Layered Frames

Before

After

Steps to create above effect:

1)      Upload picture

2)    Create a new layer, name it layer 1

3)      Click on the dashed rectangle (rectangular marquee tool)

4)      Go up to select, click inverse

5)      Select gradient tool, go up to the top, click to change gradient color

6)      Hold down shift and make a straight line through the picture with the gradient tool. This will make the background fill with the selected color

7)      Go over to the layers panel, you can change opacity, or select soft light or overlay

8)      Then go to the layers panel, select layer one, go up to select. Click inverse

9)      Add another layer named layer 2

10)   Go to edit, stroke, change color to white and 19 pixels, under location select inside,

11)   Hit ctrl and D to deselect

12)   Click on the fx icon found on the layers panel. Click on bevel and emboss

13)   Click on blending options default, move the fill opacity to 0. Click ok

14)   Select the text tool

15)   Type whatever you want and select whatever font and size you want by going to the top tool bar

16)   Position and size as desired

17)   Add a drop shadow to the text by selecting the text layer, going to fx, drop shadow. When the box pops up uncheck “use global light”

18)   Click on layer one, go to the adjustments panel and click on hue and saturation

19)   Click the two little small circles so that the bottom part is the part filled with black

20)   Now you can use the hue adjustment slider to adjust the picture to the color you want. You can also change lightness and saturation

21) Flatten the image and save as a JPEG

Source:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kvT_2osA9k&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1

Reindeer Run Ad

This is an advertisement I created for Team Mercy. It is obvious that it is advertising a walk to raise money for breast cancer awareness. I used several tools to make this ad look better and to help emphasize the overall message of this ad. I used the drop shadow tool on the breast cancer ribbon and on all of the text. This gives the ribbon and text some depth. I also used the inner shadow on some of the text. This helps make the text stand out and makes it pop more. I also used the opacity tool which allows you to change the amount of visibility through your picture. I changed the opacity on my logo so that you could barely see the outline of the breast cancer ribbon. I did this because it shows the outline of the ribbon so that it doesn't look like it just cut off. The next tool I used was the text tool. I added text to my advertisement to let people know what I am advertising. I used the brush tool for the background. This allowed me to add the white snowflakes and stars to the background to make the ad look more decorative. This just makes the ad more appealing to the eyes. I used the move tool to move the text and the logo to make the ad follow the Z pattern. This helps make the ad more effective. I also used the paint bucket tool to fill in the breast cancer ribbon. This made the ribbon stand out more. I used the crop tool to crop my original logo to make it smaller  so that I could insert it on the bottom lower right hand corner of my ad. I also used the resize tool to resize the logo. The last tool I used was the shape tool. I used the shape tool to insert the ribbon on the background.

The audience for this ad is high school students. Since the audience is high school students, I used a lot of bright colors.      

Team Mercy Logo

This logo is advertising the Team Mercy Club. I used these colors not only because they are part of our school colors, but also because they look good together.
The elements I used in this logo help make it look more professional and neat. The first is lines. Lines make the logo look neat, organized, and professional. This makes the logo more appealing to look at.
The next is editing the text. For the Team Mercy title, I added a drop shadow to give it a little more definition to make it stand out more. For the "Jaguars Walk Together" part, I added an outer and inner glow to make that stand out as well. The blue background eliminates the amount of white space in the background. The yellow paw prints stand out because of the bright color. I made sure that the text was in the middle of the logo so that the amount of characters on each side is equal. Also, when drawing the paw prints, I purposely made the ones on the far left larger than the ones on the far right. They gradually decrease in size to add somewhat of a 3-D effect.

It's More Than Just a Pretty Face



Before

After

Looking at my before picture compared to my after picture, there is a major difference! The transformation of this picture is amazing. Before learning how to do all of this, I had no idea that this was possible. It give me a different point of view when I see magazine articles and pictures now. My perspective has changed so much. Before learning all of these techniques, when I saw a edited picture, I didn't always assume that it was edited. Many times, I caught myself thinking "I wish my face was as clear as that" or "I wish I could be that pretty".  After seeing all of the amazing things that can be done on Photoshop, I no longer think that. I know that nobody has perfect skin, nobody looks great every single day, and not everyone has perfect bodies like the editors make it seem.

All of this is an example of how society views physical appearances and body image. No one has the perfect body image, but society tries to portray it as if models and actors do. When someone sees a magazine cover with a supermodel, she has flawless skin, a skinny body, a beautiful smile, white teeth, tan body, etc. The list goes on and on. All of these things seen in a picture are edited. They aren't real and it's not possible to have a perfect body image. Society pushes people to look "perfect". With the thousands of dollars spent on makeup, the thousands of people that try weight loss pills and medicines, and the millions of people that go to the tanning bed on a regular basis, are all examples of people trying to live up to what the society wants to see. Many people focus on body image. They think that if they are tan, tall, skinny, etc., then they will fit in more or be accepted by society. The truth is that every photo seen in a magazine is edited in some way. It isn't real and people shouldn't try so hard to be that beautiful. If you think about it, it really isn't true beauty anyways, all it is is a bunch of editing and using Photoshop.

Two things I think I did good on are fitting my face on the picture and putting on eye makeup. I think this added to the overall effect of the picture. Two things I could have spent more time on are matching my skin color up better and blending the edges of where my face that is cropped on ends.

The Wonders of Photoshop

In computer class, we have spent the last few weeks focusing on Photoshop and elements of photos. In this collage, you can see many of the tools that I have used to edit these pictures. When taking the pictures I used the elements such as simplicity, lines, angles, and the rule of thirds to make sure that I had a good picture to work with. Our assignment was to make a collage of a day in the life of a Mercy student. All of these pictures represent something that I do every day. Below, I am going to explain some of the tools I used when editing these photos and why I used them.

Starting at the top right for the picture of my toothbrush I did a couple things. First I used the lasso tool to select just the toothbrush and toothbrush holder. After that, I changed all of the background that was behind the toothbrush to black so that you can no longer see the shower curtain that was behind it. I used this because the toothbrush stands out more with a black background rather than with stuff in the background.

In the picture next to that one, the editing was much simpler. All I did was flipped the picture so that the mercy student is now on the left side instead of the right side of the picture. I used this because it gave a new look to the picture and helped give the picture a new perspective.

In the far top left picture of the sunrise, I edited out a soccer goal. Right above the trees there was a white pole from a soccer goal, so by using the spot healing brush, I took it out of the picture. I used this to enhance the picture because it looks a lot better without a pole running right through the sky.

In the bottom right picture of my house, I used the combining images tools. I used three different pictures and put them together on Photoshop to create one big picture. This tool is useful because instead of you having to look at a couple different pictures, Photoshop has the tools to combine them and make them one.

In the bottom left picture of the cross, I used the color adjustment tool. This helps lighten, darken, or add a tint of a certain color to the photo. I lightened the picture and also used the dodge tool around the edges which lightens the area that is clicked.

All of these pictures that I have edited are just a few examples of how Photoshop can be used. It enhances the overall look of the picture and helps make a picture more creative and unique. Photoshop has taught me how to correct, fix, crop, rotate, (etc.) my pictures. All of these tools will help me in the future because you never know when you will need to edit a picture!  

Photography

We are studying Photography as our next unit in Computer Graphics class. We have learned about how to take a good picture and about some of the elements that you have to pay attention to. Following is a list of the different elements that I have focused on: The Rule of Thirds, Simplicity, Lines, and Angle. Throughout this blog, I will explain and provide you with examples of each of these.

The first element that I am going to show is Simplicity. Simplicity can sometimes make a photo much better rather than if it had more than one element in the photo. In this picture that is below, the picture is just of a flower. I used the Rule of Thirds when taking this picture which means that the main point and focus of the picture was on one of the intersecting grid lines that appeared on the camera when taking the photo. It can be important that if you want an object to really stand out that the picture is simple.

Can you imagine this picture having a whole classroom in the background? It just would not look the same and the flower would not stand out like it does in this simple picture.

The next element I am going to discuss is Lines. When taking a picture of something that has lines, it is very important to get a good angle. If you take a picture head on verses diagonal, the diagonal picture would have much more dimension to it. I took a picture of lockers to show an example of this. These lockers look much better in this picture than they would if I would have taken a straight on shot of them.

The last element that I am going to discuss is Angle. Angle can totally change the view of the picture. Based on the angle in which the picture is taken, can change whether the object looks larger or smaller than it really is. Angle adds dimension to the photo and gives the viewer a different view. For an example of this, I took a picture of a flower. Instead of taking a picture of the flower straight on, I took a picture of it from the bottom of the flower. It gives the viewer a new perspective of the flower and makes a very interesting picture.

Our Podcast

When writing a blog, it is important to keep in mind the copyright laws. When we made our podcast on Garageband we had to be very careful to insure that we didn't commit copyright infringement. For our introduction and exit song, we only used a short clip of it because the song was not our original work. This is legal because when we bought Garageband, that came with the rights to use the music.
 For our picture we used Picnik to edit and add text to it. This is legal because we used a picture of ourselves and then created an original picture when editing it.

After studying copyright laws, copyright infringement, and piracy, I now know a lot more about what is legal and what isn't. It is okay to download music if you purchase it, but you should only download the music for yourself. It is illegal to download music without paying for it and it's also illegal to download music and then burn it on a cds for all of your friends.

Copyright laws are a good thing. I think that it is important that an artists original work can be protected. I think that everyone should respect the laws. If there is a song online, you should buy it instead of downloading it illegally.

Piracy is such a big issue today because nobody wants to purchase a song if they can get it for free. Many people may purhase a song, but then they break the copyright laws by burning cds for friends. Today, either people do not want to spend the money and buy the songs, or they may just not know the copyright laws.

If someone used my picture or podcast without my permission i would be angry. I do not want other people to use my work unless they ask me first. I think that it is the artists's right to have all control over who uses the work and who doesn't. It is important that if someone wanted to use my podcast or picture that they would ask me first.

This is our graphic that we created as a group. Following is a link to our podcast. Click Here! to hear our podcast now!

Copyright Laws

As class goes on and I learn more and more about copyright laws, my opinion and knowledge of the subject changes. At first, I thought that copyright was simply just a law that stated that you could not copy someones pictures or music. After learning more about copyright, I found out that there is more to it than that.

Copyright is the legal rights of reproduction and distribution of an artist's work. If a work has a copyright law in effect, then you cannot make copies, distribute copies, write sequels of the work, or publicly display or perform without getting permission first. Although copyright laws are strict, there are some times when a work is considered fair use.

In today's world, it is important to know that copyright infringement still goes on. I am going to discuss a case in which Johnny Cash stole lyrics from Gordon Jenkins. Gordon Jenkins had a song on an album called "The Conductor". Johnny Cash then came out with a song that was very similar. When comparing the two, there were instances where Cash had some of the exact words and phrases from Jenkins's original song in his. Although many people may like Johnny Cash and think that he did a better job on the song, this was still not his work and taking it was against the law. Fifteen years after Cash's version of the song was released, Jenkins sued him. This case was going to the courts but then Cash and Jenkins settled the situation out of court which cost Cash thousands of dollars.

In this specific case Johnny Cash was breaking the law. He used lyrics that were made for Gordon Jenkins's song and claimed them to be his original work. In order for a songwriter to have the rights to another artist's songs, they have to get permission. This mistake that Cash made cost him thousands of dollars.

I do think that in this case Johnny Cash got what he deserved. The punishment was a large fine. He stole someones lyrics to use in his song, so I think he should have to pay for it. Hopefully people learned from his mistake and hopefully he will not do it again.

Technology Autobiography

Technology is a wonderful thing if used correctly. It has enhanced my learning experience in many different ways. When I was younger, I had a computer class at least twice a week to learn the basics about computers and how they work. As time went on it became more and more popular for the teachers to use technology in their lesson plans. Smart boards and laptops started to be used more frequently at school. As the technology advances it is now common to have online books for some of my classes. Technology at Mercy helps me keep in contact with my teachers and allows me to check my grades as frequently as I need. Having access to all of these resources makes learning easier. Although technology
is used many ways in the classroom, it is also used outside of the classroom.

Technology is a major influence in today's world. It is used for entertainment and for many work purposes. Many technological jobs are now becoming more popular because of the increased use of technology. Technology is used in almost everything. For entertainment purposes there are websites such as YouTube and Facebook. If you're looking for a job there are helpful websites that assist you in finding one. Technology has changed over the years and will continue changing as new things are made and discovered.

The future is definitely a big thing on many peoples minds. What will technology be like in 10 years? In 20? The answer is that no one really knows. Some people believe that there will be robots doing many jobs that humans are currently doing. Some believe that eventually there won't be any cash money and that currency will all be credit cards. Personally, I believe that there will be more technology made to enhance schools and learning, more phone and computer applications, and overall just many advances in technology. Regardless of the upcoming advances in technology, it will greatly impact education, finance, entertainment, and all other aspects of life.