VECTOR CONVERSE PICTURE

This is my vector image of a pair of converse trainers. This involved making layers for each colour, and in each of those layers, using the Pen tool, I drew lines over the shapes. Not too long ago,  I did the same experiment but using a picture of Will Smith (which took me two attempts). So now, that I'm fairly good at it, I decided to take it forward. Maybe with another experiment, I could manipulate it in Photoshop...

AURORA SURFACE PATTERN

This is my Aurora surface pattern experiment from Photoshop, which involved making a a total of four layers, and in each layer, I had to make these squiggly lines using the the Brush tool with white paint which resulted in these vertical lines being made, and each time I made those lines, I used the 'Motion blur' technique, found under the 'Blur' option under the 'Filter' tab. After doing this, I filled my fourth layer with colours of my choice, which were yellow and green. On another layer, I placed the text 'Will Smith' on the bottom of the line.

I quite liked this design, as it's effective for a CD cover. It's also simplistic and eye-catching too, and the black background helps with this.

GRUNGE TEXTURE

This is my grunge texture experiment which I did in Photoshop. This involved choosing a suitable image and textures from the Internet, and overlaying them over each other to create this effect. I also used a lot effects, including the Overlay, the Filter, and adding a Layer Mask to allow me to reveal or conceal some parts of each texture so that they may be seen in the final image. I even chose a colour, which I thought appeared most frequently in the beach image, which was blue, so that was to be my base colour.

I did like this effect, as it allowed me to combine different textures to either be revealed or concealed. Revealing or concealing altogether would have messed up the image, and spoiled the effect that I was going for. I could potentially use this in my final piece, but it would be a bit of a risk to do it.

Here's a LINK!

PHOTOSHOOTS AND DEVELOPMENTS-part 1

These are the images that I will use in my later experiments using the techniques from the AS-A2 project and my Summer project. I intend to refine the experiments by developing them further. Examples of techniques include vector image and using colours suitable for my current project, the paper cutting technique where I could use different types of paper including tissue paper, hardboard, recycled cardboard which could be painted over, and drawing and mark-making. Other possibilities could be the stitching technique done on Photoshop,screen printing technique and the typography poster experiment.

There are many possibilities...

SEAMLESS REPEATING PATTERN

This is my experiment of a seamless repeating pattern,which involved taking a symbol or a little picture and repeating it, in Illustrator. I had done this in a previous project, and it proved to be quite difficult the first time and doing it again...it still takes time to get used to, so it was a bit difficult. Despite this, it's still an effective technique. A limitation of this experiment would be matching up the patterns correctly to get that repetitive effect. You would need to zoom in to see if you're matching up the shapes correctly. 

Despite its difficulty, I  could use this in my final CD design, as it would look professional, if I practise more.

LINK!

Here's another design.

DIGITAL BOKEH

This is my digital bokeh made once again in trusty Photoshop. This involved making a circle, and making this circle a new brush, and once again used the gradient for the background. I changed the gradient background into a more colourful one by going in to Gradient overlay, by right-clicking in Blending Options, which should take you to the Gradient Overlay, on the left hand side.

This is a good design, as it could be used in most CD covers of most genres, including pop, jazz maybe even hip hop, but changing the colours according to that genre. This is another background that I could potential use in my final CD cover, but changing the colours that I use.

Link!

COLOURFUL WALLPAPER

This is my colourful wallpaper, made in Photoshop. It involved using the Gradient tool by holding down the Shift key, and dragging the mouse all the way up to the page, to have a nice black and white gradient. Also, it involved making a new brush by going into a new document, and creating a brush by going to 'Define brush preset'. Using this new brush, I went back to my first document, and using the new brush, drew these squares all over the document. 

I thought this was a very easy experiment, because the instructions were simple, much more so than the personal wallpaper one, and the colours look great, especially for my CD cover. I could use this in my final, because it's suitable for the song I'm doing it for, but I could also use other colours too.

Here's a link to this helpful tutorial/

PERSONAL WALLPAPER

This is my personal wallpaper that I created using Photoshop. It involved filling the page with one colour of choice, and writing text, which I flipped over to reverse the text, and copied the text all over the page. It was a bit complicated at first because the person from the tutorial would miss out important instructions (and his version of Photoshop was in German, but he spoke English luckily). 

The limitation of this was that if a step was missed out it would, sometimes heavily impact on the rest of the process.

I did like this experiment, despite the difficulties because it looks rather like a sun effect, with the faint circle, and it looks quite professional, so I may use it for my final piece. 

Here's the link to the tutorial, if you want to try this out.

BOOKBINDING EXPERIMENTS

These are my a couple of experiments for bookbinding an inlay (booklet) that will be included in my final CD design. 

This one is an inlay with the pages stapled together. This was a very easy technique to start off with, and it's commonly used. But sometimes stapling in the wrong places can stop the reader from getting information, and re-stapling can ruin the book altogether (unless it's part of the design).

Another view of the stapled bookbinding.

This is a stitched version of the bookbinding. I used thread for this, and it involved poking three holes from inside on the spine of book. Is sewed properly, it could be really secure and hold the book together effectively. 

But it can be difficult to stop the stitching from getting tangled, and can look untidy in not done properly. If you look at the side, you can see that mine isn't very tidy. But if I perfect the technique, I could use it for my final.

CD PACKAGE EXPERIMENTS

These are a few experiments of CD packaging, and I used a range of materials such as recycled materials, postal materials like parcel paper and old letter envelopes. Also tried out some techniques including wrapping CDs in cloth, similar to using  Japanese wrapping cloth (Furoshiki) and Origami type packaging.
Some were harder than others. Personally, I thought that the origami type packaging was quite difficult, as I had to start again, because I messed up on the folding, but doing it again and going through the instructions helped me to make an even better one. Also coming up with different package ideas with the materials on the spot, I thought was quite tough too (especially as others around me were doing really well).
Whilst doing the wrapping of the CD, I found that it looks better if the cloth is close in size with the CD cover, so if I were to do it again, I'd make sure to take more care when choosing the size of cloth.
There may be some techniques that I could use in my final design, and one of them is the use of cardboard, as it can create an urban look that I would want for my Will Smith CD.

This is an origami type packaging using a recycled magazine page

This is my CD case wrapped in cloth. As I said before, it would've worked better if the cloth was around the same size as the CD.

This is another origami type packaging using graph paper. This was the one that I had to start over again with, and this image is my re-try.

This is my failed packaging using parcel paper (Amazon parcel paper). Out of all the ones I did, this was the worst, because I don't think it would have pulled off the job so well. And it's NOT aesthetically pleasing at all.

PACKAGING MOODBOARD

ONE: Bright colour patterns TWO: Converse geometric patterns THREE: Carton like packaging FOUR: Swirly bright colours FIVE: Live traced and coloured logo SIX:My 3D logo for Will Smith SEVEN: Rectangular CD packaging EIGHT: CD DVD packaging NINE: Summertime lyrics

SHINY WORDMARK LOGO

This is a shiny logo in the form of a word mark type (a typographic logo). This involved creating a rectangle and an eclipse shape, and layering the eclipse on top of the rectangle. The rectangle should be a darker colour than the rectangle, and I adjusted the gradient to my liking. For the glory effect, I clicked on 'Drop Shadow' under the 'Stylize' option in the 'Effect' tab, and adjusted the settings. Then I typed the name of the artist, and used the Clipping Mask technique under the 'Objects' tab, resulting in this! Once again, I used a reflection, and this time, I simply copied the word, and reflected it using the 'Reflect' option under the 'Transform' option in the 'Objects' tab.

I did like this effect, however I don't see myself using it in my final cover. To improve it, I would get rid of the slightly noticeable black outline of the circle to make it match with the rest of the glow.

3D LOGO

This is a 3D alternative to my logo. This involved choosing a shape, and typing a letter in that shape. Also, clicking the 'Pathfinder' option under the Windows tab, and making the letter and the shape blend together. For the main 3D effect, I clicked on the 3D option under the 'Effects' tab, and adjusted the 3D to my liking. On the shape itself, I right-clicked on each part to click 'Ungroup'. This would allow me to fill in different colours for the different parts of the logo, otherwise all the parts would be just one colour, which is what I didn't want. I also added another circle and filled it with green, which was to be sent to the back of the shape, to allow the letter to be seen more clearly. Underneath the main logo, there is a smaller circle which is meant to be the shadow. Then i just typed the name of the artist beside the main logo.

This one was quite a challenge to do, but I came out on top in the end! I really do like this effect, as it not only allows me to use multiple colours, but it's very effective too.

LETTER BOX LOGO

This is a letterbox logo. This involved duplicating the boxes to make them the same size, and aligning them to make sure that they are the same distance apart. I made sure to change the colour with each box, as I would reflect the rap culture of the early 90s (though I can't say the same for the text). For the reflection, I duplicated the letters, by holding the 'Alt' button and clicking each letter. Then I clicked on the 'Reflect tool' (or press 'O'), and I rotated them to be upside down. To add the gradient effect, I clicked on the 'Type' tab then 'Create outlines', then adjusted the gradient to my liking.

I like this version because it allows me to use different colours, and possibly different fonts with each letter, which would emphasis the likeness of Will Smith's typical album artwork, and I could potentially use it for my final CD cover (or back) design.

SHAPES AND SWOOSHES

These are a few patterns that I created in Illustrator. It involved using a tool known as 'Divide Objects Below' under the 'Paths' option in the 'Objects' tab for the pattern at the top. For the smaller shapes, I used the 'Pathfinder' option under the 'Windows' tab. For the slightly cut out circular oval shape, I used the 'Shape Builder tool' in the Toolbox section at the side, and cut out the parts of the circle I didn't want by highlighting it with the mouse, select the Shape Builder tool, and then got rid of the parts inside the circle. 

I thought that this was quite a challenge, especially the oval shape technique, but I eventually got it after going over the steps in the tutorial that I may have missed. But in general, I quite like the look of it and could potentially use it in my final design of my CD cover.

LIVE TRACE AND COLOURING

This is my logo which has been cleaned up (painstakingly) using the Brush tool on Photoshop. Next, I opened up my cleaned up logo in Illustrator and I used the 'Live trace' option to adjust the depth of the outline, which I wanted to fairly deep. Using the Live Bucket tool, I clicked on each letter individually and filled them with colour, resulting in this!

I really liked this as it reflects the culture and designs of that time back in the early 1990s. I guess I could modify it more, by letting it have a shiny design, which I plan to do later on.

LOGO TYPES

This is a worksheet about different logo types.  They describe the different types of logos including: Emblem- a logo which includes the company name within an object or shape, Lettermark a typographic logo that spells out the initial company or brand name, Abstract a symbol that represents the company in a random way, Wordmark, another typographic logo which spells out the company or brand name, Brandmark Symbol a symbol which represents the company in a bold or simple manner, and Combination Mark a logo which combines a woodmark and a symbol.

MY CHOSEN ALBUM

This is worksheet about my chosen album, which is 'Homebase' by Will Smith, which includes the song 'Summertime'. I also went on to describe other things such as the type of people who I think would listen to his type of music- hip hop, as well as the date, and the label it was distributed by. Brainstorming these things would help me later in my designs of the CD cover and packaging, so it's quite beneficial.

MASKING FLUID EXPERIMENT- fail

These are my expriments that I did, which involved using watercolour paint and masking fluid. using my stencil of Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, from my stencil experiment, I wanted to have a similar outcome, but use the masking fluid to cover up the parts that I didn't want to have painted over. So I tried this out, but it failed- miserably. I think what caused me to fail,was not waiting long enough for the masking fluid to dry, and    tried removing it too soon, and also damaged the page I was doing it on. (To have an idea of what I was trying to achieve, look back at my stencil experiment).

These were attempts at making Will Smith's face.

Which again, failed miserably.

INSPIRING PICTURES

These are the images that I took for my sketch for a potential CD cover. These were inspired from the lyrics of 'Summertime' by Will Smith, including a pen and pad for writing the lyrics of his song, as well as two people dressed in summer clothes  to set the mood. I also included a pair of trainers (Converses) as trainers were mentioned in the song, so I thought it would be good to include them in my sketch. 

Wasn't particularly keen on this though, as a sketch wouldn't emphasise the culture of that time.

FOODSTUFF ILLUSTRATION

This is an illustration that i created using various foodstuffs and household products including: ketchup tooth paste, hand wash and olives, and I think mayonnaise. The task require me to use anything, to go crazy, but I think I went a bit too far. 

The illustration is of a female. I chose to draw a female because they are quite frequent in Will Smith's videos and lyrics, especially the young and attractive ones!