On a whim two years ago, Gigi Fotieo, the founder of the Digital Media Academy at Lake Nona High in Orlando, Florida decided to email me and tell me how she is inspired by my work and my story. She told me about the “Rodney Pike Project” she does with her Digital Media Academy students. The first part of the project involves the students studying my work in order to grasp an understanding of what makes my caricatures interesting. The second part involves researching different techniques and tools within Photoshop that can be used to do these manipulations. The final part of the project is to put that research to the test and use Photoshop to manipulate a celebrity portrait in the “Rodney Pike” style. I showcased her students’ work on my websites last year so that my 2.4 million plus followers on Google+ could see Lake Nona High School Digital Media Academy students’ work. For the second straight year, Gigi, her students and I are excited to Showcase the winner of the “Rodney Pike Project” 2014, judged by me. I’m a huge supporter of the arts for our youth and am privileged to share this among my social network.
Gigi Fotieo has been teaching for 19 years with Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida and is the program coordinator and instructor for Lake Nona High School’s Digital Media Academy. She founded the Digital Media Academy at Lake Nona High in 2011. Students in the academy can earn Adobe Industry Certification in Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, InDesign, Illustrator and Premiere Pro. Not fulfilled by a career as an accountant right out of college, she decided to pursue a much more fulfilling career as a high school Career and Tech Ed teacher. She earned her National Board Certification in Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Career and Technical Education and is a Certified Adobe Education Trainer. You can learn more about the academy at teacherpress.ocps.net/LNHSDMA.
Congratulations Jasmin Quinones!
Below are a few words from Jasmin and more samples of her awesome Photoshop work.
My name is Jasmin Quinones and I am a 16 year old junior at Lake Nona High School in Orlando, Florida. My interest in Photoshop began in my sophomore year when I took Digital Media 1. I haven’t worked with Photoshop long, but it has definitely become something I love. I think it is awesome to be able to take a photo and change it or to create something from scratch on the computer. There is so much to do with Photoshop and I’m excited to learn more.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day and be inspired!
