I went to India last summer, and I was able to travel to many tourist destinations in India. I’ve always wanted to visit the Taj Mahal, and it has always been in my bucket list to see it in person. The Taj Mahal is located in Agra, which is about a few hours away from India’s capital, New Dehli. I chose Agra as the place I wanted to use for photo card because I wanted my own memorabilia of this place. This place will always be memorable for me.  I played around with the Warp and Extrude & Bevel tools to modify the tilts of the text and adjusting the shadow. I removed the test from the shadow to place the image of the Taj Mahal in the letters.I tried my best to align the letters across the Taj Mahal through the clipping mask in Illustrator. I tried to align the side pillars in the A’s, and put the main structure into the G and the R. I chose the shadow of the text to be red so the letters stand out, and red reminds me of royalty and love, which is what the Taj Mahal represents.

The background image is taken from a fort that is located behind the Taj Mahal. There is supposed to be a body of water in between the fort and the Taj Mahal, but because of the extreme heat, all the water dried up. If you look more closely, there is so much dry land and heat that is able to be seen in the image. Also, the white marble that makes up the Taj Mahal is losing its color due to pollution, so it’s not as white as it is supposed to be. I put the letters AGRA right on top of where the Taj Mahal is located in the background image. I chose this background image because it’s a different, atypical view of the Taj Mahal and it provides a different perspective about one of the 7 Wonders of the World.

I applied the old paper image over the post card image in Photoshop by doing a partial frequency separation. I applied a gaussian blur to the color layer, but I ended up only keeping the texture layer to give the photo card the effect of looking like paper. I also tried adjusting the blending mode on the layers to give the postcard different effects.

Riya’s Final Photoshop Project

Meaning in Artwork and Ideation:

I wanted my artwork to represent what the future could look like. Big tech companies like Google and Facebook track all their users and store data about the links they click on, what posts they like, etc. and then use that data to refer users to suggested posts and show matching advertisements. Although this information isn’t new to me, I do find it creepy that companies can track everything you do on your phone, almost like they are watching your every move. This idea is what I wanted to demonstrate in my image. I wanted to give my audience a glimpse into what the future could look like. In this image, the two girls are taking a selfie and having fun, but if you look closely in the background, they are being watched by drones. I wanted the background of the sky to represent data transfer, meaning that information from the phone is being tracked by someone else. I also thought my image represents the lack of privacy because the girls are being watched all around by drones.

It’s important to discuss this topic of how companies use user’s data because I think it will become a big political issue soon. Facebook revealed that they track user’s phone calls and messages on Android phones. I think this is an invasion of privacy and companies should be more explicit about what info they track from each user.

I sort of used cliche imagery because I feel like a lot of sci-fi related movies/ images show a city during the night time. I used the coloring of the image to give the image a creepy and eerie feeling, especially because the girls are being watched by so many drones.

Elements of Art:

-Space: The positive space is the subject, so in my image it’s the two girls taking a selfie. The negative space is the background, which in my image is the is city skyline and the data image behind it. I wanted the positive space to appear brighter and the negative space to be darker so the first thing the eyes are directed to are the girls.

-Color: I chose the colors blue, red, and black to be the main colors shown in my image. The black and blue create a futuristic feel in the image, and the red wires represent data transfer.

-Line: The light abstract curves picture that has the curved lines that look like wires represent data transfer. It also demonstrates that information is being transferred in the opposite direction from the girls.

Principles of Design:

-Contrast: I purposefully made the girls brighter and lighter to make them really apparent and contrast against the background. I wanted the girls to represent the present time and the background to represent a dark and eerie future. I also made the girls look somewhat transparent to make it seem like they were a hologram, which further complexes my image in deciding what’s real and what isn’t.

-Repetition: I placed the drones all over the sky to emphasize that someone is watching over the girls. With advances in technology, we are also losing our private information in the digital world.

-Unity: I kept repeating the colors to make the image look harmonious. I also placed the drones all around the sky to balance the image.

Photoshop Tools and Techniques:

-Background Eraser Tool: For the layer with the two girls taking a selfie, I used this tool to erase all of the background to keep only the two girls. This tool was super easy to use, especially around her arm and their hair, to remove the background. I increased the transparency to 100% to make sure everything is removed from the background.

I also used this tool to remove part of the background behind the skyline of the city. I wanted the light abstract curves image to appear in the sky behind the buildings. I was

-Blending mode: I used this on the layer with the image of the girls to change the coloring. I also used this tool to modify the colors of the drones to make some of them appear darker and others lighter. I chose to alter the colors to make some of the drones look hidden and others more visible against the background.

-Gradient tool: While I was deciding where to place the data transfer image, I played around with the gradient tool to see if I could gradually blend the image into the background. Ultimately, I didn’t like how the background looked with the gradient. I liked my image better with the entire sky covered behind the buildings.

Critique:

In process critique: I asked my partner next to me to critique my project. I was debating on whether I should put the light abstract curves image on the bottom half or the upper half of the canvas. I wanted the project to have futuristic vibes. I also wanted the girls taking a selfie to be the main center point of my image. She suggested having it at the top so it would be easier to see the girls in the front of the image.

Final critique: When I presented my image to the class, they pointed out to me how the nail polish of the girl matched with the data transferring wires in the sky. They told me that my image is very well color coordinated.  I did not make any modifications based on my classmates feedback because most of the comments were appreciating my image.

Images Used:

Photo by bruce mars from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-women-taking-picture-786801/

https://www.pexels.com/photo/illuminated-cityscape-against-blue-sky-at-night-316093/

https://shop.gopro.com/karma

https://www.pexels.com/photo/lights-abstract-curves-long-exposure-1944/