Abstract No. 2023
You will learn how to create an abstract piece of work based on the forms found in midcentury modern architecture. You will discover how to straighten, crop, and sharpen images, create colored geometric shapes with transparent backgrounds, import them into your design to produce balanced compositions, create, manage, and store custom colors sampled from existing elements for reuse in future projects, and apply blend modes and special effects to give a unique vintage look to an image.
Snapseed
Image Blender
VSCO CAM
iDesign
ColorSchemer
Phonto
Picfx
Cameramatic
PictureShow
My base image is a picture of a hotel on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. I often come up with themes to keep me focused when I shoot architecture, but I don’t shoot any and all things architectural. My favorite architecture is modern, especially midcentury modern, which is frequently found in Los Angeles. I narrowed my theme to white midcentury modern architecture. Because I convert all my images to black-and-white for design and art pieces, it was a no-brainer to go with a white color theme. The vertical and horizontal lines of this hotel are perfect for adding color shapes.
Figure 1 shows the original image—nothing special—but the building has a beautiful white surface with simple horizontal and vertical lines and nice shadows.
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Step 1: Cropping and Converting to Black-and-White
First I brought the image into Snapseed, where I straightened, cropped, and sharpened it and converted it to black-and-white |2|. Although my favorite crop ratio is 1:1, my original crop size seemed like a better choice. From the black-and-white filter, I selected the Dark effect, which imparted the best contrast and created a smooth, dark sky |3|. After the black-and-white conversion, I adjusted the image a little more with Tune Image.
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Step 2: Arranging the Color Shape Elements in Image Blender
Next I decided on the color shape templates I would use from my library of shapes. In most cases I select two differently colored shapes; for this piece I decided on yellow and blue. I brought the black-and-white image from the previous step into Image Blender. I decided that yellow would be my main color shape, and it would have the largest amount of coverage over the base image. I moved the color onto the image until it felt right. Is there a science to this? Not really. I tend to place elements to the left. I selected Multiply as the Blending Mode |4|.
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Step 3: Introducing a Secondary Shape
I selected a blue template for my secondary shape. I played with the positioning until it felt right, and I selected Normal as the Blending Mode |5|.
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Step 4: Adding a Temperature
After I was satisfied with the positions of the colored shapes, I brought the image into VSCO CAM to complete the piece. I selected Temperature 1 and Fade 4 |6|. I usually choose these settings to give a muted or retro look to the final image.
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In iDesign I created a template file that has several rectangular and square shapes. I change the colors based on my design needs and create them on a white or black background |7|. I export the templates as transparent PNG files, which makes it easy to erase the shapes that are not needed and to superimpose them over my base images in Image Blender.
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When working on a new piece I open the shapes design file in iDesign, select Designs, then select +. This allows me to save the template file as a new design with any changes I want to make to the base shape. I then select Save as a new design and rename the file. To change the colors of the new design, I select all shapes by swiping from the top left to the bottom right.
When all the items are selected, I press the Properties icon (wheel) to change the colors. There are 29 colors to choose from, or you can use the mixer to create a custom color with red, green, and blue (RGB) values. When I am satisfied with the colors, I export the file via email as a transparent PNG by selecting Export > Export Type > PNG (Email) |9|. With iDesign, you have to export transparent PNG files as email attachments; you can’t save them to the camera roll |8 and 9|.
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I use ColorSchemer to customize my colors and I can reuse them at any time. It allows me to select from millions of color combinations uploaded by users, or I can create my own palettes. For custom colors I make screenshots of colors that I’d like to use in my images and sample them.
To add custom colors, I select My Palette. To create a new color from a screenshot, I select the + icon, and the Create Palette screen appears. I then select PhotoSchemer > Photos and select an image from my camera roll |10|.
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To create a custom color from an image, I tap the default red color palette and touch an area on the image I want to sample |11|. You need to fill at least two color slots to have the option to save. Then I select Save and name my color palette.
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It’s important to know RGB values so you can duplicate colors and keep them consistent as your designs move through the apps. To identify the RGB values for use in iDesign, I open a new color palette, touch the middle of the screen, and scroll up until I see the color names or hex color codes (six-character alphanumeric name). I tap the color name so the app displays the three RGB values. I enter the values into the color mixer to customize the colors of my saved templates |12|.
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The Getty Center is my favorite place to visit in Los Angeles. I often refer to it as my happy place. I don’t ever tire of shooting architect Richard Meier’s masterpiece. With the image shown in figure 13 I followed a process similar to the one I used for Abstract No. 2023. I placed the monogram dots in Phonto, which is a typography app that has several builtin fonts and also allows you to upload fonts to the app via iTunes or email. For the final touch, I brought the image into Picfx and applied a canvas texture filter.
|13| Abstract No. 1108
Figure 14 shows an image of Veer Towers in Las Vegas. Once again I used Phonto to place typography (the number 1 and monogram dots). The tone and texture are a custom blend that I created in Cameramatic.
|14| Abstract No. 408
While I was on vacation in Las Vegas, I took the base image used to create Abstract No. 471 |15|. I anxiously waited for people and cars to stop entering my shot, but because of time limitations I gave up and began taking images. I was disappointed to not get a clean architectural shot. After I returned home and reviewed the images again, there was something I liked about the biker, so I began looking through my library of shape designs to find a piece to blend with the image. Fortunately there was a design that resembled the architectural details of the structure. This piece came together because I followed an important self-imposed rule—I do not delete images in the field, no matter how disappointed I am about not getting the shot. With Image Blender I imported a blank white square then placed the shape design on the left, saved the image, and imported it back into Image Blender and placed my base image to the right to create a new base image. I filtered it through the Retro filter in PictureShow.
|15| Abstract No. 471
In this tutorial I shared information about some of my favorite go-to apps. Snapseed is my foundation app. It’s the most versatile app for adjusting and enhancing my images because it offers lots of control. Image Blender is the second most important app I use for editing. It allows me to blend images, and the various blend modes offer many possibilities for completing my edits.
Experiment with different blend modes because different looks can spark editing creativity. Although it seems complicated, iDesign is a great vector-based app. It’s worth it to master certain commands to get smooth lines and shapes. ColorSchemer may not be an obvious choice, and you probably won’t use it every day, but it’s a must-have app if you are particular about selecting the right colors.
Lynette Jackson (@_LynetteJackson)
Lynette lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and works as a project manager for a major telecommunications company. As part of her education, she studied mechanical engineering drafting and began her career as a manual and digital drafter in a host of engineering firms in different industries. It was her love for architecture, great design, and art that drove her desire to create as an iPhoneographer. Lynette’s work has been exhibited at the LA Mobile Arts Festival (2012) and has been featured online. She has been interviewed about her work by iPhoneogenic.com and TheAtlanticCities. com, and her work has been featured on FastCoDesign.com. www.flickr.com/photos/p67