Case Study

Client: Prof. Deborah Krikun

Project Title: Hyper Realism & Cubism

Duration: Spring 2016

Team: Daniel Castro

Introduction:

These two assignments were both created using Photoshop. Though they are completely different images with completely different subject matter, they were both achieved in similar ways. In this case study I will address how these two pieces were accomplished as well as the challenges along the way.

Concepts:

Originally, the concept for my hyper realism assignment was to recreate this self portrait that I had drawn in my previous semester. I wanted to do this by taking a photograph of myself and photoshop the gears and the crumbling hole in my face.

I wanted it to display how I appear to the people around me and how i feel on the inside. This concept ended up being tweaked, which I will explain in my challenges section. For my cubist piece I wanted to create a collage of the rapper Eminem in order to capture his different personalities and personas.

Methodology:

For my hyper realism piece my methods were fairly simple especially considering that it was my first go around using photoshop. To create the feeling of everything in the background rushing past me, I used the smudge and blur tool. This made it feel like everything was in motion. Then i used the magic eraser and polygonal tool to separate my assets from the background. Once everything was clean and in the right place i then played with the contrast of my image and the robot parts in order to make it feel like it was really occupying the space.

For my cubism piece I had some similar methods. Once I gathered all of my assets I began to extract them from the background using the magic eraser and polygonal tool. I also used the polygonal lasso tool to create the shapes that my images would go into. In order to get the colors into the shapes I selected the color I wanted and then used the paint bucket tool. Then i used the posterize setting to make the images appear to be graphic. The finishing touch was adding the drop shadow to the shapes to make it pop from the background.

Challenges:

A challenge in my hyper realism piece was executing my concept. I had trouble deciding what should be in the background, If I should zoom out and if the image should be dead center the way it is in the drawing. This is when I had to tweak my concept a little bit. I decided to get a full body shot instead of just the face, I used a NASA robot instead of gears, I put myself to the side to follow the rule of thirds, and used a city scene for the background.

The only challenge I had for my cubist piece was adding the drop shadow. This became an issue because i forgot to keep every layer seperate so a lot of my images were in the same layer. Because of this the drop shadow was going everywhere that I didn’t want it to go. I resolved this by duplicating every layer and then used the polygonal lasso tool to select the parts that I didn’t want and then I hit delete.

Results:

I am happy with the end result of my hyper realism piece. I think that the adjustments that were made to the concept is what made it successful in my opinion. It makes the viewer engaged and investigate to see why I chose to depict myself in this manner. I also like how my legs go off of the image making it really pop out of the picture.

As a huge Eminem fan my cubist piece is my favorite. I think i did a good job of capturing his personas in a way that is interesting and fun to look at. The graphic element of this piece is what I love the most. Lastly, I like how the background ties it all together by having the text “The Eminem Show.”

Blackboard Video Answers

Video #4

1. I enjoyed learning about how cubism originated and seeing examples from Picasso
2. This video was to inform people about what cubism is, how it originated and why artists did it.
3. I think the video is fine but it would be nice to see it go more in depth about why Picasso was a leader of the cubist movement.
4. This relates to the course content given that we are creating a cubist piece and its good to learn how it’s done and why.
5. I thought this video was very informative about how and why cubism began and seeing the example images made it easy to understand.

Video #5

1. This video was about collages and how it was the German response to cubism.
2. Somewhat, I feel like it lacks to communicate a clear message about what they want us to take away from the video.
3. I didn’t like that the names of the artists weren’t said but I did like the pieces of art that were shown.
4. This relates to the course content because it is similar to the cubism pieces we are doing and also because of the collage we will be making.
5. I would like to see them include the artist’s names of the pieces they talk about and have a clear message.

Video #6

1. This video was about the process of design thinking in order to communicate a clear message to the viewer.
2. Yes, it helped understand how to effectively deliver my message to the viewer in a way that they will understand.
3. I enjoyed the graphic images that went along with the commentary.
4. This relates to the course content because of the 30-second commercial we are making and this video will assist me in creating it.
5. I thought the video was informative and well put together but I found the commentator slightly boring so maybe change up the commentary a little bit.

Video #7

1. This video was about motion graphics and the distinction between it and animated film.
2. Yes, I thought that motion graphics and animated film was the same thing but this video taught me the difference.
3. I enjoyed seeing the clips of motion graphics especially Michelangelo’s Last Judgment.
4. This video relates to the course content because our 30-second commercial will be a motion graphic so it is helpful to see exactly what it is.
5. I think the video is fine as is, it is informative as well as entertaining, I did not find myself bored during the video so I would not tamper with it 

   Videos 1-3 were completed but blackboard didn’t save any of my answers.