Last Post Ever (For Now)

It's done. I finished the skyline vexel. It took all quarter, and I've been coming to school  the last few days for the sole purpose of finishing this piece. I was unsure that I'd finish it, but it's done and I'm proud of how it turned out. I might add a little more detail to the sky and horizon, but as far as I'm concerned, the piece is complete. I've had a great three years in graphic design classes, and I'm going to miss working with Mr. Runge and all my classmates who have helped to guide me along the way. No guarantees, but depending on my courseload, I may continue this blog throughout college. I think this piece is a great way to end, considering that I'm leaving St. Petersburg, where I've lived my entire life, and the sheer amount of time and work I put into it. This piece has tested nearly every skill I've learned in graphic design, and my patience as well. I consider this piece my greatest acomplishment, and hope to possibly print it out big. For the final time, thanks for looking.

The Devil in The Details

This week, as school for me is coming to a close, I really focused in on the details of this piece. I finished the Vinoy, a few other buildings and began work on the remaining buildings. I think I'll probably finish before the end of my year, at least I hope to finish.

More Skyline

This week I did more work on my skyline piece. I started working on the windows on the Vinoy that I'd neglected to do before. They're turning out pretty good, and I think I'm gonna finish ahead of time. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

SKYLINE AGAIN

This week I made a lot of progress. The trees are getting to look very strange, so I should probably fix that. I'm finding this piece to become increasingly difficult and my patience to be wearing thin. However, I still enjoy the piece and can't wait to finish.

This week, I continued work on my piece, and I made an insane amount of progress. I spent quite a bit of time on the boats, but I really like how they turned out. Unfortunately, I merged most of the layers for the left half of the piece, and afterwards I realized that I had a few mistakes, so I've had to fix those in a roundabout manner. Overall, the piece is going very well, and it looks like I'm on target to finish ahead of schedule!

Skyline Week 2

This week I continued work on the skyline that I talked about last week. Despite having a concussion and not having class every day because of the new schedule, I've managed to make a significant amount of progress! I may just be able to finish this piece! (Don't worry Mr. Runge, I'm kidding, I will finish this piece!) By sacrificing some of the detail on things like trees and other organic materials, I'm able to have more progress. Depending on the amount of time I have after I finish all the buildings, I'll probably go back and add details that I intentionally left out. Regardless, the piece is coming along and I'm still very much excited about it!

Skyline Week 1

This week, I began a project that will likely span the entire 4th quarter. I wanted to make my last works be somewhat of a legacy, as this is my last quarter in high school. After making many vector based works over the course of the year, I've become fairly proficient in working with the pen tool in Photoshop. Following in the theme of the drawing I did of the St. Pete pier, I decided to undertake a project that a classmate had begun but not got far due to the sheer volume of work involved: creating a vector drawing of the St. Pete skyline. I've made a lot of progress this week, but I still have a lot to do, and two of the buildings you see were created by Dylan, although I did touch them up a bit to make them fit my style a little more. I'm super excited about this piece and I have high hopes that I'll finish it!

This Week in Space Travel

This week, we were allowed to do whatever we wanted so long as we were working on something. Last friday, I don't know what possesed me to do this, but I began work on a vector drawing of the space shuttle. That became my focus for this week, and I was able to finish it in record time for a vector image (they usually take me far longer). I like it a lot. I had a lot of trouble getting the color to work together in a satisfactory manner, and I think it probably could still be improved upon, but I don't think I'll do that at this point in time.

Time For a Little Cross-Curricular Jellyfish

This week, we had no official assignment other than to roam free in photoshop, so I made a jelllyfish. We were talking about phylum cnidaria (jellyfish are a part of this) during AP Biology this week, and I was inspired by just how beautiful jellyfish truly are. I took a picture of a jellyfish that I found online, made it black and white, and used the pen tool to recreate it as a vector and bring color to the jellyfish, while placing it on a background almost identical to the one that resulted from the black and white adjustment. I spent a lot of time making the tentacles just right, but I'm really happy with the end result.

#sunset

This week, we took photos indoors and made them look like they were in sunsets. I didn't look at any tutorials, I kinda just winged it. Using various adjustment layers and doubling up some layers I was able to make Cole look like he was in the orignal sunset photo.  It was hard finding the right sunset background for what I wanted. I also had trouble getting the levels where I wanted them. The photo looks different on here than it does in Photoshop, it looks more realistic there. #coleissunset

GIFs!

The last two weeks have been incredibly productive, despite only being in class a few days. I revised my original GIF of Cole smashing clay on the ground. I hand colored the clay, so when he smashes it, you can follow all the fragments, making for a much cooler GIF. I also finally finished my CB450 vector drawing that I've been working on for a while, and decided to GIF it. I originally wanted to make the wheels move with the bike, however, the way I made them, I'd have to redo the piece in order to accomplish that, so that will have to be something that I work on in my free time. I really am happy with both of these pieces. (They load faster when you open the images in their own tab by right clicking on them and selecting "open in new tab")

Portraits....AGAIN????

This week, we were assigned to make three portraits that told a story. After realizing my initial idea was not doable, being the apathetic senior that I am, I decided to tell a story of seniors suffering through their remaining days here. In photoshop, I first made the images black and white. I then made corrections to get the levels and exposure just right. Next I went to the filter gallery and would experiment with layering halftone pattern filters and note paper filters. After I got those where I wanted, I went back and adjusted levels again until I was satisfied. The reason I chose this look is because earlier this week I saw a music video, Liar (It Takes One To Know One),  by the band Taking Back Sunday, which uses a similar stylistic approach, and it looked cool, and after accidentally stumbling across the halftone pattern filter and note paper filter, I decided to go with this look.

Painting poorly

This week, I did a painting tutorial. Needless to say, it went poorly. Very very poorly. I feel really bad about what I've done to the photo of cole that I painted. I'm used to painting on top of pictures, and I've never painted anything "from scratch" like this, and I clearly need some more work in this area. I think I'll stick to painting over things for future paintings.

Cole...Again!

This week, we did more portrait based pieces. For this one, I followed a tutorial that showed how to use Photoshop to add more elements to portraits. I started with a portrait of Cole, then removed the background. From there I kind of strayed from the tutorial, cause I really didn't have the vision of that kind of piece in my head. By some accident, I accidentally managed to give Cole long hair. After that, it all came together. Using various noise filters on water drop textures as well as the original portrait I was able to create a cool portrait loosely based on the tutorial.

COLE SMASH!

This week, we were instructed to create 3 portraits. I was stumped, but decided to photograph Cole. He suggested that I attempt to get a photo of him smashing leftover clay pieces on the ground. I had little to no luck with that, so I decided to try a video, and create stills from that. What resulted was  a gif that shows him in the various stages of smashing, each frame a portrait of him. At the end, I had a little fun and added the popular Doge meme for comedic relief. COLE SMASH!

Final Propaganda

Winter Break! It's amazing to think that the first semester is over, and I'm in my last semester of high school. I honestly could never imagine this happening, but here we are. For my final piece of the semester, I did a propaganda piece about the value of gun safety and education. "Educate not Regulate." This message is something that means a lot to me. I read the other day that since the tragic Newtown shooting, 194 children have died as a result of guns. Many of these deaths could have been prevented by properly educating gun owners, as well as children in the proper handling, use and danger of firearms. Not everyone can agree that gun regulation will stop deaths, however, you can't argue the value that a little bit of gun education could have in saving the lives of many.

Pier and Beard Propaganda

This week, I was very productive. Not only did I come closer to completion on my portfolio pier piece, but I also completed the propaganda piece that I was assigned. I'm really proud of how both pieces have come together, and I really see these as being probably my best, most professional quality work yet. For the propaganda piece, I'm really proud of my process. I did a whole lot of thinking outside the box and using familiar tools and techniques in new ways that I'd never thought of before, with very good results. This piece came together really quickly, and I feel that it conveys the message in a very potent manner. The idea behind this piece has to do with the fact that the school doesn't allow men to grow facial hair. Being one of those who has very fast growing facial hair, it's a very inconvenient and frustrating rule for me. For me the most basic issue with this rule is the fact that it's my body, and I should be free to do what I want with it. What gives someone else the right to tell me what I can and can't do with my own body? Also, I'm sure I'm not the only student who has to shave frequently but doesn't as it upsets my complexion. My having facial hair doesn't bother anybody, and I keep it well trimmed. I hope to find a way to change this rule by the end of the year, perhaps through this piece.

Pier Propaganda

This week, I started another propaganda piece. This one is based on the ongoing debate over the fate of the St. Pete pier. I personally love the pier, so this piece is promoting the landmark status of it. I'm using the pen tool to recreate the pier in all its iconic upside down pyramid glory in Photoshop. The piece is coming together well, but it's still very difficult. I've put in many hours so far outside of class, but it's not quite done yet.

Pen tool portfolio

This week, I began a new portfolio piece. I'm using the pen tool to redo a piece I did in beginning graphics. The original was my motorcycle which I had used the mixer brush to paint over a picture of. This time I'm recreating the motorcycle using the pen tool, as that has been the style which seems to be my forté. Here is what I have done so far.

Chinese Artist Piece

This week, I created a piece in the style of Chinese digital artist Nod Young, who I found through an article at http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tutorials-effects/100-artworks-from-the-top-digital-artists-in-asia/ . I really liked his vector based style of art, which is, in many ways, similar to my own style. I really like the way he uses abstract shapes and a flat, smooth texture combined with welcoming, calming, typically pastel colors to create very cool works of art. In my piece, I tried to use the same ideas to create something that shows appreciation of his work, but is still very much my own. I ended up making this piece quite the learning experience in a tool which I'd thought I'd long since mastered, the shape tool. After being unable to find how to make a semicircle, I decided to make my own, and then from there, I really ended up really only using the pen tool and shape tool for the rest of the piece. I really like the way this piece just seemed to create itself, and as a result of that, is very abstract, leaving the viewer to draw their own conclusions as to what is going on in the many elements of the piece.