Reyna Abadilla

1. To begin the project, we brainstormed what symbols could be used to describe our identity in ways that are hidden to other people. After this we went to search engines and gathered photos that symbolizes our inner emotions or identity. I chose water, a forest, mountains, and a wolf to represent my identity. I took the photos and inputted them into the file in Photoshop. I used layer masks to hide parts of the photo I didn’t want, making more room for other photos I could add later on. The layer masks allow the users to conceal or reveal sections of a photo by using the brush tool, marking with black to conceal or white to reveal. I softened the edges of the photos by adjusting the brush hardness to 0% so that the photos had a smoother complexion whenever I hid areas of the photos. I rearranged the photos to where I felt comfortable with, and then took self portraits with a classmate in the back of the classroom. I uploaded my photos to my desktop and then inputted the one I liked best into the project. I wanted my face to appear from the statue photo because the symbol holds a meaning that directly applies to me. I blended the statue and my portrait using the lighten blend mode. For the photos with a brighter hue, I brightened it more with adjustment layers. The cross to the top left of my face, I used an adjustment layer to brighten it and the hard light blend mode. The Jesus silhouette beside my face was brightened using another adjustment layer and adding Brighten/Contrast. I did the same for the wolf in the top left corner. I inputted more photos and created more layer masks to conceal the excess backgrounds that I didn’t want. My favorite part of the collage is the man reaching his arm to me. To do that, I copy and pasted an image I found on the web and created a layer mask to conceal the image I didn’t want. This took some time to do. I spent some time carving his fingers out of the image. After that I set the arm to the side of my face using free transform. I found another image of a vine that would have a double meaning, representing the Garden of Eden and Jesus Christ. I used a blend mode to sharpen the image and also a layer mask to conceal the remaining background that was still visible. I adjusted the layers, pushing the vine behind the arm so it would look like the arm was appearing from the vine. To add more life to the symbol, I went to add an fx on the arm layer and added an outer glow. The arm appeared to be glowing from the vine which is exactly what I wanted, I enjoyed the outcome. I went to DaFont to select a font that resembled my handwriting closely and found Santa Catalina. I downloaded it to my files and unzipped the font. I used the text tool to add my name onto the project, wrote my name with the Santa Catalina font, and then created a clipping mask. I clipped a photo into my name, a photo of clouds. After, I clicked fx to add a glow to my name, making my name more pronounced against the blue ocean background. Adding final touches, I found pictures of two different mountains, one mountain was blended with the boxing glove and the other blended into the clock to my left shoulder.

 

2. Blend modes, layer masks, and adjustment layers are all effects used in photoshop to enhance your art. Blend modes can be used to mesh multiple layers together by changing the color, the opacity, the exposure, and/or highlights. Layer masks is a helpful tool to conceal or reveal excess and/or favored parts of any image. Clicking on the brush tool will allow you to draw on the layer mask with colors black or white. Black is used to conceal excesses of the image, white is used to reveal favored parts of the image. Adjustment layer tool allows users to remotely change the hues, the highlights. the vibrance. the exposure, and apply gradients to an image. 

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3. The ocean represents my compassion for others. My compassion stretches far and compassion won’t change, the ocean may recede and go forth but it stays either way. The lamb that blends into the mountains and forest represents myself as a lamb who follows after the Good Shepherd. Even though the lamb gets lost in the forest or has a difficult time in the valley of the mountain range, the lamb is led by the Good Shepherd. The mountains and forest hold a double meaning, as the mountain also represents my perseverance and hard work, no matter how tall the mountain is. The forest represents that no matter what happens to me and how much I doubt in uncertainty, there’s a rewarding side. It’s a fun reference to how God led the Israelites through the forest for 40 years, which serves as my reminder that God will always be the reward for our faithfulness and for those who believe and trust in Him. The flower represents myself as a plant that’s still growing, not in full bloom. There’s a noticeable imprint of a hand over a person’s chest beside the clock, it represents the light of Christ in me. The hand reaching down near my face from a vine represents Adam from Genesis as my descendant, and the vine is from Scripture where Jesus calls Himself the vine and His followers the branches (John 15:1-5). Adam’s arm is glowing, a nod to his holiness that was originally given to him by the Father. The boxing gloves beside the arm represent my dad, who taught my siblings and I to fight when we were kids. A tree resides on the glove, representing the roots of my family. The statue of which I’ve blended my portrait with represents that I don’t walk by sight. The statue has a blindfold over her eyes, a reference back to the Bible in 2 Corinthians 5:7. Christians trust Jesus doing everything we need, so we hold our faith even when we can’t see the outcome.

 

4. What upset me when I found the picture of the statue is how grainy it looks compared to the surrounding pictures. I looked for a different picture to use, but I didn’t find another one I liked. Almost all of the pictures were blurry! If I did the project again, I’d choose a different way to represent 2 Corinthians 5:7. Maybe use a picture of a blindfold over my eyes or a hand that covers my eyes.

 

5. It took me a minute to learn the blend modes, I believe if I'd been in school the past few weeks I could've done better. I know my abilities aren't exactly to its full potential as other classmates are. To match my work to the rubric, I'd say I could reach for a 3 or 3.5. My main concern, I didn't use the adjustment layer as much as any of the other tools. Beside this, I love how my project turned out. I used colors that coincide with each other to create an appealing color palette and aesthetic. 

 

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