Digital Photography and Imaging - Final Project: Self-Titled

on
2/6/2021 - 30/6/2021 / Week 10 - Week 14
Lui Hsiao Hui (Tressa) / 0342003
Digital Photography and Imaging / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Final Project: Self-Titled

EXERCISES

Week 9 Practical: After Effects Animation
Fig. 1.1 Basic animation exercise progress, Week 10 (2/6/2021)

In week 9, we learned basic animation in Adobe After Effects, specifically keyframe animation using the position (P), scale (S) and masking path. We were provided a readymade collage in a Photoshop file format which we had to open with Adobe After Effects.


Fig. 1.2 Graph editor, Week 10 (2/6/2021)

For some of the positioning and the scaling of the shark, I used the graph editor to make the animation smoother.


Fig. 1.3 After Effects Animation, Week 10 (2/6/2021)

Completed basic animation. 

Edits:
Typewriter: Opacity and position (graph editor)
Fencer: Masking, opacity and position (graph editor)
Shark: Scale and position (graph editor)
Projector: Opacity, position and noise filter
Texture: None


Week 12 Practical: Double Exposure
Fig. 2.1 Double exposure exercise, Week 12 (16/6/2021)

In week 12, we learned different blending modes in Photoshop such as multiply and screen. We were given a double exposure exercise and our task was to combine the photos below together.


Fig. 2.2 & 2.3 Portrait and landscape photo

Fig. 2.4 Layers

First I masked out the background and changed the background colour. Then edited the portrait with curves and changed it to black and white. Lastly, I overlaid the landscape photo with the blending more 'screen', and added grain and noise as a final touch.


Week 13 Practical: Parallax Photoshop Animation & Puppet Control
Parallax: Object/main subject becomes smaller, while the background becomes larger, or vice versa. The same goes for rotation. The movement is always opposite.

Fig. 3.1 Levitation, Week 13 (23/6/2021)

Fig. 3.2 Surfing, Week 13 (23/6/2021)

Steps:
- Mask subject
- Select > load selection
- Select > modify > expand 5 pixels
- *Click on background layer
- Edit > fill > content aware at 100%
- Convert to smart object before animating with the Photoshop timeline


Fig. 3.3 Yoga - GIF, Week 13 (23/6/2021)

Besides parallax, we also learned to use the puppet control tool in Photoshop. This GIF was made using 2 images - 1 base image (no movement) and the 2nd image warped with the puppet control.

INSTRUCTIONS

After Effects Animation Exercise
1. Download the composition below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fePzGWCEqeg2A2rK7VysY0OE3iwtdZKF/view?usp=sharing
2. Import the W9_ANIMATE.psd into Adobe After Effects.
3. Create a composition setting 1080 px (Width) x 1920 px (Height), Duration 15 second
4. Create a keyframe animation to the layers using Position (P), Scale (S) & Masking path.
5. Render output: Quicktime (H.264)
6. Upload your exercise into your Youtube Channel.
7. Update your progress and video to your E-Portfolio blog. 
8. Attach your E-Portfolio link on this Submission.

Final Project: Self-Titled
1. Idea Development
   - Write a biography about yourself
   - Write a statement about your work 

2. Design Direction
   - Create a sketch for your work.
   - Create a digital poster for your work.

3. Execution and Post Production
   - Import your Final Poster to After Effects
   - Develop the composition techniques using Digital Photography & Graphic Design.

3. Animation & Finishing
   - Animate your composition in After Effects.
   - Attach your video progress.

FINAL PROJECT 

1. Idea Development

Biography and statement about my work
Fig. 2.1 Biography and statement about my work, Week 11 (8/6/2021)


References/Inspiration
Below are my references for my work. I'm focusing on expressing my style and passion for art by doing a collage of my face combined with mixed media. I plan on drawing on my digital collage because I like the mixed media approach. It's also to show that I love art.


Fig. 3.2 & 3.3 Portrait collages, left: By Jesse Draxler; Right: Réquiem by Lucas Chimello Simões

I'm really intrigued by these types of collages and how it creates an illusion/warps the face.


Fig. 3.4 & 3.5 Left: Unknown (sourced from Pinterest); Right: By Rosanna Jones

These mixed media portraits are really expressive. I really like the use of paint on an actual photo, it is an artistic approach with I would like to incorporate into my work. Maybe not paint but drawing something digitally.


2. Design

Mockups
Fig. 4.1 Self-portrait collage mockups, Week 11 (8/6/2021)

Drawing inspiration from my references, I made 3 mockup variations, establishing the look/concept I'm going for. I messed around with how I can create a collage of my face by cutting my eyes and face out from other self-portraits, merging them into one. There's not much extensive and technical process here, I just went with my feeling. It's how I work best.


Fig. 4.2 Self-portrait photos used

These are my self-portrait photos I used, all taken with my phone.


Further Development
Fig. 5.1 Self-portrait collage variations, Week 12 (15/6/2021)

It is pretty obvious that I'm obsessed with red and black since I used it in my previous photography work too. But those colours speak to me, and I identify with them. New things I added were the forehead cutout, scribbles, written text (poster title), and smiley and unhappy faces. These elements altogether showcase my art style and personality. I like there to be strong contrast, it gives off a bold look which is what I'm going for.

The smiley and unhappy faces represent my state of mind and how I approach things often with feeling rather than thinking. Besides that, the second face acts as a distorted mask. It represents the many facades and also alters. The forehead cut with the eye behind it symbolises how my mind sees and interprets things. It also stands for my observant nature. Furthermore, I also edited the colours with curves. I decided to crush the blacks because of stylistic choice and it'll make the grain effect more obvious.


Fig. 5.2 Written text progress, Week 12 (15/6/2021)

I used a brush pen to write my poster title on my sketchbook. Then I took a photo of it and imported that photo into Photoshop for editing, where I cut out the words and redid their positioning. So it's sort of a mix of traditional art.


Fig. 5.3 Layer style for the red drop shadow effects, Week 12 (15/6/2021)

How I did the red drop shadow effect on the distorted mask and the forehead inner layers were by using layer styles in Photoshop. Fig. 5.3 shows the settings I used.


Final Poster

Fig. 6 "DO YOU SEE ME NOW" - final poster, Week 13 (22/6/2021)

This is my final self-portrait collage poster. It is the way I see myself, a mix of what's real and what's not. It shows my state of mind and that I'm not afraid to express myself, regardless of what others think.

The repeated eyes are symbols of my observant nature and how I see things happen and pass after me, like a bystander, or like I don’t exist. This poster also depicts me living in the shadows, with all the negative space. The negative space also symbolise emptiness and a void of emotions. You can't see anything, but it's always there. Furthermore, I like the simplistic style is because it creates a focal point in one area, allowing emphasis.

While the poster may come across as dark, the boldness is intentional as it is a representation of my personality. It is to show that I’m not afraid to express myself and present my style (my identity). I want to create art that screams. The colours red and black are my favourite colours and they’re prevalent in my artworks - I use them very often and they’re the colours that best represent me. 


3. Animation

Pre-final Animations
Fig. 7.1 First attempt, Week 13 (22/6/2021)

My first attempt was a little boring compared to my final. During this time I hadn't thought of using a song to support my animated poster. I thought the animation was a little bland even though there were already a lot of tiny movements. I had the idea of animating the drawn faces turning and blinking and have the mask move at the beginning of the animation. In week 13, Mr. Martin suggested animating my portrait morphing into the mask, it's a cool look but I already had an idea in mind. I do want to try it out for personal projects though.


Fig. 7.2 Second attempt, Week 14 (29/6/2021)

After adding the song, the animation and poster felt more complete. It sort of brings it to life. 


Progress in After Effects
Fig. 7.3 Graph editor

I used the graph editor to control the speed of the movements. They become more dynamic that way.


Fig. 7.4 Opacity and rotation keyframes for the blinking/flashing

Loads of keyframes, sometimes I got confused and messed up the timings. Getting the movements to match the song took a while.


Fig. 7.5 Keyframes for the mask (2nd face)


Fig. 7.6 Blending modes of the quick smiley face flashes

In week 14, Mr. Martin suggested putting additional text in the background or collages or graphics. I could also make it seem like they're appearing from the dark. I then got the idea to so quick flashes of the little faces (Fig. 7.7 below). For those, I used the blending mode 'colour burn' so it appears in the background as well, but subtly. I like hiding messages or imagery in my work. People would think those are just abstract scribble flashes but they're actually circular faces if they look at them closely.


Fig. 7.7 Faces used during the beginning flashing part, Week 13 (22/6/2021)

These are the additional faces I decided to add as an extra element to my animated poster. These were hand-drawn with a brush pen and edited in Photoshop. They appear at 0:00 in the video below.

Final Animated Poster

Fig. 8 "DO YOU SEE ME NOW" - final animated poster, Week 14 (30/6/2021)

This is the final outcome of my animated poster. It can be considered a little 'scary', but I made it this way with the intention of wanting my work to disturb people, or at least, make them remember it. Disturb the comforted, that type of thing. It makes them think. There are lots of flashes going on at the same time, it is a lot to take in with just one watch. But it is intentional because it'll make people watch it again to be able to look at the details. A funny way to put it - sort of like 'click-baiting' them to keep watching. I was also inspired by film trailers and how they have a title card at the end.

The song is "Dance in the Dark" by Au/Ra. The song matches the concept and visuals of my poster. It's also fitting because my poster shows me being in the dark, which fits the song title "Dance in the Dark". It can be interpreted as me being my true self or making friends along with my other selves in the dark. Regardless of what people think, this is me, my style and I'm not going to tone it down when it doesn't fit people's molds.

FEEDBACK

Week 12: Good exploration (poster development).

Week 13: Could try out morphing animation in After Effects if it suits.

Week 14: Suggestion to add extra elements in the background, or could try making it appear from the dark.

REFLECTION

This project was a great opportunity to learn animation, not just developing photography/graphic design skills. I like that this project incorporates different elements because it allows us to diversify our skills. I actually found it a bit challenging when animating my poster because of all the layers. I misclicked a few times which messed up the keyframes and layers. Sometimes I can't find out where the problem is until hours after, it was a struggle. With the animation exercises, I learn new things such as Photoshop parallax animation. I've never known about it before so it was very useful. I'll definitely be using that for my other works. I also never knew you could import Photoshop files into After Effects, that was a useful discovery. Overall, this was a fun project. I enjoyed the freedom of expression and loved that the theme was self-portrait. Creating something personal is always the best part. 

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