Scale and Proportion - Photoshop Collage

This collage consists of six separate photos, all taken by myself. Layer one is the sky, on which I made a few hue adjustments. Layer two is the off-perspective building, with some hue and saturation adjustments and an inner shadow. Next was the main background image, which I left pretty much the same, doing a few hue adjustments. Then, I used the magnetic lasso tool to select my boyfriend out of a photo and add him into the image, super-sized. I then used the same tool to select an elephant out of another photo I had taken, and used it to create a parade of elephants around my boyfriend. Lastly, I added a photo of myself as one of the billboards in the background.

Emphasis

Emphasis by One Element - In this example by Gretchen Kelly, the high contrast, bright red door stands out against the otherwise colorless background. Although the images represents one continuous composition, the door is clearly the focal point.

Emphasis by Isolation - In this photo, retrieved from Flickr, the lone bird on the bottom wire is made the focal point by means of isolation. Although all the birds appear to be undefined shapes, the isolated bird draws the viewers eye.

Emphasis by Placement - This photo of the Andy Warhol gallery at the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, uses placement to create emphasis on the image at the back. Both the staircase and the hallway lead back towards the image, as do all parallel lines on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Emphasis by Contrast - This image, by Mark Bennett, uses contrast to create the window as a focal point. The warm, glowing orange stands out against the cold, blue, snowy background, creating a warm, inviting focal point.

Absence of Focal Point - This image, titled Pink Quetzacoatl, has no focal point. Instead, it is an abstract representation, a collection of vibrant colors and interesting shapes and lines. By avoiding the use of a blatant focal point, the painting becomes one unified focal point in and of itself.

Unity

Unity through repetition - The plethora of colors in this particular image are tied together by the repeated "bull's eye" shapes. -Tom Moody

Unity through continuation - This black and white photograph by Andrea Macfarlane uses the continuation of a variety of shapes to create unity. The parallel lines of the benches and concrete and the receding circles and half-circles draw the eye back into the image. -Andrea Macfarlane

Unity through emphasis on variation - This painting by Andy Warhol utilizes slight variations not only to add visual interest but also to unify the image as a whole. If all of the cans were the same color and at the same angle, the painting would not be anywhere near as successful as this colorful image. This is also an example of a grid based design. -Andy Warhol

Unity through use of the grid - This collage makes use of the grid as a unifying factor in this skyline collage. Although parts of the image are disjointed and not matching, the fact that all of the parts are laid out structurally in a grid format ties it all together. -Fine Art

Ideals in 2D Design

Water color and pastel on white paper

Acrylic paint on white paper

Charcoal on white paper - Leavenworth Hall, Castleton State College

The three images above are all exemplifications of two dimensional design. By definition, two dimensional design is, of course, two dimensional. It is flat, unlike sculpture or architecture. Because of this, one of the challenges of two dimensional design is translating three dimensional ideas onto a flat surface. Although these examples are done by myself and therefore not professional examples of art by any means, I feel that they do an adequate job of communicating the three dimensional world onto the two dimensional paper.

Introduction!

Hi there everyone... I am Lisa Ploof, a 21 year old Graphic Design major at the Community College of Vermont. I graduated high school in 2007, and attempted going to college twice before attending CCV and doing online courses. Both times, extenuating circumstances influenced me to drop out... I am now in my third semester at CCV, and have been taking online courses the entire time. I look forward to a great semester full of creativity. I look forward to seeing everyone's work, and hope that everyone enjoys mine as well! My Blog from last semester's Drawing I class is available for anyone to check out!
Lisa Ploof - Drawing I