra'. I think its really effective. My favourite one out of these examples, I think, is the portrait image with a low key background of Nelly Furtado's face. I like it the most because the face literally is just made out of the name 'Nelly Furtado'. Its so clever how the words have been blacked out on Photoshop where the eyes are to make it look realistic and so that you can tell its meant to be eyes there. Also how the words have been curved over where the lips are meant to be to give the impression that is where the lips are. I would love to try and create some kind of image using typography, as its refreshing to do rather that sticking to using just images and adding text onto the top with a layer on photoshop.

Olivier Kugler

These examples of Kugler's work show drawings being scanned into Photoshop and in some cases having colours filled into certain parts of the subjects. For example, on the top image, Kugler has only chose to add colour to the man in the foreground, and leave the background of buildings plain with no colour. I think that was a very good idea as it makes most of the attention to the subject in the foreground, which in this case is most important as is what he wants you to look at first and most.
Kugler did this with the second image also, with just the man in colour, however he has added text to this image along with colour. He also only chose to add colour to one part of the text, which happened to be the text above the subject in colour. The colours used for the subject and the text also blend well together as they are from the same colour pallet, making the image work even better. This idea from Kugler has inspired me to try things like this for my blog, and has given me another way or introducing colour to my scanned/drawn images.

Shoot plan for recreation

I want to re-create the image below that i found on google as I think it could look really good with what I want to do with it. Like the origional image, I will shoot in a high key set up in the studio, with the background bright and the subject shilloutted. I will shoot in a high key set up as with this, if the subjects a shilloutte, the outline will be much easier to work with when adding the glitter or stars to it. However, instead of just having the hands filled in with a star brush, I want to make the whole body a shilloutte and fill in the whole body outline with a star brush, or some kind of glitter to create a body made out of whatever it is I choose to use.