At first glance, the image above appears relatively normal. A closer look will reveal a strange figure standing in the background. This is one of many photos I have editing to add such a monster. All of the edited photos were taken sometime in my recent life during a memorable event. This features the most obvious example of editing. In some of the other photos, the figure is so small it can’t even be seen without zooming in.
I suppose I should’ve begun with why I made these. In short, they were made for my own amusement. The monster was a character created by me and my friends. It became a running joke, and I decided I should use my new knowledge of Photoshop to bring it to life. Now that I’m past explaining the motivation behind Photoshopping such a monster, I can explain how I did so. The actual design of the monster was something I created around two years ago. Luckily, it was fairly simple and easy to recreate in Photoshop. All I had to do was paint a black figure, blur it, and add a little inner glow and a fair amount of outer glow. It seems easy, but, sadly, it wasn’t always so. Sometimes I had trouble painting the figure in a way that looked humanoid yet monstrous. Still, I was able to get past that fairly easily. The hardest part in creating these images was making the one you see up above. It was the first image I edited the figure into. Unlike the other images, I traced over an existing figure to create the monster. It seems easy enough, But I found I needed the monster to be thinner than the person it was traced over. In order to keep the original figure hidden, I spent a while using the clonestamp to erase parts of him that were showing through. After a lot of work, I was able to make the picture look all right. In the end, I managed to use Photoshop to not only add a monster to old photos but create one all together using only tools in Photoshop. I think shows how versatile Photoshop is, and the ways someone like me can use it. Though it was only for personal amusement, I think this project expanded my knowledge of this program.
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So far, we have mainly worked with two programs, Photoshop and Illustrator. Both are used to manipulate 2-D graphics, and both are similar in some ways, but, at the same time, are very different in others.
One of the main differences between the two programs is the type of image they can be used to make. Photoshop is bitmap-based, making it resolution dependent. This means it works with images made up of pixels. Illustrator is a vector-based program, which means it works with images that are resolution independent. For this reason Illustrator is better for making images that might be enlarged, like logos. Since vector images are resolution independent, they can be enlarged without losing quality. As the name suggests, Photoshop is better suited to editing photos and making more realistic graphics. Beyond the types of images they are used to create, there are differences in the way these programs operate. Many of the tools are different, and some of the tools that seem the same operate in different ways. Still, the layout is somewhat similar. I remember finding that learning Illustrator wasn’t particularly hard after learning Photoshop, which was likely a result of, among other things, the similar layout. Now that I’m familiar with both, I have no trouble going back and forth between them. They involve similar skills, which I think was helpful when I was learning to use Illustrator. While I enjoy working with both programs, I have used Photoshop more outside of class. I prefer working with it because I can make more realistic graphics. If I want to draw something, I generally prefer to do so on paper than in Illustrator. Still, Illustrator is preferable for making professional looking illustrations, though so far I haven’t really had a need for any. In the end, Photoshop and Illustrator differ greatly. Still, they are similar enough that it isn’t hard to learn one if you are familiar with the other.
Animation is a very interesting and complex art form. It requires an immense amount of work. I have had experience with animation in the past, but said experience was mostly limited to stop motion.
Stop motion animation has interested me for as long as I can remember. Several films I like utilize stop motion, whether they be animated or live action. There are many types of stop motion animation, the most popular of which may be claymation. Many of the stop motion films I like utilize complex puppets. Like any form of animation, it is extremely complicated and requires a lot of work. Unlike live action films, every scene, every shot, and every movement must be carefully pre-planned. Depending on what materials are being used, character building may end up being difficult. If the animation uses sets, they can end up being extremely complex and time-consuming to build. Lighting is extremely important. The actual shooting process involves taking pictures and slowly moving the characters, which is tedious work. Hours of work often results in only seconds of footage. While we haven’t been working with animation in DDA yet, we have acquired some skills that might help with animating. One thing that might be useful is knowledge of the production cycle, particularly pre-production phases, as planning is especially important in animation. Another is knowledge of composition and design. Photoshop and Illustrator could be used to create stills which in turn could be used to create animation. Thus, I am a little prepared for what is to come. In the end, though it will require a lot of work, I look forward to working with animation.
Maison, Jordan. “Stop Motion: A Step by Step Guide.” Videomaker, Videomaker, 3 May 2018, www.videomaker.com/article/f4/18027-stop-motion-a-step-by-step-guide. “What Is Stop Motion - Why Are Stop Motion Animation Movies so Popular..?” IKITMovie Stop Motion, IKITSystems Limited, 2018, www.ikitmovie.com/what-is-stop-motion/. |
AuthorI'm interested in film and animation. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools.
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