Surreal Composition
The surreal composition project was our introduction into the world building unit. Although short, it was very fun and it helped me learn some new Photoshop skills. It’s exactly what you would think: we were assigned to create a surreal composition. I learned how to use mask layers for this project, which greatly helped me create non-destructive edits (one of Ms. P’s favorite sayings).
In my initial sketch for this project, I just had a simple boy on a platform looking down at the city. As I began to collect photos for it, the idea began to grow and grow. In this world, an electronic wall divides a poor city and a rich and colorful city. The poor city is drab and gray, with abandoned buildings and moss growing on walls. The rich city has bright lights and tube transportation, weaving around the buildings. They purposefully leave the wall transparent so that the poor residents are forced to see what they are missing. The boy on the platform looks down at the wall, and I imagine him pondering how he can get over the wall and escape to the other side.
I had a lot of fun with this project, and it was my first time using masks. It really simplified the process, especially since having a clean workflow is something I often struggle with. I also used a lot of transformation tools, such as the perspective and warp tool. I’m fairly happy with the end result, although it’s a style I don’t often utilize. I’m excited to explore the world more in the future!
Multi-LAYERED ART PROJECT
In Digital Media, we were assigned a layered artwork project. We had the choice of creating a layered wood ring, light box, or layered wood art, and I chose layered wood. Initially wanted to do something very complex with a lot of small details, but in the end I chose to go with a more simple and bold idea.
I decided on layered wood art as my project as I liked the concept of having floating pieces, as well as the amount of detail I could achieve. My project depicts Bryson, his head disfigured as goo comes out of the segments. The goo represents the monster he will eventually become throughout my narrative. I wanted to tie this project to my book jacket and movie poster, which also include disfigured imagery of the main character. I’m most proud of the wood staining that I utilized to further the depth and layered look of the piece. It was my first time using wood stains and I found the process very calming. Overall I’m very happy with my piece, and I’d like to try wood stains again in the future.
We also created a 3D video in AfterEffects to show off the layers of the artwork. Although it was difficult, I greatly appreciated this process and I love how the final resulted looks. It was nice to work on one project in so much detail, using it to learn other forms of media: from digital 3D to physical art. Spending so much time on it allowed me to really flesh out the symbolism and story I wanted to tell. I can definitely see myself using 3D space in the future, possibly for animations.
