Fantasy Portrait in the Style of Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian painter who lived circa 1530 to 1593. He was a court painter and portraitist who came to use fantasy in his work. He created allegorical representations of such things as the Four Seasons using animals, fruits, vegetables and other objects as the basic forms comprising the heads of his "people".

Due:
Three (remote class) days

Project Description:
Using related objects, create a fantasy "portrait" in the style of Arcimboldo.

Objectives:

• Gain experience with the basic selection tools and techniques of Adobe Photoshop (and Photopea).
• Draw clean selections to cut and paste parts from various sources into a seamless whole.
• Create convincing, but odd, juxtapositions to add visual impact to an artwork.

Materials:
Adobe Photoshop or Photopea

Parameters:

• Format as follows:
• Width: 7.5 inches
• Height: 10 inches
• Resolution: 150 pixels/inch (300 would be better, but may lag on some devices)
• Color Mode: RGB

If you would like to work beyond these limitations (for example: work larger than letter-size, or in a square shape) consult Mr. Ratkevich.

Steps (Process):

1. Take photos around your home of items related by theme.
2. Upload the photos to your computer or iPad
   
3. Create a new document using the format above.
4. Make clean selections, then copy and paste into the new document.

(Be sure to include a background/environment.)

Grading Criteria:

• Inventiveness
• Cleanliness of selections / Convincing combination of objects (A viewer cannot tell that they've been cut and pasted.)
• Design (Visual impact)

Artistic Expression and Creativity Rubric

Tips to Get Started:

• Think about a theme. Take photos of items related to that theme.
• Think about the direction of light on the objects. It should be consistent for all objects (That is, if the light is coming from the left on one object, you should arrange that for the other objects as well.

Helpful Resources:
View the works of Arcimboldo.
They can be found at this site:
http://www.giuseppe-arcimboldo.org/

Self Critique Questions:
Before turning in your work, ask yourself:

• Is my idea unique enough? Does it have personality?
• Have I selected and pasted the items in such a way that a viewer cannot tell they have been patched together?
• Does the image have enough visual impact? Will it catch and hold a viewer's attention?