Spa Billboard Conceptualization

    In my college course, we studied how to use art to promote stores and companies in any field that they operate by presenting its purpose for existing. I picked a spa business and emphasized the positive vibes of being away from work and home. When you are utilizing the spa, a customer will feel at peace and not far from nature. I came up with the slogan, "The place that activates relaxation." I photoshopped and pieced together everything.

Website and poster for Alberta Forest Care

 Information and Excerpts about the plight of Alberta’s forests:

 Numerous economic, social, and environmental advantages come from forests. The Canadian economy continues to be significantly influenced by the timber industry. The industry sustains more than 300 towns that depend on the forest, generates revenue for local employees in 2,400 villages, adds $25.2 billion to the nominal GDP, and directly employs more than 184,000 Canadians.

 The economic and daily lives of Canadians, notably those in rural and Indigenous communities, are greatly influenced by the country's woods. By supplying necessary habitat, food, renewable energy, and materials, forests support life. Additionally, they offer possibilities for spiritual and cultural development as well as crucial environmental services. roughly 300 forest-dependent communities are supported by the industry, which also directly employs 205,365 Canadians, including roughly 12,000 members of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit groups. Additionally, forests offer vital habitat for wildlife, produce commodities and services that may spur sustainable development, and are crucial to combating climate change. In order to control carbon and lessen the effects of climate change, sustainably managed forests and the wood products made from them are crucial.

 But there is evidence that our Canadian forests are vanishing due to fires and the lumber industry. We need to be extremely careful.  

 

Trees are mostly removed by using the logging technique known as clear-cutting. Clear-cutting involves using large machinery to remove enormous tracts of forest. This exposes the earth, which is therefore easily erodible.  - Clear-cutting a forest alters the kinds of flora and animals that live there.  - In the cleared regions, grasses and plants start to emerge.  - Many of the forest's species must locate new habitats and food sources. The forestry firm occasionally replaces the trees it has removed but they never succeed in restoring the original ecology, despite their best attempts.

 Should the size of cities be capped to prevent the exploitation of forest land?  Every year, more individuals relocate to cities. These folks require housing. The city planners have the option of annexing more property near their borders or of constructing inside those lines. Forest land is frequently present in an urban area. Today, many cities prefer to build inside rather than outward. They may preserve precious forest area outside of the city in this way.

I propose a different way. I recently scoped out the middle east side of the province. I drove from Lloydminster to Vermillion Alberta. While on the road I saw so much land prepared for cows to graze on. Someone told me that the farmers had cut a lot of the forests that use to be there to make room for these free roaming cows. I love that they have room to walk around in and eat but these hilly lands were bigger than most of the small cities in this Alberta region. I think the big and successful farming businesses should give 1/3 or ¼ of their land to build cities. The trees have already been cut and are nowhere to be seen. We need to utilize these vast hills and give the customers and consumers of these cow products that the farmers make money on by building them a town, or a small city so they can live and buy even more stuff. The cows don’t need 3 hills worth of grazing pastures. I feel like that is a little excessive.

 

I made this poster and website pictured below to promote better treatment of our forests and wildlife. 

The Poster I Made for The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow

My teacher told me to design a poster for a board game called The Werewolf of Miller's Hollow. I did some research and decided to make a photoshopped, digital poster that embodies the vibe of real human beings, friends playing the board game as characters of that story. Juenzo and Abrill. 

The poster’s concept art highlights the two important key characters of the group game called “The Werewolves of Millers Hollow.” The pilgrims who close their eyes at night to sleep and the werewolves who open their eyes at night to kill. In the little village of Millers Hollow, where this portable party game is set, werewolves commit murders every night. Before the village loses its final few residents, it is now necessary to seize control and vanquish this ancient evil. The poster has a cheeky sense of trouble brewing in the air about it while the beautiful, blindfolded lady Abrill, gives the poster a sense of drama. Technically, the guy Juenzo isn't really a werewolf. The person with wolf characteristics is a friend of the redhead, and he's secretly supposed to be a werewolf since that's what the card he picked up states. The background is a photoshop stencil effect on a pilgrim town photograph. I like how it shows pilgrims gathered and running around town. It’s like an intriguing scene from a movie that makes you hope that the good guys in the game win. I find playing this card game to be very captivating, especially when the special roles are used. The Sheriff, The Hunter, the Witch, the Little Kid, The Fortune Teller. The Werewolves of Millers is a guessing game. Because no one knows who is who and everyone has knowledge to contribute and identities to hide at the same time, this people card game is incredibly intriguing. 

The game starts by the moderator introducing the scenario, which is a sleepy small town, maybe in an alternate dimension. Late 16th-century Pilgrim area of the Southeast South Carolina region. The residents of the town are individuals who are focused on maintaining their farms and crops on a daily basis. One afternoon, a bunch of schoolchildren head down to the stream at the edge of town to go frog catching. The silence is abruptly broken by a scream as the kids scramble up the hillside to their parents' arms for protection. Words like "Terrifying!" and "Blood!" almost escape their shaky mouths as they point trembling fingers at the willow trees along the creek. When the grownups get at the creek, they see one evening guard reclining against a willow tree. His body was ripped, with gashes everywhere. Is he alive? What can be capable of doing this? The word werewolf flows into their minds. The search for answers is on! To appease their fans, this game has released several expansion packs after its initial 2001 release.

Beaver Buzz Energy Drink Advertisement Poster

Positioning Statement

Who is it for? The 18^th anniversary Beaver Buzz energy drink poster is marketed towards snow athletes, but it is for anyone that wants an extra buzz of motivation.

Why would they buy it? The snow berry flavor is mild, different and sweet. Same great buzz of energy but with a new 18^th anniversary savor that tastes delicious.

What type of product is it? It is a Beaver Buzz energy drink.

What is the key benefit of the product? It is a canned drink that gives you energy when you drink it that is made with natural ingredients.

How is it different from the competition? It is made with more natural ingredients than other energy drinks. If you drink it your energy buzz lasts longer, and it doesn’t make the body crash with exhaustions.

What is the product name? It is called Beaver Buzz energy drink. 

    To begin this assignment I had to build a picture collage that inspired winter sport energy into my creative brain. I also illustrated a cute kawaii, angry beaver cartoon that is supposed to resemble the Beaver Buzz energy drink logo. I ended up not really utilizing this drawing but I still like that I made it. Then I came up with a new flavor for the 18th anniversary flavor called "Snow Berry." Peace Teas already have that flavor but not Beaver Buzz. It's a very mild sweet berry like flavor. Then I gave my can a turquoise color because this company has not made an energy drink with a turquoise color yet. I also edited the original Beaver Buzz logo to fit the number 18 and photoshopped everything together. I then chose a nice picture of someone snowboarding and edited it to make it look impressive and cool. I love the dedication that snowboarders have to their sport. Practicing a trick or a jump over and over again till they master it. There is nothing like the feeling of flying in the air. Extreme snowboarders feel that for a moment when they are in the middle of a jump. I think that is so cool! I hope to one day learn how to snowboard. I also came up with the slogan "Feel the Iron Teeth Strong Buzz!" Beavers have Iron like teeth and snowboarders are strong in their own way. People who drink energy drinks want that strong surge of energy so I think the slogan conveys this.

To learn more about Beaver Buzz energy drinks and the company, please click this sentence.

I drew a cute version of their angry beaver

At the bottom right is the cute beaver cartoon

The picture collage

Starting to Learn how to build Advertisements

In the Beginning Advertisement course we had to throw things together and see if we could make a feast for our eyes. Needless to say my first homework art was not that great. I liked the little gray bear logo on the bottom right with the green helmet I created for it though. The second assignment taught us how to look at existing advertisements and how to replicate them by doing similar things and then adding our own twist or unique spin on it to make it our own. Thus we learned what was cool and what attracted customers.

This second project was very helpful to me and I love my cheeky "Peace and Fries" go together McDonald's advertisement creation.  

My first attempt at making an Ad

The OG inspo and my rendition

My Version

Building a Board Game Instructions Manual

    This week I got the chance to make another poster but for the 50th year Special Edition of any board game I like. This was a mock-up of course but it was a fun project!

    I love building posters. Every time I have the opportunity I research new techniques and tricks to push myself in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I now know that if anything is pixelated, a simple surface blur that isn't very high will soften that and make it look more appealing. I am also getting more comfortable designing my own lettering and logo designs and using the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator.

I chose the classic and simple game called, "Guess Who?"  I love how it doesn't make my brain work too hard and I can actually sit back and enjoy it. There is no violence, it is all about guessing who your mystery character card is. And in this day and age you can even customize your character tabs on the gameboards to your liking. There is also a commercial version made in 2019 that has a wider range of diversity in their characters' features.

Here are a couple of pages from the 6 pages manual I made:

De Stijl art and Dadaism art merges

    I was highly inspired by Theo van Doesburg and John Heartfield. Theo was heavily influenced by Wassily Kandinsky. Theo van Doesburg made the switch from a representational painting style to one that prioritized a minimalistic and geometric approach because of this influence. The Dutch artist championed the De Stijl artistic movement and has inspired many graphic designers over the decades with his thought-provoking art theories. The artists of De Stijl produced artworks that stretched far beyond painting and sculpture. They aimed for a unified synthesis of form and function in all media, covering literature, music, typography, and industrial design in addition to the fine and applied arts. Founded in 1917 by the ground-breaking abstract artists Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg. De Stijl magazine’s name literally translates to “The Style” in Dutch. The De Stijl movement emerged as an Interwar Period artistic expression in reaction to the catastrophic devastation of World War I. In its effort to separate from the intricately ornamental and excessive artwork of previous eras, the movement strived for simplified and minimalist works of art.

In 1916, John Heartfield and George Grosz experimented with a form of art and combining images created what is now recognized as Photomontage. John Heartfield crafted highly political images that left a lasting impression with the Photomontage technique. He was known for taking iconic images from the illustrated press - like photos of well-known politicians or noteworthy events - and re-arranging them to form new and provocative messages. John Heartfield and George Grosz were pioneers of the German Dadaist movement, actively participating in the renowned Berlin Club Dada (1916-1920). Through their trailblazing work, they were instrumental in elevating the concept of montage to an art form that is recognized worldwide today.

My Creative Rationale: In much the same way that the De Stijl artists did, I recognized the boundaries of my poster space and filled it with geometric shapes. The background of the poster is made up of original De Stijl magazine pages that I found online. I added the De Stijl magazine name at the top. I also used a font that resembles Theo van Doesburg’s original lettering at the bottom page. The words written make a sentence that is similar to what John Heartfield wrote on the photomontage art piece of “The Happy Elephants.” I changed it to happy animals because in my art I included elephants and cows. Theo van Doesburg created cow art. He began with a series of figurative sketches of the cow and then transformed them into a geometrical composition. I wanted to be different but still show how I was influenced by Theo and John, so I drew John Heartfield’s happy elephants with wings with my pencils and then I turned them into shapes in Adobe Illustrator. I added both the pencil drawing and the shape components in my poster. Theo’s cows thus were turned into a photomontage in my art and I added wings to the cows to match the happy winged elephants. Photomontage is the method and outcome of combining multiple photos by cutting, pasting, rearranging and layering them together to form a unique image and that is what I did in my art poster. Dadaists revolted against the capitalistic logic and reasoning of their bourgeois society, which had driven them to war, by utilizing artistic forms that appeared to disregard rationality and instead celebrate chaos and absurdity. Thus, my art poster has a bit of chaos in the layering of the geometric shapes in the background. I merged Theo and John’s art styles to create my art piece. Combining them was thrilling. This was a fun artistic experiment for me.

The next page has original works from Theo van Doesburg and John Heartfield. After this are pictures of my art poster inspired by them.

My geometric shape sketch

My drawing of the Happy Elephants

The first rough draft

The final product

Movie Poster creating is a fun learning experience

    I recently watched the last Matrix movie, number 4 and I thought it was super interesting. I love the story and concept of The Matrix and it's rebels. When I was younger I would have picked the red pill in a heartbeat, or so I think. Now that I am older, a happy life with purpose is what I am aiming for and thus I don't mind the blue pill. As long as the robots are being good to me-What is there to complain about? LOL 

I had to make a movie poster for my Photoshop class final. I quickly gravitated towards The Matrix and made a faux movie poster for The Matrix 5, Reincarnation. I really like the tagline I invented, "A new generation." I went all out creating a cool computer screen with html code on it and my boyfriend popping out of the bottom with a materializing cockatoo on his shoulder. Everything has a digital flare that goes along with The Matrix's theme. I also learned how to use gradients and change a regular portrait picture into something cool. I added a pill bottle with the red and blue pill near a VR headset- because we all know The Metaverse is going to be a lot like The Matrix, hehehe...For good or for worse. 

I read an article online that made me feel a bit better about the future. The article talked about how people with disabilities and/or illnesses could benefit a lot from an online world where they can customize their avatar and then go to places like virtual museums or homes or planets. That's how they can do things like able bodies can. Everyone deserves a way to interact with other people. Human beings need friends and a community. Maybe some people will befriend robots too, as long as it's not hurting anyone then I think The Metaverse could be benevolent. Hopefully some people will prefer the real world and keep fighting to keep it as green and as healthy as possible...Without the Earth, we can't live or have a lifestyle.

My professor liked my first movie poster version but he thought that I could put my talent to good use and watch a few more online tutorials on how to make a classic The Matrix style poster. He was right. I can do something more Hollywood poster-ish. I am happy that he kindly pushed me in the right direction. Both posters were fun to work on.

I can make it rain in the city

 I learned how to make rain and animate it as a GIF.

Animated rain tutorial demonstrates how to achieve this in Photoshop. I just followed the instructions. I did decide to add my own unique detail though. I painted realistic clouds in my image to enhance the moody scenery. 

Lesson 7 Magazine cover design result

 Lesson 7 in the Adobe Photoshop CC Classroom in a book was super informative, it was all about fonts, and clipping masks to alter the visuals on them. 

I got to design a mock magazine cover. It was really cool designing the font styles and adding text to a warped path that made the text curve.

Assignment 4 has a fantasy flare to it

 For my 4th assignment project I decided to edit a lady with glasses reading a book. Who knows what the book is about...But I imagined it as being a fantastic story that transports the reader into a magical world. The clouds symbolize that the reader is in another world in her mind. The two cherubs make the scene soft and ethereal along with other details.

Using Photoshop masks to edit a lady's photo

  Lesson 6 in the Adobe Photoshop CC Classroom in a book was super interesting.

I took an ordinary photo of a lady and tweaked it by using Photoshop masks and channels. I transformed a regular photo into something kind of cool and paired it with a vibrant background. 

First interesting assignment in college

 Lesson 2 in the Adobe Photoshop CC Classroom in a book had some really cool lessons to learn. I had to retouch, restore and make the picture more vivid in Photoshop.

First I used the Crop tool to straighten, trim, and scale the photograph. By default, cropping deletes cropped pixels. Next I used Curves and Levels adjustment layers to remove the color cast and adjust the color and tone in the image. After I selected The Spot Healing Brush tool. It quickly removes blemishes and other imperfections. It also samples pixels around the retouched area and matches the texture, lighting, transparency, and shading of the sampled pixels to the pixels being healed. Then I used the Patch tool to remove unwanted elements from an image. I used a content-aware patch to remove an unrelated person from the right side of the photo. In Content-Aware mode, the Patch tool creates nearly seamless blending with the nearby content. And finally I utilized The Clone Stamp tool. It uses pixels from one area of an image to replace the pixels in another part of the image. Using this tool, you can not only remove unwanted objects from your images, but you can also fill in missing areas in photographs you scan from damaged originals.