Progress Update 4

 I began playing around with patterns a bit more. I found it both difficult and really interesting at the same time. The manipulated images I used to create patterns were initially already fairly complex and detailed, so the nature of the pattern making made the new images even more busy. Part of me really likes it. I enjoy the intricate detail created by the trees and the almost Where's Waldo effect created with the miniature Wilburs hidden amongst the detail.

While I have enjoyed the really bright colors created by the divide blend mode, I am really drawn to the sepia colors of these past versions. I think I might want to explore those more as it feels very fitting for the historical context of the original photo.

Something else I have begun playing around with is various types of blurs, but specifically motion blur and gaussian blur.  I began exploring motion blur to create a sense of movement with the planes. The left photo is of the three planes before I applied a motion blur while the left one has the bottom two planes with an increasing level of motion blur. I think this adds some subtle interest to the piece and helps draw the eye upward in the direction of the plane.

I also explored gaussian blur to help simplify certain areas of my piece. Within my versions I have used lots of images of space and stars as part of my concept. Part of my problem with these images is that the stars are very small and the images are very detail. When using them within my piece, especially with blend modes, it adds a lot of noise and makes the image appear very busy and distracting. I wanted to find a way to tone down some of the detail and found gaussian blur was the best way to tone down the detail while maintaining most of the vibrant colors and hint of stars. The left photo was before I applied the gaussian blur while the right one has the blur. I think this will aid the images as I continue working so some of the detail in the planes and Wilbur don't get as lost as they do with most of the noise.