Entry Final- Avatar Reflection/Evaluation

Media Arts Yr 9 - Photoshop  – Term 01 2015

Avatar Reflection/Evaluation:

Discuss your feelings about the Mythical Me task:

• Did you enjoy the task?

Yes. I actually really did enjoy the task. This was my first time using photoshop, so everything was new to me. I had some difficulties here and there, where the image either didn’t look right, or the puppet transforming did not work the way I wanted it to work. I also had troubles finding the images that I wanted, but overall, the task was enjoyable as it was both new and challenging. It also allowed me to create different things that I would have never been able to create in real life, either by drawing or actually creating. It let my creativity go wild. I would definitely like to work on a similar task later on in the future.  I am really happy to know that I’ve learnt new techniques on a new software that I’ve never used before.

• How do you think you performed in class overall during the task?

I worked on my photoshop in a consistent effort, but sometimes I chattered too much with my friends on a subject that wasn’t related to the task. Occasionally, I focused too hard on a singular problem, that I forgot about the whole other. I could have asked Mr. Powell more questions as that may have helped me in order to create a better photoshop piece, but I also wanted to try figuring out things by myself. I admit, I could have tried harder in class by searching images at home, but I did not feel the need to, which resulted in me needing to work after school. This, however, did not really affect my personal performance overall, so I didn’t think much of it until now. Overall, I believe that I tried to finish my set goal for the period each lesson, trying to get my piece done step by step instead of rushing it at home. 

• Did you regularly maintain your blog? 

I updated 3 blog entries each weekend and wrote some additional entries whenever I did something out of class time such as after school or the weekend. I believe that my blog was highly maintained as I wrote my progression for each class time. My blog lacks in the photography department as I was at some stages, too focused on my task rather than on my blog. In the end, instead of taking photos step by step like some people did, I decided to explain what I did through pictures, I decided to explain my progression through words. In some entries, I tried (keyword “tried”) to put step by step photos, but it did not work out for me in the end. Additionally, whenever I forgot to take photos of my progression of the day and save it to my USB, I would take photos at home with my other laptop that had photoshop installed. 

• Did you work effectively at home?

I worked at home whenever I felt behind class work or whenever I wanted to. Thankfully, I already had a copy of Photoshop CS5 downloaded onto my other computer, which was super helpful whenever I forgot to bring in a signed form for borrowing school laptops. At home, I also had a specific goal to fulfil instead of working and then stopping randomly. This, I think, helped me on improving my time management and organisation as I knew that I was not behind work that I strategically time-tabled. I usually worked around 30 mins to 50 mins at home. I worked at home about 5 times during the course of this unit. 

• Are you satisfied with the final result?

For my first time in photoshop, I am more than satisfied with the final piece that I created.  If I had more time, I would really love to fix the blue soul that I’m eating, as it does not blend well with the whole image. On the other hand, it kind of draws the attention towards it, just like a focal point, drawing the people that may see the movie poster towards the concept, which is kind of the whole point of a movie poster. The only thing that I 100% wish that I could have fixed though are the walls in the background. The image that I had in mind of the background was something along the lines of Han Solo Carbonite, but my walls turned out looking like something out of an old cartoon show where CGI was underdeveloped. 

• Does the completed image look like you imagined?

I added some more stuff to the original image than I had planned and some things did not go the way I wanted it to be. For the adding from the original image, some examples are the fur, the claw and the art doll instead of human. I personally think that I changed it for the better, as it made the whole piece more meaningful and mysterious. As for the did not go the way bit, I am still hungover about the walls. It just did not look right to me. It may be because I’m still “obsessed” with the image I had in mind, but the walls just look fake and rushed. In no way does it look really fake nor rushed in reality, I am exaggerating my words, but sometimes, whenever I look back at my sketches (1st draft), I still like the other idea that I had in mind more. 

• Would like to change any aspects of your image?

I could have used a better image for the face for the background, cause it kind of looks stuck on. I could have also made myself bigger, but the smallness kind of adds on the feeling of me being looked down. In terms of aesthetics, the whole image balances out one another, creating a mysterious yet supernatural feel to it. The blue soul sticks out like a sore thumb, but as I mentioned before, the way it grabs people’s attention kind of sticks the whole piece together like a glue. Maybe next time, I could learn deeper about the world of photoshop and try to develop my skills and techniques to change the flaws that I picked out during the writing of this evaluation and my blogs. 

• If you could start the project again what would you do differently?

Once again, the wall. This time, I would like to request help from Mr. Powell. I would also like to change the soul that I’m consuming into something more realistic. If I’m thinking about changing my whole image upside down, this time, I would like to make the “demon girl” an angel. Instead of her eating the souls, she’ll be putting souls inside people and the whole atmosphere of the image would be bright. She could also be sitting on cushions, something soft and fluffy. This would be like a sequel or a spin-off of my poster. It’d be pretty interesting to construct. 

• Are you pleased with the progress you have made in using Photoshop?

Yes, well I could have done better if I were to be more experienced in this field of work, but as an amateur photoshop “designer”, I’m pleased with the outcome of my photoshop. The things that I would like to fix the most are the walls and the shadowing. I have learnt a lot of techniques, skills and tricks during the course of this unit in Photoshop and I would like to further deepen my knowledge in my free time. I am not pleased with the progress I made in using Photoshop as I feel as if I had not learnt enough. Previously mentioned, it would be nice to work with Photoshop again for an assignment. 

Respond to each of the following dot points (using complete sentences or paragraphs). You should include as much detail as possible in your responses.

• Describe any problems or difficulties you encountered during the creation and editing of your avatar. (These may include; technical difficulties, corrupt or missing files, difficulty with Photoshop tools etc;

The difficulties I faced during the creation and editing of my avatar was the balancing of the features in my photoshop and to make the whole photoshop seem natural. I didn’t want my mystical me to seem unnatural and out of place, just like sticking photos on top of each other, since that wouldn’t really be a “mystical me”. This was incredibly hard as I was a beginner in photoshop, and I had no idea how lightings worked. I had to search through google and get some art light references, and slowly build my knowledge from there. I didn’t have any missing files, not corruption, but I lost my USB cap, which may have resulted in me breaking the USB chip. Sometimes, the photoshop tool did not erase/mask out the parts that I wanted, so at the end of the photoshop unit, I had to go through all my layers to figure out where I had to erase.  

• Did you undertake any additional Photoshop tutorials to help with your project? If so what new skills/techniques did you learn ; 

I did learn the puppet transform tool from the “How to make a cracked skin” tutorial. Other stuff that I mentioned in my journals such as using magic wand and inverting, selecting a place and masking with a paint bucket, decreasing the amount of flow and amplifying shadows were all techniques that I figured out myself during this course of unit. I may be missing some more stuff, but that can be found in my blog entries. 

• Explain how your planning (personality profile, ideas and reflections) helped to  create the avatar in Photoshop;

Before I started out my assignment, I dotted down all the ideas that I wanted to express in my artwork. Some of this included isolation, caged bird, dead bodies, gruesome backstory, maleficent and etc. Since I was the main character of my photoshop work, I reckoned that I should add stuff that expressed me as well, which can be found if you dig deep enough. One of this included the idea of people that came in my life and went out, leaving emotional scars in me. With these ideas, I then started to sketch out how I wanted the image to look in my sketchbook. This design process really helped me throughout the course since I had a reference guide to elaborate and create my own Mythical Me poster. 

• Clarify any time-management issues you encountered during the process and describe the steps you implemented to improve in this area (Did you have your images ready before class? Did you have your USB each lesson? Did you work on the avatar outside of class time?);

I lacked in some areas of time-management skills. I did not have the images ready before class, which is a pretty good idea now that I think of it. This would have saved about 10 mins of each class time, trying to search for the perfect photo. I had my USB each lesson as I tied it onto my lanyard. I lent it to Nadine every lesson as she had her photoshop in my USB. I worked on my avatar outside of class time whenever I felt behind schedule. 

• Discuss whether you undertook sufficient reflection throughout your project. Have you provided enough evidence to support your work? (Look at your blog. Does it reflect a term of work);

My blog reflects my ideology and my design process, but it lacks in terms of “evidence” as I do not have enough photos. This, however, is made up by the progression that I reflected through words. I wrote where I had difficulties in, new tricks I learnt, what I did and why I did it in my blog entries. I believe that this is sufficient enough for an evidence to support my work. 

• List any skills, techniques or tricks you have discovered during the project.

If this is during the project, as in searching for tutorials and figuring out stuff on my own, I discovered a lot more than I expected. Well, first of all, the skills, techniques or tricks that I could come off on top of my head are, paint bucket tool masking, magic wand tool, light effect and inverse masking. I probably learnt a lot more, but I do not remember them all. I also learnt about putting my photoshop onto the desktop before starting my assignments, so that the saving processing quickens. Furthermore, I learnt that while opening the saved file and then ejecting your USB, you can still save it onto your USB after reconnecting it with no damages.