Design ideas and design process

My first design idea for this task was to combine black and white with coloured elements. Nearly all the images used are my own that I had taken before, so I decided to pick the one that would be most visually interesting using this effect. Therefore I picked a photo that had red elements which I felt would really stand out against the black-and-white filter. In order to create this effect, I used one of the tutorials provided in the brief by adobe, which explains how to combine black and white and colour elements without destroying the original image. My second design idea was to edit an element of an image to manipulate reality. My thought process was to cut out the inside of the tree, using the quick selection tool and replace it with an image of a snowy landscape, to make it seem like the tree leads to another place. My third design idea was to remove the background of an image to again, manipulate reality. My idea was to use the quick selection tool and layer masks to remove the background and replace it with an image of a starry night. However, I feel my most effective design is my fourth idea which was to distort an image by adding a glitch effect.

For this design I watched a tutorial I found on youtube to help me create the effect. I started by turning the image into a smart object and then decreasing the saturation so that the image appears black and white. I then duplicated the image and adjusted the colours in the advanced blending options.

I then moved the top layer to the left slightly to reveal a glitch effect.

I then wanted to add more distortion to the image by selecting sections of the image and adding a wave effect.

I then selected more sections and pulled them out to make the image look cut in and out of, and below is the final result.

Software tutorials

For my first design idea, I used one of the tutorials provided in the brief by adobe, which explains how to combine black and white and colour elements without destroying the original image by using layer masks. I found the tutorial useful as it provided step-by-step images with short descriptions of what to do underneath, which allowed me to go at my own pace. For my second design idea, I watched another tutorial provided in the brief which explains layer masks and multiple non-destructive ways to edit an image. I found the tutorial useful as it provided me with useful knowledge on the multiple ways I can use layer masks that I didn’t know before. For my third design idea, I used the tutorial provided in the brief on how to use layer masks to remove a background using the quick selection tool. The tutorial also shows how to deselect an area with the quick selection tool by holding down the alt key, which I found very useful. I also used my own tutorial I found on youtube to help create the glitch effect on my fourth design idea. The tutorial goes through how to convert a layer into a smart object and how to change the colours in the blending options to create the layered glitch effect. You can access the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWiKrixVSbM.

 

Design resources and articles

Additional resources I used include an article I found online that goes through the different ways you can edit photos on photoshop. It goes through all the different elements from adjusting colour balance to using the spot healing tool. You can access the website here: https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-use-photoshop-in-5-easy-steps/. This website helped refresh my understanding of photoshop as I hadn’t used the software in a while and had forgot some of the basic tools and adjustments

I also used this article: https://blog.flipsnack.com/30-fully-editable-magazine-layouts-to-help-you-out-of-a-creative-rut/  to help me with my magazine double page spread. The article helped me understand the basic arrangement of a double-page spread and what common components appear.

I also used the website pixabay to add any extra images I didn’t have in my camera roll, such as the starry night image.

Learning throughout the module

Overall, I have now learnt how to edit images in photoshop without destroying the original image by using layer masks. I have also learnt how to use guides in InDesign to help me layout my work in a neat and concise order so that all my image and text elements are aligned properly. Furthermore I learnt how to use After Effects which is a completely new software for me. I now know how to animate text, how to add shapes, how to add effects through adobe bridge, and how to create gifs through media encoder. In addition, through my illustrator task I learnt how to over lap letters, how to re-size letters and how to create 3D text in illustrator, all through researching and watching different tutorials on YouTube.