Created by Joseph Alonso, September 2019

The first thing that I scanned when preparing for this project was a piece of duct-tape.  I didn’t even know what I was going to go for in my final project.  The second thing I scanned was the chain on a Chain Chomp plushie that I keep in my dorm.  I started thinking about what makes these things special and why I should use them, then it hit me.  I would make my collage based on things that are important to me.  I first decided to use the chain and duct-tape to reference connections between different images, one of the images being of myself.  I would have the chains connecting images to me to show that they are important to me, and the duct-tape to connect similar things.

The first thing I connected to myself was my BSA wallet emblem, to show my connection to Scouting.  I have been a Boy Scout since I was in middle school, starting in the Bear rank, and working my way up to Eagle.  The next item I connected to myself was the green jeep and snake that I got off an Indiana Jones FastPass ticket.  I also stuck two googly eyes from my Chain Chomp plushie to it.  This represents my love for adventure stories, along with a healthy dose of comedy.  The googly eyes are also supposed to be a subtle nod to the Banjo-Kazooie series, which fits the description of a comedic adventure.

The next thing I connected to myself was an image of a badger that I got from a Northwest Trek ticket.  This represents my love for animals and going to the zoo, though my favorite zoo to visit is Point Defiance.  The final images that I connected to myself was a simple drawing of a game controller and a person doing some platforming, held together by duct-tape to represent my love for games that have a basis in platforming.  The background of the collage is a small section taken from my phone case to represent my affinity for technology.

This was my first time ever using Photoshop.  The most important tool that I used was the background eraser tool, which helped me isolate the chains from their white backgrounds, along with the Chain Chomp eyes from their surrounding colors. Learning how layers worked was also important in making sure the chains did not cover up the images connected to mine, as well as me.