Creating an Identity Image Map

Pay attention to how the eye moves through and over your collage, starting with your face.  Put lines on the collage and use any background lines to guide the eye, most likely from left to right.  Remember the CRAPP principles.  Your face will be the focal point.  Arrange your images in a hierarchy of sorts by size, contrast, color and placement on the collage.    Your most important image (your face) should be biggest and stand out the most.  Your next important image should be smaller, etc. 

Be sure you don't put four equal sized images in each corner of the web page--the eye can't rest in such a design hodgepodge.

Where possible, choose and arrange elements on the collage so that they appear to share the same light source. Pay attention to the way faces are turned, eyes are fixed, horizons presented, tree branches flow.  Use these natural direction indicators in ways appropriate to your collage.

Click here for Villanova photos you might want to use.  Be sure your collage will print out appropriately in vertical orientation.

Steps:

1. Select an image for your collage background or base image.  Make the dimensions 800 (width) x 600 pixels.   Name it and create it as a layer.    You could also make your background a solid color, a gradient of colors, etc.   Play with Photoshop effects as you like. Here are some ideas for backgrounds:
   • Maps, street maps, Google maps
   • Photo of the house where you grew up, your dorm, VU, exciting cityscape, etc.
   • Skyscape, landscape, seascape

   When designing, work with the natural lines in your photos.  They can point to objects and lead the eye where you want it to go.
    

2. You can also cut out images in your photos to paste in your collage.  The edges don't have to be straight. Use the magnetic lasso and let the zigs and zags happen.  Don't use this:           Use this:
    
3. Place each image in your collage on its own layer.   Name each layer according to its contents.  Use PhotoShop effects with each.  If you save as PSD file, you can go back and change and edit these images/layers.
4. Careful with the "texturizing" filter.  These effects are only rarely used now.
5. You can also rearrange and resize the images as you go using the Image > Transform tool.
6. Create your name as a layer using PhotoShop effects--make it 3D, with contour, beveling and the like.
7. Once you feel satisfied with your college, save it as a PSD file
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8. Save the file again but add (2) to the name and save as a JPEG file.  You can select Medium JPEG quality.
9. Next Select All and Copy

• See the Citrix saving instructions here

1. Open Frontpage and create an assignment homepage.
   • Open a one-celled table
   • Put the cursor in the table and hit paste--your collage will fill the page
   • Turn off table borders
   • Name and Save in Frontpage (Don't forget to save with a Page Title as well as file_name)
   • Link to your Class Homepage

Here are some great video tutorials that will help:

• Making a collage
• Working with layers on a college

Problems with Rasterizing--If you get an error message about "rasterizing" and you can't write on your layer, here's what to do:

• Create a new layer directly below the problem layer
• Select the old (problem layer) in the layers palette
• Right click on the new layer and from the context menu, choose merge down.  That's it.  You should be able to apply filters and adjust layers all you want.