UNIVERSITY | Using gradient and layers in photoshop

I'm sure i've said it once but i'm going to say it again - Monday mornings are really not too bad when you have CAD class. Infact I have been really enjoying it so far.

As part of a project I have been working on for my professional practice module I have been using my skills from my CAD lesson's to create digital art for that project. In last monday's lesson I used scanned in drawings from my sketchbook, I explored with the gradient tool, layers, hue/saturation and filters to create a blended collaged effect which can be printed out as samples for my project.

Learning Filters In Photoshop

Hey everybody, Welcome back to my blog. 

Since I started university I have become quite obsessed with photoshop, Every Monday morning I have a 3 hour CAD lesson learning different skills, Yesterday I learnt how to use filters in photoshop. I have also wrote blog posts on different photoshop skills I have gained, You can find these linked below.

Photoshop Improvements

Photoshop Mixer Brush and Layering

Learning Photoshop

Photoshop Improvements | UNIVERSITY

This morning started off with a CAD class, Which is probably one of the better ways to start a Monday morning. I learnt how to scan things into the mac and use photoshop to change the image and to draw over it. I really enjoyed doing this and it is something I can do at home as I have a scanner and I just bought a new Wacom Bamboo!! So exciting!

Using two photo's I scanned in from my sketchbook I layered them up and used one for my background and one as a starting point to build upon.

Using layers I made my image more sketchy and added colour.

Opening the same image as the background layer in another tab I copied and pasted some bits of it to add it to another layer on top of this creation to bring some life to the foreground.

I then experimented with brushes and colours to make my creation a little more unique and colourful.

After adding more colours and textured brushes I felt like I had completed my creation. I really enjoyed creating this and feel like every time I have a session in photoshop I learn more and more skills which I can put into practice both at university and at home. 

Thanks for reading!

Photoshop | Mixer Brush and Layering

Today, just like every monday morning I had my professional practice digital skills class which is such a good way to start off a Monday morning.

Todays lesson was about learning the mixer brush and creating layers. As I am still quite shy with the wacom as today was only the second day using it, The first task was to do a simple 15min drawing to get used to the wacom again. This was pretty simple and this was my outcome...

I decided to use my sketches of leaves from my sketchbook to inspire my drawings in photoshop. I used multiple brushes and also used different sizes. I used different tones of green to create a bit of depth and dimension. To improve on this I would work faster as I ran out of time and did not get to finish off during this task.

The second task was to use the mixer brush, We was given about 20-30 mins to experiment with the mixer brush, using different brushes and sizes to create different textures. Here is my outcome...

I am really happy with the outcome of this task, As it is now Autumn the leaves at the trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park were getting more crunchy and brown, So I tried to incorporate that into my drawing although I didn't want to ruin it as I had not learnt that many skills yet and did not know what the best way to make it look crunchy was. The brown I added and smudged with the mixer brush creates the effect of the leaves blowing in the wind. I also used the mixer brush to soften up the edges. 

The final task was to work with layer's... Which seemed scary at first as it's coping with more than one thing at a time. At first I did get a little confused and end up drawing the wrong things on the wrong layers accidentally however I got the hang of it in the end and this was my outcome...

I am so please with this as my first attempt at layers. I tried to do a different texture on each leaf by using different brushes and mark making techniques. To improve on this I would spend a little more time on each leaf to make it more blended and not as harsh, I would also create more leafs so their isn't so much white, I would also add more browns and oranges to the colour pallet too. But I am happy with my first attempt.

In conclusion I am really please with todays digital skills lesson and am learning new things every lesson which is great. These skills are transferable through the textiles industry and are also good skills for myself to learn for the future for designing prints and such. 

Thank you for reading!

Becca

Professional Practice - Learning Photoshop

This mornings lesson in professional practice was an introduction to the textile specialist mac suite. After having an introduction and a little chat about health and safety in the mac suite, I got to have my first ever play around with photoshop using a Wacom which I was super excited about, It felt really professional (hence the name of the module.) The reason to learning how to use photo shop with the Wacom is to get us used to the standard of the industry for our placement year. 

Using our observational drawings from the sculpture park to take inspiration from we set of to using a simple brush to recreate our observational drawing virtually, This seemed weird at first as I was not used to using the Wacom. I had 5 minutes to quickly draw the observational drawing inspired piece. I chose to use this picture for inspiration...

Picture by me (Yorkshire Sculpture Park)

5 min drawing (photoshop using Wacom)

This is what my 5 minute drawing came out like, I decided to use purple as it is my favourite colour. I am happy with the outcome of this piece of work and after I had completed this 5 minute piece of work I already started feeling more comfortable with the Wacom.

The next task was to do a 15 minute piece of work, exploring and experimenting with different brushes. Using the same colour but different tones of it. I took advantage of this and attempted to try create some texture and shading.

I am so pleased with the outcome of this, Although I did not complete the task. I really enjoyed experimenting with different brushes to get different textures which I tried to keep relevant to the picture I chose to draw from.  If I was to do this task again I would try to finish it on time and also erase the outlines which I used as a guideline.

The next task was a final 5 minute task, I had to fill my foreground with a colour - I stuck with purple and use the eraser to take away the colour rather than drawing on the colour, and to also experiment with the lines and shading.

This task was my least favourite as I could not get used to the pressure sensitive Wacom to create shading and lighter/darker lines. This is something I will practice more in future lessons and hopefully if I get my own mini Wacom.

I really enjoyed todays Professional Practise lesson. To improve for next lesson i need to: Manage my time when given timed task's and Improve on my shading and pressure sensitivity skills.

Thank you for reading!