Final image outcome.

Final image outcome.

I feel that I have achieved my desired final image and have fulfilled the points in my proposal.

Photoshop during final piece.

screen shot of final piece in Photoshop.

Screen shot of final piece layers in Photoshop.

The screen shot above shows that I used Levels, Curves, Adjustment layers, Masks, hue/saturation and layer styles.
 

Final Production.

 The base image I used for the project is a close up of some coral with a fish within it.

The first edit I did was to, using the stamp tool, remove the fish from the image. I then used the curves and the levels to create areas of darkness and adjusted the contrast to add brightness to some areas.

I then added an image of a scuba diver to the background and gave it an "overlay" layer style, I also applied a mask to it so I could hide the right side of the image. I also adjusted the levels of the scuba diver and reduced the opacity. Using the bush tool and motion blur I crated some light ray coming from the direction of the diver and reduced their opacity so they are very faint in the background.

I then placed some coral in the foreground and slightly blured it to give it some depth for when I later added in the text. In the left hand corner I duplicated the background to put it in the foreground so later the text can sit behind it.

 I then added the text "LIFE" in a font called "Molot", to this text I added a large outer glow in green and a small drop shadow to give it some depth. I then added a layer mask of an image that I created to give the text some texture. Above the text I added some light steaks using the brush tool and motion blur,  I reduced the opacity then using the blur tool made it look like the text is giving off some kind of chemical.

I then added some bubbles to above the text to emphasise the idea that it is giving of some kind of chemical. I also reduced the bubbles opacity and added a layer mask so that I could hide some bubbles and emphasise others.

 To the entire image I applied levels and curves adjustment layers to darken certain areas.

Next I added some mutated fish and some more coral to the right side of the image. To these I then applied levels adjustment layer masks .

Finally I applied a green overlay to the rock in the foreground to make it look like it was covered in sea weed. 

Image sources:
Font: Molot (http://jovanny.ru/)
All foreground, background and base image: http://sxc.hu/

Magazine cover.

Shark Attack.

I used a script font with an overlay layer style, behind a sans-serif font. The sans-serif has a semi-opaque gradient to give it the effect of a metallic finish, it also has a drop shadow to slightly lift if off the page and divide it from the type behind. For the sub-titles I used another different sans-serif font with a small blue outer glow.

Leopard and rhino.

Leopard and rhino.

I layered the skin of a leopard over the top of a rhino to create this effect. I used the liquify tool to warp the skin around the rhino and the applied a layer mask to hide the unwanted leopard skin.

Project proposal.

For this project I will create an image on the theme of "underwater life" that will be submitted to Revolutionart.com's online magazine. The magazine in read by over 70,000 people and contains some of the best current and up-and-coming artist from all around the world.

My concept for this project is to create an scene that will combine the bed of the sea or a reef with typography. I will create the type in 3D then render it in Photoshop adding different textures and creatures to make it appear as if it is in the reef.

The colours that I am going to use for the image will be dark blacks and greens in the background with very bright colours in the foreground.

My influence for this piece comes from the work of Justin Maller, who uses bright colours and often manipulates typography. I like the way that he make the typography part of the landscape, i will try to do this in an underwater environment.

I have decided to do this piece in the landscape (550px X 920px) option as this way I will be able to show more detail to the sea bed and the typography can be larger.

The output for this project will be screen based so I will create it at 150ppi.

Lizard + hippo = Liz-po.

Creation of a liz-po.

Half hippo half lizard. I used the head of a hippo and the body of a lizard. I added a colour balance adjustment layer to change the hippo to the same shade of green as the lizard. Using a layer mask on the hippo I revealed the lizard and blended it in. I then added a levels and brightness/contrast layers and used the stamp tool to get rid of the remaining visible lizard head.

Copyright.

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights that are granted to the creator. Copyright lasts on a single piece for 70 years after witch it enters the public domain, once it has entered the public domain it is free to use and is no longer subject to copyright.

Health and Safety Test.

Health and Safety Test.

My score 70%.

Bitmap and vector

Bitmap and vector

The difference between a bitmap and a vector image. A bitmap is made of  pixels and is saved as a map of where the pixels are on the image and their colour, the problem with this type of image file is that it can not to scaled without the image becoming pix-elated . On the other hand a vector image is created and saved using a mathematical algorithm, which means that it is scalable to any size with it becoming pix-elated.

Drinks, drowning and ice.

Drinks, drowning and ice.

Image sources:
http://girly-drinks.com/girly-drinks-links-halloween-edition/194/
http://ceo-info.com/2009/07/30/whats-the-hot-time-to-cold-call/ice-cubes-2/
http://popsop.com/6240
http://smoont.com/amazing-ice-bars/
http://myonlinetherapy.vox.com/library/post/drowning-in-emotions.html
http://wcjoseph.blogspot.com/2009/11/drowning.html
http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

Mind map.

A class collaboration of ideas around the topic of "Water". 

Under water image research.

Under water image research.

Image sources:
http://pelfusion.com/awesome-graphics/creation-and-manipulation-of-digital-images-by-fiero-animals/
http://www.deviantart.com/
http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/underwater-photography-artistic-compositions
http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs38/f/2008/313/b/c/Deep_deep_sea_by_Sugarock99.jpg
http://abduzeedo.com/old-young-case-study-photoshop-cassio-braga

Research on Ee Venn Soh (www.behance.net/vennsoh)

Ee Venn Soh is a self-taught graphic designer and illustrator from Malaysia. He has won many awards for his work and is featured in many publications.

Research on Ee Venn Soh.

Ee Venn Soh's work is based around bold shapes mixed with photographic elements. I like the way that he is able to blend the shapes into the photographic elements he uses. For example (above far right) the photo of the girl has been intertwined with bold shapes, which make the image more dramatic. I think Ee Venn Soh has first created the vector shape in illustrator and then imported them into Photoshop.

Research on Ee Venn Soh.

The tree image above are all similar, they are all set on plain backgrounds and feature a portrait. The most noticeable similarity in these three in the way that Ee Venn Soh pops the bright colours and shapes from the plain background. I think this works really well as it gives the images a focus point.

Research on Ee Venn Soh.

These last three (above) are my favourite out of this selection, I think that they are the clearest and the way Ee Venn Soh has made multiple colours to work together and not clash is amazing.

Research on Fabio Sasso (fabiosasso.com)

Fabio Sasso is a graphic and web designer from Porto Alegre, Brazil. In 2004 he started ZEE with a friend of his and architect, Fabiano Meneghetti. In 2006 Fabio founded Abduzeedo which is now one of the biggest designer resources  on the internet, it is updated around four times a day with the latest design trends and the most current artists.  

Research on Fabio Sasso.

Many of Fabio's images are set onto a black or dark background which when combined with the bright colours and glows he creates, produces a striking final piece with a huge amount of impact.

Research on Fabio Sasso.

In many of Fabio's images he manipulates typography or he creates a new type. An example of his typography manipulation is "lost in space" (above centre) he starts off with the original type and then overlays a bright, high contrast image. An example of  him creating a new type is the "ZEE" image (above left), for this effect he first sources images of water splashes, he then in cinema 4D creates the type "ZEE". He then imports the model he made in cinema 4D into Photoshop and begins to render it. He builds up the final image by layering the water splashes and adjusting levels.

Research on Fabio Sasso.

The two images above (far left and far right) show work that is similar to the others I have already written about, with bright colours and the use of typography. However the image (above centre) is different from the rest as is a photo that has been added to and manipulated. He has added in huge fire balls and a semi-blurred gun to give the viewer a point of view into the image and also a perspective.  

Research on Justin Maller (www.justinmaller.com)

Justin Maller is a freelance illustrator and art director based in Melbourne, Australia. He has been producing digital art for over eight years, but in the last three years has produced professionally in both a private and studio based capacity.

Research on Justin Maller.

The main bulk of Justin's work is based round manipulating photographs, this is because when he is approached  as a designer it is usually by a company wanting to promote a product and the company want to some there product in the design.

Research on Justin Maller.

Another main subject of Justin's work is human figures. He creates ultra unrealistic images by replacing the texture of the skin (above middle) and by also adding climatic elements (above far right). By using these effects the figure retains its distinguishable features yet gains an unrealistic feel.

Research on Justin Maller.

Research on James White (blog.signalnoise.com/)

James White is a visual artist and designer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has 11 years of experience as a professional designer and is regularly featured in advanced Photoshop magazines such as Computer Arts.

Research on James White.

In his work James uses bright colours with a high contrast, usually in straight lines witch he then blurs to give the image movement. Many of his images are made up from distinguishable shapes that are all brought together to create the final image. By combining the bold shapes with the movement of the element he creates a very unique composition.

Research on James White.

In many of his pieces he uses key colours across the spectrum to create a rainbow effect. A distinguishable part of White's designs is the type and the effects that he applies to it. For example the "Nike track nationals" (above left) is a standard sans-serif that he has overlapped and added effects that give it a 3D look and  direction of a light source.

Research on James White.

Girl edit

Quick demo of editing a photo in Photoshop using masks, levels and curves.

Under water shark scene.

Under water shark scene.

I used a variety of adjustment layers to add in the shark and the wrecked plane. By having the sea bed at a high contrast it give the impression that the light is reflecting off it. I created the light with the brush tool, adding a motion blur and reducing the opacity. I also blued the foreground of the sea bed to give the image some perspective.

Investigation / Experimentation

The light.

Experiment to create a light streak using soft edged brushes (0% hardness) and the smudge tool (85% strength) in Photoshop. We also used layers to add different colours which when combined with the smudge to gives the image a blended look.

Light with specks.

To my light I next added small bubbles to give the effect that it was moving. To create the bubbles I modified a soft bush by changing the scattering and the shape dynamics. I also blurred the top off the light to give it more movement and added a high light to the top.

The final image.

To create the final image I added the light from the previous steps and another green version. I used a variety of quick masks, clipping masks and adjustment layers (levels, curves and hue saturation) to add highlighting to the model's face. I used motion blur on the light beams to add movement and added thin soft brush strokes with an overlay setting which give depth and a source of light to the image. I  also used semi-opaque gradients to add specific dark areas to the image.

  

Under The Sea

Under The Sea