This week's assignments

This week I'm working on quite a few projects.  

Computer Based Art
1. Weather Report:  Using only the tools in Photoshop, no imported images, I have to create a dynamic and creative image that displays the weather of a given day.  Partly Cloudy, High 84, Low 54.  It just seemed like a small in-class assignment to me so I was working on a design that was uninspired and simple with a thermometer gauge and a background of the sun coming through clouds.  My instructor came by and said my design seemed a little safe for me (curse you over-achievement!) so now I'm working on one that shows off my Photoshop skills and incorporates the elements into gold coins that will sit on a desk with a calendar in the background.

2. Hansel and Gretel Storyboard:  This is one of our bigger projects that isn't due until Nov. 5th.  We are supposed to take the classic story of Hansel and Gretel and make a photo narrative using Photoshop and images that we take.  There will be 6 composite images total, but we don't have to tell the entire story.  We can choose a part of the story that we like and use images from that part.  We had to come up with 3 concepts to begin with last week.  My concepts were:

• Desaturated and dark with hints of red like in the Red Riding Hood movie.  I want it to be spooky with lots of fog.
• Super saturated and bright like in Tim Burton's version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
• A coloring book using real images and manipulating them in Photoshop.  Then I will use a brush to create the look of crayon coloring the image in.

After presenting my ideas to the class I decided to do the coloring book concept but I'm still thinking about adding a dark, creepy vibe to it.  I also really liked another classmate's idea of doing a post-apocalyptic scene.  Her idea had more to do with zombies but I'm thinking it would be really awesome and unexpected to have the forest actually be crumbling buildings.
This week all I have to do is make thumbnails of my 6 scenes which shouldn't be that difficult.  The real challenge is going to be in taking the images that I will use.

2D Design

I am working on a project where I have to incorporate an artist's style into an advertisement for a product.  We chose artists out of a hat.  I was hoping I'd get either MC Escher or Tamara de Lempicka because I am CRAZY about the work they do.  I've always wanted to study their styles to learn how they created such cool works.  Luckily I got Tamara de Lempicka!  The dragonfly drawing that I did in Drawing I will surely help me with the shading in her work. 

We got to pick our own product so I had a few ideas.

#1 - Coppertone based on Portrait de Mille by Tamara de Lempicka

#2 - Wonder Woman based on her style
#3 - Lois Griffin based on The Phone II by Tamara de Lempicka

I chose to do concept #3 and started playing around with different mediums to get the gradients right.

Stippling is not my greatest friend!  The watercolor seems to be too hard to control but I do like the effect it gives.  I think, though, that I'm going to stick with charcoal.