Project #2 – 2-D Design Repetition Project Grid (Photoshop and Drawing)
Orientation is as important an aspect of an image as shape or color. The directional focus an artist selects affects the relationship of forms within the image and also informs the viewer’s perspective. Within the image, there is no prescribed choice of “up” as opposed to “down.”
This is a study of abstracting the human figure. Based on your figure drawings, find one section of a drawing that you find compositionally intriguing. Create a simple black and white representation of this drawing (the black and white must be equally balanced) in a square format.
Then take this square drawing and import it into photoshop and create a grid repeating the image so that you can play with the forms next to one another.
Part A will be the grid in black and white.
Part B will be the same grid design but changed to color so that color theory principles can be applied to the project.
Skill Sets: Photoshop– Grids, Guidelines, Snapping to Grids, Duplicating, Fill and
Adjustment Layers, Opacity, Manipulations for Photoshop, Blend Modes
Drawing and Observational Skill Sets: Abstraction vs. Representation, black and
white relationships, organized chaos, Void and Mass, Visual Relationships, The Grid,
color theory terminology and concepts.
Materials: In Class figure drawings (newsprint and charcoal), Photoshop (laptop
computers)
Step 1: Create a New Project
Make sure your settings are ready for print.
Dimensions of 16×16 Inches
300 DPI
CMYK
16 bit
Step 2: Enable the Grid
To turn on Grid go to Menu-> View -> Show -> Grid
The grid will include “snapping” which means if you move your image close to one of the grid lines, it will automatically snap to it.
Step 3: Place
Drag and Drop Image into Project.
Place and Resize Image to create dynamic composition into the first 4×4 inch space.
Hit OK to complete
Step 4: Rasterize
Rasterize the image to make it editable. Do this by right clicking on the image layer and selecting Rasterize Image.
Step 5: Select
Select out a 4”x4” square with the Rectangular Marquee tool. The best way to make sure your selection is accurate is to click on the top left corner, outside of the image. Then drag until you snap to the 4”x4” mark. There should be a little pop up saying where exactly you are.
Step 6: Copy and Paste
Copy your selection by either going to Edit->Copy or using the Command+C shortcut.
Paste your selection by either going to the Edit->Paste or using the Command+V shortcut.
*Step 7: Create Color Layer
Create a blank layer by going to Layer->New->New Layer. Name this layer color. This is the layer on which you will be doing all of your color edits on.
Step 8: Edit
Zoom in on your 4”x4” asset by either using the zoom tool which is under the magnifying glass symbol in the tool menu. Also, I recommend turning off the grid at this point.
We want to alter the image to have a better balance of light and dark.
First, use the magic wand tool, hidden under the quick selection tool, to select out portions of your image to change. To add to your selection, make sure “add to selection” is selected. It is the symbol with 2 white boxes overlapping.
To add or subtract distracting moments, use the lasso tool.
Step 9: Color
Once you are happy with your selection, we are going to choose a color to fill it in with. Go to the color chip at the bottom of the tool menu. Make sure to select to top color. Then use the color picker to choose a color.
Step 10: Fill
We will use the brush tool to fill in the selected area. Make sure to make the brush large and hard. Try size 200 and hardness 100 to start. Adjust if needed.
Now when you use the brush to put down color it will only effect the selected areas.
Once you have filled in everything, deselect the area by either going to Select-> Deselect or the hotkey Command+D
Step 11: Merge Color and Base Layer
Select both the color layer and the cut and paste black and white layer. Use the merge tool found under Layer->Merge Selected Layers.
Step 12: Duplicate, Free Transform
Duplicate your image by either copy/pasting it, which we did earlier, or by duplicating it. Duplicate the layer by right clicking on the layer, then duplicating it.
First, make sure to turn the grid back on. Then go to Edit->Free Transform.
Drag the image to the next available 4”x4” space. It should snap easily. To rotate the image, move the mouse to the corner until you get the rounded arrow symbol. Then hold shift while you click to rotate. This will allow you to rotate in 15 degree chunks.
When rotating make sure to keep in mind a dynamic composition.
Step 13: Repeat!
Repeat step 12 until you have filled the entire grid. This is a good point to rename your layers with their locations of the grid. Keeping your layers organized is very important.
Step 14: Save
Once you have completed the entire grid and you are satisfied, we are going to save 3 copies of your project. 1, the working file. This one is PSD. Next, make the Print file. Save this one as a .PNG, full size. Last, save a copy to send to me.
Resize your image, go to edit->image size. Change the dimensions to 8”x8”.
Make sure to save these all with different descriptive names.
Step 15: Print
Print the .PNG full size image on paper large enough to print (17×22). You can print your images at the U432 Print Output Center. Allow 2 working days to process your request.
