Artwork: Digital Collage
El Inmigrante
60.96cm x 91.44cm
Digital Collage
April 2018
Digital Collage
April 2018
Exhibition Text
"El Inmigrante" is a digital collage inspired by the Mexican game "La Loteria". An adaptation of the deck was created to show a social issue that I deeply care about and that I can relate to.
Process
Brainstorming
As I brainstormed about my theme for my digital collage I thought about something that I greatly care about. I came up with a social issue that I deeply care about and that I can personally relate to. I decided to make an artwork that related to immigration and showed the way in which immigrants are affected.
As I brainstormed about my theme for my digital collage I thought about something that I greatly care about. I came up with a social issue that I deeply care about and that I can personally relate to. I decided to make an artwork that related to immigration and showed the way in which immigrants are affected.
Sketches
Sketch #!
When creating this sketch I thought about Time magazine and how famous they are. In this sketch I plan to create something that is similar to that. This will include the word "Time", a red outline around, and an area that explains what the ad is about. I plan to make the collage look like a magazine as much as possible. In the center I will incorporate the picture of me and my dad. When moving towards the bottom the body will begin to break away or vanish to show family separation. Lastly in the back I will have helicopters with lights in search of people. I plan to title it "One Last Time" to emphasize the last hug that the dad gives to their child. |
Sketch #2
The second sketch is inspired by art Nouveau advertisement posters. I plan to have the picture of my dad centered and a light color in the back. To emphasize the person I will have a circle and helicopters in the back in search of him. On top of all of this I plan to incorporate text that says "One Last Time" to show the last time the dad gets to hold their child. To finish up the piece I plan to incorporate the year 2018 because this is an issue that is current. |
Sketch #3
The last sketch that I created was inspired by the "Loteria" which is a Mexican game that incorporates the use of cards. The deck of cards that are used have images and numbers. Because this relates o y culture, I plan to create a new loteria card. The card will have a light color background and my dad centered. I still want to incorporate the helicopters in the back so that will remain, and there will be a light shadow in the back as well. The number in the top left corner will be 2018 (current year) and the bottom will have the title of "One Last Hug", "El Imigrante", or "El Mexicano" to describe the current situation with this social issue. |
Research on Technique
Because I am new with using Photoshop I could not start on my piece instantly. Instead I searched up videos that could help me with figuring out what to do. All of these videos helped me
Videos Links Below:
Because I am new with using Photoshop I could not start on my piece instantly. Instead I searched up videos that could help me with figuring out what to do. All of these videos helped me
Videos Links Below:
- Cartoon effect Photoshop CS6 l Photoshop CARTOON character from photo l Photoshop Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAJxcA40PpM
- Photoshop Manipulation Effects-Photoshop CS6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj7C_79yqPY&t=250s
- How to remove backgrounds in Photoshop CS6 in just 2 minutes l Photoshop tutorials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6hvuUf2Smw
- How to Blur background in photoshop cs6 l soft light photo effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg9qRISJSVc
The last thing that I experimented with was the text. Knowing that I wanted to incorporate text in my piece I experimented by making one of the sketches into a digital collage. I followed what I wanted to make for my first sketch. I began by inserting text vertically, and then made it horizontally. I then tried figuring out what I could do to put a border around the text. I found a tool that helped with creating geometric shapes. Because this was the experimental stage, I decided to fill the outside with rectangles that were completely filled in. A red hue was used to create the iconic border seen in the Time magazine.
Making the collage
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To start off my project I began by collecting pictures that I could use for my collage. Because I wanted to make a Loteria card, I went through old pictures to see what I could use. I ended up finding a picture of my dad and I, so I decided to use that. The other pictures that I found were from a Mexican restaurant. I had taken pictures of the walls because of the way in which they looked. They were very colorful and were painted with different designs. At the end I decided to use the picture of my dad because it had a warm feeling of love. In the other hand, I decided to use the picture of the wall for my background because I wanted something that had texture but also had a simple color scheme.
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As I opened Photoshop I added the picture of the wall for my background. This was then blurred out but because I didn't like the way in which I looked, I changed the filter. I went a step back and then filtered the picture. I chose artistic and then cutout, which made the collage look like a cartoon. I then put oil paint and selected the options that made my piece look less realistic and less like a painting. This had created an effect that was very different, yet I liked the way it looked. Initially, my idea had been to take a picture of one of the loteria cards' background, and then use that in my piece. I wanted to have a similar feel to the card, but at the end I created something that I loved. I had created a background that reminded me of plants. Because of the color that I had chosen. There was a feel of vegetation,
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Experimentation
Before I began my collage, I experimented with Photoshop. At first all I wanted was to get a feel of how the tools were used as well as the many options that I had. I began by opening the picture that I used for my collage and then experimented with that. I selected my dad and was able to create a cartoonist feel. After watching a tutorial on how to transform a picture into a cartoon, I put this in practice. Not sure what to do next, I decided to select the background and then hit backspace. This led to the picture duplicating in the back. I had created something that I liked, but it had all been unintentional. I then had half of my dad's body and a navy blue background. After this happened, I kept experimenting to see what else I could do. |
which is what immigrants are widely known for. I thought about how field work is constantly being related to immigrants so I decided to keep the image. In the other hand the figure in the center had resulted in a light blue hue. I had tried changing the colors but had not found something that brought unity to the piece. When I changed one of the colors, either the centered figure or the background, the piece lacked aesthetic. After I finished this, I opened up another file and inserted my picture. Because I only wanted my dad I had to cancel out the back. When doing this, I created a masked layer. I had to paint with a translucent brush all of the things that I wanted to remove. After this, I created
Artistic Inspiration
La Loteria
My culture served as inspiration when creating my digital collage. I was greatly inspired by the "Loteria". The "Loteria" is a game that is similar to bingo. Instead of small balls with numbers, each card has a number, image and a name. When playing the game the person who is saying the deck out loud must read the names located in the bottom until there is a winner. Because this is a game that is often played in my house, I plan on creating an adaptation to one of the cards. Just like "El Catrin" I would like to have a person centered while having a simple background. By doing this I will bring the focus to the person. Along with that I plan to leave the illustration like effect on my piece. The "Loteria" has images that are not very realistic. Instead, they have illustrations on each of the playing cards and deck. Just like it is seen in the cards, I would like to have a background that is either a solid color or a combination of hues. I would like to have a variety of colors that are similar to those of "El Catrin". Lastly, I plan to keep the design from the deck. I will incorporate a number in the corner, a name in the bottom, and a border around. I want to keep this so that I can make my piece look like a loteria card as much as possible while still have the centered person represent my theme.
Reflection
When finished with my project I felt happy with the outcome. I think that my digital collage looked similar to "El Catrin" from La Loteria. I had created the modern version of the playing card, while still having a social issue being told. When first creating my piece, I had not liked the idea of having a wall in the back. I wanted a similar background to that of "El Catrin", but at the end I was happy with the final piece. I believe that my adaptation of my card catches peoples attention but also has a modern twist to it. I was able to keep the card traditional in the sense op what was placed. The man in my card was placed in the center and the number and description were put where they are seen originally in the playing cards. Another thing that I was successful in was keeping the card looking like an illustration. I had wanted to keep that resemblance, but in order to add that twist, I decided to make mine in a way that looked simple and with a cartoon look. This not only added that modern look, but it also made it look like a fictional character that others can also relate to. Although I wanted to have light colors in my digital collage, I ended up having dark colors that contrasted the text that was included. I had dark shades of green and blue added because they were the hues that had better aesthetic. Finally, white text had been added so that it would be visible against the dark colors. Overall, I felt proud of the piece that I made. Although, I didn't follow through with all of my original ideas, I was able to create something that I liked and that I felt was personal to me.
Meaning
The meaning of my art goes back to my culture and social issues that are current. My digital collage is an adaptation of the loteria card game. In my culture this game is often played. The cards and deck have images with descriptions. Things such as "La Dama" or "El Apache" or "La Bandera", which translate to "The Lady", "The Apache", and “The Flag”. My piece was made from the one of the cards and a picture of me and my dad. I took the background from one of the cards because I wanted to keep a similar color. In the center, my dad is carrying me in his arms. I had this specific picture in the center because I wanted to show a father hugging their child to show the love for ones family. The background was initially mean to be a light color, but the outcome was different. I used a dark green in the back and made the wall look like a cartoon. This helped isolate the figure in the
I can personally relate to this because it is something that my family struggles with. Knowing that my parents or even my cousins could be taken away is a burden that I have. Nowadays that is what runs through a lot of immigrants’ minds and so I wanted to show that. Along with that I wanted to show something that would make people realize that this is separating families. Lastly, the upper left corner has the number 2018, showing that this is a relevant issue. To finish up the adaptation of this famous game, I added a title in the bottom. Similar to the images that are seen in this card game I decided to add something simple that only consisted of two words. I struggled between the titles “El Mexicano” and “El Inmigrante”, but at the end I chose “The immigrant”. I decided to put this title because although my family is Mexican, I know that I am not the only one who struggles with this. I wanted all immigrants to be able to relate while still creating something that was personal for me.
I can personally relate to this because it is something that my family struggles with. Knowing that my parents or even my cousins could be taken away is a burden that I have. Nowadays that is what runs through a lot of immigrants’ minds and so I wanted to show that. Along with that I wanted to show something that would make people realize that this is separating families. Lastly, the upper left corner has the number 2018, showing that this is a relevant issue. To finish up the adaptation of this famous game, I added a title in the bottom. Similar to the images that are seen in this card game I decided to add something simple that only consisted of two words. I struggled between the titles “El Mexicano” and “El Inmigrante”, but at the end I chose “The immigrant”. I decided to put this title because although my family is Mexican, I know that I am not the only one who struggles with this. I wanted all immigrants to be able to relate while still creating something that was personal for me.
Connecting to ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
My inspiration influenced the way in which my project looks. Because I wanted to create an adaptation of the "Loteria" card, I made my piece as similar as I could to the playing cards used in the game.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors approach to my inspiration was to explain the game of "La Loteria" as well as show different versions of it. The versions were the same but had illustrations that were drawn in a different style.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
As I researched my inspiration I discovered that games could be very old yet they will never be forgotten when they are significant in ones culture.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
My inspiration influenced the way in which my project looks. Because I wanted to create an adaptation of the "Loteria" card, I made my piece as similar as I could to the playing cards used in the game.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors approach to my inspiration was to explain the game of "La Loteria" as well as show different versions of it. The versions were the same but had illustrations that were drawn in a different style.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
As I researched my inspiration I discovered that games could be very old yet they will never be forgotten when they are significant in ones culture.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
References
- “Cartoon Effect Photoshop CS6 | Photoshop CARTOON Character from Photo | Photoshop Tutorial.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 May 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAJxcA40PpM.
- “Photoshop Manipulation Effects - PHOTOSHOP CS6.” YouTube, YouTube, 6 June 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj7C_79yqPY&t=250s.
- “How to Remove Background in Photoshop CS6 in Just 2 Minutes | Photoshop Tutorials.” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6hvuUf2Smw.
- DhruvalModi. “How to Blur Background in Photoshop cs6 | Soft Light Photo Effect.” YouTube, YouTube, 1 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg9qRISJSVc.