InDesign Article: Re-create Magazine Spread

This is the re-creation of a real magazine spread that features Emma Stone. I did this using InDesign. This was much more challenging to create in comparison with the first magazine article I did because I had to learn to become more conscious of every little detail. This definitely helped me to be more confident with using InDesign as a whole.

InDesign Article 1

This is my “dummy” article which was created using InDesign. I became familiar with things like resizing images, spacing, different text options, wrap-text, and more.

Illustrator Final Part 3/3

This is part 3 of 3 of my Illustrator final project. I used the pen tool to recreate a third fashion sketch image that I found online. This is my favorite of the three.

Illustrator Final Part 2/3

This is part 2 of 3 of my Illustrator final project. I used the pen tool to recreate a second fashion sketch image that I found online. I felt that the more I worked on these, the better I got at the pen tool so I am very happy with this image.

Illustrator Final Part 1/3

This is part 1 of 3 of my Illustrator final project. I used the pen tool to recreate a fashion sketch image that I found online. I was very excited because I was starting to really become comfortable with the pen tool here and I was having a lot of fun with it.

Illustrator Export to Photoshop 2

This is my second box image that I created first in Illustrator then exported to Photoshop. Again, I just brought it into Photoshop so that I could play around with the image in different ways and add to it so that overall it would be more interesting. Here, when I created the original image in Illustrator, I was able to use the pen tool (which I was not comfortable with yet when I created the first box assignment). I used the pen tool to create the flower pedal look coming out of the center of the image.

Illustrator Export to Photoshop 1

This is an image that I originally created in Illustrator. This was where I learned to export the image to Photoshop to work with it from there. I was able to add layers and bring in new images, play with the text, etc. to make it more interesting.

Photoshop Final Project 4/4

This is part 4 of 4 of my Photoshop final project. Here I used my own two images. One is of the man with the camera and the other is of the tan wall behind him (that sort of overpowers the brick wall from the first photo). There is also an image of stacked newspaper from Google at the bottom of the image in the center (on the recycling bin). I wanted to demonstrate my understanding of layer masks, text, color, and image size in Photoshop.

Photoshop Final Project 3/4

This is part 3 of 4 of my Photoshop final project. Here I used my own two images. One is a close up of the front of a vintage Ford truck and one is a close up of construction rods. I wanted to demonstrate my understanding of layer masks, text, color, and image size in Photoshop.

Photoshop Final Project 2/4

This is part 2 of 4 of my Photoshop final project. Here I used my own image of a person playing the piano and my own image of trees close up and out of focus (top right of the image). The stacked newspaper image is from Google. I wanted to demonstrate my understanding of layer masks, text, color, and image size in Photoshop.

Photoshop Final Project 1/4

This is part 1 of 4 of my Photoshop final project. Here I used my own image of the man in the photo and the newspaper showing through on the brick wall was an image I got from Google. I wanted to demonstrate my understanding of layer masks, text, color, and image size in Photoshop.

Shrek Silhouette

This is my pen tool silhouette created in Illustrator. With this, I took an image of Shrek from Google and traced it using the pen tool. This was a challenge because I traced the image trying to catch every detail of Shrek's silhouette so I did the entire image on extreme zoom. Although this was time consuming, it was well worth the effort because, to me, this is very clearly Shrek's silhouette.

Pen Tool

This is my first attempt with getting familiar with the pen tool in Illustrator. This was an existing document where I just traced over the lines on the page initially. Then, as I got more comfortable with the tool, I was able to create my own designs off of the existing ones and change the placement, color, etc.

Pear

This is the pear image that I created using Illustrator. The newest challenges I faced with this image was using the pen tool to trace and create new shapes, using the gradient tool, and using the rotation tool. This one took a bit longer than any of the Illustrator files I created prior to this but in the end I was very happy with the final look and I felt that I learned a lot about Illustrator through this assignment.

Boxes

This is when I was still just getting familiar with Illustrator. Here I created a grid and was able to design just 1/4 of the grid initially with different colors and shapes. I then learned to copy over those shapes, colors, and images so that they mirrored correctly into the other 3/4 of the overall grid.

This is the color wheel I created using Illustrator. Here I created the circle divided into sections. I then used a color wheel image from the internet to model the colors after (using the eye dropper tool).  I also used those exact colors in the text above the wheel. I used the pen tool to create a wavy line that I could write along. At this point I was definitely more comfortable trying new things in Illustrator.

Illustrator Chile

This is one of my first projects in Illustrator. Here I was just messing around with different effects such as blending, rotating, creating copies, etc. This was an image already created that was given to us to manipulate. The changes I have made are mostly around the border and a few blends in the main image in the middle. Basically I was just starting to get familiar with what Illustrator can do here and I was able to get a bit more comfortable with the program.

Selections Assignment

The above images are demonstrations of selections in Photoshop. The image on the left is made up of three separate images. The image on the right is made up of two images and uses a layer mask. I created these sticking to the theme of each original photo. The image on the left started with the volcano photo so I used a portion of a paint image as lava and the sun is a selection from another image (I made it orange to fit into this scene). The image on the right started with the starry sky photo so I used a selection from a photo of my friend to make her face take the place of a regular moon. I used the layer mask to make her somewhat transparent so the stars show through on her skin. The whole idea of both of these photos was to create fantasy versions of normal scenes in nature.

Layer Mask Images

These are four selection images that I created after learning layer masks and incorporating those. For these I have used both images of my own and images found online. My favorites are definitely the two on the right. I think those look the most seamless and well put together. They also are the two most interesting to me. I had a lot of fun making each of these -- I've definitely learned more Photoshop in just a few weeks than I thought I ever would!

This is my altered self portrait. I used the Deke's Techniques from Lynda.com - 026 Turning a photo into an ink drawing. I followed each step, however, did not use the exact same amounts of alterations on each setting as Deke did. I wanted to keep some of the color and really get the outline of those circle effects in the background (result of camera being set to have a small depth of field). This process consisted of turning the photo into a smart object, applying five different filters to the photo, a copy of the photo being re-layered onto the adjusted photo, using the adjustments panel, changing the blending options, and a few other steps in between. Deke mentioned that a few of the filters used wouldn't normally be good to use such as the "Smart Blur" but I still found it interesting to have exposure to these tools and see the effects each of them have on the image.

Re-sized "In Class" Assignment

This is the image I created using the skills that we learned in class last week. I re-sized the images and pasted them into a new document of the proper size. Using the ruler tool, I was able to place them evenly on the new canvas. Once placed, I messed around with options in the "Layer Style" and Image>Adjustments. For this finished effect I used a Drop Shadow, Stroke, and different Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast options. There were many other options, of course, that I did not use here. These skills are important to know because it's pretty basic ways to change the image that will likely be used often. Having to re-size an image or adjust settings (not necessarily to this extreme) is something people are looking to do all the time -- even with photos that they take on their phone. Also, the skills we have learned so far are not just things that are commonly used. We have options to give the photo a little something extra such as the Drop Shadow that created a sort of pop effect on each photo. These are things that will be important to making your work stand out as something impressive and unique.

Introduction - About Me

My name is Casey Thibodeau. I'm a senior at Quinnipiac University majoring in Accounting. Originally, I am from South Windsor, Connecticut. I have been working at Beiersdorf, Inc. as a Finance Intern, Sales Controlling since May 2011. I am very interested in photography -- still have so much to learn with that though so I look forward to continuing my education in photography after graduating. I am taking this class because of my interest in photography. I feel that becoming more familiar with the tools used in this class can only help me in that area.

The image below represents me because it is one of my favorite photos I've taken since starting to get involved in photography. I've only been learning for about one year and this image was taken in April 2012. It has been re-sized using Image Size as we learned how to do in class last week.