Logos!

For our most recent assignment, we were asked to use Adobe Illustrator to create several logos concerning our blog topic. My logos are as follows:

This particular text-less design is of a house, a paintbrush, doodles, and paint splatters. Since my topic is about murals within Philadelphia, I decided to make it seem as though I were covering the dull colored house with designs and color.


This logo basically consists of random shapes that I've created as a background to whatever font goes on top of it. I just wanted to show an artistic design.



This logo is pretty simple. I used the silhouette of a t-shirt and then placed a minor detail on the chest that the main logo would then be located on top of it. A lot of art is simple, and that's why I chose to make this particular logo incredibly simple. Plus, it is something that could easily be made into an actual t-shirt.



For this particular logo, I decided to trace my hand. I then used the paint tools to add paint to the fingertips. In doing so, I wanted to show all of the love and handmade work that goes into all of the murals that are scattered throughout the city. Whether it be sparked by a certain belief or used as an after-school activity for children, the art that we see on walls was created (by hand) for a purpose.



The following logos are text only.

I chose this font, because...well...I thought it was rad. Plus, it reminded me of the font from the movie, Juno.



I chose this font, because I liked how rough it looked. Some of the murals in the city have a rustic feeling to them. (Just like this font.)



I liked this font, because it looked it was so messy. Art is messy. True story.



This last font was chosen, because it was really corky. I think that corky and art kind of go together. That's just my opinion, I guess.



Those are my logos! Personally, I'm drawn to logos that are simple, yet have that little something that can catch your eye. I don't like a lot of fancy font. Hopefully, that can be seen within my pieces.

Graffiti Collage

For this week's assignment, I decided to create a collage based upon the idea of graffiti/art in today's society.

Art has become so relevant to our every day lives, that it is hard to believe that it may have been frowned upon at one point in time. What seems to be a work of art in the year 2009 is much different than what one might have found in the 1930's or 40's. Since my blog has primarily covered the several murals located through Philadelphia, I decided to use my current knowledge of Photoshop to create a "faux" mural.



When beginning this piece, the starting point was of a photograph of a bare wall of what seemed to be an abandoned building. Since the meaning behind certain murals is to create beauty out of something that would otherwise be an eyesore in society, I chose to use certain photographs of street graffiti to decorate the bland palette of the wall.

I used the following photograph of random graffiti to cover the bare walls of the background photograph.

I then added a photograph of an older woman from what seems to be the 40's. Since the art upon on the wall would most likely NOT be found in her time period, I thought she had an appropriate expression on her face. She has a look of what seemed to me to be of disapproval and disgust. Older generations most likely look down upon graffiti thinking that it is a way of violating a particular structure. It is somewhat hard for them to see the expressionism and passion behind some public displays of art.

I chose to add the young boy as a symbol of artistic youth within today's generation.

I used the quick selection tool to remove the motorcycle from the following photograph.

I also opted to include a piece of street art created by one of my absolute favorite artists, Miss Van. The cartoonish woman at the top left of the wall is one of her "girls" that she is known for painting all over the world. Many artists have tried to replicate her style, but few have come close to recreating her sense of dark sexuality that she includes in her pieces.

All in all, I had a fun time putting everything into this assignment. It allowed me to experiment with selection tools, hue/saturation adjustments. etc.

Everything changes eventually...

In this week's post, I decided to dramatically alter both of my photographs because I didn't have anything to improve in my photos. Here is a copy of my original photo taken of a mural located between near 21st and Market St.:




I decided to add a bit of color to the individuals in the mural. In completing this, I used the quick selection tool to select the lightest areas within the faces. I then altered the hue of those selections to red. The following is a photograph of my work:




In the second part of this week's assignment, I have used the lasso tools to drastically alter a particular object within this photograph. Here is my original photograph:



The next photograph is my altered photograph. As you can see, I have selected the building located behind the mural and drastically changed it's hue and saturation. It, in fact, is now bright red, blue, etc.

Alternate reality

Within this particular project, I am attempting to use Adobe Photoshop to warp a particular image by replacing it's background.

I will be using the following images to complete this assignment:

Next, I will be taking the following photograph and showing you (the viewer) how I chose to morph two photographs together while replacing one image's background.



As you can see, the young woman in the pixelized mural is now standing in the street (bottom left hand corner) of the other mural.


In this particular image distortion, I'm attempting to show the idea of perspective. Perspective is when you create the idea of an object either receding or projecting into a certain space. Here is my photograph in it's original form:

In the following image, I've used the selection tool to change the perspective of the girl within the mural. I edited the photograph to make it seem as if the girl is protruding out of the mural. In a way, it lookes as if the girl is stepping into the mural from the street below.

How A City Speaks...

Obviously art has been of interest to me from a young age, but being at Moore lifts that interest to a whole new level. Although Moore itself is quite influential for many artists, the city of Philadelphia also plays a huge role in sharing the gift of artistic freedom.

Throughout the city, one can find displays of artistic expression almost everywhere. Whether it be historical art displaying our city's representation of freedom or a touching piece signifying unity amongst a diverse group of cultures, we find ourselves surrounded by voices of those attempting to share their voice with the community.

I have chosen to write about the displays of art within our city. With accompanying photos, I will do my best to show some of my favorite pieces of artistic expression here in Philadelphia. The following are just a few examples of what I will be blogging about:
This is a photograph of a mural that I get the pleasure of seeing almost every single morning. Located at the corner of 20th and Arch, this particular work of art adds a touch of creativity to an otherwise bland looking building.

I, personally, think that this mural attempts to show the possibility of growth within the city through it's youth.

Due to it's somewhat hidden location, this mural is can be easily missed unless you visit the Art Museum area. Applied to the side of what looks to be an apartment, this extremely colorful mural seems to come out of nowhere. It is located almost directly behind the Central location of the Free Library of Philadelphia.