Digital Photography & Imaging: Final Project

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10/11/2023 - 5/01/2024 / Week 7 - 14

Lim Yu Xuen / 0359676

Digital Photography & Imaging / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Final Project: Self-Titled

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lectures
Practicals

Final Project: 
Idea Development 
Design Direction 
Execution and Production 
Animation & Finishing 

Feedback
Reflection

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Module Information Booklet



10 November 2023

Week 7

Mr Martin gave us a short brief on our final project, where we were tasked to create a A4 sized self titled poster which incorporates the skills we have acquired from 3 modules- Typography, Illustration, and Digital Imaging and Photography Skills. It is recommended to use our self created font, and the image should represent ourselves.

Week 7 Lecture Slides



24 November 2023

Week 9

We were tasked to create a flower face portrait for this week. The skills and tools that we must incorporate is: pen tool, blending options, colour grading, and blending modes. I have tried different blending modes on different layers, mainly using bevel and emboss. Actually, most of these tools that we have used are introduced earlier in the previous lessons. This task allowed me to reflect and remember the tools and my knowledge.



8 December 2023

Week 11

Mr Martin introduced us to a new application which we will be using to complete our Final project, which is Adobe After Effects. This application allows editing such digital visual effect, motion graphic, and compositing. I learned some of the basics by following the tutorials and exercises given.




15 December 2023

Week 12

In this week, we continued to learn more things in After Effects. Mr Martin provided tutorials during Week 14 and shared slides which helps us with understanding After Effects more. Camera layers are useful in creating a 2.5D Parallax effect, and we also applied the motion tile effect to seamlessly fill any gaps in the composition.



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24 November 2023

Week 9

I used pen tool to draw the paths and marque tool to make selections, to cut the face into a new layer. Next, draw a shape as a shadow layer and apply blending options (bevel and emboss).

Figure 1.1 Cut the face into a new layer and draw shape as shadow

Add two different ivy bushes, and various elements such as: flowers and butterflies. To clean the extra parts, I had to use the eraser tool, or brush.

Figure 1.2 Added various elements

Add new gradient map layer and choose blending mode. 

Figure 1.3 Create gradient map layer

Figure 1.4 Final Flower Face Portrait


1 December 2023

Week 10

This was the first lesson where we learnt how to animate. In this lesson, we used Photoshop to animate a boy surfing. Quick selection tool was used to copy the boy's layer and expand it. Content aware fill was used to fill up the background and stamping tool to clean it. It is also turned into smart layers before importing it to after effects. 

Figure 1.5 Process of animating surf boy

Figure 1.6 Surf Boy Animation


Utilising the same skills, I also animated this girl floating towards the sky.

Figure 1.7 Process of animating girl floating

Figure 1.8 Floating girl animation

For this task, I split and renamed 3 images into three layers. These layers includes: Sky, grass, girl. I used content aware fill and stamping tool to make sure the background is filled too. I adjusted the position of these layers to create an illusion of the girl jumping in the grass.

Figure 1.9 Process of animating girl jumping

Figure 1.10 Girl jumping animation

Using the same techniques I have learnt, I first separated the girl from the background. After that, I created a timeframe and duplicated it. Puppet tool was used to pin the anchor points to the body and was slightly adjusted to different positions. It is then saved as a GIF animation.

Figure 1.11 Process of animating yoga girl

Figure 1.12 Yoga girl GIF



8 December 2023

Week 11

In this week, we were given a few elements by Mr Martin. We were tasked to import it into After Effects and turn them into composition layers. To make the elements appear from different sides, I adjusted the positions to the desired space. Several keyframes were then added to create a bouncing effect. Motion blur should be used to produce a smooth animation.


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FINAL PROJECT: SELF TITLED

For our final project, we were tasked to create a self-titled poster that incorporates skills we have acquired from Typography, Illustration, and DPI. The self portrait should be creatively artistic and reflects our personality, interests and imagination. We may use our font that we have created for our previous task (Typography), the images we use should also represent 'us'.


Idea Development

1 / Self Biography

Figure 2.1 Self Biography

2 / Design Statement

Figure 2.2 Design Statement

3 / Mood board

I conducted some research and gather a few photos for inspiration. Below are photographs and illustrations that I found interesting and could help with developing ideas for sketches.

Figure 2.3 Mood Board


Design Direction

1 / Sketches

Sketch 1- flowers, circle frame, ribbons, favourite quote

Sketch 2- flowers, mirror photo frame, ribbons, butterflies, favourite quote

Figure 2.4 Sketches


2 / Self Images

After confirming my design and sketches that I will go with, I asked my friends for help with taking the photo in front of a blank wall. Attached below is the photo I have chosen to edit with.

Figure 2.5 Self image, Week 13 (20/12/2023)

3 / Digital Poster 

Progress of creating Digital Poster:

Digital Photography and Imaging

Figure 2.6 Progress of creating Digital Poster (DPI VERSION)


Illustration & Visual Production

Figure 2.7 Progress of creating Digital Poster (IVN VERSION)



Typography

Figure 2.8 Progress of creating Digital Poster (TYPOGRAPHY VERSION)


Execution and Production

Figure 2.7 Final Poster Design- PNG


Figure 2.8 Final Poster Design- PDF


Artist Statement:

My poster resonates my personality and also my own personal interest. The hand painted watercolour art style used in this poster is to depict the humbleness, comfortable and inviting feeling when inspecting the poster. The ribbons used in the poster is an element that represents the coquette aesthetic, that is also paired with the pink rosy flowers that radiates a sweet and lovely energy.


The main subject of the poster which is me, is placed at the center that is surrounded by a golden circular frame. The emphasis on the main subject is to make it a spotlight among the other elements to exert a feeling of extrovertness and outgoing. While the music sheet that is placed behind the main subject is to express my love for music that is continuously expanding. The music sheet is actually an easter egg which is a music piece from Cinderella where my favourite quote that I still cherish - “Have courage and be kind”.




Animation & Finishing

Progress of creating animation:


Final Version (with audio):

Figure 2.9 Final Version- Youtube link here

Artist Statement:

My poster resonates my personality and also my own personal interest. The hand painted watercolour art style used in this poster is to depict the humbleness, comfortable and inviting feeling when inspecting the poster. The ribbons used in the poster is an element that represents the coquette aesthetic, that is also paired with the pink rosy flowers that radiates a sweet and lovely energy.


The main subject of the poster which is me, is placed at the center that is surrounded by a golden circular frame. The emphasis on the main subject is to make it a spotlight among the other elements to exert a feeling of extrovertness and outgoing. While the music sheet that is placed behind the main subject is to express my love for music that is continuously expanding. The music sheet is actually an easter egg which is a music piece from Cinderella where my favourite quote that I still cherish - “Have courage and be kind”.



Final Concept Board:



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Specific Feedback: The final poster is fine, try to add more elements to make the overall look less empty.

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 REFLECTION 

Experience:
The final project is actually very challenging but interesting at the same time. It was quite difficult to apply the knowledge and skills across three modules in one project, utilising three applications which are: Adobe Photoshop, Illustration, and After Effects, to create my final self-titled poster and animation. In the beginning, I learnt a few new tools while working on my final project, as I have to reference some tutorials on YouTube. I definitely had to reflect and remind myself the things I have learnt throughout the entire semester. Online resources has been very helpful, since there are some difficulties that I have faced while progressing through my final project. Nevertheless, it was great to experience new tools and applications. It is also very important to put effort into creating my artwork, instead of rushing the end product.

Observation:
I have observed that the most challenging aspects involve animating in Adobe After Effects. Since I was not able to join some of the lessons, I missed out on the tutorials where the lecturer taught on ways to animate. Because of that, I had to completely learn how to animate by referencing online tutorials on YouTube. At first, it was quite difficult as I was stressing out and did not had the motivation to watch 20 minute-long videos. But after trying for a few times, trial-and-error, I somehow gained an interest in animating although it is tough. 

Findings:
During my research, I discovered many pretty artworks on Pinterest and Linked. Most of them were liked and saved by me, as it inspires me a lot. When adding audio to my MP4, I found websites that could help me turn screen recordings (MP4) to audio files (MP3). I find it very useful as I was struggling to convert my video into a MP3.

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