Package Project- Avatar

This project was hoping to achieve the goal of designing some form of box or package of some form that was designed in the manor of visually depicting a word. The word chosen, in my case, was "Avatar", which in Hinduism means "a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; in incarnate divine teacher." After much more careful research- on wikipedia, mind you- it has been revealed to me that the most used or seen avatars in Hindu stories are those (usually ten, sometimes nine) of Vishnu, the Divine Preserver of life. At times where his holy assistance was required, Vishnu would consign to the world an avatar of his own person, taking different and alien forms depending on the need. For example, when the Manu (it's sorta the Jesus of Hinduism, he's like the first man or something) was in danger of the deluge, Vishnu set his avatar Matsya (who took the form of a fish) to save the Manu.
In any sense, this parcel, taking the form of a pyramid-like shape, is decorated on its exterior with different avatars of Vishnu. The color scheme is a rectangle, consisting of orange, red, blue, and green (there are shades in-between also shown). This top image depicts the box as seen when folded up, in a casual view.





This image here depicts the shape as seen from above, where it can be noticed that, across the hands that hold the pyramid together, are inscribed the seven symbols of the Chakras of the human soul- more on that later.

This image shows the bottom of the pyramid, in which the word "Avatar" is spelled out in a font resembling sanskrit. Also seen is a piece of art depicting Brahma, with all of the other avatars, including the Trimurti.

This image depicts the inside of the box. Seen is a similar color pattern as the outside of the box, but inside is, rather than the external representations of a God, the seven chakras of the human soul. Each chakra represents a different feeling or sense, and while separate they are different pieces, together they form the human soul. Also included are two doors seen in the middle of the box, depicting Brahma- the creator in Hinduism.

And seen in this final image is the open doors of the interior, which now depict Shiva, the destroyer in Hinduism. Shiva is well known for her cosmic dance that brings about and destroys all. There's some symbolism here, I just know it.

Bag/Box Paper Folding Project- Avatar

The word that I have (semi-arbritrarily) chosen for the bag/box folding project is the word avatar- in Hinduism it means "a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; in incarnate divine teacher."

Typography Poster- Lateralus

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents."

~Howard Phillips Lovecraft

This is the typography poster that was supposed to fulfill the requirement of creating a poster chiefly with words that were meant to relay a certain message. The color scheme I used was one of a rectangle, containing red, blue, green, and orange/yellow. The fonts used were Times and Systema Encephale.
This piece, simply dubbed "Lateralus", compiles all lyrics from every song of the cerebral celebration of our humanity. The purpose of the poster was to relay a message of "drawing way outside the lines," as Maynard James Keenan sings in the title track, "Lateralus". One purpose of the message is to notice the difference between the image up close and the image from a distance. When observed up close, one will notice that the poster is made up of interconnecting (but not perfectly aligned) puzzle pieces of text. While this fact in and of itself is a reference to the renowned quote "I know the pieces fit" from the single Schism off of the album, it is also, after one gives careful thought, apparent that pieces fitting together is very reminiscent of the human mind itself. There are many separate parts of the human mind, from the compelling frontal lobe to the minuscule pineal gland. This is done for both the showcasing of knowledge of relaying scientific principles of art, as well as relating the speculated origin of the name of the album, Lateralus. The name, as one can easily perceive, is not one common to the tongue of any average person, as it is not part of proper english, so the question is, what is the word?. Naturally, where this mystery there are always those who attempt to solve it. After gathering sources and information, I have come to the conclusion that I believe the name Lateralus is a combination of the name for the part of the brain, the lateral cerebral sulcus. Later- from lateral, -al from cerebral, and -us from sulcus (this idea is not my own, it is a compromise between opposing fan theories). Now the question is, what does the lateral cerebral sulcus do? In short, it is the barrier (or, as some believe, the bridge) between the frontal lobe, which is responsible for processing our sensory information, and temporal lobe, which is responsible for retaining information, or processing our sensory information into derived meanings. So, the lateral sulcus is literally the bridge between our reality and our perception. These are two parts of the brain that aid each other in a certain task of perceiving our reality. This is relayed through the piece in that, when viewed closely, there are specific alternations of text and shapes that seem almost random, but when a step back is taken and the piece is viewed from a distance, everything comes together and forms a shape, an image, a story. How is this not precisely analogous to our mind, to our very humanity?

Another way of relaying the message of the album (something whimsical, celebratory, cerebral) was through scattering the numbers of the fibonacci sequence across the piece, and including multiple examples of spirals. As is known, the fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers beginning with 0 and 1 that increases by adding together the past two numbers in the sequence. This is a profound mathematical concept that is seen everywhere in our universe, as when the sequence is graphed it forms an infinite spiral. In Lateralus, there are many examples of this sequence, from the time signatures of the guitar riff in the intro of Lateralus to the time signatures of the drum beat throughout the entire album (the drummer Danny Carey is a follower of sacred geometry and was thus able to graph out the spirals and drum out the sequence). The one profound way that the band uses the spiral is when lyricist and singer Maynard James Keenan uses the spiral as an archetype of human will and perception (a technique very reminiscent of Jungian psychology, which the band has shown hints of following in earlier albums), and uses the metaphor of the spiral being infinite to imply that human beauty and intelligence is boundless. To relay this as it is in the album, numbers of the fibonacci sequence were, in relative vertical order, scattered about the piece. This leads the eye around the piece once the pattern is noticed, and the discovering of the pattern itself is a rewarding feeling of conquering a mysterious aspect to the piece itself. This was also done through the means of multiple iterations of the spiral across the piece, including in the bottom right hand corner where one is shown being made up of the word "Lateralus", as well as in the top right hand corner and other places where the word "spiral out" has been distorted to form a spiral. 

The resulting imagery is one of constant mystery; there is always some puzzle left to uncover no matter how well one deciphers the piece. At a close glance one will notice the piece is made up of words, and, upon closer inspection and reading of said words, the pieces will seem to come together as one reads. There are multiple pieces to the puzzle that do not include specific words, but also half-ending spirals and numbers. However, if one were to take a step back, one would notice that the entire piece comes together to form one specific image, and the pieces may just come together.

Poster Design

The general idea for my poster is going to relay the message of Tool's masterpiece Lateralus. I am going to use the lyrics of the song to convey the message of going outside of the lines, pushing the envelope, swinging on the spiral, being bewildered. I want the words to hold meanings and the different verses to be aligned well and artfully in a way that expresses the tone, flow, and mood of the song. Words with particular meanings may have effects placed upon them to further convey the message of the individual word. The color scheme I am going to use is rectangular, consisting of red, orange, blue, and green.

Goya Artwork Recreation

This image is intended to reproduce the style of the late 18th century and early 19th century Spanish romantic painter Francisco Goya. Originally the personal painter to and for the royal family of his time period, Goya was thrown into a period of darkness when the Franco-Spanish war broke out, which stayed with the artist until his death. After the war concluded, Goya became deaf of the ear and removed himself from society, living in a cabin on the outskirts of civilization, in which he painted on the walls in his new dark, macabre style that he had adopted. This piece here is a replication of his style at this point in his life, as it holds many of the same colors and general color style that his works at the time did. For comparison, his famous work "Saturn Devouring His Son" is shown below the piece that I created. Notice the similar color and paint blending styles: the actual piece below holds no color but dark brown to red, exactly as mine above, which holds no color save for varying values of brown. Another prime comparison between the two pieces is the heavy reliance and utilization of black as both emphasis and space filling: the black of the trees and the bats of my piece above and the black of Saturn and the background in Goya's piece below. Another way in which my piece is reflective of the styles utilized by Goya is through the general tone/mood of the artwork, which is somber and macabre. The below image is of the Roman Titan Saturn devouring his son (either Pluto or Neptune) upon learning of the prophecy that his sons would usurp him. The image shows signs of a grotesque giant with contorted features and an odd shaped body devouring another human-shaped being. This piece is, for lack of a better term, sp00ky. My piece holds the general idea through its imagery as well. The bottom third of the image is a desolate and destroyed wasteland of what used to be a habitable field, but now ominous smoke rises from it and the branches of trees or bushes lay shattered, bent, gnarled, charred. Above this is a foreboding forest scene, with tall, dark trees shrouding the land around them in darkness as smoke rises from behind them. A swarm of bats are birthed from the darkness and appear to be flying directly towards the viewer. After effects added to the image give it the illusion of being painting using- well, paints, upon a canvassed surface. This gives it a similar visual appearance to what he once actually used to paint upon.

Three Examples of the Work of Francisco de Goya

Witches' Sabbath, 1798

Unas a Otros, 1799

Fear and Folly, 1812

Typography- Relaying Messages Through Text

The first piece is fulfilling the requirements of making something that appears loud using only the word 'loud' and its constituent letters. One way in which this piece accomplishes this goal is through the coloration of the text, which ranges from yellow to red. These 'warm' colors jump out 'loudly' at the viewer. Another way this piece accomplishes the goal is through text size, as the four letters of the word 'loud' are blown up to massive sizes that pop or leap outwards off the page towards the viewer, thus creating a 'loud' appearance. A third way that the piece completes the requirements is through position of lettering, as is seen by the main four letters of 'loud' in their three dimensional rotation and turning to as to make them appear as if they are flying off of the page towards the viewer almost obnoxiously, as well as their position on the page (in the center) draws attention directly to them and holds it on the loudness. A fourth way in which the piece completes the requirements is through the means of the styling of the letters in the foreground, as they are very bold with a high cap hight that makes them appear elongated and bold.  The background is also used to complete the requirements in that the background is composed of the word 'loud' fulfilling the text requirements as well as being the same colors as the larger letters in the foreground, thus adding the 'loud' appearance. The font that was used was Impact, as it seemed to appear the most bold and noticeable, thus being loud.

The second piece is fulfilling the requirement of using only the letters of a word to depict the word's meaning. First, to convey this message I used color, of both the background and the text. I used a deep, dark blue that, as a cool color, naturally instills a sense of calm unto the viewer. So, the color naturally seems calming, soothing, quiet. There's nothing loud or popping out on this picture, it is simply still and calm and quiet, as conveyed by the blue colors. Another way I conveyed this message is through the text's style, which I placed in italics. Normally, the text would appear as if it were simply sitting flat on a piece of paper, which sounds good in theory, though when actually placed on the piece appears too bold. So, italics was used to give the text impression of movement, as well as a distortion applied to it that makes it appear as if it is growing smaller as it whirls away. The italics combined with the distortion make the text appear is if it were being spoken, before quickly fading back away into silence. A fifth way in which the piece relays quietness is through the texts position in the page. Since it is in the bottom corner, it does not draw too much attention on its own like it would if it were in the center. The effect created here is a quiet piece of text that appears as if it is almost hidden and fading away int a field of similar color, all of which are ways in which the text relays its meaning. The font used is times, as it was the most formal in appearance while not being too ostentatious in appearance.

This third piece is fulfilling the requirements of using only the letters of a word to depict the word's meaning. First, to convey the message I used grey to be the color of the text, each one a different shade of it growing lighter as the column ascends. I chose this color because it is the most stable of colors, as it does not have too much color or too much dark. It is a fulcrum of the scale of dark and light, a balance of stability. For this reason, I also used this color for the background fill, which was another way I conveyed the message. A third way I conveyed the message of stability was through the positions or placements of the different iterations of the text: there is one base word with many others stacked atop it. This depiction is similar to that of a stack of rocks, such as that seen below the artwork. It should be duly noted that, if one were to look at the center of the page, one would see that the stack has a centerpiece, starting with the 'B' of the word at the bottom and ending with the 'E' of the word at the top. This gives the piece the illusion of forming around a centerpiece that supports the rest of the structures as if it were a Grecian building being supported by a central pillar. This further enhances the idea of stability in the picture. A fourth way in which I conveyed the message of stability was through the means of altering the size, as the pieces of text progressively get smaller as they progress up the column of stability. A fifth way in which the picture resembles stability is the distortion- or, rather, the lack thereof. While it could be just as aptly argued that the central column is a form of distortion itself if not the fifth characteristic itself, it is important to note that the text itself, unlike the other pieces, bears no distortion and is stock as it should appear. The font used is Arial, as it was stock, professional, and allowed for a more clean match-up of the letters (as seen in the central column).

This fourth piece is representing the idea of something that is active, as can be easily read by the text, and, if the piece is successful in its duty, inferred. One way in which this piece is relaying the idea of something that is active is through the fill of the background, which is a progressive gradient that starts as orange-yellow on the left hand side and becomes a crimson red on the right side. This, using the gradient, makes the eye follow the motion of the colors as it moves from one side of the page to the other, thus relaying something that is active, or in motion. A second way in which I made this piece seem active is through the style of the text, which is in italics (the font used being Myriad Pro). I chose italics specifically because they seem to be leaning over as if each individual letter is in motion, and, as is common knowledge as well as was stated previously, things in motion are active. A third way in which this piece appears active is through the means of the placement of the letters on the page. I made the letters separate from each other, as if they are all in individual motion moving in the same direction. This also provides another visual allusion to fire, as the color scheme and placement of the letters highly resembles fire as it sways or writhes. A fourth way in which this piece gives the message of being active is through distortion of the letters. To create the effect seen on the letters, I applied a radial motion blur to each of them, giving the illusion of them being in motion or spinning, as things that are active or in motion are often blurred from the speed. A fifth and final way in which this image gives off the idea of being active or in motion is the colors. As is apparent, the colors are very warm, for many reasons, chief of which is that it is attention-grabbing, but also because of the basic scientific idea that anything in motion that is moving in opposition to something else will retain heat, and heat is often depicted as something red or orange, such as fire.

The fifth is, needless to announce, representing the idea of 'texture'. One way in which I achieved this was through the background's fill, or- well, texture. To create the texture seen in the background I found an image of wood and placed it underneath a semitransparent black rectangle of the same size. The resulting background is a dark wood, which feeds the idea of there being texture to the image. A second way in which I relayed the message of texture was through the fonts used for the text. The first font, Imprint MT Shadow, naturally appears as if it has texture to it, as it has lines within that represent shadows or other such effects. For the second word I used the font VTKS Worker, as it naturally has a grungy, grimy sort of effects done to it that make it appear as if it has texture. For the third word I used the font Speedy Motel, since it has the lines inside each letter that give it the illusion of being old or worn out, thus relaying the message of texture. A third way in which I relayed the message of texture is through the individual textures overplayed over each word. Each texture is of a different form of wood for each word, which gives variety and is visually pleasing.

The sixth piece, seen here, is, obviously, representing the idea of something that is three dimensional, or 3D. While generally stark in appearance, there are many ways in which this piece represents the idea of being three dimensional, first of all being the font. The font chosen for this piece was Marker Felt, as it gave a two dimensional shape the illusion of appearing three dimensional through the means of appearing as if some lines of the text were thicker and overlapped others. This gives the piece of text itself the illusion of being three dimensional, whether that be directly noticed or subliminal. A second way in which this picture appears three dimensional is because of the distortion of the text, which is most likely the first thing about the text that is seen. Each letter/number of the text has had the three dimensional effect attached to it, creating the illusion seen in the picture of the text coming out from the background towards the viewer. This effect is similar to that of one watching a 3D movie, as it appears that the images are coming out towards you. On the subject of movies, the transition to our third point has presented itself. A third way in which this piece resembles something three dimensional is through the colors; the left hand image is red and the right hand image is blue, which, if one were to think carefully, is the exact configuration of classic 3D glasses used to watch or perceive three dimensional image or movies. A fourth way in which the image appears three dimensional is through the size of the characters; they grow bigger as they progress outwards towards the viewer, as three dimensional images or movies tend to do. A fifth way in which the image resembles the idea of something three dimensional is through the background color/fill which, if one were to notice, is the same color as the trim of the glasses seen below the piece. This makes the piece itself seem as if it is a three dimensional (or two dimensional depending on the mindset) representation of the three dimensional glasses. However, it should be noted that, while the image does appear three dimensional (or, once again, two dimensional, depending on the mindset), it is, in fact, two dimensional, as it is being perceived as being inscribed upon a screen. This two dimensional image is being perceived by both of your eyes which then process each image as separate two dimensional images, which are then mentally stitched together to appear as if it is being perceived on a three dimensional screen (when, in actuality, our eyes do not see in three spatial dimensions, merely two separate images in the second dimension that are stitched together adding the idea of a temporal dimension, which can be correctly perceived as a pseudo-three dimensional experience).

This piece fulfills the requirement of relaying the idea of the meaning of the word 'implied' using only the word itself in that you do not directly look at the image and know the word or its meaning, rather you have to put pieces together and imply it. The first way in which this image relays the idea of being implied is through the color scheme of the letters; where the word begins the letters are dark and they become lighter as they progress through the linear word. This creates a gradient across the image that aides the viewer in uncovering the word. A second way in which this image implies the word 'imply' is by the orientation of the individual letters. If one were to look closely, one would notice that each letter appears in the order of the letters in the word 'implied', though at some points the letters themselves overlap. However, and examples of this can be seen with the 'M', the 'P', and the 'L', while the letters do overlap or appear above or below each other vertically, from a horizontal standpoint it is easy to see that the letters flow from the left to the right in the correct order as seen in the actual word. A third way in which this relays the message of being implied is the background color, which is, quite obviously, plan white. This aides in the developing of the idea of the letters implying the word imply in that the background draws no attention whatsoever from the viewer, and all attention is focused directly on the letters, leading the viewer to the proper conclusion with ease. A fourth way in which this piece relays the idea of something being implied is through the distortion, or, more appropriately, the uniform lack thereof. All the letters are pristine and untampered by any distortion or effect, and while that on its own does not necessarily aid in the development of the of the implied idea, the fact that all the letters share this exact trait gives the piece of sense of uniformity  that aids in the detection of the implied meaning. A fifth and final way this image relays the idea of the word 'implied' actually being implied through the text is through the font (palatino) and the universal lack of any style to the text, as any variance would distract the viewer and make it harder for them to detect the implied meaning.

At first glance, this piece may look as if it is empty, though that is not the case, as it is relaying the message 'camouflaged'. A good place to start is at either the top corners of the image or the bottom corners, as these are where the words are located in their fullest aspect before being torn apart over the bridge form of the blend tool across the page. The definition of camouflaged is to hide or disguise someone or something through the means of altering its outward appearance to match the outward appearance of its surroundings. The resulting effect causes the subject to all but disappear in the place that it is found in, though upon close inspection should be able to be found or seen again. In this piece, one method of relaying this message was through the background fill, or color, the dark green. This background is a dark green such as what is seen on military vehicles as a method of camouflaging, which draws the viewer's attention to this fact and implies the thought of camouflage. A second way in which this piece implies the though of camouflage is through the color of the text itself, ranging just above or just below the color of the background. The result is a nearly hidden text that can only be found upon close inspection, and is eventually found to be very much like in appearance to the background itself. This fulfills the need for the text to be camouflaged. A third way in which I relayed this message was through the distortion of the text, which was made smaller and thinner. Less surface area of the text results in the text being harder to find, thus improving the camouflage capabilities of the text. A fourth way in which this piece relays the message of something being camouflaged is through the bending of the text, as there are two forms of text, one just lighter than the background and one just darker, and when they are blended together they form a subtle gradient from one to the other. This results in a change of values from one piece to another, and, in the middle, the text matching that of the background exactly, completely camouflaging it. A fifth and final way in which this piece fulfills there requirements of relaying the message of something that is camouflaged or hidden is through the means of the text being reversed at one side of the page, or upside down. On the right hand side of the page, the text is flipped upside down, which creates an effect reminiscent of that used in normal camouflage in the army and such, in which there is not a uniformity in the shapes that make it up. 

Font- Presentation

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This is the presentation of the font I created, which I have aptly (at least to me) dubbed Gothic Cathedral, as it bears resemblance to old, gothic, or even victorian typefaces. This dark, almost medieval look is presented with overplayed imagery of the interior of a gothic cathedral, while the exterior of one looms high in the background. These overlaid images suits the name and feel of the text, so I used it to accompany the presentation of the font. For a display of what the font looks like when used, I used the simple clause "The quick brown fox jumped". To ensure that this example is visually pleasing, I overlaid the image of dark, foreboding storm clouds over the text, which matches the mood of the rest of the image as well as the style of the text in general.

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All letters of this font are contrived from the single square-like object in the bottom of the picture above. Each letter has a very similar shape and structure; they all have the same width of each column in the letter. The overall theme is something sort of old, almost runic and stone-like. Eventually I plan to define the shape of the letters more- make the lines smoother with chips taken out so as to appear stone-like, perhaps overlay or mask an image of old or cracked stone. So far this font has progressed from being more free-form, almost Grecian in appearance. Eventually it evolved to bear the uniform square-like appearance that it now has.


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This is a basic dissection of the different parts of the text seen in the font.

Grid and Screenshot Work- Rivendell

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For this piece, I began with only two pictures from the movie The Lord of the Rings found online: the classic head-on view of Rivendell (from Fellowship of the Ring) and the side view (or landscape view) of Edoras (from The Two Towers). The image of Rivendell is the base of the photo, with distorted pictures of Edoras distributed throughout. To create emphasis in this piece while harnessing the power of the grid, I found the city of Rivendell in the image and brought that above the outer landscape. I then copied and pasted this image of the city of Rivendell four times, then used the image trace tool to make them black and white. I then placed these four images behind the city, which makes it stand out more in comparison to the other images on the screen. I created balance in that I placed multiple images (with different opacity settings as well as image trace choices) of the Eye of Sauron over each other, as well as the same technique (with different choices and settings) on the left hand side and upwards to balance out the eye. To make this picture what it was in its essence, I used the screenshot tool on small or large segments of the photo of Rivendell- both capturing images vertically and horizontally, as well as standalone squares or rectangles. To these separate images, I added image trace effects as well as opacity settings to make each one different from the last while still having the illusion of retaining structure. An example of this can be found in the red and blue horizontal vertical lines that can be seen going across the piece; these lines are not just solid colors, but instead have effects on them to retain the images beneath them- with a slight twist. These processes create a diverse and abstract piece that is not what it originally was but has become something new and exciting on its own.

Final Book

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Front shot of the book featuring the cover and pages behind.

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Opened view of the book featuring the artwork on the pages.

The Fence- Analysis

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An analysis of my line work titled "The Fence", highlight focal points, general movement of the piece, and filling as well as labeling negative space.

Text Tool- Swing on the Spiral

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This picture features a (shirtless) singing Maynard James Keenan, lead singer and songwriter of Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. This piece uses an image traced picture of Maynard as the focal point, in which a pattern is applied to the texture of Maynard's skin that features the lyrics to the ending part of Lateralus- in my opinion one of the most lyrically and musically complex segments of any song in existence. Set behind Maynard is a black background with a pattern set over it that features repeated phrases that are memorable in Tool songs; for example: "I will find a center in you", from Sober, as well as "Prying open my third eye" from Third Eye. This background is complex and visually pleasing- it gives your eye more to look for after you've established the basic shapes and ideas. Placed on the bottom of the page is the word "TOOL" with multiple overlapping gradients over it to give the word depth, as well as the lyrics of the ending of Lateralus placed over it. To lead the eye to the focal point of Maynard's face/microphone, I have multiple items of text. Chief among these assisting texts is the spiral that reads "Spiral Out", referencing the repeating phrase in Lateralus that is played while the drum beat is choreographed to the number sequence of the Fibonacci Spiral. Other assisting texts that lead the eye include "Prying open my third eye" in the bottom left leading upwards, "We are eternal" bulging outwards towards Maynard, and "Learn to swim" flowing like water towards Maynard.

Pattern Work- Burn Your Wings

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To create this piece I started with the background, which is composed of an image traced photo of a dragonfly created into a pattern. This pattern was placed on a black square with an 'old paper' effect overlaid over it. With the background in place, I image traced the same dragonfly in a different way to create variety, enlarged this particular dragonfly instead of making it into a pattern, and placed it in the foreground. I placed a multitude of different patterns upon the dragonfly to create variety within its structure and shape. With the dragonfly completed, I then copied and pasted the very same object and applied the 'motion blur' effect to it, which I then placed over the previous dragonfly to create the illusion of flapping wings. From here I crated two sort of towering, pointing shapes in the background with a pattern placed on it that gives it the illusion of being forged from stone. These towering structures point towards the focal point of the page, that will be explained momentarily. To create the back-set of the focal point, I used the blend tool on two triangles, the center most being white and the outermost being a dark shade of grey. I overplayed over this triangular shape a pattern that makes it appear textured and grainy. I then created the focal point: the big words "Burn Your Wings". I used the text tool to create this, as well as an inner glow to give it depth. To fulfill the requirements I overlaid several patterns over each word, using different patterns for each to create variety.

Ceri Williams Artwork

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A piece of art by Ceri Williams. Find more by him at his website.

Gradient Tool- Cognitive Dissonance

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This piece is, by far, the most complex piece that I have created so far, both development-wise as well as presentation of the actual piece. "Cognitive Dissonance" was created using chiefly the gradient tool to create depth and other likewise effects in the piece. Examples of gradients are found in every object, or at least parts thereof. For a focal point in "Cognitive Dissonance" I created an eclipse of a foreign object, presumably some form of large object in the sky (such as the moon or some likewise satelite). This eclipse became the focal point of the piece. To create the effect of the eclipse I used two ellipses, each with a specific gradient. The gradient on the black ellipse is harder to perceive (by design), and flows from a deep black to a lighter grey radially, the lighter gray making up the center of the circle and radiating out into the black of the outline. The glowing object seemingly being eclipsed is an ellipse of a slightly larger size with a very different gradient placed upon it, in which it ranges radially from a white center out to nothing. This creates the glowing effect on the eclipsed object. To add more character or meaning to the eclipse as well as add something to the art piece that creates meaning, I image traced a photograph of the human eye, added a general gradient radiating outwards from a black center to an invisible barrier, and placed this eye on the black foreign object that is eclipsing. Behind this, for the background, I played out an image traced picture of old, weathered paper, with the very same gradient effect as the eye. On top of that I created a series of bars that progress from dark grey to a seeming white using the gradient tool and blend tool. I then took a photograph of a water splash, image traced it, and added gradients to the darker parts to create depth. I then added an outer glow on this image, which then and now resembles a landmass. I used this landmass as a representation of an intermediary between the background (which the bars seem to imprison), and the eclipse with the eye (in which the eclipse is beginning to break, symbolizing the opposite of the background, instead of being imprisoned the light source here is only just being set free). The eye upon this symbol of the light coming free is a representation of the human body and thus the mind, which adds a human element to the piece that ties together the meanings and thus leads us to the title: "Cognitive Dissonance". Cognitive Dissonance in the field of psychology is a condition in which an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values. This is represented in the artwork through the means of the eclipse and the bars in the background. The eye represents our human perception, and the black object represents the previous set of beliefs, ideas, or values, and the light then represents the actual reality of it. The light was once eclipsed, but now it is coming into view.

Line Work- The Fence

(Click to enlarge)

To make this piece unique, I first created the pattern or symbol that is present in the forefront, off-center towards the top-right of the page. To create this symbol I used multiple circles with no fill while using the "Charcoal" style of Brush definition on the stroke for each. In the center of this symbol I have two triangles with the very same brush definition, one of a larger size and opposite vertical orientation than the other. I then used the Blend Tool to fuse the two triangles together in a sort of triangular spiral that creates both depth and character for the shape. To add depth to the central symbol I copied and pasted the entire symbol itself, then changed each consecutive line to a lighter shade of grey than the darker one placed above it. I then copied the central triangular shape in the center of the symbol that I described above, and then enlarged the shape whilst tilting it as well. This created a sort of triangular spiral around the symbol, leading your eye towards the focal point. Then, set behind the central symbol I used the same technique of copy and paste to create depth on a background splatter looking design, which was created using a singular circle, the "Charcoal" style of Brush definition, and a very high stroke count. The resulting splatter effect creates a background for the central symbol, as well as creating movement and eliminating blank space. Then, coming towards the focal point, are three lines of a single "Grunge" brush setting of varying stroke sizing, leading your eye through the page to the focal point. Set as the background and border for the piece is a fairly complex shape created using the  Blend Tool between four collective lines. The resulting latter of lines then twisted and turned to create a three dimensional effect that was then added to the background to remove blank space and add definition to the piece.

Art Piece

A piece of art by Joshua Davis