GRAPHIC ARTS . . . Stepping into a painting!

Part of the magic of Adobe Photoshop is the ability to merge two images together and make it look like one image. Back in the day before computers, to remove part of a photograph we simply cut the photo with a pair of scissors. To attach one photo to another, we used glue or tape. But, today, with computer technology, we can now remove any part of a digital photograph, and place it over another image, joining the two seamlessly.

Lower School graphic artists learned how to merge images just that way with this project. Each artist selected a famous painting and then posed for a picture that would make sense if they became part of the painting.

To merge the two images together, students first opened their famous painting in Adobe Photoshop. This image became the background for the project. Next, we opened and selected the posed photograph. By copying the photo and pasting it over the painting, we created a new layer. Separate layers help us alter parts of one image without changing the other layers. We learned how to use a lasso tool and the eraser tool to remove the background from the posed photo, revealing the painting underneath. Using other tools, such as the opacity scale and the free transform editing mode, we were able to adjust the size, rotation and position of the photo to align with the painting. Using even more advanced tools, such as artistic filters, we could make the images match in appearance perfectly.

Here are a few examples of our graphic artists stepping into a painting!

GRAPHIC ARTS . . . In "Love" with word sculptures!

In 1964, American artist, Robert Indiana, designed this Love design for the Museum of Modern Art as their Christmas card. The iconic image shows the four letters of the work LOVE stacked together with the letter "O" at a tilt. This same design became an image for a US postage stamp and then as a sculpture in 1970. His sculpted word designs are now on display all over the world. Fascinated with letters and numbers, Robert Indiana is a self-proclaimed "American painter of signs."

As graphic artists, we often look at letters and numbers as an important feature of any design. Each lower school graphic artist selected a four letter word, such as LOVE, that they identified with. Using Adobe Illustrator, we learned how to work with shapes, colors and text to create a colorful design with our words.

Just as Indiana transformed his flat design into sculpted art, we then used the tools in Adobe Illustrator to play around with 3-Dimensional images of our flat designs. In this digital transformation, we learned how to make objects move forward and back in their orientation, so that each part of our 3D design looks like it is supported by the forms underneath. Here are a few wonderful examples of our work...

"COOL"
Designed by Christopher

"FIFI"
Designed by Fiona

"FINN"
Designed by Alexa