PROJECT V: Knit Pixel Portraits

Following Rachel Turdo's successful solo exhibition in the Deacon Student Gallery, a workshop was organized with the VC Senior to lead a class on PhotoShop pixelation with the students

RACHEL TURDO WORKSHOP

Visual Communications

Cazenovia College Class of 2018

in her words.... PROCESS:
PART ONE

Bring a photo into Photoshop
Overlay a grid –> For knitting, determine size of grid first as it will affect the size of the finished piece.
Pixelate the photo to line up with the grid – Filter > Pixelate > Mosaic.
You can play with the cell size to get the boxes to line up with the grid.

PART TWO

From here you have a pattern, but it's still a bit color confusing and needs to be color blocked.

Sometimes I color block right in Photoshop.

I use the eyedropper tool to select a color and then the brush tool (square) to paint in the grid using the photo as a starting point, blocking out chunks of color.

I print this simplified pattern and work from it.

This, for example, was a better solution for the Cooper the Cat pattern because he was so complicated that it was easier to paint over him with a few colors.

Other times I print the pixelated photo and use a thin marker to block out similar sections by hand on paper.

I find this makes my portraits more colorful because I have all these sections that I want to differentiate by color as I knit.

I don't typically pick out my color palette ahead of time like I would with the simple digital patterns.

PART THREE

As for choosing colors, sometimes there are obvious choices that match the photo perfect, other times I use a color that is sort of there but I exaggerate it.

Because I use yarn my color palette is kind of limited and I am not able to blend colors to make new ones.

If there is a section that is pretty saturated and muddy, I simply pick out one color that would work.

Students will review the Chuck Close,

a portrait in progress DVD

Pointillism painting example

Fran Lebowitz portrait, sea shells and cigarette butts

Lego sculpture

Child destroys a $15,000 Legos sculpture

because he wanted play.

Inspirations:

Chuck Close

Pointilism

shell art

Grids

others...

This project includes the Chuck Close DVD

Find 4 inspirations that illustrate this project well. Download them with their URL and paste into your Sketch Book. Note a minimum of 4 Principles & Elements of Design on each.

DUE: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 16th - critique

STUDENT WORK