Lui Hsiao Hui (Tressa) / 0342003
Fig. 2.2 Composition #2, Week 2 (7/4/2021)
Fig. 2.3 Composition #3, Week 2 (7/4/2021)
Fig. 2.4 Composition #4, Week 2 (7/4/2021)
Digital Photography and Imaging / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Project 1: Collage
INSTRUCTIONS
Physical Collage
1. Choose and identify your collage's design elements to be cut out and compose them into your own concept and story.
2. Pre-composite your collage's design elements into a composition.
Digital Collage
1. Download all of the images from https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DHrtb7WEgszcFlLn8K3dvv11_5TkArlp?usp=sharing
2. Follow this tutorial demo as a reference to create your digital collage: https://youtu.be/BlW7F-fTsbE
3. Create 3 different compositions (digital collages) from the images that you’ve downloaded.
4. A4 canvas size (vertical) in Photoshop.
PROJECT I: COLLAGE (PHYSICAL & DIGITAL)
1. Physical Collage
Gathering of Materials
Fig. 1.1 & 1.2 Vintage booklets and pamphlets, Week 2 (7/4/2021)
I don't own any magazines but fortunately, I have a few vintage art and dance booklets, pamphlets and advertisement magazines. So for the theme of my collage, I decided to go for a vintage theme, with a warm colour scheme. It was a bit limited as these booklets from the 1990s weren't focused on graphics, but more on text.
Fig. 1.3 Collage elements, Week 2 (7/4/2021)
These are the graphics and text I ended up cutting out. A few are printed and not all of them were used.
PRE-COMPOSITION 1
Fig. 2.1 Composition #1, Week 2 (7/4/2021)
The first composition I came up with is positioned within a square framing. I wanted the collage to have negative space and asymmetrical balance. I made sure to equally distribute the colours and elements, so there is enough contrast, or else certain pieces would blend in together. I’m not satisfied with this composition. It's not really my taste and I would like there to be a bit more of a focal point (emphasis). It also looks a bit cluttered for me, and it doesn’t convey the message of “dreaming” well. So in the next composition, I decided to remove a few elements.
PRE-COMPOSITION 2
For the 2nd attempt, I decluttered the elements and focused on a more centralised composition. I still kept in mind distributing the different colours equally to create equal visual weight. However, I dislike this composition the most. I think it looks awkward and it doesn’t make me linger to analyse it. Personally, it doesn’t make me feel something. Furthermore, it looks slightly empty, I think the spacing in this composition is not very pleasing.
PRE-COMPOSITION 3
This composition is much better than the 2nd, however, it still wasn’t what I wanted. I removed the large painting as it stood out like a sore thumb in the collage. In this composition the elements are arranged in an upwards pattern, creating visual movement from down to up. The use of negative space in this composition is much more pleasing. Though it still feels a little empty, generic and that something is missing.
PRE-COMPOSITION 4
This last composition I came up with would be my final choice. For this composition, I completely scrapped the previous ideas and tried out an entirely different format. This time I arranged the main figure (head) in the center and placed the elements in the shape of a pillar. I think this composition has good balance, it is somewhat symmetrical yet asymmetrical due to the large circle pattern and neon butterflies on the opposite sides of each other. I think asymmetry in symmetry creates visual interest and contrast. The rule of thirds is also present here, with most of the elements placed on the top of the composition. The cloud is placed behind the head to create contrast and emphasis on the main figure. Furthermore, this arrangement draws me in more than the previous ones. I find it much more harmonious and the meaning “dreaming room” relates to the images in the collage. The word is placed on top of the main figure’s head, and the elements are surrounding him as if he is dreaming, and is within a space of his own.
FINAL PHYSICAL COLLAGE
Fig. 3 "Dreaming Room" - final physical collage, Week 3 (14/4/2021)
CONCEPT
Before trying out various compositions I didn't have a specific concept in mind. But I knew I wanted to convey the text cutout "dreaming" from one of the booklets, and have the monochrome male face painting to be the main figure. Once I finalised my composition, I settled on the concept of "dreaming room", the idea of a character finding their own place or rather creating a place where they can dream freely in their head.
2. Digital Collage
DIGITAL COLLAGE #1
Fig. 4.1 Collage #1, "Worlds", Week 3 (14/4/2021)
Fig. 4.1.1 Collage #1 - unedited, Week 3 (14/4/2021)
Fig. 4.1.2 Collage #1 elements, Week 3 (14/4/2021)
In my first digital collage, I selected the main elements which are the 'people walking' and 'building' images. I then placed and scaled them according to the rule of thirds and the golden ratio, ensuring visual hierarchy. At the same time, this placement created the illusion of foreground (people walking), midground (building) and background (blurred version of train station image). To make all the elements look cohesive and create harmony in the entire collage, I used the camera raw filter and tonal adjustments in Photoshop to edit the colours, contrast and brightness etc. Lastly, I added noise to the final collage for a vintage look.
Fig. 4.1.3 Collage #1 tonal adjustments
DIGITAL COLLAGE #2
Fig. 4.2 Collage #2, "Any Complaints?", Week 3 (14/4/2021)
Fig. 4.2.1 Collage #2 - unedited, Week 3 (14/4/2021)
Fig. 4.2.2 Collage #2 elements, Week 3 (14/4/2021)
Continuing on with the vintage theme I was going for, I centered this collage design around the typewriter. I saw there was the word "Any Complaints?" in the newspaper image, which I thought matches really well with the typewriter. This gave me the idea of creating a collage telling the story of false truths. The black liquid symbolises false information and bias, the people represent consumerism and judgment, and finally, the typewriter has the word "Any Complaints?" on it, indicating that someone is writing all these based on the mass media 'complaints'.
For this collage, I based its composition on the rule of thirds. I decided to use the blending mode 'subtract' for the liquid image, so there would be more contrast and emphasis in the collage. The colours of the other collage elements were already on the lighter side, so black would look better instead of white.
Fig. 4.2.3 Collage #2 tonal adjustments
DIGITAL COLLAGE #3
Fig. 4.3 Collage #3, "Vision", Week 3 (14/4/2021)
Fig. 4.3.1 Collage #3 - unedited, Week 3 (14/4/2021)
Fig. 4.3.2 Collage #3 Elements, Week 3 (14/4/2021)
For my final digital collage, I decided to try a different aesthetic which is more of my style. This collage is on the minimalistic side. I love using vibrant colours in my work, I love the psychedelic look and how it shows emotions. I achieved this look with the image of the fish. I scaled the image and changed the blending mode to 'difference', overlayed it twice and blurred it. As a final touch, I added noise and adjusted the curves with the camera raw filter. For the composition, I followed the rule of thirds. The rubber plant image is placed this way acting as a framing element, and also as a foreground element.
Fig. 4.3.3 Collage #3 tonal adjustments
Other versions of "Vision"
Fig. 4.4 First attempt at "Vision", Week 3 (14/4/2021)
I used the people walking (train station) image in the background, then overlayed the fish image on top with the blending mode as 'difference'. I think the overlayed texture looks interesting but the focus is a little lost.
Fig. 4.5 Second attempt at "Vision", Week 3 (14/4/2021)
In my second attempt, I changed the composition to a close-up of attempt #1, with the overlayed fish image blurred out. It definitely looks less messy but I don't really like this composition because I think there's not much of a focal point and exaggerated area.
Final Physical and Digital Collages
Fig. 5.1 "Dreaming Room" - final physical collage, Week 3 (14/4/2021)
Fig. 5.2 Collage #2, "Any Complaints?", Week 3 (14/4/2021)
FEEDBACK
Week 3: Proceed with composition #1 or #3 for physical collage. Good use of negative space and contrast for composition #1, and using the rule of thirds for composition #4 (physical collage).
Week 4: Proceed with composition #1 or #2 for final. Collage #1 would be the final choice design-wise, but Collage #2 has a stronger meaning and concept. Collage #2 looks like a finished poster. Good use of blurring for Collage #1.
REFLECTION
This project was quite fun, I never really enjoyed collage since I think it's very tedious at times, but this project proved me wrong. I learned how each lasso tool works differently, lasso tool is more suitable for quick selections while the polygonal lasso tool allows you to select objects with lines, and the magnetic lasso tool automatically detects the outlines of an object. For my collages, I mainly used the magnetic lasso tool as I had more control over which parts I’m selecting. As for the pen tool, it works similarly to the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator which I’m more familiar with, though I didn’t really use this tool for my collages. Creating these collages was quite fun. I had fun messing around with the composition, and coming up with different collage concepts with the provided images. I also learned to make use of the golden ratio and rule of thirds in my work. Furthermore, I learned to make use of limited resources - providing us a limited set of photos is a good way of training us to come up with creative ideas of how we can create many different collages with the same photos as others.
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be nice