Monday, September 8, 2008

Assignment 3 - Poster



Assignment 3 - Design Principles

Curvy Lines were used excessively to give the viewers more of a homey feeling, which helps to turn their attention to the poster.

Complex
Shapes were not created so that everyone would easily understand what was meant by the shapes.

To depict that the Earth has lost its colorfulness, a grayscale
Value was used for the world map.

Colors
were only being used to illuminate the rising liquid inside the thermometer to grab the focus of the viewer to a matter of the utmost importance.

To give a feeling that the map was drawn on a canvas,
Texture of a canvas was overlayed on the map.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Assignment 3 - Process

Imported an image of a world map as a template for tracing. Used the Auto Trace Tool to trace the outline of the map, which was then smoothed and tweaked using the Smooth Tool and the Direct Selection Tool.


Turned all the traced paths into a group object and applied the effect, 3D Rotate to get the desired perspective value. In the settings window, almost accurate value was given for the angle of perspective to make it look like the thermometer is being placed on top of the map.


The idea is to show that the surface is being lit by a spot light, which has a circular decay region. A curvy path with a stroke weight of 10 was used to achieve this effect. It was placed across the upper border and was blurred using the effect, Gaussian Blur. Applied a gradient to the fill of the map using the Gradient Tool so it shows a variation of color from light gray to dark gray along the perspective plane. Also made the upper region of the background bit darker by using the Mesh Tool.


Created a grayscale gradient for the Opacity Mask technique in order to apply effects and layer blending options only to a desired portion of the object.


Duplicated the group of objects that was created before and added the effect, Gaussian Blur to the new group. By using the grayscale gradient the blurred and the original groups were blended with each other so that it gives a photorealistic approach to the illustration as if the camera is focused on the front part of the thermometer. Altered the gradient mask to get the blending effect right.


Opened a new document in RGB color profile and created a canvas texture using the effect, Texturizer. Altered different attributes of the effect to get the exact texture. Exported it to a image file and imported the same image to the original document, which works in CMYK color profile. Had to use this method as some of the effects are not working in CMYK color profile.


Imported image was then rotated using 3D Rotate and altered the attribute, Angle of Perspective to place it on the same plane with the rest. Changed layer blending mode of the image to Multiply so the texture gets embedded to the layers below, which were the map and the background.


Created the typography using the Type Tool and once again it was rotated using the effect 3D Rotate. Made the text blend with the layers below by changing its layer blending mode. Shadow effect was being added to the text to get more of an embossed look, using Drop Shadow.

Assignment 3 - Preliminary Studies

Preliminary Studies
Global Mean Temperature

A thermometer is placed on a world map drawn on a canvas. The intention is to depict that the Earth is being affected by the rise of Global Mean Temperature. Colors had faded away from the map due to the unbearable heat, which would be the most apparent consequence of Global Warming.

Assignment 3 - Precedent Studies

A magazine cover art on Global Warming that helped me to think of a good layout for the poster with the proper use of typography.

A world map, that I have used as a reference for tracing. It also inspired me to choose suitable colors and texture for the poster as it inherited much of an authentic look.

Assignment 3 - Background Research

The greenhouse effect is the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere warms a planet's surface.


The Earth's average surface temperature is about 33°C warmer than it would be without the greenhouse effect.
The Earth reflects about 30% of the incoming solar radiation. The remaining 70% is absorbed, warming the land, atmosphere and oceans.

For the Earth's temperature to be in steady state so that the Earth does not rapidly heat or cool, this absorbed solar radiation must be very nearly balanced by energy radiated back to space in the infrared wavelengths.

The infrared photons emitted by the surface are mostly absorbed in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases and clouds and do not escape directly to space so the surface temperature will rise until it generates thermal radiation equivalent to the sum of the incoming solar and infrared radiation.

Anthropogenic Global Warming, a recent warming of the Earth's lower atmosphere, is believed to be the result of an 'enhanced greenhouse effect' mainly due to human-produced increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and changes in the use of land.


Sunday, August 17, 2008

Assignment 2 - Subject Matter

The final composition of the concept,
Global Mean Temperature

Assignment 2 - Process

Created the base of the thermometer using three rectangles, which were manipulated to resemble a box looked through a perspective view.


Drew the markings on the base using the Line Segment Tool and the Blend Tool, to get a sequence of shapes in a more efficient way.


Outlined a profile of a thermometer using the Line Tool.


Applied basic color profiles to the shapes. Markings on the base inherit a stroke color of gray.


Added specularity to the thermometer to give a feeling that it is being made out of glass. Used layers of shapes with subtle changes in color to achieve the desired effect. The Mesh Tool and the Gradient Tool had been used excessively through out the process. In some cases I had to use the effect, Gaussian Blur to make the specularity more diffused.


The whole process of illustrating the ideation concludes with application of shadows and a background to the scene. Used the effect, Drop Shadow to apply the shadows, but I also had to create some shadow effects on my own as the default shadow effect is not that realistic that it shows no decay in values of the color.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Assignment 2 - Precedent Studies

After seeing this image I got the idea of using a thermometer as a subject matter to symbolize the increase in Global Mean Temperature.


An old-fashioned thermometer, which inspired me to give my ideation more of an authentic look.

Assignment 2 - Background Research

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that plays a major part in shaping the earth’s climate. It produces the relatively warm and hospitable environment near the earth’s surface where humans and other life-forms have been able to develop and prosper. It is one of a large number of physical,chemical and biological processes that combine and interact to determine the earth’s climate.


Not all changes in climate are due to natural processes. Humans have also exerted an influence. Through building cities and altering patterns of land use, people have changed climate at the local scale. Through a range of activities since the industrial era of the mid-19th century, such as accelerated use of fossil fuels and broad scale deforestation and land use changes, humans have also contributed to an enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect. This enhanced greenhouse effect results from an increase in the atmospheric concentrations of the so-called greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, and is widely
believed to be responsible for the observed increase in Global Mean Temperatures through the 20th century.

see also : The Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change

Monday, July 21, 2008

Assignment 1 - Symbol

The final composition of the symbol on Global Warming.
The Green House Effect


Assignment 1 - Process

Created several circles using the Ellipse Tool and transformed them to get the desired shape. Changed the stroke weight of the outer circle to show the region of the symbol.


Added the remaining strokes that would form the outline of the whole symbol. Used the method of mirroring as it is a symmetrical shape to make the process more efficient.


Outlined the world map by using an image of a globe as a reference. The reference image was placed as an template image. Only the Pen Tool was used to draw the outlines.


Coloured the objects, using the appropiate colour scheme, that can be found in the swatches palette.

Put gradients on several objects to enhance the visual quality. Used the Mesh Tool and the 'Create Gradient Mesh' command to achieve that effect.

Changed the stroke colour into some other to get the desired rendering of the symbol.


Sunday, July 20, 2008

Assignment 1 - Preliminary Studies

Preliminary Studies
The Green House Effect

The Earth works as a Van de Graaff Generator, covered by a spherical glass. Energy flows from the Sun to the Earth, but the Energy doesn't go out into the space because of the glass, which represents the region of the Earth's atmosphere. The energy circulates within the region of the spherical glass, which is what really happens in a green house.

I've used the standard symbol to represent the sun (Circle and a dark spot in the middle). It was then embedded to the base of the generator and connected it with the Earth to show how energy flows.

The rendering that I had done for the sketch is only for visualization. I will use solid colours most of the time as it should inherit characterizations of a symbol.


Assignment 1 - Precedent Studies

A Mind Map on Global Warming. that helped me to choose the sub topic, The Green House Effect.

When I spotted out this image, I got the idea of Earth being covered by a sphere made out of glass to represent the Green House Effect.

A set of symbols, that inspired me to represent the Sun as a symbol.


Sunday, July 13, 2008

Assignment 1 - Background Research

For decades, the main environmental concerns of the world at large have been, without a doubt, global warming and ozone depletion. These are the two known problems which pose the most direct threat to mankind, as they usher in a whole vista of changes in our world. Since we realized the imminent dangers posed by these problems, the whole world has concentrated greatly on eliminating them. It has proven to be a daunting task, and still, global warming and ozone depletion remain the two greatest problems faced by humankind.



Global warming is literally a rise in the world’s climatic temperature, brought on by the Greenhouse Effect. The greenhouse effect occurs when Greenhouse Gases such as Carbon Dioxide, Methane and various Oxides of Nitrogen accumulate above their tolerance levels in the atmosphere.

When these gases are present in the atmosphere in large amounts, they trap the heat from the sun, which is normally reflected and radiated out into space by the surface of Earth. This trapped heat causes a drastic increase in atmospheric temperature, causing numerous problems such as the melting of glaciers in the Polar Regions and consequently an increase in sea level. This in turn could cause the submersion of a large portion of the world’s land.

In addition, global warming could cause worldwide changes in climate and weather patterns. It would eventually result in a massive worldwide extinction, wiping Earth clean of most of its fauna and flora.


CG - Week 4


The Loving Heart

Saturday, July 12, 2008

3D Modeling using 3ds Max



A fountain and a fan, modeled using Autodesk 3ds Max

3D Modeling using Maya


A school logo, modeled using Autodesk Maya. Rendered using Mental Images' Mental Ray.

iLogo


C for Creativity...

Monday, July 7, 2008

About Me!

Chathra Chiranjeewa Dias Karunarathne Weeraman.

1081100089

cweeraman@gmail.com