Making a Photo Into a Painting

For my Photoshop Tutorial I took a photograph and show the class how to make it look like a painting. I learned how to do this from a tutorial I found online. There are many different steps to doing this:

1. Open the image in Photoshop. Duplicate the background layer, double click the duplicated layer and set it to either Overlay or Softlight. This enhances the color of the image.

2. Merge the layers by clicking CTRL+E. The go to the Filter tab, select Artistic, then select Paint Daubs. Set the brush size to 7 and sharpness to 4.

 3. Go to the Filter tab, select Brush Strokes, the select Angled Stroke. Set the Direction Balance to 40, Stroke Length to 9, and Sharpness to 4.

4. Go to the Filter tab, select Distort, then select Glass. Set the Distoration to 1, and the Smoothness to 3. Set the Texture to Canvas, and the Scaling to 80%.

5. Duplicate the layer. Go to Image tab, select Adjustment, the select Desaturate.

6. Go to Filter tab, select Stylize, the select Emboss. Set the angle to 135, the Height to 1 pixels, and amount to 100%

7. Your photo should appear gray. Finally double click the layer and set it to Hard Light or Vivid Light, whichever looks best.

After Completing all these steps you will have transformed your photograph into a painting.

Dairy Del's Advertisement

I created an advertisement for the same business that I created a logo for. This ad is advertising the ice cream shop Dairy Del's new flavor of the month. I used the same colors in my ad as the colors in my logo. I also used the same kind of fonts as in my logo, one being a script font and the other being a bolder font. I thought about graphic design elements like where people look when making my ad. I put the name of the company at the very top in the center so that it would be the first thing people read. Since people read left to right I put the name of the product being advertised on the left and a picture of the product in the center. I put the logo in the right hand corner so it would be the last thing people saw on the ad. There is no specific target audience, we want everyone of all ages to eat at our restaurant, I chose to use a picture that looked appetizing and would make people want to go out and try this new exciting sundae.

I used many different tools when making this advertisement, the first tool I used was the text tool, I used this to write all the text I needed on my ad. This tool allowed me to change the size, font, and color of my text. The next thing I did was open my logo on photo shop then used the select tool to select it all and then copy and paste it onto my ad. Then I opened the picture I wanted to use and used the magnetic lasso tool to cut just the sundae part out of the photo, I then used the select tool again and copy and pasted the sundae onto my ad. I used the transform tool to change the size of the picture to make it as big as I wanted it to be. I used the eraser tool to fix the edges of the sundae and get rid of the parts that I wasn't able to get with the lasso tool. I used the paint bucket tool to fill the background with color. Then I went to filter, texture and selected texturizer, this added texture to my background. The next thing I did was add shadows to my text to make it stand out more, I did this by double clicking the layer and opening the layer styles box. After I fixed everything to look the way I wanted I used the move tool to move the text and pictures to the exact places I wanted them to be.

Dairy Del Logo

I designed a logo for a small business called Dairy Del. The logo is two D's with a cup in the middle, this communicates the logos purpose because it represents the name of the company and also shows one of their products. I chose those colors because they compliment each other, pink and blue are on opposite sides of the color wheel making them complimentary colors. I wrote the name Dairy Del in a dark color so that it was easy to read against the white background. My logo also has other elements of design such as balance, it is symmetrically balanced because the D's are right next to each other. This logo also incorporates text and an image.

Photoshop, Before and After

The picture on the right is a picture taken of me during our Computer Graphics class, I edited the picture in photoshop and transformed it to the picture on the left. It's almost hard to believe that they're the same picture. I used tutorials to take my face and put it on Beyonce's body. This proves that you can't trust magazine covers because there is no telling what changes they could have made to the picture. You can do everything from applying makeup to changing a persons entire body. The fact that people continue to edit and change photos in magazines shows that people have a distorted view of the perfect body image, because today's "perfect" isn't even real, it's generated by a computer. No one can live up to this image because no one is as perfect as the fake people in the media.

One thing I think I did very well on was matching my skin tone to Beyonce's, I did this by changing the hue/saturation and changing the brightness/contrast. Another thing I think I did well on was applying makeup to my face. Something I could improve on is positioning my face to where it looks more natural and less awkward. I also could of spend more time on the forehead, because you can kind of see the difference in the skin color and "my" forehead looks really big.

A Day In The Life Of A Mercy Student

In Computer Graphics class we crated a collage depicting the life of a Mercy Student. When taking the pictures I tried to keep photography elements in mind. The picture of Alex in the hallway is an example of high angle, I was actually standing on the balcony above when I took that picture. The photo of the hallway is an example of lines, is take so that the lines on the floor are diagonal. The photo of Amber and Alex at the computer follows the rule of thirds, Amber and Alex are on the intersection of the left third.
After I had taken all my photos I edited them in photo shop, I have learned how to use many different tools in photo shop to improve my pictures. The first thing I did was apply auto color to all my photos. Then I started to edit them all individually, I cropped about four of my pictures. By cropping them I was getting rid of the parts of the photos that I thought were unnecessary. I rotated the picture of Candace at her locker, so that she was standing up right. On the picture of the class in the art room I used the dodge tool to make the pictures on the wall look brighter, this really makes them pop. I also used the dodge tool on the picture of Alex at the message board, to make the message board brighter. I used the clone tool to fix a blemish on Alex's face on the picture of her and Amber at the computer. On the picture of Lexi in the chemistry room I whitened her teeth using the lasso tool and then selecting hues/saturation on the layers window. The last tool I used was the adjustments and then vibrance tool, I used this to make the picture of the girls in prep more vibrant. Using all these tools really helped make my photo look much better.

Photography Elements

In the following three pictures I will be explaining how each of them are examples of different photography elements.
The first picture is an example of a high angle. When I took this photo I was standing above my dog, looking down on him. The angle of the photo makes my dog's head look bigger, or not proportional to his body.

The second picture is an example of the rule of thirds. My subject is on the right third of the photo. She is on the intersection point on the right.

The last photo is an example of simplicity. This picture is simple because there are not very many things going on, the focus is only on the subject and the elements in the background are blurry.

Creating a Piracy Podcast

Brianna, Autumn, Morgan, and I created a podcast about piracy, this podcast is called People Podcast. In our podcast we talked about the issue of piracy and why it is wrong. Our podcast included interviews and interesting facts. We interviewed a junior at Mercy Academy and the famous celebrity, Lady Gaga so that the listener could hear opinions from different sides of the issue.

Although the music we used was not our own work, we didn't commit copyright infringement, or piracy. We got the music from the jingles in the Garage Band application on the Mac, this is considered public domain and that is why it is fair use and is perfectly legal for us to use. The graphic on our podcast is a picture of all the group members with the name of the podcast on it. Since we took the picture ourselves it's our own work and we can use it for our podcast.

Downloading music is not wrong if you pay for it and use it for personal use only. However downloading music illegally without paying for it or getting permission is very wrong. Paying for your music but then making copies and distributing it to people is also wrong. These things are wrong because it's illegal and you are stealing from the artist.

Copyright laws should definitely exist. Copyright laws are what keep people from stealing other people's ideas or making money off of other people's work. Copyright laws protect the rights of the creator by giving them the exclusive rights to make copies and distribute their work. Without copyright laws it would be very difficult for people to make a living off of their music, books, and other works. 

Piracy is so prevalent in our society because so many people do it on a regular basis that our society is not considering it to be wrong or illegal anymore. People don't think piracy is a big deal because "everyone does it" and so they think it's okay for them to do it to. Also Many of the people committing piracy experience no consequences, so people continue to do it because they don't think they will get caught. 

If someone used my graphic or podcast without my permission I would be very upset. If someone used my graphic it would make me feel awkward because it's a picture of me and my friends and then another person would have a picture of us on their work, which we had nothing to do with. I would be angry if someone used my podcast I would be angry because I worked very hard on it, and it wouldn't be fair for them to just use it.  

Views On Copyright

When I was asked what copyright law means I said, “If something is copyrighted and you take it/download it without permission you are stealing and it’s a serious crime.” My view on what copyright laws has grown in the past few weeks and I have learned a lot more about what is considered copyright infringement. Now I know that you can’t even use a song as the background to your video and you can’t just change a few notes of a song and then call it yours. I also know that just because something is on the Internet does not make it public domain where you can download it legally. Actually there are a lot of things on the Internet that are copyright infringement, like Youtube for example, most people did not get permission to post the songs and music videos. 

It may surprise you but big stars often get sued for copyright infringement. Lil Wayne has been sued four times in the past four years and is now being sued again for copyright infringement  on his hit song “Bed Rock.” Done Deal records is suing him for 15 million dollars. If the allegations against Lil Wayne are true than he is breaking the law by stealing someone else’s song. This is not fair use because the song was not in public domain, and he wasn't using it for educational purposes. This punishment is definitely fair because he made a huge profit off of this song and the creator of the song should get the money they deserve. 

My Technology Autobiography

I have had many experiences with technology both at school and outside of school, technology is a huge part of the modern world and affects everyone. When I was in grade school I didn't get the opportunity to take a computer class until about fourth grade, and even then all we really did was practice typing and played computer games. Every computer class I took in grade school all the way up to high school focused mainly on developing typing skills and didn't incorporate teaching us about all of the programs on the computer and what they could do. My freshman year at Mercy was a totally different experience, my computer class was all about teaching me how to use all the programs and features of a computer to my advantage. Freshman computer class taught me more about computers than all my grade school classes combined, and now I am confident that in the future I will be able to complete any task I will have to do on the computer.
I got my first cell phone when I was in seventh grade. This gave me the ability to go wherever I wanted without my parents having to worry about where I was and to a twelve year old that was a big deal. The week before I started high school was when I created a Facebook account, it was great because I could add people that were going to my school as friends and meet new people. Just recently I got my first smart phone and I was amazed at how much my new little phone could do. There is no doubt that technology has been a big part of my life and has helped to make my life easier.
It's amazing how far technology has come in the past 100 years, technology is changing and improving everyday. When my parents were younger almost no one owned a cell phone and now only a few short years later not only does virtually everyone have a cell phone but many have smart phones, which are basically little computers for your pocket. There is no telling what kind of technology there is going to be in the future but one thing is for sure and that is that technology will continue to advance and improve our lives. Who know in the next twenty years someone might invent a car that runs on water, the possibilities are endless.