Introduction to Visual Language in Art & Design
Elements of Art
Rule of Thirds
The Rule of Thirds is a guidance to where the focal points are in images. So as you see the main focal point is in the top left as most people see that first.
Perspective
Perspective is a way of being able to see a 3D landscape in a 2D image. So for example the road gets narrower towards the end of the road which shows it’s distance.
I then created my own version of a perspective image as shown below with my name.
Line
Line is the base of drawings which you use to create distance, rhythm, shape, pattern and many more.
Space
The positive space is the main focus of the image and therefore negative space refers to the background of the image. When used correctly as well as smartly you can create a double meaning in an image such as the one on the left. As you can see it creates two images, one being two heads and the other being a type of vases/timer.
Shape
Shapes are one of the main elements of art and are restricted to only two dimensions
Tone
Tone alludes to the light and dark values that are used to create an abstract composition and show shade/highlights which helps give a 3D feel to it.
Motion
Motion is a way of capturing a movement in a still image. So you will make certain parts blurry to show the effect of moving.
Colour
Colour is produced when light reflects back to they eye after coming from an object. Colour is an element of art and has three different properties such as hue, intensity and lightness or darkness
Past Postcard
I started by getting an image and selecting the background using the magic wand tool to delete the background leaving an empty space.
I then added this 
image and used it to fill in the blank space. I then changed the hue and saturation to make it black and white which connotes the past.
I then added this picture and faded it into the background to show conscription
Final Design
Present Postcard
I started with this image of the Virgin Islands. I then used the magic wand tool to select and deleted the sky.
I found this image and thought it would make a good sky for the other image.
As shown I put the two images together.
I changed the hue and saturation of the sky to fit the same colours as the image to make it more realistic.
I then decided it would be fun to add some animals to it so found this image of a shark.
As seen I added it into the water and lowered the opacity to make it more realistic.
Final Design
Future Postcard
I started with this a futuristic city from google and then I traced the outline with the magnetic lasso tool. I also lowered the opacity to create a faded affect so its less obvious they are two separate images.
I then added this gradient from dark blue to light blue to help the faded affect.
This increases the opacity and darkens the image giving it a blue tint which creates a space/atmosphere feel to it.
I then added this picture to be the sky/background of the city.
I put the two images together to create the futuristic look.
since UFO’s symbolise future technology I added this to really create a futuristic look.
I lowered the opacity of the UFO to help it blend in.
Final Design
Green screens
We went into a room with a portable green screen and used it to take around two pictures of ourselves. Which we then used to edit ourselves into different backgrounds and areas as shown above and below. To do this I would use the magic wand tool to select the green background from my picture and click the delete tool to get rid of that green selected area and therefore leave my body remaining. I then could export this image onto many other backgrounds such as a wedding,funeral or even in Mario. Of course you need to make sure that the clothes you are wearing are not the same colour as the background or green screen in this case.
I have made composited images Using Photoshop I have composited multiple images and have made montages . I have Considered which events in past, present and future history are to be represented.I will use the Quick Selection tool and masks to isolate aspects of images to composite.
Artist Research
David Hockney
David Hockney is a male English painter and is aged at 81 years old. He was born on the 9th of July 1937 in Bradford (England). He was a major contributor to the pop art movement of the 60’s. He has had three styles of art- Pop art, cubism and modern art . David Hockey is considered as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century due to his contribution of pop art from the 1960’s. His series of work is called “joiners” which represents cubism and is shown in the pictures above. He now lives and works in Los Angeles which is where he painted his collection of swimming pool paintings, such as The big splash.
Personally I like his artwork as I think it is unique and creative. I also like how it is still very easy to see and tell what the original image is. So you are adjusting the image as well as keeping the original meaning and feel of the image. David Hockney’s portrait shown above (pool with two figures) is a composition of two different stories of his. He saw the first of the guy swimming in the water in 1971 and liked it because you could see how the water distorted the persons body. The second picture is off a boy “gazing at the ground”. He later said himself that the idea of the painting “appealed so much that I began painting immediately”.
John Stezaker
John Stezaker is a English male conceptual artist and was born in 1949 and therefore is 69 years old. He was educated in the “slade school of fine art” and is known for conceptual art. His series of work ranged between masks, marriage, relationships, he she and shadow. He lives in London as well as doing most of his work there.
I like his artwork because similar to David Hockney its quite simple which is one of the main reasons they are famous. As you only use two different images to create one it is very simple and can have various meanings.
Evaluation
At the beginning of the course we we’re told to think of historical events for the past, present and future which we would then use to create a postcard around. In this unit I learned a lot of cool skills I could use on Photoshop for example the puppet warp tool which allows you to place two pivot points on an image and then warp the image from those points. I think that all the drawing and photo-manipulation helps with animation and games because you need to be able to draw thumbnails for an animation (a story line) before you have fully animated it. This way you know what you are going to be animating and already have it planned out. Since we did thumbnails in this unit before creating our actual postcards and Since we did thumbnails in this unit before creating our actual postcards it reinforces that upon us. I have experimented many times with different backgrounds for my postcards mainly. When coming into this unit I already knew most of the basic tools and how to use them, for example the magic lasso tool, magic wand and many more. I had never really experienced the other tools as I have never had Photoshop and just used other software’s such as gimp so found out how to use the magic wand tool as said above. Personally I struggled with keeping focus but also understanding new techniques and how to do them. My strengths in this unit have been using the green screen as I found that quite simple and easy. To improve next time, I would try and focus more as well as planning my work before doing it.
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