Special Edition Shoe Blog

"Semper Fidelis"

Craft: I started this project by first getting my uniform together and setting it up so the actual uniform was the background. I originally just placed the shoes on the uniform without the hat but found that I needed some kind of contrast between the shoes and the jacket so I added it. From there I took several pictures at different angles and ended up liking the head on shot the best. I then uploaded the picture to Adobe Illustrator and started outlining everything from back to front. Once I got the basic shapes of everything I started detailing every single layer by adding different gradients and using the eyedropper tool to keep the colors as close to the original picture as possible. To get the shoes to look shiny I just outlined where it was bright on them and then used a gradient and added a feathered effect to make it kinda blurry.

Composition: I layed the uniform out so I could get every detail as possible. I didn't want just some random background so I propped the jacket up and layed the pants down and just placed the shoes and hat on top. I arranged the sleeves to get the chevrons to show and the pants to get the blood stripe running down the middle. The hat was placed to break up the black on black of the shoes and jacket.

Concept: I wanted to pay a tribute to the Marine Corps and just show that everything in the picture was hard earned. We have to pay close attention to detail in the Marines and I wanted to represent that by actually doing it. I know from the critique that some people view it as kinda dark and the way its layed showing like I'm "hanging it up" which I find interesting cause it's not what I was going for but whatever works, works and I'm glad it has a different meaning depending on the viewer.

Week 10

After the critique of the two page layout, Ive decided to make some changes. Page 2 is going to stay the same but I'm going to tweak the 3rd page a little bit. For the 'craft, composition and concept' I plan on making them bold and a little bit bigger to help the body of the text fit with the page. I'm moving the title "Margarita" over to the right to get rid of some of the black negative space. A couple people said that the negative space between the text is too big which I agree so I plan on moving that around and adding my name to the layout. As far as the pull quote I like how it looks and I think if I take away the black box it's just going to create more negative space which I don't need so its probably going to stay. The last thing I'm going to try is to add a scratchy border around the black boxes to try and match the artwork.

Week 9

Craft: Using Adobe InDesign I first uploaded the image of the margarita glass. From there I adjusted the image to best fit the frame. For the margarita font I used Bickham Script Pro and added a green and yellow gradient. For the pull quote I used Giddyup STD and for the rest of the test it was Times Roman. I also used the rectangle tool to add a background for the text.

Composition: Laying it out was kinda tough. The image itself isn't made for a landscape so stretching it out over two pages wasn't an option. I finally decided that keeping it on one page and filling the other with text worked the best. I originally had the title and image on the first page but found that I need something to help bring it all together on the other page which is why I chose to put the title on the second page.

Concept: I wanted the design to look simple but also kinda elegant. The use of the negative white space and fonts accomplished that. I also wanted a page full of text to look artistic so it wouldn't be so bland.

Week 8

Craft: I started out by taking one of my favorite types of glasses being a margarita glass and just standing it on end. Using Adobe Illustrator I needed to start with a basic outline of it so I started drawing it out with just a simple brush tool in black. I wanted to come up with my own style of art so I changed the basic brush stroke to a chalk stroke to start making it look abstract and scratchy. As I was srawing I tried a variety of different colors and gradients to make the actual glass. When I realized I wasn't going to be happy with any of them I figured I'd try to make it look like there was actually liquid in the glass. For that I used the artistic watercolor brush with a variety of blues which made it look like the margarita was actually splashing out. I combined that with a artistic splatter of bubbles to make the added effect of it fizzing. Salt always rims the glass of a margarita so for that I went back to the chalk brush and reduced the stroke to .50 and used white which I think turned out pretty good. Again I used the chalk brush for the abscratchy effect on the umbrella and border of the artwork. For the background I tried different effects and colors and found that black made a great contrast and really made the colors stick out.

Composition: I tried to create a summertime feeling using vibrant colors and different brush strokes. The contrast of colors, the abstract glasses, and the scratchy look is what I really was going for in all of the artwork. Being able to incorporate all the different textures and colors was a challenge but at the same time fun. The hardest part of the layout was the background. I didn't want to overdue it and take the main focus off the glass so by adding the sun and the scratchy border I think I was able to achieve what I was going for and stayed within my style of abscratchy art. Even with the plain black background I think the viewer will still get a warm feeling if not from the art then just the thought of relaxing and having a margarita.

Concept: The concept of this piece, as well as the other pieces, is to show the viewer that taking something as simple as a glass can bring about different feelings. I personally like the margarita glass cause it reminds me of it being warm outside, good music, good food, and good times. The abscratchy art style that I developed out of this project fit in perfectly with this piece because looking at this style of art you might even feel like you've had a margarita or two! In the future I hope to take this piece and make different variations of it.

Week 7

Craft: I needed to come up with 5 different objects so I chose to use glasses. The 3 rules I used was to first use bright vibrant colors. I also wanted to make every glass as abstract as possible while still being able to tell what it is. My last rule was to use different brush strokes and try not to have any solid outlines.

Composition: I arranged the glasses as if you were looking at them head on. If I tried to change the position it wouldn't look right while keeping my rule of making them look abstract.

Concept: I wanted to just make something as simple as a glass look amazing by using the 3 different rules.

Week 6

"The Brighter Side"

The art itself uses alot of darker colors and I wanted to make it brighter. I went into the background layer and changed it to a red and blue gradient emphasizing the red on one side to lighten it up. Everything else is the same except the background.

"Black and Blue"

In this picture I wanted to make the opposite of "The Brighter Side" and take the color out. I went into select layers and either added blue or black. I used gradients again so it wouldnt look dull and boring.

"Army Colors"

I wanted to show the viewer a different version of the dress uniform and used Army colors instead of Marine Corps colors. Even though the Army uses a totally different uniform I think I got the point across. I just changed certain colors to blue and yellow and kept the gradients.

Week 5

Craft: I used alot of gradients in this project. To make the shoes look like they had shine I used a gradient and feathered it. To give the cover some kind of depth I used a black and white gradient at the bottom of it to make it look kinda shadowed.

Composition: I just took one layer at a time and started to add details. Layering it helped tremendously cause all I would have to do was take an individual piece and add the detail. I just experimented with the different effects and found that the gradient tool and feathering worked the best.

Concept: I wanted to show that everything in the picture was earned from the stripes down to the shoes. We would have to shine our boots and shoes everyday in the military so I really wanted to show that in the artwork. Every detail in the picture symbolizes something like the blood stripe down the pants represents fallen Marines and the eagle, globe and anchor on the cover represents what the Marines stand for.

Week 4

Craft: I start by uploading the image to Adobe Illustrator and then cropped it to the best view. I used the pen tool to make the blue background first and then just started making my way up to the shoes. I just traced around everything till I got a basic outline and could tell what everything is. For the colors I just used the eyedropper tool.

Composition: I arranged everything into individual layers to help me turn layers on and off as needed. For example I had a layer for the left shoe, right shoe, pants and everything down to the chevrons on the jacket.

Concept: I just wanted to get to the point where you could basically tell what everything is. I cut some of the picture off because it just wasnt needed.

Week 3

Craft: I grabbed my old uniform out of the closet and used a pretty big shelf that I have in the house and just started laying everything out. I took a picture from every angle I could and found that just head on worked the best.

Composition: For the compostion I wanted to have alot of contrast between the colors which the uniform itself does very well. I took the jacket of the dress blues and propped it up to make the background. I needed a contrast for the black shoes and the jacket so I used my cover and placed it between the shoes and the jacket. I also didnt want any part of the floor showing so I used the pants and placed it on the bottom of everything.

Concept: I just wanted the viewer to get a up close and personal view of the uniform. It has alot of personal feelings behind it and its what I wanted to show.

Week 2

Craft: This was the hardest shot to take because getting her to sit in the boots was tough but as you can see by her expression a little treat went a long way. It took a lot of patience in getting this shot but if I had to do it again I would try a different background but again getting her to just sit in the boots was a challenge.
Composition: I work with this dog everyday of my life and a countless number of people including myself count on her to save lives.
She's a bomb sniffing dog so I put her in the combat boots to represent that she's a working dog and also man's best friend.
Concept: What I'm trying to show in this photo is that what might look like a simple picture has a lot of meaning behind it. People depend on this dog and boots to do a job and by putting her in the boots I'm hopefully showing that they have another purpose besides just laying around.

Craft: I made this photo by using my actual uniform that I wore in the Marine Corps and was aiming to make the shoes the focal point. Composition: Everything in this photo was hard earned from the shoes, to the stripes. Some consider it to be the best looking uniform in America. I made this photo as a tribute to the Marine Corps and all the sacrifices that Marines have made over the past 200 years.
Concept: This image represents the 4 years of my life that I spent in the Marine Corps. I had the pleasure of being able to visit different countries and working with the best people in the nation. Those shoes have been around the world and made me who I am today.