ART 144 Digital

I was a little apprehensive about this project. I have never been graded on my usage of photoshop. I normally use photoshop for my recreational time. I normally use photoshop to manipulate pictures, create logos, or posters. I have never used it specifically for shapes. It was challenging but I enjoyed it.

I started off with a Z because I thought it would give me plenty of negative space. The Z gave me plenty of negative space, too much. I found myself struggling with making the Z look too unequivocal or too equivocal. The Z was easily mistaken as a zing zag by my peers and I did not want that. I also struggled with making it look equivocal because the Z made harsh lines that were hard to manipulate. 

Here is my first Z. I thought it looked too much like a zig zag.

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Here I began using a lowercase z. As I continued to manipulate the Z’s height, I did not like it. I thought it was too equivocal. Yes, it looked like a Z, but I felt like it could be easily mistaken for other things. 

I tried once more and manipulated and warped the Z completely. The was finally equivocal, but it lost its whole shape. Frustrated, I moved on to another shape. 

Next, I tried a Q. Unlike the Z, the Q had more curved lines that would give me flexibility. As I began manipulating the Q’s shapes I realized it looked extremely equivocal with even the slightest notifications. Not many people could tell what it was. I figured it was because the font and moved onto another letter.

I had better luck with the A. I chose it because I thought the plethora of shapes would give me options. I distorted the A so I could use strange shapes. 

Here is the Original A.

I quickly realized the number of shapes was limiting. I struggled making the A unequivocal but original.

Here was my first final.

I reflected and thought it was too repetitive and created more.

I pushed the lines of equivocality. I bent the shapes to create landscapes. I created more images that would be left up to the viewer’s interpretation. I used opacity and shadows to create depth. I also tried different greys to add tone. 

Here is my Final.

The first row of A’s is unequivocal. I hoped they would easily be identified as the letter A without being repetitive. The first A has dark tones that create an ominous theme. The triangle is reflected in the center of the letter and creates a pointy object. It reminds me of a knife. That is the most uneasy picture to look at. It looks ominous and mysterious. The middle top row A looks like a cliff to me. I tried to make it look like a person was contemplating jumping off a cliff. The person cannot see, but the viewer sees, below is the exact same circumstances. So if the person jumps, they will just end up in the same situation. There is no escape. 

In the third photo from the top row, I created upside down A’s in the sides. I liked the parallelism of the A’s in the empty spaces. 

For the equivocal A’s, I tried to push the boundaries of legibility. I tried to create faces and landscapes. 

I also made an Extra below

Next, I chose the letter Y. I thought four shapes was too many to manipulate. Y was my favorite letter. I really enjoyed manipulating it. I was able to play with the opacity and give illusions of a lowercase Y. I played with the warp tool to make the Y look like it was liquid, like a wine glass.

Above were my original y’s, but after some helpful criticism in class, I changed the last Y. The left pointed shape bothered many people because it did not look intentional.

I redid the last y to make it look more intentional.

I left this Y out and chose it as an extra. It was one of my favorites. I liked how it looked like a lowercase y while still remaining equivocal.

Here are my finals Below.

Here is an Extra Y

Here is an extra A. I had fun with the paint bucket and tones on this one