Digital Collage:
Cityscape Within LandscapeDigital Collage
24in x 30in January-February 2020 Exhibition Text:Cityscape within Landscape was inspired by my love for both nature as well as the city. One of the biggest hidden messages to my piece is diversity. You can never make or find two things exactly the same. No two leaves. No two buildings. Things may look very similar, but never the same.
In my piece, there are three separate images. There is the background which is a picture I took in a wooded area, there is the foreground which is Milwaukee's cityscape, and then there is the name Milwaukee. |
The Process:
Planning drafts/sketches:
This my first idea. I wanted to have two light bulbs. In one light bulb, I inserted a picture that I took that looks over downtown Milwaukee, and then on the other light bulb, I inserted a picture that I took near the coast of Lake Michigan. The reasoning I had behind using light bulbs was that they help us see, and I wanted to use that as a metaphor to show what I see. My biggest reason for not using this was I felt there was too much empty space, and I wasn't a fan of how my edges came out around the light bulb. It wasn't as crisp and clean as I would've liked.
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I really liked my idea for this piece while and before making it, but after seeing the product, it wasn't my favorite design. I felt as though the light bulb didn't fit well in this space, and after experimenting by putting the light bulb in different parts of the piece, I was not able to find a location for it that I felt confident in its placement. I felt as though my skill level wasn't as good as it could be, and I felt as though my edges weren't crisp enough to be satisfactory. at least not to me. I also felt like I could've made a piece I was able to connect with more. Yes this is my piece, but I didn't feel the same connection as I did with my final piece.
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Inspirations for Previous Two:
My inspirations for these two previous designs are all pretty similar. I had found a few images on pinterest as well as on the internet.
Final Draft:
Inspirations for Final Draft:
My inspirations for this piece were basically the same as my inspirations for the previous drafts. The main reason I changed my design was I wanted to fill the page, as well as have a larger visible contrast. In this final draft, I was able to make the cityscape as big or small, and I got to decide where it was placed. My biggest reason for changing it was I just wanted to show more of what I get to see. I felt like this piece better reflected how I interact with my city. I can go walk through a wooded area, or I can go look at the cityscape from nearly any side of Milwaukee. It better fit me as a person, an I felt more connected to this piece.
Process:
So the first thing I did was research different types of things I could do with photoshop. I wanted to do something somewhat simple but that had a deep meaning to me and everything that inspires me. I didn't want to just make a piece I liked, I also wanted my motivators to enjoy it as well. I decided I could do this by going out and taking pictures of my surroundings. I took pictures downtown, by the lake, on a ranch, in the woods, at parks, and basically anywhere I felt was worth photographing. After hours and hours of taking photos using my phone as well as a Nikon Coolpix L120, I narrowed it down to my favorites and chose what would best with my project. After many designs, and countless trial and error, I decided to have the background as the forest, and the foreground a cityscape of Milwaukee. I was not able to take this cityscape myself, but after looking online, I found one I was happy with that I felt would compliment my piece greatly. Once I had my pictures, I wanted to edit them before hand to give it a different affect. As seen below, you can see the before and after of my picture in the forest after changing warmth, hues, shadows, exposures, brightness, and more. I was able to do all of this thanks to an app on my phone called Snapseed. Once I was happy with my results, I uploaded my photo to my google drive so that I could access it through my chromebook. After that started the process of combining and merging my images together. I had to start off by deciding my size of 24"w x 30"l. Once that was done, I sized my picture of the trees to fit the size. I then uploaded the cityscape as a new layer. Being a "layer", it allows me to keep that piece on top and it will stay in place while I edit other layers. The first thing was to find the proper place on the image for it, and then I had to follow that by removing and erasing all the material I did not want showing. This was a long process, but was easier to me than most meaning it was just using basic tools over and over. When I was done with this part, I felt as though there was too much empty space without any change. To solve this problem, I decided to add in all capital letters, "MILWAUKEE". The meaning for this was to show the differences within one place. It shows diversity. I used it to send the message of where I am and show what I see.
Tools and Techniques:
My tools included using my phone for taking pictures, my laptop and www.photopea.com to work on the photoshop, and just my mind to come up with new ideas, layouts, and processes that could make my editing sharper. Over all, I used one tool the most. For the background all I had to due was fit it to the background. That being said, I stretched it big enough to cover the canvas size, but I did this by still keeping the same proportion so that it wouldn't look skewed or just overall unrealistic. I wanted to keep the true proportion as I took the picture. For doing the cityscape, I just found an image online. This cityscape did have a border however, so I used the eraser tool to erase all the extra material from the original piece that I didn't want on my piece. Although this took a while to get into all the close edges to refine the image as best as I could, I was very pleased with the way I was able to use this tool. For The title across the top that says Milwaukee. I also was able to add this in using just photopea. They had a tool that allowed me to add in words. I decided to include this as it shows how I see my hometown. Milwaukee is known for being a growing major city, but I wanted to show how that isn't all to this amazing city. I wanted to show that you can find the beauty in city just as you can find beauty in all the nature around.
Compare:
Contrast:
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Reflection:
Overall, I felt like this project was a good exercise to improve my photoshop skills, but I do feel like if I had more practice and my skills were better tuned, I could have gotten a cleaner sharper image. After completing the project, I felt very well accomplished. Unlike my previous drafts, I felt as though this piece was neater and had sharper edges. My biggest personal conflict with this piece was I felt as though it was too simple. I loved the idea and my message behind it, but I felt as though it could've been more full with more digital collage work. At the same time, I admired that this piece didn't feel or seem over crowded. It felt neat and contained to this one piece.
ACT Responses:
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause and effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My inspirations defined a lot about this piece. I started off with the idea of a light bulb based on other piece I had previously seen. The idea of the light bulb gave me the idea of creating something as I see it. When I thought about a light bulb, the first idea I had was how light allows us to see. That being said, I wanted to use this ides to portray what I was seeing.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding your topic?
The approach can be different for all the different artist who made similar pieces. Some may approach this piece trying to show nature within technology, which is one of the original ideas I wanted to capture. Other artist may be trying to show what they see, similarly to my piece.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while researching inspiration?
One generalization or similarity I found as I analyzed more and more pieces for inspiration was that most people are either all about city, or all about the beauty of nature. I found many pieces that related more closely to Nature based landscapes, and few pieces in this style combined both city with nature. I expected to find more pieces that were split in a way that combined almost half nature with the other half being city. Or possibly something similar to mine with the cityscape within nature.
What was the central theme or idea around your inspirational research?
My central idea for this piece was to show the audience what I see. I wanted to show both sides to my hometown and show how Milwaukee may be a big city, but even within modern times, you can still find some peace in a nearby park for wooded area.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While making this piece, I had to make inferences on what Milwaukee meant to not only me, but many of the people who also live here. I didn't want to include the most basic pictures that people living in the city see everyday. I wanted to show everything else Milwaukee could be. But for this I had to make the inference that most people don't get the chance to see both of these sides of Milwaukee.
My inspirations defined a lot about this piece. I started off with the idea of a light bulb based on other piece I had previously seen. The idea of the light bulb gave me the idea of creating something as I see it. When I thought about a light bulb, the first idea I had was how light allows us to see. That being said, I wanted to use this ides to portray what I was seeing.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding your topic?
The approach can be different for all the different artist who made similar pieces. Some may approach this piece trying to show nature within technology, which is one of the original ideas I wanted to capture. Other artist may be trying to show what they see, similarly to my piece.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while researching inspiration?
One generalization or similarity I found as I analyzed more and more pieces for inspiration was that most people are either all about city, or all about the beauty of nature. I found many pieces that related more closely to Nature based landscapes, and few pieces in this style combined both city with nature. I expected to find more pieces that were split in a way that combined almost half nature with the other half being city. Or possibly something similar to mine with the cityscape within nature.
What was the central theme or idea around your inspirational research?
My central idea for this piece was to show the audience what I see. I wanted to show both sides to my hometown and show how Milwaukee may be a big city, but even within modern times, you can still find some peace in a nearby park for wooded area.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While making this piece, I had to make inferences on what Milwaukee meant to not only me, but many of the people who also live here. I didn't want to include the most basic pictures that people living in the city see everyday. I wanted to show everything else Milwaukee could be. But for this I had to make the inference that most people don't get the chance to see both of these sides of Milwaukee.
Bibliography:
https://depositphotos.com/5794601/stock-photo-light-bulb-with-nature.html
https://www.architecturelab.net/drawing-ideas/
https://cdn.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cb879aae180e11761d2cf551ce325b56.jpg
https://cdn.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/639ba19dad8a51dc370a6691577fc70b.jpg
https://www.photopea.com/
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/milwaukee-cityscape-art-inspirowl-design.html
https://www.architecturelab.net/drawing-ideas/
https://cdn.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cb879aae180e11761d2cf551ce325b56.jpg
https://cdn.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/639ba19dad8a51dc370a6691577fc70b.jpg
https://www.photopea.com/
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/milwaukee-cityscape-art-inspirowl-design.html