William Wegman Anthropomorphic Lesson

William Wegman Inspired Anthropomorphic Digital Artwork

Mr. DeAscentiis Graphic Design

Objective(s): The student will…

Create a William Wegman-inspired anthropomorphic digital artwork using Adobe Photoshop. William Wegman is known for his anthropomorphic photos of dogs dressed in various costumes.

National Standards

Visual Arts Standard 1:

Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes

• Students conceive and create works of visual art that demonstrate an understanding of how the communication of their ideas relates to the media, techniques, and processes they use

• Students communicate ideas regularly at a high level of effectiveness in at least one visual arts medium

Visual Arts Standard 4:

Understanding the visual arts about history and cultures

• Students describe the function and explore the meaning of specific art objects within varied cultures, times, and places

Visual Arts Standard 6:

Making connections between the visual arts and other disciplines

• Students compare the materials, technologies, media, and processes of the visual arts with those of other arts disciplines as they are used in creation and types of analysis

Our William Wegman-inspired digital Artwork on anthropomorphism involved creating a composite image by blending the features of a Weimaraner dog onto a human subject. This lesson's criteria included a photomanipulation and creating a product advertisement.

Here is the step-by-step guide to creating an anthropomorphic photo composite in Adobe Photoshop.

*Anthropomorphicism refers to using Photoshop to create images that give non-human entities, like animals, human characteristics, such as clothing, poses, or expressions. This is often done by combining images, for example, by using a person's head with an animal's body, and then using Photoshop tools to blend and modify the images to make them look realistic

Step 1: Students gathered their reference photos

The key to a believable composite is finding high-quality photos with good lighting. 

• A human portrait: Choose a person with a clear view of their face and a pose that will work with your animal subject.

• A Weimeraner portrait: Find a high-resolution photo of the animal with similar lighting and a head angle that matches the human subject. 

Step 2: Extract your subjects

Use selection tools to isolate the heads of both the human and the animal. 

1. Open both images in Photoshop.

2. Use the Quick Selection Tool or Pen Tool to create a precise selection around the animal's head and features, including the eyes, nose, and mouth area.

3. Click the "Select and Mask" button in the top menu to refine your selection. Use the Refine Edge Brush to clean up the fur or hair.

4. Copy the selection and paste it onto the human subject's image as a new layer. 

Step 3: Position and transform the animal head 

My students then aligned the Weimeraner features with the human face.

1. With the animal layer selected, go to Edit > Free Transform (or press Ctrl+T / Cmd+T).

2. Resize and rotate the animal's head until it is the right scale and angle to fit over the human's face.

3. Lower the animal layer's opacity temporarily to see the human's features underneath and ensure proper alignment of the eyes and nose. 

Step 4: Blend the two images

This was the most critical and time-consuming part of the process, and it required the students to make some manual adjustments. 

1. Use a Layer Mask: With the animal layer selected, click the "Add Layer Mask" button in the Layers panel. Use a soft black brush on the mask to gently erase parts of the animal's face, revealing the human's features underneath. This is how you control which features are kept.

2. Match the skin tones: Select the Weimeraner layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Match Color. Choose the human portrait as the source image to automatically blend the colors and luminosity.

3. Use adjustment layers: For fine-tuning, add non-destructive adjustment layers like Levels, Curves, and Hue/Saturation above the animal layer. Clip these layers to the animal layer by holding Alt / Option and clicking between the layers. This ensures the adjustments only affect the animal. 

Step 5: Refine the details

Focus on areas where the animal and human features meet to create a seamless effect.

1. Brush and clone: Use the Clone Stamp Tool and Healing Brush Tool to clone and smooth out any harsh edges or mismatched textures.

2. Liquify: The Liquify Filter (Filter > Liquify) is a powerful tool for subtly pushing and pulling facial features to get a perfect fit.

3. Texture and color: To add more depth, consider adding color and texture overlays to parts of the animal or human to make them feel more cohesive. For example, could you add fur texture around the human's neck or recolor the animal's eyes to match the human's?