BALL STATE UNIVERSITY
Fall 2021 CS 120: Computer Science 1
Seventeenth Semi-annual All-section Art Show
Sponsored by the Department of Computer Science

Held in the AJ Atrium on Friday, November 5, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

The collages shown below were created by students in the CS 120 course, and judged by their peers to be the best in each section of the course. Although these could have been created using an image-editing program, these students have written the code themselves to create these collages programmatically by manipulating individual pixels.

This page displays the entries from this semester. You may view entries from all other semesters. All student work included in this and other shows, as well as many other CS 120 students' work is provided in an online digital media repository maintained by the BSU University Libraries.

"Building" by Ryland Fields Freshman; Computer Science major, Spanish minor Artist's statement: “I took this picture in Washington, D.C. because I liked the lighting on the building. It was one of the nicer pictures I took there, and I decided to use it for those reasons. The most challenging part about creating the collage was creating a function that would allow me to remove the background and then copy the center 4 pictures of the top of the building to wherever I wanted on the master canvas. The most rewarding part of this project was seeing it all finally run and create what I was imagining after I had worked on it for many consecutive hours.” Supporting files

"Fort Wayne Murals" by Tobi Lott Freshman; Computer Science major, French minor Artist's statement: “The pictures are from different murals and art displays around Fort Wayne, Indiana. I chose the designs because I like the different colors in both murals. The most challenging part of the project was taking how I wanted the picture to look and replicating that with code. The most rewarding part of the collage was getting the freedom to experiment with what I can code.” Supporting files

"paint.exe" by Carlos Perez Sophomore; Computer Science major Artist's statement: “My thought process when deciding on something for my collage was to do something that I don't think many other people have done. Instead of making my collage the entirety of the canvas I wanted it to take place as if someone were designing it using the paint program on their home computer. The most challenging part about making the collage was compiling all that I have learned so far in CS120 and making it all work together to produce a final image. My favorite part about making the collage was hitting the ‘Load Program’ button and entering the command for my college to be generated. Seeing no errors pop up in JES and seeing my completed work was a moment I will remember.” Supporting files

"Parabola" by Mason Scott Freshman; Computer Science and Japanese majors Artist's statement: “Besides deciding on an official design for the collage, my biggest difficulty was learning how to implement coding patterns that have not been covered in lecture at the time. The best part of this project was the ability to visually see how each bit of code contributed and changed my collage. Seeing the finished product made me absolutely ecstatic in the realization that I am actually creating something beyond simpler functions with my code. I went the direction I did with my collage to challenge myself and to make something unique. This assignment marked a point in my education where everything started to click in my mind, and I was able to really have fun now that I understood certain subjects better. This picture is proof in my mind of how exciting this field can be and how anyone can code with the right help.” Supporting files

"Beauty in Death" by Landen Finlinson Freshman; Computer Science major Artist's statement: “I chose the design of my collage because I felt that it really made all the pictures relevant. I want everyone to know that the picture is a supernova which is an exploding star. I found getting the signature to show up in my collage most challenging, inversely I found the most rewarding part of the collage creation was finally getting my collage to work for the first time.” Supporting files	"Chromatic Wings" by Will Grapenthien Junior; History major, Computer Science minor Artist’s Statement: “I like the colors of the butterfly and I find the form of insects very interesting. The most challenging part of the collage was the coding for the collage itself because it requires a larger section of code than the individual functions do. I enjoyed how well the colors looked when the collage was finished, and it was very satisfying when the coding for the individual functions finally clicked in my head.” Supporting files
"Reality-Bending Clash! Battle of Titans!” by Conner Lucas Sophomore; Computer Technology major Artist's statement: “The most challenging part of this project for me was definitely choosing between what image to use and how to format the images. The best part had to be when I would be trying over and over to get the signature function to work as intended, and having some struggles to overcome. It was all based on when certain functions would fire. In the end, it was a relief to have the functions work properly!” Supporting files	"Upon a Waning Sunset" by Logan Parker Freshman; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “I chose this picture because it was very important to me in high school. It still remains one of my favorite pictures, and I wanted to see how I could change and morph it into something cool and at least fun to look at, if nothing else. The most challenging part wasn’t making the variables to change the image, but rather how I should use said variables to make a collage that looks ‘artistic’, in a sense. As well, running the code itself takes a while, which was a pain in the writing and testing phase. It makes me wish I knew how to multithread.” Supporting files
"Altered Vacation" by Megan Stinefield Freshman; Computer Science major Artist's statement: “I choose this design because I enjoy the beach and palm trees. The most challenging part was doing all of the math to move the scaled images around the canvas to find the place they looked best in. The most rewarding part was getting my signature to show up in a nice color at end.” Supporting files	Thanks for visiting!

"My flower" by Corey Brown Freshman; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “The biggest challenge I faced when creating this collage was really choosing a good image that I felt could really represent what I was imagining when creating this project. Having the right balance of colors and textures was the main goal when creating this and seeing all of the images come together was the highlight of finishing this.” Supporting files	"Multidimensional Madness" by Kai Cheng Yu Freshman; Data Analytics (Computational Concentration) major Artist’s Statement: “The only picture I used is the shade of the person dunking, the background is all written with the for loop function. The spacing part of the project are really challenging because it's hard to create a perfect spacing and pattern with simple for loop. It took a lot of trial and error. When the picture finally loaded up without any syntax error or overlapping with each other it was very satisfying.” Supporting files
"Multimedia Vol. 1" by Brock Hudon Freshman; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “This design popped in my mind while I was listening to some old '80s music. The 80s were a very unique set of years with a unique cultural influence. The music, clothes, TV shows, and the Walkmans—they evoke a certain sense of nostalgia for me. Of course, I didn't live in the '80s. I just like to imagine what listening to a cassette tape must've been like back then. Deciding on the object of the collage was certainly the most challenging aspect. I burned through at least two other ideas before I had this one. Ideas are like dreams; I can never remember them unless they're pretty interesting. I always like to make my work distinctly my work. Sometimes, that originality will result in a lack of quality. This time, it seems the quality isn't too shabby, which is rewarding to me whenever it happens.” Supporting files	"In the Crowd" by Conner Um Freshman; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “I took this photo while at Rolling Loud in Miami, FL. Due to this image containing a partial view of the crowd as well as the artist ‘A$AP Rocky’, I thought that mirroring and rotating the crowd on the top and bottom rows would direct the attention to the artist in the center. Additionally, with the emphasis on the artist in the center, I felt that the negative and red reduced image would appeal to the eye surrounding the original image. The most challenging aspect of this collage was making the decision of what I should fill the left and right side with after creating the top and bottom image borders. The three photos in the middle were centered in a way that it only left a partial blank canvas on the left and right side. I alleviated this issue by cropping a greyscale copy of the original image from left to right and vice versa. The most rewarding part of creating this collage was seeing the final product load, run, and display the aesthetically pleasing collage without error.” Supporting files
"Looking into the Abyss" by Conner Welton Freshman; Computer Information Systems major, Computer Science minor Artist’s Statement: “I wanted to show that the sun we know is one of millions just like it. The most challenging part about the collage was figuring out how to make each of the stars unique. If they looked too similar, it would take away from my theme. The most rewarding thing was the feeling of accomplishment when everything was all done. We have learned a lot in class, but this is the first time we put it all together by ourselves.” Supporting files	"Summit" by Shaun Whitlow Freshman; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “I wanted to go for this design because I wanted it to be simple, but still enjoyable to look at. The most challenging part was getting the pictures to the correct size and the place that I wanted. The most rewarding part of the project was finally seeing what I had in my head, on my screen.” Supporting files

"Egg" by Kevin Contreras Freshman; Computer and Information Technology major Artist’s Statement: “I wanted to create something as simple as an egg and add some creativity to it. The most challenging part of this project was changing the right colors as some of the colors had to be created with the RGB scale. The most rewarding part of this collage creation was after many fails and errors I finally resolved every issue and created what I had imagined in my head.” Supporting files	"Illusionary Idealism" by Andrew Dudelston Freshman; Computer Technology major; Computer Science minor Artist’s Statement: “I chose this design because it is relatively simplistic, but also because I have always liked optical illusions. I want everyone to know that this program IS, indeed, dynamic, as running it will provide random coloring. I found the custom-made randomizer function to be the hardest, as it not only took over an hour and a half to get it working, but it took hundreds of tries to get the variables to where I was satisfied with them. The most rewarding part of it was after it was done and I got to see something that I made. It brought me back to when I first started learning python, being overly excited that I was able to print out ‘Hello World!’.” Supporting files
"Leeph" by Benjamin Hummel Sophomore; Computer Technology major, Business Administration for Computer Technology, and Computer Security minors Artist’s Statement: “I chose the design because I thought it would be cool to see a leaf with its colors inverted. Save/Hack the Planet! The most challenging thing about creating the collage was keeping the code pretty. The most rewarding part of the collage creation was seeing the image change over time as I coded it all.” Supporting files	"Travel Amongst the Day" by Levi Shelley Freshman; Computer Science major, Information Systems minor Artist’s Statement: “I chose the design because I believed it made good use of color theory. I found that designing the values for the individual colors was challenging, but I felt a rush of accomplishment whenever I found the right color, and when I fully completed the picture overall.” Supporting files
"The Crescent City" by Michaela Walker Senior; Computer Science major, Chemistry, Cellular Biology, Criminal Justice, and Digital Forensics minors Artist’s Statement: “I chose this design for my collage because New Orleans was a very important experience for me this past summer. I was able to find my love in music again which is something very important to me. While some people go to New Orleans for the drinking, I went there for the music and to see the history of the city. The most challenging part about creating the collage was reducing the size of the picture and still managing to keep it from becoming "grainy" like. The most rewarding part of the collage was seeing how it finally turned out, I am happy with how my collage came to be. I am also very excited about being selected for presenting at the art show which was not expected.” Supporting files	Thanks for visiting!

"Wolves in the moon" by Justin Barton Freshman; Computer Information and Technology major Artist’s Statement:” I choose the design because it was very peaceful and calming to look at. I want others to know that I hope it can be very calming to the eyes and bring relief. I it found most challenging to fit all six variations of the pictures onto the canvas and get them to do what I wanted. The most rewarding thing was to sit back after all the work and see the creation that I had just made.” Supporting files	"Shattered Skies" by Davis Knight Freshman; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “I chose this design because I like cities and wanted to create a "shattered" look. The most challenging part for me was getting the edited parts of the image to copy to the correct locations. The most rewarding part was definitely figuring what needed to be adjusted into my code to allow it to work.” Supporting files
"Mr. West" by Joel Clouser Freshman; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “I chose this design because I thought it all went together well. The program I created took up to 2-3 minutes to create and display the picture every time I changed something, so it made it more difficult. The most rewarding part was definitely when it finally came out how I wanted it to.” Supporting files	"New Moons" by Sean Trzybinski Freshman; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “I chose this design because I had lots of good pictures of the moon. Copying the pictures to the right locations, and in the right order was challenging. I find it significant that I can now put my signature on digital media.” Supporting files
"00:00:00" by Mars Williams Sophomore; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “I chose the design for my collage because I wanted to make something that was pretty arbitrary. No matter what environment the clock is in, the hands still remain at the same point. The most challenging part was probably getting the fade from light to dark for each of the tiles perfect. I had to try it a couple times to make sure the increments weren’t too drastic while still being noticeable. The most rewarding part was definitely seeing my collage finished for the first time. It’s one thing to see it as code, but to have all the functions and little pieces come together is really cool.” Supporting files	Thanks for visiting!

"The Randomness of Space" by Jacob Clark Freshman; Computer Science manor Artist’s Statement: “I wanted to use randomness as a key part of the design, and I love space and astronomy. Finding a way to copy the images while removing the background was challenging. Seeing the final product change each time the function is executed was exciting.” Supporting files	"The house with the clock in its code" by Ray Cole Junior; Computer Science Artist’s Statement: “I was inspired by watching my son play video games. This is a map made from the clock tower. I was challenged by trying to size and arrange the pictures to line up in create the buildings and pathways. I was rewarded by having my son explain to me the strategy that would be used if playing on this map and what needed to be changed to make it more user friendly.” Supporting files
"Which Ball?" by Adam Howard Sophomore; Computer Science major, Music Recording minor Artist’s Statement: “I chose this design because this type of meme made a slight comeback recently and I wanted to display my pet hamster named Ball. The most challenging part was figuring out the layout, as I had to make a sketch and figure out the placement of each photo by how many pixels were between each picture. The most rewarding part of this collage was seeing when the format and layout was finally coming together.” Supporting files	"Pathways" by Hannah Johnston Sophomore; Computer Science major Artist’s Statement: “I wanted to make something that stood out right away to the eye while also using bright colors. This is a picture of my brother that I took while on a short hike about a year ago. I think what was most challenging was starting out and figuring out how to create a collage with an eye-catching compilation. The final image is great, however the most rewarding part is knowing that I was able to write the code that created the collage.” Supporting files
"Cyberpunk" by Jeremy Wagoner Sophomore; Computer Technology major, Business Administration, and Computer Security minors Artist’s Statement: “I chose this design because I really wanted to make something aesthetic that also meets the requirements for the project. Also, I wanted to do something with cyberpunk as a play-on-word with the art and how I used code to make the art. The most challenging thing was getting the top to mirror on the bottom but still keep their modifications. I couldn't seem to find any luck until I realized I could just flip each picture 180 degrees instead of mirroring them on the x-axis. The most rewarding part of the collage creation was getting all the hard parts out of the way and then being able to have some fun and add any more modifications or changes of my own.” Supporting files	Thanks for visiting!

CS Department:      Largent:
Copyright © 2021 by the collage creators identified above each image.
Fall 2021 CS 120 All-section Art Show organized by David Largent with significant support from Jennifer Coy, Kim Bechdolt, Karl Mesarosh, and Jeff Zhang.