I'm sad to say it guys…. This is my last piece of my graphics career. I know that you'll miss me. We are entering a reggae poster contest. I thought who better than Bob Marley. If you look closely you can see the cloud shapes. They represent peace, love, and music which are the words that define reggae.

This week I was assigned another vexel piece. I decided that I would make mine of the Tampa Bay Bucs stadium, Raymond James Stadium. It is not complete yet, but it is close. I need to add more detail to the field, suite level and scoreboard. Stay tuned for the final piece soon.

This week we are continuing our group project. My friend finished the water and the Hulk. I decided to try and make a sky. We agreed that I would make the sky. Here is the sky. We are having trouble incorporating it into the piece, but we will make it work. Stay tuned for an update.

This week a few students in my class are doing a super tutorial as a group. It will be a scene like this with a Hulk like figure destroying the buildings. My part is to help create and add more buildings that are destroyed. One of my group members did an excellent job of adding the water to this city street. Stay tuned for a piece or update on this one next week.

This week I'm following a tutorial on how to make an epic portal scene. This is my progress so far. I will have the final piece posted next week. This has taught me how to use clipping masks more effectively than I previously knew how. Stay tuned for the final piece.

This week we were assigned a project where we had to incorporate three or more portraits of the same person. I used four portraits of my friend Tyee playing basketball. Instead of creating four separate pictures I decided to incorporate them into one. I added a border with a banner to take up some negative space as well. Check the blog out next week for some more work.

This week I finally finished my Revis painting. It's a shame because he was just recently released by the Bucs. Here it is though. I decided to finish it up. I used a grass brush to make the beard and used a combination of filters to create the background. Check out the blog next week for some more work.

This week as we wind down the grading period, I used the time to work some more on my Darrelle Revis painting. Here you can see that I'm almost done with the jersey. I need to add eyes, touch up the helmet, and add some sort of background. This should eventually be completed. Stay tuned for more art.

This week we were assigned another portfolio piece. I decided to just continue working on my Darrelle Revis painting. I added the inside of the shoulder pads and the chin strap. I'm currently working on the arms. I had quite a bit of trouble with the inside of the helmet but I think I'm close. Stay tuned next week for one more piece of work before community service week.

This week we were assigned another portrait where we were required to add backlight to the image. Unlike normal portraits with backlights, the challenge with this assignment was that we were supposed to add the backlight in as opposed to taking a picture with it. I took a picture of my friend looking out on a sunset sea horizon. I used different lighting effects and lens flares to bend the light around his body. I also burned his back slightly as a natural shadow. Stay tuned for another piece next week.

This week we have a short week of school. Some of my classmates and I entered this contest where we had to manipulate a bird. I made mine based off of the game flappy bird. I made this in about 10 minutes of work due to a busy schedule. Expect some actual art the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more art!

This week we were planning on entering a gif portrait contest. So I created a concussion themed gif where my friend caught a football and bumped into a wall. He grimaces in pain to give the idea that he was concussed. The contest was supposed to be a winter themed gif, which this is obviously not, so I am not going to submit it. Hope you like it. Stay tuned for more art!

This week we were assigned a portrait series. My idea was to make cars. I'm currently working on my third of the series. The first is my car that I added a slight shadow to. I also blurred and darkened everywhere around the car to make it stand out. In the second, I put a white lamborghini in a snowy environment to blend it in. The one that is in progress will likely be a red ferrari surrounded by fire. Stay tuned for more art!

This week we were assigned a painting portrait. I decided to paint Darrelle Revis the cornerback from the Tampa Bay Bucs. Here is my progress on it because I was out sick from school on Thursday. I should have the finished version by sometime next week. Also expect a portfolio piece. Stay tuned!

This week we were given a series of tutorials to do based on portraiture. This one is based off a tutorial where we were supposed to use a model shot and add different textures. I, of course, used the best, most renown, celebrity female on the planet, Selena Gomez. Zendaya is a close second, but she does not compare. Stay tuned next week for more work.

This week's work were based off of the portrait articles I posted about earlier this week. I made three pieces.

This one is based off of the first article. I followed the standard rule of thirds and plain grayscale portraits Bonfigli uses in his photographs. I also added a slight burned border to hold it all together.

This is based off of Rowse's article. I followed his ideas of more colorful clothing and background. He also mentioned that sometimes cutting off body parts of the person can prove affective. I had the person look at the basketball to tell the story and give the viewer the knowledge that basketball is big in this person's life.

For my third piece this week the theme was similar to the first piece. This is also based off of Bonfigli's color schemes. I did incorporate the idea that looking at a certain thing can help tell a story. This was from Rowse's article. I added the lighting effects to tell the viewer that the person is sad but there is hope still there. Stay tuned for some more work next week.

This week we were assigned multiple readings on portraiture to open up the third quarter unit. The links for these three articles are below.

http://ilovephotography.com/ilp-goodportrait.html

http://digital-photography-school.com/10-ways-to-take-stunning-portraits

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/06/20/10-portrait-photography-mistakes-every-photographer-makes-and-how-to-fix-them/

The first article, by Eddie Bonfigli, differs greatly from the second, by Darren Rowse, in that Bonfigli's believes in all portraits to follow the standard rules. For example, he believes that the rule of thirds should be used, and also does not believe that the person should be wearing stand out clothing. He likes the background to be either very dark or very light, not in between. He likes the main focus of the image to be on the person. Rowse's style completely contradicts Bonfigli's. Rowse likes dynamic images with a lot of color. He believes the background and clothing of the picture should stand out. He also thinks that objects can be added to help tell a story. He does not always necessarily follow the standard rules of portraiture like Bonfigli. Stay tuned for art this quarter.