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| Looking back I feel I have learnt more than I initially thought I feel my theory Is getting better, the way I record my research is becoming routine and I am enjoying discovering new artists and feeling inspired to try new techniques and processes, Its just the time issue to put all these processes into practice, I know its my choice to work but I have been unemployed before and it isn't a good place to be. But tomorrow is going to be a day dedicated to experimentation with mixed media. |
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| Archan Nair www.iniwoo.net Indian Dreams Mixed Media Collage Illustrator, Photoshop, This beautiful piece is clearly has been influenced by indian culture, the loud colours that india are known for the sacred animals and gods that they worship, all this culture wrapped up in to one striking piece. I struggled to find the exact process but just by observation I can tell that most of the effects have been created on illustrator. And I would say for good reason because to get the colours so strong and bold I would say you can't beat digital software.The photo will have been cut out in photoshop and the effects around the image would have been created in illustrator, but for the background I'm not sure, there looks like there could have been some textile patterns applied and the colour looks spray painted, but still these effects could also have been achieved digitally. I like this method but the first mixed media image that I have looked at feels like it would fit into the theme of the cold war better as at the time these advanced digital techniques didn't exist and I think a a more authentic look to what ever I am going to create would be better. |
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| Joshua Anthony O' Meara www.squidoo.com Mixed Media Fine liners, Acrylic, Photoshop, Illustrator I have never have done a mixed media piece if my own or gone out of my way to look for the style but I am glad I have. This piece was created for a wine label, the artist started with a detailed fine liner drawing, then on a separate canvas he applied some paint in random abstract shapes. From there he scanned the two images then manipulated them in photoshop, layering the images up, using filters canting the whole colour scheme with adjustment layers. Then finally the text and logo where created in illustrator. There are a lot of experimentation missing in this project and I feel like this is a task that I need to one hundred % focus on tomorrow using this process. I don't want my work to get stale so this new method is a must. |
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| Both Images (above) where found from Google Images I found these images by chance while browsing the web for inspiration on ideas for this project, they are board games from the cold war era. Spying is the theme for both games. The game works using a series of cards and timers and point scoring, the first one to 100 points wins. What a interesting way to wrap this research into the cold war up into one tidy final product. The question is do I have the time to create a simple board game, the packaging and tie it into the meaning of hidden by next monday? Sounds like a challenge to me. Looking at the packaging, you can just tell that It's from the cold war, secret agents shown as heroes, russian soldiers coming out of missile silos looking like the bad guys, It reminds me of the propaganda pieces I looked at earlier in the project. |
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| Piece Created By Luke Lucas www.lukelucas.com Harvesters Beer Logo (Typography) Created Unknown but(Most probably in Illustrator) I love Illustrative and this is a wonderfully simple idea that works well The type has been created with the word "harvest" in mind and is described with a very sharp type, I like the way he has included simple illustrative objects that contribute to the message ( the scythe and flower) the colours have been chosen carefully as well to give it a sort of rustic look |
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| Piece Created By Luke Lucas www.lukelucas.com Nike Typography, Commissioned by nike for there new Nike Free 5.0 Created in Illustrator and Photoshop This piece was to describe the flexibility of the new trainer in the visual language of type It is very clever how he has made it flow naturally with the type, another simple idea that is brilliant The lack of colour doesn't make it any less eye catching and I suppose that is because most trainers are mostly white, plus I think that by adding colour would have been distracting |
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| Piece Created By Luke Lucas www.lukelucas.com Pop, Popcorn Recipe Book Created Using paper, clay, plastic people and of course popcorn He has clearly been inspired by a artist that I have been influenced in the past, Roy Lichtenstein A well known pop artist and perfect theme for the text and message in this image, when I first looked at the image I was sure that it was created digitally but to my surprise it was all created using mixed media. The text looks like it was created using clay and the graphics around must have been the paper, then the design was placed on top of a pile of popcorn then photographed. |
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| Piece Created By Luke Lucas www.lukelucas.com Falls of the Shadow Book Front Cover Created Unknown I cannot say how this was definitely created but I can take a guess using my own experience. I would create this in both photoshop and illustrator, the text would have been created in illustrator and the texture and effects would have been created in photoshop, I would have used layers to build up the image and use effect a like gaussian blur around the line of the shadowed face, the text would have been possible to create in illustrator using gradients. This piece has a theme around light and dark to strengthen the message or the title of the book. I understand why he has used a three dimensional text (so he can show light and shadow in the lettering) This work is a fantastic example of graphic design, everything on the image is there for a purpose, to strengthen the message the designer is showing, I feel inspired to try an create some experiments of my own, First I need to pick a word related to my project theme ,Like stealth, then I think I will mind map out some possible ideas of how I can play around with the words meaning. A mixed media approach could work well, using digital software to glue it all together. some illustrations could fit in well to, along as they are there for a purpose and not there to make the image look pretty |
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| A Russian Submarine |
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| An American Black Bird Spy Plane The more research I do the more I uncover of how secretive the cold war was and the lengths each side went into to stay hidden while traveling behind enemy lines. By sea there were crews of over a hundred hiding at the bottom of the ocean trying to gather intel from the enemy. I read about the extents that the crew when through to stay undetected. They would only communicate in signals. and literally tip toe around there sub. They also would stay totally submerged underwater weeks at a time, The fear they must have felt, knowing what would have happened if they got caught would be unbelievable. The second image is a black bird spy plane, this amazing creation was used for recon at sub space. Pilots could see the curvature of the earth because they where that high. The design principles behind this machine had one word in mind "Hidden", even the paint was designed to help the plane stay hidden, the pigments were made up of tiny metal ball bearings that helped them not get picked up by enemy radar. Im not sure how these could link to my project but some how I feel they need place in it. |
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| This was my starting point for the project, the area that stood out to me as something worth pursuing was the era known as the cold war. The cold war had decades of history behind it and most of it was about spying, espionage and paranoia. (please take note that this was also produced at the start) |
