Tutorial Reviews for Week 5

This weeks tutorials are all about Photoshop, from the tutvid website, and are videos…yay videos! Also, my selection of tutorials include how to correct color in pictures because we have been talking about photo editing in class this week and I want to be familiar with some techniques.

1) ”Editing Photo Colors and Coloring Black & White!” Tutorial

http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/photoshop/tutorials/coloringReColoring.php

This tutorial is like 3 in one because it educates you on two ways to realistically change the color of a photo and how to transform a black and white photo in to color. The two demonstrations he used to realistically edit color in a photo involved the adjustment layers and the blend tool. Lastly he demonstrated the black and white to color transformation and I just have to say, “Wow!” I was seriously so amazed watching him transform a black and white photo into color. He made the process look so easy.

The following are screen caps from this amazing tutorial:

First he livened up a flower by changing the color.

Next he transformed a red car into a blue car.

Lastly, he transformed a black and white photo into color.
Aren't you amazed?....Crazy huh?!...
After this tutorial I was inspired to transform an image. I found this picture of an apple on google and decided to make this apple a radical color, for an apple that is! ( I love apple's, I practically eat one everyday)
LOOK! Its a purple and a blue apple!!! Crazy!!!...I could totally see the munchkins in Wizard of Oz eating these apples or the Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory manufacturing them!...

2) “Photo Edit: Vivid Skies and Bright Grass!” Tutorial

http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/photoshop/tutorials/vividSkiesGreenGrass.php

This tutorial incorporates many tools to create a bright and beautiful sky picture out of dull sky picture. The tools the man used in his transformation include sharpen filters, adjustment layers, masks, blend modes, and the gradient tool. I also learned how to use the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to make a big difference.

3) “Composite/Combine Multiple Images!” Tutorial

http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/photoshop/tutorials/compositeImage.php

This tutorial teaches you how to composite images, use channels to make selections, and use some tools to edit the images. The tools the man who narrated the tutorial used included the copy, paste, masking, dodge, and burn tools. The tutorial also gives links the images he used so you can follow along.

4) “Color Correcting Images and Removing Color Casts via Curves!” Tutorial

http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/photoshop/tutorials/colorCorrectAndCurves.php

From watching this tutorial you obtain a better understanding of RGB and CMYK and how they relate to one another, their differences, and how they are used when color correcting images. He uses levels to auto correct color and a curves adjustment layer to manually adjust color. I thought it was interesting that he used RGB for landscape adjustments and CYMK for skin tone adjustments.

5) “Create Black and White Photographs using Different Methods!” Tutorial

http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/photoshop/tutorials/convertToBW.php

This tutorial teaches you how to convert a color image into a great black and white image. He starts out by showing you all the ways to convert an image and why they make the image look good or bad. Next he shows you the way he thinks is the best way to convert an image. He used modes, channels, levels, layers, channel mixers, adjustment layers, and paint tool to make a finished product.

Note: I am not sure if all the tutorials were explained by the same man or not ... but I do know that i was entertained watching these tutorials because the narrator was funny and I liked hearing their personalities come out!

Progress on the Chupa Chups Logo!

Here are the steps I took to recreate the Chupa Chups logo:

First I used the pen tool to make a fourth of the daisy shape...

Then I copied and pasted the shape to create a full daisy...
I made four daisies, each a different color and then combined them...
Next, I started on the text...I used the pen tool to outline each letter...
And here you have it...all the elements of the Chupa Chups logo combined! yay!

Thoughts....

The Art 120 blog is full of great links to many graphic design and advertising sources. Kate, our fabulous Art 120 teacher, recently supplied the link to the LOGODESIGNLOVE website. Logos are pretty amazing and this site is devoted to logos...so I think this site is really awesome.

I browsed through their site and there are so many interesting logo articles. One article that I really liked was about handwritten logo designs.  These handwritten designs range from beautiful and elegant to bold and simple. Here are a few that I really liked:

Tutorial Reviews for Week 4

1)“Useful Applications for the Clone Stamp Tool” Tutorial
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/useful-applications-for-the-clone-stamp-tool/I choose this tutorial because I wanted to familiarize myself with the clone stamp tool because it is not a tool I use very often. I had so much fun playing around with the clone stamp tool. 

The tutorial has two parts, the first part teaches you how to “clone a baby car” and the second part teaches you how to “straighten the leaning tower of pisa”. Steps are provided in each part to illustrate process.

This is a picture I was playing around with on Photoshop with the clone stamp tool....

.....This is my creation using the stamp tool....

2)“You suck at Photoshop Part #3: Clone Stamp and Manual Cloning” Tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWn0lxRNqos&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=D19BCF9D57320E03&index=2
I found this tutorial on Youtube because I wanted to try using a new source for information. I do not know if this tutorial is appropriate for class content, but it is funny and educational. I think that watching someone use the tools rather than viewing screen cap after screen cap with directions of the steps is smoother to follow. I liked this clone tutorial more than the tutorial above because I was able to listen and watch the steps take place.

3)“Getting to Grips with the Vanishing Point Filter” Tutorial
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/photo-effects-tutorials/getting-to-grips-with-the-vanishing-point-filter/This tutorial is a combination of two tutorials that teach you how to edit photos by using the vanishing point filter. The two in one tutorial is divided into two parts: adding floors to a building and adding a picture to a wall. I think this tutorial is cool because you can turn a house into a skyscraper by adding floors using Photoshop tools. I think that the second part to this tutorial could have been helpful to me last term in Art 119 because I had an assignment where I had to design a 2D room.

4)“Photoshop’s Pen Tool: The Comprehensive Guide” Tutorial
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/photoshops-pen-tool-the-comprehensive-guide/Since we are going to start working in Photoshop next week, I figured I would get freshened up on some Photoshop tools. The pen tool is a commonly used tool so I chose this tutorial so I could touch up on my pen skills. This tutorial supplies a free download of a “Pen Tool Exercise” that you can use for practice. Also, this tutorial is very informative, it describes and illustrates the pen tools functions, short-cuts, cursors, and much more.

5)“Creating Logos on Glass Surfaces” Photoshop CS3 Tutorialhttp://www.muymono.com/?p=37I chose this tutorial because it fit in with our latest Art 120 assignment, recreating logos. This tutorial illustrates the directions in seventeen easy to follow steps. A combination of adjusting different layers and using some effects is all you need to do to create a logo on glass. I think that this tutorial is really cool.

Logo Assignment

I am ready for our first group project.... I am part of a group that is recreating four existing logos. Those logos include; Chupa Chups, International Paper, Michelin Man, and UPS. We definitely have an interesting variety of logos.

Our group decided to each research one specific logo since there are four of us and four logos. The logo I chose to research was Chupa Chups.
Enric Bernat founded a Spanish lollipop company called Chupa Chups in 1958. He came up with the idea of a lolly pop "bonbon on a stick" from mothers cursing their children for getting sticky hands from their melting sweets and he wanted to design a candy "sweets" with children in mind. The company was an instant success and started selling their colorful lollipops internationally in the 1970's. By 2003, 4 million lollipops were sold yearly to 150 countries. Also, the Chupa Choops logo's design is based off of a concept sketch made by Salvador Dali. (wikipedia)

You can check out more fun facts about the history and product by going to theses sites:

Chupa Chups official website: http://www.chupachups.com/

(Their website is pretty snazzy)

Wikipedia Chupa Chups website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupa_Chups

My Geoff McFetridge Postcards

I have here two Geoff McFetridge postcards....I cannot decide which postcard I like best because they are both pretty great ;)

I really enjoyed the postcard project.  It was fun to learn about a graphic designer and to become familiar with their style.  I was excited about making a postcard design that would resemble Geoff McFetridge's work and style.  I went crazy with sketches and ended up making five postcard designs and even wanted to make more.  I narrowed down my designs to the two pictured above so I could devote my focus to them and make improvements.  I had fun with every aspect of this project and look forward to future assignments.    

Tutorial Reviews for Week 3

1)“Complex Circular Design Techniques” Tutorialhttp://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/complex-circular-design-techniques/ I cannot believe that I have not known how to use the Rotate Tool to make a circular design, till now. This tutorial taught me an easy Rotate Tool trick that I can use whenever I want to make a circular design. This tutorial also goes over the steps of how to make a Custom Pattern brush, which is another way to make a circular design.
This is the awesome image the tutorial made...
The tutorial is very helpful and supplies you with the images they will be using so you can follow along.
This is the coolest trick...I cannot believe I did not know how to copy an image while moving it at the same time.
Learn how to make a custom brush to make a circular design.
This is the design I made with the tuttorial technique...I went crazy with circular designs!

2)“Illustrator’s Pen Tool: The Comprehensive Guide” Tutorial
http://vector.tutsplus.com/tools-tips/illustrators-pen-tool-the-comprehensive-guide/
The pen tool is so important and I could not wait any longer to learn how to function the intimidating and sometimes confusing pen tool. Learn how to make straight and curved paths (lines) with the pen tool. Directions and examples of the “add anchor point” tool, the “delete anchor point” tool, and the “scissors tool” are also explained. This tutorial includes shortcuts and a cursor guide to help you become quick and familiar with the tools functions.

3)“Quick Tip: How to Use Effects to Create a Cool Design” Tutorial
http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/quick-tip-how-to-use-effects-to-create-a-cool-design/
This tutorial covers the “effects” feature in Illustrator. Through 16 easy to follow detailed steps you can create a fun design by starting with a simple shape. I think that you can save yourself time in future projects by becoming familiar with the effects tool.

4)“How to make an Eco Friendly Vector Poster” Tutorial
http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing/how-to-make-an-eco-friendly-vector-poster/
This tutorial looked fun and the words “eco friendly” caught my eye. This tutorial has a lot going on, it makes a poster in 24 fast steps and uses a variety of tools and features. Each step is accompanied by an illustration which helps you make sense of the information.

5)“17 Tips that will save you time in Illustrator” Tutorial
http://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/17-tips-that-will-save-you-time-in-illustrator/
This tutorial suggests that your productivity will increase with the knowledge of their 17 key illustrator tips. They are actually really helpful tips on how to use tools, layers, and palettes. They explain the tip and why it is useful and can potentially save you time. I recommend that you look over this tutorial because it can help you out and answer questions you may have about a particular Illustrator feature.

Geoff McFetridge! ye-yeeea!

The “groundbreaking” designer I chose to make a graphic design history postcard on is….(drum role)…. Geoff McFetridge!!
Geoff is a creative graphic designer and visual artist with his own graphic design studio in Atwater, California called Champion Graphics. Geoff received a MFA from the California Institute of Arts in Los Angeles in 1995 and established his studio in 1996. Geoff is a well rounded guy who makes designs for magazines, posters, t-shirts, textiles, motion graphics, advertisements, and film productions. Geoff Starts off his projects by putting his thoughts on paper making sketches and by writing to make logic out of his ideas. A lot of Geoff’s work is generated from a personal space, memories from his childhood, and from wanting to grasp an emotion or idea. The aspects of Geoff’s work include irony, humor, sadness, and imagination which allow him to create a connection with his audience. He often makes his audience laugh as well as make them think and question their surroundings by illustrating different interpretations of an object. His work is commonly transformed into an understandable visual form which allows his viewers to translate his creation. He definitely thinks outside the box!
check out his sites! (He is one of My Links! so you can get to one of the sites from there...just click Ge"off")
http://www2.artcenter.edu/mdp/webtakes/mcfetridge/
http://www.championdontstop.com/

 

Tutorial Reviews for Week 2

1)”How to Make a Custom Illustrator Brush” Tutorial
http://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/how-to-make-a-custom-illustrator-brush/
This tutorial focuses on how to make a custom Art Brush in Illustrator....and Wow! This tutorial was fun and informative. It is so easy to make your own brush. I think everyone should know how to make a brush because I really think that it could help you make designs faster and its fun too!

This tutorial illustrates the first step you need to do to transform your design into a brush.



Once you are in the "Art Brush Options" window it is important to select "tints" as your method so you are able to change the color of your brush later on.Check out the awesome shape the custom brush created! ...and look at how great the custom brush looks with color and overlapping!
I tried out this tutorial for fun. This is the design I created to make my custom brush.
Here is my custom brush in action! The possibilities are endless with a custom brush...what are you waiting for?...take the tutorial for a spin and make a brush!

2)“Easy Illustrator Trick: Over sized Stroke” Tutorial
http://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/easy-illustrator-trick-oversized-stroke/
This quick tutorial shows you how to use the Illustrator art brush in a new way. By making the weight of the brush bigger you can create abstract shapes. You can turn an artistic brush stroke from the brushes palette into an abstract shape in seconds.

3)”Get More-Natural Adjustments with the Illustrator ‘Reshape’ Tool” Tutorial
http://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/get-more-natural-adjustments-with-the-illustrator-reshape-tool/
This short tutorial informs you how to simply reshape a shape in Illustrator. You are informed of two ways to reshape using the Direct Select Tool and the Reshape tool. You get an idea of how each tool reshapes and see the different results they produce.

4)”Fun With Illustrator’s Blend Tool” Tutorial
http://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/fun-with-illustrators-blend-tool/
Learn how to use the blend tool in Illustrator to make shapes and effects to your design. In the “Blend Options” window there are three different types of ways to blend; Specified Steps, Smooth Color, and Specified Distance. The steps for each blend option are accompanied by illustrated examples, which give you an idea of what the finished product will look like.

5)”The Power (and ease) of Patterns in Illustrator” Tutorial
http://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/the-power-and-ease-of-patterns-in-illustrator/
I chose this tutorial because it relates to the pattern assignment we had this week. We are surrounded by patterns! From this tutorial I learned the term “seamless vector pattern” and some ways to use the pattern. You can use the pattern to fill in a shape, warp the pattern into a shape, turn your pattern into a custom brush, and use the pattern as a brush stroke.

My Patterns...woo-hoo!

Check out the patterns I made out of letters! I posted the original patterns in black and white under colored versions of the patterns I created. I posted both versions because I think it is so interesting how the same patterns look so different with and without color.... I guess I also figured you would want to see both as well...just for fun!

...Enjoy!...They will trip you out...seriously!

This pattern is made of Y's in Aristocrat Font. I think the curly Y gives this pattern a more elegant feel than the others. I can see this pattern as a wallpaper in a Victorian style house.

This pattern is made of V's in Jokerman font. The way I combined the V's reminds me of a star or the center of a firework. I love that the pattern is busy and the black and white pattern looks bold.

This pattern is made out of K's in Lucida Calligraphy Italic font. This pattern is a tricky one because you can not see the K. This pattern reminds me of a lace design or a fancy pair of fishnet stockings.

This pattern is made out of Z's in Apple Chancery Font! This patterns design is simple and thoughtful. The different shapes created in the negative space give the pattern a softness. I think this pattern resembles knots or basket weaving.

Aren't they so cool! In some of the patterns it is hard to see the letter in them, huh?...trippy!

Adobe Docs

Wow! That was an adobe overload! So much info all at once. The information was detailed and seems helpful. I am familiar with many of the tools already so it was mostly review. I do know that if I ever get stuck on Illustrator I can go to this site to help me with my questions.
http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Illustrator/13.0/help.html

Image Scavenger Hunt

There are many images, objects, things, places, etc. that inspire me.
I decided to search my art books for what inspires me and to give you an idea of what I like.

Save Our City by Michael Bierut
http://designarchives.aiga.org/img/media/14593_m.jpg
What I like about “Save our City” is the proportion of elements. I find the image to be a balance between the white and black elements. I also love how words are placed vertical to suggest a city skyline. I love the simplicity and boldness of this image to create a message.

Seduction by Michael Bierut and Marian Bantjes
http://blog.pentagram.com/Yale_Seduction_Sm.jpg
This Image is mesmerizing. I love the use of lines to make a design. The repetition of curvy lines creates a contrast to the rows of text that follow. The title on the image, “Seduction”, grabs your attention and is the main focus of the image.

By Annette Messager
http://media.photobucket.com/image/Annette%20Messager%20work/tdmworks/annettemessager-1.jpg
I have an interest in installation work. I think pieces that are installed are brought to life. This work made of various materials, like photographs and net, becomes symbolic. I love how she grouped these materials in the shape of a heart. I love how she captures what make up love and what is in our hearts.

Star of Bethlehem and Other Plants by Leonardo da Vinci
http://www.arcspace.com/exhibitions/da_vinci_ex/Photo-11.jpg
I love repetition and line. I love drawings. Therefore, I love this drawing. I like how the drawing shows movement. I like how the placement and form of a line can give the essence of motion.

Guitar and Wine Glass by Pablo Picasso
http://www.mcnaytrc.org/images/04_sm.jpg
I love collages. Collages are fun and can feature almost anything. The combination of patterns, pictures, text, fabrics, and other variables can form an amazing final product. I also like how there are so many possibilities with collages.
The Tyger by William Blake
http://johnfenzel.typepad.com/john_fenzels_blog/images/2007/03/29/the_tyger.jpg

Writing is a form of expression. Art is a form of expression. I like how this piece of literature is complimented with an illustration. I also like to combine text and imagery.

…of course the list of images that inspire me do not stop here. But, I do hope that the images above give you an idea of what I like and love in art.