Preserved Topic: Tutorials

Hey anyone know where i can get turorials on making diferent text effects and a good matal background. Oh and can you guys tell me what you think about the logo i made for my web design company which i will be starting soon.



[This message has been edited by Cr0n0 (edited 20-06-2000).]

I like the brushed metal background--very smooth. The type, however, isn't very readable. Especially for a logo, it should be clear and easily recognizable. Some contrast would help in that area, too--silver on silver in this instance doesn't work very well.

BTW, if you're interested in type effects, there's a series of books called Photoshop Type Magic; I learned some neat techniques from one of them.

I think your logo is pretty nice. The metal looks really good, did you make that yourself? The lightning is also awesome.

Now for what I don't like; I think that you could make better use of space by either increasing the size of the text or decreasing the size of the metal plate. I don't know, just a thought.

Over all I like it, you have some nice skills. Again, the metal is very good looking. <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif">


www.bl00k.com

I don't want to sound harsh, but I think the logo needs quite a bit of improvement. First off, while the brushed metal effect looks reasonably good, it's far too overused now-a-days. The multi-colored lightning looks out of place, and the word "design" is almost unreadable. It probably would have taken me a while to identify the word if I didn't know in advance what the logo was for.

It seems very thrown together. Fire, lightning, metal and warped text all tossed in a blender <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/confused.gif">. The fact that the word "bota" is way on the left and then "design" is right in the center just isn't very aesthetically pleasing. You've got all that empty space on the right. I'd say, keep it simple. Get rid of the fire, get rid of the lightning, use a single font for both words and either shorten the whole brushed metal thingy so the word "design" is in the bottom right or add a small logo or something on the right.

It's certainly a start, and it shows you have some tricks down, but if I saw a web design site with that logo, I'd pass it right by.



-=Human Shield=-

I appreciate your suggestions and help! Human Shield, a little harsh but very helpfull as well. And Wes, any idea where I might get Photoshop Type Magic for free. BEcause I' a cheap bastard and can't offord it! <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/redface.gif">

BTW, Human Shield is it ok if I get your icq number so I can ask you a few more questions here and there?



[This message has been edited by Cr0n0 (edited 20-06-2000).]

to be honest I think it´s no good for a logo

Sure thing... I've actually got two numbers. My home account is 3554391, which I have up a lot, but am usually in N/A mode, even though I'm not N/A. My account at work is 51307496, and I almost always am on there from 10 till 6 EST.

Sorry for bashing your logo, I'm really picky about logos. I'm never happy with any of mine either, so don't think I'm picking on you.



-=Human Shield=-

CrOnO, the only place I know where to get a book for free is the library.

I don't know....you might want to check out the basement where you said that DocCyber was at...or was that "you guys are stupid, he's in the basement"?

Yeah...check there

Wes you need to trie out project gutenberg.
http://promo.net/pg/

That is the best place to get literature for free. Can't say you will find something on web graphics, but hey it is an alternative to the library (works wonders when one is trying to do a book report on the weekend, or at 2:00 AM).

I will definately agree with Human Shield here -- it does show that you have some tecnique down, but the sense of design and composition is about NIL. It did take me about 20-30 seconds to figure out what the word "design" was. I also definately agree that the brushed metal concept is far too overused -- everything you see lately is metal and wires and digital screens...kind of overkill and time to move on IMHO...

The lightning and the "watery" effect of the design text is cool -- try to work on clarifying that into something more readable and more cohesive is my advice.

A good text effect was posted by F1_Error in a thread called "cephloplastic metal" look for it in the "Photoshop Archive" here at the Asylum. I've also been told that this is a cool text effect: http://kublai_khan.tripod.com/dagnabit/skytaffy.html

(shameless plug there...thanks for indulging me.. <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif"> )

Oh, and 2wins -- it was:
"Nothing U idiots DocCyber is dead! He's Locked in my Basement"

<img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif">

Hey Dl-44 thanks for the reply! I'll really consider what you said. O and u said someone posted something about "cephloplastic metal"
Do you know where? Because i searched the photoshop archive in the asylum, but i couldn't find it.

http://www.innerworld.com/F1_error/CPM/

- Dan -

WarMage-
You're right, I forgot about PG, but of course it's all stuff that has passed into the public domain.

Yeah, that's the one Dan. It's really a great tutorial -- a lot of cool tecniques that you can use seperate from each other for cool effects all on their own.

Hey DL-44, I was readig your tutorial on making that sky taffy text. Well it's pretty good and comes out nice. But I dont have any fonts thick enough to make it look as good as yours. So can you tell me the name of the font you used in the tutorial.

O and doc Ozone, everyone of you logos has the same text font with diferent effects. Well, all i wanted to know is if you hand drew that or is it a font?



[This message has been edited by Cr0n0 (edited 23-06-2000).]

I won't speak for Doc, but I always assumed he did the font himself. By the way, Cr0n0... if you need some places for fonts, let me know and I'll send you a few URLs when I get home. By the way, I do like the effect you put on your name there in your sig. It kinda looks like carved pieces of wood with blue paint on them.

Thanks Human Shield. I just got bored and decided to play around with the filtors. I made one more similar to that and another thats diferent can you tell me which one to use.

Personally, I like the last one (blue on blue) but I think that on the top and bottom, there should be a lighter blue stripe, like, above and bellow the words, and the color should be in between the background and the text. Maybe with a reflectiong image of a building or something on a layer above the rest, set on overlay, with 65% opacity... Just a thought.

- Dan -

After re-looking at the immage, screw the idea of the reflaction map over-top. I'd duplicate the text layer, and brighten it a little bit. Maybe after duplicating it, blue the one bellow by 1 pixle.

- Dan -

I agree with Dan.. use the blue on blue one... of course, I have a variety of different logos I put up. You can always do that too. I do like the smaller blue on blue one more though. Less flash, more finese.

Ok I liked that one better too. <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif"> Ok i tried to the what you said dan, and here is what I cam up with:


is this what you were talking about? <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/confused.gif">


[This message has been edited by Cr0n0 (edited 23-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Cr0n0 (edited 23-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Cr0n0 (edited 23-06-2000).]

Hmmph, its not as noticable as I thought it would be.. =[
But, its a very nice logo.

Oh, I see, what I meant was brighten the top layer of text, and blue the second one, leave the background dark. So theres more contrast.

- Dan -

[This message has been edited by Dan (edited 23-06-2000).]

I meant, blur the second layer, not blue...

O OK, IM iLL TRY THAT. I dont think theres anyway you can do this but anyway... You know how when u make a logo o any image you have all the layers displayed unless you flatten it? Then you finish it and save it. Ok, now i close photoshop, open it again and open that logo, it's all going to be one layer, right? Well is there anyway I can make it go back to all the layers it had before I closed Photoshop?

No, thats why you gotta save the PSD file.. It keeps layers stored.. =[

- Dan -

Btw, always save the PSD file before you flatten the image, that solves problems like this.

- Dan -

OH ok! I never knew that! Thanks a lot Dan <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif">

OK i came up with two more similar logos please tell me which of these you prefor.

The top one, the fire looks out of place on the logo...

- Dan -

Nice, very nice.. I actually like them both. The fire is rather interesting. That's a V A S T improvement over your first logo.

Thanks Shield, really appreciate it. <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif"> But i dont think it would be anywhere close to a logo for a web design company. This is my first time trying to make a profitable site, so I dont know where to start. I know you guys are really experianced with what Im attempting to do so please help me out with this. THANKS! <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/biggrin.gif">

Heh, well I certainly didn't mean to imply that it was a good logo for the front page of a site... but it's a nice logo to use in your messages. It's far too small for a site... not to mention the blue background would be awkward. <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif"> But it's a nice sig.

don't have time to read all the posts, but to answer your question crono, the font in the tute was Beesknees, and the one at the top of the tute is Flexure.

Ummm no offense but I don't like any of your images. Its sorta weird, maybe its because everyone knows your a beginner but every other message board I've posted in look down upon using different plugins. Personally what i think you should do is go over to www.phong.com or www.designsbymark.com and read there photoshop tutorials on text effects. There simple and easy for beginners and they look a lot better then plugins. While plugins can be useful, they make a lot of ugly things that don't seem to fit and I think thats what your doing here.

So in my opinion hop over to those sites, read up on what you can, practice hard and I'm sure you'll find yourself making much better art. Theres also many books out there too that can help, one of my favorites is "Photoshop 5/5.5 WOW! Book". Its an easy to follow book for beginners and has tons of great info.

If you need any help at all feel free to IM me at either ieJestah or on ICQ at 77252449.

Im not an expert with Photoshop but I do think i can help you a great deal with it

Hey! We ain't prejudiced like that here...we don't mind beginners, in fact we like them...if there wern't any beginners, then who would look up to us and say, 'that's great, I wanna be just like you when I grow up, Mr. Skaarjj, sir'. Beginners are the life blood of any feld, grahpics to, because without beginners, we wouldn't get fresh talent and ideas, and then the whole graphics industry would just keel over and die.

And that's my rant for the day.




Sex is evidence that God has a sense of humour. - Elie Oberdury

I agree, go check out all the tutorials you can find. This site has some good ones and alexdg.com has good rust/scratches tutorials. When I first started, I downloaded Eye Candy and Xenofex right away and that's all I would use. I finally figured out that it wasn't getting me anywhere and deleted them. The only filters I use are the ones that come with PS. (Lighting Effects, Gaussian Blur, Curves, etc..) My abilities have increased dramatically since I got away from the filters. At the least, give the tutuorials a try. <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif">

Right On Brother, or sister, what ever.




Sex is evidence that God has a sense of humour. - Elie Oberdury

Talking about fonts, does anyone know how I go about making my own?

Anyfreeware progs to do it?

To look down upon using plugins is ridculous. Plugins are there to make it easier to create certain effects. Sure, you can do any effect using basic filters and by hand, but if you've got a time restriction, then a plugin can be very useful. Sometimes a plugin can create an effect that you're not sure how to do on your own. Just because an image was done using a plugin, doesn't make it ugly. What you need to do is just look at the image, and not care how it was done... just that it WAS done.

Hey Cr0n0, the "blueprint" style crono was cool, I liked that. The OZONE font actually started out life as a font called "kabel". Once I have the basic text done in Illustrator, I switch to "create outlines", and then I have an illustrator style version of those same letter, which I can modify at will. Nobody wants a logo that's a straight "out of the box" font, so now you can make your changes. (Actually, I worked for USWeb/CKS, bifg branding and logo experts, and their logo was the name, spelled out in Helvetica, and then colored. Worked, too. Every rule has it's exceptions.) I like custom fonts for mine though. Only once or twice have I then created a full font out of my own creations, usually I just do a few letters. Fontographer is the inductry standard for doing this kind of work, but it can be a pain to use, not to mention costing big $$$. Check out one of my favorite font guys, name of Chank. Good stuff, the king of the RockStar fonts. Lots of interesting font linkages there too.

Your pal, -doc-<P>

I wasnt looking down on plugins or being prejudice against beginners i was letting him know that he was using the plugins entirely too much and its making his images look bad. From time to time Im sure it is alright to use a plugin but i dont think people should rely on them for the majority of there artwork, at least thats my opinion.

Jestah
Jestah91@aol.com
ICQ - 77252449

My comments were geared toward the fact that filters may restrict the process of learning. They are a great tool, and I have nothing against them. Sorry if I was misunderstood.

I totaly disagree with you about filters restricting the process of learning! <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif"> THe more you use filters the more you learn about them. Filters are very complex and some times maybe very hard to recreate. Without filters you would be working for hours trying to get one effect where as a filter can do it in instantly. The other thing with filters is that when combined they make outstanding effects. If you know every effect of a filter you can use it to create extreme effects. Tooo further explain what I mean I have made an Image. I combined the effects of many filters to create this. So take a look...



Now if anyone can recreate that without using a filture please tell me because I would be impressed. <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif">




[This message has been edited by Cr0n0 (edited 27-06-2000).]

No offense, but that looks like trash. It looks cheap.

If filters are helping you learn photoshop, show me a good interface that you've made using 100% filters. *chuckles*

Anyone that saw your pathetic attempt at a logo (The "Bota Design" one) on a web designer's page would be promptly hitting alt-f4.

[This message has been edited by mbridge (edited 27-06-2000).]

OK first of all that logo was my first attempt at any logo. So far I have heard its pretty good for a start. And that design that i just made was just to show you how filters can change an image into something thats can not be made without a filter. That took me about 2 minuites so it's obviously not going to be unbelievable. I can make you an interface using filters easily. But i will need to use some of the other photoshop effects as well. I never said filters are the only things you should use for making an image. All i said is they are very helpfull and save a shit load of time. You can probably ask anyone here and they will tell you that filters save you a lot of time. <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/mad.gif">

I don't care how you make it. I just want to see an interface.

Like I stated in a few posts before, filters do look generic.. and if used incorrectly, do indeed look ugly. Keep it in mind that someone had to develop steps in order to make filters so it can still be achieved without using filters. Filters only provide an end result while if you do it step by step you can fine tune it along the way etc., providing a much more finished look. Also, actions seem to be very helpful as well and can be made... *shrug* I myself try not to use 3rd party plugin filters. (the ones that came with photoshop are useful though... lighting effects, lens flare.. *grin*). But anyway, I suppose that the logo you made is very good indeed but the text on it is very hard to read and it just doesnt fit in with it. It's kind of having a black sheep in the midst of 1000 white ones.

More comments from me.

I'd just like to add in that these filters/plugins/etc. are not the only rudiments for graphic design. I hear many asking questions like "can you create this effect without using plugins?" Similaraly, I can ask the same question.. "can you create this effect WITHOUT plugins?" It is more realistic to create an effect without plugins then just using plugins. Combining both of them speeds up the process, so one should learn how to use brute art skills and maybe once in a while lean towards plugins.

<000000000>
My head is throbbing.. I feel..... ... like ... invincible.... hehe

Plugins...hmmmmmm..kinda been done to death before...however...PS comes (as you all know) with it's own built in Plugins...the basic starter kit...the means to add that little touch to whatever you guys wanna create, Glass, Ifaces, buttons etc...
Whatever way you wanna look at it, we are all newbies to some degree or another there are no exceptions here (including me)...
Cr0n0 it matters not what the finished graphic looks like...it's still art, and you used your own creativity to produce it...the next time you do something it will look better than the last 'n so on....some of my stuff sucks beyond belief, believe me...lol...what the hell eh....
As far as Plugins in general go, yeah we've all been there...however, some like Eye Candy can produce some cool effects...DocCybers work is a good reference point for cool graphics using Plugins....
....however, I gotta agree with some here in saying that when you reach the point where the only plugins you use are lighting effects, Gaussian blur 'n a bit of color, then I reckon you've pretty much got a good handle on PS....
My advice FWIW...put on your water wings and go take a soak in someone else's pond....'cause as sure as hell, if you become the next Phong or dbm, someone is sure gonna take a soak in yours....

btw Cr0n0, your stuffs pretty cool... <img border=0 align=absmiddle src="http://www.ozones.com/forum/smile.gif">

Man, it is getting mean in here. Everyone here is on a different level, maybe a little praise is appropriote before you tell someone that what they did is crap. Maybe this criticism could be executed a little bit better and not so harshly.

I'll probably get flamed for this but I don't like seeing people get torn down. Life is hard enough on people, they don't need to be ripped by me too.

Ya, the Bota logo has its problems but geez, you don't have to tear it apart to shreds.

Phil, I agree with you and Blook that we all need to be more open minded and less, well, a lot less judgemental!

We're here to have fun folks! If you're not having fun, then start a fresh thread with a topic you enjoy and would love to discuss!

And people, let's lighten up here ok....life's too serious as it is!


peace!!

OK...everyone breathe in....breathe out.....ooohhhhmmmm....ooohhhhmmmm...check it out! I'm standing here extending the olive branch to settle our diffs!