Graphics+Project



media type="file" key="Hell.mp3" **Hell is Full of Musical Amateurs by George Bernard Shaw**

This particular quote caught my attention as I searched for quotations I could visualize. I had another picture about 80% done, but I changed my mind because of the difficulty in finding specific images I needed. I can see that for this particular type of medium, you either need to purchase stock photos or have access to many personal ones. I used Photoshop Elements 2.0 for this assignment.


 * Meanings**

I am an avid music lover and a sometime musician, so this particular quote really caught my attention. I was instantly able to visualize it. I love music, and when played correctly, it can convey any number of emotions, ideas, feelings, and thoughts. A horribly played piece of music can make your skin crawl and your body cringe. Listen to a middle school string ensemble (yes there may be some good ones, I haven’t heard them yet) and then listen to Pachelbel’s Canon in D. The feeling and meaning that I am trying to convey in this picture is that the devil is listening to the worse musicians ever.

Other interpretations of this could be that musicians often think that they are the best at their particular instrument and they are submitting the listener to a nightmare; a professional musician may feel the amateur thinks they are better than him; or that someone is condemning the casual musician.


 * Processes**

I began this graphic by first finding a suitable background. I wanted flames, not an explosion. I also wanted flames that were slow burning and not a quick flash. I then decided on silhouetted musicians and tried to find ones of instruments that were common or quirky.

I stopped there, but it did not feel done. The musicians looked like they were just playing in front of a fireplace, so I decided on further examination that I needed to portray hell better. The barely visible devils are fading into the background because they are trying to leave area. The devil, who rules over hell and has to deal with lost souls, has to stay where he is and listen. I added the disjointed notes to portray the musicians as actively playing. That is when I knew I was done, although I still am playing with other versions.

The strengths I see in my process are that I took a layered approach to my graphic and that I tried various versions of my graphic. In the layered approach, I took my time and sketched out each region of my mental picture. This allowed me to decide what elements I wanted before I looked for them. After completing the first version, I looked at what I liked and disliked and changed several elements to improve upon the picture. I continued to tweak placements until it felt right to me.

My biggest problem with both approaches is that I think big and I am never quite satisfied with anything. My first quote I chose I couldn’ t pull off because of the number and complexity of elements required. I am not artistically “there” enough to pull off what I envisioned. My other problem is that I can’t stop tweaking things. I always find something new later to add on. I have to learn better when enough is enough.

The process I used is very close to what I use to write essays. I do a mental outline first, it’s easier for me to mentally “see” something and then write it down. I put the outline on paper and then fill in and embellish where I feel it needs it. I then read and re-read until it is as close as I can get it to what I envisioned. This is exactly what I did with my graphic. That is when I knew I was done, although I still am playing with other versions.


 * Choices**

I chose the fiery hell, the silhouetted musicians, the devils, the text banner, and the notes for my image. The fire in the background (actually a burning log) had the colors and quality that I was looking for when I visualized a fiery hell. I chose to use silhouetted pictures of musicians because I didn’t want to offend anyone. There’s nothing like using someone’s photo in a picture of hell.

The main devil was very hard for me. I am not the best artist and I couldn’t find a picture of a devil covering his ears. The devil is holding his ears because there is nothing worse than a group of amateur musicians who think they sound good. The barely visible devils are there to represent the others in hell who are backing away from the musicians. The notes are intentionally ill drawn to convey a sense of really bad music.

The hardest element for me is still the text. I chose a black background with a burgundy belt. I then typed in the text in white with a slight shadow to better outline the letters. Text is still the hardest element for me to work with and one that I need much more practice on.

Modifications to the picture include:


 * 1) assigning each element a layer;
 * 2) using the flames as my background image on 800 x 800 canvas;
 * 3) cutting the musicians from their backgrounds using magic lasso, and filling them with the paint bucket tool to make sure they were mostly silhouetted;
 * 4) scanning in the background devils, using color adjustment to fade them, and using fill to color in their eyes;
 * 5) drawing and scanning the notes, using fill to color them black, and adding a neon blur;
 * 6) creating the text banner;
 * 7) drawing a devil, scanning it, changing the pencil markings to red using fill, and making the background transparent with the magic eraser to allow the flames to show through;
 * 8) flattening the layers;
 * 9) and cropping the image while saving it as a jpeg.

By doing all of these modifications, I was hoping to make a fluid piece that conveyed not only the heat of hell, but the pain of the devils having to listen to bad music. I also didn’t want a scary picture, so I added the cartoon devil covering his ears as a bit of whimsy.

Hope you enjoy the picture.

Jenn

Picture credits: Guitar player - Kr.B Trumpet - Ralphman Flame - wwarby Drums - Lightsurgery Shell - Ani Carrington All photos above were from Creative Commons - Flikr

Faded Devils - Dover Publishing Sad Devil - Jennifer Greene Notes - Jennifer Greene