libre graphics

"Libre Graphics" encompasses free and open source software applications that are used by designers and artists to create graphics. As well as providing an alternative to other programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, they also allow the user to be part of a movement which is becoming more and more popular and that becomes part of practice, not just a use of tools. Libre graphics are available and simple-to-use software; such as Gimp, Inkscape and Scribus which I specifically experimented with in this workshop.

For my experiments using image, I used this photo of the new york landscape as I thought that it would be an interesting photo to modify in regards to the colours, perspective and scale.

In this workshop, I played with colour curves/levels, hue/lightness, colour balance and saturation.

It was interesting to see the outcomes of these experiments - just like photoshop and such programmes, gimp allows you to retouch photos and distort images in any way possible. Below are the examples I have using these different elements.

The Libre Graphics Research Unit works around four interconnected threads:

-Networked graphics
-Co-position
-Piksels and lines
-Abstracting craft

Open source licenses allow software to be freely used, modified and shared. They are known to share without limitations - with the attribution of the copyleft movement or creative commons licensing. This being without a doubt the biggest advantage of Open source software.

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for tasks such as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring as well as original work creation and graphic design elements.
It has many possibilities - it can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc.
GIMP is expandable and extensible. It is designed to be augmented with plug-ins and extensions to do just about anything. The advanced scripting interface allows one to perform complex image manipulation procedures together with simple tasks, depending on what the designer is looking to achieve.

In my first experiments using Gimp, I simply attempted to create a title page: I played with text by typing libre graphics and choosing a relevant font for it, then I wanted to try out various creative backgrounds and see what I could achieve.

I experimented with the colour balance and adjusted colour levels to produce different examples for a effective page aesthetic.
I also tried out different filters such as artistic filters including, GIMpressionist, Canvas, Softglow and rendered clouds for a special effect - this exercise was more to get comfortable with using GIMP and practice with elements so I could later come up with a more complex piece.

These specific examples with text were great practice and with some trial and error, I managed to learn how to adjust colour and implement various filters - also now I can use these skills and many more with an image as well as a blank page with text.

A screenshot series of my experiments with hue/lightness and saturation. I enjoyed modifying and exaggerating the colour palette on this image and as you can see, successfully produced a neon type piece on gimp.

Adjusting colour balance and distortion

Filter using clouds and blurred effect

Cubism effect in the artistic option in filters

Scaling to the universe: in the last exercise of the workshop we had to think about an object and how we can scale it to the Universe. In Gimp had to choose an image to create our own object. The aim was to end up with a poster of a sort.
Thinking about:
• How does it scale?
• What Universe?
• What about scaling the space around it?
• How can we use our tools in an interesting way?

Posterize filter with an aqua colour palette

This was my final experiment on GIMP - I used the same landscape image and in each layer I gradually made the image smaller so that it would appear to be zooming out like looking into a camera lens. This was another way of "scaling" an image but instead of zooming in, I wanted to accomplish a reverse effect.

Migena Sadikaj (w1496271)

Authorship & Interaction Module
MGRA501 Module Level 5
BA (hons) Graphic Communication Design

Inkscape is professional quality vector graphics software which runs on Windows, Mac OS X and GNU/Linux. It is used by design professionals worldwide, for creating a wide variety of graphics such as illustrations, icons, logos, diagrams, maps and web graphics. Inkscape uses the W3C open standard SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) as its native format, and is free and open-source software.

Inkscape has sophisticated drawing tools with capabilities comparable to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Xara Xtreme. It can import and export various file formats, including SVG, AI, EPS, PDF, PS and PNG. It has a comprehensive feature set, a simple interface, multi-lingual support and is designed to be extensible; users can customize Inkscape's functionality with add-ons.

Features of Inkscape

-Object creation
-Object manipulation
-Fill and stroke
-Operations on paths
-Text support
-Rendering
-File Formats

I experimented with filters on a picture of a bird using Inkscape: This first photo is the original image, in the second one I used an overlay called duotone turbulent to make the grainy dual-tone effect. In the last photo I used an oil paint filter along with a blurred effect.

I also experimented with text using Inkscape - it was interesting to play around with the 'object to path' and 'stroke to path' options with the letters and see what interesting typographic forms could be made. One can freely create their own font and illustrations using this.

In this specific experiment, I used a blurred feather filter and a color named 'brilliance'. This came out to be a happy accident as it was more trial and error that led to this outcome - this piece was most successful.