Choose a photo of anything that you want to make a stencil out of using Photoshop or some other editing software. Using your software, remove the color and make the image appear to be a stencil instead of an actual photo. Take notice of how this changes the focus of the image.
Google has a magic search for all sorts of patent drawings. There is really amazing stuff in there that is both old and new. Find something you really like and turn it into the kind of image you’d have hanging on your wall. That could mean making it look vintage, excising pieces, using it as the source for something totally new.
Take at least three pictures (your own or someone else’s) mash them together into something that makes them more than the sum of their parts, something that would have been impossible in real life. Include the original images so we can see how they build on one another to make your final composition.
Create a Google Presentation “slideshow” of 9-12 images about a journey to somewhere. This may be interpreted literally or mterphorically.
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.
Additional examples are here.
Google Autocomplete is an oracle with strange powers to bring oddities into your life. This assignment asks you to seek out that randomness. Start with a strong phrase (things like “I hate . . .” or “I love . . . ” seem to work well.) and run through the alphabet looking for really odd autocompletes. When you find a good one, screen capture it and create an illustration that represents the search string.
Glitch art is a genre of art based around digital artefacts. A digital artefact is the unexpected result of when a technology breaks. An artefact could be sound of a CD skipping or pixilation on a highly compressed Youtube video. Glitch has been called the “art of the artefact” and stretching the intended use of a device or file.
Selfies are pretty terrible and associated with massive amounts of ego. Take the hubris and arrogance exemplified by Selfies at Funerals and Rich Kids of Instagram and apply them to a historical or literary figure on the eve of an impending disaster.
You can see more examples and get a Photoshop template file here.
Using layers in an image editing program make a time line that tells a story. Tips: make it short and include events that lead up to the main event.
Most likely your backyard has a story to tell. Or perhaps a park nearby will share its secrets. With this assignment take your camera on a photo safari to capture interesting images of a place you frequent. Cull your photos down to the best 5-10 images that when combined will tell a story. Create a slide show and embed it into your blog. Include a written or audio story telling component as well to help flesh out the story for your viewers.
See example at: Bygone Backyard Photo Safari
