Creative Licence

Create a “Creative License” for yourself or a famous person. Use the list below for “types” of license, or come up with your own idea. Your License must include the following.

1. Make your image twice the size of an actual drivers license. (7’’ wide, 4 ½ tall)
2. Include the “Type” of License.
3. Name of “User”
4. Date of Birth
5. Address (Real or fictitious)
6. Sex (Male or Female)
7. Eye Color
8. Height
9. Date Issued
10. Signature, we can scan your signature and paste it in or find an actual autograph online.
11. Photo of Licensee
12. Background Art

License to:      kill

                        Drive

                        Wed

                        Grill

                        Maim

                        Fold

                        Cook

                        Roam

                        Publish

                        Shoot on sight!

                        Live

                        Teach

                        Reproduce

Licence to:      To operate a __________

                        Spill

                        Tattoo

Thrill

                        Chill

                        Dream

                        Create

                        Eat

                        Fly

                        Grill

                        Inspire

                        Jam

                        Play

                        Ride a __________

                        Steal

                        Vote   

                        Sin

                        Wear a __________

Vanity Licence Plates

You've purchased your dream car, and its perfect in every way. But something is missing, that personal touch is what you need. How about a vanity plate?

I can't give you the car, but we can create the ultimate licence plate.

The Assignment

Create two vanity licence plates.

The first plate should be a reflection of your personality. Are you an artist or a cheerleader? Have your plate reflect your likes and dislikes. Who are you in 8 or less letters?


Mr. B during the American War for Independence.

Select a famous person and create a licence plate that reflects them.

Hero or Villain?

1. Start by thinking about what message you many want to send to other motorists. Read the Dictionary of Custom License Plate Terms to generate ideas for you plate. Lets keep it clean please!!
2. Create an RGB document that is 6x12" in size.
3. Place guidelines 1/2 inch from each edge.
4. Use the rectangualar markee tool to select the inside rectangle created by the guidelines. Inverse the selection then smooth the selection by 6 pixels. Fill with the color of your choice. Save the selection and use Channel Operations to make the border raised.
5. Type out your plate number/words in Arial Rounded MT. Scale the text, then rasterize it. Use Channel Operations to make it raised.
6. Place an appropriate graphic between your text.
7. Place an appropriate background behind the border. Reduce it's opacity so it won't interfere with the text.
8. Include the State and or Country/Planet.
9. Add a Slogan (ie. I love NY)

Post your two licence plate designs to your blog.

• Write about how your plate reflects your personality.

• Why did you chose the imagery you used?

• Why did you chose a particular famous person?

• How does the imagery and text reflect that person?

My Example:

In my Benidict Arnold plate, I selected an image of the Battle of Saratoga for my background. Most people know that Gates was the commanding general during the battle, but few know that Arnold's actions lead to the American victory. Naturally the location is the "State of Dishonor", Arnold betraying his country by conspiring to give the British plans to West Point.

Surreallism

How many Surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Answer: Fish

Are you confused yet? Surrealism is an art movement that seeks its subject matter from the subconscious mind. The ideas of Sigmund Freud and psychology were the impetus behind the surrealist movement. Often artists would use the idea of spontaneous suggestion to drag subconscious imagery from their minds.

Your Assignment is to create a Surrealistic Image.

Process

1. In order to collect your images in a spontaneous manner, try word association. Pick a subject and select an image. What subject does that bring to mind?  Pick another image. Make a small collection of images for this project. (Create a new directory to save your images).
2. Using the same blending techniques as your Photo Montage, merge your images together to create your Surrealistic image. 
3. Think carefully about the organization and placement of the images. How is your composition balanced?
4. Make sure there is  a particular Point of Emphasis.
5. Post your image to your blog and comment on the underlying meaning of your imagery.

I'm in a Painting

Asignment:

Now that your have successfully completed your "Me and a Famous Person" image, we'll take it to the next level. This time you must place yourself in a famous painting. I feel right at home in Grant Wood's American Gothic. Ain't my wife purty?

• Post your image to your blog and write a couple of sentences about your artist and the image that you selected.

A Couple of Thoughts: 

This is very similar to the last project with the exception of adding a bit of texture to your face. Try using Grain or Noise Filters.  Don't forget to manipulate the Color Balance.

Me and a Famous Person

Mr. B and Jimmy

Assignment:

Back in the day I ran with some interesting people. Here I am with my buddy Jimmy.  He was kind of on the edge, if you know what I mean. Seriously, we all have some famous person we would like to meet, maybe even the President. Using Layer Control and the judicious use of the Eraser Tool place yourself in photograph with a famous person.

Procedure:

1. Select a famous person and search for a photograph that you can insert yourself into. (Make sure you pick as large an image as possible.)
2. Determine the position/angle of the face you are replacing. I'll take your photo and download it to the Boccini directory in the Student Commons.
3. Consider the best way to merge your face into the image. You can place your image between two layers of the original photograph and erase the top image revealing your face. Another tactic is to use the Lasso Tool to select your most important features and place them on the face of another person. Make sure your "feather" your selection.
4. Use Image/Adjustments/Color Balance to match your skin tones to that of the other photograph.
5. Print out your image and place in the folder.
6. Blog your image and write a few comments about why you selected your famous person.

A Few Thoughts:

In concept, this is an easy project. Application is another story! Matching your eyes, nose and mouth positions to the "host" image is extremely important to your success. (Scaling) Your position must match the position of the person in the original photo! 

Photo Montage

When you look closely at Photoshop, you can see evidence of past chemical photographic processes. Photoshop is, in effect, a digital darkroom. Having been weaned on old school film photography, I always amazed at how easy it now is to create and manipulate photographic images. My Fort Montgomery photo montage would have been nearly impossible to create when I was in high school. This type of image was often created by illustrators, not photographers.

Assignment:

Your "Photo Montage" will include a large background image and three auxiliary images.Your images should be interrelated in some way. My theme about the American War for Independence should be obvious.

Process:

1. Decide on a theme.
2. Collect images. Make sure your background image is a large file. It's always better that you begin with large images in order to achieve crisp results.
3. Blend the images together using the Gradient Tool with Quick Mask. Minor manipulation can be accomplished using feathered brushes and the Eraser Tool.
4. Use the Text Tool to include a line of basic text. Select a Font that reflects your theme. I've used Poor Richard because of it's 18th Century flavor.
5. Print image and place in folder for evaluation.
6. Post your image on your blog.