This book contains some tips and ideas about collecting colours, patterns and textures digitally to make a virtual palette that can then be used to make digital collages. 

Collecting and using a digital palette

A selection of example books covering music, art, photography, design and other creative subjects.

Creative Arts books

Green polka dot pattern

Any photo collage maker can be used to arrange and create with the digital palette. PicCollage is a free app available on most devices and there is an EDU version as well as other free photo collage tools such as Adobe Spark which is available online as well. Photo collages can also be made in PowerPoint (Microsoft) and Keynote (Apple).

Using your digital palette to make art

PicCollage

‎PicCollage EDU Collage Maker

Make Social Graphics, Short Videos, and Web Pages To Stand Out—In Minutes | Adobe Spark

Pop art green

Collecting and creating with a digital palette.

Exploring colour, saturation and tone using editing in BeFunky.

References: Atkin, L. (2021) TextureHunterGatherer. OutsideIn. [online] Available from: https://outsidein.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/BAE9D631-363A-471D-B0D7-028C6A898015-1200x1200.jpeg [Accessed: 09/04/2021]. Barnett, P. ( 2020) A tree bark tapestry. Microcosmic. [online] Available from: https://bit.ly/3uBH0Ln [Accessed: 09/04/2021]. Barnett, P. (2020) Sycamore bark. Microcosmic [online] Available from: https://bit.ly/3f5JsDa [Accessed 12/05/2021].

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Jean Edwards Senior Lecturer, University of Northampton jean.edwards@northampton.ac.uk Twitter: @Jean Ed70 Instagram: @70jeanne

Experiment with the various grid layouts and your photos to see what you can create.

Using a different shape and grid layout (4,2,1)

Closely observing the world around to find visually interesting areas to photograph can encourage us to slow down and observe with care and intensity. On the next few pages are some tips and ideas for trying this out. We're used to taking many snapshots with mobile devices so working in a completely different way can be quite a challenge at first.

Collecting a digital palette

The camera on a mobile device (phone or tablet) can be used to take close up photos which can then be used as a digital palette. 

Demonstrating how to look, evaluate and select before capturing the image can be useful when beginning or even practising with a card viewfinder.

Using freestyle in PicCollage to create new pictures.

Experiment with the Freestyle layout. This will allow you to duplicate, change size, reposition and overlap photos as well as cut parts out of them.

If you are making a grid layout close the gaps between the photos and move the photos around until the layout is just right. Build up more complex grids by making multiple photocollages and putting them together.

Here's a video demonstration using the PicCollage app.

The Google Maps alphabet - Google Maps Widget

ThingLink: magnification: can you guess what this is?

Demonstrate going close up and zooming in to the chosen area (as on the left)&#160;rather than taking a general view (as on the right).

Edit photos, cropping them to focus on the colour, texture or pattern and eliminating irrelevant and distracting parts.

You might have a go using a card viewfinder first. You might limit the number of photos pupils take so that they slow down and evaluate what they are looking at and collecting.

It can be useful to have a look at the work of others who have been collecting and making digital collages. Below are some ideas for finding examples from schools. On the following pages there are two artists and their work to use for inspiration.

Finding examples: Look up #texturehuntergatherer on Twitter or Instagram. There are lots of examples of collections of colours, patterns and textures to look at and be inspired by.

Finding examples You can find examples made by children and adults in different locations: natural and urban environments. You can also find examples focused on colours, patterns, themes and places.

Collecting and creating the collage might be enough in itself or you might decide to go further. Digitally this might be manipulating the collage in other apps or online tools to see how it can be changed. The free apps below: BeFunky, Distressedfx and StoryZ offer lots of possibilities. Choosing one to explore and get to know can be enough to be creative with the images you have.

What else? ideas to go further digitally

BeFunky

Distressed FX

StoryZ Photo Motion

Visual elements: 1. Exploring what these mean in the context of selecting areas to take photos of, choosing how to combine the photos to make grids and abstract / representational compositions. 2. Exploring them using art materials to work from the photos in drawing, collage and printmaking. colour texture tone pattern line shape

Vocabulary composition Using the camera: picture, image, photo, view finder, zoom in, crop, Making a photo collage: grid, border, freestyle, overlap, reposition, duplicate, resize, cut, Using apps to go further digitally: (related to the app you choose to work in) edit, brightness, contrast, exposure, hue, temperature, saturation effects (expressed differently in different apps, sometimes a descriptive word or phrase, sometimes a number, supported by icon) Using art materials to go further: (related to the art processes and materials you choose) In the apps and tools used many of the words for choices and functions are also supported by a symbol or picture.

Artist and BigDraw Ambassador Liz Atkin takes photos of colours and textures she encounters and shares them using #texturehuntergatherer These digital collages are works of art in themselves.

Texturehuntergatherer by Liz Atkin

Contents <a href="bookcreator://page/lpExMYgkS9iU0CAlOX90qw">Introduction</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/P_qVmXsVR2CAcCObFA2qDg">Collecting a digital palette</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/VT9RquB1RvKsTPCtHZe_VA">Examples from artists</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/-IcpEVIyRTuuj3lIkdFxhA">Using the digital palette </a> <a href="bookcreator://page/KJHnnbCjRq21kO2Sr_f8Lw">What else? ideas to go further digitally</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/r0bZUdWdQPOtD3LIv0OOtQ">What else? ideas to go further using art materials</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/et_p-ojIRQyzGmfe2HHQ9w">Visual elements and vocabulary</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/SBrs-iv1SWSIlyOHp_GPyA">And finally</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/KTYPrWywSNyVfm5b3U8fXQ">References</a>

Introduction This book contains some tips and ideas about collecting colours, patterns and textures digitally to make a virtual palette that can then be used to make digital collages. Once you've learned how to use technology apps and tools to do this there is huge potential for you and your learners to use it creatively when making art in the real and digital worlds.

Making grid or freestyle collages can also be explored using paper. This could using found and collected materials or created using processes such as rubbing, wax resist and printmaking. Assembling a collection of found and created materials can then lead to selection and manipulation to create new images using tearing, cutting, placing and eventually, sticking down. Digital creations can be used as starting points for drawing, painting and print.

What else? ideas to go further using art materials

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Photographer and artist Phil Barnett also collects patterns from nature, arranging them in grids. The examples on the left are from tree bark. At the link below you can read more about how he connects these to the Chinese idea of "Li": the patterns in nature that are forming and re-forming around us.

(Microcosmic)  Li - Patterns in Nature

Translating into printmaking Print tiles made with glue, wallpaper and card, printed and then displayed with the photo, the card tile and two examples of prints.

Translating into collage A grid collage made from green papers collected and made. here they can be seen in the stage before sticking down when the composition can be explored and changed.

Working collaboratively There is scope to work together at this stage of the process. This could be based around colour, pattern or any other themes or elements. Individuals or pairs can be given one colour to look for and capture so that collectively there is wide range of images for everyone to use. All the images can be made available through addition to a shared folder. Alternatively 'air drop' can be used to swap images around between ipads.