Creating an Advert: Final Process for 80s Halloween Event

 Now I have created my plan and the digital assets I need I will create the final advert using Pixlr as we did in practice.

I began by opening Pixlr E and clicking on Create New, I then went to 'Print' on the dialog box and then A$ as this was the size specified in the advert brief. I then added a title and a black background so I then had a canvas, I also rotated the page to landscape orientation by clicking on Page and then page rotation c/w. 

I then opened my Axel image as I felt this was the best image from my assets and it is landscape so it kept within my plan 

I then selected all by clicking on select and then selecting all from the top menu and then I went edit and the copy and then I clicked back to canvas and clicked on edit and then paste.  As there was some black edge once I had used the transform controls and placed the image I just cropped it very slightly for a clean edge. 

I then opened my logo by clicking on file open image and uploaded the logo I created.  I then went to select all, edit, copy, and then clicked back to the canvas, and went to edit, paste, and then just used the move tool to position the logo.

I then added my text layers for the information on the party - so I clicked on the text tool in the left-hand tool menu and added two text layers.  I changed the font to 'Easterica' and the top title I made this 125pts and changed the colour to a kind of zombie green to match the dark green foliage of the trees.  The address at the bottom was the same font and color at 74pts.

I then checked the image for quality and made sure I was happy with the layout and then I exported the image as a png and saved it as jpg as well so I had two good quality copies to add to my blog as my  final poster!

Creating an Advert: Ideas, Planning & Digital Assets

As Halloween is coming up I thought I might create an advert for something that is Halloween-related so here are a few ideas: 

• A Halloween Art Exhibition
• A Halloween Movie Night
• A Costume Party for Gen X (The 80s live!) 

I looked at some other adverts just to get some further ideas...

Beav Arts, Brighton (2023)

The above advert I like the monster image and the font used for Beavarts - the poster works quite well but looks a little like it may be for children and so the target market here is not quite what I am after.

Godmachine: Flood Gallery (2019)

The Godmachine is perhaps more what I was thinking of with my own ideas - this is definitely for adults and actually looks like a great event for Halloween time. 

Halloween Movie Poster original

This is just an original movie poster for Halloween and I actually like this advert the most as I really do think the black and white looks great, the use of rule of thirds is very well done here and the image is really simple and striking.

Halloween Movie Night 

The above poster works but I actually think it is too silly and too colourful so although its message is clear I really don't like this!

Halloween Costume Party

I like the muted and limited colour palette - like the black and white this appeals and the image is striking with a clear message.  

After looking at these posters I think I definitely want a limited colour palette or black and white.  I will do the Gen X (1965-1980) costume party, as I understand this market as this is my own age group, I want it to appeal to both men and women. I need a good name and tagline and a brand/logo so who is holding the party with the party information.  

I will now do a quick sketch of my initial design and upload this so I can think about the layout and plan my outcome clearly. One of my favourite things to do is to visit the graves of my favourite dead artistsso I will call this 'The Dead Artists' Collective'  

I want three faces coming out of the gloom 80s but decayed and ghostly, limited colour palette, possibly using that pinky/purple of the poster above and black and white.and a small logo with a skeleton and easel for the dead artists collective brand.  I think I want it to be landscape orientation.  I will have a play with this though.

I then began thinking about my favourite 80s pop stat and so I started with Adam Ant, I found this image and then used Photofunia to halloweenise!

I quite liked this look so I think I may create a few more of these of 80s pop stars for my concept advertisement for the 80s event!

I have used here Annie Lennox and Axel Rose!

I then created my logo on the Free Logo design Maker we used in practice

The name of my brand is The Dead Artists Collective and I liked the slogan 'Art to Die For!'

I now have created all my digital assets, in my next post I will create the final advert.

Creating an Advert: Class Practice

 Today we discussed adverts in class and looked at different types of adverts and how they were laid out out, who the target market was and how they used logos and branding.  This was to help us think about how we could make our own advert.  

So we had a practice and we made a animal sanctuary advert - I looked at some other advert - here is an example below.

Example Donkey Sanctuary Advert 

For my own advert I followed this process.  I began by choosing a donkey image that I felt had impact from Unsplash

This was the image I choose. 

I then opened Pixlr E and clicked on Create New

I then created a canvas by clicking on 'print' and then A4 in the dialog box and I choose a white background

I then need to open the image I downloaded from unsplash of my donkey's so I clicked on 'File' then 'open' and then the image opens in a new window on Pixlr.

I then used the top menu went to Select and the Select all, then I went copy and then I clicked on the tab for my canvas and clicked paste, so my image appear in the canvas, I then used used the transform controls to adjust the size.

I went to the free logo maker freelogodesign.com

I then added the name of my brand/company and the logomaker gave me lots of options to customise which I did very quickly on the free maker.  I then downloaded as png so that I could add to my advert.

I then opened the logo on Pixlr by going to file, open and logo - again I selected all and then copied and pasted onto my canvas. 

I then moved logo into place using transform controls I placed it in the left hand corner and I adjusted the size to make it slightly bigger.

Lastly I added Text as I needed a tagline and where people could donate to my charity. I clicked on Text in tools menu, I created new text layer I used Adolfini font for the tagline and Veranda for the website so that it stood more for donation.  

Once I was happy with the text and the placement I then went to file, export as png 

My final advert looks like this!

Reflection: I enjoyed making this advert, I believe it is simple and effective and I liked the donkey image as I did think it had impact.  The logo I would have played with this for longer if I had more time and would have made the background transparent.  I would also improve my tagline and fonts if I was creating this again. 

Sequential Images: Self Study - Stiller Schmerz (Silent Pain)

 To complete this week I am creating another set of sequential images using the skills that we have learned this week in class and looking further at an artist we discussed in class. I wanted to use Jurgen Klauke again as his formalising boredom images are my inspiration for my own piece. 

Jurgen Klauke, Formalisierung der Langeweile, 1980, Photographic work, 3 parts

Klauke is a photographer and performance artist and his work here, I believe, reflects the boredom and self-destructive nature of living in a modern world where more and more people look inward rather than outside themselves as the world itself is overwhelming.  Annuly Juda states that within Klauke's work; 'The self is walled in within its paranoid condition and, at times, entangled with itself.' (Juda, 2023).

In my own work, I would like to express my own pain, not because I do not want to look outside, but because my own pain is generally a private affair that no one else would know existed upon seeing me.  I will be calling this piece, Stiller Schmerz (Silent Pain).  This piece will be four images and I am hoping to create this just in the studio with myself, a chair, and a glass jar. 

I photographed in the studio and I created these once with a Canon 700D, ISO 400, 1/4, F4.5.  This was a very slow shutter speed and I was using a tripod and self-timer mode. I also used my Samsung A71 phone and created a second set using black & white settings (I will add these later...I have added them below!) The second set were again on a tripod 1/15, F2, ISO 1000

I created a contact sheet using the contact sheet generator and then I went onto Pixlr.  I created a canvas in Black by clicking on 'create new' and then choosing A4 and a black background.  I then went to 'page' in the top menu and page rotation to adjust to orientation to Landscape.  I then went to the file and open to open each image I wanted to use I selected these and then copied and pasted onto the canvas.  I then used the transform controls to adjust the size and laid them out using the gridline.  I added text using the text tool and changed the font to Georgia 60pts and changed the colour to white.

Reflecting on this set of images I felt I created the look I wanted to create and the concept was as I had imagined in this case.  The images worked work and as they needed no adjustments and the framing and studio background worked to make this simple and effective.  With more time I would have created more images and when I add my phone version I may make another set just to compare as I had some different poses that I think worked well.  

My favourite image from both shoots was the one below, I like the over-exposure, the grasping at the jar the singularity of the image. Stiller Schmerz indeed.

1/15, F2. ISO 1600

References

Juda, A. (2023) Jürgen Klauke - Overview, Annely Juda Fine Art. Available at: https://www.annelyjudafineart.co.uk/artists/83-jurgen-klauke/overview/ (Accessed: 06 October 2023). 

Sequential Images: Elliot Erwitt Research

 Elliot Erwitt was a French-American photographer (Born 1928).  Erwitt was self-taught but honed his photographic skills through film school and in the army. Erwitt has a 50-year career and is now still alive and kicking at 95 years old.  I am looking at his work here as we have been creating sequential images in class and Erwitt has wonderful examples of this kind of visual narrative.

Elliot Erwitt: From Sequentially Yours (2011)

The above image is a funny take on childbirth, this short sequence is all that is needed to tell this story in a playful manner. There are some critics of Erwitt; 'that his work is "light-weight", "flippant", even "inconsequential".' (O'Mahony, 2003) but Erwitt has published 19 books and John Szarkowski, director emeritus of the Museum of Modern Art's photography department, states; "He's not only talented but extremely intelligent,"'(O'Mahony, 2003)

Elliott Erwitt The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York City, USA. 1988. © Elliott Erwitt | Magnum Photos

In the above image, the sequence is in one image and the four statues lead your eye to the small girl who copies the statue's stature. Erwitt's images of people looking at art are revelatory and Erwitt states; '“I am a dedicated people watcher who loves to see art and art watchers watching,” Erwitt writes in his book, Museum Watching. “For a photographer, rather than fly casting, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”'  (Magnum Photos, n.d)) Erwitt has many examples over his 50-year career of this kind of image and all the images make me smile. 

Elliott Erwitt Greece. 1963. © Elliott Erwitt | Magnum Photos

Each of these images tells a story and we imagine being in the frame, this is not just about sequence but the art of photography itself, the frame creates the window to the story and here we are privileged to enjoy the windows that Erwitt has gifted, to us, the viewer. 

References 

Magnum Photos, The art of looking at art • elliott erwitt •  (no date) Magnum Photos. Available at: https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/art/elliott-erwitt-the-art-of-looking-at-art/ (Accessed: 05 October 2023). 

O’Mahony, J. (2003) Profile: Elliott Erwitt, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2003/dec/27/photography (Accessed: 05 October 2023). 

Sequence Images Class Practice

 This week for my first project of the term I created a set of sequence images as we were studying in class sequential photography.  In class we looked at Elliot Erwitt, Eadweard Muybridge and Sam Taylor Wood (nee Johnson)

Dogs, By Photographer Elliott Erwitt

The above image is from Elliot Erwitt who created many sequences of dogs which are fun, playful and a take on people's relationships with their dogs.  In this image the frame perfectly uses rule of thirds which really draws the viewers attention to main focus of the images which is the dogs face and ladies leg. The image in black and white and so creates midtones throughout and the blurred background makes the focus of the image stand out to the viewer. 

I created my own practice sequence at home using my Samsung A71 Android phone and a small lightbox with a black background.  I used small dolls to create a sequence which I am calling 'The Secret'

I created a set of contact sheets of all my original images and used online a contact sheet generator, please see below

The next step to practice was to edit my images on Pixlr using Pixlr E editor.  I created a white canvas background which I will then add my image sequence, this was A4 and I used the Page then rotate tool to create a landscape background.  I then uploaded my images by clicking on File and open, I rotated my as they were upside down and then I selected each image and I copied and pasted them onto the canvas. I then used the tranform tools to move them to in position and make them smaller so that I had row sequence.  I then used the text tool and changed the font to Georgia at 60pts add the title and my name. I finally cropped the image to remove too much white space and I then clicked on File and Export page as png to my desktop  

Here is my final sequence below.

As this was a practice, I think it went quite well and I liked the consistency of the photos in the light box.  I have more of these images and I do think when I do another longer piece of work I will spend more time creating a visual narrative that is perhaps more complex.

Welcome to Autumn Term 2023!

 Welcome to my blog!  (again) My name is Zoe, I am a tutor at DMUIC and I will use this blog to show students how to create digital work.  My specialism is Photography however I love digital software, editing, and creating work digitally.  I will be exploring all manner of exciting ideas and creating art and media throughout this blog.  So, welcome all new students please follow my blog and you will find examples of all the posts you need to create to help you create your own.

Farīdūn Shāh. Gouache painting by an Persian artist, Qajar period

I will begin by looking at and researching something I have been looking at recently that pleases me and I would like to share it with you. Recently I have been looking at some Persian Art and I was considering this and colour photography.  Persia is now modern Iran, it was Persia until 1935.  Persia has a long history of epic and beautiful artwork that tells so many stories and is often painted using gouache which makes the colours long-lasting and truly stunning to view. The above image is from the Wellcome Collection and if you ever get that chance you should visit the Wellcome Centre in London as they always have great artwork on display and as a research institute mix science and art in an interesting and engaging manner.

MU'IN MUSAWWIR, The Paladins in the Snow, 1649, 

gouache on paper, Courtesy of the Fogg Art 

I am discussing the Persian art as I do love the story, the colours and they make me smile every time I study a work, Robinson states in the book Persian Art (1965);  'Apart from effectively illustrating the narrative in hand, the chief aim of the Persian artists was to give pleasure. Indeed, it would be foolish, when looking at Persian painting or drawing, to ask the sort of question that springs to mind when we contemplate Western pictorial art such as"What is the artist's message for us?" The Persian artist's message is simple and invariable: "This is the most beautiful and effective illustration I can make to this story; I hope you will like it"' (Robinson: 1965:14)

The image above from 1649 shows the Paladins; 'In medieval European legend, the paladins were 12 brave knights who were loyal followers of Charlemagne, the king of the Franks and founder of the Holy Roman Empire. The name paladin —from a word meaning a person attached to the court—implies that the knights may have resided at the royal palace.'(Anon: 2019).  The Image above is inspired by Chinese motif of purple swirling clouds, in this image the vivid clouds (which look actually more like water, as there seem to be fish swimming) curve over the different coloured horses which the knights ride, in all their glory.  The deep mauves, red and blue colours are exquisite and all the knights appear to be covered with umbrellas to protect them from the weather. Persian calligraphy surrounds the image to frame this and may have been a miniature or illustration for a manuscript.

As a photographer, I mostly work in black and white, as I find colour is actually more complex and that is why I admire these images and in photography today when I do work in colour the best way to see the image is to print with a high-end printer.  I have a Pro-1000 printer that uses dye ink which gives images a 'natural glossy finish' (StinkyInk 2001-2023)   The printer uses 8 different inks to produce the whole gamut of colours but just as important is the paper used to print on and often using pearlescent or for a more almost painterly finish gold fibre silk paper the results can be just as beautiful.  The interesting thing about coloured digital photographic prints is that we do not yet know how they will stand the test of time, as they have not yet lived long enough!  I wonder if in 300 years these images will be found and wondered at or whether as Baudrillard stated; 'this is no longer a photograph and, liter-ally speaking, it is no longer even an image. These shots may be said, rather, to be part of the murder of the image. That murder is being perpetrated continually by all the images that accumulate in series, in 'thematic' sequences, which illustrate the same event ad nauseam, which think they are accumulating, but are, in fact, cancelling each other out, till they reach the zero degree of information.' (Baudrillard J. 2016) 

References

Robinson B.W. (1965) Drawings of the Masters: Persian drawings from the 14th to 19th Century, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Shorewood Publishers, Inc, New York

Anon (2019) Myths and legends of the world.  Encyclopedia.com. Available at: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/paladins# (Accessed: 02 October 2023). 

No. 53 the Paladins in the snow (2021) The Shahnameh: a Persian Cultural Emblem and a Timeless Masterpiece. Available at: https://shahnameh.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore/objects/no-53-the-paladins-in-the-snow (Accessed: 02 October 2023). 

StinkyInk (2001-2023) Canon Pro-1000. Available at: https://www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/printers/reviews/canon-pixma-pro-100-review# (Accessed: 02 October 2023). 

Baudrillard J. (2007) Why hasn't everything already disappeared?, Seagull Books, London