Conclusion

At this point I would say that the most significant accomplishment in my class was my midterm.  I thought that both of the parts to it have strong underling messages and at the same time show a beautiful picture. My favorite part of it is how they both came from the same basic background picture but look completely different.

One thing that was hard to master when first taught in class was the layer mask and specifically making things look realistically put into a picture by using shadows. The first project that i really did this in was one of my quizzes. It took me a few tries to make it look right but it was well worth it.

Over the course of this class I've not only improved my photoshop skills but also my ability to express the point I'm trying to make with my work. The first picture is my modulated meaning project which was made right before my midterm.

As you can see there is a lot going on and I had a little more trouble getting the meaning of good vs bad dreams and making it look clean/professional. 

The next picture is my final project and although it isn't as complicated as my midterm it has just as much meaning if not more.

In the top part the kids playing hockey represent the youth, they have all their hopes and dreams and can only imagine what they might become one day. There is also a kid wear #88 who is supposed to be more of the main focus an Patrick Kane as a kid. On the left I have Patrick Kane grown up (#88) holding the Stanley Cup and during the national anthem. This is supposed to be what the kids dreams are and at the same time showing that he is capable of accomplishing it. The bottom shows a man on the summit of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Many people have died attempting to climb it and it alone is a huge symbol for determination and hard work. This mans journey to his accomplishment probably started years before preparing and climbing other mountains. In the reflection in his goggles there's a picture of fellow climbers following in his footsteps.

Final Preparation

For my Final project I wanted to further the development of my Big Idea which is dreams. For my midterm I created two dream-like worlds using the same basic picture in order to contrast good and bad dreams.  Instead of creating something that was similar I wanted to show the more literal interpretation of Dreams, in the sense of dreams and aspirations. I made two pictures which showed some of my past/present dreams.  I then combined them by giving both a border that looked like torn white paper. If this work was to be used in a promotional sense I would most likely see it being an inspirational poster or ad.

One thing that influenced my final would be inspirational posters/pictures, a similar style to these seemed fitting for my big idea.  Another thing that influenced me was one of my old schools hockey posters. The heading was old time hockey and they were on a frozen lake in a really cool setting paying in hoodies and jeans. I incorporated this into the top part of my final.

One thing that I incorporated into this project that I hadn't done before was the use of custom brushes to give it a border and more fluently combine two pictures.

The finished product is below: