GRAPHIC DESIGN

Basketball Poster 

Junior and Senior Girls Basketball Posters

Grade 12 Communications Technology

Graphic Design

Jessica Taylor

One of our first assignments in the graphic design unit was to create promotional posters for the Junior and Senior Girls Basketball teams, which would be used to promote the upcoming annual PH Classic games.  Our first task was to find a reference image for an action pose that we wanted our models to be in.  We then took their photo using a Nikon D5000 digital camera and Manfratto tripod, ensuring perfect focus, while using manual settings.  A studio flash was used to optimize the light and shadows, giving us a crisp photo for the final product.  I then implemented my photos in Adobe Photoshop CS3, where after adjusting the Brightness/Contrast and Saturation settings, I began work on close-cropping the model.  We posed the models in front of the bluescreen to make editing easier, as well as to avoid background mergers or distractions.  My tablet came in handy for the editing, as I was able to zoom in very close and erase the unwanted background easily pixel-by-pixel.  Harsh edges were softened with the blur tool, and I used a combination of two layer masks with the “dust and scratches filter to smooth and skin impurities, and another with “grain” to bring texture back into the skin.  Once all of the editing was complete, we placed the player into a reday-made template where we added their position, number and name, as well as our own credits.

This project was quite enjoyable for me, and I learned a lot about making sure the photo is the best quality it can be before you begin editing, as there is not much that can be helped for focus or exposure in post production.  It was also important to take into consideration the wishes of the players for the final product, as it is important for them to look their absolute best in these posters.  As well as creating a poster for a player from each team, I also created one for the Head Coach of the Junior Girls team.  These posters were printed on Xerox paper sized 11x17” and put on display for family and friends to see in the “Hall of Heros” before the big game.

Muse Poster

On My Mind

Photography and digital art printed poster 16"x20"

Grade 12 Communications Technology

Jessica Taylor

Fall 2011

           I am inspired by any and all things around me, such as the people and places I meet, and inspiration can strike me at anytime. In this piece, much of my muse came from my trips to London and Paris, as well as New York City, in the past year. Representing this theme are the photos of various landmarks and signs, which hold meaning and memories, that are scattered throughout the image. For example, the images forming “221B” represent the Baker Street address of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character, Sherlock Holmes, while the image of the red bow-tie symbolizes my favourite television series, Doctor Who. This particular piece is a combination of digital art and photography, where the head and hair of the figure is an airbrush painting and the other components are cropped and edited photographs. My personal muse is a combination of moments, places, people and found objects, which I have portrayed by incorporating such things into the nest of hair. Many things are always on my mind, and inspiration can strike at any moment.

Lighting Diagram

Lighting Diagram

Grade 12 Communications Technology

Graphic Design

Jessica Taylor

A smaller assignment we were tasked with was to create a lighting diagram that was to be as accurate as possible to the set up in our classroom.  WE had the choice of working in either Adobe Photoshop or in the drawing program of OpenOffice.  I chose to use my tablet and construct the diagram in Photoshop, as I feel that I have fewer options and less control over what I create in the simpler program.  We were to include elements such as the key and hair lights, bluescreen, reflector, bluescreen lights, and show the setup for an interview.  Therefore, we also had to include the video camera, boom pole and microphone, interviewer and interviewee, as well as he respective crew members. 

To create the diagram, I sketched and labeled my basic layout, making sure that everything was in the correct position for the diagram to be accurate.  Using separate layers for each element, I constructed everything by drawing the shape with the lasso tools, and filled it with the appropriate colours.  For the lights, I constructed one master light, and duplicated that image for the amount that was needed and simply resized and placed them where they needed to be. After the labeling was completed and I had added a legend, I was finished with my diagram.  I enjoyed this project as it was a medium for me to showcase my digital art skills early on in the course, and it was just fun to be creative with!