Proj2 - Layers

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glegrady
Posts: 203
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:26 pm

Proj2 - Layers

Post by glegrady » Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:18 pm

Assignment: Create about 3 images consisting of stacked layers of other images. The outcome should look different from the original images used in the layers stack. Using any techniques in photoshop that allow for layering. Keep Layers window open to see results.

Layers Project Due by Thursday, January 17, 2013

. Select a minimum of 5 to 10 images but the more the better (50, 100?)
. Images should have a lot of visual material in them. Pick them from anywhere - internet, news, etc.
. Define a rule by which you will collect/select images (photographs found/or taken by you)
. Images can be: frames from a video, or still images
. Stack them in layers
. Use transparency as a way to control what visual elements get more attention
. Adjsut with levels, color balance, contrast, etc.
. Try many variations to explore different outcomes within the constraints of layers and your original rules
. You have to do this until you get to an outcome that you could not have imagined at the start.
. Go for visual complexity, don’t be afraid of ugly, transcend it to achieve some new aesthetic quality (or another way to say it: Aim for noisy but have coherence and elegance (may be hard at first)

There are many ways to stack images on top of each other and keep them as layers:

1) Stacking images by hand by copy and pasting images on top of each other.

2) Put a number of photographs into a folder. Use "FILE>SCRIPTS>Load Files into Stack". You may need to resize the images before stacking them otherwisePhotoshop may decide how to organize them.

3) "FILE>IMPORT>Video Frames to Layers" will stack any number of video frames. This is great where an object moves in a video.

4) If you have another Photoshop method, share your approach with the class.

Once images are stacked they will need to be made transparent. Select all the Layers except the bottom one by clicking on them, Go to the opacity setting and change the percentage. 50% should work but with many, there may be a need for a lower percentage.

PS Have the History Window open so that you may undo actions that you need to redo.

Grading:
. Effort: the more you do, the higher the grade
. Transcend your aesthetic: do something you would not normally do
. Image should have complexity, brake rules (report back what rules you have broken)
George Legrady
legrady@mat.ucsb.edu

abbiebroeder
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:33 pm

Re: Proj2 - Layers

Post by abbiebroeder » Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:01 pm

102i.png
102h.png
102g.png
102e.png
I merged together 12 images to create different effects from layering. To achieve different looks I used the Curves tool as well as playing with Hue, Saturation, Color balance, and even adding Black and White Layers.
My rules that I set for myself were to take images from a Car Show folder, and use ones that had circles or ellipses. I chose this idea because I was interested in seeing the different ways the ellipses would overlap and appear together.
Last edited by abbiebroeder on Tue Jan 15, 2013 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

kateedwards
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:15 pm

Re: Proj2 - Layers

Post by kateedwards » Tue Jan 15, 2013 3:52 pm

For this assignment I used a collection of fashion magazine images found here: http://foto-decadent.livejournal.com

My main goal was to create collages of unique patterns using the different layer settings. The original images emphasize the model as the main focus, and I wanted to put more focus on her background and surroundings. Here are my three manipulations, along with a screenshot of each layer panel to show the different settings I utilized.
layers1.png
layers1shot.png
layers2.png
layers2shot.png
layers3.png
layers3shot.png
The third collage is my favorite because of the distinct contrast between the layers, and the distribution of abstraction is equal throughout, as opposed to the first and second images which have gaps in which there is no sharp pattern.

EDIT:
Here are my final revisions for the first and second images.
layers1redo2.png
layers2redo2.png
Last edited by kateedwards on Tue Jan 22, 2013 3:29 pm, edited 5 times in total.

briandang
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:33 pm

Re: Proj2 - Layers

Post by briandang » Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:01 pm

I decided to do my layers project based on the video for my favorite song of 2012. The song is Everything is Embarrassing by Sky Ferreira. Here is a link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEamE0MYPkg

The rule I set for choosing which images I would take from the video was: Whenever the scene changes, I would take a screenshot. I ended up with 78 images.

#1
sky.jpg
For the first image, I set the opacity of the all the images except the first one to 25%. I also used curves to change the image. I like that this image is not completely destroyed and that her face is visual in multiple areas. EDIT: I decided to edit my image. I added more contrast.

#2
sky3.jpg
For this image, I set about half the images to %10 and the rest to %25. I also changed the ordering of the layers and used curves. This image is more destroyed, but you can still see visual images of Sky.

#3
sky4.jpg
For this image, I set each image's opacity according to their order in the layer. i.e. The first image's opacity is set to 1%, the second at 2% and so on. In my opinion, this image is the most destroyed. I like the aesthetic quality it created.

EDIT:
I edited my images #1 and #2
I added more layers and variations of those layers. I also played more with levels and contrast.
#1
skyedit.jpg
#2
skyedit2.jpg
Last edited by briandang on Wed Jan 23, 2013 9:32 pm, edited 6 times in total.

alfong
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:34 pm

Re: Proj2 - Layers

Post by alfong » Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:27 pm

For my project I gathered skylines from across the world. I started by gathering skylines from my favorite places and then branched out to the more popular ones. Then, I browsed around and gathered some that fit well with the whole composition. I used a total of 20 images because you wouldn't be able to see the bottom layers.

For the first image i stuck solely with layering the images, changing the opacity and changing the blending mode for each one. On the second image I played more with all the different tools (curves, saturation, exposure). The third image has inverted colors as well as playing with curves, levels, and hue.
project2.jpg
Project2-1.jpg
Project2-2.jpg
I adjusted the opacity on every layer and layered it between 100-30%, 30% being on the top most layers.

EDITED:
project2-4.jpg
Project2-11.jpg
Project2-5.jpg
Last edited by alfong on Tue Jan 22, 2013 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

hraguse
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:36 pm

Re: Proj2 - Layers

Post by hraguse » Thu Jan 17, 2013 12:44 pm

For this assignment I decided to combine photographs that i took this summer while studying abroad. I included pictures from all over Europe that contain some of the worlds most famous sites. These include things like the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Colosseum and so on. I liked the idea that these images were composed of such important and well known places yet, you cant really decipher them when looking at the resulting photograph.

In order to create these images I played around with the opacity of the layers, blending tools and colors.

image 1 (12 layers)
abroad1(12).jpg
image 2 (14 layers)
Abroad2(14).jpg
image 3 (7 layers)
Abroad3(7).jpg
EDIT

I worked with the same original images but differed the layers and cropping.
newlayers.jpg
layersnew2.jpg
Last edited by hraguse on Thu Jan 24, 2013 3:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.

nnlaor
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:35 pm

Re: Proj2 - Layers

Post by nnlaor » Thu Jan 17, 2013 2:31 pm

Image one:Screen shots stacked together form the film Soylent green
The attachment soybig2.jpg is no longer available
Image two:Screen shots form a film called Pierrot Le Fou
soybig2.jpg
Image three:Screen shots form a interview with Buckminster Fuller
bicky2.jpg
Redos:
soybigi.jpg
fou2.jpg
1.jpg
ground-floor-plans-villas_LRG.jpg
bicky2.jpg
3large.jpg
Attachments
soybig2.jpg
Last edited by nnlaor on Tue Jan 22, 2013 1:18 pm, edited 7 times in total.

sidrockafello
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 11:14 am

Re: Proj2 - Layers

Post by sidrockafello » Thu Jan 17, 2013 2:36 pm

For this my aim was to conjure up stills and images that would reflect the undead culture in America. The source material I went with is formatted at 760 pixels for each photo used. The photos used to make up the 54 layers are the ones taken on set of the Walking Dead; they are property of AMCtv.com photos taken by Scott Garfield. Each image brought in a wide range of colors in both the daytime and night, but when made transparent the appearance it reflected was gloomy as if it was a rainy day. The first image is raw and contains the 54 layers stacked on one another. These particular images are so powerful they do not all equally overlap one another so manipulation of certain individual pictures was required. After finding a good balance and getting all the pictures to reach optimum opacity I prepared to now take the image and push its visual capabilities. Using the adjustments bar I used brightness/contrast, levels, curves, exposure, hue/saturation, color balance, and gray-scale. For the Second image what played a big part in its look is the color balance and brightness/contrast settings which brought the original image into its new light golden glaze. For the last image the process used to get that output is to first change the image to gray-scale, not after moving and changing the transparency on a group of 20 pictures. After moving the image to gray-scale, the next step would to enter into exposure. Using exposure allows me to get the whites in the image to be true. Which is why I then go into curves and balance out the grays, the image at this point is now ranging from middle-gray to pure white. Lastly using the levels bar I move in the black to the point where the blacks have a deep center but do not overpower any of the gray gradients.
WDL1.jpg
WDL2.jpg
WDL3.jpg
In addition to the first initial Layers, I have went back and experimented with a few more pictures which were broken up. I wanted to see what the outcome would look like, so I decided to go back and test things out.
Layers.jpg
Untitled2.jpg
Last edited by sidrockafello on Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

giovanni
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:27 am

Re: Proj2 - Layers

Post by giovanni » Sat Mar 09, 2013 6:07 pm

For this homework I used all the pictures that i had in a 1 gigabyte memory stick.
The picture are from a trip I did to Hawaii, they are 127 and the original size was 4288x2848pixels.
The images were all between 4 and 10 Mb each.
First I resized all the pictures, reducing it to 25%, with a batch process, to speed up the further elaborations.
Then I stacked all of them and make all not visible (clicking on the eye icon).
Starting from the background with a 90% opacity, I was decreasing the opacity of the levels above, the rule was to recognize some elements of the previous images but perceive some changes for each layer I was adding.
This are the results I got:

Trip to hawaii
trip to hawaii.jpg
For the second editing, I was changing parameters for each levels like saturation, hue value, contrast...
trip to hawaiii.jpg

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