Project 3 Ted Book

I'm finished with Project 3 and you can read A Day with Ted by clicking the link below.

A Day with Ted

Progress & Research

This week I'm finishing the Ted book and sending it into Blurb to get printed. Another page from my book can be seen below. I have also been catching up on past projects so I can turn them soon.

For Project 4 I will be making a webpage to showcase the videos I made using rotoscoping during my time here at IUSB for my BFA Show. The theme is "Adventures in Rotoscoping". It will be the one page with a video gallery of my work. I plan on showing three videos on this page. 

Another goal I have for this week is to get some professional documents finished. I will be designing my business card and wrapping up my resume. 

Ted

Progress & Research

Progress:
This week I've been working on my Ted book and fixing up my resume.



Research:
I mentioned last week I got inspiration from Corduroy by Don Freeman. Another inspirational author to me is Dr. Suess. I've always admired the way his books flow. The rhyming makes them very fluid. The illustrations are also very original.

Progress & Research

Progress:
For my next project I'm writing and illustrating a short children's book. I'm going to make a Blurb book with it. I also want to print the pages in two rows of four and to display my story at my BFA Show. This book is about Ted the bear. This has no relation to the Ted movie. In the book, Ted looses the top of his propeller hat. He goes around his house looking for the hat, until his cat friend Buttons gives him the missing piece. The story rhymes and teaches children perseverance. Ted learns that he should always keep trying, instead of giving up when something gets too hard. My first draft of the Ted story is below. Each bullet is a page that will have a separate illustration.

• Ted woke up in his bed and felt something was missing from his head. He reached to his head and gave it a pat; only to find he was missing the top of his hat!
• Ted looked up, down, and all around. The missing piece was still lost, not found.
• Ted sat down and started to cry, without the top of his hat he couldn't fly!
• Soon Buttons found Ted and dried his tears. She said to Ted, "Have no fears!"
• To Ted's surprise she found the missing part and a wonderful feeling filled Ted's heart!
• Ted was happy to learn it wasn't lost, it only fell off when he was doing cartwheels in the frost.
• Ted fixed his hat and enjoyed the rest of the day, look at Ted and Buttons play.
• The next time Ted lost something, he didn't stop to cry. He found it after looking and giving it a hard try.

Research:

I always loved the book Corduroy by Don Freeman and it inspired me to write my own children's book. Learn more about Corduroy on the Corduroy Wikipedia Page.

I also found a website that offers free children's books called Children's Storybooks Online. 

BFA Exhibit

My BFA exhibit will show that I'm useful in different areas of New Media. I chose the design concentration because it allowed me to learn the technical side of digital art as well as the design principles that make it appealing. I feel that I'm useful these areas: design for print, web design, illustration, and video art. My BFA show will have a variety of work to show that I have skills in each of these areas. One theme in my show is manipulating real life people or things using rotoscoping. When I do work like this I often use the stipple technique. This signifies each thing being a whole made of many tiny parts.  That theme is obvious in Work #1: Adventures in Rotocoping. I also used this idea to make Work #3 Text Poster. I'm also making two more projects this semester with this idea in mind. This will help make my BFA exhibit have a more cohesive feel. Below are the works I want to show. 

Work #1: I would like to present these two pieces in a loop called Adventures in Rotoscoping. I have more content for the second video that makes it more complete. I will post this later.

Work #2: Woman to Woman Website with the changes we discussed in last weeks critique. I'm also contacting one of my Women's and Gender Studies professors to see if she has any suggestions to make my website better.

Work #3: Text Poster

Work #4: Goudy Magazine Spread

Work #5: Ted, a children's book. I'm going to write and illustrate a short children's book based on a bear named Ted who was my fiance's favorite childhood toy. I will make a Blurb book with this and also print the images to hang in my show. They are going to be arranged similar to a comic strip and be shown in the same frame. I'm going to photograph Ted for each illustration and use Photoshop to draw over the original images. The result will be an illustration that mimics real life and uses the stippling technique I described. This is the project I'm working on next for TEL-T434. 

Work #6: Stipple Illustrations. This will be my fourth project for TEL-T434. I'm going to make a series of three illustrations using the stipple technique. I haven't finalized the theme for this project, but the illustrations will look similar to the image below. I made it in a 2D design class.

Work #7: Equality Tastes Sweet. This piece fits in my show because it was made using the same stippling technique. I'm going to clean this image up before I print it. The letters i-t-y need attention.

Project 2

Michiana Woman to Woman

Artist Statement

I made a webpage called Michiana Woman to Woman for my second project. It is an online resource for women who need help in our area. I included links for information related to mental health, physical health, shelters, and pregnancy & motherhood. I made this webpage because I think it is important for women to have access to information and programs in an anonymous way. If a woman visits my webpage, they won't be asked any personal information in order to get help. I plan to add more topics and information to this website in the future. I want to find more information regarding abuse, education, and finances. I used a cool color scheme in hopes it would give off a calm feeling and appeal to women.

Finished Logo

Research

There are other websites similar to the one I will be making. I found it helpful to look at how they designed their pages. One thing that I noticed is that these organizations are avaiable, but only in the area they are located. If I make this website available to the public in the future, I could help more women and not be confined to the Indiana area.

Women Helping Women

This is an organization that helps men and women survivors of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and stalking in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. I like how Women Helping Women include men in their orgainization, even though it's targeted to women.

Transitions

This organization helps women in the Spokane,Washington area with a varitey of crises. This website is very informative and gives users a lot of resources. The page below shows women an easy to read list of programs in their area.

 

 

 

We Help Women

 

 

This is an online resource that helps women in personal develpment, career develpment, and Finance & Investment. I like this resource because its free and available to any woman with internet access. They offer online courses in each area of study.

 



 

 



Progress

I'm making a website for a fictional online resource for women. This project shows that I'm able to make a visual representation for a business or organization in the form of a logo and integrate it into a website to promote their objective. The website is an online resource that connects women in crisis with support in their area.

This website will have two pages. The first will be the home page that contains "about us" information. The second page will have a form that allows women to contact the website for help. I will make it clear that this website isn't intended for women in imminent danger and 911 should be used for such emergencies. The color scheme for the website is below along with my mockup.

 

 

Research

I've been looking at websites made for women's organizations. I want to make a website for an organization relating to women because my minor is Women and Gender Studies and I'm drawn to issues that involve women. The websites below are just a few that I've looked at for inspiration.

This is the website for the organization my original logo for Project 2 was made for. I like the color scheme and organization. I also like the roll over images. They give an idea of what the organization is about.

Women for Women International


The website below is functional and informative. It also directs you to similar websites and shows women how to get involved in issues that matter to them.

National Organization for Women


This website is not made for a women's organization, but I really like aesthetic. I like the graphics and color scheme. This is a good example of a website that carries the style throughout the website. For example the buttons for all of the social media websites look similar to the rest of the graphics on the page. Screen shots of what I'm referring to are below.

Hello Giggles

Progress

Last week I worked a little bit more on Project 1. I'm learning about Flash this week in another class. I'm hoping to incorporate the things I'm learning into Project 1 in the near future.

I've also been brainstorming for Project 2. I would like to make a website. I made a logo in a previous class project for an organization called Women for Women. I would like to refine that logo and use it for this website. I could make up an organization name for the logo.

Original

 

Refreshed logo made in Illustrator

Wordless Web

For my collage website I'm not going to use any words. The internet is so driven by text that it is hard to think about all your favorite websites without words. I found a browser plug in that erases all of the text on a page leaving only images called Wordless Web. The developers are experimenting with this idea of a wordless web. The viewer is supposed to have a calmer web experience and pay more attention to the images on the page. Some text remains in logos, but it is all removed from the html. You  can try Wordless Web using the link below. The second link is an article that discusses Wordless Web.

Wordless Web

"Every Writer's Nightmare: The Wordless Web"

I had some fun with wordless web and thought I would share some screenshots.


Google search results for the letter D:

Who is that man? Why is he associated with this letter?

Google image results for text:

I saw the text on this page as an image instead of words. I also like the way each group of text forms on the page and makes a bigger image.

Window Gif

Project 1

I have been reworking my collage idea this week. I plan on making a website with this collage. The images inside of frames will be links. The links will open up an animated gif. I will also add a hover state to the links. I think that this idea allows me to make an untraditional website without text. It will allow the viewer to explore my environment and have a little interaction with it. 

Another Collage Experiment

I wasn't satisfied with the collage I posted on Tuesday. Honestly, I really don't like it. I was trying to shove too many images in one space. I've been working with my images some more and I made a collage I'm pleased with today. I am going to continue working with this concept. I will be able to make more simple and cohesive collages using less images.

Collage Experiment

Project 1 Artist Statement

     For Project 1 I made a digital collage using images from my home. My goal for this project was to depict a familiar place in an unfamiliar way. I’m also interested in the way homes construct the world around the people who live in them. This project made me think about what reality is and how people perceive their environments.
     I chose to make a digital collage because I wanted to use new media in a way that interacts with my environment. In this project I used Photoshop to layer and manipulate the images of my home environment. I’ve heard others question if the use of technology has disconnected us from reality. With this project I was able to look deeper into the world around me and notice details I didn’t notice before. In this way I used technology to connect with my environment and question my perception of reality.
     Each person perceives the world in a different way. If all of my classmates were to make a collage of their home, no two would be alike. I created a different reality using images of the things I see every day.

Surrealism Research

I found an article on JSTOR called The Surreal and Surrealism by Philip Dedrick that I found to be helpful. I really liked the conclusion of the article, so I thought I would share it.

     "The surrealist found in these phenomena a key to the expansion of the self, and saw in the yearning and triumphs of the dream state a way of thwarting the destructive and inhuman structures of the logical world. He or she came to delight the senses, to coax them from the high seriousness of their mundane state, and to amplify the self to a greater and more dynamic self-awareness. So I commend you to savor
that other self, half forgotten, that plays chromatic rhapsodies on the organ of the night. For there between the pillow and themind is the other half of thewhole man."

Matt Wisniewski

I found some awesome digital collages by Matt Wisniewski. He acknowledges on his website that most of the work used is not his, but welcomes people to contact him with any questions regarding an image's origin. I love the way the surreal quality fits with the people. The artist was able to unite the surreal image with the person in a way that fits each person. Both aspects of the images work together well and create a sense of unity. I hope to create a similar sense of unity in my collage for Project 1.

Matt Wisniewski's Website

Project 1 Progress

Over the last week I have taken pictures to use for my collage and began experimenting with how I want the collage to look. I wanted the pictures to come from the same time of day and focus on doors and windows. I am using Photoshop to put the collage together. I'm using lots of layers and different opacities to create depth. The collage below is a work in progress. For my final collage I want the layers to come together and look more united. I also would like the individual pictures to have more natural shaped edges, rather than geometric shapes.

Project 1

For my first project I will be making a collage based on my house. I'm paying special attention to how frames occur at home. I would like to add a gif of light changing in a window or something like that. The purpose of this collage is to study how my home frames the world around me and to bring attention to the beauty of everyday things. I think I will learn something about homes and how they construct the world around the people who live in them.

Tony the Cobbler

I made this project Tony the Cobbler in TEL-T430 Digital Storytelling course with Brigid McAuliffe in Spring 2011. I was experimenting with the rotoscope technique. I made this video using Photoshop and a Wacom tablet. I then imported individual images into Premiere to put the video together.

Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie

My mind was blown the first time I saw this video and it still inspires me. I like how a dreamlike feeling is created with everyday objects. I think that stop motion is a useful tool when making works that are intended to have a surreal feeling.

Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge

Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge makes animated collages and installations. After reading her info page I learned that she is interested how people interact with their environment. She also explained how she uses objects as doorways and frames as the camera's viewfinder. I found our interests to be similar and I'm glad that this artist was recommended to me. Below are links to three animated collages from her website. I like how the animation of the collage gives the image more feeling and movement than a 2D collage. I also think that projects like this could serve two purposes. The animation is a work of its own and the collage that is produced could also be exhibited by the artist.

Interiors Choreography

Salisbury Street

Hutong

Mixed Media Collage Research

I've decided to do a collage for my first project. I want to present the collage in an unique way. I'm considering printing digital images and turning the project into a mixed media collage. Below are some resources I've found while researching for this project. 

Wikipedia defines a collage as a technique of an art production, primarily used in the visual arts, where the artwork is made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

Wikipedia Collage Page


This website has information about mixed media art in general and had a section about collages. This is a great resource because it explains the traditional way to make a collage. It also shows different types of collages. 

Create Mixed Media

I will not be making portraits but I found two artists named Derek that had inspirational collage work.

Derek Gores works with collage and mixed media. I like the way his website is designed and its layout.   My favorite image from his website was "Salma and Frida". I like the way different elements come together to make the portrait. It also symbolizes the way people are made of many small parts that come together and work as one. I think we could also look at the world around us in the same way.

Derek Gores

Derek Russell, is a painter that does some mixed media collages. His website is in the link below. I really enjoyed his portrait of Wayne Newton. His paintings also remind me of collages in the way many   brush strokes come together to make one visually cohesive whole.  

Derek Russell

Advice from Ira Glass

Ira Glass on Storytelling by David Shiyang Liu

I came across this video last semester and I found it to be very inspirational. It makes me feel more comfortable being a beginner and gives me hope for the future.

Ideas for Project 1

My goal for the first project is to improve on something from the past so I can use it in my BFA Show. I have two ideas to choose from. The first idea I have is to revisit a project from Fall 2011 that was used in the Equality and Inclusion show at the Civil Rights Heritage Center in Winter of 2011. I'm proud of this work, but I feel that I could improve on this design. This project was made in Photoshop and I used a Wacom tablet.

Another idea I have is to make a series of collages using digital images. This idea also came to me from a past project. My plan for this project is to shoot images of the winter landscape and use Photoshop to make collages similar to the one below.