Grit/Beauty project

For this assignment we had to create an image in Photoshop showing both the gritty and beautiful parts of Philadelphia. We had to choose textures from the classroom account on Picasa and incorporate them into our design as well. I wanted to show a contrast of things found right on Temple's campus - so I started with an image I took of an empty cigarette box, which i made to look grimy and worn out by using the paintbrush tool. I then added leaves and flowers to represent the more beautiful part of the city. I altered the hues, saturation, brightness, and contrast levels of the different photos. I also used the transparency tool in overlaying different textures for the ground. I added textures (like yarn and tissue paper!) to the leaves and sticks in the top right hand corner to make them appear more life-like and interesting. I think I was pretty successful in terms of the project outlines. I'm not sure if this is a piece I would necessarily like to show but I am overall happy with the way it came out.