Self-Portrait
Self-Expression Through Digital Photomontage

Graphic Design – 2019

A graphic design assignment that encouraged the exploration of the capabilities of Photoshop; this self-portrait was an attempt at visual composition early in my university design program. Reflecting on my process and the limited education I had in the realm of art history, analysis, and symbolism at the time I completed this piece, I find that this is the first time I’ve been able to appreciate the value of the beginner’s mindset when it comes to my own work. This piece was based solely on introspection and gut feeling, and what my past self lacked in terms of skill and education was made up for with ambitious commitment to the experimentation and ideation skills I was developing through my industrial design work.

Asset Collection

After selecting my final base composition from an assortment of photographs taken in my apartment, I compiled a library of source images to use in my final portrait—both from the internet and my own photo albums. At the time I was working on this project, I had yet to develop my appreciation for, and commitment to, the documentation of source materials. Upon revisiting this composition for inclusion in this portfolio, and desiring to present the original unedited images to better illustrate my process, I strove to find each image’s initial source and archive them for continued reference.

Photograph of a figure sitting on the ground, legs bent and arms draped over their knees. The figure is holding their right wrist with their left hand as they stare into a four-part mirror, their reflection staring back at them.
Photograph of a well-lit cavern. The foreground is mostly rock walls and some stalactites are in the far background.
Photograph of a cavern ceiling. The center foreground is a large uneven rock formation with a rough texture surrounded by drapery formations: one of these formations is lit from within to show towel-like striations within the formation. The background has a variety of flowstone formations that look like frozen waterfalls.
Photograph of a reflection pool within a cavern. The pool is a perfect mirror, reflecting the stalactites above so clearly that they could be mistaken for stalagmites below.
Photograph of a large canyon. The rock is predominantly a red-orange color, accented by dark and light green foliage throughout. There are two outcrops in the foreground that show the red-orange rock is varied with some brown and tan coloration. The horizon is flat, meeting a line of white clouds that give way to a bright blue sky.
Photograph of a desert landscape accented with red-orange buttes and mesas. The image is viewed from above, with portions of rock formations visible before giving way to the valley below. The natural light casts a purple hue across the sparse landscape.

{a} BASE PHOTO

{b} LURAY 1

{c} LURAY 2

{d} LURAY 3

{1} WAIMEA CANYON

{2} HUNTS MESA

Photograph of a group of whitewater rafters. The water is tumultuous, mostly white and light blue with a few spots of darker water. The rafters are aboard a yellow inflatable raft, wearing red helmets and life vests, and using blue oars. Behind them, some greenery is visible along the rocky shoreline.
Photograph of a group of whitewater rafters about to go down a short waterfall drop in a dark green river. The water below is white with foam, and behind them is a much larger waterfall, about twice the height of the rafting group, flowing from crystal-smooth water to tumultuous white foam. The rafting team is in a red boat with matching oars and life jackets, wearing white helmets.
A composite image of falling water on a gray background, emulating the behavior of a waterfall.
A simulated image of low-floating smoke or fog on a gray background.
A simulated image of billowing smoke or fog on a gray background.
A photograph of dark bubbling water that seems to be moving towards the bottom of the image, creating the lighter-white that’s reminiscent of sea foam that forms as the ocean makes its way up the beach.

{3} RAPIDS 1

{4} RAPIDS 2

{5} WATERFALL

{6} STEAM 1

{7} STEAM 2

{8} BUBBLES

A simulated image of a dense cumulus cloud.
A simulated image of a multi-part cumulus cloud: parts seem to be pulling away in the wind, forming smaller clouds from the central cluster.
A 3D rendering of a human skeleton in a seated position (as if in a chair) with its hands reaching out in front. The skull is cropped out of the image.
A 3D rendering of the feet and bottom portion of the shin bones of a human skeleton.
A 3D rendering of the head, ribcage, and shoulder portion of a human skeleton standing in a three quarter view, looking to the right of the image.
A 3D rendering of a human skull facing the viewer.

{9} CLOUD 1

{10} CLOUD 2

{11} SKELETON

{12} FOOT

{13} RIBCAGE

{14} SKULL

Photograph of a campfire at night. Sticks have been positioned in a cone-like structure, and the fire blazes in a similar, conical, shape, blown ever so slightly to the left - orange sparks being thrown off and picked up by the wind. The center of the fire burns white and the edges of the flames are a light orange-yellow.
A close-up photograph of a massive bonfire. The kindling is only visible as a black silhouette against the red-orange flames that billow above the top of the image frame.
Photograph of a dense, upward, explosion of orange-yellow sparks. The sparks appear as lines of light in the darkness, buffeted by the breeze before traveling upward.
A photograph of a black cat peeking with one eye from behind a piece of gray-upholstered furniture.
Image of the center section of a green cutting mat covered with a white grid. Three angled lines cut through the grid, denoting different specific angles.
Photograph of light-blue paint peeling off a rusting piece of lightly-colored metal.

{15} BONFIRE

{16} FLAMES

{17} SPARKS

{e} PEEKING CAT

{18} CUTTING MAT

{f} PEELING PAINT

Process

An aspect of working digitally that I adore is the facilitation of rapid ideation and quick exports for check-ins and critique. I embraced this capability early on in my experimentation with the program, and the in-process exports I’ve kept on hand further demonstrate my design process and continual pursuit of feedback. This spread contains all of my ideation, including my final submission for the course. I’ve since revisited the piece for minor refinements to address some issues that had to be left as-is due to time constraints.

Starting image: Photograph of a figure sitting on the ground in a dimly lit room, their legs bent and arms draped over their knees. The figure is holding their right wrist with their left hand as they stare into a four-part mirror, their reflection staring back at them. The figure leans against a plaster wall with molding a few inches above their head. The molding in the reflection is seen to travel further to a turn in the wall, beyond which is a dresser and an open door.
Second progress point: The left figure, seated on the mesa, is now fully made of composited images. Their seat is a bonfire, its flames creating their back as well as the upper arm that is furthest from the mirror. The fire is creating the steam that forms their legs, condensing into the water that forms their calves and feet before flowing off the mesa as a waterfall. The mountain range behind them cuts off at the wall, with a few peaks rising above the molding on the still-present plaster wall. Above the molding the wall is now a green cutting mat, its lines running parallel to the molding before turning to the left to travel around the corner. The figure on the right, behind the glass partition, is now shown to be decomposing. The half of their body closest to the mirror is discolored, peeling off in blue or orange pieces. The other half of their body has turned translucent, showing the bones beneath, The cavern behind them is growing out of the plaster walls, the molding still visible with a couple of outcrops partially covering it. The door is still visible in the far background, opening to a reflection pool far behind the figure. Behind an outcropping of rock, a black cat is barely visible, its green eye peeking around the corner.
First progress point: The same figure and its reflection in the four-part mirror have each been transported into partially-formed realms. The rightmost figure, the reflection, is in a dark cavern draped in shadow that exists on the other side of the four-paned mirror. The figure in the real world is now brightly lit, seated on a red-orange mesa formation in front of the red-orange canyon that merges with the wall of the room in the background. The figures’ legs are overlaid with steam that turns to water as it reaches their shins. This water flows into a waterfall off the edge of the mesa.
Third progress point: Six clouds have been added to the mountain-range portion of the composition, between the figure and the mountains behind. The rightmost figure stays unchanged, but the coloring of their bones is revealed to be inconsistent, and their foot sits in front of a stalactite in the fireground, ruining the illusion.
Semi-final progress point: In the mountain-range portion, one of the clouds (one that was directly behind the feet of the figure) has been removed and the seated figure’s shadow has been filled out to ground them to the mesa they sit upon. The remainder of the composition is unchanged.

The Final Composition

A large photomontage composition focused on two figures in an other-wordly room. Both figures sit in the same position: on the ground, legs bent, hands draped over their knees with the hand closest to the center partition clasping the wrist of the other, both stare into each others’ eyes with an emotionless expression. The leftmost figure–the living figure–is seated directly in front of the viewer surrounded by a mountain range; the second figure–the decaying figure–is seated to the right, behind the clear partition within a dark cavern. The living figure sits upon a red-orange mesa surrounded by similarly colored rock formations in front of a vast canyon in the background. The figure’s seat is a bonfire, the flames creating the half of their torso and upper arm furthest from the mirror, as well as the back of their head–the flames lapping at the side of their face. The fire is creating the steam that forms their thighs and knees, condensing into the water that forms their calves and feet before flowing off the edge of the mesa as a waterfall. Their face, remaining torso, and arms are shattered into triangles, each separated with a dimensionless black, their features still discernible but far from recognizable. Five white clouds float within and above the canyon, behind the living figure and in front of the clear partition. The mountains of the canyon are cut off at the plaster wall of the room, two peaks reaching through and above the plaster molding which bisects the wall and the composition as a whole. Above this molding is a green cutting mat, covered in white grid marks occasionally disrupted by diagonal lines. The mountains and mat pattern cover the back wall until they reach the clear partition where they are cut off by the frame of the mirror. Beyond this mirror is the decaying figure, the portion of their body nearest to the partition is discolored, mostly red with patches of peeling blue. This peeling pattern gives way to a translucency that reveals the figure’s bones underneath: yellowed and speckled with discoloration. The decaying figure is partially behind the mountains in the world of the living figure, as well as behind some rock formations within its own realm. The figure leans against an uneven rocky wall that is seemingly growing from the barely visible plaster wall–the only visible portion of which is the molding, occasionally covered by a rocky outcrop hanging over the feature. The cavern floor where the decaying figure sits seems to have a step down near the corner of the formerly-plaster wall; jagged formations jut out beyond this corner and a small black cat, barely visible save for its pale ear and green eye, peeks around a portion of this formation. The door from the original room is still visible and open, revealing a crystal-clear, brightly lit reflection pool far in the background, but the decaying figure still sits near the partition starting at their counterpart on the other side.
The living figure from the composition presented in isolation. Its position and parts (flame, steam, broken geometry, and water) are the same as within the composition but, where the waterfall was previously cut off by the bounds of the frame, the water is now seen to flow down to the ground where it hits an invisible surface before disappearing into nothingness.

Image Citations

{a} Base Image for Self-Portrait, approx. Sep 20 2019 @ 08:12 EST
{b} Luray Caverns Rock Formation, Jun 14, 2019 @ 12:30 GMT-04:00
{c} Luray Caverns Stalactites, Jun 14, 2019 @ 12:38 GMT-04:00
{d} Luray Caverns Reflecting Pool, Jun 14, 2019 @ 12:18 GMT-04:00
{1} Waimea Canyon, destination360.com
{2} “Sunrise in Hunts Mesa” by Elena_suvorova
{3} “Tara, Montenegro” by novak.elcic
{4} Wochenendhaus Račić, vikendi.com
{5} Waterfall, Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau
{6} “Fumaca” multarte.com.br
{7} Fog, freepicsartpng.blogspot.com
{8} Dark water bubbles by Elizabeth Explores on Unsplash (lost)
{9} Cloud, photoshop-kopona.com
{10} “Angle Symmetry Point Pattern Line Cloud” freepngclipart.com
{11} “3D Rendering Human Skeleton on White” by photosvac
{12} “Skeletal Foot Anatomy” by alexmit
{13} “Human Skeleton” by Joe Zheng
{14} “3d render of Human skull” by Maryam
{15} Bonfire by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
{16} “Bonfire at Lincolnville Beach” by Ursa . on Unsplash
{17} “Dunedin sparks” by Krystle van der Salm on Unsplash
{e} Peeking Cat, Dec 11, 2018 @ 14:01 GMT-05:00
{18} “Alvin Self-Healing Cutting Mat” bookstores.umn.edu
{f} Peeling Paint, provided by course instructor