I actually really enjoyed this project. I took a part of a short story that I wrote that I was never really satisfied with, and tried to imprint on the language the feeling that I was trying to convey. It came out fairly cliched and I wouldn't present it as final work, but I really was not able to accomplish everything I wanted to because of my own limitations. I found Photoshop fairly frustrating to use.
It took a while to grasp the purpose of layers in photoshop. I feel like the control of layers is not intuitive - after perusing through help I couldn't figure out how to rotate or copy a layer. I did discover some new features, however, that really interested me. The background picture originally had a dollar bill going into the slot, and I was able to airbrush it out to the point that it was not quite noticeable. I was also impressed with how it looked once I flattened the layers - I had my doubts while I was working on it.
I think that adding graphics allowed me more control over the effect that I wish to give with my writing. Photoshop allows us to move beyond traditional illustrations that accompany writing to create a different kind of work. Illustrations are generally limited to representing the realist aspect of a work, but with the many functions of Photoshop it becomes easier to express other notions. Adding images to text also gives birth to a hybrid-form of art, where text and visual arts combine. Anytime that a new art form arises, the possibility of revolutionary creations looms heavy, and I find it very exciting that computers are such a powerful tool for creating new works.
Last modified 11 February 2008