My Graphic Pieces and Process

A while after I had learned to use Photoshop, the fun part was and is to experiment. I really liked working with the filters, such as cutout, film grain, etc. My process when I create my graphic pieces is I first of all use all of my own photos 97% of the time, then I cut them, use the gradient, put them together and layer them playing with various filters for each layer. For example, layer 1 could be cutout, then on top of that I'll put layer 2 using film grain on another picture. I'll also play around with opacity (how transparent I want the layer to be), then mess around with what setting I want the layer to be on such as: normal, hard light, dissolve, saturation, soft light, etc. I'll basically play around with all these effects and the order of layers until I get the picture I desire or want. Of course, I will probably have saved 10 different versions of the same picture where the layering may be different or one effect may be, but I like both. After I pick a final one I like, I'll probably tweak it if need be with adjustment layers if I hadn't already. So that's the jist of how I enjoy creating my own work. It started about my senior year of high school 2007 or so and I created many of my works with this method and love doing so. The piece below is my most recent one, done in early 2009 I believe, so I need to jump back into that, I've been mainly working with straight photos lately. I created this on my own time, not for a class or anything. I believe this piece has at least 6 or 7 different pictures, all ones I took. If you have any questions about this just ask! :)