CD Cover

In this task we started to experiment with the brush tool. The first thing we did was set up the file so that it was the correct dimensions. To do this you go to file > new, and then change the dimensions to 120 x 120mm, the resolution to 300 and the bit value to 16. Then press ok. The brushes that i used were not default brushes from photoshop, they were downloaded from the internet. I got the brushes from brusheezy.com. Everything you see on these CD covers are either text on made with brushes. I personally don't think the CD covers work well being only designed with brushes, however i imagine that if you were to combine them with over things like photographs you could get a really proffessional looking design.

Photoshop Skills

this is the original photo i took of Abbi. in photshop i have played around with a few different effects to enhance the image. Here are my results:

On this image i used the Auto tone tool and the Auto Contrast tool. I also tried to use the Auto Colour tool but for some reason it decided to give the image a blue tint which i did not think looked good so i removed it. The result is very sutble but it has made the image look slightly better. To access the photoshop autocorrections just go to the image tab and click the Auto options.

In this image i desaturated the image which removed all the colour. To do this you go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. I also increased the brightness and contrast, this made the black colours darker and the whiter colours brighter. I think this has give the image a really nice effect.

On this image i added a feather black border to the background,this is called vingetting. i also tried to get rid of the shadowing around Abbi's face using the dodge tool. However i think i have over done this because it has made her face look too pale on one side.

To create this tinted effect like i have done on this photograph you go to the layers menu and click "create new or adjustment layer > curves". This then allows you to change the amount of red, green and blue that is in the photo. If you change the red graph from being a straight diagonal line to an S shape it has a really nice effect on the image. Once you have found something that looks good you can go to the "create new or adjustment layer" menu again and this time click "Solid Colour". This places one colour over the top of the image, you can then change it to a yellow colour and rapidly reduce the opacity, this is what gives the photograph its warm tint.

On this final image i attempted to zombify Abbi, i did this by heavily using the burn tool to tarken the area around her eyes and mouth, i think this has had a really cool effect on the image. i also used the liquidfy tool to enlarge her eyes, i think this looks good but has been sort of ruined because it distorted her pupils as well. I also get a texture off the internet, placed it over the top of her face and then added a filter to it to make her skin look dirty and kept in bad condition.

Shutter Speed

This picture was taken using a shutter speed of 2 seconds; we did this by going into a dark room, pointing a torch at the camera, pressing the shutter button and then moving the torch to create whatever shape you want. In this case Abbi decided to make a heart. I think this had a really cool effect and is defiantly something I would like to do again. I think this image would have looked better if the room was even darker because the toilet in the background does not look very nice. I also think that we should have taken it using a tripod so the background didn’t have quite so much motion blur.

This image was taken with a much shorter shutter speed and was about 1/60^th of a second. It shows Abbi mid-jump and the short shutter speed has frozen her in time. I tried to take this photo at dynamic angle to make it more interesting. The image is slightly out of focus because I did not use the focus ring correctly and I think that I was too far away from my subject so it hard to tell what is the focal point of the image.

This final image was taken with an incredibly short shutter speed of about 1/640^th of a second. We had to try and take this photo in a few different locations because so little light was being let into the camera that it caused all the photos to come out dark, however after finding a very sunny spot I think this photo came out well. The short shutter speed has made the water look really good and you can see all the individual drops really clearly. I think this photo would have looked a lot better if I had zoomed in on the water more, however this may have caused it to come out too dark. Shutter speed is defiantly something I want to experiment more with in the future.

 

Here is another example of a short shutter speed that I took when the river flooded near where I live. Although the water is fast flowing the short shutter speed makes it look frozen. If the shutter speed was longer the water would appear to have a much smoother texture.

Print Skills Audit

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Manual Focus features	X		I have used manual focus features on my own camera when taking pictures of things like bees to a medium level.
Shutter Speed		X
Aperture control		X
A tripod	X		I have a tripod. Medium level
External flas		X	I
Self timer facility	X		I have used the self timer feature when i need to be in a photo and there is no one else available to take the photo.
Light meter		X
Composition grids		X

Photoshop Skills

Which of the following features of Photoshop have you used before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Have you ever used Photoshop ever before?	X		I have it on my own computer and mess around with it sometimes, i am not a master at it but i know the basics.
Text control		X
Filters	X		I have used filters to a basic level to bevel and shadow shape.
Brushes		X
Layers		X
Opacity control		X
Shape creation		X
Brightness and contrast control		X
Dodge/Burn		X
Clone stamp tool		X
Colour curves adjustment		X
Resolution setting control		X
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool		X
Cropping tool		X
Retouch tool		X

In Design Skills

Which of the following features of In Design have you used before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Have you ever used In design ever before?		X
Margin and column guide creation		X
Inserting text in ID		X
Inserting images in ID		X
Resizing images in ID		X
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation		X
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading		X
Text flow creation		X
Text effects – drop shadow		X
Drop cap insert		X
Using transparent imagery in ID		X
Shape creation In design		X
Text wrapping		X
Exporting to PDF from In-design		X