SPN Icons x16
TIH Icons x8
SPN Wallpapers x2

Teasers:



( Holy selective color, Batman! )

Comments are appreciated
Credit to silvershinigami

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! )

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

( 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.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[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. )

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 )

So guess what I did today.

I've been working on this wallpaper as an exercise to kind of change the way I'm bringing the layers together. Instead of just putting them on top of each other and blending around the edges, I'm trying to make them more interrelated and having them work through each other. I wanted my subjects to sort of...pop out of the layers on top of them.

Unfortunately, getting the idea from my brain into some kind of workable strategy is more complicated than I thought it'd be.

So instead of taking notes today during history, I worked out how to blend everything together and drew out my layers. ( On notebook paper. )

Am I the biggest dork ever, or what?

But just so you can see, ( this is what it's turning into: )

Sweet, right?

Three sets of retro icons for JC, who takes lovely photographs.

Preview:



( le icons )

And that's a wrap! Enjoy.

Oh man, this thing nearly killed me. I haven't wanted to punch my computer in a while, but this definitely did it.



I love this wallpaper and I think it's gorgeous, but seriously...I'm afraid to count how many layers I have. At least 50, I'm sure. My palette looks about like this:

circle
right circle
middle circle
big circle
more circles
another circle
circle: the sequel
son of circle
circle jerk
cirque du soleil
irclesay
circles hate you
rotund objects
i dream of circles
a;spocirclesitwtlk
not another circle movie
bwahahacircles
circlets
please no more
oh god make it stop
i
can't
take
any
more
circles