The 5 Senses

For the final project of the CS5 photoshop course I took during the summer, we had to produce 5 images that had a cohesive theme. The first thing that came to my mind was to do the 5 senses. But I wanted to do it a little different and I wanted to choose a theme that was unlike something I would usually do so that I could be more adventurous. So, I decided to do the 5 senses but through relationships, love, and sexual fantasies. And here were the outcomes. I absolutely had a blast doing this shoot. I edited all the pictures drastically which I loved because I was able to put my newly learned CS5 skills to the test.

See

Taste

Touch

Smell

Hear

Photoshop CS5

About a month ago, Adobe released Creative Suite 5. In that suite, is of course the one and only Photoshop. And so, I am currently enrolled in a 2 week summer course, of every day 5 hour lectures about the new photoshop cs5 and all the new features that it has. I am taking the course with the most amazing photography professor on the planet. Well, that's of course my opinion, but he really is amazing. He has quite the reputation, and has traveled the world giving these photoshop seminars.

I just finished week one and had an absolute blast. It has definitely been demanding, especially with the 5 hours of computer work and lectures, but it has been worth it. The new photoshop has new tools that have content awareness that allows you to literally take a brush tool, and paint over a wrinkle, pimple, or mark on someones face, and it will completely make it disappear.

He has also taught us how to use adobe bridge, and the 6.1 camera raw that comes along with adobe cs5. It is amazing. It allows you to do the basic editing with your photographs, before you import it into photoshop.

Here are some of the before and afters that I worked on this week.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

My Logo Design in an Art Show

So the Logo design package that I made for my electronic media/graphics course, was put in a school art show a couple of weeks ago. It got it's own set-up at school, and I was on cloud nine.

Darkroom Photo Course gone wrong

Although I had taken a black and white darkroom course in high school, I decided to repeat the course in University, just in case there were some techniques or procedures that a University level approached differently then what a high school does. So, I took the course and it was beyond easy for me, because 99.9% of all the procedures were the same.

However, the course took a negative turn for me about 2 1/2 months into the semester, when I started having a horrific allergic reaction to the chemicals. I tried wearing a mask and gloves, and there was no change. I actually kept getting worse, and eventually ended up with full blown bronchitis, and had to miss school.

So, the rest of the semester, I had to take my pictures digitally. Here are some of the digital pictures I took.

I chose my final project theme to be about teenage girls of today. Girls who have to put up with society's expectations of what young girls should look like and who they should be.

From Stick Figures to Proper Drawings

So, if you were ever looking for the WORLD"S WORST DRAWER, then you have found her. I have always been a horrific drawer. One who could only draw stick figures and the traditional bow drawings that you see people draw while they are on a boring phone call. So, you can imagine my fear, when I found out that in order to get a BFA degree, you are required to take an Introduction to Drawing course.

I tried everything to figure out how I could get out of this course. But I had absolutely no luck, and was forced to take the 3 hours studio course. Long story short, I ended up with a grad student as my Professor. He was in his final semester of getting his MFA, and to sum it up, he was the best teacher that I have EVER EVER had. Within one semester, he got me to draw and draw in a way that I thought could never be possible.

I had some very difficult days in that class. Some days I left hysterical crying because I thought there was no way in the world that I would ever be able to finish this class, let alone be able to pass it.

Well, I kept trying, and went to friday extra credit session, where my Professor would come in and help those in the class who needed extra help. It was the best thing that I could ever have done. He worked with me patiently and even though he was really hard on me and extremely nit picky, I was able to finish the class with an A+. Not only did it become my favorite class, but from the friday extra credit sessions, I developed some of the most amazing friendships with other students in the class.

This drawing class has opened me up to all the art possibilities that are out there. I am beyond happy that I was able to complete that class the way I did, and even more satisfied with the way that I can now draw.

Electronic Media/Graphics Course

My graphics course was definitely my favorite. I was going to finally get an official course in photoshop. I had always known how to work my way through photoshop but have always taught myself how the program worked and never had a proper class in it. The photoshop portion was a breeze although there were some things that I had been doing wrong.

The next phase of the course was adobe Illustrator. This was definitely something new for me, since illustrator incorporates a lot of drawing skills, and drawing is an area that is most definitely not my strong point. The first project was to convert a photo into a painting, with the use of lines. This was pretty doable, except for my struggling with painting on a laptop. Painting with the laptop mouse pad is not the easiest thing to do.

The second project was to create a Logo for a company. I decided to make a logo for my little sister who is a DJ. This was my favorite project because I was able to create something personal for someone I love.

And the last phase of the course was to learn adobe indesign. This program is absolutely amazing. You can create business cards, magazines, newsletters and so much more. For this course, I created a newsletter for DJ 2 Shae, a magazine about my personal experience with having had double hip surgery, and I also made a concert poster for a bonus final project.

For my Final Photoshop Project, I created a collage for the learn to swim kids that I teach. The project was supposed to evoke emotion, and so this one is 100% full of happiness and joy of children.

First Official BFA Semester

After a medical leave full of physical therapy, I was finally able to go back to campus. So my spring semester of my sophomore year, became my first official BFA semester. I took 3 studio art courses. A darkroom photography course, a drawing course, and a electronic media/graphics course. I was excited but didn't realize the amount of work I was about to face.