Archer_Architectural_project

I chose a lighthouse for my architectural project because these buildings have character and reconstructing it in Illustrator would be fun. This is the Cove Point Lighthouse located at Cove Point MD. This lighthouse was built and finished in 1828. It was originally planned for this lighthouse to be located in Cedar Point MD but was relocated to Cove Point to increase the ability to guide ship traffic in the Chesapeake bay and into the Patuxent River.

Cove Point Lighthouse was designed by John Donahoo. It is located on 4 ½ acres of land, in addition to the lighthouse a house for the lighthouse keeper was built. The tower is 38 feet high. The fuels for the lights were powered by oil. This oil needed to be carried up to the top of the lighthouse many times per day. This was a hardship for the lighthouse keeper. A Fresnel lens was installed on one lamp in 1855 which reduced the oil required because only one lamp was needed to provide the light required instead of 11 lamps. There have been many upgrades to the lighthouse since it was built. The latest upgrade was in 1986 and included a fog detector, lamp changer, and computer connection to headquarters. These upgrades made the keeper position obsolete.

The house was originally a single story building. In 1883 a second story was built onto the home. The dormer was added in 1925. After the dormer was added the house was divided into two homes, one side for the head keeper the other for an assistant. The head keeper occupied the side closest to the tower.

The lighthouse is still operating. The house is occupied by a caretaker, since the keeper is no longer required due to the upgrades. It is located in a vacation spot therefore; it serves as a point of interest for many people.

Archer_typography_Portraits

Typography Portraits

On this project the class had to reconstruct a photo using fonts only. I learned about many things in Illustrator, including what fonts are available, how to size and rotate fonts, how to change font attributes to change shading and weight. I studied Line, Shape and Value type portraits.

For the Value Portrait I used the words of the "Lean on Me" song because my daughter and her husband are leaning on each other in the photo. Using heavier weights and more compressed fonts I provided the darker shading. Using lighter weights and greater spacing in fonts I created lighter shading. To get the text to fill the shape we learned how to use the area type tool. Using that tool we are able to fill in the shapes created by the pen tool.

For the line Portrait I used a picture of my daughter’s. I used font size, weight, and spacing to darken and lighten lines. I outlined their facial features, hair and neckline. We used the pen tool to make a line. Then using the type tool chose a great font, changed spacing and weight. I learned how to use an amazing tool offered by Illustrator, called type on path tool. It works to fill in types on lines. When using this tool the type follows the pen line, therefore; allowing the text to create the image desired.

For the Shape Portrait I used a photo of my nephew Tyler - here I used individual letters to create shapes to recreate the shapes in the photo. This was fun because you had to view the characters as shapes. The options of type fonts allow you to be very creative. Combining the fonts, re-sizing them, changing the font weight and spacing allows the artist to put fonts together to create the image they are looking for. Using J's for hair, i and l's for straight lines, c's for curves, and other combinations allowed me to achieve the desired result. This project helped in becoming familiar with fonts, how to use them creatively, and how to rotate and position them.

These type portraits were an interesting project which taught great illustrator techniques. Creating typography portraits are time consuming.

Archer_Barefoot_Biscuit_Logo

Logo Project

This project was to create a logo for a company. The company the class was instructed to make a logo for manufactured dog treats that were environmentally friendly and contained only organic ingredients and no chemicals or preservatives. These treats are also human friendly. The project included creating a logo and business marketing package using Illustrator. I learned that a successful logo is simple, pertinent, and memorable.

I used a B as a common character between the two lines, "barefoot and biscuit". The biscuit image encloses the company name and paw prints in the font to tie everything together. The stick figure adds a fun feel to the logo. I used the green color to give the idea that the company is a natural, environmentally aware company.

The focal point is a biscuit so immediately you know what they sell. The color, font style, and stick figure make the logo fun and interesting.

Website Interface

Website Interface project

This project required us to re-design a poorly designed website. We researched Cherokee Jewelry; because research is critical to a well designed website. I enjoyed the subject matter and the design process. I decided to include a side bar menu, product photo's that were featured in the center and information on the founder/artist of the company in the right margin. The company name is large and on top of the page. The page is designed to fit the most important information on the first page viewed without scrolling. The color scheme was chosen to give a feel comfortable, welcoming feeling and matched the images nicely. The jewelry is positioned in the center; this gets the visitors attention and immediately displays what the company sells. These would link to more descriptive text, larger photos and the ability to add to the visitors shopping cart.

This project was designed using Photoshop to display the website ideas but in reality to create a functional site it would be designed in a web design software package such as Dreamweaver.

The images were edited in Photoshop and the colors and fonts were created and edited in Photoshop.

Archer Dreamscape

I chose one of my favorite songs, “Hotel California” to do my dreamscape. The song has a lot of symbolism. The Hotel California is a destination for a weary traveler. It looks like paradise until you get there. You can’t have what you want; you can have what they tell you to have. The hostess has possessions and lovely pretty boys that she calls friends, but are they really friends? Are the possessions fulfilling?

Once you get to the hotel you discover that it could be heaven or hell and you can never leave. Everyone is a prisoner, but of their own making. The song is an Eagles classic.

The hotel looks like a great place to stay. The name of the hotel is in bright red which gets your attention against the black and white background. There are flames around the hotel but they are not damaging the outside, it is pleasant on the outside but is not so great on the inside. I chose to put the eagle because it is an Eagles song. The Eagle is on the “heaven” side because Eagles are a regal bird with much strength. There is a rickety ladder towards heaven. The boards match the signs pointing to heaven and hell. The signs to heaven and hell are worn out and hand painted, much different than the classy hotel which is the entry way to that decision. The angel at the bottom of the stairs looks peaceful and makes the entry to the staircase inviting. The lantern is the “shimmering light” that is in the song. The lantern used depicts a light that gives direction like used on the railways. The image is mostly black and white which illustrates simplicity with our decisions; you can take the right road or the wrong road. The color in the light and signs indicates our decisions may result in more complicated results. The color also is an image for the many times our options are presented to us in a flashy way. The options are presented in a flashy way to get our attention. The choice may result in good or bad but both are just as flashy which can be hard to decide and are misleading. Our choices do not always have the outcome we expect.

In life we can choose to view our experiences as heaven or hell. Our attitude to what happens to us determines our happiness. Many people who have nothing are the happiest people and others that have a lot are not so happy. The hostess of the Hotel California has everything and may tempt you to follow but is she really happy? The beauty of the hotel tempts you but when you arrive you discover you can only have what they offer, not what you want.

There are things in life we can’t change and we can “never leave” like the song says. We can choose to be in “heaven” as we muddle through life or we can choose to view this as “hell”. Our choice is our result.

Cecily's Magazine Project

Magazine Project

Projects (excluding quilts) produced by Cecily Archer
Quilts produced by members of the Pocono Quilting Guild
Photo credit - Cecily Archer

My Magazine Project was done on my favorite hobby, fiber arts. I struggled with the color choice on the background. I wanted to do a Red, White, and Blue theme so I really wanted to make a Red background. I attempted many variations of reds but none really looked just right. I changed to using a blue background and added a darker blue and red to the font. The collage is the focal point with images of various fiber art projects, some made by me, some made by a local quilting guild. I learned a lot about layers, formatting of fonts, color choices, image sizes and placement of items on a marketing piece.

This project was created in Photoshop.