A Study of Stencil

1. Explain how you changed your photo in the lab to create a stencil.
We found the picture on the internet, then opened it in Photoshop and edited the picture, creating more contrast though the positive and negative space through the Threshold effect in Photoshop.You then had to make it in black and white to create more difference between the parts of the picture.

2. When creating the collage background explain your choices of colors, materials (magazine paper, books pages, etc), and placement. How does it relate to your topic? If no relation discuss general idea.
My collage backround for the stencil was the Las Vegas sign, so I wanted to go with bright colors and flashing lights and things you;'d see in Vegas: half-naked women and bad ideas paired with drinking and drugs. I layered it with light watercolours because Las Vegas is a bright city, and then it was done.

3. Discuss the way positive and negative space was used to create your stencil.
It showed the major contrast between what you needed to cut out, to show the spray paint color, and what you'd keep, the parts that would show through the background. The black, for example, would be everything you'd cut, and the white keep, or vise versa.

4. When using the xacto knife, explain the safety procedures, how to use the knife and any challenges you had to overcome while cutting.
The Xacto knife was scary. You had to make sure you always cut away from your fingers and body, and trying to do so without being cut. You had to push the knife down hard though the paper, but you had to make sure it didn't cut though the blackboard or cutting board or whatever underneath. I kept cutting out the wrong parts, so I had to use tape to fix it.

 5. How was your experience with the spray paint? Discuss how color choice is important, placement of stencil, and any other concepts you noticed while creating this.
It was okay. I mean, I sprayed too close and too hard the first time, which messed it all up, but I did a layer of blue over the background, then black for the stencil, and then white over it to define it. The composition was in the middle, so you could see the original background, the blue, the botched white layer, and then the black. Even though I messed up, I think it looks way cooler. The colors had to define the thing, and contrast with the background too, in order for you to see the stencil.