VisualAssignments – Digital Mustard

#2 in General a Puffin?? Info in Shadows

July 20, 2015July 19, 2015 by Kathy Onarheim

I started reviewing the footage from the General to find information on what might have been saved when things blew up. I think it was a plan from the start – who to trust?

Looking at the video – I was able to slow it down enough and see the shadows – look at #2 as his shadow reveals!! and there seems to be some invisible fairytale puffins in the room as well.

Background process:

Clipped out frame from The General video
Imported into Photoshop
Deleted background within circle cut out
Used Eliptical marquee tool and rounded out edges of cut out to make it smoother
selected with quick select tool
Select>Modify>Contract 2 pixels
Modify>Refine edge>smooth and contrast
Cleaned up #2 with Select>Modify>Contract>Refine Edges
Added gray background layer to fill hole
Used Rochelle Lockridge”s find of the aristocrat puffin – selected and filled with one color of gray and added noise to create shadow – copied and added to working file
Used Transform>Perspective to create shadow
Added layers with fairy puffins and lowered opacity
Exported and saved as jpeg

AND THEN – my own mind’s critic kicks in! Needed the context of #6 and the setting! So added it in. 🙂 just went back and instead of erasing all in the circle – I lowered the opacity after cutting it out and then futzed with making it fit in the circle.

Village Architecture Mishaps

July 17, 2015 by Kathy Onarheim

I was out walking on my way to a bungalow design session for #7. I was a little concerned as I don’t know who #7 is or what his history is in the village. After taking the hidden shots of different signs in the Village I have been a little on edge not knowing who is a friend, who is a guardian, who is a warder – or if friends have gone to a different side. Perhaps this is how isolation happens? I need to work on making sure it doesn’t overcome – so I walked faster and looked up instead of down to not cause attention and to see what was around.

Being that I look for design, form and function I started looking at the architecture. In assimilation I was taken around and all looked so perfect and maintained. Being out on my own, I found other areas where things were not always perfect. Could these have been experiments or just buildings added on to multiple times?

Take a look – The first is a huge structure – not sure who resides in it.

The second was a dead-end I turned into when trying to find #7’s bungalow. You would think #7 would be right next to #6 – but resident numbers don’t always seem to go in order.

Process: Photos were created as an attempt at VisualAssignments954 where you are to take multiple photos of buildings and splice then together to make a new structure. There were no submissions to this assignment, but it sounded a fit for Summer2015 in Prisoner and in Burgeron106. Using a photo editor – I chose Photoshop. The utterly fantastical portfolio of work created by Jim Kazanjian, was inspirational – but not attainable in these first runs – but do make me want to explore more and try.

The time sucker is finding photos – lots of looking at photos, licenses and rights, quality, parts of buildings, perspective. Color was not an issue as turning them black and white when finished pulls it together.

I wasn’t sure on canvas size either. Doing this again I think I would start with a large canvas to allow for adding and providing enough white space for environment to be added effectively. I was constrained by what I had started.

You need to be in the mood for lots of manipulations. My strength is not perspective – which seems to be critical. Looking and using flips of pictures helps. The Warp feature in Photoshop became more useful than scale and skew or perspective.

It was fun and I certainly think I would do again. The discussion boards for the artist argue over if this is art, is it photography etc. Nothing I was really interested in getting involved with as an opinion. It is what it is.

Vintage style TV shows visitors the Village

July 15, 2015 by Kathy Onarheim

I was sent to a resident bungalow this week to help in creating a new arrangement for the occupant.

First priming and painting were done first. The resident decided on Rye Grass green for wall color – it reminded him of when he was a child and felt like all the cares in his world were lifted by laying in the grass.

In order to conform he needed to have a TV installed. Keeping with the vintage style it was built in to a space and has a retro feel about it. The lion planters are add as decor.

When testing the TV stations it seemed I was able to get an outside signal. Gnomes kept showing up on different channels. I am not sure how I got the signal – but there must be some information in the programming that is running. Either that or as I was teleporting some of them were in the tele-porter with me and are now residents in the Village too!

Be careful – these Gnomes are not usually able to be seen and now they are broadcasting n the Village! Must be some information that needs to be sleuthed.

Seeing Forest Folk x7!

July 15, 2015 by Kathy Onarheim

Icelandic Week at the Bovine County Fairy Tale Festival seems to be causing multiple sightings of wee forest folk! Cousin Ron has hinted that we are not alone in Bovine County – but I am seeing more elves, fairies, and gnomes than terrestrial beings so far.

This is a visual assignment from the ds106 assignment bank. Multiply Yourself. I decided to multiply a Gnome named Boo (wonder if he is related or knows MamaBoo?) He is a playful guy popping out of the garden with a hearty laugh.

I had to set the scene. Set the camera on a tripod so it wouldn’t move and then place Boo in different places. Since he is a little stiff – I could only pose him at different angles of direction and depth from the camera.

After getting some shots, I uploaded to Photoshop and loaded them as a stack so that they all went into the same project file and at the same size.

From there it was selecting one as a base and then using the selection tools to cut Boo out and then cut the backgrounds placing him with the base photo in place. Since he is mostly in the foreground there was not as much detail in layering needed.

Another reason for choosing this assignment was to see how it might be useful in creating a fairy garden tour….still have that on my mind and bubbling.

I think I might teleport over to the Village and see if any of the forest folk have been in the gardens….

Picture Perfect Day

February 2, 2015 by Kathy Onarheim

Plan your perfect day. Use either pictures you have taken, ones you draw, or ones from another source. Outline what it would be first with a schedule and then add the pictures with more specific details of what would be occurring.

My day would start out with sleeping in (until 8am) and rising to a perfect temperature and sunny skies. I would think about some exercise – but only if it would really feel energizing and to get me started for the day’s adventures. I would want to spend some time outside in the morning before temperatures got to be too high – but with a leisurely activity like taking my camera to Monches Farms for a garden walk or going to Pewaukee Lake.

My picture perfect day would include being with family. Laughing, storytelling and catching up. And with us all together at the same time – it would of course involve having a turtle sundae! Heading on out and finding some second hand stores or antique stores to stroll through would be an afternoon activity that would lead into coming home and seeing Jaxin and Sam – maybe Teddy too for some unconditional love.

By then I would be exhausted, but in a good way. Early evening would then be some adult beverages and some elegant finger foods sitting on the deck looking at the meadow and yard as we sit and remember the day and look forward to planning the next adventure.