Funny Image Composition
This project was an opportunity to practice using Photoshop to create compositions. We did this as a preparation for the surreal worldbuilding composition project.
I have a lot of experience using Photoshop, so I didn’t necessarily learn anything during this process. However, it was a lot of fun coming up with the ideas for these images and making them. It was also a good opportunity to practice some of the features in Photoshop that I’m not as comfortable with, such as layer masks.
Motion Graphics
We spent a lot of time during this unit learning how to create various visual effects in After Effects. After learning a bunch of different techniques, we were tasked with combining a few of them to make a video featuring motion graphics. I really liked the feature that allows you to animate a line being drawn, so I decided to focus on that in my video. I also used a lot of combinations of effects that allow you to duplicate and warp lines in a radial pattern. My goal was to create a fireworks show using the various effects.
During this project, I learned a ton about the many different features After Effects has. It was really cool getting to create something from scratch using the new techniques I learned. To create this video, I used a lot of the techniques we learned in class, but I also explored some new things. I also learned how to use masks to create the rainbow firework seen at the beginning.
I also tried to implement the techniques we learned in more complex ways. For example, I combined the “drawn line” effect for a curved line and the firework to create one that has a trail before it explodes. I also experimented with some ways to warp and transform the fireworks to make them spin a bit. For the final firework, I used a lot of the properties available in the trim paths tool to create a firework with many colorful layers.
Multilayered Art
For this project, we got to use the laser cutter to turn an Illustrator drawing into an actual product. We could choose either a lightbox, stacked wood, or wooden rings to create a scene from our worldbuilding story. I chose to make a lightbox, but I made my layers out of wood instead of paper.
Here is the initial sketch I created for my design. I did the rough sketch on paper but defined some of the details digitally in Photoshop. I planned to use about 8 layers of wood. I really wanted to incorporate the lights into my design in some way, so I chose to create a crack in the sky for the lights to flow through. This same idea can be seen in a lot of my other visual worldbuilding projects, but I think it’s the coolest here since there are actually lights. Instead of representing one specific scene, I wanted to tie together a bunch of elements from the story. These include the cracked sky, the town, the building, and the character in the corner.
Here is my very chaotic looking Illustrate interface. I was typically only looking at 1-2 layers at a time so it never looked this messy, but even having two layers showing was quite confusing. One of the trickier parts was making sure that everything connected right. Even one missing line would be enough to make an entire layer fall apart. I also had to pay attention to where I was letting light through. This was especially important since I was using wood and not just paper. As you can see in the bottom half, there are a bunch of large windows for the light to shine through. I had to pay a lot of attention to making sure that the windows were hidden in the right spots
Here’s my final lightbox! I’m very satisfied with how it came out. I think I did a good job of bringing my vision to life, and I succeeded in making sure that the light could shine through.
In addition to using wood instead of paper, I decided to spraypaint the frame of the lightbox black. I think this gives it a very clean and finished look.
I titled the lightbox “In Another World”. Throughout the process of developing my design, the scene I was creating sort of turned into an alternative/bad ending to our story.
If I could go back and change anything, I’d probably want to add 1-2 more layers and make some things like the houses a bit more detailed. At the time of creating it, I wasn’t really sure exactly how small of details the laser cutter would be able to produce, so I created a bit of a simpler design.
After creating the final product, we also created two separate videos showcasing different parts of the process. This first one showcases the process of cutting, assembling, and adding lights to the final product. I hope you enjoy watching it!
I created the video in After Effects, and the process was luckily quite simple. We’ve done a lot of After Effects this year in Digital Media, so I felt very comfortable jumping into this.
We also learned how to use the 3D functionality in After Effects, and applied it to create a video using our Illustrate file. We imported each layer into After Effects, arranged them in three dimensions, and added camera movements
I had a lot of fun making this video, and it was really cool to mess around with the different features of After Effects 3D. I really liked changing the various camera position parameters to create different perspectives. I decided to go a little further with the lighting functionality, and ended up adding two additional lights. I added blue and pink lights to give the back layers the same glowing effect present in the physical product. I also added keyframes to these lights so that they gain intensity as the piece gets assembled.
Artist Statement
For this project, I chose to create a wooden lightbox because I really wanted to create a product with a lot of dimension that feels like you are looking into another world. The scene I created represents an alternate bad ending for my groups’ worldbuilding story in which our three protagonists fail to stop the company IDEA from creating a disaster. The furthest back layers represent the disaster, with colorful lights shining through the cracked sky. In front of that is the headquarters for the company IDEA. In one of the windows, you can see its CEO Eric Grey. In front of that is the town of Malum, where our story takes place. In the very front, one of our protagonists, Alice, is seen watching everything. When planning out my final product, I knew I wanted to use wood instead of paper for the layers because I liked the thicker look. I also decided to spraypaint the frame black because I thought it looked a bit better and cleaner than just the wood.
I started by creating some sketches on paper and then tracing over them in Adobe Illustrate. I had to pay a lot of attention to the shapes to make sure everything connected correctly and would get cut right. I also had to add a lot of empty space at the bottom of each layer so that the light could shine through the wood. At the same time, I also assembled the wooden frame and spraypainted it black. After creating my layers, Mr. Flo helped me cut them out on the laser cutter. I also cut a lot of foam strips to put in between the layers. Then, I began to assemble it. I started with the layers furthest forward, using wood glue to attach them to the frame. I used the foam pieces above each layer to separate them. To add further dimension, I used two layers of strips instead of one to increase the distance between layers. Then, I added the lights. I cut out holes in a foam board and attached the light strips to the other side. I used a phone to program the lights to the colors I wanted, and assembled the battery. I used tape to hold everything to the foam board. Overall, I’m very happy with the result. I think I did a good job recreating my vision of the scene, and other than a few minor mistakes, I don’t think I would make any changes.
Although we’ve done other projects in Digital Media that have gone from a digital artwork into a physical product, this was by far the most complicated. Since it wasn’t just something that would get printed out onto a material, I really had to think through how everything would look as a wooden lightbox. For example, I had to think about how my sections of open space overlapped so that they would let light through but not be visible. I also had to make sure there was enough support for the different components so that they wouldn’t come apart as wooden pieces. After the final product was finished, I had a really good time learning new After Effects skills. It was really cool to see how the different layers, lights, and camera movements came together in the 3D video. I would definitely be interested in exploring more possibilities of After Effects 3D, perhaps in the advanced learning project coming up.