Finally! My scanner is up and running again,
Sketches....
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Logo project
After finding my former high school, York, I finally found the current logo. It was so small that once I enlarged it just a bit, it was almost too pixilated to see!
As I thought about what I wanted the logo to entail, I decided that I still wanted to keep some form of the Falcon, and just the 'Y' as opposed to 'YHS'.
I first because experimenting with the 'Y', only I didn't want it to be a collegate font, which everyone has and it's boring. Next, I played with what I wanted the falcon to look like, whether it be the head, some other part like a wing, or the whole bird. Yes, I went with the whole bird...
I chose the one in the grey oval as the final because I liked the frame the best. I also wanted to stay with something stylistic, the mascot and letter, to 'update' it a bit.
As I thought about what I wanted the logo to entail, I decided that I still wanted to keep some form of the Falcon, and just the 'Y' as opposed to 'YHS'.
I first because experimenting with the 'Y', only I didn't want it to be a collegate font, which everyone has and it's boring. Next, I played with what I wanted the falcon to look like, whether it be the head, some other part like a wing, or the whole bird. Yes, I went with the whole bird...
I chose the one in the grey oval as the final because I liked the frame the best. I also wanted to stay with something stylistic, the mascot and letter, to 'update' it a bit.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
ad crit-4
As I was going through sorting some cd's, I came across this crazy album I hadn't seen before. Upon inspection of the cover, I decided to use the cd cover from the motion picture "Tank Girl" as my fourth ad critique.
At first glance, my eyes hurt. Well, that is to say, I was just visually confused. The colors chosen are extremely loud/ bright, and there seems to be a lot of information crammed into a small space. The color palette reminds me somewhat of one of my previous crits of the Wii cover of the 'Ravin Rabbids', which was also a very limited palette, but still effective.
As far as the layout goes, the title 'Tank Girl' and the image of the woman follow the rule of thirds. Then there are cartoon bubbles spread throughout the rest of the void space or various artists who are featured on the sound track. Lastly, behind these bubbles there is some type of heavy black font, none of which is actually legible.
While the right side of the cover seems visually a bit heavier, there does seem to be some balance in the layout or composition. Most of the bubbles are grouped together in spots lending weight and chaotic structure to the busy peice.
At first glance, my eyes hurt. Well, that is to say, I was just visually confused. The colors chosen are extremely loud/ bright, and there seems to be a lot of information crammed into a small space. The color palette reminds me somewhat of one of my previous crits of the Wii cover of the 'Ravin Rabbids', which was also a very limited palette, but still effective.
As far as the layout goes, the title 'Tank Girl' and the image of the woman follow the rule of thirds. Then there are cartoon bubbles spread throughout the rest of the void space or various artists who are featured on the sound track. Lastly, behind these bubbles there is some type of heavy black font, none of which is actually legible.
While the right side of the cover seems visually a bit heavier, there does seem to be some balance in the layout or composition. Most of the bubbles are grouped together in spots lending weight and chaotic structure to the busy peice.
Monday, February 16, 2009
revised version of self portrait
I agree, knocking down the intensity and hue of the flowers along the left side really made a difference....
Sunday, February 15, 2009
ad crit-3
For my third ad crit, I decided to find something 'whimsical' to study. I found in my pantry, this box of tea, "Tension Tamer" herbal tea by Celestial seasonings.
At first glance, my eye is drawn to the bright green dragon in the lower right quadrant, however taming tensions is not the thought that leaps to mind when I see him. Nonetheless, a beautiful maiden with long, flowing hair is the second image that stands out for me. In the distant background, there lies a castle upon a high mountain top.
I'm drawn to the image, or the product because of the bright palette and detailed illustrations used on the front. Although the idea of a dragon seems a bit contradictory with the title of the product, it's still quite interesting, like I want to study the image for more information, or more to the story. While the colors used are bright in the lower right section and across the top of the box, the area where the castle is depicted seems somewhat pale in comparison, literally. The blue in the sky fades to an extremely pale intensity, stark white clouds are added, and to top it off, the mountains are the faintest grey.
As far as the overall design of the piece, it works pretty well, (in my opinion). The very pale yellow banner waves slightly across the top, not dead center, while the Celestial Seasonings logo is placed off-center as well. I don't know that I'm crazy about the warm brown used in the logo on the left, but I suppose something visually heavy was needed to balance out the weighty detail of the dragon and the maiden. The deep periwinkle blue at the top, with the lighter shade of design are a nice compliment with the rest of the color palette, however I would have liked to see the pale yellow "tension tamer" type in a style a little more soft- maybe a thinner script.
All criticism aside, the box did it's job-the tea is wonderful!
At first glance, my eye is drawn to the bright green dragon in the lower right quadrant, however taming tensions is not the thought that leaps to mind when I see him. Nonetheless, a beautiful maiden with long, flowing hair is the second image that stands out for me. In the distant background, there lies a castle upon a high mountain top.
I'm drawn to the image, or the product because of the bright palette and detailed illustrations used on the front. Although the idea of a dragon seems a bit contradictory with the title of the product, it's still quite interesting, like I want to study the image for more information, or more to the story. While the colors used are bright in the lower right section and across the top of the box, the area where the castle is depicted seems somewhat pale in comparison, literally. The blue in the sky fades to an extremely pale intensity, stark white clouds are added, and to top it off, the mountains are the faintest grey.
As far as the overall design of the piece, it works pretty well, (in my opinion). The very pale yellow banner waves slightly across the top, not dead center, while the Celestial Seasonings logo is placed off-center as well. I don't know that I'm crazy about the warm brown used in the logo on the left, but I suppose something visually heavy was needed to balance out the weighty detail of the dragon and the maiden. The deep periwinkle blue at the top, with the lighter shade of design are a nice compliment with the rest of the color palette, however I would have liked to see the pale yellow "tension tamer" type in a style a little more soft- maybe a thinner script.
All criticism aside, the box did it's job-the tea is wonderful!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Digital Assignment- Mary S. Taitt
"....imagik-image magic: magic is the effect that image play has on me."- Quote from Mary Stebbins-Taitt, the artist I chose as the 'muse' or 'role model' for my own digital self portrait.
In researching digital self-portraits online, I was able to narrow my list down to a mere 16 different artists that I had bookmarked having very interesting work. Several had wonderful depictions of self-portraits, while many others had aspects in their work I was drawn to, even if the composition as a whole didn't speak to me. Eventually, after studying and comparing some of the different artists, I decided Mary Stebbins-Taitt was the one. I found her on Blogspot of all places, and noticed she has several different blogs. I became quite enamored with her 'Self Portrait with Roses and Checkerboard Wind' that I came across on one of her blogs.
I think the first thing to draw me to Taitt's work was her use of color. I am always drawn to a bright palette and wide use of color in almost anything I see or do. As I shuffled through the many thumbnails that my search delivered, I immediately paused at the vivid colors that were unidentifiable at the time. Once enlarged, my eyes were dancing around the image taking in all of the vibrant activity. Smooth shapes, soft images, and unusual tones gave life to this two-dimensional piece. She states in her blog that her medium is Digital Composit/ Digitally altered photographs. I further read she uses Photoshop to do most of her work.
As I enlarged the portrait further, I realized there was some kind of screen or weave over the entire image. This lends to the softness and subtlety of the piece. I believe the artist then 'punched up' the piece with the color scheme. Various intensities of color highlight the roses, and the artist's skin and hair. As for myself, it appears that her eye is the only aspect that was somewhat unaggected or edited back to the original color. Possibly this was done to give a 'center' to the piece, giving ground to an otherwise dreamy composition. I feel if this hadn't been done, the entire image would have faded or just become lost, with all the colors swirling in the foreground.
Again, like almost all other aesthetically appealing images, this follows the rule of thirds. Showing only half of the artist's face, and having the roses not quited center lend a visual interest into the piece. I'm not sure what exactly is in the background, (top right area of the image), but it also doesn't matter. I feel enough information is given to suggest a background, but it is immaterial to the other aspects in the image.
I'm still learning how all of the pixel-editing programs work, but feel confident that I reach this level of skill eventually!
In researching digital self-portraits online, I was able to narrow my list down to a mere 16 different artists that I had bookmarked having very interesting work. Several had wonderful depictions of self-portraits, while many others had aspects in their work I was drawn to, even if the composition as a whole didn't speak to me. Eventually, after studying and comparing some of the different artists, I decided Mary Stebbins-Taitt was the one. I found her on Blogspot of all places, and noticed she has several different blogs. I became quite enamored with her 'Self Portrait with Roses and Checkerboard Wind' that I came across on one of her blogs.
I think the first thing to draw me to Taitt's work was her use of color. I am always drawn to a bright palette and wide use of color in almost anything I see or do. As I shuffled through the many thumbnails that my search delivered, I immediately paused at the vivid colors that were unidentifiable at the time. Once enlarged, my eyes were dancing around the image taking in all of the vibrant activity. Smooth shapes, soft images, and unusual tones gave life to this two-dimensional piece. She states in her blog that her medium is Digital Composit/ Digitally altered photographs. I further read she uses Photoshop to do most of her work.
As I enlarged the portrait further, I realized there was some kind of screen or weave over the entire image. This lends to the softness and subtlety of the piece. I believe the artist then 'punched up' the piece with the color scheme. Various intensities of color highlight the roses, and the artist's skin and hair. As for myself, it appears that her eye is the only aspect that was somewhat unaggected or edited back to the original color. Possibly this was done to give a 'center' to the piece, giving ground to an otherwise dreamy composition. I feel if this hadn't been done, the entire image would have faded or just become lost, with all the colors swirling in the foreground.
Again, like almost all other aesthetically appealing images, this follows the rule of thirds. Showing only half of the artist's face, and having the roses not quited center lend a visual interest into the piece. I'm not sure what exactly is in the background, (top right area of the image), but it also doesn't matter. I feel enough information is given to suggest a background, but it is immaterial to the other aspects in the image.
I'm still learning how all of the pixel-editing programs work, but feel confident that I reach this level of skill eventually!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
ad crit2- mull spice
For the second ad, I choose a packet of mulling spices, (it hasn't been opened, that's why the image isn't completely flat).
The first aspect of this packaging to catch my eye is the very elementary sketch of a winter scene, supposedly in New England. With the exception of the product name and font, this image could have been drawn by any intermediate/ middle school student.
Going more in depth, I feel the color scheme is probably passable, a darker not bright red, and very pale accent colors used for the houses and trees. All of this induces feelings of coziness, warmth, and sedation, which I suppose was the target for the promotion. The idea of drinking hot mull by a fire with 30 feet of snow outside and nowhere to go does appeal to some. I can understand not wanting to use a bright, springy color scheme which would send mixed feelings about the emotion the company wants to portray. Fortunately, the image does follow the rule of thirds with the main sketch in the lower quadrant of the package.
What is extremely boring however is the centered 'banners' (for lack of a better word) and the font. One's eye is drawn to the huge rectangular space with very little worded information, and on top of that, it's stark white! So there is now a huge void space almost center of the package. I feel this should be much smaller and possibly not white. I understand wanting to carry the white around the image because it mimics the snow, but that is also done with the maker's stamp ' The Spice Hunter' at the very top. These two separate blocks of white with the name of the product could be merged into one block, because the proximity suggests they are separate pieces of information.
In conclusion, this packaging bores me. I want to see more information about the product and a more sophisticated drawing and possibly a script title. Both of these aspects would give a little more insight into just what I'm purchasing as the consumer.
The first aspect of this packaging to catch my eye is the very elementary sketch of a winter scene, supposedly in New England. With the exception of the product name and font, this image could have been drawn by any intermediate/ middle school student.
Going more in depth, I feel the color scheme is probably passable, a darker not bright red, and very pale accent colors used for the houses and trees. All of this induces feelings of coziness, warmth, and sedation, which I suppose was the target for the promotion. The idea of drinking hot mull by a fire with 30 feet of snow outside and nowhere to go does appeal to some. I can understand not wanting to use a bright, springy color scheme which would send mixed feelings about the emotion the company wants to portray. Fortunately, the image does follow the rule of thirds with the main sketch in the lower quadrant of the package.
What is extremely boring however is the centered 'banners' (for lack of a better word) and the font. One's eye is drawn to the huge rectangular space with very little worded information, and on top of that, it's stark white! So there is now a huge void space almost center of the package. I feel this should be much smaller and possibly not white. I understand wanting to carry the white around the image because it mimics the snow, but that is also done with the maker's stamp ' The Spice Hunter' at the very top. These two separate blocks of white with the name of the product could be merged into one block, because the proximity suggests they are separate pieces of information.
In conclusion, this packaging bores me. I want to see more information about the product and a more sophisticated drawing and possibly a script title. Both of these aspects would give a little more insight into just what I'm purchasing as the consumer.
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