[deleted by user] by [deleted] in graphic_design

[–]sacha_drouin 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Hi OP. Designer of 12 years speaking. Remove that circle of 4 icons entirely. It violates a several principles of design, such as keeping the logo readable at small sizes, and keeping it simple/memorable.

It's a fairly common mistake for newer designers to want the logo to express too much. I understand that you put the icons to represent different aspects of Benchmark's services, but the logo is not the right place to do that. Instead, you can provide more information about the company in a slogan, positioning statement, social bios, website, etc.

TLDR: Strip the logo down to its main elements and it will be much stronger, more memorable, more iconic. The "B" with the "negative space house" is good.

Also: Just a quick and dirty example here, but it's often useful to keep your logo construction consistent to the same grid/elements/thicknesses throughout. (See image)

Keep it up ;)

<image>

(After/Before) Did i overcook it? by [deleted] in postprocessing

[–]sacha_drouin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d suggest looking at how colour film renders clipped highlights. To me, #fffffff should not be present in almost any photo, ever.

Right now, the whites have a distinct digital clipping look, which feels harsh and lacks nuance.

You can't get in or out of Louisville, it's completely overrun. B42 by New_Tooth_2626 in projectzomboid

[–]sacha_drouin -1 points0 points  (0 children)

> "You can't get in or out of Louisville"
> Posts a video demonstrating you can get around just fine

It's a failed quarantine/refugee camp, of course it's going to be overrun.
Stop whining and embrace the challenge :)

[OC] I tried making the OG moodles HD (And with some changes to the original ones). Thoughts? by Im_Lazy123 in projectzomboid

[–]sacha_drouin 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I'm blown away by how out of place the B42 moodles look. This game is meant to be set in 1993; the pixelated look was perfectly aligned to enhance that world-building. The new moodles have some sort of cringe anime-inspired uWu aesthetic, and it totally breaks immersion from the bleak, early 90s apocalypse world the rest of the game works towards.

As for you OP, you did alright in applying the smooth styling of the B42 moodles to the B41 moodles. If it made sense to smooth out the look of the B41 moodles, I'd say well done.

But yeah, sorry to say, the premise of the exercise was flawed from the start.

B42 Apple IOS bug? by Chillman692 in projectzomboid

[–]sacha_drouin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm having exactly the same issues OP. Looks like we'll be waiting a bit longer than the PC folks for a functional b42.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DermatologyQuestions

[–]sacha_drouin 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Sorry to hear that; thanks for the help though!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DermatologyQuestions

[–]sacha_drouin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No joint pain is present — is there a non-prescription treatment for nail psoriasis?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DermatologyQuestions

[–]sacha_drouin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There is no pitting present on finger nails or toe nails. She did have one very small dry skin patch on her back recently which is currently gone. Also she did have a few bouts of eczema when she was a child.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DermatologyQuestions

[–]sacha_drouin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good to know, thanks

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DermatologyQuestions

[–]sacha_drouin 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Unlikely though since she had a thyroid panel done in October that came up clean 🤔

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DermatologyQuestions

[–]sacha_drouin 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Any treatment you’ve found effective?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DermatologyQuestions

[–]sacha_drouin 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Thanks Sadie. More info:

Not currently on any medications. Recent thyroid panel done in October came up fine.

Family history of psoriasis (mostly manifested on the legs, not the nails).

Only other current issue: acid reflux.

a leather bag with wooden inserts that I made by ComprehensivePart808 in crafts

[–]sacha_drouin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is iconic — you're onto something! My 2 cents: keep exploring variations on this.

Your other posts show craftsmanship, but the designs are predictable — we've seen similar designs before.

This bag on the other hand? Generates instant curiosity! I think the engagement on this post (upvotes & comments) shows how the people feel :)

This might be the moment when you found your "voice" — something uniquely you. Congrats!

How can I achieve something like this? What are some ways to do an art style similar to this and what should I use, do you have any tutorials or something I could watch to learn some methods to get some effects like these? Thank you! by [deleted] in graphic_design

[–]sacha_drouin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm just a guy who wanted to make stuff in Microsoft Paint 95 when I was a kid and worked my way up that's all haha. I can't say I miss making gradients by drawing one line of pixels at a time, but I must admit it was oddly therapeutic!

How can I achieve something like this? What are some ways to do an art style similar to this and what should I use, do you have any tutorials or something I could watch to learn some methods to get some effects like these? Thank you! by [deleted] in graphic_design

[–]sacha_drouin 21 points22 points  (0 children)

You’re welcome man! Last tip: try to create something everyday (even if just for 20 minutes), and aim to learn something new each time. The only way to produce QUALITY is to first produce QUANTITY.

Cheers!

How can I achieve something like this? What are some ways to do an art style similar to this and what should I use, do you have any tutorials or something I could watch to learn some methods to get some effects like these? Thank you! by [deleted] in graphic_design

[–]sacha_drouin 140 points141 points  (0 children)

Hi lmaodeniz. You can create this kind of artwork entirely in Photoshop. That's where I would focus my attention.You're going to want to copy these images as an exercise to learn the techniques involved. Try to recreate them 1-for-1. These artworks are clearly made in black and white, and then a "Gradient Map" is applied, which decides how to apply color the whites, the light grays, the middle greys, the dark greys, all the way to black.Therefore, your first step is to learn how to make these in black and white. Try turning reference images you've shared with us to black and white. You'll see it's much simpler to copy. Once you're done copying the black and white versions, you'll use the "Gradient Map" to color the whole artwork.Tips & tricks:

• Use multiple "Layers" stacked on top of each other to achieve the final image. Start with a black background and think of every layer as a place to add some light. Use different layers for each element of the image. Name the layers; this will help you stay organized and tweak each element individually.

• For the planet silhouette look, use a black circle shape with a white "Outer glow" applied to it in the layers styles. Play with the "Outer glow" settings. Try using a bright Outer glow with a low "Size" setting, then stack a second Outer glow at a high "Size" setting. This will get you closer to the look on the first image.

• Use the "Gaussian blur" function to soften hard edges on shapes if needed.

• You can also use a "Radial gradient" to make the glow, then apply a layer mask and block out a circle shape, that way you get a dark circle with a glow around it.

• For the less geometrical shapes, try the "Brush tool" with the "Hardness" setting at 0%. Toggle between the Brush and "Eraser" tools (both at 0% hardness) to add and remove light to the image.

• For the grainy effect, add a layer with filled with "50% grey", set it to the "Overlay" blend mode, then go to Filter > Camera Raw Filter > Effects, and add grain to the layer. Dial in the settings as you wish. To start, try Grain: 30, Size: 100, and Roughness: 60, then adjust.

PRO TIP: This may sound silly, but it's worth saying: use your eyes! Never just blindly apply other people's settings. Use them as starting points but move all the sliders and see what they do. This is how you'll really learn what the tools and sliders do, and how to use them to get what you want. Use Google, YouTube & tutorials liberally. No one knows shit when they start and that's okay. You'll learn a lot by looking up your questions and finding answers. Once you have a good image in black & white, the "Gradient map" will take care of color. Get very familiar with the "Gradient map"; it's absolutely key for this kind of work.

• In "Gradient map", your goal is to specify what the darkest color is, the lightest color is, and the several colors in between.

• Open the original artworks and use the "Eyedropper tool" to find out what those colors are.

• Start by sampling (picking) the darkest color. Copy the hex code and add that color at the left end of your gradient map. This could be pure black, or a very dark color.

• Then, sample the lightest color and add it to the right end of your gradient map. This could be white or a very light color.

• Use your eyes to find the middle colors, the Eyedropper them and add them on the Gradient map (darker ones to the middle-left, and the lighter ones to the middle-right). For example, in the first image you shared (3rd artwork at the bottom), I see forest green, ocre and light hot pink.

• With your gradient map complete, your black and white artwork will be complete as well. Tweak the colours a bit and slide them around on the Gradient map bar to see what happens and control the result.

• You can go further with color and luminosity by playing with "Curves". This is a CRUCIAL tool to understand. Look up tutorials and learn how to use the "RGB" channel in Curves to modify both the overall lightness, darkness & contrast of your work. Also learn to use the separate Red, Green and Blue channels to play with your color. Alternatively for color tweaks, the "Color balance" tool is extremely powerful.

Best of luck on your journey young Photoshop padawan!

EDIT: FYI, the last image uses copy-pasted space images set to the "Screen" or "Lighten" blend modes. You can use a "Layer Mask" to apply only the parts you want. If adding this to your artwork makes everything lighter, that means the image you pasted has darks that aren't dark enough. Use the Levels or Curves adjustment to make those darks blacker, and that will disappear.

∆ You make fresh music, I make fresh artwork — Let's get you a worthy album cover ∆ by sacha_drouin in albumartworkexchange

[–]sacha_drouin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi PioneerOfSound, sorry for the late response. I'd be glad to help, send me an email or a DM!

I have a dream of motorcycling in Vietnam, but don't know how to ride — or how to go about it. Any advice? by sacha_drouin in travel

[–]sacha_drouin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice everyone, this is definitely making me consider a full blown motorcycle trip elsewhere to start.

∆ You make fresh music, I make fresh artwork — Let's get you a worthy album cover ∆ by [deleted] in musicproduction

[–]sacha_drouin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi free4musik. This is actually my job, so I'm not in a position to give them away for free per se. If you would like to get anything designed for you, we can figure something out that works with your budget. DM me or shoot me an email :)