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The Chicago Downtown

By: Brett Ratajczak

The City of Chicago has been one of Americas most

intriguing cities since early 19th Century. The city offers so

much for tourist groups, vacations spots and is the host of a very

important lifestyle for those who work and entertain. The City

of Chicago brings a site seeing adventure along Lake Michigan

and on the paths of Millenium Park which lead tourists to the

most popular Navy Pier and the ferris wheel from the World

Fair. Finally, Chicago offers a skyline of skyskrapers that show

a magnicant blend of colors, architectual differences and sizes

that simbolize power, strength and culturalization.

This magazine offers a peek of Chicagos greatest features,

buildings, sites and the lifestyles which distinguishes the City of

Chicago from just an ordinary city. I bring together photographs

and illustrations that bring different eye catching experiences that

this great city has to offer. I foces on Michigan Avenue, Mil-

lenium Park, and Navy Pier. These three sites bring may people

form all over the world together and emphasize the wonder and

the nature built from many years of excellance in Business, Art,

and Entertainment.

Tis picture was captured o the Chicago Teater. I took theorigianl photo and by using Adobe Illustrator I created a il-lustrated annimated photograph. Te cra o this compostisowas created with making new layers or each part o the picturstarting with the brown building and working my way orwarto the red sign. Each layer adds a new graphic that exposes

the details in the building and eye catching colors o the sign.I chose this compostion becasue the sign emphasizes a verytraditional but yet one o the largest signature objexts o the

City o Chicago.

Chicago offers a skyline of skyskrapers that show magnicantblends of colors, architectures and culturalization

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Day And NightBy: Brett Ratajczak

I choose three pictures from around millennium park to recolor. Each picture was desaturated in photo

shop to where the picture was in black and white. A light blue was added to the entire layer one and the

original picture was multiplied and moved in front of the light blue. The picture at the fountain pushes

the skyline to the background and illuminates the fountain with a teal color. the picture with the ferris

wheel brings the wheel to an illumination and forward as the main concentration and and the idea of a

little bit darker shade of blue for the concert hall to allow for the illumination and stand out of the main

stage.

The concept I chose with the idea of tourist attractions of Chicago, photographing some of the main

sites that people enjoy viewing as they come to Chicago.Most of these pictures are architecturally

intriguing and I wanted to work with them to show off their features.

The pictures compose the idea of some of the greatest tourist attractions in the City of Chicago. Buck-ingham Fountain, the concert hall of Millennium Park and the famous Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier all

show the feeling of great architecture and beauty. The different shades of blue illuminate specic parts

of the pictures and allows for the view to concentrate on the beauty. I used a lighter blue on these four

because it allowed for a better view of the skyline and then allowed the fountain stick out more.

Tis pictures was taken rom its original photographed document and using Adobe Pho-toshop, was constructed into a new visualized picture. I used a dierent per spenctive tohighlight the outline o Chicagos buildings with a dark shade bringing in a great deal o con-trast rom the ountain which is illuminated and showing awsome detail in the water ow.

These Pictures Compose the ideas of some of the Greate

Tourist Attractions in the City of Chicago

Page 4

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and Night Page 6

Millenium Park Amphitheater

The Millenium Park Amphitheater is one of Chicagos most

architectural structured tourist attractions. Also known as the

Jay Pritzker Pavillion, the pavillion is the only free outdoor

music venues reamaining across the nation. This outdoor the-

ater is home to the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Cho-rus. The venue also welcomes numerous performers ranging

from mainstream rock to classial musicians. Everything about

this venue exceeds viewer desires and welcomes everyone to

the shows and also exploits an unbelievable backdrop with the

skyskrapers.

One of the most accessable and entertaining parks not only in Chicago, but inthe world

I chose to photograph and reiterate the details of the architectual design of the

pavillion because it is one of the most intriguing gures around the city. After

photographing the pavillion, I changed the images color and focus by playing

with the hue and saturation tools of Adobe Photoshop. I concentrated using three

different blends of blue starting with a light blue and light opacity for the back

ground giving the buildings just a hint of color. Following the background, I

moved to a darker two blues for the sound beams and grass leading up to the

shell. This paint was applied using a simiple circular brush tool and eraser tool to

make the lines and details exact. I nished the picture with a sharp silver and by

brightening the light and contrasts, I was able to make the shell and soundstage

stand out from the back and bring to the viewers eye.

By: Bre t t Rata j czak

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y and Night Page 8

Created to provide a unique live music experience,offering near-perfect acoustics, a modern design

and a stunning landscape

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and Night Page 10

HE Ferris WheelBy: Brett Ratajczak

Chicagos most premier tourists rides for unbelievable city, lake and skylineviews for an uordable price

Tey amous Chicago Ferris Wheel lo cated at Navy Piers CrystalGarden Platorm next to the Pepsi viewing deck was created in

1893 by George Washington Gale Ferris or the Worlds Fair. Teerris wheel was an eye catching awe and wonder o the worldwhich gathered tourists rom all over even i scared o hieghts totake a ride and experience all o what Chicago has to oer romabove.

Te idea behind my photography o the err is wheel was to continue withthe idea o Millenium Park being a great tourist attraction. I moved downlakeshore more to Navy Pier where people rom all over gather to enjoythe walk along the lake and ride some o the attractions it has to oer. TeFerris wheel is one o the most eye catching attractions on the pier so Idecided to color it into a illustrated picture. Compared too the originalphoto I turned the photo into a darker image and had the wheel stand outagainst the dark sky. Using Adobe Photoshop I once again used a simplecircle brush tool to paint the object and used the hus and saturation tofnd the best color combination or the piece. I think the three le vels oblue add a great contrast to the bright white o the erris wheel.

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Page 12and Night

Trump Tower ChicagoBy: Brett Ratajczak

The Trump International Hotel and

Tower located in Chicago is a sky-

scraper condo-hotel. The buidling

is developed and named after real

estate developer Donald Trump.

The building stands at 1398 ft

with 98 stories. It was originally

planned to be the tallest building

in the world but is the second to

Chicagos Sears Tower. The tower

offers a wide range of activities

within it besides a 339 room hotel.On the 16th oor, a ve star res-

taurant called Sixteen sets a very

high class mood with great food

for anyone who wants to dine with

excellent views of the river. Also,

the building offers a 23,000 square

foot spa. It offers a great number

of massage treatments, along with

saunas and private couple suits.

The elegant and building establish

es a sense of class and money

which offers a great experience

to the city in both a viewing and

personal experience.

I used Adobe Illustrator to il-

lustrate the photograph I took

of the Trump Tower. My picture

really shows the great detail and

architectual design and layers that

the building has. Each section

I broke down and added the ll

colors of the building and used the

line tool to drastically emphasize

each line in the window structure

of the building. This buildingintrigues me because its one of the

most facinating buildings in the

city based on how the bluish tint

relfects iteslf against the darker

buildings that surround it.

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and Night Page 14

Tese recolors are o rump ower Chicago. Teyrepresent the same theme that I was going or

throughout this entire secton o the magazine bykeeping that night time theme. Tis theme reallygoes well with this photo because there is just sommuch I can do with the dierent details and layersthat the photo gives. Both photos oer a dierentrange o colors that illuminate the building in adierent way.

Te photo on the le was created in Adobe Illus-trator. I used the same picture rom the page be-

ore and just adjusted the hues and saturations togive it a darker look. Te time o day in this photois late night with a high moon beaming o the leside o the buildings windows, giving a dramaticreexion. Te darkeness o the building also al-lows each line outling the windows to stand outand give that great detail o the building.

Te photo on the right imental picture in whicuse colors that were verystood out against eachothe orange and greenigreat contrast and i yotop o the building, thethe less opacity appearswhich allow you to seoriginal photo but still gthe color scheme. Both oings oer an example oways o changing simhaving drastic outcome

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The City Around Us

Page 16

This series of the magazine brings in the exploration of the City of Chicago itself

and what it has to offer. Many times people come to Chicago on business or on

vacation and never really stop and watch what is happening around them. Chicago

is a city of atmosphere and environment but many fail to see it. As a commuter,

Lake Shore Drive is a primary route into the city and immediatly you can see thechanges in senory. While in route in, the lake brings a feeling of calmness and

makes you want to sit and think. However on the left of you brings the complete

opposite feeling. Trafc jams, civilians excercising, via bikes, rollerblades, or

jogging, city buses, horns and the sounds of the elevated trains bring a more fast

paced senory and almost a complete kaos emotion. Drivers look to get in and out

of the city and fail to take in the full affect.

The photo below is a shot I took of the city skyline just off the Jackson street exit

of Lake Shore. My current position is a half a block down from the Art Museum

on Adams. This position was very inuential to me because there are so many

objects to look at in this photo. As I glance back and forth at the photo, the rst

thing the eye is pulled too are the buildings followed by the objects at the bottom.

The objects at the bottom of the picture add a great deal contrast to the rest of the

photo. The railroad tracks which I am standing over, although not the main focus,

offer a great deal of depth of eld and gives the image a deeper perspective that

rolls up to the shadows of the city buildings. Chicagos Trump Tower and Prudential

building are two stand out buildings that our known across the country as two of

Chicagos signature business places. Believe it or not, the Prudential building was

once known for being one of the tallest buildings in the world. As you can see now

the architecture has made a signicant difference in the city since then. This photo

was also facinating because based on the angle of the camara, the picture shows a

great deal of depth into the city. Each street along side the different buildings goes

deep into the heart of downtown but its up to me to capture the rest of the city.

By: Brett Ratajczak

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Page 18City Around Us

Lake Michigan brings the sights and

sounds of the city to a bare minimum.

The lake is a place of relaxation, great

views, unbelievable color schemes,

and entertainment during the Summer

months. When I was photographing

the lake, I was able to get a great light

placement from the sun across the lake

from different angles. The ideas run-

ning through my head were to focus on

a certain visual object or more than one

object and allow the sun to change the

photos on its own. In the gure below,

I concentreated on a dock just off of

Navy Pier which had a great shadow

from shallow to deep as the picture went

farther and farther out. Water offeres a

great reection in photographs because it

creates layers.

Water offers a great relection in photographs because it

offers a form of layers an shadow on a smooth surface.

If you look out to the horizon, you can see that the lake

almost appears endless. Which is why this tranquil place can

be used as a personal location for both personal excitment and

exercise. Day in and day out people from all over the city use

the jogging paths to bike and exercise. No matter what season

it is, exercise enthusiests use the surrounding visual to enjoy

some time at peace with themselves and nature.

The summer season really drives the lake into its purest moments of perfections

for many people. As the picture above shows, many people have their boats and

yachts located in the lake for personal family weekend enjoyment as well as the near

by North Avenue beach opens up for sand volleyball, beachside street hockey, and

Castaways restaruant and bar all bring in excited tourists who want a piece of the

Chicago avor. The the closets thing the Midwest can get to the shores of Miami or

Panama City Florida or Souther California coast. It is at this time that the streets of

the city move south to the shores of the lake and the atmosphere becomes a thrillingexperience for many who take the time to participate. So besides the entertainment,

the views and scenory of Chicago extend much farther than the downtown city

streets.

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City Around Us Page 20

WelcomeCubsFans!

the friendly confines- Earnie Banks

The Friendly Connes, also known as Wrigley Field and home

to the Chicago Cubs was built in 1914 and was known as Cubs

Park until 1926 until William Wrigley Jr of Wrigleys Chewing

gum bought the team. Wrigley is located in the neighborhood

known as Lakeview. The surrounding neighborhood brings in

a vast amount of Cubs fans as well as individuals who like a

thrilling live night life. Wrigleys streets thrive on night clubs and

bars which bring people of all ages from young 21 year olds to

people in their late 40s. The neighborhood thrives in an electric

atmosphere day in and day out especially on game days. Wrigley

Field has held many die hard fans whether the team is winning

or losing, weather its raining or sunny, the fans ll the stands for

every game.

Wrigley Field is the second oldest ballpark in

the major leagues today behind Boston Red Sox

Fenway Park. This historic landmark stadium has

seen some of the most moments in baseball history

including Babe Ruths called shot in the 1932

World Series, Earnie Banks Mr Cub 500th career

homerun, all the way to Kerry Woods 20 strike

out game out of 27 outs. and Sammy Sosas 60

homeruns in 2000 while he raced Mark McGuire

for the homerun race. All of these events make this

stadium a more and more piece of history each year

the season starts. Ive seen many games at this park

and never have had a time I regreted.

My illustration of Wrigley Field really falls into my favorite portrait that I have created

becasue being such a big Cubs fan, I really liked the idea of the making the hystorical

landmark an illustration. It took me about 3 days of on and off work to create due to

the fact I wanted to create and make as much detail as I possibly could. The illustrat-

sion was created in Adobe Illustrator, I created new layers based off the background of

the blue sky and worked my way forward to the gray street. Each piece on the building

created a graphic detail which put the building together one part at a time. The over all

construction was built to be a illustrated cartoon replica of the original photo shot by

me.

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Life In SportsBy: Brett Ratajczak

Growing up in Joliet Illinois where

sports are a large part of a persons life since

the young years of our lives. Joliet is known for

being the City of Champions because of thier

private high school, Joliet Catholic Academy.

Growing up, Joliet had three high schools lo-

cated in the city and one stood out as the power-house school in the state. As it stands today, Jo-

liet Catholic Academy is knowsn for its College

Prep education and athletics. Joliet Catholics

Football team tallied in 13 state championships,

their Baseball with 2, and Girls Volleyball with

four. Growing up with this kind of environment

to hopefully play in really makes a kid work

hard to get at this level.

Throughout the years of high school, I

have had the opportunity to watch many of my

friends along with my brother succeed to the

collegiate level in their prospected sports. My

brother Nick was a starting second basemen on

the baseball team and starting corner back on the

football team inwhich he won a state champi-

onship on each team his senior year. He moved

on to play baseball at Gulf Coast Community

College in Panama City Florida for the past two

years.

Matt Ginnetti and Phil and Alex Johnson are

friends who have been around for awhile on both

sports teams and social events. These three guys

all were standouts in high school sports. Matt was

the starting quarter back for our football team his

senior year, and went on to play collegiate ball for

St. Ambrose Univeristy in Davenport Iowa. Phil

and Alex are twins who grew up dominating thestates hockey world. Today they are currently se-

niors at the University of Iowa where they are on

the Hawkeye hockey team.

Throughout this section of my book I

wanted to design a part where I could show the

illustrations I put together on my free time. I

wanted to create these photos of my brother and

our friends because they offered a visual that

many could not capture and I enjoyed recreating

the idea of them being in a live setting while I

used adobe Illustrator to make a new visual to the

viewers.

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In Sports Page 24

Matt Ginnetti

Matt Ginnetti a 20 year oldstudent at St. Ambrose University in

Iowa was a stand out athlete his entire

life. At young age, Ginnetti a graduate

of Drauden Point Middle School in

Plaineld Illinois was a driving force

on the baseball eld as well as in his

pee wee football league. Growing up

Matt participated in Pony Baseball

with the Plaineld Power and the

Plaineld Force. It was during this

time when Matt grew into the customs

of being a good ball player which led to

him continuing on and playing in high

school for Joliet Catholic. Ginnetti

was a fast and very smart outelder

that always looked to put the ball in

play almost every time he stepped

to the plate. He also was a standout

football player in which he went on to

play in college. In the begining years

Matt began with the Plaineld Jr. Cats

football program that was known as a

junior powerhouse and instructional

level football. He continued his play

as the quaterback of Joliet Catholic

and participated in the 2008 State

Championship Game. Matt continues

to play for Saint Ambrose Univeristy

in Davenport Iowa.

I created this picture off the origianl piece. The original picture was taken while

Matt was playing a football game at Joliet Catholic Academy and it is a live action shot

of him taking a snap and looking to hand the ball off. This picture intregued me because

of the graphic in it. Based on the picture, from the smalles part on the eld his eyes

to the mud on the uniforms, the picture adds such great deatail and exposion of emo-

tion. I used Adobe Illustrator to create a new template of layers and add the colors

based in the original picture to exemplify an illustration. The rst layer was a simple

brown and green backgroud to establish the back drop and the grass. I created new

layers each time to add a player and details to the piece.

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In Sports Page 26

Nick Ratajczak

Nicak Ratajczak wasan aspiring ball player his entire

life. Growing up Nick played

baseball for St. Joes Pony

Baseball which was one of the

most competitive developmental

kids leagues in the area. Ev-

eryone who he played with up

until high school were apart ofhis team at St. Joes which made

the tradition of playing baseball

in high school and even bet-

ter one especially when rival

schools would come into town.

As a young kid, Nick and his

St. Joes Allstar teams attended

every World Series tournamnet

at each age they were offered.

This shows the competitive mind

that he as well as his team had

as such a young age and this

began by having a passion for

the game. This passion continued

through out grade school where

he attend The Cathedral of St.

Raymond in Joliet and nished

1st in the IESA State Tourna-

ment. This was the last and nal

big stage Nick was able to reach

before entering high school at

Joliet Catholic Academy where a

whole new set of stages were in

sight.

Coming to High school, Nickbecame a two sport athlete by

joinging the Joliet Catholic Foot-

ball team. Never before playing

the sport, he went into it with an

open mind and as a way to keep

in shape for the baseball season. Ever since fresh-

man year, Nicks dream was to make it big on the

baseball eld and no matter what it took go on to

a big time school. Little did he know that football

would turn into an almost natural secondary sport

where he fullled the defensive back position just as

good as he played second base on the baseball eld.

He proved himself by becoming an everyday starter

which eventually led to a State Championship Ring

his junior year. The glory of being a two sport stand

out prevailed and Nick welcomed it with open arms.

Since his sophomore season being moved up to the

varsity baseball team was a high accomplishment and

it set the block for his path to strive in the future. Af-

ter and unbelievable season as a sophomore, Nicks

Junior and senior year were his best yet and the re-

cruiting process started but Nick continued to do his

thing on and off the eld being a leader to many who

looked up to him.

Living in his comfort level at the second base position,

His hard work and patience on the eld eventually led to

yet another State Championship ring and the one thing

many players all wish they can do which is the dog pile

This was Nicks last big trip on the yet almost last stage of

his life. To many after high school, the stage has been set

and they attend school as students and not a student ath-

lete. Nick moved down to Panama City Florida where he

played baseball at Gulf Coast Community College. After

two years of college ball under his belt and living on the

beach, it was time for a new situation where Nick needs

to move on to yet another level of ball and compete for

another stage which is the College World Series formally

located in Omaha Nebraskas Rosenblatt Stadium with

potentially of getting drafted to the Major League Profes-

sional Draft later on in his career.

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In Sports Page 28

d Adobe Illustrator to create illustrations of Nick at different moments of his career. One photo shows him holding the State Champion-

trophy after wining Joliet Catholics second Baseball Championship since 1993. I created each part of the picture separatly on different

s until nally revealing the nished product at the end.

other picture is of Nick standing outside the hitters box awaiting signs from his third base coach just as he is about to hit. The same idea

g created here with Illustrator and making each layer piece a different way with the pen or brush tools. The dugout really adds detail with

pposing team looking out onto the eld.

photo on the previous page is a photo taken during a game in orida and is really showing the effects of the sun light brightening up one

of his uniform. The illustrations had great detail to the pieces and allow for a drastic cartoonish change in the art work.

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In Sports Page 30

The Johnson Twins

Phil and Alex Johnson, also known

as the twins have been competitive athletes

their entire lives. Their sport of choice

however goes in the opposite direction of the

previous two. The twins have acceled in the

sport of hockey since the begining of their

lives. Persuing goals such as Juniors or Big

time college hockey, the twins have played

not only the best in the state but also the

best nationally competitive hockey one can

imagine. From the Junior high school of

Timber Ridge in Plaineld, Phil and Alex

began their journy on the Joliet Jaguars

Hockey Program. Here is where the learned

to skate and undamentally develop thierhockey skills in order to excell at the levelthey hoped and all kids hope as the growolder. Watching players such as ChrisChelios, Jeremy Roenick, and havingBobby Hall as a Chicago legand, theyknew that there are a lot o shoes to fllin the hockey world. But the c ontinuoushard work continued through out theirlives where they became more notifed ohigher competitive hockey or instancebecoming members o the ChicagoFlames, a nationally competitive teamwho thrived in national spot lights win-ning tournaments and traveling week inand week out. This environment was justwhat the twins were looking for consid-

ering other players on the Flames roster

came from neighborhood guys that Phil

and Alex all grew up playing with.

With their team stacked with tal-

ent was ranked number one in the

national polls and they rolled through

every competiton they met. This idea

of playing at the highest level didnt

stop here with the Flames, but they

carried on to attend the Univeristy of

Iowa where the currently continue

play on the schools hockey team.

Both players were recently added to

the MACHA Allstar team and with

great grades in the classroom, were

also nominated for All American. So

as kids the dream has made a great

impact and has carried the twins to

greal levels in life and in sports.

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About

The

AuthorMy Name is Brett Ratajczak, I am a seniorMarketing student with a minor in Graphic De-

sign. I am from Joliet Illinois where I attended

Joliet Catholic Academy and was a student

athlete in Football and Baseball. I graduated

in 2007 before coming here to play baseball. I

will be graduating this May and going to work

downtown. I grew an interest in graphic design

because I always had a passion for it and I

wanted to go into some type of marketing that

allowed me to use the art and design aspect to

increase the sale of a product. In the past few

years, the television show MAD MEN on AMC

really caught my attention because the showreally illustrated how art and ideas are very

important to the marketing world. Based off

this idea I really wanted to best put fourth my

art ideas and talents into the marketing aspect

just as they did in the show and possiby work

for a large advertising company. I am an outgo-

ing person who likes to be outide and enjoys

the City life a lot which is why i focused it as a

topic in my magazine.

When I was brainstoromg ideas for how to put this magaizne together, I wasnted to use

my work that Ive done for the past three years. These past years I really have focused

my attention on the City of Chicago and the excitement the downtown area brings to

people who reside there or all those who are tourists. Two of the sections in this maga-

zine focus on downtown but offer two different ideas. One focuses on the Millenium

Park and Grant Park area along with Navy Pier, and the other focuses on going along

the lake and deeper into the city streets to Wrigleyville. Chicago offeres an exciting

environment during the day and even more at night therefore drawing my interest even

more for an area of concentration for art. I chose to do the last section on my brother

and friends from home becasue I was able to make a great illustration of them during

their participating sports or high memories in their life. It was a different turn from

going downtown but gave a more insite to other peoples abilities or carry on with their

passions into schools and hopefully farther in life.

Documents

Link Mag 1