Week 13

Assignment:
-The assignment for this week was to use the information received during the critique and apply it to the project.

Craft: (How did you do it?)
-During the critique my classmates pointed out some room for improvement. To fix the problem that was present in the comic I needed a new tactic; this new tactic will consist of changing the whole selection of colors. The new colors that will be used for the comic are yellow, red, and blue. For this part of the project we are no longer limited to just two colors so having three colors is still within the limit of the assignment; however, to remain as true to the two color theme that was set before I will use two color primarily. Having a saved copy of all of the photoshop slides removing the digital color was easy. After removing all the color, I had a black and white picture. To me this was like a new canvas on which I can start a new piece of art. The same procedure was followed for the rest of the slides. Having all the slides desaturated I began planning what will be was color. I decided to stay consistent throughout all the slides so I am going to use the yellow color for the people and anything that I feel is really important. The reason for choosing yellow is because it is very bright and stands out. For the background I will use a baby blue color. For some areas I will use the red color. At this point I had a rough idea of the layout of the colors so I began adding the color to the previously flattened image. To flatten the image all you have to do is go under the layer option and select flatten image. I created a new layer, selected the color I wanted for the background, and added the color using the pain bucket tool. I made sure that the photo layer was set to multiply and that the original photo was on top of the color layer. Then I added a new layer and chose the yellow color. Using the new layer and the yellow color I added it to the people’s skin. I added the red color where I needed another color to make something stand out or make something around it more visible. The new colors were added to all slides with as much consistency as possible. Another thing that was pointed out to me was that the slides did not have the same style. To take of this problem I picked one filter and applied it to all the slides. The filter that I picked was the stamp. Some photos at first did not look good so played around with the adjustments and settled on what I thought provided the best picture. Some worked out better than other so a compromise had to be made in some photos. After completing this task I saved the photoshop document. Next I had to transfer the new photos to the comic life. I just clicked and dragged the photos and dropped them where they belong in the comic. The same layout and frames will be reused and the same goes for the speech bubbles, but some bubbles will be removed and some will be reduced. After dropping the photo into its proper place, I made some adjustment by either making it larger or smaller. After having placed all the slides into their right places and making the necessary adjustments I saved the comic life file. This was the final draft, and now we must move on to a new project. The new project will involve creating an online portfolio. This task will be done using the iweb software.

Composition: (Arrangement and order of elements)
-For comparisons reasons, the same slides will be analyzed as in the previous blog. The first slide with the new colors looks better for several reasons. The people pop-out from the background making them easily visible; even pass the squint test. Whereas the previous version failed this test because the background color and the people were colored in similar value even though the hue was different.
-The second frame in the previous version was hard to see because of all the speech bubbles and the colors were not working too for the same reason as the first slide. Both of these issues were addressed in the new version. The people in the new version pop-out and the reduction in text makes it easier for the audience to see what is going o in the frame and in this particular point of the story.

Concept: (What are you trying to say?)
-Using the comic life program and the story slides I am trying to say that if you can imagine it can be done. There are no limits as to what can be done with the technology that we have today. We can take any photo and modify it to unrecognizable state, thus creating a new piece of art work. We can also take ordinary family photos and make them extraordinary by putting them into programs like the comic life, thus enhancing the memories that the family wants to save.

Week 12

Assignment:
-The assignment for this week was to create a comic using the comic life program. This comic still needs to be able to tell the story.

Craft:(How did you do it?)
-Before opening and beginning working on the comic life program I made sure that I had all the frames for the story done and that the frames had the accompanying dialogue. After having this sorted out, I opened the comic life program. The first thing that I did was set the page to be landscape because that was one of the requirements. Then I browsed through the different arrangement patterns that the program has available. Having browsed through most of the pre-set arrangements I picked the one I liked and thought would work best to deliver the story. Some of the shapes I did not need so I deleted them. To add the photos into the shape I you have to do is click on the photo of interest and drag it into the desired place. After placing the photo into the proper shapes, I edited it; the way I edited the photo was by making the photo bigger or smaller. To do this I double clicked on the appropriate shape which gave me an orange outline and this means that the photo is selected. I also edited the box in which the photo is housed-in to have full control of what the viewer is going to see. After completing the lay out of one page, I began the search for the perfect color for the background. To mix it up a little bit, I used the gradient option and picked a second color; the end result is a transition from a red to gray color for the background. This program was chosen for its user friendliness, and it is true this program is easy to use. This program makes it easy to add text where desired. All I did to add speech bubbles was click on the speech bubble and dragged it to the location where I wanted this speech bubble to be. Then I added the text. This is a critical step because it can help the viewer see the story. The title was placed on the first page, and this was done by using the lettering option. To add some style and uniqueness the letters were colored green with addition of a gradient. The same principles of choosing a layout and then filling and editing the photo were taken for the rest of the pages.

Composition: (Arrangement and order of elements)
-In the first slide, the first thing that jumps out is the title because it is big and has a very bright green color. The next thing that catches the eye is the frame where the guy and the girl are talking and then in a cascading motion the second frame is noticed and its contents. During the critique today some of the problems were pointed out. As last time the photos and the people inside them are still blending together, and this is noticeable when one's eyes are squinted. This happens because both the background color and the color used for the people are closely related in their saturation and value. The first time this was pointed out I made the background layer darker and the layer with people lighter, and seemed to do the trick for me, but apparently it was still not good enough. To address this issue again a new tactic will be employed. The new tactic is changing the colors.
-The next slide has a lot a speech bubbles and this impedes the viewer from seeing the image. To correct this problem I will reduce the number of words and the number if of speech bubbles and let the image do the silent talking.

Concept: (What are you trying to say?)
-Using this program, the comic life, I am trying to say that life is full of surprises some more pleasurable than other. Another thing that I am trying to say is that some relationships are not meant to be and should be ended as soon as possible before either partner gets to involved and get hurt really bad when things end abruptly.

Week 11

Assignment:
-The assignment for this week was to use only two digital colors to enhance the story slides.

Craft: (How did you do it?)
-The first major hurdle that needed to be passed was to make a decision about which colors should be used. Jessica and I settled on using red and purple; however, we are not limited to just these to hues we have the different saturation levels of colors that can be used; also different values can be used of the two colors. The color choice may be limited, but the combination of these two colors is endless. Since our story has twelve slides, we once again decided to work on six slides each. Now it was time to get down to doing some work. After opening the slide of the story that I will be working on, I desaturated the slide of any and every hue; this gives me a clean plate where I can let my imagination and color combination run wild. Knowing my limits in terms of color I began by choosing a dark and saturated color to use for the background. Before I could proceed any further, I flattened the image. Now I was ready to start adding some digital color. Having my background color picked out, I created a new layer so I can add this color. For every new color that I decided to add I created a new layer because this allowed me total control in the sense that if after completing the task and I do not like the way the image looks I can delete the layer without affecting the rest of the image. After playing around with different saturation level and different values of both red and purple I had the slides done. To accomplish the assignment I used a couple of tool to help me accomplish my job; in this process I used the polygon lasso, eraser, and a brush. These tools were the best tool for the job at hand because they made the job easier and more efficient.

Composition: (Arrangement and order of elements)
-In the slide where the two people are talking the first thing that the eye catches are the people or at least this was the plan. During the critique today, an issue came up, and the issue was that the image blended together. What this means is that the people disappeared into the background. The reason why the people dissolved into the background is because the colors that were used for the background and the people are very similar in value and saturation. To solve this problem, I have to make the background color darker and make the people lighter; this will allow for the people to pop-out from the background and will defiantly be the first thing that the eye notices.
-The slide where the girl is dreaming had the same problem. The viewer needs to be focused on the girl and the bubble which represents the dream, but the eye is not drawn there. To make the correction, the background will be made darker and the girl and the bubble will be made brighter. By addressing these things the audience should be drawn to the girl and the bubble which is where the action is happening in this slide.

Concept: (What are you trying to say?)
-Using only two colors was a challenge, but well forth the extra time that went into planning. Using just two colors allowed for an opportunity to work with different values and saturation levels of the same color; this makes the art work more unique. By using different values and saturation levels of either color allowed for development of a specific mood in that particular moment of the story.

Week 10

Assignment:
-The assignment was to work on the story slides in our groups using all the knowledge that we have about the photoshop program and its tricks.

Craft:
-For this project each and everyone in class was divided into group; some groups have two people other groups have three. I was paired up with Jessica Greene. The backbone of the story for every group is that there is one person traveling, one person waiting, and one of these people has the package for the other. After some brainstorming and deliberation Jessica and I settled on an idea. The idea for the story is that a husband of a newly wed couple goes to Italy for a medical convention, and while there he falls for another woman. Having this general view of the story Jessica and I collaborated and created a dialogue. It is best to shoot the photographs of people and places separately and later combine them using the photoshop program. Before any pictures were taken we have some to an agreement that I would be in charge of taking pictures of places and things, and Jessica would be in charge of getting pictures of people. Having the dialogue as our guide map we set out and took the necessary pictures. Next time we met we combined our photographs and began working on the project. During the whole process we were both providing inputs to each other. This allowed for mistakes to get fixed before they got out. This is one of many advantages of working with someone else. Having another pair of eyes helps catch mistakes and provides another perspective on the same images, thus allowing the images that was created to undergo a message test. Having someone to collaborate with allows for more time to be spent on each slide because you are not rushing to get the assignment done; this means that each partner will have more time to get the details straight and make sure the image says what it is intended. After having completed all twelve slide we combined the slides, placed them in order, and printed them out. The slides were passed around and each group was allowed to look at and give feedback on the work. This is also a form of collaboration because other people are looking at your work and providing opinions on how to improve the story.

Composition:
-When we were working on our slides we used each other to make sure that the applied filter as well as other things did not ruin to readability of the photograph and that it conveyed the intended message. Also, when slide had more than one layer subsequently more than one object of interest, Jessica and I worked together on the arrangement of these objects. This makes sure that the eyes of the audience will follow the path that our eyes followed. The first thing to get noticed in the first picture is the leaning tower of Pizza, and then the two people in the picture. The second picture has the people in the center because this is where the action is happening in this frame of the story.

Concept:
-Collaborating with someone on an art project, research or writing a book is one of the best things that anyone can do. This is due to the fact that you have another set of eye to inspect your work, and you have another brain which can be picked at for new ideas. Working with another person on a project while using different programs can be helpful; for example, one member of the team may have forgotten how to do something thus the other member would help. Overall, working with someone else on any project is fun that is if they pull they share of the work. Working alone may create unique style, but when two people combine their styles it becomes even more unique, and example of our styles being combined can be noticed in the two pictures above.

Week 9

Assignment:
-The assignment for this week was to create a first draft of the story using the pictures that were taken and modified using the photoshop program.

Craft: (How did you do it?)
-Having everything sorted out as far as which pictures will be used to create the appropriate slide of the story Jessica and I began working and meshing pictures together to get our story across to other people. Since there were twelve slides to the story and two of us we decided to divide the slides in half; this did not mean that each partner worked alone because even though the slides were divided we gave each other inputs on how the slide can be improved throughout the whole process. Having a rough idea of the layout of the slide and the picture in front of me I began by selecting a main photograph that will act as a background. After having that figured out I began working on the subjects. The first thing that I did was select the magic wand tool because this tool will be the most efficient; there were a couple of pictures were the background and the clothing on the subject matched in color and this presented a problem. This posed a problem because the magic wand tool works on the principle of selecting pixels that are similar in hue in comparisons to the one that was initially selected. Using the magic wand tool, I removed as much of the unwanted pixels as possible and the once that presented a problem I used the eraser tool to get rid of the pixels that were not desired. In some cases the edges were a little rough after the erasing so to fix that the smudge tool was utilized. Having learned how to apply different filters during the previous session of class, I applied those filters that I believed help accomplish the message. In some slides, I added digital color. This was done to improve the picture and to make the style of the slide a little more unique; all digital color that was added was added on a new layer because this gave the freedom to play around and trash anything that did not work out without harming the original. Before saving a copy I made sure that the image was still readable; once I was happy with the arrangement of elements and the colors I saved it. The described process above was applied to all the slides that I created. Today, during the critique, the groups were allowed to look at all the stories and had an opportunity to make comments on anything. The objective was to look at each slide individually, meaning not looking ahead to figure out the plot, but to look at each frame and decide what it is trying to say, and the comments had be written on the back of each slide. Doing this will help the creators of the story know if they are sending the right message; if the case is that the images or arrangement of these images is sending the wrong message than the comments should help guide the authors of the story on to a path to fixing the problem. After every group had a chance to examine other stories we were given a few minutes to look at the comments that our stories received. After reading the comments it became evident that some things need to be straightened out.

Composition: (Arrangement and order of elements)
-Slide number 9 which is the one where Dr. Little is inquiring about the convention; this photo was made using the previously described methods. Dr. Little is placed in the center and the eyes of the viewer are draw to him first. The next thing that becomes visible as the eye travels is the piece of paper that he is holding which is key to the story. The clerk is the next person that gets noticed because she is right next to the paper. Next, the eye travels to the big calendar date because the clerk is pointing to that location. Image has some digital color, but it was done purely for aesthetics. Some suggestions that were proposed was to add the month and the year to the white paper to make sure that it appears as a date and not just some random number.
-Slide number 8 is where the girls are exchanging the phone. The first person to get noticed is the girl wearing the orange sweater because of its brightness; next, the eye travels down the arm and reaches the phone and then travels to the next person in the picture. During the critique there was some confusion about the object being transferred from one person to the next; this problem occurred because of the filter that was applied, thus to solve this problem the filter needs to be removed or adjusted so no question can arise as to the identity of the object.
-Slide number 3 is when Amanda, the fictional character, is sleeping and dreaming about the family she wants to have. The first thing that jumps out is the girl sleeping which is followed by the bubble. In the bubble the eye travels clockwise because the man in the bubble is the closest; the next thing that gets noticed is the girl in the bubble. She gets noticed over the babies because she is bigger. Thus the last thing to get noticed are the babies. During the critique, for the most part, the message that was intended got out and was received.

Concept: (What are you trying to say?)
-Using the pictures above as well as other photographs that are part of the story I am trying to say that you should think hard and make sure that you are ready for commitment as well as make sure that the other person feels the same way before major commitments are made.

Week 8

Assignment:
-The assignment was to bring pictures to class that might be used to tell the story that the group came up with.

Craft: (How did you do it?)
-Having the printed copy of the dialogue in front of us, Jessica and I decided that we will use the twelve slides option to tell our story. Next we decided what will go into each slide; establishing the necessary details of slide was critical because this is going to help us determine what, who, and how pictures need to be made. Having covered all the preliminary details it was time to go out and take the pictures for the story. I was in charge of taking photographs of places and things. Using the story as my guide I knew that I had to get some pictures of Hotels, cabs, and an airport among other thing as well. Knowing that the story takes place in Italy it was important for us to establish this fact; it is important because this is where the convention is going to take place and it is where Dr. Little falls for another woman. One of the most recognizable facts about Italy is that this is the location of the leaning tower of Piza, thus I went out and got a picture of the tower. I got several shots of this tower so that later Jessica and I can pick the one that will work the best with other picture. Another picture that helps establish that Dr. Little is leaving is a picture of the airport terminal. In the story, Dr. Little arrives to Italy at night; knowing this fact I took a picture of a hotel in the evening, and as luck would have I got a couple of cabs in the shot which is going to help the story; the way it is going to help the story because it tell the audience that the character has arrived and is checked into the hotel. Other important details that had to be represented in the story was the time and that Amanda is waiting at home for her husband. The picture that is going to help make that case is the picture of the clock and the picture of a girl waiting and staring outside. The strategy that I used when taking photographs was to take several shot of the same object; I did this by varying the distance between me and the object as well as the angle of the camera. The other pictures that were critical to the story were the characters and these pictures were provided by Jessica. The picture include people in different positions and a variety of hand gestures. Combining our picture together we narrowed down to some essential pictures that will be used to tell the story. During the class period we learned some feature that would help each team to make their stories unique; some of these features include the numerous filter options as well as how to apply digital color to a black and white photo; however, this technique is not limited to just black and white photos, it can be used on any photograph and used to make something jump out at the audience. The color can be used differently; some may use color to draw attention to something or someone may use the color to set the mood for the story. It is recommended that if a color is going to be added it should be done in a new layer; this prevents any mishaps.

Composition:
-I really like the picture of the leaning tower of Piza; I like this picture for several reasons. One reason is that it is going to make it easier for us to communicate to the audience that half of the story is going to take place in Italy without using any written communication. The other reason is that it is just an incredible piece of architecture. The other picture that I like is the picture of the hotel in the evening. This photograph was taken at night, but because of the lights located on the over-hang details were not lost to the dark environment; instead of fading, the main entrance pops-out.

Concept:
-Using the picture that were gather by Jessica and me we hope to tell the story about a doctor who travels to another county and falls in love with another woman. The story reveals some of the hardships that newlyweds go through during the first year of marriage because as the common belief says, "the first year is the hardest."

Week 7

Assignment:
-The assignment for this week was to come up with an idea for a story in our groups and type it out; the story had to contain the following three pieces:
a. one person waiting
b. one person traveling
c. and one of these individuals has the package for the other

Craft: (How did you do it?)
-The first thing that needed to be addressed is the idea for the story. Some brainstorming was done, but eventually an idea was settled upon. The idea was proposed by my partner, Jessica. Using outside of the box thinking she came up with an idea; the central theme of the story was already done for us, but it was up to us to fill-in the detail. The proposed idea was that one character is a husband who is away on business and he is traveling back home; the second character is his wife who is at home waiting for him, and the package that the husband is bringing home is another woman whom he chooses to be with. Having this general statement as a backbone a dialogue was created. I got the opportunity to let my imagination run free. After completing a rough draft of the story line, I sent it to Jessica for her approval as well as adding any additional pieces of information she felt the story was lacking. After a couple of more modification we felt that the story was complete. In the end it was established that the husband's name is going to be Dr. Little who is a year old family physician who owns his own family practice on the North Side of Chicago. The wife's name is Amanda; Amanda is a 25 year old nurse working at Rush Hospital. The last major character in this story is Nicole who is a 23 year old receptionist at the Villa la Massa hotel where the 2009 American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) annual convention will be held. Using the dialogue of the story as map, I went out and took the pictures that would help tell the story.

Composition:
-The possible photograph candidates that will be used for this project are located above. The reason why these photograph would make a great addition and help tell the story is because they fit in with the set theme. The first picture deals with one of the set ground rules for this story; one person waiting. The other picture that you see above helps establish the fact that the husband is leaving the country because this picture was taken at O'Hare airport fifth terminal which is used for international flights; establishing the international feel of the photo are different flags from different countries.

Concept:
-Using the pictures that will be taken by my partner, Jessica, and me we hope to tell a story that we created. A story about a husband who goes to an annual convention and bring home a girl home to his wife. The story addresses a couple of questions indirectly, and these questions are is there true love? and how much faith plays a role in our lives?