Montage

Create a series of image montages using two image which normally do not go together. Create images that are as seamless as possible. Design 10 unique and compelling montage compositions.

Use following process:

Image preparation

1. Generate a list of random objects and pair them together (see below).
2. Search the web for clean, images of good resolution (800px – 2000px). Try to find iconic images that you can separate from the backgrounds.
3. Make a new folder in your ’04_Montage’ folder called ‘raw’. This is where you store original web images.
4. Open these images in photoshop and turn them into grayscale images.
5. Resize the images using ‘image size’ to 300dpi at 100%. The minimum dimension should be 6-8 inches.
6. Isolate the main object from the background by selecting around them with the Polygon lasso tool.
7. Press ‘command + J’ to create a new layer with just the selection
8. Delete the background layer.
9. Take care to create clean images. Clean up any stray details you don’t want with the eraser tool.
10. Save the image as .PSD into a separate folder called ‘grayscale’
11. Adjust the contrast using ‘Levels’ to bump up the black. Make the image slightly darker than you might normally.
12. Turn the image into a ‘bitmap’ using the ‘50% Threshold’ filter.
13. If the image is too washed out or too black do ‘command + z’, make adjustments with levels and re-bitmap it.
14. It you can’t make the image readable and strong then choose a different image.
15. When the image looks good then ‘save as…’ (don’t save over your grayscale image!) into a new folder called ‘bitmap’.
16. Repeat this process for all images.

Image Montage

1. Create a new illustrator document at 6″ x 6″
2. Save the image into the main ’04_montage’ folder
3. ‘Place’ the images (shift + command + P) into the document at the correct size.
4. Position them into a compelling relationship.
5. Take care to make a dynamic and powerful composition. Do not fill the space. Use the white space effectively.
6. Create a ‘clipping mask’ if necessary with the pen tool using the ‘object > clipping mask’ from the menu.
7. Adjust the images and clipping masks as necessary.
8. Create a new art board and build more images.

Random Words