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As artists, you shouldn't JUST create images, you should design how your work is experienced! In this assignment, you will create a realistic mock-up of how your Sustained Investigation work would exist in the real world.
Assignment: Design a digital mock-up that shows how your artwork or series would be presented in a specific physical format or location.
You must choose a context such as (but not limited to):
Gallery wall
Billboard
Bus stop advertisement
Magazine spread
Coffee table book
Framed photograph in a home
Album cover
Website landing page (displayed on a device)
Your final piece should convincingly place your artwork into that setting as if it already exists in the world!
When you are finished, you can add the mock-up in your SI portfolio as finished work and/or process photos that show expirimentation and revision!
Carefully look through the presentation on the left. Please read the artist’s statement (her written explanations for the Sustained Inquiry) first. Then, look through the rest of the portfolio. Notice, in images 7 + 8, and 11 + 12, instead of just creating a photo in the style of Weegee and stopping there, she takes it further by creating a mock-up, putting her own Weegee-esque photo into a newspaper as it would appear in the real world. Additionally, she also develops album art for a horror movie soundtrack, but please note that she creates a mock-up of what that would look like on a vinyl album…
So again, what I want you to do is think about what kind of artwork you are creating in your portfolio and, as the artist, ask yourself where would you have people experience your artwork? (a museum, a coffee shop, a small gallery, a billboard, etc.)
Guiding Questions
How does location or format change how your work is interpreted?
Who is your audience in this context?
How does scale impact the message?
What design choices (lighting, framing, typography, placement) enhance your concept?
Process:
Choose a format/context
Sketch layout ideas and/or write a short idea statement
Select (or create new) artwork from your Sustained Investigation
Edit for quality (color, contrast, cropping)
Mock-Up Creation
Use digital tools (Photoshop, Lightroom, Canva, etc.)
Place your artwork into a realistic setting
Adjust perspective, shadows, and lighting for believability!!
Add details (textures, environment, scale references like people or objects)
Make sure it looks cohesive
Optional extra challenge: create a series of 2–3 mock-ups showing your work in multiple contexts (example: billboard + magazine + gallery).
Requirements
At least 1 fully rendered mock-up
Must include your original artwork
Realistic sense of scale and environment
Strong attention to composition and presentation
Clean, polished digital finish
Student Examples
Student Examples
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