Blog 5

The most significant accomplishment I had in my midterm would be the creation of the complex backgrounds I used. In both pictures, the background creates the whole feeling and tone and really makes my big idea make sense and come together. In the dark one, I used many grudge textures to overlay which made the scene rough and dark looking. I then blurred some of the sky and darkened up the clouds making it look almost stormy and very unhappy. My background in this work really brought my idea's through because of it's dark character. My bright apple in this picture was then seen as an outcast and a form of life that seemed to grow from nothing. In my other picture, the background is a "storybook." Happiness seems to always take the form of a "fairytale" and i tried to portray this by adding grass growing from the book to make it seem alive. The sky is bright and blue while the tree seems to be flourishing. Now, my rotten apple falling seems to also be out of the place as the other apple did. It could not flourish even when it seemed to have been given everything.

At first, I had the most problems with masking. I understand how to mask in which you make the background start to show when behind an image and vice versa but the hardest thing for me is masking out complex selections. I know there is a somewhat easy way to do this but this is something I do not think we covered very in depth if at all. Reading online, it seems masking selections is the best way when you don't have blatant edges to use the selection tools on such as hair or feathers for example. I feel I have picked this up and really improved my selections. I have learned that proper selections can really make or break a piece. A project with bad selections can look so amateur so this is definitely in my opinion the most important part. Although the example I am about to post is very simple from an earlier quiz, just imagine what how bad it would look if the selection around my face and hat were blotchy. It would completely ruin it.

In this class, I have definitely had a few pieces of work that had a deep meaning, both to me and possibly the audience. I also had one or two quizzes that were just a showcase of the new features we learned in order to complete the assignment. I obviously much more enjoy completing works that have a connection to myself. I put in ore time and focus into these pieces. I feel that now that this class is over I will be able to create work that shows emotion and connects to myself. I won't have to worry so much about the grade or the techniques required or even necessarily my big idea, instead I can create work with really no explanation-perhaps work that just means something to me with no explanation behind it. That's completely okay though because artists don't always have an exact definition behind their work. The image on top represents something that just showed technique and influenced me in no ways. The image on the bottom has a deeper connection and one that means something to me. 

Final Project

Grant Crider

Final Artist Statement

            The big idea I am exploring through my final is similar to the one I explored in my midterm. I am going to address identity as it is defined or influenced by different filters we each posses. In the midterm, I portrayed “life” growing in bad situations and dying it what seemed to good situations. However, in my final, I explored my relation and the connection to myself within this big idea. Instead of displaying the presence of other life in different scenes, I used my own hands in an environment that really describes who I am. Hawaii is a place I love and I plan to move there with my siblings some day. My open hands during the daytime show an obvious openness. However as the day fades to night and the sun goes down, my hands begin to close suggesting acceptance. As the day ends, there is still another one coming. In life, when we experience problems or filters as previously discussed, it is up to us to react. We are the only ones who can control whether or not we can grow despite any filter or position we are placed in. Ultimately, each person is responsible for their own outcome and how they define themselves. With this, I hope to symbolize peace within myself and an overall acceptance and happiness. Through animation, I can accurately display my message. If it were still images, it would be hard to get my point across so therefore I really caught interest with animation from the start. I feel a connection with this big idea especially in my final. This is a way of life I definitely want to completely adopt. I have gotten much better but I hope to one-day come to this overall acceptance “at the end of the day.” Although my final has simplicity, the meaning is much deeper. It can be interpreted in many ways, which I really like. I would consider this project the closest to me with the deepest meaning. Art that has meaning no matter its complexity or simplicity can really speak to audiences or in this case myself.