MadTuts » Photoshop

Add Wings to Create a Dark and Sexy Angel

Craig — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:18:32 +0000

This tutorial has moved to http://craigabbott.co.uk/blog/add-wings-to-create-a-dark-and-sexy-angel/ – Sorry for the inconvenience!

20 Inspiring Artworks to Fuel Your Creativty

Craig — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:07:17 +0000

As an insight into the type of things I have in my inspiration scrap book, I have chosen twenty of my favorite artworks to share with you. The reason I love each one is not necessarily the final edit where everything comes together to make a picture, but sometimes it is just the concept of what is possible with Photoshop.

62 Famous Music / Band Related Fonts

Craig — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:34:55 +0000

Music makes my world go around. I have a very diverse taste, ranging through several completely different genres. But where does this relate to the design world?

Some of the greatest bands to withstand the test of time also have the most simple of logos. What came first? The font or the logo? I don’t know the answer… but I have put together a collection of 62 fonts, that have been used over the years to very easily create some of the most memorable logos in the music industry.

Simply click on the image to download the font you require, and leave any suggestions or feedback in the comments below.

1. ACDC

2. Adema

3. Alice In Chains

4. Black Eyed Peas / Basement Jaxx

5. Bonethugs In Harmony

6. Bon Jovi

7. Bullet For My Valentine / Godsmack

8. Creed

9. The Cure

10. Danzig

11. Def Leppard

12. Deftones

13. Depeche Mode

14. Disturbed

15. The Doors

16. Europe

17. Fatboy Slim

18. Fear Factory

19. Gorillaz

20. Guns n Roses (Classic)

21. Guns n Roses (New)

22. Incubus

23. Iron Maiden

24. Kings Of Leon

25. Kiss

26. Korn

27. Led Zepplin

28. Lenny Kravitz

29. Limp Bizkit

30. Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory)

31. Linkin Park (New)

32. Machine Head

33. Megadeth

34. Metallica

35. Misfits

36. Motley Crue

37. Mushroom Head

38. Nirvana

39. Oasis

40. Ozzy Osbourne

41. Pantera

42. Papa Roach

43. Pearl Jam

44. Pink

45. Pitchshifter

46. POD

47. Powerman 5000

48. Radiohead

49. Rammstein

50. Rob Zombie

51. Sepultura

52. Sex Pistols

53. Slipknot (Barcode)

54. Slipknot (Logo)

55. Snoop Dogg

56. Soul Fly

57. System Of A Down

58. Tatu

59. The Beatles

60. Trivium

61. Weezer

62. Whitesnake

NOTE: All fonts remain Copyright of their respective owners.

How To Color Old Black and White Photos

Craig — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:36:38 +0000

Have you ever found old black and white photographs and wondered what they would look like in colour? Here is a simple short tutorial to show you how you can add colour (or change colours) in any photograph.

Tutorial Details

Program: Photoshop
Version: CS or Higher
Final Image Preview: Click to Enlarge

Step 1

Take your black and white photograph and open it in Photoshop. The first thing we must do is unlock the background layer and add a Layer Mask. Double click the background layer in the layers panel and choose OK to unlock it. To add a layer mask choose Layer > Layer Mask.

Step 2

Next, duplicate the background layer and name it something it will relate to in the photograph, eg “Red Paint”.

Step 3

Choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. Make sure the Color Tick Box is checked and move the sliders until you get your desired colour. Note: Do not tamper with the Lightness Settings for now.

Step 4

Select the Layer Mask for the Red Paint layer and choose Image > Adjustments Invert. This will reset the picture back to black and white. Now, take a medium hardness brush and paint back in the areas you wish to colour with White.

Step 5

Duplicate the background layer again and name it appropriately. Eg. Gold Paint.

Repeat the previous steps with the Hue/Saturation and colour in the parts you want gold.

Step 6

Just keep repeating these steps for various colours. The more objects you choose and the more colour differences you apply the better your final image will look. Note: I tend to put all my other truck related layers below the Red Paint Layer, this means if I have taken my time with that I can afford to overlap and be slightly more messy on the layers beneath it.

Step 7

Now we can add some Layer Adjustments. With your top layer selected choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels and click OK. Adjust your levels slightly to make the image a bit more crisp.

Step 8

Create a new layer above everything, call it Channel Black. Choose Window > Channels. Cmd+Click/Ctrl+Click the Red Channel to highlight it on your image.

Choose Select > Invert. This will swap the selection for everything that is NOT selected. Set your colour to Black (hit D to reset your colours) and return to your new blank layer. Choose Edit > Fill and with Foreground Color selected click ok.

Set the Blend Mode to Soft Light and the Opacity to around 50%. This will just add a little bit of Contrast to our image.

And that is it. Obviously the more time you spend and the more colours you add the better your overall image will turn out.

10 Awesome Copyright Free Wallpapers | Guest Post

Craig — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:46:14 +0000

Desktop wallpapers are popular nowadays, you can place a high quality image on your computer which can inspire, innovate or even help remind you of a loved one. The following wallpapers have been chosen because they offer something different and are in high quality formats ready for downloading.

1. The Black Gold

2. Test Pattern

3. Light Grenades

4. The Fire Fox

5. Retro

6. For a Thousand Years

7. Wallpaper Pattern

8. Pollen

9. Horizon Widescreen

10. Rising sun

Create a Wayne Rooney Football / Soccer Desktop Wallpaper

Craig — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:47:37 +0000

Wayne Rooney is one of the most prolific strikers in the world right now, and in this tutorial I will be showing you how to use a variety of effects to turn an image of him, into a stunning football / soccer themed desktop wallpaper, whilst catering to the needs of several common screen resolutions.

Tutorial Details

Program: Photoshop
Version: CS or Higher
Estimated Completion Time: 2 Hours
Final Image Preview: Click to Enlarge

Downloads Required:
Stock Images: WayneRooney
Fonts: DareDevil, Batman Forever
Brushes: Clouds, Splatter

Optional Downloads:
PSD File: rooney_tut.psd

See Me Do This:
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C1RhKoKWVE

Before we start I would just like to point out that I do not support Manchester United. I am a die hard Newcastle United Supporter, and even with their fall to the Coca-Cola Championship, they will always be my team. But for the purpose of the tutorial I thought more people would be interested in Wayne Rooney than Andy Carroll. So… with my Geordie Faithful rant out the way, let us begin… =)

Step 1

Ok, first we need a photograph of a football player. I believe SportGFX.com to be one of the best sites around for free high resolution footballer images. So a huge thanks to them!

Go to SportsGFX’s football pictures forum, choose your country and your team and take your time looking for an image you like.

I chose this one.

Step 2

With your image open in Photoshop, double Click the Background Layer then click ok to unlock it. Rename the layer Rooney. Take the Pen Tool (P) and draw around your subject. Note: When using the Pen Tool zoom right in and use many anchor points to get a cleaner finish when we remove the background. If you rush this step you compromise the overall quality of the final image.

When done, use the Convert Path to Selection button in the Paths Window (Window > Paths).

Choose Select > Refine Edge. Use minimal settings, if you took your time with the Pen Tool you will get a nice clean finish. Do not use bad habits. A common bad habit is to use the Feather Tool to try and hide a rushed selection. It will look bad, don’t do it. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection. This will leave us with Wayne on a blank canvass.

Step 3

Choose Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and just make the colours a bit more vibrant.

Step 4

Create a new layer and name it Background. Fill it with black and place it beneath the Rooney Layer.

Step 5

Duplicate the Rooney Layer. Name it Rooney Clouds and drag it below the Rooney Layer. Hide the Rooney Layer so that only the Rooney Clouds layer is visible. At the minute they both look the same so it can get a little confusing.

Choose Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Step 6

Un-hide the Rooney Layer. Use the Free Transform Tool (Cmd+T/Ctrl+T) to resize and reposition Wayne more in the centre.

Step 7

Next, create a new layer and name it Clouds Left and position it under the Rooney Layer. Download the Clouds Brushes and take the brush called Pincel Muestreado 6. Increase the brush size and drop it onto the layer using a single click and the colour White.

Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All and use a Soft Round Brush and the colour Black to erase the overlapping parts of the cloud.

Step 8

Create a new layer and name it “Clouds Right”. Repeat step 7 except use the brush Pincel Muestreado 8.

Step 9

Duplicate the Rooney Layer again. Name it Rooney Back Blur. Cmd-Click/Ctrl+Click the layer mask to highlight the outline of Wayne, then fill with White.

Choose Select > Deselect to cancel the outline selection. Next, choose Filter > Blur > Radial Blur. Set the Amount to 100, the Method to Zoom and the Quality to Best.

Cmd-Click/Right-Click the layer and choose Duplicate. Click OK. Hold down Shift and select both of the Blur Layers, Cmd-Click/Right-Click and choose Merge Layers. Then position the Layer below the Rooney Layer.

Step 10

Open your stock image up again in a new Photoshop document. Choose the Elliptical Marquee Tool (M) and draw a circle around the ball. Choose Edit > Copy and return to the Desktop Wallpaper document. Choose Edit Paste to paste the ball in. Name the layar Ball.

Repeate the previous step for Duplicating and Blurring and name the Blur Layer “Ball Back Blur”.

Step 11

Create a new layer and call it Spatter. Download the Splatter Brush Pack then choose the Clone Stamp Tool (S). Choose one of the Splatter Brushes. You want one that has lots of individual droplets. Choose the Rooney Layer, hold down Alt and choose somewhere near his right shoulder, (I have marked my target are in green) then return to your Spatter Layer and drop the clone stamp tool a few times around that area. You can remove the ‘Squareness’ by simply erasing some of the droplets with the Eraser Tool (E).

Repeat this a few times for different areas (including the ball). The target is set by whatever layer is selected. So be sure to select the right layer for your target, and make sure you drop the clone stamp tool on the Spatter Layer only. Drag the layer under the Ball Layer.

Step 12

Duplicate the Spatter Layer. Name it Spatter Back Blur 1. Choose Filter > Blur > Radial Blur. Again set the Amount to 100, the Method to Zoom and the quality to Best.

Duplicate the Spatter Layer again and call it Spatter Back Blur 2. Repeat the Radial Blur, except this time make the Amount 20. Position both the Spatter Blur Layers beneath the Spatter Layer.

Step 13

Choose the Rooney Clouds layer and move Wayne into a more offset position. Choose a large soft brush and the colour Black. Then on the layer mask remove his legs and blend him into the clouds. Position the Rooney Clouds Layer above the Cloud Right Layer.

Step 14

Create a new layer above the Rooney Clouds Layer and name it Flag. Take the Pen Tool (P). Draw a curves shape off to the left of Wayne but overlapping his torso.

Choose the Convert Path to Selection Tool from the Paths Pallet. Fill the shape with white.

Choose the Pen Tool (P) again and draw a similar shape but on a smaller scale inside the existing one and fill it with Red.

Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All and choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M). Drag a rectangle over the left hand edge of the Shape. Then choose the Gradient Tool (G) and with a Black to Transparent Gradient selected draw in a gradient to fade out the edges of the flag.

Duplicate the Flag Layer and use the Free Transform Tool to Rotate and Position a flag on the other side.

Choose the Flag Copy Layer Cmd-Click/Right-Click and choose Merge Down. Make sure you Preserve the Mask. Use the Pen Tool (P) and draw a thin shape along the bottom edges of the flag and fill them with Black to give it a bit of depth. Note: Make sure you don’t have the Layer Mask selected when you fill with Black of you will simply delete some of your flag.

Step 15

Download this Image of the Manchester United Badge. I found this using Google Images with the key words “MUFC Logo”. Try to find a clean image with a decent size resolution.

Paste it into the document above the Rooney Layer and name the layer Badge. Because it is so clean we can simply use the magic wand tool to remove the background. Set the Tolerance to 50 and remove all things white and background like.

Resize and Reposition it using the Free Transform Tool (Cmd+T/Ctrl+T).

Choose Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options. Set the following Options.

Step 16

Download and install the Dare Devil Font. Type Wayne in Red and Rooney in White. Make them two separate layers then you can position them closer together for effect. You can Shift select both layers and choose Link Layers so they become one movable object if you wish.

Cmd-Click/Right-Click the Badge Layer and choose Copy Layer Style. Cmd-Click/Right-Click the two text layers and choose Paste Layer Style. This will add the effects we just created on the Badge Layer.

You might notice from the text I varied the lower and uppercase letters to make it look how I wanted.

Use the text tool to write the letters i and o. This makes our 10 as the DareDevil font does not contain any numbers. You can rename the layer to 10 to save confusion.

Choose Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options. Use the following settings.

Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All. Again add a gradient to fade the side of it like we did with the flag using a Grey and White Gradient. Position the layer above the Badge Layer.

Step 17

Next download and install the Batman Forever Font. I got the text by looking up Wayne Rooney on Wikipedia. You can make it up or get it from another source it doesn’t really matter. Obviously the idea is to write something Cool about the player though.

Set the same effects as previously except on the Outer Glow change the Size to 3 instead of 5.

Step 18

Next add the sponsors. I found all the sponsors on the official MUFC website and just Google Image searched each brand name, followed by the world Logo. eg Audi Logo.

Paste each one in and name the Layer appropriately. Then remove the background and Resize and Position it. You can add all the layers into a folder to make life easier if you wish.

Step 19

Now it is just a case of adding your mark to your wallpaper. Add it somewhere in the mix so that people can’t simply cut it off the edge and post it as their own. After all it is your work and your name should go with the image wherever it goes.

Click to enlarge the final image.

Step 20

Because we have made our image so large, now we can simply resize and reposition each part to make a wallpaper any resolution we want. For the sake of the tutorial I am going to make mine a Wide 1280×800.

Choose Image > Canvass Size and set the resolution to 1280×800 pixels. When it asks you about clipping just click ok.

Choose the very top layer, hold down Shift and then select all of the others except for the Background Layer. Use the Free Transform Tool and resize all the whole image to fit. Then its just a case of moving around each layer to fit the new resolution.

If you would like to see the video of me making this wallpaper you can view it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C1RhKoKWVE

Thanks for taking the time to view this tutorial. Leave comments and feedback below. Don’t forget to upload your Photoshop pictures to our Facebook Page.

85 Famous TV / Movie Fonts

Craig — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:40:13 +0000

As a huge fan of Movie Posters I am often taken aback by some of the truly amazing typography the designers spurn out. All typography starts with a font (most of the time anyway). So… Here is a collection of 85 Famous Movie/TV Fonts I have put together.

Simply click on the image to download the font you require, and leave any suggestions or feedback in the comments below.

1. 28 Days Later

2. 300

3. Adams Family

4. Aladdin

5. Alien

6. Austin Powers

7. AvP

8. Back To The Future

9. Batman

10. Batman Forever

11. Blade 2

12. Blade Runner

13. Buffy The Vampire Slayer

14. Clockwork Orange

15. Con Air

16. Corpse Bride

17. Dare Devil

18. Elvish (Lord of The Rings)

19. Enemy Of The State

20. Family Guy

21. Fight Club

22. Final Fantasy

23. Finding Nemo

24. The Flintstones

25. Friday The 13th

26. Friends

27. Futurama

28. Ghost Busters

29. The Godfather

30. Godzilla

31. GoldenEye

32. Gothika

33. Gremlins

34. Halo

35. Harry Potter

36. Hello Boy

37. Hell Raiser

38. Highlander

39. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

40. Indiana Jones

41. Jurassic Park

42. Lord of The Rings

43. Lemony Snickets A Serious Of Unfortunate Events

44. Mars Attacks

45. The Matrix

46. Mission Impossible

47. The Chronicles of Narnia

48. Nightmare Before Christmas

49. A Nightmare on Elm Street

50. Ninja Turtles

51. Pirates of Caribbean

52. Planet of The Apes

53. Powerpuff Girls

54. Predator

55. Reservoir Dogs

56. Resident Evil

57. Shrek

58. The Simpsons

59. Sin City

60. Sleepy Hollow

61. The Sopranos

62. South Park

63. Spawn

64. Spider Man

65. Star Trek

66. Star Wars

67. Stargate

68. Swordfish

69. Terminator

70. The Crow

71. How The Grinch Stole Christmas

72. The Incredibles

73. The Mask

74. The Ring

75. The Sixth Sense

76. Thundercats

77. Tomb Raider

78. Transformers

79. Twister

80. Underworld Evolution

81. Van Helsing

82. Walt Disney

83. Willy Wonka

84. Wolverine

85. X-Files

NOTE: All fonts remain Copyright of their respective owners.

Burned / Cracked Vampire Flesh Effect

Craig — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:55:42 +0000

In this tutorial I will be showing you how to create a Vampire with a burning flesh effect, using blending options, source images and Photoshop brushes.

Tutorial Details

Program: Photoshop
Version: CS or Higher
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Completion Time: 1 Hours
Final Image Preview:

Downloads Required:
Stock Images: Girl, Eyeball, Rust Texture
Brushes: Cracks

Optional Downloads:
PSD File: fleshburn_tut.psd

Rather than just show you the steps to make the burning flesh effect, I have decided to theme the entire artwork so it has a context in which it could be used. The theme is a vampire burning in the sunlight. I am aware that some of the techniques I will be showing you, I have already used in a previous Vampire Tutorial.

Step 1

Download the Source Image and open it in Photoshop, Duplicate the background layer and name it “Contrast”. Select Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast from the top toolbar. Increase the contrast so the image is made more vibrant.

Step 2

Download the image of the Eyeball and paste it into a new Photoshop Document. Use the Circular Marquee Tool (M) to draw around the pupil and iris. Note: Hold down shift to constrain the proportions and keep your circle perfect.

Choose Edit > Copy and return to our artwork, then choose Edit > Paste to drop the eye in, name the layer “Left Eye Base”. Resize and reposition the eye using the Free Transform Tool (Cmd+T/Ctrl+T).

Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All to add a layer mask to the eye. Layer masks enable us to delete parts (like the eraser), but bring them back if we change our mind (unlike the eraser).

Using the colour Black, and a Small Soft Brush, carefully remove parts of the eye so that it appears more natural.

Duplicate the layer, and name it “Left Eye Colour”. Set the Blend Mode to Multiply, and choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation from the Top Toolbar. Tick the Colourize Box and edit the settings.

Next choose Image > Adjustments > Levels and adjust the value on the right to brighten it up a bit.

Step 3

Repeat Step 2 for the other eye, but obviously name the layers “Right Eye Base” and “Right Eye Colour”.

Step 4

For the teeth, create a New Layer and call it “Left Tooth”. Then choose the Contrast Layer, take the Pen Tool (P) and draw a triangle on the front incisor tooth. Choose Window > Paths and click the Load Path As Selection Button (highlighted with the green arrow).

Once you have the path loaded, choose Edit > Copy. Select the Left Tooth Layer we made just before and use Edit > Paste to paste in the piece of tooth. Use the Free Transform Tool (Cmd+T/Ctrl+T) to stretch it out and position it to look like a fang.

Choose Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and make it a bit whiter.

Again activate the Free Transform Tool (Cmd+T/Ctrl+T). Cmd-Click/Right-Click the selection and choose Warp. Stretch the top of the tooth about to take up the gaps and cut out any overlap. You can also tidy up rough edges with the Eraser Tool (E).

Create a new layer above the Left Tooth Layer and name it “Left Tooth Shadow”. Take a Soft Brush and draw a black line up the inside edges of the tooth.

Set the Blend Mode to Overlay then Cmd-Click/Right-Click the layer and choose Create Clipping Mask.

Step 5

Duplicate the Left Tooth Layer and call it “Right Tooth”. Position it over the right incisor and blend it in using the Warp Tool and Eraser like we did earlier. Repeat the steps for the Shadowing and name the layer “Right Tooth Shadow”.

Step 6

Download and install the Cracks Brush Pack from Brusheezy.com. Create a new layer and call it “Cheek Crack”. Using the colour Black and the Brush Crack4, drop a single click on the layer. Use the Free Transform Tool (Cmd+T/Ctrl+T) to resize and position it on her cheek.

Select the Warp Tool like we did on the teeth and try to make the crack fit the contour of the girls face.

Step 7

Create a new layer and call it “Crack Colour”. Position it below the Cheek Crack Layer. Set the Blend Mode to Soft Light and the Opacity to 57%. Then, using a Small Soft Brush and the colour Red, subtly add some colour along the cracks.

Step 8

Duplicate the Cheek Crack Layer and call it Cheek Crack Light. Choose Image > Adjustments > Invert, to make the crack White instead of Black.

Next, choose Filter > Blur > Radial Blur. Set the Blur Method to Zoom and the Quality to 100.

Step 9

Create a new layer and name it Forehead Crack. Use the brush Crack5, and, just like before, use the Free Transform Tool to resize and position it.

Again, warp it to fit the contour of the girls head and colour in the lines on the Crack Colour Layer. Then duplicate it, invert it, and add the Radial Blur just like we did before.

Use the Eraser Tool to tidy it up where it overlaps the side of her head or where her hair would be covering it.

Step 10

Create a new layer, name it “Sun Burn”. Use a Large Soft Brush, and with the colour Red, draw some red down the side of the girls head, stick to the left hand side of her face though, and avoid the cracks we have just drawn in.

Set the Blend Mode to Soft Light and the Opacity to 40%.

Step 11

Create a new layer and name it “Sun Burn Intensifier”. Take a Large Soft Brush and the colour Black, draw over the top of the Red we did in the previous step.

Set the blend mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 66%.

Step 12

Download the Rust Texture. Or, alternatively, go into Google Images and type in “Rust Texture”. Choose a texture that has blisters and maybe some peeling paint. Then paste it into your artwork. Name the layer “Texture”.

Set the blend mode to Soft Light and use a large soft eraser to remove any parts you do not want.

Use the Warp Tool again to make the blisters fit the girls face. Then use an eraser to delete out any overlap over the side of her face and the cracks.

Step 13

Create a new layer, name it “Shadow”. Then take a Large Soft Brush and the colour Black. Blank out the right hand side of the picture up to her nose, as if the light was coming in over her shoulder at the left hand side of the picture.

Set the Opacity to 74% then using a Small Soft Eraser remove the black over the right eye to make it appear as if its glowing.

Step 14

Create a new layer and call it “Lightsource Blur”. Take a Large Soft Brush and the colour White. Draw some White into the top left of the picture.

Choose Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and adjust the settings.

Step 15

Create a new layer and call it “Lightsource Mild”. Again take a Large Soft Brush and White. Draw in some more light at the top left of the image.

Set the Opacity to 27%.

Step 16

Create a new layer and call it “Lightsource Intense”. Again use your Large Soft Brush and draw some more White in, this time keep it right near the top left.

Thats it! All that is left to do is sign it, and we are all finished.

These techniques obviously are good for a Vampire in sunlight, but they can also be used to make posters with shock value, such as Sun Bed / Skin Cancer Awareness.

Thanks for visiting MadTuts.com, be sure to add your efforts to the Facebook Fan Page.

The Design Process – Inspiration to Artwork

Craig — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:55:48 +0000

How many people sit down to Photoshop in the mindset that you are going to create something amazing?… And how many people have turned it off after an hour or so, having come up with nothing!

My hand is raised.

Sometimes it is extremely difficult to come up with ideas, other times it is hard to get those ideas out of your head and into something others can see. Which is why I am going to show you my design process.

I have chosen this design, purely because it was the last thing I created in Photoshop. Thus meaning I have not yet misplaced, lost or binned my notes which will inevitably happen in the next month or so.

Inspiration

This is what initially triggers that spark in our brain that gets our creativity flowing! It can be something as simple as a poster or a TV advert/commercial. When you get that spark, make sure you write down your idea, or do a quick sketch so as not to forget it. You don’t have to necessarily go and turn on Photoshop right away, but often we get ideas when we simply cannot access a computer. If you have a camera phone try and Photograph the thing that got you thinking!

My inspiration for this design came from a Music Video by an Australian band called The Potbelleez. The track is called Don’t Hold Back, and you can view the whole video here. The video shows Johnny Sonic staggering about various scenes donning a TV for a head. His facial expression and his visual path seems to relate to his surroundings, and it just gives a really weird sense of realism… Even though its a guy… with a TV… for a head.

At 1:43 into the video came my inspiration.

Brain Storming

Now you have seen something that inspires you, your brain starts pumping out ideas. It is important you write down every idea you think you could use. You may not use them all, some might not work, but then again they might, and you don’t know that yet! So don’t forget anything.

I grab whatever is available to me at the time, in this case it was a pack of three permanent markers which I use to write on CD/DVD’s, and a pad of lined paper. Forever the professional lol, with my lined paper and marker pens off I went.

Now, as you can see you don’t have to be the greatest artist in the world, so long as you can grasp the concept of what is going on in the picture when you come to create it digitally. Every annotation points to something, which might be obvious even from my terrible drawing, but its the words that are in my head at the time, so I write them down.

Preparation

Before even opening Photoshop you must prepare for what it is you want to achieve. It is no good getting an idea and starting to create it, then realising you must stop and break your chain of though because you do not have all the things you need at your disposal. Planning is essential.

Decide on the kinds of image you need and set about finding them. Use sites such as SXC.hu to find high resolution images you could use to get the effect you want. I had a torrid time trying to find stock images to suit what was in my head. I had this idea, in my head and on paper, but no photographs to make it with. The closest I found was this.

So… After much unsuccessful searching I decided I would simply have to dig out the Digital Camera and take my own stock images.

As for the background I found my Pavement under the keyword ‘Cobbles’.

And my Television under the keywords “CRT TV”.

Photo Taking

Now that I had decided I was going to have to take my own stock photos I had to find a volunteer. People are often asking me to Photoshop pictures of them, so they can have a cool profile picture or whatever on social networking sites like Facebook. Because of this exact reason I had no problems convincing one of my best friends (Michael) to kneel like an idiot on my Mam and Dads kitchen floor =)

Be sure you have your notes and your mental image so that you can get the photographs from the right angle. Make sure you take three or four from slightly different angles just to make sure. If the photos don’t match the image in you head, then neither will your final image and you could be left disappointed.

The idea is not to worry about how ridiculous these pictures look now, but to visualize how they will look when your design is finished.

I had also decided by this point not to include the Lamp Post like in the original drawing. I realised that because I had opted for cobbles, I also opted for an older looking Lamp Post, and Michael is wearing very modern clothes, so I just felt it would not have worked. Had I prepared a little more I could have maybe dressed him in some dated clothes for extra effect.

Design

Now we can start thinking about Photoshop. Background removal is always the things I do first. I have watched other people work and found not all people do this as it is time consuming. If you can visualize your final image accurately with backgrounds present then by all means do it that way. But I find I get a much better feel for the image if I remove them.

Start throwing your ideas together, they do not have to be perfect at this point but just so you get an idea of what is going to work and what is not.

Progression

Start thinking about how you are going to achieve certain effects, whether you can use a stock image, or does it have to be drawn from scratch? Be sure to pay attention to detail. Cutting corners will simply reduce the overall quality of your work.

Completing

When you have created your image always make sure you sign it. Whether this is a logo, a website or simply just your name. Make sure the fonts you use suit the image you are making. A dirty grunge font would look terrible on a clean innocent image.

So this is basically my design process. I have notes and sketches and all sorts written down on any shred of paper I can find. I did try to keep a design journal, and carry it with me, so all my ideas are in one place. But this rarely happens and I find myself writing design ideas on the back of Nando napkins and such lol. It is irrelevant where you store your ideas…

As long as you do!

50 Free Grunge Fonts

Craig — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:47:07 +0000

Anybody who has seen my work knows I am a huge fan of grunge. So I have compiled a list of some of my favorite fonts to use for this type of work.

If your into grunge then these should definitely be in your collection!