Tag: gif the portrait

Portrait Riffin’ for GIF the Portrait 2020

Portrait Riffin’ for GIF the Portrait Project

A Project Prep for the Fall 2020 Edition

Its that time of the semester again. The time where I introduce how to make animated GIFS to my students and fellow humans… OK, Im lying big, I teach this all semester long, how can I not, I mean.. GIFS! There are myriads of fun projects out there for us folks to participate in GIF wise. Did you know that? Through GIFS, we can make new friends! Explore and learn about cultural and historical events, fragments, objects, fashion, foods and so much more. GIFITUP 2020 closes its submissions this coming week, and I advise that you check it out, but let me reintroduce you to another ol’ classic, the GIF the Portrait Project is BACK! The project started on a tumblr back in 1963… another LIE! Sorry, it started back in November of 2013 and was created specifically for the project. The idea is, and remains simple: “animate a portrait”.

The best place to start when viewing the current submissions is right here on the project’s archives page <– this allows for viewers to see a more expansive timeline of works as well all digest the inspiration as you begin to feel propelled into GIF making action. GIF the Portrait will be receiving submissions from students at CUNY BMCC, York College & NYIT this semester. The second part of this introduction to the project and assignment will share a series of “how-to” and step by step tutorials to get you started. In the mean time, I got started on my examples below. Thats right, I participate in every assignment that I give! Im on this team too! The image / GIF above is the final outcome from my contribution (RAD right?!!) and that outcome consists of a stacked series of the individual images that you can now scroll through below. I had a blast making these and they are all inspired by Andy Warhol! I mixed together a series of both digital and print media to create each piece. More to come!

 

(a studio installation above, you know, for context..)

York’s CT101 GIFs the Portrait-Fall 2019 Edition!

York CT101 GIFs the Portrait-Fall 2019 Edition!

Back at it, Portrait GIFFING!

This fall semester my students at CUNY York College collaborated on the annual GIF the Portrait project.

CT101 is the energetic digital storytelling course that introduces, exposes and installs the awareness of a multitude and application of digital tools! All whilst simultaneously creating a digital identity on the Internet at large! We blog, a lot!

CT101 has two sections each semester. We have 40 awesome students on the roster. Although this project is not mandatory, (students can select from a myriad of creative assignments) each student was asked to write an individual post about someone who greatly inspires and motivates them. They were asked to share why and add contextual links for further clarification. (these individual posts can be found in the main feed on the ct101 website) Using the portrait of that person selected we learned basic electronic image manipulation skills with adobe photoshop. Students also made some basic sequential motion graphics with those manipulated images. Then, they were asked to extract one single still-frame from their individual animations to contribute to the animations above. The result is a fast moving collaborative sequence of portraits. The portraits quickly morph and fragment into a series of animated iterations. Does the word ENERGY come to mind? We hope so (along with a little glitch aesthetic, we hope for that too). After the first animated collab was published, we began pushing the pieces further by “examining the potentials of what else may happen?”

Students are now working on screen grabbing the consolidated GIFs and pushing them forward into “various otherness” using the mobile apps below. 

Would you like to remix one? What is stopping you?

Dig IN!

Glitche’ – glitche.com

Giphy Cam – https://giphy.com/apps

Instagram – http://Instagram.com

Assembly Design App – http://assemblyapp.co

Ultra-Pop

Ultra-Pop -Infinite

GifVid (simple tool to covert GIF to Video, Video to GIF on the phone)
 
 
iColorama S rich featured image editor that maintains full resolution of images
 
ImgPlay – Awesome GIF maker!
 
Back Eraser – Great to remove background areas and make layers.
 
Imaengine – Tons of filters, vector conversions, stills & video
 
Hyperspektiv – Tons of filters, stills and video

 

The GIF the Portrait project is an open project promoted by the NET-ART website here on the academic commons. Would you like to join in and submit? Lets chat!

York’s CT101 GIFs the Portrait Collab Style

The CT101 GIF the Portrait Collab – Spring 2019 Edition!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1z5I2d6kBVBtge0Yv1STQfgzHM_2BiGLu

The link above is an active google drive folder that contains all of the source content that amounted to the collaborative GIFs above. CT101 students from 2 sections at CUNY York College contributed to the project. But wait! This is only part 1! There is more to come, that is why the link above is so vital!

The synopsis, portraits of people who influence and or inspire us are used as a subject for the group animation. The images are re-sized and rendered in photoshop. Then, they are stacked into frames to produce the fast morphing effect. Then, they are extended for further hacking, reorganizing and the re-manipulating of the images, GIFs and video content available. We want to push this idea further!

In class on 4/9 we talked about using the Quicktime application as a video looping / capturing display and presentation platform. (the video above is an example) What are the potentials of multiple screen recordings and overlaying videos to create expansive ways to communicate our content? We are curious.

What will you do next? Will you take the risk of clicking on the google drive link to expand the unknown?  We hope so! Outcomes can be added to the CT101.us media library or e-mailed directly to me here – Rseslow@york.cuny.edu

Get Busy!

GIF the Portrait Continues! Join in!

GIF the Portrait Continues!

Join in!

GIF the Portrait is an open online gallery and exhibition with a rolling deadline.

The process is simple, take, use or discover a portrait (yourself or someone who inspires you) and make it move! The .GIF file format powered by a web browser = animation.

Get the details and process here.

You can use mobil apps to participate! Check some of these here.

York College CT101 Students GIF the Portrait

York College CT101 Students GIF the Portrait – March 2018

My CT101 Digital Storytelling students rocked a series of digital portrait manipulations learning the ins and outs of image manipulations with Adobe photoshop. Many of the students are first time users of photoshop. What better way to experiment with something new than to work with a subject that inspires you?

Students were asked, who inspires you and why? Tell us about your connection to this person and how they influence and motivate you. They were asked to write individual blog posts for the class website over at ct101.us about their experiences and also working with photoshop.

The end results: each student produced a series of manipulated images and brought them together to form a stop motion animation. This brought the static to life so that basic animation skills were also learned.

We then submitted one single frame from the series to produce a collaborative portrait animation for the popular GIF the Portrait project here on the Net Art site for the commons.

Want to create a collaborative portrait GIF with your class? Reach out – Rseslow@york.cuny.edu

York College Students NET-ART the Commons.

March 2018

Im happy to finally publish and share some of the results generated from the fall semester of 2017.  The works were submitted by my CT101 -Digital Storytelling students at York College specifically for the NET-ART website on the Commons. Both sections of the course contributed to two collaborative projects. The process for these pieces are generated quickly in an energy of immediacy as students were asked to work intuitively to generate their results. Part of the process is to simply ALLOW what one feels creatively impulsed to do, and not block or judge the process as good or bad. It is not an easy feet in a world where we have so much control over the way we use, receive and send communication via our mobile devices. Students suspended their judgements and engaged in the curation, composing, expressing and publishing of their works using various web tools for both desktop and mobile. These are the first iterations where results were produced. We used these pieces as the stepping stones of assessment and contrast.

1. Above, students experimented with creating Vapor Wave style net-art works using selected fragments of Internet culture, graphic assets and digital media from the web. Multiple skill sets were learned and applied. Both Desktop and mobile applications were experimented with (all of which can be found here on this website). The Vapor Wave pieces were contributed by students after screen recording their work using quicktime and converting the short videos into animated GIFs. It was decided upon by the class to show the works in a slide show format.

2. Below, Students participated in the GIF the Portrait project by first creating individual portrait GIFS. They were then asked to extract one frame from the sequence of manipulated frames that makes up the whole animation. They worked from people (fictional characters included) that inspired them. Students had to alter each portrait and remove the background contents to create a collaborative sequence of layers in a constant flow of change and transition…with no time delays of course.

Both projects are an introduction to converting static images into motion graphics and animations. Once you start, you can never stop!

Would you or your class like to participate in a project on the Net-Art site? Get in touch – rseslow@york.cuny.edu

CUNY – QCC – 2D Design Students GIF the Portrait for NET-ART.

CUNY QCC 2D Design Students “GIF the Portrait” for the NET-ART website.

One of the final projects in our foundation 2D design class here at CUNY QCC is a multi-fragmented modular project. It puts a display on the various skill sets acquired through out the semester. With the exception of turning the static exercises into motion graphics. The GIF the Portrait project is a public project that was created on one of my first tumblr blogs (you can view the tumblr archive here) a few years ago. It has grown and expanded over the last 3.5 years into a great ongoing diverse archive of animated GIFs. There are so many ways to put one’s own spin on things, especially in the “how”one may animate a portrait. In this context below, lets put an emphasis on starting with one.

How did we GIF this static Portrait of Pablo?

My QCC 2D design class indulged in the re-organization of a portrait project by using a headshot. The class selects one portrait (or 2 to create a hybrid image) and works with it as its subject. Like many of the previous classes before this one, the class chose none other than Mr. Picasso. Of course Picasso has great context with our foundation art course as his presence was strong in the technique of being one of the main creators of the collage technique, creating variations and constantly reinventing his work. The idea of using a portrait can easily be applied for other courses as it comes down to who inspires you and why? The project executes itself as a full class collaboration and online presentation. I am happy to share the student work and outcomes here on the Net Art website. This blog post serves as a tutorial and iteration for how you may get started participating. Are you an individual student or faculty member who wants to create your own version? Or perhaps you wish to use the project as a part of your up and coming class curriculum? I am happy to help answer questions and also facilitate the project if you wish. Get in touch.

What you see above is actually a stop motion animation consisting of 22 individual frames all sized at the same dimensions of 8.5″ X 11″. This part is important.

For the actual animation we used the ImgPlay app that is available here via iOS or Android

Its a great app that allows first time GIF makers or those interested in creating animations to get their feet wet! The app has several features and capabilities including output to both .gif and .mov video in small, medium and large file formats. This makes it easy to share the works on various web platforms and social media outlets.

Re-organizing the Composition and applying Variety – The steps:

Objectives: Re-organization of a representational image by generating a new series of non-representational variations.

Materials: X-acto knife, pair of scissors, glue sticks, multiple photo-copies of the image above. (You can play with lightness and darkness for print output if you wish to see more value contrasts in the animation.) If you are using an      X-acto knife rather than a scissors for cutting the photocopies, a self-healing cutting matte is recommended (if you have one, if not, cardboard works).

Size: Each new iteration should be sized at 8.5” X 11” for a smooth output.

 

Process:

1. Collect 5 or more of your photocopies.

2. Begin cutting and fragmenting the images into several pieces and parts by showing different shapes and form variations (see the image above).

3. Arrange and organize your pieces and parts by recomposing a diverse series of new compositions. Finalize the artworks by pasting down your pieces into place. You may work directly on one of the un-cut versions of the original image if it helps you keep with in the sizing format. The outcomes should be subjective and show variation in style and composition.

4. Gather all of the completed new works and lay them on top of each other. Photograph each completed artwork one at a time in the same position – remember keep them all at the same size (the viewfinder on a mobile device works very well!)

5. Download and open the ImgPlay app and add the images in the sequence that you would like to see. Toggle the animation speed and save your files – The App is available here via iOS or Android

6. Send your outcomes here! We would love to showcase your individual, class & student work in our growing archive of cross CUNY campus participants.

Enjoy.