Jessica Gonzalez: final post: fair poster

Created working document; 8 inch width, 6 inch height. 72 dpi.

I used the rule of thirds shape to create a layout on my document.

I used a second rule of thirds shape to find the center area for my type in the top third of my document.

I used the paths tool and drew two lines for my text (following the lines on my second grid shape on the top third of my document. After creating my text layers and sizing them to my liking I rasterized and merged the type layers into one layer.

Here is a snap shot of my rule of thirds to get a better idea of what I was trying to explain

(Obviously I ended up changing the title of my fair in the poster because I thought I was going to include the ribbon in my image, which I didn't)

Opened ferris_wheel2.psd

sharpen amount 50, radius 1.0
added a curves adjustment layer moved center point to lower right, to increase vibrancy in color
added a levels adjustment layer, moved right, white, slider toward center to brighten image.
Flatten image and dragged it into working layer. rename layer ferris wheel.

I added a drop shadow to my type layer, with a depth of 5 px and 75% opacity.

On my background layer, I added the clouds filter with the color blue sampled from the sky of the ferris wheel layer.

Opened roundup_ride.psd

sharpen amount 50, radius 1.0
added a curves adjustment layer moved center point to lower right, to increase vibrancy in color
added a levels adjustment layer, moved right, white, slider toward center to brighten image. Rename layer round up.

From bridge, dragged produce.psd to working layer, used the quick selection tool & magnetic lasso tool to select the background, refined edge: 1 px, smooth: 1. Removed background­­ from layer.

Opened candy_stand.psd
Sharpen, Amount 50, radius 1.0
dragged a copy of curves and adjustment layer from roundup_ride.psd.
used CTRK+T and -100%width to flip the layer.
next I used the polygonal lasso tool to selected each of the text area of the image individually, copied each to its own layer and used free transform to flip them, again to place the words on the building so they aren't mirror imaged. I also used the transform tool to skew the vanishing point of the words so they will look natural. my purpose in this was to place the candy stand in the bottom left corner of the image, and have the cropped side of the building at the edge of the image.

I arranged the layers and changed the size till I liked the composition.
Then I removed the background from each layer using the quick selection tool and refined the selection with the refinement mask.

To create a more realistic composition I added lens blur to the background layers:
round up layer > Lens blur, radius 4
ferris wheel layer > lens blur, radius 4

I deleted my rule of thirds shape layers.

Opened pig_show.psd

Removed background with the quick selection refined the edges to selection.
Converted background to layer. Inverse the selection and cut the background. Dragged layer to working document. I followed the same procedure with the sheep.psd and arranged them between the letters in the work fair.

Lastly, I opened the produce.psd and removed the background from the image as i did with the sheep and pig, I followed the same procedure, took the layer into my working document. I resized and duplicated the layer and arranged them one in each corner.

13-final erica wells

I used the Ferris wheel as the background. I changed the size to 6"x8". I used the quick selection tools to cut out the ticket booth, candy stand, pig and sheep. Then I placed everything where I wanted them. I used the history brush tool on the roundup so the ferris wheel would show through. I flipped the pig horizontally so he'd be facing the right way. Then I added the type. Changed the font and size and added the arch text warp.

K Boeckman Final Project - State Fair Poster

I used the roundup, pig, candy stand, ferris wheel, ticket booth, sheep, and produce images for my poster.

1. Roundup - adjusted levels, exposure, and applied the unsharp mask. Selected the roundup, copied, and pasted into my main .psd file. Used the dissolve blending mode.
2. Pig - adjusted levels and exposure and applied unsharp mask. Selected the pig from the image, copied, and pasted into my main .psd file. Hid other layers and performed puppet warp on the pig so that it looked like it was standing on back feet. Also used transform/scale and transform/rotate as needed.
3. Candy stand - adjusted levels and applied unsharp mask. Selected the stand from the image and used edit/copy and edit/paste to bring into my main file. Transformed to scale, and used the normal blending mode.
4. Moved the pig so that it looked like it was standing next to and looking into the candy stand.
   
5. Ferris wheel - adjusted levels and exposure. Selected ferris wheel from image, copied and pasted into main image. Used dissolve blending mode.
6. Ticket booth - adjusted levels and exposure and applied unsharp mask. Selected, copied, and pasted into main file. Transformed to scale. Used normal blending mode.
7. Sheep - Adjusted levels, exposure, curves, and applied unsharp mask. Selected, copied, and pasted into main file, and placed atop ticket booth. Transform/scale. Used normal blending mode. Applied drop shadow and outer glow.
8. Produce/ribbon - Adjusted levels. Selected, copied, and pasted into main file. Transform/scale and transform/rotate. Applied gradient mask using the transparent to foreground gradient mask option.
9. Background layer: used gradient fill, with the foreground and background colors picked from the ferris wheel sky colors using the eyedropper.
10. New layer above background layer: drew vector shape for a foreground fill, and filled it with black. Used dissolve blending mode for the layer.
    
11. New layer. Drew a cone shape, did a pattern fill with the waffle pattern. Applied drop shado and emboss layer styles. Emboss: 72% opacity, chisel soft, 8 px size, 7 px softening, anti-aliased.
12. New layer. Drew a circle with the custom shape tool. Filled it with an off white color. Applied drop shadow and emboss layer styles. (Emboss settings same as for the cone shape layer above.)
    
13. New layer. Type tool, Cooper Black font, orange color, 1px stroke layer style (dark red): list of fair food.
14. New layer. Drew path with pen tool. Used type tool to type "Fill up on Fun at the Fair" on the path. Cooper Black font, red color. Adjusted curve of path and font size until it looked the way I wanted. Added drop shadow, outer glow (yellow), and bevel and emboss (inner bevel, smooth, with yellow highlight and black shadow) layer styles.
15. Hid all the layers except the ferris wheel. Selected the stand and crowd at the bottom of the image. Copied and pasted into a new layer, and moved this selection to the bottom of the image.
    
16. Duplicated the crowd layer, erased the stand from the right, then duplicated five more times. Used these duplicate layers as fill for the bottom of the poster around, behind, and in front of other elements to tie them together.
    

Angelesa Ward - Final

Well here we go. So for the main part of my poster I chose the Roundup Ride as my background, but the image was short. So I created more sky. =) I sampled close to the top of the sky and painted on the background. Then I took the clone stamp and carefully gave it the texture of the rest of the sky. Blur, blur, blur and more blur. I sponged the lights on the ride to make them a little more vibrant in the twilight sky, and then did more blur on the sky. Just cuz.

Next I carefully cut out the top of the ticket booth from that picture and inserted it in the corner. I didn't mess with the lighting because it's obvious they were taken around the same time of day, in the same lighting, here in Fairbanks. I like how it just blends in and looks like it really lives in front of that ride.

Next I grabbed the Ferris wheel image. I at first attempted cutting it out carefully to put behind the Roundup ride, as like a layered ride look, but didn't like how it was turning out. Plus snagging the supports in between the cars was nigh on impossible. So I settled for inserting it in the corner, and ended up liking the small tiled picture effect better. Gave it a drop shadow and moved on.

I wanted to continue with the tiled pictures, so I chose the produce, lamb, and pig and did the same with them.

Next I used the text tool 3 separate times to write in "80th annual" "Tanana Valley State Fair" and "August 5-13, 2011". I added a drop shadow to each but it needed more. I experimented with making the type different colors and didn't think it popped enough. I ended up adding a slight outer glow of hot pink to all of them and I like the final effect. I also sharpened the pig. Forgot til now, hehe.

As far as my decision to leave the sky as it was, not brighten it, but in fact darkening it, I didn't feel right about trying to give it a false sky. This is my favorite fair in the world (I've been to more than a few) and I love going to it. It always is cloudy and rainy (If it's not raining, it's not the fair) and I remember this sky at the fair since my first one in 1984. I believe that is part of the charm, and so it stays.

Hope you like my poster. I had fun in this class learning all about PhotoShop, and seeing the different creative views of my classmates. Thank you. =)

Angelesa Ward - Tips

Tips for using Photoshop:

1. Always always always work on a copy, never the original. If you completely bork it, you can always just close it and go get a new copy.

2. Take better notes of what steps I take, and what settings I use. Especially for the filters, curves, and hue/saturation. Sometimes I spend a lot of time trying to recreate something awesome I did and then messed up.

3. Be patient, but also, be mindful that this is engrossing. Set an alarm to stand up and walk around occasionally, cuz otherwise your knees will scream!

4. Don't be afraid to experiment. There are a TON of different things you can do in this program. I feel like I've only barely scraped the top layer off. I look forward to going back thru the book at my leisure, and playing with different files using their tips. I'm also interested in possibly finding another book with more advanced tips.

5. Save often, but with separate names. I've learned to change the name as I go so that I can go back to previous incarnations. On a similar note, remember the history bar is RIGHT THERE and don't forget to use it.

6. Keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts. I have never had such a fine and acute love for CTL + c, CTL + v, and CTL + x. And my new favorite, CTL + z. <3

7. When experimenting, make layers so you don't screw up previous work.

8. If something is going horribly wrong, walk away. Come back with a fresh eye later and see what can be done to improve matters.

9. Practice! Practice! Practice! Just in the short time of this course I've gotten better at some of the tools. Looking back at what I thought was "good" I cringe. And I'm sure at this time next year, I'll look back to now and cringe. =D

10. Remember that there is more than one kind of selection tool, and that its easy to switch between them. Don't get stuck in one mode and forget that there may be an easier way.

Angelesa Ward - Filters

For the Ferris wheel I dabbled with trying to make it look like a ferris wheel looks like for me at night without my glasses, but Photoshop doesn't have a "blind as a bat" filter. I ended up going with the Brushstrokes filter - Accented Edges. I like how it brings up and highlights the glow from the neon, yet leaves the twilight sky alone for the most part. It's a stylized feel that makes me wish the fair hadn't ended yesterday. =( There's always Palmer, I suppose.












For the locomotive I was trying to find something that would give a feel of being hand drawn/painted, as if this was before colored photographs (despite the number of stars on the flags, shhh!). I experimented with a lot of the different Brushstroke options before settling on Artistic - Rough Pastels. I then tweaked the stroke size and such til I got the feel I was going for. I like that its just smudged enough to give a clear look at the locomotive, but not how many stars are on the flags. =D













For the berries, I wanted a painted feel, but like you might do if you spent the afternoon in the woods painting berries. I again fiddled with a lot of options before settling on one I like. I chose the Artistic - Dry brush filter, and adjusted the brush size to 8, the brush detail to 10, and left the texture at 1. I like the feel of it. If I were able to paint with any kind of skill, I feel this is how I'd approach this subject. No harsh lines, but capturing the color and beauty of the berries in their native environment.

Angelesa Ward - Color Corrections

For this image, the first thing I tried was adding a levels adjustment layer. I used the black eyedropper on the inside of the pants leg on the gentleman on the right, and the white eye dropper alternately on the baby's outfit, and the whitewalls of the tires. On the whole, that made the image significantly better, but I could still see a red cast in the men's faces. I tried using different hues, playing with color saturation, multiplying the layer and going to about 16%, adding a screen at about 22%, etc, and NOTHING looked right to me. I ended up with a mulitplied layer at 16%, because of all the tweaking, it looked the best. I desperately wanted to have them have a rosier look, and I wanted the car to be the true mint green I know it is, but I just couldn't get it to work.