Padletski by Duc Doan

Comparison between White & Blue

ddoan26 — 2025-09-09 02:52:38 UTC

In comparison to the blue image on top , this is what the negative looked like on a white paper. I think that each of the paper types provided a sense of detail and a different mood. However, I would still prefer the blue paper since it offered a sense of realism.

White Paper Final

ddoan26 — 2025-09-11 01:59:26 UTC

In this class, we had to take our negative at the start and repeat what we did initially with the cloths. We put our negatives, covered it with a plastic solid piece, then a black piece of paper with the cyanotype on the top. Then, I did an exposure of 30 with a time of 20. Then I slowly pulled it out one by one, to determine the best one. So what I determined was that my time would be 125 seconds. However, it was overexposed. It was difficult because of the range of light and dark, so if I could do it again, I would reduce the time to 120 or do dodge and burn using a stensil. I learned a lot from this, especially with determining the time. Next time, I would reduce the time to 118 or 120 because if it is underexposed I can just add hydrogen peroxide. Also, when I was doing at the start, I should've covered the black paper entirely, but then I left the top off so then it. was difficult to see the intervals clearly.

Reflection:

After having a discussion with Mr Larson, I realized that the main issue was the method in which I took the image. I should've paid more attention to the lighting more. Due to the large range of the light and the dark, I would have to do dodge and burn. This could've been easily avoided if I paid more attention to lighting. Also, I apologize for the image above, as I had no other place to put it so I had to place it on top of the hose.

Hurley Document

2025-09-11 10:11:28 UTC

Initial Idea

ddoan26 — 2025-09-16 00:07:00 UTC

In class today, we were tasked to create a Hurley-inspired image. One that consisted of taking multiple pictures and combining it into one larger image to tell a story. The image I wanted to do was to combine a bunch of images of people shooting in the background at a basketball rim, with a center piece in the middle. The center piece is that person sitting down on the bench or on the floor with their head down. I only wanted one shot to go in. This is because I wanted to convey the message that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. This means that if you don't actually do something, you won't actually know what will happen. The reason I wanted to convey this message is that I feel like in a world that we live in currently, everything is so competitive. Everyone is always going against each other, building a bigger thing, buying something nicer. Therefore, there's always a side of us where we don't wanna take that extra step and go out of our comfort zone. I want people to understand that if you don't try it , then ultimately the result will disappoint you. But, if you do end up trying it, many possibilities may come.

Reflection:

After completing the project, I had changed a few things from my initial brainstorm. My "center piece" was Huichan. Instead of making him sit on the bench like initially thought, I made him sit down on the floor so that I could have more negative space in the background. This would allow me to include more details, more snippets of Huichan shooting the basketball. I also made it so that none of the balls would go in because I want to convey the notion that we never know the end result. Things in the future can't be controlled, but the process we get to it is in our full control. Therefore, what I did was that I edited the balls so that it looked like it was still being shot on the upwards motion, slowly falling down.

First Draft

ddoan26 — 2025-09-16 14:10:35 UTC

Today, we took our initial ideas to life. What we had to do, was print our images, then using a precision craft knife we carefully carved out the images/details that we wanted to include in our final idea. This step mimicked the usage of PhotoShop of the Lasso tool. Firstly, we had to determine what our still image was. This image was like the background of the entire piece, one that doesn't move. In my case, I chose the image of Huichan sitting down on the floor. Then, I carefully selected the images that I wanted to be apart of the piece, and carefully cut it out. In this class, we had the liberty to play around with the composition since nothing was final. Therefore, I moved around several things, resized, and printed it again. Once that was okay, we kept an image of it to keep track of our progress.

Reflection:

Now that I look back at it, I once again should've paid more attention to the lighting, as well as the scale of my images. In our work, I took over 50 images, but only ended up fitting around 6 inside. Next time, I would make my still image more zoomed out, which would allow me to have more negative space. In addition, I would control the lighting, since throughout the image, it was pretty inconsistent, which brought me many difficulties in the next steps.

Adobe Photoshop

ddoan26 — 2025-09-16 14:16:59 UTC

In today's class, we were tasked of making our printed image into a PDF version, using Photoshop to manipulate the image like we did with the cutting and movement of paper in the previous step. To cut my image, I used the Lasso tool to be able to select Huichan's entire body, and then paste it to my still image. A difficulty that I had during this task was that due to the awkward lighting, it was at times difficult to select Huichan's full figure. There were times where I missed his head, his body, etc. Therefore, I had to manually select it at times. After that, we learned how to change the colorful images into negatives , also learning how to print it so that it can be used for the cyanotype. There was a specific layer of clear plastic that was placed under our sheet of paper, which is our negative. I enjoyed this process a lot because it allowed me to learn more about the effectiveness of each individual Photoshop tool. My comfort prior to this class with Photoshop was low, however, I feel more comfortable. There are many things that I wish to learn however. An interesting tool that I learned in today's class was the Autofill. Since my issue was that the still image was too small, leaving there to be zero negative space, therefore I had to select the part where I wanted AI to do an autofill to give me more room to work with. In this Photoshop, I applied the rule of thirds and placed the main subject which creates a guiding point for our eyes and tried to give contrast between the many different details in the image.

Reflection:

If I were to redo this entire process, what I'd do was I would select the ball more carefully. As seen in the negative, all of the balls that are in the air are identical. This is because there was one image of Huichan shooting that had the ball fully in frame, therefore, I selected that, then copy and pasted it many times. However, as I look at it now, I realise that the ball seems discombobulated.

Cyanotype

ddoan26 — 2025-09-16 14:21:55 UTC

In today's class, we were tasked to find the perfect interval for our negative. Because each of our images were different, the time was different for each of us. I did mine in intervals of 15 seconds, and found out that it was underexposed. I realized that my "perfect" time was between the intervals 90-105 seconds. However, this was only seen on my second time. Because I got ahead of myself, I looked at classmates intervals, and assumed that their intervals would be applied to mine as well. Therefore, I jumped right in and put a time of 240 seconds. This made my image to be underexposed. Even with hydrogen peroxide, the image still wasn't clear.

Reflection:

If I were to do this step again, I would carefully do my intervals, this time in 30 seconds. Then, I would figure out that the time interval that fit the best should be around 200-205 . This would then make my image pop out more as it captures the most detail with the shade of blue. As you can see in the image above, it is one shade the entire time. This is because I got ahead of myself and didn't to time intervals.

Difference between Blue & White Paper

ddoan26 — 2025-09-16 14:24:20 UTC

The main difference I noticed from the two was that the print on paper was lighter, the white was more prominent, it was like bright light. whereas the blue paper, it is more dark. I think they both are good in their respective matters, I think that the blue paper pops out more details, and you can see more, whereas the paper is more bright, thus less detail can be seen. In this class, we had to find the "perfect" amount of time to print our papers. The previous class, I had determined that I would do 15sec intervals for about 105 seconds, however, this image turned out to be underexposed. Therefore, from this class, I figured out that I would have to increase the time. As a result of the little time of 105 seconds, I added peroxide to make the image more dark, as seen above. I think that the blue image is good because it allows us to kind of mess around with our time and intervals. For example, if we think that our image is underexposed, we can go back and just get another piece of cloth and reprint it. It would be much faster compared to if we used the white paper, where we had to take the solution and spread it evenly across our paper, and then wait for the image to appear. However, when I look at the two images side by side, I would prefer the white image more because in some sense it felt more "realistic" compared to the blue colors on the cloth. One takeaway that I learned was that even if your original picture was underexposed, there were many solutions to this problem. You could've added peroxide, or simply repeated the process.

Reflection:

My mistake in the previous step of not doing the intervals caught up to me. However, I learned a lot during this class, seeing the difference between the green mixture on the white paper with the cyanotype and the blue image. I prefer the blue image more as it popped out more to me and had more details.

Intro to 3-point lighting

ddoan26 — 2025-09-16 14:34:35 UTC

In today's class, we were introduced to the history of lighting, as well as the importance of lighting. As seen in many movies, each scene places great importance on lighting. Lighting not only shows the image, it also tells us a story. In addition, the type of lights used accompanied a different type of mood/vibe/emotion. These types of lights and their preference among people is depended on culture in my opinion. In countries that have 4 distinct seasons, one that includes a long winter season, would prefer a warmer hue lighting. Whereas tropical asian weather prefers a bright light for lights. This class, we looked at different ways we can use light to manipulate our image. What I did, was I used the TV's LED lights and searched up images of different colors to create an LED vibe. I found that regular sunlight/studio light only brightened the product, however, colored LEDs gave emotion to the image. I tried to create a variety of moods, looking how different colors affected the same product/center piece. My centerpiece was the trending Labubu. In the first few photos, I used blue, the same color as the Labubu, then I changed to different colors to see if it changed the mood. I noticed that colors that contrasted blue more clearly provided a sense of mysteriousness and ambiguity. At the end of the class, we were told to research more about lighting. I chose to learn about how to manipulate the lighting using our trusty cell phones. I chose to research about this because we don't always have access to studio lights, professional cameras. However, we always have our phones. So , I wanted to see how we were able to recreate a professional scene with a small phone. I also searched up steps on how to have cinematic lighting.

Lighting

ddoan26 — 2025-09-17 05:11:41 UTC

This was my favorite image because the warm lighting which makes it seem like a product shoot. The warm hue of the image makes the product realistic and shows very specific details. For example, we can see that the warm lighting causes the small details of the fizzy fur to stand out. In terms of the specific lighting that I used, my back light was a vertical light block which I placed behind the product. The placement of the light directly behind the product to create separation and highlight its outline. Then, my key light was the was a large block that I placed below the product. This casts the main illumination upward and emphasizes its form. Finally, my fill light was a warm lamp that I placed behind. This softens contrast while adding a subtle warmth to the overall look. This is a classic three point lighting technique. Also, I added a sheet of translucent paper so that some of the light passes, while some is left behind. This is so that I can decrease the intensity of the light, since it became too distracting. The back light itself was already so prominent, and with the addition of the key light's high intensity, it made the image too distracting.

Reflection:

In terms of a technical standpoint, I should've done the following. I should've paid more attention to the frame. When we look at the picture, there is too much noise going on in the background. If it were a product shoot for example, the background would be a consistent color, or something that is subtle so that it doesn't take away from the main product . In addition, I want to pay more attention to my aperture, because I can clearly see a focus on the face, and then the rest has a boket effect.

3 Point Lighting (Pt. 2) - Light Version

ddoan26 — 2025-09-19 09:52:49 UTC

Today in class, we were all tasked to set up one station, and each person is considered a director. They were in full control of the scene and controlled what product to shoot, what lights, etc. We were given cooler lights today, which were bright white lights, compared to the warm yellow lights in the previous class. I noticed a difference which is that the warmer lights. The main difference is that cool lighting creates a sense of calm, detachment, or even melancholy. Compared to warm lighting, which feels more cozy and inviting. Each type of color has a different mood connected to it. Today, I tried the traditional 3 point lighting, but then I realized that my image was too dark. Therefore, I asked the people on the sides to put 2 light sources, each on either side so that it pops the product out more. Therefore, I was able to increase the brightness. Then, I also brought my key light closer to the object as well. I prefer the warm lighting more because the warm lighting adds a little bit of personality to the product, whereas a white light is simply a light that illuminates the product to make it stand out. Now, I have a better understanding of how light affects the image because each type of light has a different emotion, each placement of light has a different effect on the product itself. Therefore, now, I am able to control and manipulate the image more purely based on lighting, before any photoshop. I also changed the backdrop. In the first one, I used a dark backdrop, but then i changed to a lighter one and put a little bit of lighting behind it. This would add a little effect to it.

Reflection:

I think I should've paid more attention to the frame of the image, I should center myself a little more. Also, I could even consider using a tripod to avoid a blur and movement when taking the image.

Masking & Pattern

ddoan26 — 2025-09-27 01:00:09 UTC

In today's class, we were tasked to work on a technique called masking. Masking is when you use photoshop and adjust the lighting to enhance the image. I have learned many useful skills, such as how to change the temperature, what dehazing does to the image, and more. However, the most powerful technique that I think I learned the most was radial gradient. This is because I feel like I could control the light as if I was in a studio. In addition, I also learned the color curve which allows me to control the overall color of the image. If I wanted a more warm tone then I would put the curve more yellow, however if I wanted more detail and clarity, then I would use the blue tone. Now, I am able to really set the tone and atmosphere of the image. Some limitations that I felt was that I tend to put my image too yellow, in other words too warm. I think that at certain times, it really depends on the image and there is no set formula. So, it is crucial that you play around with the numbers which can cause it to be more time-consuming. For the pattern, I think that the technique was effective. However, my image already had patterns, therefore, I feel like if the image was white or clean, then the pattern would pop out more. Something I wanna learn is if there is a formula or baseline to look at when editing images.

Reflection:

If I were to do it again, I would pay more attention to the temperature. I redid my editing 4 times because it was too yellow. I realized that my image was monotone, so if it is too warm then it wouldn't look as good.

Collage

ddoan26 — 2025-09-29 11:01:50 UTC

Today, we were tasked to once again, do a masking with our image. Then, using that masked image, we had to put a collage with RGB behind it. I found this process pretty difficult since I put my black on the right and my white on the left, when instead I should've done it oppositely. I really enjoyed this process because it was really interesting to see a collage type with different colors in places of our masked image. I had a lot of difficulties, but with the help of Mr. Larson, I figured it out. I learned that I had to do oil painting to be able to control my "posterize" better. Then I understood that we had to work on the underlying layer. This step overall was very interesting because when we put in the collage effect, we get to choose when the effect would show, and when it would replace when it is a certain color. For example, it would only show the black collage when it was gray. I think this step is very interesting and adds a lot of emotion and life to our images.

Reflection:

If I were to do it again, I would choose a different photo for my masking image, which would then allow me to do this collage effect easier.

End of Quarter Assignment (Planning Stages)

ddoan26 — 2025-09-30 05:18:25 UTC

In today's class, we were tasked to draft our idea for our assignment that is due at the end of the quarter. The importance of this project is not the product (image) itself, but the message that it tells. My case, I wanted to show that despite your socioeconomic status, you can always make it out with hard work. In my case, I was inspired when we were waatching the mise en scene informational video where they showed the beginning scene of Parasite . Therefore, I wanted to have a background of a run-down room to show the economic status. In this case, I will go to D1, near Hai Ba Trung street where there are little alleyways with grafiti, exposed pipes, etc. to show my scene that it is run down. Then, I will combine with a Hurley inspired image where I'll take a picture of my main image (Huichan) sitting on a dark room table with my little details such as posters, paper crumbled everywhere, shirts, socks... which I will the use PS and Lasso to combine the two images. In this, I will put my key light next to my camera, then a high back lift on the left side, then a low fill light opposite of it. Then I will combine the two images together. Then, if the light is not prominent enough, then I will, using masking, radial light when masking to further emphasize the lights. I will dehaze my foreground and then add another light. Then, using the pattern technique, I will add the words : "One day or day one", but then my letter one will be dropping down which shows that his dream is hanging on a thread and it can fall at any moment. Huichan will be wearing a white tank top which is "typical" for people in that status because it is so hot. I will have him face a dark wall with no light showing that he must defy all odds to be able to succeed, as light = hope.

Playing around with lighting & "SSIS or not? "

ddoan26 — 2025-10-02 10:35:52 UTC

Today in class, we were tasked to do two things. One was to play around and learn more about lighting. So what my group did was that we first set up the black backdrop facing the east side of the class when walking in, with a key light next to the camera on the right side, a fill light on the left side of the camera, and then a back light at the back on the right next to the backdrop. However, what I found out after taking a few pictures was that the natural light outside couldn't be blocked by the black-out curtains, so we decided to move the black backdrop 90 degrees to the left where it was facing the north wall of the class with the same light set up. For the images itself, firstly, we did not use any flash and only relied on the light set up. However, we found out that to make the image stand out more we could've used the flash. So, Bora and I synced together where I would press the flash button for the key light while she takes the picture. This is because the cables didn't work so we couldn't sync the light and camera together. As seen in the photo above, the left image is without the flash where the one on the right has flash. This makes it so that the image pops out more and more powerful. Next, we had to find a place in our school that didn't looked like our school at all and explore its lighting. So, what we did was we went to the SDC stairs up to the top floor looking out to the balcony where the main light was sunlight. There was only natural lights around us, one on the top and one behind. We found that this was the perfect spot because our school is known for extravagant architecture and no one would realize a relatively old building would be our school. There is no artificial light at this spot, it was only sunlight.

Physical Print Image Transfer

ddoan26 — 2025-10-08 12:19:21 UTC

In today's class, we were tasked to do a physical print-image transfer where we would first divide our image into 7cm x 7cm squares, then we would use an xacto knife to divide our image into smaller parts. Then, we will use the gel medium on our paper, place the image squares, spray water and use a cloth to damp it. Then, we will put a piece of cloth as well as a wax paper to prevent burning on top. Then, at 100 degrees celsius for 20 seconds, we would use the sublimation press. Then, we will spray water to remove the excess water. At the end, we used a spray to give it that "glossy" look. I think that this technique is very useful because it creates a sense of realism that normal paper can't provide. In part because the paper in which the image is on is harder, which makes it look more professional. This technique was very fun to do, but it was very difficult. It was difficult because after the sublimation press, I tended to spray too much water. Therefore, when I used the cloth or my fingers to get rid of the excess paper, it also stuck onto the image itself causing it to rip. Therefore, for my third try, I didn't cut it into strips, and I did one whole paper. This was risky because I didn't know the exact dimensions, so I had excess gel on the outside perimeter of the image. This made it difficult to really peel off the cloth without damaging the image. As you can see from the image, there is still excess gel. This makes it look kind of weird, so if I were to do it again, I would pay more attention to my frame. As a result, I was taught by Mr Larson to fully submerge the image in water and then it would get off easily. Overall, this process was very difficult, but the end result was very interesting and unique. This is a unique way of printing, allowing there to be more details. In addition, because we are able to control the squares or the portions of the image that we cut out, we could make a collage out of the collage, making new designs.

Mise En Scene Final

ddoan26 — 2025-10-14 03:39:16 UTC

In today's class, the assignment was to do a portrait mise en scene. Originally, my thought was the post above where I wanted to do Huichan sitting down at a table facing a wall filled with graffiti with a small window. However, due to time constraints and lack of access to areas, I changed my idea. I couldn't go to D1 to find a place with the background I wanted. Therefore, I wanted to change my idea. So, I changed the theme to "rags to riches". My idea was that I will have some very run down and bad image in the foreground, then in the background, there will be skyscrapers: showing the contrast in life. Then, I will have my subject look up at the sky, kind of mimicing the idea that he is begging to god or looking up for hope. In addition, my subject will be wearing a tnak top, because tank tops are commonly portrayed as those of lower economic status. So, I decided to find an area that has a construction site with a bunch of dirt. Then, there was an opening that was angled, showing how it is leading the subject into the path of success. However, the door is very opening, showing that it is very hard to accomplish this feat, but when one does, it is very successful. Then, in the back, I painted and blended a horizon with shades and hues of orange and yellow, then I used blending overlay. For masking, I did a light radial gradient where the subject is directly facing to show the sun at the time, this light is like the light of hope for the people. I increased the exposure to around 1.7 to mimic a sun. Then, I had a liner gradient with a low exposure to contrast . the dark and the light. Overall as a background, decreased the exposure to around -0.5 to show the darkness to create a more dark and gloomy atmosphere. Overall, I had a lot of fun during this project, I learned how to take pictures and time of day. I spent a lot of time planning on where to shoot the image as well as how to shoot it. In this case I took the image from a low point of view so that it mimics the subject looking up at his dream.

Imaging Lab

ddoan26 — 2025-11-06 02:18:09 UTC

I think that there are many locations in HCMC that we can go to take pictures. Obviously, we have the landmarks such as Landmark 81, Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon, Bitexco, Independence Palace or the Saigon Central Post Office. All of these places accompany a different type of vibe that I think would fit well in street photography because these places are always filled with people and there are so many lights around these places. Or, in District 3 there are cultural alleyways such as the food streets or Nguyen Hue street. In district 7, we have Crescent Mall or Vivo City.

Also, for the picture, the image is 4000 x 6000 with a f5.6 and an exposure of 0.8. I also rotated the camera to make it horizontal and added a zoom of 135mm to give more attention to my subject. I think the slow shutter speed would allow me to give that motion blur vibe that looks nice. Also, learning how to navigate the tripod allows me to understand it even though I won't be using it when doing street photography.

Podcast - Intro to Street Photography

ddoan26 — 2025-11-06 11:45:41 UTC

After listening to the podcast, I realized how open and flexible street photography really is. There aren’t strict rules — it’s more about capturing life as it happens, each photographer bringing their own style, perspective, and story. That freedom keeps the genre constantly evolving with new generations, cultures, and technology, while still holding onto its roots of showing real, unfiltered moments from everyday life. I like how street photography doesn’t try to fit into one artistic box; instead, it celebrates individuality and the small, honest details that make ordinary life feel meaningful.

Also, we worked on editing an image by converting the image to black and white and increasing the contrast. Then, I added motion blurs, filter gallery to make it seem grainy and have texture.

Street Photography Prompt

ddoan26 — 2025-11-12 04:26:04 UTC

Yes, it can be acceptable to edit street photography if the edits stay true to the essence of the moment. Street photography has always been fluid — it reflects real life, but also evolves with technology and creative intent. Editing can help highlight emotion, story, or atmosphere, making the image more powerful without distorting its truth. Since art constantly changes, breaking “rules” isn’t necessarily wrong if it serves a purpose and pushes the genre forward. What matters most is honesty and intention — using edits to express perspective, not to mislead.

Raster Cut

ddoan26 — 2025-11-15 04:21:55 UTC

With the photos that I edited last class along with about 4 others, I converted it to black and white and increased the contrast, we used the laser cutting raster cut machine to print out our photos in layers. The laser was used on a thick piece of paper that started in the edge (0,0) and then a DPI of 800 which sets the timer at around an hour and a half. I learned that as the DPI decreased, the time will decrease, however the image quality will also decrease as a result. We tried to do the max DPI of 1200 but that would be too long with a time of 3 hours. The machine that we used allowed for control of different speed, height, power, and specific changes for the process.

Pressing

ddoan26 — 2025-11-17 12:16:42 UTC

Raster cut and initial process was very interesting because we saw how to transfer the image with the carbon onto the paper. What we had to do was we had to get a piece of paper and wet it, then we had to apply it on the press and then we had to roll it for several times before it was able to be transferred. At times it wasn't clear, therefore what I did was I had to add charcoal to make the details pop out more clearly.

Raster Cut

ddoan26 — 2025-11-20 10:38:22 UTC

We could also use other mediums such as wood , or even paper that we use but use chalk to add color. I think we can treat the work with other things as well, such as coating it with another layer of paint or something. Today I also experimented with other things such as drawing with chalk or even on newsspaper. It was uncessful when I used newspaper because there was nothing to put the image on becasue the newspaper was too thick and had too much detail. I think I could've used charcoal and find a page that has more white than black. My biggest take away is that I was too stubborn to change material and I just stuck with one instead of experimenting with others when it wasn't working.

Where this at????

ddoan26 — 2025-11-27 02:46:16 UTC

Playing basketball is fun, and so is taking pictures late at night just right.

This is street photography because this photo was candid, I was like a chameleon, no one realized I took it. There was lot of signs of life. I haven't done any post editing, but I plan to change the saturation to make the colors pop out more as well as doing some light masking, I plan on upscayling it too to make it more clear.

Printing on Plate

ddoan26 — 2025-12-02 10:57:32 UTC

For the past few classes, we were working on printing by engraving on acrylic plates and press printing on paper. The first step was to photoshop, which is so that the vales are highlighted for an easier engraving process. We used photoshop, added textures (sine wave),etc. When engraving, I tried to make small and short cross hatch lines with thicker details for the darker area so that it can create more of a shadow. I went through it very light, I did the outline first, such as the shirts, pants, outline, etc. Then, I went over it again and added more details. I used two main tools, which is the pointy tool and the thick one which is able to capture the details and intensity. The inking process was interesting, we chose our colors, and I chose pink. The main goal of the inking process was to make it thin and have a velvet texture and that signature sound. Then we applied it onto the image. I had difficulties with too much paint, so then I had to keep wiping it on the newspaper so that it would lose some of its paint. What I did was do pink at the start with some haze, then I did it again normally, then I did a gradient texture with a mix of majority black and pink highlights and then I switched it with majority pink and black highlights. The importance of wiping was to press it with pressure and then no pressure wipe it off. We knew when we did the wiping and the ink was slowly going away. Then, to get rid of the rest, I just applied no pressure and swiping it and it got off. Because the paint were stuck together then it made it easier to take it off. The printing process was smooth with enough wetness for my paper and good alignment during the press. However, we had to act quickly because the water evaporated quickly and dried up.

Dec 09

ddoan26 — 2025-12-09 03:14:34 UTC

Working through all the different materials and printing methods really broadened my understanding of how images behave once they leave the digital world. Early on, I realized how essential strong value and contrast are, because those decisions determine what actually shows up clearly in print. Experimenting with layered press prints taught me how texture and depth can shift depending on the medium, and how multiple impressions can build more complex tonal relationships. Laser etching gave me a sense of how depth can be produced mechanically, and how residue from the plate influences the final print, especially when using materials like charcoal. Dry point showed me that fine, delicate details can be captured through manual etching, especially when the burrs hold ink in subtle ways. PCB etching revealed how chemicals and heat can create depth without carving, relying instead on the removing and exposing of layers. Altogether, these processes showed me how much the choice of material affects the final image, and how each method offers a different range of control over texture, tone, and depth.

Of the three approaches, the dry point print came closest to expressing what I wanted artistically. It allowed me to bring out small details and tonal shifts with the most accuracy and control. In comparison, the laser-etched and PCB plates required much more troubleshooting and adjustment because they didn’t consistently hold the finer values and textures I wanted. PCB etching, in particular, involved a long series of steps using heat and chemicals, and it demanded precise alignment each time I transferred the image, which made it harder to maintain clarity. Laser etching also had limitations based on the board material, especially in areas where the image depended on subtle contrasts that the laser couldn’t fully reproduce. Because of these constraints, dry point ultimately produced the clearest interpretation of my photograph’s mood and surface qualities.

Looking ahead, I can see myself blending these digital and analog methods to create prints with strong contrast or clear areas of emphasis, depending on the project. Each process offers a unique way to build texture and layers physically, which opens up possibilities for more expressive or experimental work. These techniques could translate well into mixed-media designs, printed surfaces, or projects where the tactile qualities of the material contribute to the overall effect. Physical printmaking brings out a mood and presence that digital editing alone can’t replicate, so integrating these approaches gives me more flexibility and more creative tools to work with.

Jan 27

ddoan26 — 2026-01-31 01:04:24 UTC

In this class, we explored mark-making using etching tools to carve patterns into linoleum. I focused on creating contour marks using techniques I learned from the video. This process was much more challenging than carving rubber, since the linoleum was harder and required more precise control on a smaller surface. I did not fully complete the piece because I wanted to spend more time developing the rubber print, but I tested the linocut stamp to see how it would turn out. Since I was still not as experienced in the carving of the rubber, making the image seem too two-dimensional, I asked AI to generate an image of Kobe Bryant, block printing style. Then, I carved all of the yellow parts to make sure that there was more three dimensions. It was pretty interesting using the techniques learned in the video and apply it to our rubber piece because it provided a new depth and new look. As you can see in the image above, this was the old image of Kobe Bryant on the linoleum, however, the second image has a more clear picture of Kobe.

Jan 27

ddoan26 — 2026-01-31 01:07:37 UTC

In this class, I got the idiom "There is no use crying over spilt milk". My original sketch was just a baby, those who are known for drinking milk, crying because his favourite drink was spilled. This was the most literal sketch I could've imagined for this idiom. After doing some research, I found that this idiom dated back to at least the 17th century in England where the original phrase was "No Weeping for Shed Milk". I learned that the true meaning behind this idiom is that there is no point getting upset over something you can't fix, so it is better to move on.

Jan 29 - Sketches for Idiom *Non-literal drawing

ddoan26 — 2026-02-24 04:20:45 UTC

In this class, I asked ChatGPT to generate a few images related to my idiom, making it less literal. So, what it gave me was the first image of a bed, undone and left messy. The message I wanted to show is a different side to this idiom. The definition of the idiom is that what is done is done, don’t dwell on your mistakes. The side I wanted to take on is that there are certain things that are there, even though it seems wrong, just leave it there, it may help. So what I thought was that our beds dont HAVE to be done every single morning. There is good in not making our bed because we can just simply roll in and tuck ourselves in easier. So that applies to real life where there are things that may seem out of place and weird but it is actually beneficial for us. This is taking a more optimistic approach to this idiom because in my interpretation, this idiom was like: “ whatever, its done, move on”. This definition felt too dark and sad for me, so I wanted to take a twist on this idiom. So, I was saying, whatever is done, but why bother to change if it doesnt hurt us that much. Therefore, I got the image below. Then, I felt it was a little empty with too much negative space, so , with Mr. Larson’s help, I mirrored the image so that there were two beds. This adds more to the image, as well as adds to the meaning in way that this flaw can coexist in all of our lives, not just our personal life, but our social life too. The images below are the iterations that ChatGPT gave me. I purposely asked CHATGPT to have a lot of negative space because it adds more meaning to the idiom in the way that even good or bad, we must sometimes deal with it ourselves because we won’t always have constant support from the people around us. I also included below my sketch, the initial idea in which I then asked CHATGPT to make a block print version of it , which I used for carving.

Final

ddoan26 — 2026-03-03 09:32:11 UTC

Day 1

ddoan26 — 2026-03-11 04:32:19 UTC

Final Reflecion

ddoan26 — 2026-04-26 01:40:14 UTC

This is the final reflection of this very fun unit!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yaZs6R2lW1ccBp6YGpUT2xbOS_0v9miwNVMfgxTCtVg/edit?usp=sharing