The Secret Language of Comics

“Spill the tea… I’m all ears”

Initially, coming up with an idea was very hard for me. However, after looking through Stephen Mcmennamy’s Instagram, I realized that all I needed to do was to think of a realistic image in my head, and simply replace one of it’s features with another unlikely, yet similar structure. I looked around my dorm and saw my mug I just washed, which prompted the idea to use a mug as my realistic object. The mug handle is the most “swappable” feature on the mug, so I decided to choose something that I felt resembled the shape the most… an ear. After brainstorming and planning out my photo, it was then time to manipulate it in Procreate. I think my image conveys something “fantastical”, I can picture this mug on the set of Harry Potter.

“Mug 16”, @unforgiventak, Attribution (CC BY 2.0), edited

“Ear”, @eltpics, Attribution (CC BY 2.0), edited

Bleeding Mouth

After nearly a month at Emory, I have been missing my brothers. I think my subconscious pushed my in that direction when looking through my camera roll to complete this assignment. One of my favorite memories with them is catching sharks at Fire Island. My older brother (center) is a master fisherman and conservationist who has taught me everything I know about fish and the ocean. Another thing Fire Island is known for is its sunsets. So, I spliced the two together using Pixlr and the result is a photo that creates a strange feeling. The two horizon lines blend seamlessly which makes the photo look real at first glance. However, the bottom part was taken near midday and the top is actually a different body of water. In my opinion, this generates an unnerving sensation for the viewer, although that feeling might be hard to place.

Neckzilla

This sketch definitely took the longest amount of time to think of a unique idea that fits the criteria. After exploring Stephen Mcmennamy’s Tumblr and the examples on the class website, I noticed a pattern involving animals so I decided to try to focus on that rather than trying to think of a random idea. I came up with the idea of a morphed giraffe. I originally was going to use an empty paper towel picture role to represent the long neck of the giraffe but I decided to take the photo one step further and use a bamboo stick. The final picture represents a Giraffe and its unique characteristics: a very long neck and eating habits. The bamboo even though it is not the tree that giraffes typically pick leaves from represents the giraffe’s eating habits. Even though I had a long brainstorming process, I enjoyed creating the sketch as the photo editing process was very smooth because I used Google Drawings which I am very familiar with. Overall, I really enjoyed this Sketch as it was very interesting to make a clever piece of art using two things that are unrelated.

Reading Gives Wings

I scrolled through Flickr’s explore page to find inspiration, and I landed upon a photo of a butterfly with marble patterned wings. I thought of different things that could replace the wings, and the first thing I thought of was an open book. I scrolled through various photos of open books on Flickr, until I came across one that matched the shape of the butterfly’s wings the best. I used Pixlr to edit the two photos together, the most challenging part being erasing the background of the photo of the book. I feel as though my photo implies that reading gives you wings: diving into a text is similar to a butterfly fluttering its wings and flying to whatever world the book takes it.

“Marbled White” by Sebastian Morweiser

iStock Dmitrii Maslov

Combophotos

Recently, I’ve felt a need to use my pepper spray for amusement but I remember that it’s actually for safety. Then I started to think of things that made me feel at ease, and a flower, to me, means safety and peace, similar to how I feel and when I walk around campus or anywhere I travel with my pepper spray. Thinking about the combo photo wasn’t that difficult however combing the image was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Despite my best efforts, I was still unable to complete it perfectly. I couldn’t combine the photos together so i just put it on top of each other using google docs.

Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane?

I combined pictures of birds with a picture of two planes. The idea of combining something living with something mechanical seemed really fun to me, so I kept that in mind while scrolling on Flickr. When I saw the planes, the natural next step was to find bird wings to replace the wings of the plane. The biggest challenge was the editing. Attaching the wings to the plane was a bit of a challenge and required some cropping, blending, and transforming. My final image conveys a plane with bird wings.

“Bird”
samuelrodgers752
Attribution (CC BY 2.0)
Edited

“Bird in blue sky”
Yuri Levchenko
Attribution (CC BY 2.0)
Edited

“bob hoover collection image”
SDASM Archives
No Known Collection Images
Edited

To Infinity and Beyond

When I was brainstorming for the pictures I wanted to use, I immediately thought of my home. At around six years old, I saw Taipei 101, the building in this combophoto, for the first time. The moment I lifted my head, I thought the building was endless and extended to the sky. With this memory, I combined the building with a picture of a rocket launching. During the process, it took me more time to find a suitable photo for the rocket launch. Most of the rocket pictures online did not fit with the building’s shape, making the aligning difficult. Luckily, I was able to find a suitable photo. My final image intends to convey the importance of reaching for the limit and exploring the unknown.

Photo Credits:

David. “Launch.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 15 Jun. 2006, http://www.flickr.com/photos/davids_digipix/167832681/in/photolist-fQbNV-dMu3AF-7cotgs-71BtcB-2dPQdQM-cELoYQ-29np7QJ-2p3aSAz-qyHAD3-7pehGt-acUP14-4Yun77-26ZwnZ7-duD8zu-omVxrc-2okuuVU-2g3uBor-2o64iCQ-974EiT-zpFaWy-eFWKT6-ob1xfA-2kpgJD6-dnSz3f-KXiMS-23v3EWd-2p3557w-5zTuQA-S5AXjR-2okpm2R-6aPKdL-2kE56Yj-nT499o-2jPaWt9-S5B68M-5SLLS9-2iByMCW-2mvgCc1-HT8Cpk-VAu8dt-2n8jvxP-2ip8pTT-Qqy2-2n4WtAZ-QN8dvS-L8Tdp6-71hENj-crJRF1-CLJC3-2hWjw2N.

My.travels. “[2818] Taipei 101, Taiwan.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 4 May 2022, http://www.flickr.com/photos/129345858@N02/52048064452/in/photolist-2niiWeA-KYckjH-JepDHX-252gNVX-9wVjq-BxCzFu-JWs7DL-UXTzzd-D9ZzQ4-iFmeV1-7rYAQy-2jW6o9p-cDsSQq-2m4xAkF-2hV5xLt-CcK8bf-2jsScZK-3Dw2V-8ovvhn-6L1rRw-UKCtGm-zbg5KD-28BEPW6-vCjCKk-PEVuy3-22MiLAb-2nYuMNR-DyiXxv-ETqC9g-9YWZ4f-m4swE1-2bK4HN5-b1tMsk-pUN9gL-HrcfYH-5m8RZ1-PPnRyV-2m2QzNw-J6157X-XM5k7R-2gWGt6r-PTGBc2-92KMw8-QNE9RL-25jFHFM-2mXNyT3-2hAVcAr-unhseR-Q85Fx4-rzM8X4.

Link to Prompt

Combophoto: Broccoli Tree

As someone who doesn’t particularly love vegetables, my favorite vegetable is broccoli. The inspiration for my combophoto popped up when I was out hang out on Saturday and I saw a large tree. On a whim, I visualized his canopy as a broccoli plant. Merging two items naturally is the toughest problem in combophoto. I tried to adjust the brightness and transparency of the broccoli in order to make it look less jarring. My final image aims to illustrate how we may use our imagination to connect seemingly unconnected elements of nature.

photo from: https://www.amazon.com/Broccoli-Seeds-Heirloom-Brassica-oleracea/dp/B096TBHWZD/ref=asc_df_B096TBHWZD/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=532859556718&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16870780359666689283&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010926&hvtargid=pla-1508021944277&psc=1

https://images.app.goo.gl/J6hJjwrd3xzqxd3BA

SK4 Reflection

This has been one of the most difficult assignments from an English course I have completed. I’m aware that this likely wasn’t Mr. Morgen’s intention but I think my desire to find the perfect blend between two images was what made the process of creating this combophoto so enduring. It took me a while to even find the first picture that I would then combine with its auxiliary photo. I experimented with different images and photo editing software, ultimately using Flickr and CapCut, to create the blend that would produce the combo photo I was looking for. The final image shows a wide variety of colored pencils blending into an assortment of colored twizzlers. Although quite simplistic I feel that my image conveys the idea that color can be used as a bridge between different spaces. By that I mean, one can be transported from one place to another through the manipulation of color. 

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