Helping Hand - A1 Photo Montage

The task was to create a dynamic composition from the four photoshop montages of our models in situ. I tried a few different ideas and settled on this one. I turned the hand upside down and used it as the main theme and backdrop for the montage, the idea is it is the 'helping hand' and the model is the symbol for us in our lives - a resting place for the elderly person; the career ladder for the ambitious; the roadblock for the police.

I skewed the photos a little and used an opacity. Used the task as a getting to know more about Photoshop exercise.

Helping Hand

Wood Wharf

An interesting site for the competition. There were two things that struck me:

• how different the two spaces are, one side quite stark and modern and incredibly windy and the other completely natural, neglected and sheltered to an extent
• the size/scale of it, I've not worked on anything this size before

A natural, neglected area 

A view across the Thames to the Millennium Dome

Quite a contrast, glass, steel and tarmac

This is going to be challenging, I need to think big. Having a couple of people in the photo (above) does give the scale to the overall area. I need to sketch out some ideas and get a sense of how the whole space is going to work.

Photoshop

Here are the results of my Photoshop session - this is a first time and a combination of on-line tutorials and a bit of advice from Flik and I really got going. Speeded up considerably just by adding layers and switching them on and off. I need to write down the process as sometimes I missed a step and then couldn't work out why it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do.

I can see where the pictures could be improved, more precise cutting around the objects would enhance them, but it was a time limited exercise and I wanted to complete the task of four pictures.

I'm looking forward to learning what else this programme can do, I've looked at some of the other blogs and love some of the effects Phil put on, e.g. transparency - this is going to be a lot of fun.

My mum sat on an elevated step, she would be terrified!

Tiny model... the detail of the hand cutout is not brilliant but I like the overall effect

Hello, hello, hello, a roadblock 

The career ladder

Model Tracing

Here are my traced model scans. The first one I hadn't changed the setting to Black and White and it shows quite a different colour background, a tinge of pink. This was not an experiment, just that I was concentrating on the DPI and forgot about the colour, back to my point the other day of more haste, less speed! The second scan I changed the setting to black and white, but didn't have a 1bit option, it was either 256 greys or thousands of greys, I went for the lower number. Both scans were set on 400dpi.

One is in outline only and the 2nd one I added some form and texture with a bit of cross-hatching.

I've also found that uploading large scans takes quite a while (why are scanned images so large?) so I have been opening them in Picasa and exporting them to a file, it reduces their file size so they load more quickly, but I don't know if it impacts on the quality of the scan - something for me to find out. 

Traced model scanned with 400dpi but setting not changed to B&W

Sketched in traced model scanned with 400dpi in black and white

I then decided I ought to try to import it to Photoshop and have a little play before I start with the 2nd task. I opened a file, created a layer and got the picture onto the layer. Then, BIG THANK YOU to Russell who showed me magic wand and transform. I removed the surrounding trace and am left with just the outline of the model, I then changed its size. I think this is going to be fun.

Traced model, edited in Photoshop

Sequential Sketches

I'm posting these for the record - things can only get better  - and I'm sure they will; I can look and see what's wrong with these and am telling myself more haste, less speed. Look at what I'm drawing and follow the lines, I can do it better when I slow down so that means practice, practice, practice

1st attempt - Sequential sketching

Sketches

Here are my 8 sketches using different media. I took longer than the 2 mins, partly because I enjoyed doing them sat in the sunshine but also because my very quick sketching is poor - I know that's the whole reason for the exercise  - and so I'm practising quick sketches. Yesterday was good practice following Paula round the building, although my efforts were poor, I can look at what I do and see where it went wrong and that is a pretty good step forward.

I really like charcoal but not in such a small scale, on big A3 sheets it is quite fun and very versatile. I like the fineness of the technical pen in this small space. My sketchbook isn't very water friendly so the water colour is more of a coloured pencil. I'll buy a different sketchbook next time with less absorbent paper as the water soluble graphite is lovely to use, very quickly you can get good shading effects. I do use other paper and staple it in to the sketchbook.

The scan has missed the right hand edge, it's because the book doesn't lie flat, need to remember that.

Clockwise from top left: technical pen, soft graphite pencil, felt tip, biro, lead pencil, watercolour pencils, charcoal, crayon 

Garden History

Really good feeling to get one part of an assignment done. It was a bit of fun dressing up. I find the history really interesting  (unlike when I was at school) now I'm fascinated by it all.
The 5 mins presentation went really quickly; with the questions and answers it was good that Tom added to the information. I've added some pictures just for the record!

The expert historian can't believe Cleopatra turned up to his class

Cleopatra looking quite serious

Why am I the only one with a serpent headress?