Elizabeth Gaytan

I am currently a part time student studying graphic design at Salt Lake Community College. I
previously studied animation at SLCC and video game design at the University of Utah. Graphic
design feels like the right fit for me. Ive always had a passion for art and design.
My goals for taking ART 1280 are to improve my knowledge of photoshop software. I want to
build on the skills I learned in previous classes. Photoshop is an extremely useful tool for
designers are and it can do some really impressive things in the right hands.
Creativity - Checkpoint 4 Project (Famous Photo)

Students will create a photo compositing exercise by taking an original self-portrait photograph
and compositing that image into a 'famous photo'. This final composite photograph should look
like you were originally in the photograph. Pay special attention to lighting and texture
matching.

The 'famous' photo you composite yourself into can be any photo really, whether it be of a
famous place, with famous people, historically famous photographs etc. A digital camera may
be checked out in order to take your own self-portrait photograph if needed.

Students will be graded on:

Creativity
Believability
Lighting/Texture matching
Technique (proper photoshop layers/masks/methods etc.)
Personal Reflection
This assignment was a lot of fun. It was challenging trying to match the graininess of the original
photo with my photo. There are a lot of little differences that need to be edited to match with an
old photo but once you get a close match it is very satisfying. If I were to attempt this again I
would work with the black and white settings a little more to get a more even match with the
lights and darks of the image. I might also want to work on the crisp edges on my photo and blur
it a little more so it doesnt look as pasted.
Creativity - CP 7 - Design an 'App Icon & Screen'

Students will create 2 photoshop files and several PNG files as part of this assignment. Read the
details entirely so you know which assets you'll need to turn in for this assignment

In this assignment students will create:

App Icon PSD

a unique 'Icon' for a application that would be produced for Phones and Tablets. This
icon will adhere to Apple's sizing requirements.
App Icon PSD file
1,024 x 1,024 pixels
Orignal design
Rounded corners on icon radius
No text/typography

App Screen PSD

a unique 'Screen' of the application. This screen could be a loading screen, a main
menu, a game in progress, etc.
1,920 x 1,080 pixels
Personal Reflection
I really liked designing a fake game for this assignment. I wanted to use vectors for a nice crisp
image so I designed a face paced game around cutting flowers. Overall I like how it turned out
however I would have liked to spend more time working on the interface, the buttons, time, and
score section are underdeveloped compared to the rest of the design.
SP 21.3 (Website Buttons)
Create a new Photoshop document with the following settings: 1500 pixels x 900 pixels.
Use a transparent background, RGB color mode, and 96ppi resolution.
Save your document as Lastname_SkillsPractice21.1.3.psd.
Buttons on a website can, and often should, be created using vector art.
Using vector art allows designers to scale the buttons freely without worrying about resolution
and quality loss.
As a graphic artist, you will want to have a digital portfolio of your work. This can take many
forms from websites to interactive PDFs to downloadable apps.
In this exercise, you will design a template to use for a potential digital portfolio.
Personal Reflection
Im happy with the way this assignment turned out. This was an opportunity to design something
I could actually use. The overall design works well for a portfolio website. I couldn't find a font
that I was happy with so if I were to fix anything about this assignment it would be to change the
font.
Skills Practice 19.2.2
Create a new Photoshop document that is exactly 1000 pixels x 400 pixels at 72ppi.
Edit in RGB color mode.
Save your file as Lastname_SkillsPractice19.2.2.psd.
Follow the steps outlined in your textbook to recreate rasterized PAPER text example.
Use a typeface and colors of your choosing. Do not use the same colors as are in the sample.
Apply at least one Layer Effect.
Always use by non-destructive editing techniques.
Personal Reflection
I learned a lot in this assignment. I liked how simple it was to transform the work into something
more visually interesting. Its an easy way to add some interest to a line of text. I added a drop
shadow effect on some of the pieces to add some more visual interest. I will definitely be using
this technique again.
Skills Practice 17.1.2
Download the image on the left side of the screen by clicking it (do not right + click) and
choosing to save the image to your computer or open it from the supplied files you downloaded
via your textbook at the beginning of the semester.
Save the image as Lastname_SkillsPractice17.1.2.psd.
Use the steps outlined in your textbook to successfully create a duplicated layer with....
A filter from the Filter Menu (Use any filter.)
A Layer Blending mode
Adjusted opacity on the modified layer
Use non-destructive editing at all times. This means using a Smart Filter via a Smart Object
when given the choice
Personal Reflection
With this project I learned how to use the filter menu and blending modes to transform a picture.
Doing these things adds a very stylistic look to your picture. This was a very interesting way to
alter a picture and could work in a number of situation if you want a very stylized look. These
filters I used make the picture look like a pastel drawing. You can also change the layer opacity
to cut back on that stylized look and get a more subtle change.
Skills Practice 13.1.2
Choose one sunset and one window from the column to the left. Download the images by right +
clicking and choosing to save them to your desktop.
Save the window image as Lastname_SkillsPractice13.1.2.psd.
Combine both images by creating and refining a selection on the window.
Delete the interior contents of the window.
Move the entire sunset image into the same document as the window. It should be on it's own
layer.
Your two images are probably different resolutions.
Resize the sunset to fit in the window opening so it looks realistic.
Apply additional Layer Adjustments to one or more layers to make them look as natural as
possible.
Personal Reflection
This project was a of fun. It was an opportunity to put all the photoshop skills I had learned thus
far to the test. I feel like this attempt was very successful. In order to get a realistic look I had to
change the color, brightness, saturation, and contrast of both images. It was challenging and it
took some trial and error but I ended up with something I was happy with.
Skills Practice 14.1.3
Download one the images from the left side of the screen by right + clicking it and choosing to
save the image to your computer.
Save a copy as Lastname_SkillsPractice14.1.3.psd.
Use the steps outlined to turn an image into a painting.
Personal Reflection
A painting effect can be added through filters but if you want a more organic looking photo
turned painting you can paint directly over a photo. This project was a lot fun. I really like
photoshop for painting, it has a lot of options when it comes to brushes. I was able to achieve a
very oil painting look on this pictures using different brush settings in photoshop. It took a lot of
strokes but Im happy with the overall appearance of this photo painting. If I were to do this
again I would add a bit more detail to the land, using a dryer brush setting might have given me
the detail I wanted.
Skills Practice 15.2.2
Follow the steps outlined (Using the Healing Brush Tool) to remove the eye wrinkles from the
image.
Complete all optional steps to make the retouches appear as natural as possible.
Use non-destructive editing skills learned previously in the semester to whiten the teeth and/or
eyes of the subject.
Apply an additional non-destructive adjustment layer of your choosing to improve the overall
quality of the image.
Personal Reflection
This project is another example of what I typically think of when I talk about photoshop. By
using the Healing Brush Tool I was able to remove the wrinkles around her eyes. This is a very
practical use of photoshop healing brush tool and its an important skill to learn.
Skills Practice 17.1.1
Combine at least three of the images to the left as the background in the word UTAH using
Clipping Masks and the steps provided below.
Reference pages 343-344 in your textbook for help.
Personal Reflection
Clipping masks are easy to use and you make a lot of interesting things with them. This project
shows another way you can make a line of text more interesting. I really like the way the photos
look in the letters and adding the bevel to the letters adds a really nice effect. I would like to do
something like this again, its a great way to show and tell.
Skills Practice 17.1.4
Choose one of the images to the left to use as a background image for this exercise.
Format and crop the image to be 5in x 3in at 240ppi.
Place Logo.aiView in a new window as a Smart Object.
Rasterize the Smart Object by right + clicking the layer and choosing to Rasterize Layer.
Use the steps outlined on pages 348-349 in your textbook to change the perspective, size, and
position of the handicap logo so that it appears to be painted on the ground in one of the
unmarked stalls.
Use the same Layer Styles techniques learned for Skills Practice 17.1.3 to make the logo appear
worn and change the blending mode so the logo looks like it was part of the original image.
Personal Reflection
This is another great example of the uses of photoshop. Placing the handicap simple using the
transform tools was a little challenging. If your perspective is off it ruins the believability of your
photograph. Using the blending options in the layer styles window is a great way to blend
something in and make it look worn. I was impressed at how easy it was to make the logo appear
worn. It helps the logo blend in and look real. If I were to change one thing it would be to change
the color of the logo a little to match the warm tones in the rest of the picture, it stand out less if
it was slightly more pink.