Vector Exercise

Here is my final image for the vector exercise. (Hopefully it's abstract enough to meet the assignment criteria.) I made individual rectangles and used the gradient tool to make backgrounds on various layers. After manipulating each letter, I used the clipping mask function to remove the extraneous hangover bit in order to keep the final image in the required 12x4 in. format. (This was harder than expected; I needed lots of help to get it to work.)

The letters chosen for the piece are CH3. This is the formula for a methyl group in organic chemistry. Methylation is kind of a cool process, and it's important for epigenetics. In a nutshell, this is where outside forces (nurture) cause changes to how genes are expressed without altering the DNA sequence. If you hear about certain activities/toxins, etc. "turning on or off genes," this is what they're talking about. Some of these changes are heritable, meaning that the alteration can then be passed down to offspring. (Neat, right?)

Anyway, hopefully the idea of a process of change is something a viewer can pick up from this image.