Visually showcasing your skills are an excellent way of capturing experience that is hard to explain. It is also really helpful for education and job applications as it helps you demonstrate your skills in way that is really quick and accessible.

So, what is a collage? A collage is a collection of images that convey a picture message or focus on a specific theme. There are 4 different kinds of collages depending on the style you would like to create. Below are some helpful examples.

Papier Collé (pasted paper). Papier Collé is the process of applying printed images/pictures/patterned papers, etc. to a canvas with the intention to creation a new image. 

Découpage - Découpage involves cutting out and arranging different materials to make a new patterns. Oven used on furniture.

Photomontage – Photomontage is the process of using photographic materials and curating them to comment on a particular issue or theme. You can create narratives through photo montaging. Some people additionally use photos to create new coherent images of faces, buildings, etc. 

Assemblage – Assemblage is the use of three-dimensional objects attached to a flat surface. It often uses mixed media and found objects.

Now we know what a montage can be, you can use this template to create your own. Before you start you need to know:

The workshop I am reflecting on is.....

The skills I am going to cover in my podcast are.....

My audience is.....

The kind of collage I’m going to create is....

Before we start creating your collage you need to consider your skills in critical thinking (by reflecting on the positive and negatives and how your learning will assist you in the future), communication (how you worked with others, or created a piece of work to share your knowledge and experience), collaboration (working with others), and creativity (developing something new and presenting it a new format) and how they were gained/developed in your chosen workshop. This will also help you choose which ones to reflect upon in your collage.

Critical thinking:

Communication:

Collaboration:

Creativity:

Now we know our skills you need to think about how you are going to demonstrate them. As images are the most important thing for this kind of reflection, we are moving swiftly on to your image selection. Remember, it is important to choose images that showcase your skills. Answering the following questions will make sure you get all the shots you want....

My pictures will be from the perspective of....

My pictures will be taken by....

My pictures will need to show....

The visual style I’d like to create is......

The number of pictures I want are....

Once you know what images you want to gather, you can start drawing them together or taking the shots. When you’ve got them all, then you need to think about how you will create your collage. You could do it the traditional way and make the collage by hand, before taking a picture and uploading it. Of course, some of the styles have to be made by hand with actual images/objects, but other styles could be digital. There are a number of different digital platforms that can now create them too. If digital is for you then you might want to look at:

https://www.befunky.com/features/collage-maker/ Is a great tool for making collages that overlap and need some creative freedom. While there are templates and a collage wizard available, you also have lots of open design options too. Full details on how to use it can be found here:

https://www.kapwing.com/tools/make/video-collage Kapwing allows you to create video collages, as well as static image ones. There is a limit to what you can do on the free licence, but there are still plenty of options. Full details on how to use it can be found here:

https://www.google.com/photos/ Google provides both a place to store your photos and a place to turn them into a collage. While this is more of a traditional multi-frame image you might see on social media rather than a collage, it is an easy way to group and showcase images. Full details on how to use it can be found here:

Once you’ve created your collage, add it to your portfolio. We recommend adding a small descriptive paragraph to accompany it, just so the person looking at it really understands what you’re trying to say.

Collage Instructions

BeFunky:

1. To start making your collage, you need to add images to the Image Manager. You can upload images from your computer or choose from over a million free stock images.

2. Once you have uploaded your images, you can now choose a layout. There are three ways to do this. 

● Layout Presets will give you a grid template to fill with your images. The templates are split into categories with lots to choose from. Fill each cell of the grid with your images from the Image Manager.

● The Create Your Own option will open a blank canvas where you can lay your images in any way you like. 

● The Collage Wizard will organise your images for you, creating different collages for you to choose from.

3. You can now customise your layout. On the Customise tab you have options to adjust the background colour, the orientation of your collage (portrait or landscape), and the width and height of your images. If you have chosen a Layout Preset or one generated by the Collage Wizard, you have options to adjust the grids of the template. 

4. To add text to your collage, click on the Text tab. There are text templates to use or simply select Add Text. You can customise your text in the Text Properties panel.

5. You can add graphics to your collage in the Graphics tab. You can upload your own graphic from your computer or search the collection of free graphics. You can customise your graphics in the Graphic Properties menu.

6. Once you’ve completed your collage you can save it by clicking on the save button on the top of the screen. The save options include saving to your computer, BeFunky account, Google drive, or Google photos.

Kapwing:

1. Starting with a blank canvas, choose the dimensions for your collage. You can edit the background colour in the panel on the right side of the screen.
2. In the ‘Media’ tab, click ‘Add Media’ to upload images and videos for your collage. You can upload images and videos from your computer, paste an image or video URL, or use images and videos from your Google Photos or Google Drive.
3. To use stock images and videos, you will find millions for free in the ‘Videos’ and ‘Images’ tabs.
4. Start creating your collage by placing your videos and images in your desired arrangement; using the dots to scale your images and videos to size.
5. To add text to your collage, click the ‘Text’ tab. There are text templates to use or simply select ‘Add Text’. You can customise your text in the edit panel on the right side of the screen.
6. To add audio to your collage, click the ‘Audio’ tab. Select ‘Click to upload audio’ to upload audio from your computer. You can also paste an audio URL or record audio.
7. To add shapes, emojis, and moving GIFs, click the ‘Elements’ tab. Click the element you would like to add to your collage and scale it to size.
8. Once you’ve completed your collage, click ‘Export Project’ in the top right corner of the screen to save your collage to your computer or share to a social media platform.

 Google Photos:

1. Before you start to make your collage, you need to upload the images you wish to use to your Google Photos.
2. To start your collage, click ‘Utilities’ from the menu on the left side of the screen. From the ‘Utilities’ options, select ‘Collage’.
3. To select a photo, click on the image. The image has been selected when a blue checkmark appears in the corner of the image. You can select a maximum of nine photos.
4. Click ‘Create’ in the top right corner of the screen to generate your collage. This will be automatically saved to your Google Photos.
5. To edit your collage, click the ‘Edit’ tool. This will allow you to adjust the colour, rotation of your collage, and add a filter. You cannot rearrange the layout of your images.
6. Click ‘Done’ in the top right corner of the screen to save your finished collage.