Digital Photography & Imaging - Project 1 Collage Design

 26/9//2023- 10/13/2023 (Week 1 - Week 3) 

Ho Winnie / 0364866 

Digital Photography & Imaging  / Bachelor's of Design Honors In Creative Media 

Project 1 - Collage Design

---

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Lectures 

2. Tutorials 

3. Practicals

4. Project 1 - Digital Collage Design 

5. Reflection

---

1. LECTURES 

Week 1 

Week 2 

Week 3 

Week 1 Lecture Summary :

In Week 1, Mr Martin gave an introduction to our module which included some of our projects we will be doing in the future and the importance of using Photoshop - the wonders photoshop can do.  We were instructed to download Photoshop and read through the module information booklet closely. 

Digital Photography & Imaging Module Booklet 

Week 1 Lecture Slides : Introduction to Digital Photography & Imaging 

Week 2 Lecture Summary :

In Week 2, Mr Martin went deeper into explaining to us what is Photoshop and how do we use it. We were introduced to the layout and tools of the software but mainly focused on the Lasso tool, Polygonal Lasso Tool & Magnetic Lasso Tool. Next, he also introduced the Object Selection Tool, Smart Selection Tool & Magic Wand. 

We were taught on how to use these tools to help in our digital collage. 

Week 2 Lecture Slides: 

Week 3 Lecture Summary : 

In Week 3, Mr Martin taught us how to use different blending modes to create images. We were mainly taught on screen blending mode (removes black parts) , multiply (removes white part)  , softlight (increase contrast) , and how to use adjustment layers

Week 3 Lecture Slides :

.

---

2. TUTORIALS

Week 1 Tutorials :

Mr Martin showed us videos on how physical collage is done and we were expected to create our own digital collage in the future. 

Week 2 Tutorials : 

Mr Martin showed us on screen how to use the tools he introduced to photoshop 2 furnitures into a room and we were instructed to follow and try out as well. He used both the easy and hard way to photoshop the items. He taught us the pen tool and the lasso tools as the manual way and the easier way was to use to magic wand and object selection tools. 

---

3. PRACTICALS

Week 1 Practicals : 

Mr Martin gave us some tasks to do on Week 1 which I listed below 

1. Bezier game https://bezier.method.ac/

We went back and played the Bezier game which is mimicking the pen tool in Photoshop, it was quite fun and engaging and I was left with 16 nodes for the whole game. 

Fig 3.1 One of the stages in Bezier 

Fig 3.2 Result for the game 

2. Setting up E-portfolio & Pinterest Account 

As i already set up my portfolio before hand, I only needed to create an account on Pinterest to save my inspirations and work there. 

Check out my blog here  and my Pinterest account here 

3. Favorite Graphic Designs on Pinterest 

We had to go on Pinterest and find 3 favorite designs done using Photoshop and explain our reasonings. 

Below is the list of my favorite artworks 

Fig 3.3 Futuristic Dystopia by Remi Causse

 

This is an artwork done by Remi Causse, she is a renown print artist and produced many conceptual pieces before, but my favorite line of artwork is called “FUTURISTIC DYSTOPIA” .

I’ve always been a fan of futuristic design and this artwork perfectly shows the concept of a robotic futuristic design. I admire the skills used here, especially the reflective metal characters and the small graphic elements. The artist composed all the elements together with a clean touch. Check out more of her stunning works here

Fig 3.4 Under The Same Sky By Daron

This is an artwork done by Daron, who is a photographer and an artist. He pieced different pictures of skies he took and photoshopped it into this wonderful piece here.

Since young, I enjoyed looking at beautiful scenarios and this work gave me a feeling of multiverse breaking through and “same sky but different places” . The artist initially wanted to give off the concept of “Under The Same Sky” but I think that he did more than that. Check out more of his work here

Fig 3.5 The Girl By Neeves 

This is an artwork done by French Artist, Nevees. This piece depicts a girl who loves exploring nature - as we can see the waterfall underneath.

The double exposure work here is done perfectly, and he combined both her dream and reality into one piece harmoniously. I am highly impressed by how he can knit two viewpoints together , the colors, amalgamation of two ideas .Check out more of his works here

Week 2 Practicals : 

After looking at how Mr Martin's tutorial, I used both the manual and easy way to photoshop the items into the living room. 

Fig 3.6 My Take on using tools to crop , Week 2 (10/6/2023)

Fig 3.7 Final Draft of photoshopping 2 tables , Week 2 (10/6/2023)

Week 3 Practicals :

We utilised the knowledge of different blending modes to edit some images given by Mr Martin to create 3 artworks. 

Artwork 1 : Girl with coffee steam 

Fig 3.8 Girl with coffee , Week 3 (10/13/2023)

I used blending mode for the smoke to remove the black parts of it and copied into the picture with the girl holding the cup. A new adjustment layer was created to increase the contrast of the photo. A radial gradient is added too to give a feeling of a smoky morning. 

Artwork 2 : Birds at sunset 

Fig 3.9 Birds at sunset , Week 3 (10/13/2023)

I used the lasso tool to remove the birds from the background and add an adjustment layer to alter the contrast so that it will fit into the sunset picture, after that I applied blending to it and linear gradient effects.

Artwork 3 : Girl with contrast 

Fig 3.10 Girl with contrast , Week 3 (10/13/2023)

I created a duplicate layer of the original background to alter the contrast and also a new adjustment layer. Radial gradient was added here too.

---

4. PROJECT 1 - DIGITAL COLLAGE 

After learning the tools in Photoshop, our first project was to create our own digital collage using the pictures Mr Martin gave us which can be found here. 

He encouraged us to go beyond our imagination and come up with 3 digital collages. Here are my takes on this project. 

First takes on the design :

Fig 4.1 Collage 1 - Outerspace Fight , Week 2 (10/7/2023)

Fig 4.2 Collage 2 - The Multiverse , Week 2 (10/7/2023)

Fig 4.3 Collage 3 - The Jungle , Week 2 (10/7/2023)

After some feedback from Mr Martin, he felt that collage 1's design is the best which is the outerspace fight. He guided me on what can be improved which is to make the boxes and humans standing blend better together and to change the paper plane to a car instead. I edited the different blending modes and added adjustment layers to it. 

Full PDF design improvement process :

Final Digital Collage Design ( with layer adjustments & blending modes ) :

Fig 4.4 Final Collage Design , Week 3 (10/13/2023)

---

5. REFLECTION

Overall, I really enjoyed the lectures and classes over the past 3 weeks regarding collage design skills and also different photoshop tools. I learnt how to use blending modes in photos and also the factors needed to make a good composition. I am quite happy with the final work produced and it is very interesting to create and try out different compositions. 

---

QUICK LINKS

Project 1B : Digital Imaging Exercises (Hearst Mansion & Recolor Black and White ) 

Project 2 : Double Exposure & Photo Manipulation

Final Project : Self Titled