Evaluation

I found this project extremely interesting and very enjoyable. I enjoyed trying new programmes that I haven'tused before and I found out that I really enjoy the vector basing method. I found it easy to catch on too and it didn't take me very long to grasp the idea of what I needed to do. I am going to consider using this method in the future in my own time and in Univeristy as I think that I have done well at it and got some good images out if it, I also think that if I improve I can get some really good images that I am even more happy with.
I think that the main thing that I would have changed if I did this again, is I would have taken more time over my photo shoots and I would have planned it better to make the images a lot better. I would have also researched into fairy tale photo shoots and films as influences in my image making.
The main thing that I found difficult in this process was the actual coming up with the idea. I think that if I found out exactly what I wanted to do at the start of the project I would have had more time to research into better things that related to my project. I would have also have tried to experiment with film images, possibly slide film or holgas that have a more dreamy fantasy sort of effect and very bright colours.
Overall I really like my final images and I am planning on using my birds one as a portfolio image for my University interviews.

How to vector base images

Final 3

This is my 3rd final image, I am not as happy with this image as the other two but I do think that it works well as a series.I like the idea of her reaching out to the light, she appears trapped and is trying to get out, I therefore drew some vines and flowers to add to the idea of getting out of the place as she could have imagined these as a way to help her get out. I think that this worked very well in the set because all the same parts are vector based therefore worked extremely well.

Final 2

This is my second final image, I wanted to keep up with the idea of it being a dreamy place and something that she is imagining. I also wanted to carry on with the idea of using the same model as before. I am also really happy with the umbrella and rain idea, I think that the fish jumping out of the pond also works well as it is like her being in a dream seeing things that arent really there. There would never be a pond with a fish jumping out of it in the middle of the road and it is also not really raining but there is an umbrella. It appears (like the previous image) that she is making up stories and imagining what is happening rather than accepting reality, which children do not normally want to do, they usually believe that fantasy is real.

first final

This image is my first final. I edited the image in photoshop and then decided to do a vector based portrait of just my sistera as I want her to be the only part of the real image that is vector based. I then wanted to use a birds brush in photoshop and so I added brushes into the sky. This then led me to add birds as balloons to her hands to give her the effect of flying away, she appears to be escaping however the real meaning is not shown. I am happy with this image and it's ambiguity. I think that it shows numerous  meanings because Amy does not appear real even though she clearly is a real person as it was a photograph before vector based, however she could also not be real as this could have just been added into a plain landscape image.. The idea of the ballons being birds shows the idea of her flying away to be with the birds. It also represents her in a kind of dream world, I think that this works well because all 11 year olds are quite dreamy and like making up stories., I think that my mystical fantasy idea works with this image. It also reminds me of when she had an imaginary friend when she was younger, therefore links to her life as a child as well.

Contact sheet 2

This is my second contact sheet of images to use for my finals, I wanted to carry on using my sister in a very dull way and then add drawings in and try vector basing it to add colour and imagination to it. I think that my shoot wasnt very good and I think that my images were not particuarly good images, but after ive edited some of the images I think that they will look a lot better and work well with  the mystical element. I particualry like the idea of her climbing the wall. Like in the previous shoot where I wanted to incorporate drawings in I think that I will do the same here to connect the images and make a story. For this set of images I had the idea of her climbing up the fall as a kind of excape with flowers and vines taking over. It is sort of like her in her dreams and what she sees, compared to what is actually there. I have decided that the girl will be the constant throughout and I will vector base the girl and not much else of the picture.

Contact sheet 1

This is a contact sheet from my first proper shoot, I took these images for my finals and I am going to edit them and try and vector base some of them. The shoot was of my 11 year old sister Amy. It was a misty rainy day and I wanted to put her outside in the wind to look slightly dreamy. On this contact sheet is also some cartoon style pictures that I drew with a fineliner and scanned in. I am going to incorporate these into my images somehow.This is my contact sheet of a shoot I did for my finals for this project.
I am going to choose the best one and starting playing about with it.
The shoot was when it was very misty and lightly raining, it is of my sister amy in her dressing gown.
I think that the shoot went fairly well, and after editing I think that I will have some good images to work with. The reason that I had the idea for this shoot was because my sister was walking about the house in her dressing gown and a floaty dress. She was playing with her dolls and it made me think of a fairytale. I thought of it being windy and her dress and dressing gown floating around like she wanted to fly, I therefore took her outside to take the photographs and got the photos that I wanted. Ideas for other fantasy and adventurous style images then came into my mind and I decided that I wanted to work with this idea throughout and try different things. I also wanted to keep the same subject throughout as I think a young girl could add ambiguity to the image, for example, why does she appear to be flying? Why is she outside in the rain and wind? Why is she in the middle of a field? and also I wanted to play with the idea of her being a mystical character, her face isn't shown and no one knows why or who she actually is

Contact sheet of textures

This is a contact sheet of some images that I have taken of textures to use in my images as overlays etc. I took simple photographs of things that I found around my house with texture or pattern, as shown in the previous image, I think that this was a good idea as it worked well with my image. I also noticed after I took these images that they were taken on tungsten, therefore very blue, however as they were shot on RAW i can change this if I feel I need to. I am not sure if I will use these textures in my final image that I create as I do not know if they will work or not, therefore I will decide this when I come to make my final images.

Playing about with drawings, textures and vector based illustration.

I like this image but I don't think that it is very succesful as a final for Play 2. I would add a bit more colour into it and I would have liked to have used a photo as the base rather than a drawing. I started off with a drawing and scanned this in, I then did vector based illustration on the mouth and the eye and added some lines on the neck and forehead to play about with pattern, I then added a texture on top and turned the opacity right down. I like the idea of mixing techniques as I said that I wanted to try this idea throughout the project for my finals, I really like the pattern in the background as I think that it works well with the image, and I think that the squared background adds to the effect. I think that this images relates well to the Alex Box and Rankin idea, however to relate this more I think that I should have possiblky used a photograph like this underlayed.

A book that i looked at that has influenced me in this project

Box, A.  (2009) Alex Box by Rankin, Westerham Press.

All these images are by Rankin and Alex Box, I love the idea of digitally adding effects to there face that looks like extreme make up. I am going to consider this in my work and look at more of Rankins work to make my images. I also noticed that in a lot of his work, it is hand rendered parts mixed with digital images and digital manipulation. Therefore using different tecniques to create an interesting image with meaning or ambiguity. I think that these images can be ambiguous in a way that you can make up your own assumptions of what you think that they mean or represent. They could be used to show a new idea of beauty or also to represent the idea that people can change themselves, and can encourage people to be different and try new ideas.

Drawing

This was an image that I drew freehand using the grid system with charcoal and pencil. It was taken from a chanel advert for lipstick. I am planning on putting it into photoshop and working on it some more, I might use brushes to colour parts of the image, however I'm unsure of what I want to do with it yet or if I want to use it, I really like the look of drawing onto squared paper rather than plain paper.
I think that it is more interesting and a bit different doing it this way, I also like the idea of possibly adding drawing into a photograph. I want to use many different techniques to add ambiguity to my finals. I really enjoyed drawing this picture, however I think that I could have done it better if I spent more time on it. I also like the idea of cartoonising the pictures that I draw a little bit more to add a more of a fantasy edge to my final images, and I think that it will relate to the fantasy idea of vector basing my photographs too.

Vector based portrait

This was an image I found of my sister before her primary school prom. I decided to try a vector based portrait again. This is it so far (unfinished).
I have only done the dress and part of the bag at the moment.
This image was also a JPEG, therefore was hard like the other image, however I just wanted to use this to practice with the method so that for my final images, I was confident with the process that I was using.

I think that the vectoring worked really well on this image and I am extremely happy with what I have produced so far.

2nd attempt at vector based portrait.

This was my second attempt. I used the eyedropper tool to get the correct colours, however this did not work as well as the last attempt. I think that this is because skin colour is extremely hard to get right. I also think that as the image isn't as good quality as the previous image (this image was just taken on a small compact digital camera on jpeg whereas the other image was RAW.) This mean that when I zoomed in it was very pixelated and hard to get the right colour. This is another factor that I need to consider when making my final images.

First try at vector based portrait

This was my first attempt at a vector based portrait. I used an old photo and illustrator to make this. I plan on trying it some more on other images. To vector base this image I started off by opening a photograph in illustrator, i then made numerous layers on top of this and drew around each part of the image that had a different tone or colour, I then used the eyedropper tool to get the exact colour of the photograph inside the part that I had just outlined. I did this for each part of the image and ended up with a vector based portrait that looks very cartoon like. I really enjoyed this and have decided to use this method for my final images,however I am considering not doing the whole photograph, I want something to be consistent throughout, therefore I might vector base something that is relevant in each image.

Playing with layering textures

For this image, I traced a photo that I had and then scanned it in and layered textures over the top. I then changed the blending modes of the textures. I think that this will add a certain depth to a final image as it is taken from something real and made in to something completely different. It is art based rather than photographically based now. I particuarly like the different tones and colours throughout the image and I think that the colours compliment each other in the image. I will consider this when making my final images.