Time beyond doubt 

living, energy rising

capture or kill

I didn’t have a physical newspaper or any way to print one out, but I did have the front page of tomorrow’s The Times and a small drawing tablet, so this is my blackout poem. Most of the scribbling is nonsensical, but I tried to draw arrows near “BEYOND” and “rising”, and I tried to draw a monocle around Rishi Sunak’s eye. I was listening to a fantasy audiobook as I did this, which likely influenced my choices, but I imagined a small, dystopian story around this poem about a machine putting down an uprising.

This collage is made up of photos taken one step apart from each other walking into my living room. The main design principal I tried to stick to was the rule of thirds, but much of that was lost in the collage by virtue of what free collage templates are available for ten photos. I’ve included the original photos below for better exhibition.

These photos give a pretty good idea of the room, as well as a bit about the people who use it. It was at first difficult to find different things to photograph each step, but I think I found something visually interesting each time. The color pallet was limited for most of the photos, but there were a few pops of color, and the light sources brightened up largely dull backgrounds.

When I see the opportunity to create a fun and/or nostalgic poster, I jump at the opportunity. I’ve absolutely loved graphic design for years and recently started using Canva to create some professional looking posters. This assignment really spoke to me on a personal level for more than my obsession with graphic design, but also because there was a “camp” I went to every year in high school called Catholic Heart Work Camp that shaped me into the person I am today. It was a religious camp with a lot of worship and connecting with other Catholics my age, which seems to contradict my last statement as I’m no longer religious, but that wasn’t what really stuck with me. What stuck with me, instead, were the memories of bonding with others who wanted to make a difference and then actually going out and making that difference in the lives of those less fortunate than us. We would paint schools, build sheds, do landscaping, and so on for hours and hours each day and it was the most rewarding experience. Regardless of how the work was sometimes intense and backbreaking, you were always accompanied by like-minded new friends, working to restore communities in need. I wanted to create a sleek poster to advertise this, keeping it simple in terms of information but powerful in terms of message and design. Here’s what I came up with and I hope you guys like it!

There’s absolutely no way I was not going to do this assignment at some point. Not only do I love a creative challenge, but I adore pixel art. I’ve done my fair share, but haven’t really shared any of my work with anyone. It’s been a while since I’ve drawn any pixel art, so I figured this would be a good way to potentially get back into it, too. My favorite video game of all time is called Terraria and is completely pixel art, so even more reason to take on this assignment!

As the title suggests, I wanted to take a stab at making pixel art Bob Ross. As he has been a guiding light for our class and a personal hero of mine, I figured it just made sense. My general strategy while creating this was to block out sections of color first to get an idea of where things would be placed on the canvas. Working with only 16×16 pixels was difficult, but it was a challenge that made any details I could work in that much more important. After blocking out the main shapes, I decided to go back in and refine my edges a bit, shaping things out for my detailing later. I blotted in a few colors to mark tree, water, land, and sky positions, rounded out his hair, and touched up the face a bit. Creating a detailed expression at this small of a resolution is difficult, but that’s where slightly different shades of color come in very handy. Dotting around different shades of each color creates a lot of depth and texture, rather than creating awkwardly smooth areas. I did this technique all across the piece and final–we’re done! Though I was able to sum the process up pretty concisely, this took a lot of trial and error, which means a lot of time. Ultimately, I’m very pleased with how it came out. Let me know what you think!

“Good ole’ Forrest Gump. He always manages to find himself at the center of history, and using photo editing software, so can you. Find a historic photograph and place yourself into the scene, just like Forrest Gump.”

Recognize this photo? Yeah, I was there! It was me!

Honestly, doing these kinds of assignments has really improved my visual art skills. It takes quite a bit of skill and knowledge to be able to compose these kinds of photos, and it took me a while to really grasp onto the techniques. At first, I was thinking about doing something tame, kind of like a recent photo of some important political event, but I think that these sorts of photos with VERY powerful people and a teenage girl photoshopped in there with them really got me thinking. Even though it was gonna be a bit harder, I figured that the challenge is good! It’s a great way to learn more and get better at a skill.

“Are you bored with money? Is George looking old and tired? Let’s give him a digital facelift!”

So, I did! Doesn’t it look so much better?

Took me a hot second to make, but it was worth it!

Now, I know what you’re thinking.. “Aisling, why didn’t you just make it look like he got Botox or something? Why’d you have to use your face?” Well, because it’s not as easy! This is definitely more of a challenge, and it adds more to the quality of the media! It shows that I put in more effort AND it’s a lot more funny. Honestly, this week’s assignments have been so much fun. I’d definitely like some more of these visual assignments. Having to fix the lighting, angle, aim, everything, it’s like working on a puzzle. Except it’s actually fun, and the results are more satisfying.

You may have heard of Shadow Fredericksburg? Well, as often happens when someone puts out warnings, others select to ignore them. One stupid soul ventured into this dark realm in the hopes of gaining inspiration for their painting. This is their story.

When Alberto couldn’t focus on his painting due to his neighbors Victoria and Joe, he decided that if they were disruptive and terrible in normal Fredericksburg, they must be picture perfect in Shadow Fredericksburg. Quickly throwing all his belongings into a duffle bag after seeing the news, Alberto tracked down an entranceway and tumbled into Shadow Fredericksburg.

He found his home, and when he knocked on his door, he wasn’t surprised to see his shadow self standing there. Alberto waved cheerfully. His shadow self shut the door in Alberto’s face.

Figuring the man just needed time to warm up to him, Alberto climbed up the side of the house and through an open window. He tumbled into what he could only assume was his shadow’s bedroom (his art room) and stood up, brushing the dust from his pants.

He glanced around and froze in horror when he saw what was sitting on the desk.

No! Perhaps Victoria and Joe were fine in this reality, but he wasn’t. Here he wasn’t a painter. He was a godforsaken writer.

Not wanting to be infected, Alberto escaped the house. He ran down the street, getting as far away from that evil device as he could.

Eventually, in all his running, Alberto stumbled upon a fortune-teller. The woman claimed she could predict one’s future by looking at the meaning of Alberto’s name. (After all, since it doesn’t work here, it must work in the shadow realm.) Now suddenly worried he may one day become an author, Alberto quickly agreed.

Alberto headed inside and sat down at a table. As the fortune-teller pulled out her baby name books to discern his name’s meaning, Alberto’s eyes strayed. He choked back a strangled gasp when he saw what was sitting in the shop’s window.

“Why is there a cat?” Alberto asked worriedly.

The fortune-teller reluctantly looked up from her work. She looked at where Alberto was pointing, and her lips twisted into a fond smile. “That was Maryanna. She was a good cat. The best cat. Of course, I had her stuffed.”

Alberto gulped and pushed himself out of his seat. “Would you look at the time,” he said, and tossing his duffle bag back over his shoulder, he sprinted out.

Having realized the Shadow World was worse than the real world, Alberto wanted to return home. However, he quickly realized he had no idea how to go home.

Bracing himself for the worst, Alberto started the walk over to Victoria’s house. She had to be the only normal person in this universe. She could probably get him back home.

When Alberto knocked on the door, he was greeted by a Victoria, but she wasn’t the Victoria he knew and hated. No, Victoria was dressed up in a rainbow clown outfit. Behind her, someone he vaguely recognized as Joe sipped his tea, staring at a pile of what seemed to be bodies.

“I’m from the real world,” Alberto started.

Victoria tilted her head in confusion. “The real world?”

“Not the shadow world.”

Joe seeming suddenly interested in their conversation, came over. He wrapped his arms around Victoria. “Victoria, dear, I think he means he’s from the Light World.”

Surprised by this sudden affection between the two of them and finding it fairly disgusting, Alberto looked elsewhere in the house. He was alarmed to find pictures of Victoria and Joe everywhere.

“Oh!” Victoria exclaimed. She started feeling around in her countless pockets. Finally, she pulled a key from one and handed it to Alberto. “That should get you home.”

Quickly Alberto snatched the key away from her. He shoved it into the nearest lock. The next thing he knew, there was a glowing light and Alberto was standing by the entrance to the Shadow World.

Alberto rushed home, ignoring the screams coming from Joe’s house, and headed inside. He spent the next three days painting, blocking out the horrible experience before he contacted us.

Now that you have heard a story from a survivor, we hope you avoid the Shadow World.

Assignment-

For Five Frame Story, I had to tell a story using 5 photos. I decided to combine some of my previous stories in order to tell a bigger one.

It was worth 3.5 stars.

Singinnnn in the rain, Im signinnn in the rainnnn

The movie scene I wanted to create was from Singing in the Rain. I remember seeing this movie a while back and I always have thought about dancing and singing in the rain whenever it actually rains. It just seemed like such a fun scene to film and I am always tempted to recreate it. When I saw this assignment I had the perfect excuse to recreate it. I saw the forecast for the week and decided which day I wanted to do it. I was right outside of Eagle Landing and found a lamppost. It was such a cool thing to do and it was really fun to pretend like I was in the movie. I don’t mimic the original exactly but that post was SLICK let me tell ya. I was worried I was gonna slip and bust my ass. Overall I think I did a pretty good job!