Gardening Book Cover

Jam Jars

Below is the image that I emulated. This is a design for Jamie Olivers brand of jams and condiments. I chose this as I found the labels simple but quirky and interesting at the same time. Also I thought that I could adapt the simplicity and add in my own style to brighten them up. An emulation is where we take an existing piece of art or product and add our own style to it and change it.

Firstly, I started writing down names that I could use to create my own labels in the style of these. I created a page and wrote down a variety of names including different condiments like marmalade, honey, jelly etc.

I then did a range of words that I could use in script and sans serif fonts. I also wrote the whole alphabet in capital and lowercase. This was so I could create my own words when on Photoshop.

I also experimented with drawing doodles of fruit and different shapes so I could include them on the labels to add my style and make them more exciting and colourful.

I then scanned the images into Photoshop and altered all the 'Levels' so that the document was pure black and white. Using the magic wand tool removes all the white so that you are able to copy elements on to the document and enables you to colour the pieces in.
After turning each scan black and white, I created a new document and began to

create each label using the text and drawings I had created by hand. Below is a couple of screenshots of the working progress of the labels. As you can see I began colouring in the elements to make them vibrant and to represent the ingredients in the condiments.

I then began copying bits of text and coloured images onto a separate document, which I used to create the six labels on.

I used rulers on this document so to ensure each label was the same size. This was so I had equal space for each label as it them makes them look professional and even.

When I had designed the six labels I printed them off in high quality so to ensure they were clear and had vibrant colours. I then used a guillotine to cut them so that they were straight with crisp edges.

Here are the finished label designs. I then had the idea to stick them to jam jars to obtain the effect of them being real products, which will make them look more professional.

I then stuck the labels on jars and photographed them separately. Below is a couple of examples of the jars.

I uploaded the photos onto my computer and dragged them into Photoshop so that I could change the colour of the jars. This was because I did not have any of the right coloured jars for the labels. Therefore, to make my labels more realistic and unique, I used Photoshop to edit the colour of the jar according to the ingredients on the label. I used a variety of tools to change the colour such as Colour Balance, Levels, Selective Colour, Brightness, Vibrance, and experimented with the Saturation to help edit these labels.

Here is the final photo of my jam labels. As you can see I have edited the colour of the original dark red colour jam to a colour that applies to the product described on the label. This makes my final piece look more realistic, professional and eye catching as it looks like the real thing. Also doing this helped improve my photoshop skills as I have never intended to completely change the colour of a piece. However, I have now learnt to do so through experimenting with the tools in Photoshop with this project. I have also improved my drawing skills with type as I have drawn most of the type which is shown on the jars.

Photography

Below is a small taster of my Photography, shown on a powerpoint. This features pictures from a range of projects that have been set over the years. E.g. a magazine page, rare butterfly pictures for national trust and to pick a relatives hobby - which I chose my granddads love for game shooting. It also features a few pictures that I have took outside of college, as Photography is a big hobby of mine.

Zebra Chocolate Bar Copy

Our task in Graphics was to recreate an existing piece of design. This was to improve our skills on Photoshop and improve our intention to detail skills. Therefore because my Unit 3 was based around chocolate packaging I chose this Compartes design, which I found on Pinterest.

For all the parts of the zebra I used my own photos, which I took in Kenya, to create it. I placed these in Photoshop so that I could begin to edit them to look like the designs on the bar.

To create the parts of zebra, I turned the images black and white and then changed the levels as you can see below, so that It was only the black and white which remained. I then deleted the white, as only the black is needed because of the white background on the bar.

Here is the template for the design which is symmetrical so that the design will be as similar as possible to the original. I have also placed rulers on the document, so that I can align the text and images correctly.

I then went back to the zebra images and started copying segments which I would use on my piece. For instance, below I am copying the face of the zebra and placed it into the document in a similar position to the original.

Here is part of the zebra pattern which features the zebras head, which is in a similar position to the original.  

I continued to do this until the document was filled with a variety of zebra designs and parts.

After filling the document with parts of zebra and ensuring it was as similar as possible to the original, I chose a brush and began picking similar colours to paint on the design.

Here is the bar filled with colour and zebra design, which is beginning to look very similar to the original.

I then went on Dafont and browsed for a font that would fit with the piece. I found both a serif and sans serif font which were similar to the original, therefore I downloaded and used these.

I used Indesign to place the fonts in the document as I find Indesign has more precision and is easier to use when placing type on documents.

When I was happy with the look of the fonts, I transferred them from Indesign to Photoshop to complete the design.

Below are the fonts placed on the final document. However I still had the main title to do which I will draw by hand.

I used a spray can to complete the spray paint ball effect used on the design. I experimented with the design by holding the spray can close to the page to get a bolder spray and holding it further away to get a fine spray around the blob. Which is the kind of spray I desired so proceeded to do a few of these to use on my piece.

I then scanned them into Photoshop and began editing the colours to white and neatening them up so I could use them on the document.

Below is a screenshot of the spray paint balls being placed into the Photoshop document.

I then started on drawing the main title in my sketch book. I could see that this required fine precision so used a compass to create the perfect circles of the font and a ruler so to align it properly and ensure the lines were crisp and smooth.

Once I was happy with the type I had created; I scanned it into Photoshop, turned it black and white and edited the levels so that it was a bold black. I placed it in the document and changed the size to one that was most similar to the original.

Here is the final piece that I created I am extremely happy with this as I have used nearly all my own work to recreate it, including the zebra parts, title and spray paint circles. Also I think it is very similar to the original, which was the aim to copy it.

Polar Panoramic - Photo Worlds

This is a project I did outside of college, as I had seen some panoramic photos like these and wished to product some of my own. Firstly, to create these Polar Panoramics, otherwise known as Photo worlds, I dragged an image into Photoshop. These are all photos that I have took myself in Kenya, below is a picture of the safari we went on whilst in Africa.

I then created a new document and dragged the same image into it. I flipped the image horizontally as this ensures when the two photos join together, there is no line and the joint is seamless when it becomes a circle.

I went back to the first document and dragged the second horizontal image in, so I had both images on the one document next to each other.

The next step I followed was to merge the two layers and rotate them 180' degrees so that they were upside down. This is because if you do not rotate them you will create a tunnel instead of a planet circle.

Then go to Image Size and change the Height to the same as the Width number. This turns the two images into a squished square. This ensures that when it is a circle the image is perfectly square and there is no need to adjust it.

Finally go to Filter, Distort and click Polar Coordinates. This will create a panoramic circle which looks like a planet and can create beautiful eye catching effects. I did this numerous times for a variety of images.