Project 1- Goldfish Dreamscape

For this Self-portrait Photoshop/illustrator project, I explored color, composition, and creativity. I initially saw my alter ego as something subtle and sort of scared. I wanted to be an egg. After my initial brainstorming and personality quiz as this raw, vulnerable egg, I found that the character traits I actually wanted to exaggerate in my alter ego are the exact opposite. I wanted to become an animal that could flip off a cliff, with a tail of fresh powder, from the side of a mountain, over active volcanos spuing lava. Above it all, I wanted to sun to be a bold, unapologetic orange, sliced in half and scorching hot, sending the viewer into a surreal flurry of an experience. I absolutely adored making these collages because I got to choose visuals that were surprising and yet so compatible visually. As Corrina commented in the critic, I am excited to take a color composition class in the future. I could see the bright deep oranges and true blues as a metaphor for the richness and excitement of my goldfish experiencing life. My illustrator images were more exploratory as they told less of a story and more of a brain experiment. My favorite one was based on Andy Worrol Pop art, with nine images of the earth as fish bowls. I also liked the image of the fish entering a mouth, showing the viewers the unknown and inevitable dangers ahead. This theme was also proved in the fish-out-of-water photoshoped pattern. I feel that each time I collaged and captured the whole picture, it became more concise and creative. I cannot wait to see what I create in photoshop in the future, as I feel a lot more competent! Thank you for this project and prompt.