For this project we were asked to create our own version of a vintage carnival poster. I chose to make one from the "Freak Show" sideshow at Coney Island that took place in the 1920's. When researching carnivals this one caught my eye and I instantly drew up a sketch to act as a layout for my poster. I wanted to have one of the "freaks of nature" as my main emphasis on the page with the works "Freak Show" as the main text overtop of the person. Then, I wanted to add texts around this person to describe the event and make the image look even more like a vintage poster. I wanted the background to be a deep color to contrast the other aspects and texts of the image and these ideas wrapped up my outline sketch.
To start off my project I needed to choose which of "freak of nature" to be the main focus of my project and after a few minutes I chose "the dog-faced man" who was in the sideshow back in the 1920's and was a popular "freak" in this carnival. I chose an actual image of this person but I wanted them to be more animated so I clicked filter, then filter gallery, and then chose the paintbrush filter. After this I needed to choose a background, and I decided to search for an image of a dark and deep red solid background because I thought it would contrast well with the "dog-faced man". Lastly I needed to add a shadow, so I double clicked on the "dog-faced man" image and clicked drop shadow and made the adjustments, but instead of a traditional shadow I thought that to lines outlining him looked cooler an added to the vintage look.
I wanted to make this poster look as vintage as possible so I wanted to add a texture to go overtop of all of my layers and future layers. So, I chose one from one of the links my teacher provided us to use and then selected one that I thought would fit best with my project. once I found one I was satisfied with, I changed the overlay of it to divide to and I liked the vintage/rustic look the texture brought to the image. Then I wanted to get started of the text for above "the dog-face man". So, I want back to the link that my teacher had given us and found a template that I wanted to use. I only wanted a small part of it so I placed a layer mask over the template layer and only kept the first part of it, and carved out the ornament and the lines. Lastly, I placed a overlay which I changed to divide.
I wasn't satisfied with the overlay of divide but I liked some parts of it. So, I wanted to incorporate this layer with another overlay to add more depth and a more vintage look. I started by creating a copy of the template and then masked over everything besides the outside details. Then I went back to the original template layer and changed the overlay to luminosity. After, I masked over the part of the template that has "company made in Germany" because I thought it was too much. Then I created another duplicate, flipped it vertically, and filled in the gap in the line so the box was complete.
After I found another ornament from the link and placed it in. I wanted to keep the same theme going throughout my project so I merged both divide and luminosity versions of this ornament together a well through the masking tool. Then, I wanted to fill in the empty space on the sides of "the dog faced man" so I looked for another ornament template on the link. Once I found one I liked I placed it on the side of him, but this was too simple to have a luminosity and divide balance. So, I chose to make the overlay only divide and then I duplicated it and then placed the duplicate on the other side.
Next, I needed to add in the text inside or the ornaments to make the carnival appeasing and make this look like an actual poster. I began by searching for the font I wanted to use and I came across the "freak show" font which I though fit perfectly because this poster is about the freak show. Plus, the letters were all mismatched and different which embodies the "freaks of nature" that the circus "displayed" at this circus in the 1920's. To do this, I started with the curved pen tool to create a path for my text to go on too. I started with the word "presents" in the ornament right about "the dog-faced man"'s head. I then made some adjustments to the sizing and shape and then I changed the color with the dropper tool of a yellowish white from the suit of the "dog faced man". I placed a drop shadow so that the letters were more prominate and easier to read.
Next, I filled in the other ornaments using the same pen tool technique as before. I placed the words "the dog faced man" to go along with the sentence of "Freak Show" "presents" "the dog faced man". I did the same process of size and shape adjustments and used the same yellowish white color while also adding a drop shadow. Lastly I added "Visit Coney Island" on the left side and "to see him live" on the right side to make another sentence of "Visit Coney Island" "to see him live". I then adjusted the size and shaping using the same yellowish white color and then finished the poster by adding a drop shadow underneath.
