Getting Started on Your Landscape

1. Open a new Photoshop file. The size should be 8 x 10 inches and the resolution should be 300. This means there are 300 pixels per inch making it a very clear, high quality image. It is important that you are working with other large images to avoid pixelation.

2. Rotate canvas so it is landscape, or horizontal.

3. You may want to create a new layer and fill it with a sky color to start. This way you will not have to work with all white space. This layer can always be deleted later if you find images to use for the sky.

4. This is a collage project: at least 15 different found images must be used. Also, do not use the pen or brush tool; drawing is unnecessary for this project.

5. For every image you are working with, you must open it in Photoshop to work from. Make a selection with the lasso tool to cut out a part of an image you wish to use. Copy the selection and then paste it in landscape file that is you project. You do not have to save any of the images you open in Photoshop. Below is how I got started on my project:

I wanted to take the grass from this photo to use in my project so I used the lasso tool to select it. Then I copied it and pasted in blank/project file.

I realized it was too small so I pasted anonother image of the grass and combined them together.

I used the blur tool to make to blend the two images together so you could not really tell where one image ended and the other started.

The New American Landscape

• Create a landscape that contains a combination of man-made structures and natural elements.
• It should be based on things that do exist in your neighborhood and things that do not exist but you wish did
• You may also include things/scenes that you see from your route from home to school or other things that are in Chicago
• This is a digital collage: use pieces from the images you find on-line.

The New American Landscape

For this project you are to create a digital collage depicting an invented landscape/environment. Think about your own neighborhood or areas of Chicago you frequent as a place to start. Consider the scenery and surroundings of your neighborhood and Chicago, the positive aspects, man-made structures, natural elements as well as the things that are negative, unnecessary or do not improve the quality of life for a community. Create a  juxtaposition by combining images that do not seem to belong together to develop a visual paradox.

Step 1: Brainstorm! What type of images do you want to look for? Make a list if needed.

Step 2: Image Search. Using Google image search or other search engines or photo sites to collect 20 high quality images. When using Google image search, only use medium and large images to make sure they do not become pixelated in your project. Also, do not just use the images that come up first, look through several pages to find a variety of images.