Design 1-
This week our brief was to create a design that communicates the word 'Opposites', using the drawings and images we had collected for our homework. For my homework I made sure to collect a variety of images from, newspapers and magazines and scanned them in at 300 dpi to ensure I had a high resolution image to work with.
For my first image I worked with two opposite images, one of a battle field scenario and the other a landscape that could be perceived as very idealistic and peaceful, both these images have very juxtaposing moods.
Firstly using the quick selection tool (with a small diameter) I cut out the solider in the foreground of the first image. Following this I pasted the selection onto a new layer that was over the top of the landscape.
After that I selected the rest of the soldiers from the background of the first image and layered them over the landscape, however I lowered the opacity of this layer to ensure that the colours of the tropical landscape could be seen. However I Maintained 100% opacity of the soldier in the foreground so that it gave to image layers of depth.
After adding the final layers I realised that the bright colours of the tropical landscape didn't show through very well in that image, therefore I used a light brush of a pale blue to create a bright sky. This meant that the colours of the background contrasted more strongly with the war theme.
Final Outcome-
In my final outcome I don't think that the contrast between the two images I used was strong enough to fully represent the theme of 'opposites'. However I am please with how I used a variety of of layers to integrate the images to create one image. I think to improve this piece the tropical colours of the background would need to be more vibrant, and to do this I would probably work with the levels tool to see if I could achieve this. Another option would also be to find another image that is similar in context to see if it would help to create a more successful image.
DESIGN 2
For my second design I worked with another two images one of a miniature village and one of some AT-AT walkers. Both of the images I used were from different publications, one from a newspaper and the other from a film magazine. I think that finding imagery from contrasting places as I did really helped in finding pictures that contrasted more strongly.
To begin with merging the two images I selected out one of the AT-AT Walkers and pasted it onto a new layer, above the miniature village background. Next to blend it further into the environment I duplicated the background layer and deleted everything but the train and the foreground section. Following this I arranged the layers, in the right-hand panel, until the walker was behind the train, therefore giving the illusion that it is part of the scene.
Next I cleaned up the edges of the walker and added a mask layer. I used a semi-transparent grey brush to create a shadow, using a mask layer helped to make sure the colour only appeared on the walker, which really helped.
As a finishing touch I selected the lasers and added them into the final image. I think this further contrasts the images, combining a peaceful setting with a science fiction robot.
I also added in a second AT-AT Walker the background. I did this by duplicating the foreground walker, transforming it into a smaller size and then adding a blur filter, so that it blends into the background environment.
Final Outcome-
Compared to the first piece that I created in response to this brief, I definitely think that this one is more successful. The AT-AT Walkers work really well in the environment, and the lasers help to guide your eye around the piece. Furthermore I like the piece as it's not too saturated with imagery, and I think it works really well to communicate the theme of 'Opposites'.
CopyRight-
One difficulty that arises from scanning in and working with imagery found in newspapers and magazines is that most of these images are almost guaranteed to be copyrighted. Due to this fact it would be very unlikely that I would be able to sell or use these images in a commercial way. I may be able to combat this obstacle in future digital collages if the images I used were manipulated enough that they didn't resemble the original. Another way to avoid this would be to use copyright free imagery, however this would limit me in what I could create.
