Photoshop Masking

The first thing we did today was test the "select and mask" tool. Despite me using the program for a while, I hadn't really used this feature until now, so it was quite interesting to learn how it worked.

Jungle Leaves Poster

For this exercise, we practiced creating clipping masks from text the shape tool to add or subtract areas of existing masks. Our aim was to create an "out of bounds" effect, which is when you make an object or element stick out from their designated frame. This is what we did with the leaves, which was to make it look like they are sprouting out from the words.

This process was pretty simple. However it still took quite a long time for me to complete.

This is the image I was masking over

The final result

Clothing Poster

For this project, our main goal was to practice cutting up elements of a piece such as people and playing with colours and intercutting shapes and textures.

Original

With edits

Creating a poster from scratch

The idea of this poster was that we could combine all the skills we learned from the previous exercise. 

Using the tools I needed wasn't that difficult. The main part I actually found hard was coming up with my idea, and it took a lot of testing to find the direction I wanted to go in. The main thing I knew was that I wanted to have smoke be a big element in the piece.

One of my first tests include overlaying the smoke with space/stars. This looked alright, but a lot more needed to be added to make a complete poster.

Eventually I decided that I wanted to focus on a fitness/athletics theme.

Here is roughly how the piece progressed:

I started with only one figure.

This is where I decided a few more figures would be necessary

I tried to include a few of the major examples of athletics, such as running, hurdles and high jumping.  

Final Result

The layout of the separate elements were re-arranged.
Text and some other elements were added to fill the dead space.

I added patterns/textures to the figures according to the animals I thought would fit the sports most. For runner I chose a cheetah, for the hurdle jumper I chose kangaroo, and for the high jumper I chose a horse. I was also going to add the silhouettes of the animals behind the figures, but this idea was ultimately scrapped, as it didn't look all that nice and cluttered the image way too much.

Although I did enjoy the process, I still found it pretty difficult. The most frustrating part for me was figuring out what the layout should be. The cutting up of the figures was the most enjoyable part to do.

I feel a little mixed about the end result. On one hand, I like the textures and patterns I implemented into the piece, as well as the polish I was able give it. On the other hand though, I'm not sure if I like how the individual elements came together. Maybe its a little too cluttered and disjointed for my liking, I can't quite put my finger on it.

If I was to go through the process again, I could maybe have used less figures and added some more abstract shapes around them. Either that or I could have done a series of posters that focus on each of the figures separately.