I'm going to be starting a new series of posts: RWD, or Real World Design. These posts will include design in the world, like logos, banners, websites, and more. I'll also include steps for the work I do so you can get a sense of the things I do for companies. Today's RWD topic is going to be on a banner I made for LiNK, or Liberty in North Korea. They are a nonprofit helping refugees that have crossed the North Korean border. You can learn more about them at https://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/. A while ago I sent an email to the company asking if I could do some free work for them, and I got a reply back saying that people would be emailing me with their projects soon. As soon as I got one, I started working on it. This was from someone who wanted a banner to hang up at a public location to raise awareness. She had an image already that I was to use in the project, and also requested that I add the logo in. Here's the final banner(I just resized it and added the logo): The banner size was so big(6' x 3') that I just took a screenshot of what it [pretty much] looked like. The image in the center was given to me; I didn't even add the text. That was there already. The first thing I did was make a new document and drag the image into it. The image was tiny and not nearly big enough to scale, but I did anyways with okay results. I then proceeded to resize it and adjust it to the correct size. I also grabbed the logo off the internet and added it into the document. The logo was surprisingly big, at 2000px by 2000px. I didn't even have to resize it to make it bigger. Then I had a problem: I needed to decide which corner to put the logo in. I've put the four different images below so you can compare. The pictures with the logo on the bottom looked the best, so I decided to go with the logo on the bottom right. Top left and bottom right are both good places to put the logo for a clear message. From there it was easy sailing and a lot of waiting. The last thing I had to do to edit the image was to make sure that the logo was equal distance away from the edge of the image. The Marquee tool is a good tool to use for aligning elements when you're not sure if they are. Here, I used it to measure the distance between the edge of the image and the logo. I exported the image in a .pdf file and also saved it as a PSD, just in case I wanted to edit it later. Exporting both of them took about 2 minutes each, maybe a little less for the PSD. The last thing I had to do was to zip the folder with the artwork and send it over. The zipping took about 5 minutes and uploading it took around 20-30 minutes. This design project was pretty simple and the whole process of making, exporting, and uploading it took me around 1 hour. Two-thirds of the time was taken up by exporting, zipping, and uploading the files.
More RWD on the way!
0 Comments
Painting with light is a way that you can use photography to create some amazing art. Painting with light involves a high shutter speed, a high f/no or aperture, and a low ISO. It can be pretty cool to see the things that you can make from this. So, how do you do this? The steps are pretty simple:
First, you'll need a high shutter speed, around 20"-30" or so. It works with a lower shutter speed, you'll just have less time to make the painting. Set up the camera in a room. Second, have someone stand in the center of the frame with a flashlight. Turn off the lights, then turn on the flashlight and paint. It will capture whatever you draw, so make sure that you don't have random streaks across the painting. You can make some pretty cool things with light paintings, such as adding wings to a person(use a higher ISO and f/no(aperture) so the person shows up in the image too) or painting a word. This is just a basic tutorial and there are so many ways to experiment with this. There are images of light with different colors, drawings of people, drawings of cars, bikes, and various other items, as well as just some abstract painting. For more inspiration, just search up "painting with light" and you'll get a ton of results and ideas to do. Happy light painting! Cameras can be confusing. There are a ton of shooting modes, and so many settings to configure. Today we’ll be going over arguably the most important three: Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO.
First, what are each of these things and how do they affect the image taken? Shutter speed is how fast the optical mirror moves up to expose the sensor to light. A slow shutter speed(i.e. 1/5) will produce an image with a lot of lighter, since the sensor measures the light more than if it were a faster shutter speed. A fast shutter speed(i.e. 1/800) will produce an image that’s darker. Aperture is the area in focus. A low aperture will focus on a wide range of things, and thus let in more light, while a high aperture focuses on a spot, letting in less light. ISO is how sensitive your sensor is to light. Camera sensors like CMOS's and CCDs take in light and turn it into electrons to be sensed by the camera, then turned into an image. ISO values tend to double, so values like 100, 200, 400, 800, and so on are common. An image with 400 ISO is going to be 2x brighter than an image with 200 ISO. ISO stands for International Standards Organization. Although the name sounds like a very broad group, it’s actually just focused on ISO in photography. So, how do you use these three to capture the perfect image? It might seem easy, but there’s a method to doing it. The first thing you always want to do is identify your subject and adjust the zoom on your camera. Next, change the aperture until it’s at the setting you want. Remember that a low aperture will focus on a wide range of things, while a high aperture focuses on a spot. The next step is changing the shutter speed. A good guideline is to stay in the range of 1/10 shutter speed - 1/400 shutter speed. If you need a special shot, this can be adjusted, but it’s not recommended as it will make the photo really light or really dark. If you’ve entered a shutter speed value of somewhere in between 1/10 - 1/400 and it still looks too light or dark, then it’s time to edit the ISO. You don’t want to change around the ISO too much, as on lower quality DSLRs/other cameras it will make the image appear grainy. A good rule of thumb is to stay in the range of 100-1600 ISO, only using 3200+ in dire situations. Hopefully these tips should help you take better shots! First, adjust your zoom. Second, adjust the aperture. Third, adjust the shutter speed. Fourth, adjust the ISO. And lastly, take the shot! Watermarks are annoying. I want to use images that are free and unbranded, not ones that have a logo stamped on them. If you want to use free, high quality images, use unsplash.com. Today I'll be showing you how to remove a watermark from a photo. The watermark has to be one with a small logo at the bottom, not the big stamp like 123RF's(I seriously hate them). You can remove the watermarks from photos like those, it would just take a lot of time. That's the point. But if you're using it for some non-commercial reason, this guide will help you with smaller watermarks. You'll need Photoshop, of course, as well as the image downloaded. I'm using this image, but you can use whatever you want. (Sorry, couldn't find the link! Downloaded this image a while ago.) There it is, the annoying little watermark. Let's get rid of it. The first way to do it is by using the clone stamp tool. The clone stamp tool takes a source(which you can set by pressing option while clicking the area you want to duplicate) and then sends it to another location. Keep in mind that you can't clone the same image with the same source at different locations. Try it: select a source, then click on the left side of the screen. Then click a little bit away from it. The images are not the same. You have to set the source every time you want the same image. Anyways, you can do that with the clone stamp tool. As the arrows show in the picture below, I cloned the sources above and put them on the watermark, setting a new source every couple times I clicked. Removing the watermark that way is really easy. It shouldn't take more than a minute or so. The next way to remove a watermark is by using the Spot Healing Brush Tool. The Spot Healing Brush Tool has three modes: Content-Aware, Texture, and Proximity. Use Content-Aware for now. The Content-Aware mode tries to blend the selected piece in with the rest of the background. It's a brush tool, and it highlights the selected area in a black brush with the opacity turned down, like so: Cover the watermark and some of the surrounding environment, then let go. After a second or two, it should blend in. This is my final result: If you have something that has a complex background, it's not going to blend as well. The last method is to use the Healing Brush Tool. You have to set a source like with the clone stamp by holding option, but it takes the texture and tries to blend it in with the colors around it. It's also repeatable, so the image doesn't change. As you can see, it's not as well blended in as it could be, but with some extra work you could make it better.
So that's how you remove a watermark three ways! If you have a method, share it in the comments. All of these are simple and should take no more than a minute. I just got a new camera, the Canon EOS Rebel T3i, so today I'm going to be doing a comparison of three different cameras: a DSLR(Canon T3i), a Point and Shoot(Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS), and an iPhone 6S. I'll be doing a review/guide on the T3i sometime later after I've mastered the camera but I've spent a day with the camera and I'm starting to get the hang of it. The main categories we'll be going over are: megapixels/image quality, functions(internal and external), and cost. Keep in mind that the T3i costs the most for the camera, and it produces the best quality images. However, it costs a whole lot more and is a lot harder to use because of all the functions and lenses. Test #1: Auto Shooting ModeThe Canon cameras both have dedicated Auto Modes, but the iPhone is only auto, I believe. There doesn't seem to be a way to set ISO or exposure. Auto Modes basically set ISO/exposure for you automatically so you don't have to do any work. The iPhone actually seems to have the most detail here. The PowerShot has a very bad image quality. The T3i doesn't have as much contrast as the iPhone. test #2: Program Shooting ModeAgain, both of the Canon cameras have dedicated Program shooting modes, while the iPhone only has an automatic shooting mode. The Program Shooting mode sets the shutter speed and aperture automatically for you, but lets you set ISO, WB, focus, as well as some other things. The Canon T3i definitely has the best quality here. It's bright and high quality. The other two don't have enough but the iPhone needs more than the PowerShot. Test #3: FunctionsHere, we'll look at functions, both internal and external, like the ISO range, as well as stereo inputs/outputs.
If we compare external functions, the Canon T3i definitely has the most by a long shot. There's not even an HDMI/mic input for the iPhone and the PowerShot. Now, let's compare internal functions. We'll be taking a look at three main functions: ISO range, Aperture range, and Shutter speed range. The iPhone doesn't seem to have these functions available to edit so I'll just compare the two Canon cameras. The Canon PowerShot has two image shooting modes: auto and program. Neither allow you to set shutter speed and aperture, so those don't really matter. The maximum ISO on it is only 1600, which is quite low. The Canon T3i has a Manual Shooting mode which enables full customization of the photo. The biggest shutter speed value is BULB, or until you take your hand off the shutter release. The smallest shutter speed value is 1/4000th of a second. The lowest aperture is 4.0, and the largest is 25. The minimum ISO is 100 and the maximum is 6400. If we compare external and internal functions, the T3i is a clear winner, but not without some previous knowledge. Test #4: Image QualityThe Canon PowerShot can take an image at a max of 12.1 megapixels. The image dimensions are 4000x3000. The Canon T3i can take an image at a max of 18 megapixels. The image dimensions are 5184x3486. The iPhone 6S can take an image at a max of 12.1 megapixels. The image dimensions are 4032x3024. Here's another set of images taken by each camera. The iPhone 6S has terrible lighting, and the Canon T3i has just a little sharper quality than the PowerShot. The image taken by the PowerShot is a lot blurrier. TEST #4: CostThis will be for the body, and in the case of the T3i, the lens as well(an 18-55 mm lens). All prices are taken off Amazon.com. The iPhone 6S was about $325 for a new one with 64 GB of storage, but the price went down to $275 for a 16 GB one. You can buy it here. The Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS was around $30 for the silver version but went up to $400 for a brown colored one. You can buy it here. The Canon EOS Rebel T3i costs around $770 for a new one but around $325 for a used one. This includes the 18-55 mm lens which costs around $100. You can buy the entire kit here. ConclusionSo, which camera is the best? For the cost, I'd say it would be the PowerShot. It takes medium quality photos and is really cheap. For the quality, no doubt it's the T3i. And for simplicity, I'd go with the iPhone 6S. However, the iPhone 6S doesn't seem to have good lighting, but has okay contrast/colors.
If you're trying to decide between a point and shoot and a DSLR, here's some advice: if you've already used a point and shoot before, buy a DSLR. If you haven't used cameras that much(and be modest) then get a point and shoot. Point and Shoots are a lot simpler, easier to use, cost-effective, get the job done, and are also lightweight. DSLRs do have advantages over Point and Shoots but I'd recommend a point and shoot as a first camera. Do NOT start with a DSLR if you've haven't used a camera before, or have little experience(again, be modest). So far, my T3i has been working great and I definitely recommend it as a camera! It also has an articulating LCD meaning that the LCD can flip out and turn around 180 degrees so you can see it while filming yourself. The T3i is discontinued but it's still a great entry-level DSLR.
Did you know that ads with red as a primary color are more likely to convert viewers into customers? Red is also the color that makes people hungry. In this blog post, we’ll be discussing colors and how it has an effect on the viewer. Our first color is red. Red is an excitement color and actually makes people’s heart pump faster when they see it. Red is a bright, flashy color that also attracts people’s attentions. It can be used for things like converting viewers into customers, or to depict something scary. It’s also a popular color in the food industry, as many companies including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, In-n-Out, Costco, KFC, and a ton of others use red as a primary color. Why? Red has statistically shown that it’s a factor people unconsciously consider when looking at food options. Red is also the color of romance, lust, and love. Yellow is similar to red in that it’s an upbeat color, but at a much lower level. You’ll notice that many food companies use yellow as a secondary color, like McDonald’s arch. It’s also used to symbolize happiness, so if you want to convey to viewers that your product will make them happy, use yellow instead of red. Yellow is also a great attention grabber like red, since it’s a bright color. Green has a very specific set of emotions. Green tends to convey that your product is nature related. It’s also the color of envy/hate, in the case of the darker colors. But if you use the lighter/medium shades of green, you can get a message of “natural-ness” to your viewers. Blue is a very popular color, but when it comes to design, there are only a specific set of blues that are good for a set of conditions. Blue is used to convey high quality products or professionalism. If you need a color to go with a dark background, medium blues are good for this. In my opinion, you should never touch the light blues unless you absolutely need to. Pink is a stereotypical color of females, although in recent years darker shades pink is seen as a fashion trend for some people. However, lighter shades of pink make people think that the product is for females, so if your main audience is female, try to use pink to attract customers. Purple is the color of royalty. A long time ago purple dyes were hard to get so only the richest were able to obtain it. Naturally, kings and queens wanted it, and even today it’s still seen as a color of power and royalty. Purple is kind of a willy-nilly color that’s not used in a specific set of circumstances, nor is it even used that much. Only use purple if you need to. Don’t overdo it. Brown is similar to green, but it conveys a message more like “I’m tough, and you can be that way too if you buy this product” or simply just “I’m tough”. It shows a message of outdoor ruggedness. If you’re selling a product like backcountry tools(i.e. camping tools, survival kits), use green and brown. Black and white are opposites: black is a dark color that conveys a message of fear but also sophistication, while white is a color of happiness. Both are used as text colors. It’s pretty hard to tell when you’ll be needing them, but generally white works with both light and dark, while black doesn’t really see the spotlight that much. Colors really do influence emotion. There have been studies where volunteers have been asked to drink/eat out of different colored containers. The volunteers said that one color definitely tasted better than the others. Interesting! A lot of companies use these tactics to drive more sales and attract more people. It’s been tested many times and it works. What’s you’re favorite color? Mine is hot pink. Let me know in the comments below! NOTE: This is a basic guide for people who are looking to get into DSLR cameras and want an entry level DSLR. If you'd like a list of all Canon cameras, please use this link(Wikipedia). If you'd like a comparison of all Nikon cameras, please use this link(Wikipedia as well). Hey everyone, today I'll be discussing ENTRY LEVEL DSLR cameras and which one is best for you. The reason I bolded entry level is because many people are looking for a cheap camera and often think that a $400 camera will do the trick. $400 cameras are entry level. If you're looking for a semi-pro/pro camera, you'll be finding cameras that are around $2000-$6000. This may seem like a lot, but the lens is really what you're paying for. Another thing to note: just because a camera looks like a DSLR doesn't mean it is one. I made this mistake when getting my first camera(a SX530). Some point and shoots look different than DSLRs but some look similar. So, how do you differentiate between a DSLR and a point and shoot? The biggest feature that separates DSLRs and point and shoots are that DSLRs have detachable lenses. DSLRs come with the body and a lens, in two pieces. This allows for different lenses to be on the same camera. Lenses can cost anywhere from $50 to $70,000. And no, that's not a typo. There really are lenses that cost that much. When you buy a DSLR, you're paying mainly for the lens(for more expensive cameras). With point and shoots, you get the camera and lens in one piece. It's near impossible to take the lens off without breaking it. Point and Shoots can cost from $50 to $2250(that's usually where they cap). Point and shoot lenses are generally not as good as DSLRs. Point and Shoots also don't have optical viewfinders, which is helpful if you're taking pictures in a very bright place. It's easier to see the quality of an image if you look through a small viewfinder compared to a 3 inch viewfinder. DSLRs are also more customizable and take higher quality pictures. Even if the Point and shoot has more megapixels(which is found by multiplying resolution like 4000x3000 and dividing by a million - 4000x3000 is 12MP) DSLR's quality is always going to be better. DSLRs have more options when it comes to ISO, Aperture Speed, Shutter Speed, Colors, Balancing, etc. I've talked enough about DSLR vs point and shoot, and by now you probably know which one I prefer. I have a Canon EOS Rebel T3i with an 18-55 IS lens. I may do a review on it as well as a guide on lenses but for now I'll stick to cameras. Let's talk about brands. The two biggest camera companies currently are Canon and Nikon. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The topics we'll be comparing are functions, picture quality, sensors, and video. FUNCTIONS: CANON VS NIKONCanon seems to beat Nikon by a small margin here. One feature that makes gives Canon a major disadvantage is that the on/off button is often not on the same dial as the shutter release. Nikon's, however, is on the same dial so it's easier to start it up and take a picture than Canon. Another thing that sets Canon apart from Nikon is the scroll dial. Canon's is often on top of the camera, near the shutter release, while Nikon's is usually embedded in the front with the LCD(do a quick search of nikon cameras and you'll see what I mean). Canon's is so much easier to scroll since all I have to do is move my finger back a little bit. As for the other functions, they both come pretty close, but Canon seems to have a little better design than Nikon. PICTURE QUALITY: CANon VS NIkONNikon's higher end cameras tend to have better photos. They have higher burst fps and better optical LPFs(low pass filters). What optical low pass filters do is use a technique called anti-aliasing which makes images smoother, but it also makes images less detailed. Some LFPs made by Nikon eliminated moires. Moires are the streaks made by light inputting into the sensor. However, Canon has the better megapixel camera. Megapixels are calculated by multiplying the resolution together, then dividing by 1 million. Canon has come out with a camera, the EOS 5DS, with 50.6 megapixels - the highest in the market. Nikon is close behind with the new D850 at 45.7 megapixels. Comparing image quality, Nikon has the better quality. SENSORS: CANON VS NIKONSensors are another big factor when looking at cameras. There are two types - CMOS and CCD. They stand for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor and Charged Coupling Device. CCD sensors take a lot more power, but they produce higher quality images with less noise. CCD sensors are a lot more expensive than CMOS sensors. Not many cameras use CCD sensors, even the high end ones. There are many parts that lead up to a sensor. There is the sensor itself then there are a lot of filters that "improve" the image. The main one is the OLPF, or the Optical Low Pass Filter. The optical low pass filter works by using anti-aliasing, which makes things smoother. This is helpful, but it can also reduce image quality as things at a smaller size will be blurrier. An OLPF also can do some helpful things like remove dust or cancel unwanted light streaks. Canon stepped forward with their Canon EOS 5DS and made an extra layer to cancel out the effect of anti-aliasing from the OLPF while still retaining the helpful features. Nikon, however, has come forward as well in 2017 with their D850. It completely removes the optical low pass filter and replaces it with dedicated filters to do the things that it usually does. When looking at sensors, Nikon definitely has the better sensor. VIDEO: CANON VS NIKONThis is the part I'm most concerned with. I take a lot of videos so I want to make sure that the video quality is good. Generally, Canon has cameras that take better video, but they usually max out at about 1080p60. If we look at which one has the best, Nikon trumps Canon by a far range. Canon does have camcorders that record 4k video, but no DSLR(that I know of). Nikon's new D850 is capable of 4k UHD 30fps. That seems to be the best on the market as of right now. Comparing video quality, Canon has the better standard, but Nikon has the highest quality. Which Camera Should You Buy?I like both Canon and Nikon but I like Canon better. Their lenses tend to be a bit better, and I need a good lens for the photos I'm taking. However, Nikon has some good features too. My recommendation is: if you're looking for low-end cameras, use Canon. If you're looking for high-end, use Nikon. Which camera should you buy? It depends on your needs. Here is the Canon EOS Rebel line, and here is the Nikon Camera line. Here's a list of the pros and cons of each type of camera discussed: Point and Shoot, DSLR, Canon, and Nikon. Point and shoot CAMERASPros: - Cheap - Easy to Use - Don't have to worry about using the right lens Cons: - Don't take high quality photos/videos - Not as customizable for pictures DSLR CamerasPros: - High quality images/videos - Interchangeable lenses help with different situations - More customizability than a Point and Shoot Cons: - More expensive - Have to buy an expensive lens with the camera Canon CamerasPros: - Better entry-level cameras - Cheaper entry-level cameras - Better functions/entry-level video quality Cons: - Not as good sensors/picture quality Nikon CamerasPros: - Better semi-pro/pro level cameras - Better sensors - Better image quality Cons: - More expensive - More expensive entry-level cameras Now go get yourself an expensive camera(from Canon or Nikon!)
Have you ever wanted to make money as a graphic designer but didn't know how? Today I'll be discussing some ways you can make money as a graphic designer, as well as some ways to get into graphic design and improve your skills.
First, let's discuss what kind of graphic designs and designers there are out there. There are a ton of different kinds of graphic design. My personal favorite is webpage design but there's also logos, decals, branding(logos, decals, business cards), apparel, and a lot more. Although there may be a lot of different kinds of design, there's really only two types of graphic designers - specific category designers and wide range designers. One only does a certain set of graphic design and the other does a wide range - as the names suggest. Graphic design is a highly sought after product. Many people today start a business but don't know how to make their own logos or designs. As a result, they hire someone to do it for them instead of spending a massive amount of time to learn how to design. This is where someone like you comes into play. If you know how to make amazing art, then you'll most likely get hired and you'll make a profit off of it. Let's also discuss how much money you'll make. If you're creating a 5 page website, expect to charge about $1000-$1500. If you're creating one webpage, you'll be charging about $400. If you're creating a logo/banner, charge about $100-$250. This also depends on how hard the project is. If you're just starting out as a graphic designer and are looking to do some work, you're most likely not going to make a website and attract people that way. Instead, go on a site like 99designs, Upwork, or Fiverr and charge for your service there. The best method to learn graphic designing is to make sure you practice. Practice doesn't make perfect but you can still suit people's needs. Go on a random website and pretend you're remaking their logo or their website. Or, you can go on twitter and find a banner that you think needs some work. Besides practicing, there are a lot of courses on Udemy that will teach you about graphic designing. I'd recommend the one by Cristian Doru Barin(I took it). Also, don't forget to subscribe this blog to make sure that you keep up with all the latest tips and graphic design knowledge. You'll also receive my newsletter that contains info that only subscribers will gain as well as some surprises. I hope this article inspired you to get into the world of graphic designing! Hey everyone, today I'll be teaching you how to retouch a photo. This is just a basic tutorial as there are many more techniques I may explain in a different tutorial. As always, you'll need Photoshop(I'm using CC 2017, anything from CS4 and up will work) and an image to work with. Here's the image I'm working with: https://unsplash.com/photos/JT8IWAaxpQk First, open up the image in Photoshop. Unlock the background and let's begin! Duplicate the bottom layer and set the blend mode of the top layer to overlay. Adjust the opacity as needed. I put mine to 40%. As you can probably tell it sharpens the colors. Overlay makes lighter colors lighter and darker colors darker. I think it's a bit too light in the middle so I'll go ahead and duplicate the top layer. Set the blend mode to multiply to make it darker and set the opacity to 20%. It's hard to see the difference here but if you actually do it, the result will show up. Next let's create an adjustment layer. I decided to put a Brightness/Contrast adjustment. For the brightness I put -6 and for the contrast I put 10. Lastly, I wanted to make the grass a bit greener so I put a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer on. I set the Hue to +10 and the Saturation to -10. This makes the grass look a whole lot greener without it looking too unrealistic. And that's it! That's my basic method of retouching. First, add some blending layers, then adjustment layers. For blending layers I usually do Overlay, Multiply, and Lighten/Screen. For adjustment layers I usually use Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast. I do occasionally use more but that's if I need something that the methods above can't provide.
Hope you learned something in this tutorial! Don't forget to subscribe to keep up with all the latest posts! |
Authori'm a 13 year old graphic designer based in california. i love to travel, play basketball, play video games, eat good food, read good books, and especially love design. my favorite type of design is modern. ArchivesCategories
All
|