In order to figure out what exactly this assignment was, because I didn’t really understand I looked at these two blogs (2 separate hyperlinks). I didn’t like how much they covered up the original image so I tried not to do that in my project, but I thought the coffee cup and the candle were a really good idea for this project. I began looking for idea in my room and living room. A friend suggested the lamp, but I didn’t really like that suggestion until I stood on our chair and looked down into the lamp and then I saw the possibilities.

In order to complete this assignment I downloaded several different Windows applications including: Adobe Photoshop Express and Crayola Photo Mix & Mash. However, neither worked very well. Photoshop just did basic filters and the Crayola one had limited color choices unless you payed. So I resorted back to my trusty Paint. I decided to use my touchscreen and stylus to get a more accurate drawing.

The first one I did was a Simon Says board from when you were kids. In case you don’t remember it’s the game when you have to follow the color pattern that lights up and the pattern gets progressively harder and harder.

The next one I made was a playground scene. I originally was just going to have the swing but then I likes the idea of making a secluded world inside of this circle. I also like, what I just noticed, that the girl kind of looks like shes sitting on the edge which would have been a good idea too. As I start writing this up I find a lot of new ideas I could do. Like a bike tire, a trashcan, a barrel/ monkey’s in a barrel.

The last one I did was a mixer mixing brownie batter in a really long bowl haha.

The Process

First I took the picture and opened it with Paint. I had to resize the image in order to make it a decent size. To do this without making the image fuzzy you have to use the resize button not just drag the corner. Then a box appears that looks like this

The numbers always say 100, as it 100% of the size and then you can make it 50% and it will be half the size of the image.After this I began coloring.

In order to color this image I had to zoom in so i could see the lines. I also had to use the dropper tool to copy the color of the wire so I could go over the parts that I colored over with the colors. I used either the paint brush or marker and varried the size depending on the area I was coloring.

I tried to use the dropper to copy the color and cover up the line, however the lamp had a lop of differed shades on it and it made it really hard. So I tried to cut out strips and cover up the line.

This way worked better. In the above image you can see where I selected a rectangle.I then would not move it but just copy it and paste it and then continue pasting and moving to different spots until the line was covered up. After doing this I then also painted over some spots to blend it better.

x Kelsey

Find something in your house. Take a picture. Let your imagination churn. Make as many different augmented versions as you can think of. Help others see what’s in your head.

Coffee. Coffee is always in my house.

I have a touch-screen Dell, so I was able to just draw right on the picture.

First is a cute little smiley. The white foam kind of looked like a beard, so I made a smiley on top!

Second, the color and bubbles made me think about the moon (don’t ask why, I have no idea). So, what if the moon was a coffee cup? I couldn’t find a transparent globe clipart, so I made a makeshift one instead.

Finally, the swirl in the foam made me think of a snail shell. Isn’t he cute? He was probably the easiest to make, I just followed the swirl pattern!

For my first visual assignment this week, I decided to start with the required option, Apophenia. [Find something in your house. Take a picture. Let your imagination churn. Make as many different augmented versions as you can think of. Help others see what’s in your head.] I thought this assignment was a great way to get my feet wet in regards to Visual Assignments, and I’m excited to test my skills on other assignments after this.

So, I decided to take a picture of the candle sitting on my coffee table at home. Fun fact: the scent is pumpkin butter. I brought it out to celebrate the Fall season!! I figured it would be a good start and I could really use my imagination when transforming it. The shape of a circle has so many possibilities! I took the picture on my phone. Here is the original picture:

I transformed the original image 3 different ways, using a free, online photo editor called Pixlr. Because I have a Chromebook, I’m very limited to the kinds of applications I can use, therefore I can’t use Photoshop, but Pixlr has been an adequate substitute. I am still in the search for a stellar program compatible with a Chromebook, so if you know of one, let me know! Anyways, so I used Pixlr and created 3 different images. I will list them below and give the steps to complete the edits/transformations.

THE FLOWER AND THE BEE- Because I’m excited for Fall, but I will greatly miss the warmth and flowers of Spring and Summer.

1. Go to Pixlr (link above).
2. Use Pixlr Express.
3. Upload image from computer, url, etc.
4. For the flower:
   1. Go to Adjustment feature listed at the bottom of your screen.
   2. Then Doodle.
   3. Adjust brush size and color to desired setting.
   4. Get creative!
5. For the grass & bee:
   1. Go to the Stickers feature.
   2. Get creative and pick the stickers of your choosing to decorate/create your new image!
6. When image completed, save and upload to website of your choice. (I uploaded these to my flickr account.

A BLAZING FOURTH OF JULY- The firework effect fit perfectly within the circle of the candle, and the night sky added a great effect. Let’s pretend it’s Fourth of July again and we aren’t slaving away at school!

1. Go to Pixlr (link above).
2. Use Pixlr Express.
3. Upload image from computer, url, etc.
4. For the galaxy/night sky:
   1. Go to Overlay feature listed at the bottom of your screen.
   2. Pick the overlay of your choice and apply the feature to your image.
5. For the fireworks:
   1. Go to the Stickers feature.
   2. Get creative and pick the stickers of your choosing to decorate/create your new image!
6. When image completed, save and upload to website of your choice. (I uploaded these to my flickr account.

AN EXPLOSIVE CAULDRON- This one started as an inspiration of the fire from the candle, and then I thought, why not go all out and make it an intense explosion from some potion/cauldron.

1. Go to Pixlr (link above).
2. Use Pixlr Express.
3. Upload image from computer, url, etc.
4. For the orange/red flames:
   1. Go to Overlay feature listed at the bottom of your screen.
   2. Pick the overlay of your choice and apply the feature to your image.
5. For the green explosion:
   1. Go to the Stickers feature.
   2. Get creative and pick the stickers of your choosing to decorate/create your new image!
6. When image completed, save and upload to website of your choice. (I uploaded these to my flickr account.

Like I said before, I think this assignment was a great way to get comfortable and started with the visual assignments. My creative juices are flowing!

“Find something in your house. Take a picture. Let your imagination churn. Make as many different augmented versions as you can think of. Help others see what’s in your head.”

The final assignment bank I’m tackling this week is also our mandatory one: Apophenia. This one is also worth 3.5 stars, bringing my final total for the week to 10.5 stars out of 8! It took awhile to think of an object that I could turn into many different things, but then I realized a plain white cap would serve as the perfect Tabula Rasa! I grabbed a cap from my medicine cabinet and snapped a quick photo.

From here, I plopped the image into paint and got started. I picked three things I wanted to turn my cap into, the first being a donut. Sugar Shack just opened in Fredericksburg and I’ve been LOVING it, so it was only natural! Everyone loves a glazed donut with sprinkles, so there was no going wrong here. It gave me the opportunity to work with paint for the first time in I don’t know how long, so that was cool! I used the thick brush feature to fill in the colors and the spray paint feature to make the multi-colored sprinkles over the layer of icing.

My next picture is a circular window frame with a view of the outside. I’ve always found windows shaped as circles kind of neat, so I figured this would be a cool thing to draw! I used the same paintbrush feature as with the donut as well as the line drawing feature to get straight window panes.

My final picture is a simple smiley face! I had an old wal-mart ad lying around and thought it would make total sense to turn my circular cap into the famous yellow smiley face that everyone knows! For this image, I used the circle creating feature to get the outlines of the eyes and face. I also made the mouth by creating a circle, filling it in, and then erasing the top half to create a smile.