Digital Photography & Imaging - Week 9

Lecture 9
Digital Surrealism

1. Realism Versus Surrealism
2. Image manipulation using Digital Photography

This is Mr. Fauzi's Blog for better understanding of our module and assignment.

Realism Versus Surrealism

Realism

Takes subject matters of the ordinary and common world which we call "reality." It almost always takes a non-exotic and non-extraordinary subject matter and theme. There is no need to think outside of the box, as that is not "real."

Surrealism

A twist on Realism. It explores the subconscious mind, with subject matters concentrating on dream-images and often aims to distort the ordinary and what we call reality.

Surrealism defies logic. Dreams and the workings of the subconscious mind inspire surrealistic art (French for "super-realism") filled with strange images and bizarre juxtapositions.

Fueled by the teachings of Freud and the rebellious work of Dada artists, surrealists like Salvador Dalí promoted free association and dream imagery.

Dadaism: An anti war art movement with art works that is satirical and nonsensical in nature.

Salvador Dalí was a Spanish Surrealist painter and printmaker known for exploring subconscious imagery.

 

What is Digital Surrealism?

Surrealism is a cultural movement focused on type of arts to express about the artist’s idea themselves.
In this digital era surrealism is one of the top digital art styles.

  

How to start creating Surrealism artworks?

1. Dream-like scenes and symbolic images

2. Unexpected, illogical juxtapositions

3. Bizarre assemblages of ordinary objects

4. Conceptual Photography Imaging

Capturing your Dream

1. Sketch It Out
Take a piece of paper and pen/pencil or a tablet and start to sketch. Draw your vision out roughly. Don't finesse any details yet, but just lay out key points of your vision.

2. Find Reference Images
Gathering reference images will help you greatly in realizing your new idea. Gather images that directly relate to what you have in mind.

Mindset during Creation

1. "Does this look real?"
Surrealism is at its best when it's convincing enough that it could be real, however we obviously know that the subject matter you are creating is nonexistent, thus is not real.

2. Make it happen to the best of your ability.
When you try to approach something challenging, you will learn the skills you may need for next time to make it work. The worst thing you can do is be afraid and back off from your idea, because you would never learn that way.

Photoshop makes it easier than ever to create surrealist images, requiring just a modicum of photomontage skill to produce impressive results.

References:

1. Incorporating Surrealism Concepts into Your Digital Artwork: https://bit.ly/3xjCmTf
2. Surrealism art and literature: https://www.britannica.com/art/Surrealism
3. Creating Surrealism in Photoshop: https://creativepro.com/creating-surrealism-in-photoshop/
4. What is Dadaism, Dada Art, or a Dadaist?: https://magazine.artland.com/what-is-dadaism/
5. Salvador Dalí Spanish artist: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Salvador-Dali

---

Practical 9

Poster Design

Continuation

Part 3: Start to develop your poster

1. Draft the digital poster based on your sketches.
2. Develop the composition techniques using Digital Photography/ Photo Imaging.
3. Apply textures & effects if necessary.
4. Finalize your design with color correction (Adjustment Layer)

I did some image adjustments to the person, city and the cottage house in the face to adjust the colour I want. I made the person have a more contrasting vibrant look to pop out from this poster. As for the city, I wanted to go for a nostalgic, old photography look from the early 2000s, so I made the colour cooler in tone with a hint of yellowish tint to it and less vibrant with saturation. On the other hand, I wanted the cottage house to look more vibrant and bright as the highlight, and to express a dreamy painting look. In addition, I added a shadow using blur and decreasing the opacity at the bottom of the person's torn body.

Fig 2.1

Fig 2.2

I added more elements to express the dream-like feeling. I first added the clouds above the city, with the inclusion of steampunk vehicles and plants growing from the bottom of the portrait. During this process, I was still thinking of what else to include into my poster to accentuate my theme and message. Later on, I decided to add sea creatures and the sun and moon to be part of nature in a surrealistic way, where sea creatures are flying in the air that looks like space, and the sun and moon would show how this dream would go on, night and day. Combining these elements would create a digital surrealism-collage mixture that I want to make for my poster. These are the elements used.

Fig 2.3

As for the background, I went through my photos on my phone that I have taken from the past, to obtain a more authentic and desirable picture. I tried using several backgrounds - the clouds and a reflective sea, a sunset, or the coast with the sky and beach. Since I added many elements, the sunsets and cloudy skies don't work so well, as there weren't any contrast or harmony I am looking for in the poster. I stuck to the coast and sky picture, as the darker colour of the coast creates a nice contrast against the brighter city skyline and clouds at the bottom, while the white clouds in the sky makes the person pop out with the sun and the moon at the back. This picture was taken in Greece, back in 2023.

Fig 2.4

Fig 2.5

 

After placing the elements in the right place that balances the design out, I added effects to the elements to add more depth into the poster. I begun correcting the image adjustment for each element, to blend into the poster more while manipulating the image to get the right look in this design.

Next, I added a galaxy picture to the background above the coast picture, and used the blending modes to create a galaxy effect that enhances the dream feeling. This also supports my idea of making the sea creatures fly in space, a beauty I have taken inspiration from other artworks I've seen. I adjusted the brightness and contrast, so that the stars can pop out more.

I wanted the person's bottom to blend in too with the city. I was thinking of a dystopian type of future, where cities get engulfed by plants and greens. But instead of showing this in a bad way, I want it to further represent my idea of technology and nature blending in, which is an idealistic home scenery for me. I added a rubble and sand picture to the bottom where the person's half got torn, and used the blending mode to create a double exposure.

Fig 2.6

Lastly, I added another picture of mine that has pink skies on top of the picture, and used blending mode to soften the picture. This acts as a warm filter to enhance the dream effect and make the poster seem more magical, and that the colours don't clash too much but are blended together in harmony, creating unity among them. I also love skies a lot and wanted to include more of them in, because they do, in fact, bring magic to things.

Fig 2.7

Fig 2.8

Since this is for the HONOR competition, I need to insert this poster to the magical lock screen template. I have made two versions, one for the vertical phone screen, and the other for the square phone screen. Since the person used as the main subject is like the profile picture of the phone, the background does not have the person. I asked Mr. Fauzi about this, and he said to just use what I already have and manipulate it differently. 

I changed the canvas size to 6000px,3000px and removed the person entirely from the poster. I placed the city on the sun and moon, with the cottage house blending in the centre. I enlarged the elements accordingly, with some duplication in the process to make the poster seem more alive, while trying to balance it properly. I still prefer my vertical poster with the person, but I do like this attempt at changing the poster slightly to fit a different dimension.

Fig 3.1

I had to make a phone lock screen too, before showing the main poster. I just made a simple circle with some elements popping out like a 3D profile picture. I used a blue and orange contrast, as I love those two colours, while they harmonise the poster.

Fig 3.2

After finishing the landscape version and phone lock screen, I added these to the competition's templates. I also added the clock, using the font: Colonna MT, with a vibrant pastel yellow.

This is my Final Submission.

Poster Design:

Title: If Only I Could Dream For A Moment
Summary:
The poster captures a dreamy-like feeling of how one may wish to be home, where technology in a bustling city can co-exist freely alongside nature without destroying each other, with a touch of magic. Floating sea creatures can meet hot-air balloons and hovercrafts, with plants still flourishing in the home city. There’s a window-like tear on the person’s face, showing a cottage house, as the person’s inner dream of where they could live is shown to the world. The background is of a coast coated with galaxy elements, to give a glowy feeling of magic only seen in dreams. This portrays a dream where I would wish to live in, where steampunk meets magical fantasy.

Fig 4.1 Final Poster Design

HONOR Competition

Magic Lock Screen Template Design:

Fig 4.2 Vertical Screen Phone

Fig 4.3 Folding Screen Phone

Overall Design:

Fig 4.4 Overall Design