Colorful Wednesday!

As a graphic designer, I use photoshop a lot.  Even though I even consider myself an expert in PS, I am always amazed at how much I don't know. So Wednesday's are for playing with color in photoshop, although I may change that to playing in photoshop.  Some of the effects are amazing.  

I took my inspiration photo.....
and applied 9 different color adjustments to the photo colors and channels....for those not familiar with color theory and color process, here's a quick lesson:

There are 2 basic color  models -- CMYK and RGB.  

RGB is what we see on the monitor & tv screen, basically light and photos (which are created from light exposure).  It is an additive color model.  The 3 colors, Red, Green & Blue are combined together in various way to create a color spectrum.  If you have all 3 colors of light on top of each other, they make white, and if you don't have any color/light, you have black.

Inversely, the CMYK color model is used in color printing.  It is a subtractive model.  The colors -- 4 in this model: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black -- when all mixed together, make black, and as you subtract color from it, you can get a broad spectrum of colors.

So why did you need to know this?  So that when I talk about channels, and colors you will understand that I am  adjusting the red layer, the blue layer and the green layer (how much light gets through).  Hopefully this helps and I didn't just totally confuse you.   

The Finished photos:

Adjustment Used: Hue/Saturation.
Had to use the full saturation to get the red into the fungus.
I think it's stunning!

Adjustment Used: Selective Colors
Interesting that when I played with this function,
most of the adjustments only affected
the background and the branch, not the fungus itself.

Adjustment Used: Posterize
I love how this limits your color palette and makes big color blocks.

Adjustment Used: Threshold
This is similar to posterize, but black and white.

Adjustment Used: Invert (Negative)
I love the new colors.  This filter definitely makes
the background less distracting.

Adjustment Used: Channel Mixer
To see the effects of the channel mixer, I  only changed
one channel at a time, this time it was red.

Adjustment Used: Channel Mixer
Green.  I love the bright colors and the contrast here.

Adjustment Used: Channel Mixer
Blue.  Purple and Green.  I love these colors together.
Unfortunately they only work in a photo.
Clothes, room colors or furniture would be just too much.

Adjustment Used: Photo Filter, Cooling
This applied an orange-ish filter over the photo.
I love how it added depth to the color of the fungus!

Which one do you like best?  How about giving it a try and sharing it with us?  If you don't have Photoshop, there are plenty of other photo-editing programs that can do some if not all the same effects.
You can join the flickr group and post your photo there.. 

It's a Creative Tuesday

Inspiration Photo

The Today is the day that I have to think outside the box and create something in a different media.  I love the shapes and textures in the photo, so I decided to do a 3 dimensional design.

The design is yet to come.  I'm still working on a freelance job that needs to get to the printer tonight....aaaaahhhhh....so the finished piece you will see tomorrow, unless I can get everything done tonight.  Since I'd like to go ahead and post (to fulfill the challenge), for right now you can see my process of what I have started.


The Story of My Sculpture

When I was at ASU, that isArizona State University (ASU in this area is Appalachian State, so I have to distinguish myself from the "other ASU" alumni!) one of my first art classes was 3-D art.  I only took it because it was required!

Up to that point all I had ever done was 2-D paintings and drawings.  It opened up a whole new world for me and I found a new side to my creativity.  One of my favorite place to shop for supplies was Home Depot.  Everything in there had the potential to become something other that what it was intended for.

So today I decided to look around the house for something that I could use to create a sculpture of my inspiration.  So this is what I did:

I took coffee filters, and piled them a couple hight and colored them with water-based markers, nothing pretty, just scribbles.

Then took a cup of water and poured it over the filters.  When I wrung out the water, most of the color went with it :(.   This was not the look I hoped to see.

So I started again, this time with 2 stacks colored differently.

Then I used a spray bottle to wet them instead of soaking them.

Then I flipped them to see if they went all the way through.  then I separated them to let them dry, which didn't take long at all!

After they dried, I cut them into quarters, thirds and halves.  As soon as I get a moment, I will start creating a sculpture from it and other pieces.  Until later.....

Musings for the day & Leave a Trace

A busy day, but not enough design.  I'll be working late tonight as I finish up the Hope Stout Montage, another brochure for church, and paperwork....which is the part I tend to put off until last.  But alas, it has to be done, and I don't have anyone to delegate to  since I'm the only one working for me right now.  I hope that made (or is it makes) sense?!?   

I'm also working on a t-shirt design for Leave a Trace.net. Once it is approved, I'll post it with a link in case you want to order one.  Leave a trace is a Christian Ministry trying to make the world a better place by sharing God's love with others.

It is a “Go Green,” “Reduce Your Carbon Footprint,” “Leave No Trace” world today.  That is wonderful for our physical world.  But, here at Leave a Trace, we realize that Christians are called to do the opposite.  We are supposed to Leave A Trace of Christ with everyone we meet.  We are supposed to leave footprints on the world so that everyone can share in Christ’s love.

At Leave a Trace we want to help you find gentle ways to share your passion for Christ. Here at our website you will find stories of how others have shared.  You will find ideas and tools that you can use to help.  And most importantly, you will find others who want to share Christ and His awesome love.

I started by working on their logo.  They wanted something that would be an icon and easily identifiable to those who see it. After many sketches, this is what I ended up with. My intention for this design is that it is supposed to be an oak leaf, in the shape of a footprint with a cross in it....although some actually see a fish which is really which is really cool, since Jesus tells us we should be fishers of men, and Leave a Trace is a .net company, and fish get caught in nets.  So what do you think?  (I love hearing feedback and it helps me be a better designer even if it hurts my feelings and makes me think I am fooling myself)

Brochure for Church

Yay! I finally finished the brochure for church! On this job, I created the logo and the layout and design of the booklet, which then evolved to all kinds of other coordinating pieces. Even though this project is a volunteer job, I am still freelancing until Visual Tapestry Design starts taking off.  Freelance...what I call my regular design work...is any print design piece from logos to booklets to letterhead and stationery, or anything else printed that is 2-d or 3-d.  I just love to design and allow my creative talent to take over. I found on this project I was just thinking about it too much and once I started working on it, it started flowing!