Graphics+Project

**My Collage: ** 
 * Graphics Project **


 * Quote: ** “The power of imagination makes us infinite.” John Muir


 * Meanings: ** With this project, I searched for a quote on the internet and found one by John Muir which stated, “The power of imagination makes us infinite.” Muir’s line influenced me to complete my project on a well-known Disney movie, //Peter Pan//. //Peter Pan// is a children’s movie about three kids, Wendy, John and Michael, who meet a fictional character named Peter Pan. After this encounter, the three children travel with Peter Pan into his imaginary world, Never Never Land, where they experience many fantasy obstacles. The movie, //Peter Pan//, relates to the normalcy of society in that it includes a middle-class family with three children; however, the parents are not strongly involved with their children because they are at work attempting to provide for the family. While the parents are away (either at work or asleep), the children encounter the invented world of make-believe through their vivid imaginations. Muir refers to imagination in his quote which relates to //Peter Pan// as well as all Disney movies as fictitious characters experience unrealistic situations through a key element, fantasy. My interpretation of this quote is that anything is possible with a deep imagination because of the endless opportunity in an imaginative world, such as Never Never Land in //Peter Pan//. Unfortunately, children in modern times are not allowed to use their imagination to create stories and characters from another world because important figures believe it is not realistic with everyday life. I think the imagination provides an outlet for children to express themselves and free their minds as they withdraw from the obstacles associated with real-life to truly experience being a child. I chose this quote by John Muir because it connects the imagination with infinite possibilities in life. //Peter Pan// relates to Muir’s quote as the movie takes place in a make-believe world with imaginary characters and unreal circumstances. For example, Peter Pan is a young boy who never grows up while Captain Hook has a metal hook for a hand. My collage presents a specific interpretation of the quotation by showing different aspects of the movie that correlate with imagination. I chose this particular interpretation because my undergraduate major is Elementary Education and I stumbled upon a quote on the imagination and infinite possibilities; therefore, I thought about the fantastical elements in //Peter Pan// which are displayed all throughout the movie in various scenes. Ultimately, I examined the movie and it guided me to the belief that //Peter Pan// connects with this quote perfectly.


 * Processes: ** I decided to complete the Graphics Project on Choice #2 and create a collage of various images from the movie, //Peter Pan//. I started this project by searching for a quotation on the internet in hopes that it would spark some creative ideas for a collage. In a short amount of time, I discovered a quote by John Muir, “The power of imagination makes us infinite.” I came to the conclusion that I would relate this quote to //Peter Pan// because of the imaginative world portrayed in the movie known as Never Never Land. I knew I was finished with my collage when all of the space was covered with pictures from the movie and these images displayed my perception of imagination and a make-believe world. The pictures from //Peter Pan// also represent my interpretation of the quotation because this movie would have never been created if an imaginative mind wouldn’t have been supporting it. When analyzing Muir’s quote on imagination, I automatically thought of a Disney movie because of the fantastical elements included in each film, such as //Peter Pan// and the whimsical journey to Never Never Land. Unfortunately, the process I used for my collage was LONG and interesting because I started over multiple times which in totality took me five hours to complete. A definite weakness of the process that I used would be the amount of time that I spent and therefore could be associated with the lack of knowledge navigating around the graphics program, GIMP. I thought I was prepared for this project because of the previous assignments, but obviously I encountered a few problems with various features in the program. I also started over several times because I wasn’t pleased with the placement or the quality of the images in my collage. A definite strength would be the outcome of the project – I enjoyed the assignment and I think the finished product represents the quotation in an effective manner. In addition, I think that completing the previous activities helped me to understand GIMP better and recognize the features that I needed to use for this project. Both processes – creating a graphic and writing an essay – compare because there must be a systematic approach in order to progress and complete the given assignment. With an essay, I would gather my thoughts and ideas by brainstorming, then write and edit a rough draft, and lastly publish my final copy. I would undertake a graphics activity using the same process; however, I would gather my thoughts and ideas by collecting images on the topic that I selected (and start over several times), then insert the images into a graphics program, edit the images using different features in the program, and lastly place the information and pictures into the exact location where I want them to go. Ultimately, I believe that both writing an essay and creating a graphic are similar, but I would much rather design a graphic and explain the process than write an essay!

Below are the steps that I followed while creating my collage in GIMP: 1. I opened a //new// document (//File, New//) and changed the //Image Size// to 800 by 800 pixels. 2. Then, I used the //Bucket Fill Tool// to adjust the //background color// to navy blue. 3. After the previous step, I opened the //Disney Castle Image// that is located in the middle of my collage (//File, Open as Layers, Select Image)//. 4. Then, I clicked on the //Scale Tool// and modified the pixels to 400 by 400. After modifying the pixels of the image, I selected the //Move Tool// and placed the image in the middle of the navy blue background. 5. Next, I inserted various images from //Peter Pan// around the //Disney Castle Image// to create my collage (//File, Open as Layers, Select Image, Scale Tool (200x200), Move Tool)//. 6. After the previous step, I included the quote at the bottom of the collage (//File, Create Logo, Type in the Text, Theme of the Logo// (Basic I)//, Font Size// (30)//, Font// (Huxtable)//,// and //Background/Text Color// (Light Blue). <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">7. Lastly, I saved the collage as a JPEG file (//File, Save As, Select File Type, JPG)//.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Choices: **<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">In my collage, I chose various images from the movie, //Peter Pan//, to represent John Muir’s quote, “The power of imagination makes us infinite.” Each picture displays a different scene and/or character from the movie. Furthermore, the images portray how the movie and quote relate to the imagination and the world of make-believe.

<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">I didn’t modify the pictures from their original form except for resizing and moving them to the location in the collage where I wanted them to go. However, I decided to group the images from the movie according to positive and negative connotation. For example, Peter Pan and Wendy develop a good relationship and become life-long friends so I arranged both of them on the positive side and Captain Hook and Tinker Bell are dramatic villains so I placed both of them on the negative side. The Lost Boys are assembled in the middle because they admire Peter Pan and think of him as a role model; furthermore, they attempt to help Peter in his time of need during difficult situations.

<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Peter Pan (top left): [] <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Peter Pan & Wendy (middle left): [] <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Never, Never Land (bottom left): [] <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Lost Boys (top middle): [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Boys_(Peter_Pan)] <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Tinker Bell (top right): [] <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Peter Pan & Captain Hook (middle right): [] <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Captain Hook (bottom right): [] <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Walt Disney Castle (middle): [] <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">John Muir Quotation: []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; font-size: 15px;">References: **