M3 Poster Final Version - Gay Marriage Equality

Final Version

This is the final version of my Gay Marriage Equality poster.  I followed the suggestions made by Mr. Hiuni and moved the wedding rings below the word "marriage" and centered it to be inline with the flowers.  I also shrunk the type so there was more of a border present along the sides.

I ended up sticking with the same fonts and not changing them as I had thought I would.  I like the way the "M" scrolls up into the tux a bit and nothing else looked just right to me.  I tried to change up the colors of the fonts but didn't like the boldness of black against the pink sparkle so I did the dropper on the tuxes to pull the font colors out from there so it would look more cohesive.

I also blended the flowers more so they weren't sticking out so brightly against the tuxes. I also added a drop shadow to the flowers to mimic the shadow on the rings.

First Draft Version

My friend suggested to change one of the tux colors but I decided to keep them both black in an effort to show "sameness" or "equality" if you will and that the two grooms would be standing side by side as they say their vows.  It just felt right to keep them both black.

The first draft version can be seen to the right for comparison.







Works Cited:

LeoSynapse. Formal1. Digital image. Free Images. N.p., 2 Dec. 2005. Web. 10 June 2014. <http://www.freeimages.com/photo/418618>.

Gay Wedding Rings. Digital image. Queerty. N.p., 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 10 June 2014. <http://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/wp/docs/2013/08/Gay-Wedding-Rings.png>.

Christmas Background. Digital image. The English Wedding Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2014. <http://english-wedding.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/christmas-background.jpg>.

Sepia-Bokeh3. Digital image. Meghan G Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2014. <http://meghangphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/sepia-bokeh3.jpg>.

Gay Marriage

This design was inspired by my best friend Sean and his boyfriend, Billy.  Their life together is very complicated.  Billy is an active duty solider in the Army and years ago,before he met Sean and before gays were allowed to have same sex partners in the military, Billy married his lesbian best friend so they could benefit from the spouse/dependent status.  This meant more money for them and better housing choices at their stations.  Now, Billy and his "wife" live in separate states with their new chosen partners, yet are still married to each other.  While Billy lives in a state that supports gay marriage and he could happily marry Sean now, his "wife" doesn't and so they remain married for convenience until she is stationed somewhere else that upholds gay marriage.

This cause is very near and dear to my family and I as we know how much Sean wants to be married to Billy.  We fully support marriage equality for them and everyone else who is suffering unfairly while these archaic state laws are still in effect that prevent their very happiness.  When I told Sean I was making this poster, I asked him what message he would like to see and the answer was heart-breaking:  how would his marriage destroy the "sanctity of marriage"?  So while designing this poster, I wanted to make something that reflected Billy and Sean's personality/style while still getting the message across.

This is just my draft version...I still have some touch ups to do like blending the flowers more.and I might fiddle with the fonts.  I wanted a "wedding invitation" feel to it but I'm not sure this is the one exactly.  We'll see how the final edits go!

Module 2 Final

I realized after posting my original concept version that I had forgotten to activate a background layer of distressed, splattered music sheets.  So, that is now turned on and you can see it running in the background now.  I took the advice about the green lights and brought them forward a layer and enhanced their green, vivid color more.  I extended the lights to reach the full page length too.  I think it fits better than stopping mid-way. The girl didn't really blend well in my concept art and so I ran her through a soft, warming action to blend her better into the scene.  She's not quite sticking out like a sore thumb any longer.  I also fixed a boo-boo on her lip area that I "thought" was a smear on my screen!  Turns out it wasn't and my color range selection deleted part of her lip area in my original.  I also did an inner shadow/gradient work on the logo as I didn't quite like it standing out off the page either.  I think this final version is much richer and more vibrant.  Still has that bright, funky "dance club" feel to it that I just love.  Very happy with this final version.

For ease of comparison, here is the original version.

Works Cited

Broken CD. Digital image. Duplication Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2014.

Ematil_1023. Backlit Microphone. Digital image. Free Images. N.p., 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 31 May 2014.

Green Laser Light Show. Digital image. Casa Laser Lights. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2014.

Ilkaysan. Curtain 2. Digital image. Free Images. N.p., 22 Nov. 2009. Web. 31 May 2014.

Royalshot. Woman with Headphones. Digital image. Free Images. N.p., 18 June 2010. Web. 31 May 2014.

Wandrei. Abstracto Musical. Digital image. Free Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2014.

DJ Cosmik

Since I just received my new Wacom, I decided to use it for my sketching to get in some practice in!  As you can see, since it looks like a 3 year old drew it, I definitely need more practice with the digital pen!

My concept here is based on one of my favorite genres - techno!  This would be the cover art for DJ Cosmik and it features some of the most essential tools that a DJ would use - a turntable and a microphone for shoutin' at the dancing mob!  Behind the girl with headphones is a bright, wavy, funky curtain effect.  Everything is just very bright and colorful, reminiscent of what a dance club would be or maybe even a rave.

My second sketch is a darker take on the CD cover design, this time reaching into the cosmos where music mixes with the stars!  I had considered using a moon in the middle but I think I will choose a CD instead (or maybe I will meld the two together) and then have this bright, eye catching explosion happening behind it.  The DJ is still there, as well as her trusty turntable.

However, what I ended up with was something totally unexpected.  I tried the dark version and didn't like it.  It did give a "cosmic" space-y feel but yet, the club type atmosphere I was going for was missing entirely.  I went back to my first original sketch and played around with it some more.  I didn't like the turntable effect I had.  It just seemed out of place so I found a broken, scratched up CD and manipulated it instead.  I also HATED the color explosion effect I had so badly wanted.  I wound up taking a club scene and pulling out the green neon lights and flipping them upside down from the top of the page.

I feel like my montage is definitely effective in bringing you a dance club/rave type feel to it with the flashy bright colors.  I think I'm missing is a smoke machine!  The font has a very fresh but funky, playful type vibe to it - the dots sort of remind me of a DJ's mixer board lights.  There is a very faint microphone present - an absolute must have tool of the trade for a DJ to get the crowd on their feet and keep them there! The CD on the right is cracked and scratched whether from repeated wear & tear or you could even so venture to say that the music is too awesome to contain on a mere CD!  Behind her, is a rippled, rainbow curtain effect that hints towards those all special VIP areas that are cordoned off at the best clubs.  It almost looks like she is happily getting lost as the music carries her away; she is gazing upwards and that's why I angled my neon light effect upside down from the top.  I just love this very ambiguous picture of her - do you see her as just a listener or the DJ?  Totally open to the viewer's interpretation.