(Photo-shopped images to the right; original image to the left)
"Pathema and the Priestess"
"Creation of the Universe"
"The Ghost"
"Desert Snake"
"Fire"
"La Morte"
Abstract: This portfolio consists of six original drawings that were either scanned or photographed, and then altered digitally using photo-shop in order to achieve creative and artistic digital pieces.
Production Log: these images were all drawings by me that I had either scanned or taken a photograph of. Images "Creation of the Universe," "Fire," and "Desert Snake" were images I had made during Week 4 and posted- however, I felt that they were lacking, so I re-created them until I was satisfied.
How I dealt with each piece depended on the quality of the original image. Some images, such as Fire and Creation of the World, I was able to directly scan unto the computer and start coloring in, using layers to color in different parts of the image, so they would not interfere with each other.
This was how I colored in all of the images, but before I could do that with pieces like "La Morte," which were originally drawn on notebook paper, I had to get rid of the blue and pink lines. I achieved this by altering the hue/saturation of cyan, blue, magenta, etc., and changing it's lightness to 100%. The lines would then either disappear, or become a very thin grey line. When this happened, I would alter the exposure and shadows. By using this method, I was able to dispose of the notebook lines without ruining the original sketch.
Pieces like "Pathema and the Priestess," "La Morte," and "The Ghost" were originally photographs of the drawings that had already been altered. I had to adjust the levels and exposure to each of these pieces in order to get rid of unwanted shadows.
In order to make a smoky effect in pieces like "Fire" and "The Ghost," I created a shape, used the burn tool to burn around the edged of that shape, and then used Distort>Wave multipletimes. Other effects I used were Filter>Render>Cloud (in "La Morte" and "The Ghost" for the background), Filter>Render>Fibers (in "La Morte" for the tree bark and the fence), and Filters>Cutout (For the background in "Desert Snake.") I also adjusted the Saturation/Hue of "La Morte" to change the color of the dress from yellow-brown, which I had originally intended but realized made the lady blend into the fence, to the color green. Some tools that I used frequently throughout all of my projects were the Burn tool to create contrast, smudge to blend colors, and of course various paintbrushes to create certain effects. I also used ctrl+T+shift to resize the image of the woman in "The Universe," after duplicating her original layer.
Self Evaluation: I feel that I am able to use photoshop more efficiently than I was before, now that I understand the ins and outs of photoshop a little bit better. However, I find that my biggest problem was that I had too many layers- or, rather, that I wasn't able to keep my layers in order. I would accidentally click a layer I wasn't supposed to be on and start working on the image, wrecking my work. I would either have to start over, or do damage control. My other issue was not having quality images to begin with. It took a long time to figure out how to fix issues like notebook paper lines and unwanted shadows. In addition to that, I had lost my pen for my pen tablet, and had to do everything by mouse, which was difficult. However, all in all, I feel I did well, and am proud of the images I have created.
