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This project asked us to use the skills we have acquired in GIMP through out the term, and to apply the Design Theory we have learned to create a mixed media portrait of ourselves. The main element of this portrait was a greyscale photograph of ourselves, taken as part of this project.

From this project I learned a lot about photography and developed new skills in this field. I also learned how to better compose an image as well as new skills in image manipulation software. Due to this project I better understand how layers work.

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Split Lighting                                   Rembrandt Lighting                            Butterfly Lighting  

Split Lighting                                   Rembrandt Lighting                            Butterfly Lighting

I took the original photos and opened them up in Gimp. I then adjusted the brightness of the images to -15 and the contrast to -2. Finally I then converted the images to greyscale by desaturating the colours. 

Split Lighting                                   Rembrandt Lighting                            Butterfly Lighting

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The above is my mood board for this project which will act as a pool of resource I will be able to use.  The collage is made up of various different images that showcase who I am and my what my interests are.

I used a lot of pop culture such as super hero's and comics because I believe that creativity inspires creativity and while growing up they played a large role in my life. The aspects I loved the most were usually the equipment, weapons and tools found in these movies, series and comics. I thought they were awesome and would have loved to have some of them in reality. This is also one of the factors that caused me to find industrial design so I could have the knowledge and ability to design and fabricate my ideas.

Video games are also prevalent in the collage because that is one of my hobbies that I have had ever since I could remember. Archery is another hobbies of mine that I really enjoy.

I included wireless earbuds for two reasons. Firstly I enjoy listening to music. Secondly I am always astounded by the way designers and engineers keep developing wearable technology at such a fast rate ,causing products to become smaller yet more powerful.

Pop vynal figures were also included because these are what I collect.

A bench and a dumbbell was also included because I enjoy going to the gym.

Animals were included because I have a rather strong affinity towards them ever since I was small.

A CNC and 3D printer were added because these machines have always fascinated me how I can design something digitally and they can replicate that model in reality. 

I also added some of my previous work such as drawings. The dumbbell included is also a CAD model I made while first learning CAD.

Finally I also added the YouTube logo because I spend the most time learning new things or just for entertainment. YouTube also helped me find industrial design because I was inspired by the makers on the platform such as The Hacksmith and Colinfurze.

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This portrait was created with the idea of representing myself. the portrait depicts my image as subdued much as how I appear on the outside. As the viewer looks up they then see the cluster of images coming outside of my head. Due to the proximity and scale of the images the viewer sees this as one element and only upon closer inspection can make up the sum of its parts. This cluster of images is some of my previous work, inspirations and hobbies that form the foundation for goals I hope to one day achieve. This is further clarified as the goal of this portrait by the text at the bottom that also conveys the message about dreams and goals. The gauntlet that is reaching upwards to a few vector images represents me being in the process of reaching these goals that are represented by the vector images. Although these images are not much larger than those found in the cluster they hold more visual weight individually due to their high contrast to the background, their proximity and alignment to one another. 

While creating my portrait I used 2 different types of balance. The first was symmetrical balance, I used symmetrical balance to ensure the right half of the portrait was equally balance to the left half. This does not necessarily mean I used exactly the same images on both sides but rater similar images that had equal weight to create this symmetry.  

Asymmetrical Balance was also used to separate the top and bottom half of the portrait. The top half has bright colours and is quite busy with many small details, while the bottom half is more subdued having fewer but larger elements. These two parts however balance out because the dissimilar objects carry equal visual weight. This was done to try and convey more of my personality. On the outside I am rather reserved however this is due to the fact that my mind is always racing thinking about different things. The bottom half of the poster also has more texture and contrast that the top which is another aspect that helps to balance the piece.

Pattern was created in this piece through the simple repetition of music notes that run across the portrait. This pattern was then warped and mirrored on the other side.

Unity was created through the proximity of elements causing them to be grouped together as one element made up of multiple parts. Unity was also achieved through repetition of elements such as the music notes and styles such as vector images. Alignment played a large role in the composition of the piece and I used the vertical center line as my main axes for reference and alignment of elements. Continuity was used through the cluster of images coming out of my head. The images closest to my face start out rather wide but as the viewer looks up the cluster thins and becomes narrower. Combining this narrowing with the gauntlet that faces up causes triangle formation to form that is pointing upwards. This upwards pointing arrow helps to emphasis the goals at the top of the composition.  

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