MMC140 - Wk 4: Face masks / Exercise 1

Theme & Style
Beginning with a digital photograph of a human head, use the week 4 tutorial techniques to add masks or facial embellishments (e.g. tattoos) to the underling faces.

Portraits are an opportunity to explore human identity and emotion. Such images can describe a kind of character or express an emotional state.

To do this you can use the faces as a foundation to create a more intense and focused portrayal of character. If the person in your portrait looks dreamy, then use the mask to make them look more dreamlike. If they look slightly mean, make them look intensely threatening etc.

Alternatively, to invoke a kind of specific character (e.g. devil, angel, clown or Cyborg etc.) you need to (a) identify and then (b) create, the appropriate forms, shapes, textures and colours etc. that will illustrate this idea.

I'm not sure I did this particularly well but I enjoyed this more than the Glob thing last week, and for the assignment we could choose which week to submit, so here are my 2 submissions for Exercise 1:

 

For context, here are some examples the tutor provided from previous students. For some reason I can't explain, I find the full-face masks a bit... creepy, so I went with a less-is-more approach:

 

Turns out RMIT are quite speedy at getting results back and I got a Credit for this assignment, which I'm pretty happy with. If I'm honest, I didn't spend as much time on this as I could/should have because I wasn't that excited about it, and the feedback provided was all very interesting and informative so I'm pretty happy. :)

Final Grade: 17/25 - 68% (Credit)

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MMC140 - Wk 3: Glob imagery

Theme & Style
The theme of this assignment - what you choose to portray - is completely open. You are free to create figures, creatures, scenery or abstract compositions etc.

However, the formal style of your imagery is, by contrast, relatively fixed by the visual characteristics of our source image (the Glob.jpeg) and the techniques and processes demonstrated in the tutorial movie. Therefore, the challenge of this assignment is to exercise imaginative freedom within the constraints of a pre-defined visual style.

Process
Building a cohesive single image from a large number of elements will require you to organise, group, plan, connect, transform and duplicate multiple image elements across multiple layers within Photoshop. However, in this assignment you shouldn’t begin with fixed ideas of a finished image. Spend some time experimenting with, and freely exploring, a range of visual ideas and forms. Be playful and let ideas emerge naturally from the forms you discover.

At some stage you will need to narrow your focus and become more organised as you work towards some distinct idea of what your image will be of, or about. But in the beginning at least, you should work with as little pre-determination as possible. To quote the Pablo Picasso “I don’t seek - I find”

I found this quite challenging - I've used Photoshop a fair bit, but never to create stuff like this and while I like to think I'm creative, if this is a benchmark then I'm clearly not! I understood the techniques but found the whole exercise a little.. boring. The first assignment is a choice between this week and next week so at this stage I'm planning on submitting next week's options purely because it looks more interesting!

 

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MMC140 - Wk 2: Mandala patterns

The second activity assignment invites you to create your own unique images using the techniques you have learnt from the tutorial movies. In particular we would encourage you to 'Experiment Explore & Manage Options' as outlined in the first weeks notes. Most importantly this activity has been designed to get you working quickly, creatively and enjoyably with Photoshop. Show your images to friends and family. Invite them to comment and share their response to it. This will help you develop an objective idea of your works value as artwork. We encourage you to share your work with other students by uploading it to the Student Forum or alternatively to MySpace or Flickr.

Here are my 2nd week efforts (click for larger version):

     

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What I'm running on my Android, take 2

I previously blogged about this when I got my first Android back in 2010, the HTC Desire, which was the first Android smartphone. Best phone I'd ever had... until I got my current one! I've been meaning to update this for a while because a few friends have gone Android, so here goes.

The current list isn't much different from the old one. Most changes are either because newer apps came out that did the job better, or the new phone/new Android version includes those things by default so I don't need to install them any more. I won't link them all but if you search Google Play you'll be able to find them pretty easily:

• The very first thing you absolutely should get is Swype. Trust me, it will change your life. :) Instead of poking/tapping away at that tiny little keyboard - Swype. Awesome. If you have a Samsung it may already be installed on your phone but you might need to set it as the default keyboard. If it's not installed, try searching for the trial version first but honestly... it will be the best 99c you spend today.
• All the default "social" apps such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Flickr, Instagram, Blogger, Pinterest, etc.
• TweetCaster for Twitter - I find this much better than the default Twitter app.
• ColorNote Notepad Notes for quick on-the-spot notes (still can't find anything to sync with Outlook Notes though)
• Dropbox (share files betwen PC and phone)
• Springpad - I moved all my Outlook Tasks & Notes here after I gave up trying to find a way to sync them from Outlook to Android. Microsoft and Google just flat-out refuse to play ball. (You may prefer Evernote which is the most popular app in this area, but I wanted something I could access without a data connection and Evernote makes you pay for that privilege). I go by the idea that Dropbox is for file sharing, Springpad is for notes/list sharing. My husband and I have a couple of shared folders which is really useful.
• ES File Explorer (I used to use OI File Manager which is also good but this one includes Dropbox etc.)
• KeePassDroid (also install KeePass on PC, data file in Dropbox - always up-to-date password manager *wheee* geek-heaven!)
• Key Ring (let's you store all those store cards)
• Moon+ Reader - the best ebook reader I've found, it reads just about every file format.
• QuickPic - I like this better than the standard Android Gallery, it's faster.
• Silent Time Lite - lets you configure the phone to automatically go to Silent mode at certain times - I have a "Night" event which makes it all go silent at 9pm each night.There are a bunch of different ways to achieve this functionality now but I've had this one since 2010 so.. why change? :/
• SMS Backup+ - love this, and you can't do this on an iPhone. Sends a copy of every SMS you send/receive to your email.
• Weather Australia and Aussie Weather Radar - useful when at the footy to see if rain is coming!
• A bunch of system apps including Advanced Task Killer, Clean Master, Juice Defender (helps manage battery life, although Android Jelly Bean includes this functionality), MyBackupPro (worth paying for, especially if you've rooted your phone, it backs up EVERYTHING - still backs up a lot if you haven't rooted).
• Chrome and Firefox, still not sure which one I prefer, syncing bookmarks from my desktop PC isn't seamless in either.
• Multimedia-style apps such as Shazam (must-have), HoytsAU, Foxtel Guide (handy if you have IQ and want to record something when you're out), etc..
• Footy-related apps - AFL, Hawthorn, footytips.
• Travel-related apps - Train Trapper (for Melbourne trains) - I personally think it's better than the official Metlink app,TripCase - my husband and I both use this for travel itineraries, an app called Airport to look up flight times, etc.
• Google Translate - very useful on my recent South American trip.
• TunnelBear (also have this on my PC) - free VPN, 500Mb data per month, you can pay for more.
• eBay, Gumtree, Amazon AppStore (for the things you can't get in Google Play), a bunch of games and a bunch of other stuff I won't bother listing because it's not that interesting. :)

What apps are your must-haves? I'm always looking for new ideas :)

Edit 17-Sep-2013:

• iSyncr - syncs your music, playlists, etc. from iTunes onto your Android device. I'm watching my favourite iTunes playlists sync via WiFi as I type! There's a trial version which lasts for 14 days and lets you sync up to 100 songs per playlist, and then it's US$3.99 to buy a full version. "Awesome" doesn't even start to cover this!

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MMC140 Digital Imaging with Photoshop - Week 1

Time to dive back into study, which is a little daunting given the last unit I completed was NET205 in SP2 2012. I had a choice between a 3rd year core subject or my first elective so I thought it was wiser to ease back in with something completely different to the last (failed) attempt. Hence - MMC140 Digital Imaging with Photoshop.

The first paragraph of the Unit Guide states:

This Unit is not about learning PhotoShop – it’s about learning to use it effectively.
The software is just a tool. Although this Unit will teach you a range of very effective software skills and techniques, this in itself is not enough to use the Photoshop effectively.
You will not find an ‘Idea’ button anywhere in PhotoShop. People do ideas – not computers. Photoshop will not make suggestions on how you compose an image or choose colours etc. It only provides the tools that allow you to do it.
To use PhotoShop effectively requires the development of a range of noncomputer skills. You need to understand how images work within cultural and aesthetic contexts. You will learn to construct your own imagery more effectively via the research and analysis component of your projects. This will lead you to conceptual and stylistic insights that, in conjunction with advanced software techniques, will advance your visual art and design practices.

I'm actually a bit hyped about all this as I'm a self-taught Photoshopper - I know what I like but I don't have any real technical reasons why it should be that way, so I'm hoping this will fill in some gaps for me.

Week 1 is usually fairly low-key, introducing yourself and getting started. Our task this week was to create some unique images using the Photoshop techniques demonstrated in the tutorial. Here's what I came up with:

My first attempt looked a little alien-like - clearly been watching too much sci-fi lately!:

 

For attempt #2 I decided to try for an abstract butterfly... which unfortunately ended up looking a lot like Rice Bubbles!

I liked the background so I kept that and re-did my butterfly, changed the colours up a bit and I'm a lot happier with this version:

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Today is Daffodil Day..

Today is Daffodil Day. A day of reflection for me, remembering my Dad and Opa. You can help Cancer Council grow hope for a cancer-free future by donating online http://daffodilday.com.au/ or buying our wonderful merchandise being sold at sites across Australia.

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23 Signs You're Secretly An Introvert

Hmm... 23/23 for me! :)
Via the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/20/introverts-signs-am-i-introverted_n_3721431.html

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My 9yo's "Young Impressionist" effort

My daughter's effort for the Grade 3/4 Young Impressionists art exhibit. Impressive, yes? :)

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