Photoshopped Images
Look at this beautiful image that I made in Photoshop. Isn't it gorgeous?
To create this masterpiece, I cropped a photo of a Bernie Sanders Mii (which I got from here) and put it in place of the real Sander's head (I am having trouble finding the source of the Bernie Sanders picture, but if I find it I'll link it here). Then, I cropped out a picture of a Wii Remote (image found here) and then positioned it and erased bits of it to make it look like he's holding the remote triumphantly. Finally, I added a nice transparent layer of orange coloring to add that Instagram finish to it. Now, how will this work into my Digital Literacy Narrative? Good Question! It will help my audience to see the good that video games can do. It will help to demonstrate a point about how playing video games can improve some functions of the brain such as reaction time and quick-thinking skills. These skills can be used to help you navigate the most dangerous and difficult game of all: Life. Once you develop these skills, then you'll feel as powerful as Bernie Sanders. |
This is the second image that I edited in Photoshop. And I am pretty damn proud about it, If I do say so myself.
The edits that I made include editing the name and information from the original picture (which I took from here) to match my own information. I also changed around the stats a bit to match how well I played back when I played softball (this could be an exaggeration but oh well). Finally, I changed the eyes from brown to blue, seeing as I myself have blue eyes. This image will be used in my DLN as a way to show how much of myself I sometimes put into the games I play. It will also be used to help illustrate my point about how hard I worked in order to build up my own 'stats' in video games. My brother wouldn't let me play a game if I was not good at it, so I spent a lot of my time as a kid playing endless hours of video games in order to get better. |
Yet another representation of my struggles with video games. I hope you can feel my frustration (or in this case Chun Li's frustration) in this photo.
For this image, I simply took a fight scene from Street Fighter 2 (found here) and added Chun Li into the background there (her image is found here). I also added the text atop each of the fighters in this scene. This image will be used in my DLN as a representation of all the times that I sat on the sidelines as my brother and cousins would play the games. Sure they would let me play sometimes, but most of the time if I was not good at a game, then they refused to let me even touch the controller. Oh the frustration!! |
Here is another beautifully photoshopped image for you. I got the original image of Chun-Li from here (under the Crossover Games tab).
For this image, all I did was skillfully cut out an image of my head and add it on to her body. I tried to make it look like my head was behind her bracelet and hand, but it's not the best. Sorry for that ^^; I am using this image in my DLN as another way to show how I have come to project myself onto the characters I play. This is done so that I put more time and effort into improving my character and getting better at a game. I also did this image as a homage back to the game I used to play with my cousins, Street Fighter 2. Chun Li is the only female character in the game, and I loved that there was a girl that could kick some series ass in the game. |
Here we have a photoshopped image that depicts the work I put into improving my video game skills. I got the image of the controllers from here.
The only edits I made to the image were I took a picture of a guy working out and I added in the controllers in place of his weights. If I could build up muscle using controllers then I think I would want to work out more. This image will be used in my DLN to illustrate the hard work I put in to making myself better at the games I played. It may not seem like hard work to the outside perspective, but in reality it takes hours of concentration and focus in order to get good at a game you stink at. This led to several hours of isolation as I played games over and over again in order to improve my skills and beat the games as best as I could. |
This image is a more serious one that I photoshopped together. The places that I got these images from can be found in the following places:
here here here here. To create this image, I took the image of a man sitting on a park bench and photoshopped a game controller, a console, and television. On the television, I also added a screenshot from the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (which is a game I played a lot in my younger years) onto the television screen. Finally, I made it so that there was this sort of fading effect on the top and bottom of the page to add to the isolation effect of the image. This will be used in my DLN as a way to show how I isolated myself during the many years I spent playing video games. At the time I justified it by saying that I was getting better at the games, but in reality I was also alienating myself from my family. I felt like they couldn't relate to my personal struggle, so I kept to myself. |
I apologize to anyone this image may offend.
I photoshopped this by first finding a photo of an old original Xbox (here) and an image of an original Xbox controller (found here) and photoshopping that to fit over this image of God in the Sistine Chapel image (found here). After, I cut out my face from a picture and put it over the head of Adam. Finally, after all of those edits, I covered up the genitalia in the image (keep it kid friendly). This will be used to help show how much praise I put into the video games I played. I looked up to them because of the escape they gave me, so I put them on a pedestal. Not much of a healthy habit when you think of it. |
Have you ever experienced a moment of just pure, blind rage? Well that's what this represents. I edited this image by taking a screenshot from the Aladdin game lava level (found here) and editing in a few images of pure rage (found here here and here).
I am going to use this image to help the reader picture a time when I was younger and the only concern I ever had in the world was beating the lava level in the Aladdin game. If you ever played the game yourself, then you know damn well which level I'm talking about. So infuriating!! |
This picture is similar to a previous one, only it's the early beginnings of my isolation. I edited this image by taking the background photo (found here) and adding in a SNES system at the group of kids's feet (image found here). Then I added the gradient effect to try and cover up the differences in focus.
This image will be used to help demonstrate the early isolation that I experienced from my brother and cousins. Whether I did it to myself or they caused it is a mystery, but either way I felt a sense of isolation. Whenever they would tell me that I could not play a game or that I was not good enough to play, I felt like I was being excluded from the fun. Video games were what brought my cousins, my brother and I together, yet even then I felt like they were leaving me out. |
These two photos were taken at PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) East 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts, and I must say it was one of the best experiences I've ever had. Not only was it my first convention, but it was also the first time I got to connect with one of my cousins on a one-to-one basis with something we both enjoyed. We had the time of our lives looking at the different video games that were being showcased, taking pictures in front of dinosaurs, and even going to a panel involving three of my favorite YouTube personalities in the world! This was honestly one of the best weekends of my life!
The only photoshopping I did to this image was to place them side by side. No other edits were done. |