Image Production Assignment 02 (Define and Develop stages)
When I was brainstorming for ideas I was looking for ideas
that had a little bit of flair while also trying to demonstrate all the skills I
had learned in Image Manipulation lectures and labs. I’ll include a
brainstorming sketch from my notebook below.
When It came down to the idea I wanted to move forward with
I sketched some thumbnail sketches and test shots. I will also include them
here. This is my concept board.
When it came to primary and secondary research I had the
fortune of having in my possession all of which I required in terms of props
and lighting set-up tools, so the cost was low, and it also enabled m to take
all my own photos to lean more into the primary research end of research like
what would I be able to accomplish with these props and other tools.
The project thesis: I plan to take pictures of Pokémon
cards or any other equally iconic trading cards and then use the background,
image manipulation and a bit of creativity to make them jump to life enlisting in
any viewers of the final image a nostalgic scene with some cool effects layered
over, while trying to demonstrate as many of my photoshop skills as possible
and using a little studio photography skill to boot.
My idea for the image manipulation project is to take
pictures of classic Pokémon Trading Cards and add an elemental flair to each
card! I plan to take these photos in a natural nostalgic place where children
would play with trading cards like the primary school yard which is only up my
road or my back garden where I would have played the game with my friends as a
child. The props themselves will be the Pokémon cards and the lighting tools at
my disposal will be a silver/golden reflector and a light diffuser if needs be,
however, I do not see the diffuser being much use if I plan to use majority natural
lighting. I plan to take these photos during a sunny day, with a natural blue
sky and a roaring sun, perhaps in the evening time to cement in the idea of an
after primary school adventure or during the afternoon when the primary schools
would be letting break happen. I am choosing this as my project proposal as I have
a personal interest in the matter and I feel it would hold up as a cheerful or a
positivity-charged, nostalgic image for me and many of the other students in my
age-level. I feel I would be proud of the skills I could display in this
scenario also as of latest I can see myself using at the very latest: Masking
tools, selecting tools, hue/saturation tools, healing and patch tools, integrating
other photos into my photo skills, eyedropper skills, re-positioning skills, non-destructive
layer skills, paint brush skills and even some illustration skills if I want to
make every card accurately display the elemental type in which it will be
linked to (E.G. I will have the electric card emit a bolt of electricity,
however I might make the fire card emit an illustration of lava!)
The background research is as simple as this, I know what
Pokémon cards are, I know how they are treated and viewed by children and I will
be creating an image that The Pokémon Company still uses as their main form of
advertising Pokémon cards, I will be relying on my own experiences with the
cards and some research on the main advertisements including them from the 90’s.
The main artist that inspired me is Erik Johansson, a photographer
that takes pictures and then captures ideas in them by digitally manipulation
his images to create works of art deconstructing or creating our world. He also
works towards making his idea’s look as realistic as possible and I intend to
follow that trend, even if I am editing the pictures of colourful yellow
creatures that shoot lightning from their cheeks.
So ends my proposal for:
The Power of Pokémon Trading Cards!
Notes: I did a similar project last ear in my PLC and I continued to take pictures of all my consoles different controllers and combine them in my NES controller (Nintendo's first ever controller for a home console).
Console controllers used: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo 64, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 4.
Here is my develop stage in relation to my concept boards shown above:
The following are the unedited photos used to make my final image, they are presented here in JPEG format:
and here is an image not taken by me used in the final image, it was downloaded from the internet. The source is http://www.pngplay.com/image/tag/lightning
The following are different iterations of the final image in JPEG format:
Artist's Statement: While working on this project I feel I
got to demonstrate all I have learned over this course and apply it in a
critical and creative way that wasn't just the simple take a face and change it
layout (Not that there is anything wrong with doing this! :)). I was able to
have fun while creating a piece of art that could take some items from a lot of
people's childhoods and replicate a childhood memory and daydream that a lot of
people in one way or another has thought of once. I was also able to create an
image I found appealing as a Pokemon fan all these years later, perhaps this
image could be used as a poster for the Trading Card Game, or perhaps a concept
art illustration for a 5 second advertisement on YouTube. I found this
experience very educational, and I feel like I have the adequate skills to
continue and create even more illustrations in photoshop with my trusty selection,
brush, spot healing, pen and other photoshop tools. These skills were learned
and developed on while creating this image and I am very proud of the progress
I made and the final product.
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