Embedded Files
Early 4th Quarter: Optical Illusion
First, explore a variety of optical illusions, including examples I am sharing with you included in the file just below. These illusions help us understand how our perceptual systems operate in "normal" circumstances, so are very instructive; many folks also find them fascinating and exciting. Do some of your own research to find at least three illusions that I have not included. It would be helpful to find at least one artwork that is based on a known illusion, or perhaps reveals an illusion not previously recognized as such. This leads to the second requirement: create your own version of an illusion -- use an illusion in an artistic manner, and/or visualize/realize an illusion in a way that enhances our understanding of how that illusion works.
Visual Intelligence - some illustrations re perceptual organization etc. - optimized.pdfInstructions for 3/14/2019 in the teacher's absence:
If you are in the Art Lab today, you can disregard the following instructions and can instead continue with your ongoing work on your "style" project (Futurism for Isaac, Orphism for Conor). If you're placed elsewhere, I suggest doing additional research, either on the style you've already chosen to work with right now, or on another style that you'll work on later, as your second "style." And/or you could work on your analysis/description/definition of the style you're currently working with. I think it would be wise to come at that from two angles. One angle: Research and refer to trustworthy analysis from on-line sources regarding that style. Other angle: Do your OWN looking and thinking and compare and contrast what YOU think the most relevant features of the style are with the ideas you've found through research. Note that other angles are possible. For example, you could further consider various issues regarding the origins, influences, and contexts of the style.
Instructions for 2/12/2019 in the teacher's absence:
with patterns on the computer. If you are NOT in the lab, please read and use the following instructions.
The file immediately below, within this text box, provides instructions for using an iPad app called Brushes Redux to make photomontages. You have already done some photomontage work, with the hybrid creature project (and we'll be doing a project very soon involving much more photomontage), and these instructions for doing such work on the iPad using Brushes Redux do relate to such work. However, at the moment, you're working on pattern design, and the instructions do not specifically address working with pattern design when using Brushes Redux, since I didn't put the instructions together with such work in mind. But it IS possible to use Brushes Redux to experiment with some pattern ideas, and the instructions in the file provided here WILL translate into this work and WILL be of use to you. Here are a couple of brief suggestions:
- Use the tools in Brushes Redux, which allow you to choose between several different brushes (of differing textures) and to modify those brushes quite a lot (in terms of size, opacity, and several other characteristics), and which also lets you be very specific in color choices), to create loose freehand patterns, such as patterns of dots and stripes.
- Having created several different layers in your Brushes Redux file (see instructions), each with a somewhat different pattern, try combining those patterns by either lowering the opacity of the upper layers somewhat (to allow them to combine visually with the underlying lower layers and/or by experimenting with the layer blending modes (which are simpler and far fewer in number in Brushes Redux compared to the situation in Photoshop).
- You could also, or alternatively, search for and save a number of patterns from web searching, then insert them into a Brushes Redux file and combine them using some of the same methods described just above. You can also try partially erasing various patterns on various layers. This is something the accompanying file on using the app to make photomontages goes into and explains.
Brushes Redux files save automatically. To get them off the iPad, though, you must send them (see arrow icon near top right of the screen when you've got your file open) to Photos, and from there you can email them to me at: larry_sheinfeld@bedfordps.org. You can also send them to yourself and then open and save them to your Digital Art class folder.
Photomontage using Brushes Redux - updated 2 12 19.pdfUpon completion of your current project (animation of a shape's evolution for Digital Art II students), please review the document (see link, and you may also see the multi-page pdf directly on this site as well, especially if you are on a computer and are logged into your Bedford H.S. Google account on-line) on Grunge Design. You will find instructions for the project, as well as examples and a great deal of background information, in this file.
Grunge Design - assignment and information
Digital Art III - Grunge Design project with resources.pdfStart of Quarter 2:
Our first project of this quarter involves visual fragmentation. You'll find a pdf with visual examples just below. You might want to think of this project as involving a kind of exploded view of an image that, unlike an exploded-view diagram of a mechanical object, does not necessarily tell you more about what's going on inside! You could also imagine an imagine on glass (an image in a mirror?) and what happens to it when the glass (the mirror?) shatters. You'll see some examples of visual fragmentation that feel more constructive than destructive — perhaps as if the image is being pieced together rather than broken apart — and you may try to work in that direction, if you like.
Majors: Plan to make two finished pieces using this visual concept of fragmented imagery, one being purely visual and with no particular purpose beyond the expressive and aesthetic, and a second incorporating some text (at least one word) and dealing with some issue or theme: you might think of this as a consciousness raising type of poster.
Minors: You may choose between either of the two options just above, either making a purely visual piece with no text, or relating your piece to an issue or theme and using at least one word to help convey the message.
Important: Even though a couple of examples in the slide show don't have any photographic imagery, your work SHOULD make use of one (or more) photographic images. It's great if you can create/use your own, but web-sourced (or magazine, etc.-sourced photos are allowable.
fragmentation - some visual examples and resources.pdfCALENDAR PROJECT: IMPORTANT INFORMATION/RESOURCES
Just below, you'll find a Word document with calendar date layouts for each month of 2019. You will almost certainly find it helpful to open and save a copy of this template for use in your calendar project. If you open the copy in Word, you can change various aspects of the layout, as well as the fonts. You will also be able to type in information about special days: please recall that one requirement of this project is to note at least one day per month that is related to your theme. You can also import the file into Adobe InDesign and make font changes and other edits within that program. If you like, you can then do the layout work, combining text and image, within InDesign. Alternatively, you can do that in Photoshop, though I STRONGLY suggest using InDesign for the layout in order to start learning what that program. InDesign is better suited to let you work effectively with multiple text boxes and multiple separate images (not on layers) in a complex layout than is Photoshop.
Note that you CANNOT edit the text of these calendar templates when you've pasted them into Photoshop. Therefore, if you want to do the final layout in Photoshop, be sure to do all the work on the calendar templates BEFORE importing them into Photoshop.
Here's a link to a good calendar template that includes a very extensive listing of holidays and other special days you might want marked on your calendar, in addition to those you are marking in relation to your own theme: https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/custom.html?year=2019&country=1&cols=3&df=1&hol=43122559
Calendar template for 2019.docxHere (see just below) are two examples of calendars created by Digital Art III students last year, for 2018. Harry Yuan created a calendar for the Chinese Year of the Dog, and Patrick Siegler made a Star Trek-themed calendar that incorporates a sort of "Where's Waldo" element, with very tiny images hidden in the photo he chose for each month. Note that Harry made his calendar using Photoshop exclusively, while Patrick made his with both Photoshop and InDesign.
Patrick Siegler - display calendar copy 2.pdfReport abuse