the Final Project of Digital Photography and Imaging revolves around creating a self-titled artwork. This project encourages self-expression and the exploration of individuality by reflecting our personality through digital art with the goal of fostering self-confidence and discovery.
In this project, we are to manipulate a photograph of us using surrealism concepts and incorporate elements that symbolize our own identity, with the last part of the assignment being that we apply animation to the final artwork.
Idea Development
1. 'Write a biography about yourself':
INTRO
Tell us about yourself:
My name is Alyssa and I'm 19 years old. I am taking Bachelors in Creative Media (Hons). I'm very into a specific style of coquette/hyper-feminine and cyberspace aesthetics as I enjoy the intricacies and look of these specific styles, it is one way I express myself through design and even leaks into many aspects of my life such as room decoration and clothing. Apart from design, I enjoy reading, science, computer science, code, and anything regarding IT or technology in general.
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What is your passion?:
My main interest and passion is to pursue something that allows me to mix the world of both technology and design together. Before this, I had trouble picking a course of study as I excelled in both and wanted a good balance, through research, I found myself interested in the world of design- especially that of design which integrates and involves the structure and categorization that I enjoyed with IT and computer science, however, it as a single subject was too strict and rule-bound for me, as I still wanted to express myself creatively and be more free in my direction of work, thus my main goal is to find a good balance of both my interests, being able to approach design in a different and unique way by integrating them with one another.
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What’s motivate you to achieve your dream?:
I have always had a keen interest in design and technology since I was little, and this stayed with me and grew to become stronger throughout the years. One show I grew up watching was “Serial Lain Experiments” which furthered enhanced my interest in pursuing both subjects in the future, people tend to separate design from stem which I never understood, as I found myself having interest and enjoyment in both, and believe one could not exist without the other as I believe they both play integral roles in one another and would collapse without each other- thus, I would like to pursue something that allows me to have my specific passion of integrating both- this idea has been my motivation throughout life as it is a dream of mine.
SUMMARY
How do you want to visualize your dream into an artwork?:
I want to create something that allows me to show both my interests (design and technology) intertwining with one another
2. 'Write a statement about your work':
INTRO
Tell us about your work:
It is based on the idea of mixing together design and technology to show my interest as it makes up much of who I am as a person and represents myself well as well as the idea of “digital connection”
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What is the concept behind it?:
The concept is largely centered around integration and connection in the digital realm, as technology advances, more people are able to connect from around the world through different technological means, whether it is text, or call, sharing posts or pictures on social media, etc, everyone is trying to express themselves in one way or another, but at the same time, everyone has seemed to become somewhat afraid of what the future of technology holds. I want to create a piece showcasing sense of balance and harmony using design elements combining with technology together in unison to show people both can coexist peacefully. The idea is inspired by the show detailed in my biography- “Serial Lain Experiments” as it had an impact on me, being one of the motivators that led me to where I am today and leading me to pursue design & technology.
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What is the message you want people to understand it?:
The main idea/message I want to convey is connection, and a sense of balance and harmony between humanity and technology, demonstrating that these two aspects can coexist peacefully, and emphasizing how technology can actually enhance human connections rather than replacing them. As inspired by the show, a central theme it focuses on is how “everything is connected” as the show mentions how “people connect to each other and that’s how societies function. For communication, you need a powerful system that will mature alongside your relationships with people- I believe this idea of integration with design and technology can act as a “powerful system” for communication as we learn to embrace more of the advancements and upcoming change in both aspects. Lastly, to further my theme, I hope to create a sense of “connection” with the viewer by invoking feelings inside them, so that the message could be received more clearly and understood more personally from deep within.
SUMMARY
What is your motto/ quote?:
As albert Einstein once said, “creativity is intelligence having fun”
Mood Board
I have created a mood board in order to gain inspiration for my poster, as it is mainly inspired by 'Serial Experiments Lain', I have gathered a few pictures of designs of the show to properly gauge the cyber aesthetic I am aiming for.
Fig 1.0 Mood Board
Design Direction
Once I had a vision in mind of what I wanted the poster to look like, I started to sketch out the scene. I knew I wanted to include wires in my poster to represent 'connection' as it can be taken quite literally and symbolically, as well as more interactable digital elements such as tvs or hud screens, thus I have added them into my sketch.
Fig 1.1 Sketch
Once I had mapped out the basic design direction, I then coloured the sketch to get a feel of what the image might look like once it is done and decide what colours may be more suitable to use in the poster. As I wanted to create a more solemn digital atmosphere, I have went with a much colder colour palette in order to better fit the concept in mind.
Fig 1.2 Sketch With Colour
Process
After finalizing my sketch, I then went to search online for images to use for my poster. Pictured below are the images.
Fig 1.3 Compilation of Images
We were then to take a high quality picture of ourselves, during week 12, a photography session was held, however I was not able to participate then, thus I have taken the photo by myself at home using a professional camera in a plain backdrop with the help of my father, I have also tried my best to set the lights at an appropriate brightness for the photos to emulate the photography studio. To match my sketch, I have wrapped myself in wires as I figured they may be quite hard to edit in Photoshop and sat on a luggage bag to act as the pc I am sitting on in the sketch, additionally, I have also tried out a few poses differing a bit from my sketch and found that I liked the idea of one hand interacting with a Hud screen as if the poster were the interface itself, thus I proceeded with this image.
Fig 1.4 Original Photograph
Execution and Post Production
First, I have deposited the base images which include that of myself, along with the pc into photoshop, and the background, I then carefully selected and masked the backgrounds out from the picture of myself and the pc- this step is repeated as well for the other design elements that are added on later. The background is also a blend of 2 images in one, as I wanted the ceiling to have wires in order to seamlessly blend in with my other design elements. Other than this I have also recoloured my dress to be a whiter colour instead as I felt it looked more harmonious with the colours I planned on using.
Fig 1.5 Addition of Basic Image Elements
I then moved on to adding the next key element to the design which were the TV's. I first observed where there was excessive empty space to place them in, but also making sure that i leave enough negative space so that the image it not to full-looking. Aside from this, to give a uniform look and for my later animation, I have also duplicated the static and using the free transform tool, applied it onto the screen of the other TV's.
Fig 1.6 Addition of TV's + Static
This is then followed with the addition of the wires, I first drew them with the brush tool, making sure that the ones connected to the tv were the same width of the already existing wires in the background image, and the ones attached to me the same width as the wires I had wrapped around my body to achieve consistency, I then inflated them with the 3d tool on both sides and adjusted their properties such as the size, shine, light direction, etc.
Fig 1.7 Creation of Wires
Once I had my more physical elements down, I then deposited the rest of my decorative elements to simulate my concept of the poster itself being an interface, with the addition of things such as code, binary, and glitch effects with blending modes such as overlay and screen applied- each to represent something significant in the piece and as part of my personality but still intertwining and staying true to my design direction.
Fig 1.8 Addition of Decorative Elements
I then adjusted and balanced the colours of my image to ensure they all matched by adjusting the hue, brightness, levels, contrast, and also playing around with filters and the harmonization feature to get the desired effect, and have also added a 'glow' to the static screens by duplicating the image and placing it underneath, then blurring it as I realized in a darker room like my poster they would emit more noticeable light.
Fig 1.9 Colour Balancing & Matching
For the last step of the poster, I added a chromatic aberration effect to create a more digital look and feel to the image and have slight depth.
Fig 2.0 Chromatic Aberration
Animation
To start, I first deposited the file into After Effects as an editable so I could manipulate the images and animate them freely. I first animated the Hud Screen my finger was touching using position for the circle to make it rotate, rotating it little by little in each frame ensuring that it stayed even looking while rotating and centered in my finger. I have used the mask function for the circuits to make them appear from where my finger was touching, and opacity for the warning screen and the other two elements mentioned before, with frames of 0-100 placed closely to each other to create a 'turning on' effect, I have also repeated this step with the code and binary elements in my poster.
Fig 2.1 Animation of Hud Screen
This is then followed by adding in a gif of static, looping it, and masking it to fit the dimensions of the TV screens in the poster.
Fig 2.2 Animation of Static
Then, I animated the glitches throughout the image by first selecting and masking them, creating a solid base and changing it into 'block' to create the glitching effect, and outputting the glitch images present on my poster onto the the newly created effect with fractal noise and the displacement map, adjusting the properties until the glitches looked convincing.
Fig 2.3 Creation of Glitching Effect
Fig 2.4 Masking Glitches
Fig 2.5 Fractal Noise + Displacement Map
As a last touch, I added an effect of vhs tv static to further my concept of the digital interface, though also because as the show that inspired my concept Serial Lain Experiments is quite an old show, such an effect fit the era it was born in since vhs was still used then.
I have also added sound to the background to match alongside the digital theme I have with the opening syncing with the hud interface appearing to feel more 'immersive'.
Final Self Titled: Nexus Of Existence
This poster is themed around the concept of connection and synthesis through technological/digital means, The chosen title captures the essence of this concept, as "nexus" signifies the interconnection and interlinking of multiple elements. The artwork aims to convey achieving equilibrium and harmony between humanity, and technology, showcasing how technology can enhance human connections rather than supplant them as often portrayed in contemporary media narratives. It is visually inspired by the show ‘Serial Experiments Lain,’ which held a formative place in my upbringing and sparked my passion for technological design, the poster serves as a testament to the show's underlying theme that ‘everything is connected.’- In alignment with this idea, I believe that the integration of design/art into technology can function as a powerful system for this connection, whether it is through music, or illustrations. In my own way- I am connected too, the intricate web of wires represents the connections that bind me to my creations, the three televisions and their static symbolizes the potential for infinite possibilities; meant to be akin to ‘blank canvases’, and the wires connecting me to them showcase how I express myself through them- representing my creative more human aspect, while the presence of code and binary code signifies the technical and structured part of my identity. Lastly, the glitches depicted throughout the piece symbolize the seamless fusion between these two facets and how they harmonize with each other, and just like how I am able to intertwine these two seemingly disparate elements and connect myself with them harmoniously, I hope too that in the future the world will be able to do that as well with digital realm in a balanced way.
Fig 2.6 Self Titled: Nexus Of Existence JPG
Fig 2.7 Self Titled: Nexus Of Existence PDF
Fig 2.8 Self Titled: Nexus Of Existence Animation MP4
REFLECTION
The final assignment of digital photography and imaging was the most challenging yet interesting and fun out of all the assignments as we were able to take our own creative direction and use the project as a form of self-expression. Throughout the progression of this assignment I have learned many new techniques from in class and of tutorials online in trying to create a certain effect for the assignment- such as the complicated glitch animation I was able to create, while experimenting more in Photoshop due to this assignment gave me a look into the vast array of functionalities available in photoshop which greatly help the user.
Although there was not much time or exercises to practice animating in After Effects to prepare for this assignment, I still very much enjoyed self-teaching myself the methods as it made me more capable as a designer, similar to photoshop there are many tools and functionalities in the program that can be difficult to grasp at first but through online tutorials, I have semi-familiarized myself enough with the software to create something I am proud of.
Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment as it enabled me to create a poster representing me as a person, my personality, and who I am, as well as strengthening my knowledge and utilization in Photoshop and After Effects
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