This is an extremely random graphics dump because I kept trying to do enough of one thing to warrant its own post, and then my folders just got completely cluttered and I gave up. So have some graphics!

Teasers:





( Read more... )

This tutorial combines a few of my favorite techniques: blending an image onto a background convincingly, and creating depth in your graphic.

To demonstrate, we'll be going from this (hi-res) to this:

( Onward! )

For those of you who don't follow Sarah Rees Brennan (Maya, to the HP fandom), I highly recommend that you start! She's just released her first novel, The Demon's Lexicon, and she's posting short stories at sarahtales each week to celebrate achieved sales goals. Go take a look, she's always a good read.

Trust me, I am a good reader--I know these things.

More font work, how exciting! Today's is going to be a little more advanced than the first font tutorial. We're going to cover Type Masking. I am by no means a master, but this will explain it's basic function and usage.

( Still Image-Heavy )

I would continue, but I feel like my brain is oozing out of my ears. I'll wrap up the font tutorials with a third segment, featuring Effects and general tips.

Icons: [x20]
Wallpapers: [x2]

Teasers:



( Click! )

I've always had a hell of a time making text icons, although you'd think they'd be the easiest. And everybody else seemed to have no problems fitting entire paragraphs onto a 100x100px image and making it a.) clear, b.) readable, and c.) interesting.

Anyway, I'm going to post up this tutorial on how to do all the basics to adjust your fonts in Photoshop and hopefully make your graphics more interesting.

( Image Heavy and Super Long )

Okay, I said "super long" in the cut text, but that really got super long (what with wanting to cover ALL the bases) so I'm going to wrap it up for this session and continue tomorrow with Type Masking, Effects, and Tips.

Part 2: Type Masking

Today we're going to be making a very interesting light texture...thing. Something that looks like this:



It's a really simple set of layers you can put together, and slip white brushes in between to get the stand-out effect.

( Very image-heavy. )

I think this is a really interesting technique that could be used in some really awesome retro graphics. I would make some as an example, but I do not have the time. I mostly made this so I wouldn't forget how I did it.

( SPOILERS--If you have not read Chapter 20, DO NOT PROCEED. )

Thanks go out to aggybird for writing such a spectacular story for us. And, as always, feel free to take as many or few icons as you want. Credit to silvershinigami is always appreciated! ^_^

Well, you know. While you're in the mood and all that.


| 1280x800 | 1024x768 |

I finally got around to making that wallpaper I've been thinking about for the past two months. I really like this style at discolore, but my grunge always comes out too heavy. I'm working on lightening it, but it is clearly a work in progress. I also didn't want this wallpaper to be too clean, so that kind of took precedence over the lightness.


| 1280x800 | 1024x768 |

I'm thinking of working it into a 1024x768 as well, but I'm not sure how well the movement would translate to a different proportion. We'll see.

ETA 1024x768 version

Well, I was going to put this up until I had something else to go with it, but I don't have time for photoshop now and I won't for a while (drat!), so I'm just going to put up this wallpaper I spit out for my roommate.

I don't have a thumbnail, but this is a 1024x768 wallpaper of Channing Tatum, if anybody is interested.

And now it's back to the homework. *sigh*

The other day I was playing around, trying to get a certain coloring, and I was pleasantly surprised when I actually got it. So I thought I'd write up this tutorial for y'all, because I think it's cool.



( This is going to be image-heavy! )

And that's it! If anything is unclear or you have any questions, please just ask. I'm more than happy to clarify things.

Spent the past day and a half making a wallpaper of...wait for it...Justin Timberlake! I wanted to make something like this, and thanks to FutureSex/LoveSounds, Mr. Timberlake has been taking very clean-cut, classy photographs. So...thanks, man. ^_^



I spent yesterday just making the background--I'm sure a few of you heard me bitching about it. ^_^; It all finally came together late last night (read: at 4:00am, 16 hours after I started the damn thing), so this morning I was able to start putting Justin into it.

That only took three hours. -_-; Freaking vintage style backgrounds are a pain in my ass, because I suck at them. Also, I have no brushes. *sigh*

But I'm happy with the end result. I think it came out well, for a first effort.

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[ETA] Every once in a while I get the urge to make a tutorial, but it's gotten to the point where I don't even know what I'd say. Most of my graphics go something like this:

Start with a fill layer. Pick a random texture and slap it on. Erase most of it. Grunge up what's left. Move it around. Pick another random texture and slap it on. Erase most of it. Grunge up what's left. Change the blend mode to something. Decide that sucks and delete it. Pick more another random texture. Decide everything sucks and make your own damn texture. Slap it on. Erase most of it. Change the blend mode to something. Repeat ad nauseam.

Here is my one piece of advice to everybody, though, for almost every graphic you will ever make. This has been on my mind since I saw a bunch of painfully mediocre wallpapers on a JC fansite.

This is very important, so listen up.

When you have a background texture and you paste a person on top of it:

DO NOT LEAVE THEM ON NORMAL MODE.

It will look jarring and it'll be really obvious and it'll seem unnatural. No matter how carefully you cut them out of their real picture, the edges are going to look strange. Everybody knows you pasted them, but you don't want to remind your viewer that the person isn't actually supposed to be on top of that background.

Duplicate your layer. Set the first to Multiply. Set the second to Soft Light. If the person is still too dark, duplicate the Soft Light and change the first one to Screen. Multiply-->Screen-->Soft Light. Adjust the opacities as necessary.

This makes your subject look almost completely solid, but it creates depth and there's just enough of the background showing through that they look like they belong on it. Also, it makes the edges look less harsh.

This is especially important if the background is grungy or soft--pretty much everything except retro or vintage. With those you can get away with outlines and exaggerate the choppiness to make it look intentional.

That's the key to success right there, though, people. Multiply, Screen, Soft Light.

Made another JC wallpaper last night/this morning. It's vaguely the same style as the Yamapi one--i.e. the put-the-base-on-soft-light-and-add-a-bajillion-textures style.



Additionally, I'm working on one right now that's really trippy. I have no idea ( what's going on with it. )

Color Burn is doing beautiful things to his jeans. And his hair! With hair that awesome, you have to do something crazy with the color. Also, the light textures on his side are fantastic.

Now I just have to make the rest of the picture not suck. I'm not sure if that's possible. -_-;

New layout!

I got this while I was playing around with my blend modes. I'm always surprised that more people don't use Difference. It's just as fun as Exclusion, and I love the green you can get with it. More green, people, it's a great color! Blue is overdone!

( This is blue. Blue is...blue. )

But anyway, I was playing around trying to get a new look, and I ended up with a few totally cool...things. Looks like...vaguely grungy vector art, but isn't?

( Check this out. )

Today I got super pissed at my homework and freaked about it for about an hour because I didn't understand the instructions, and then I realized the stupid thing isn't even due until Monday. -_-;

So I thought I wanted to go read and do something un-Japanese, but actually it turns out I wanted to translate Foxxi MisQ's "A-L-I-V-E" which is a super catchy hip hop song that eggvip inadvertently turned me on to.

^_^

So here is my pretty crappy translation. I mostly did each phrase literally, because it was just for me, rather than an interested community.

( Here we go! )

There we go, kids. That's how I wasted an hour of my night. Fascinating, wasn't it?

This is my favorite stock photo ever:



It's great as a scratch texture, because it's a little more elegant-looking than the standard ones. Less grungy. It also adds a lot of light/dark to the image, which can be fun. You have to be prepared for real changes in your image because there's so much grey--and you can't just stick it on top and expect the only difference to be a few scratch markings. I find it works best on soft light (unless your image is really dark), or (my favorite) putting it on multiply, then copying the base to screen and another to soft light, and finally putting another copy of the scratch texture on soft light above all that. Depth! Contrast! Intrigue!

This pic has it all, baby. ^_~

So this is the wallpaper I've been working on since Thursday. I really tried to make it more like a...piece? Than just a graphic. Tried to stick with a theme, give it meaning, etc.

( here there be badgers )