PNG logo

   Screenshot

   Here, we were required to create a logo and save the image format as a PNG image file.
   I made up a random logo.
   (UNI - pretending it's a clean up the land day or awareness logo 'You and I' or could stand for something)

   I saved the logo using the same dimensions and resolution as the original logo template.
   Then I replaced the existing original with my own, sitting at the top left corner.
   I wanted to introduce a new colour to the page, so I went for a light teal against the burgundy below.
   (Also added a dropshadow to make the logo pop a bit and not look so flat)


  

Adjustment Layers

Full light photo

For this task we needed to image enhance photographs using adjustment layers.

I took my first photograph at mid-day, with an over cast sky using a timer (being careful not to move the camera)

Even though it appeared to be bright outside, my photo didn't seem to have all the highlights and shadows or vibrant feel I wanted.

However, I feel the image looks improved when I (really ever so slightly) adjusted the levels, tweaked the exposure and added more vibrancy to the image.

I really did this so slightly. I want the colours to still be true and not have 'too' dark shadows, or too many highlights. I wanted to keep the grass, a lush grass green, but not so much that you don't believe it.
I didn't play with brightness or contrast. With the levels, I could manually control the blacks and whites within the image and I didn't want to over-do it.


Adjusted image

Low light photo

 

 

Here I have taken another image but in the evening where the image is dark and there is very little clarity.

Again, I have adjusted the levels and brought the whites up a tad, added some more vibrance and a bit of contrast. At first, I felt I adjusted my first image better as the colours (in my view) are a little more true.

But enhancing a darker image, made my image also enhance the blues within my image. 
It made it look... very blue! Not very balanced.

So for this one, I felt it necessary to use a colour balance adjustment layer. 
I increased the warmer tones and shadows (yellow and red) slightly, to balance it out.
It's still a cool image with a blue evening feel but more believable than it was without the colour adjustment.


I feel there is more clarity from my adjustment layers, the details of the lush grass and leaves on the trees are more visible.

Resubmission

I had lost a bit of detail within the sky on my submissions which I didn't notice!
For the low light submission, I used my original and the edited photo together, got the colour range selection tool to select my highlights, used a quick mask adjustment layer and began to erase keeping the skies detail.

Image compression

Experiment

 

Here, I needed to find out the differences between file sizes between a plain and busy photograph.

I realised the more light and detail involved within images, increases the image file size.


Busy image - this image has so much involved. The file size was 1.47MB
(compressed for web at 60 quality making it 98.3KB and 500 px wide)

 















Plain image - This image of the shed wall (even with a few other objects in the way) is 1.35MB
(compressed for web at 60 quality making it 64.6KB and 500 px wide)

The differences in file sizes between the two prove that a plainer image is smaller in file size, than a more detailed one. So if a client needed small file size, the backgrounds should be very simple.




If I had a brief to make a web advert to promote a city car, I would go for an plain background as I discovered it would be a smaller image file size and easier for a web browser to upload.

Though the brief is advertising for a city car, I really actually don't want to take the idea away that it's for a city. I would not put a desert or country side background behind it.  

I guess I would find city elements that are less detailed or if it's a still image, find an angle to shoot the car where the background isn't so in focus. Maybe the car takes up a great deal of the image.

For example this picture of an electric city car. I can't really tell what the background is, but I presume it isn't taking up a load of the file size. But it's not a beach or grass, there appears to be concrete or a flat road, which is what this car drives on.

I guess this would be take on designing this type of advert, sticking to the concept as best as I can. 

 
   

Backgrounds for web pages

 Web backgrounds I like!

 

I really like the look of these web page backgrounds for the following reasons.

They are all similar in the way they use space, to attract the viewer through its photography.
It almost appears that you are in front of the buildings or seeing the cafe waitress in front of you.

I love the colours in each of these photography backgrounds.
They are easy on the eye and have nice rich darker tones, where you can use white fonts that make the text pop out and not get lost within the photo.  

 

 

   My web background

 

 

Here, I used my flatbed scan art to create a photography web background.

I used a gradient that shared the colour tones in the photograph and made a slight gradient on top of the photo, then saved it as a 960 pixel wide, 50 quality JPG.

If this were to work as a web background, I would have white texts or transparent boxes like in my examples above to display web content much clearer. 

   Gradients using a thin repeating jpg 

 

 Screenshot of my web gradient.  
1920px wide jpg, a few pixels tall, saved as 100 quality JPEG.
 

   Seamless tile

 I made a tile, choosing to do it with a picture of flower petals.

I think some important things to consider are being very careful with the spot healing, cloning and smudging tools. It's very easy to make mistakes so try not to get frustrated like I do!

Some seams were easy to hide and others more difficult. It is also handy to simply just copy parts of the image, resize to match the other parts in the image and blend them in.

Combining images

Selection task

This is the original image I was required to combine with a new background of my own choice.

I used the quick selection tool to select the car and get a good outline around its shape.

I wanted to use this car in the flood image.
I found it difficult making a quick mask (it doesn't something I do often)
Once I got the hang of it, I could soften the edges and use the spot healing brush to erase the post and chain.

I thought this task was a more time consuming one.
I am reasonably pleased with the job I've done. It isn't a 'perfect' attempt.

But if someone asked me to do something like this again, I would spend a lot more time zooming in and out, retouching the details.

Forgot about the car window! Did my best for the selection within the window and even darked some little areas with the burn tool.

Flatbed scanning

Experiment 1

Today I wanted to test what different objects could be scanned in my flatbed scanner.
I did my best to line all my favourite objects. 

My story was describing different aspects of my own life.

These aspects include the things that are very important to me.

I have included a journal/diary I always use.
A silver ring from my boyfriend.
A lock of Sandys hair. (Sandy was my dog and passed away a year ago)

A necklace from my family.
My tinwhistle (regulary play folk music)
Make up (yeah.... a current hobbie and interest)
Certificate (a fake one) given to me by my friend in last years course (graphic design)
A photograph with my friends.
Background is shocking but I used piano sheet music.

A lot of these are past and present interests/achievments, life stuff.

This was my initial idea but I feel the information would be lost on the viewer but the flow didn't work out how I wanted it to.

 

 

Redo idea

I wanted to keep the same theme/story. But just tidy up the flow.

Representing my life and interests. Me in a nutshell!

1)  Piano sheet in the background. Played piano since I was 9
2)  Bookmark I made, representing my craft and graphic design
3)  Photograph of my best friends
4)  CD of the Corrs, a big part of my musical influence
5)  Another precious bookmark my parents gave me.
6)  My certificate representing my achievements last year
7)  A celtic pendant, my love for beautiful things
8)  Ring from my boyfriend
9)  Crossroads card. I'm a shopaholic.