samedi 29 janvier 2011

Spoon Graphics | Latest Blog Entry

Spoon Graphics | Latest Blog Entry


LoveGrid – A WordPress Theme for Premium Members

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 11:00 PM PST

LoveGrid is the latest theme available exclusively to Access All Areas members. I've been working on the design on and off over the past few months and have finally finished it off as a complete theme ready for you to download and use on your own websites. Are you a ...

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Not a member? Becoming an Access All Areas member gives you the ability to view exclusive members-only content just like this. The premium category is already packed full of discount codes and useful design resources, and there's plenty more to come! Find out more about becoming a member, or take a peek at what's available to premium members so far.

jeudi 27 janvier 2011

Chut !

CHHHHT !!

mardi 25 janvier 2011

Spoon Graphics | Latest Blog Entry

Spoon Graphics | Latest Blog Entry


Design a Sexy Pin-Up Girl Character in Illustrator

Posted: 23 Jan 2011 11:00 PM PST

Follow this step by step guide to create a sexy vector pin-up girl character design. We’ll start the process with a hand drawn sketch, then draw and manipulate the vector linework in Illustrator before adding colour and shading to bring the character to life.

Vector pin up character

Meet Kandice, the seductive blonde pin-up girl we’ll be creating as part of this tutorial. The whole design process is split into 3 basic stages; the rough sketch; the linework or ‘inking’; colouring; and finally the shading.

View the final pin-up character illustration

The basic sketch

Rough character sketch

The first step is to quickly draw a sketch defining the basics of the character so we have something to work with in Adobe Illustrator. The face of my drawing looks more like a deformed alien sex doll, but the overall pose and rough proportions are in place. Scan and place this image into Illustrator.

Creating the vector linework

Reduce the transparency and lock the sketch into place (CMD+2), then grab the pen tool and trace the outline of the whole character. New to the pen tool? Check out these tips.

Once the overall outline is complete, begin drawing open ended paths within the body to define the shapes of the character.

Bump up the weight of the outer stroke to around 5pt and align it to the outside. Give any negative space areas such as the shape defining the area between the legs the same weight, but with the stroke aligned to the inside.

Select the thick outline and go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. This will convert the stroked path into a solid shape.

Use the Direction Selection tool to manipulate and alter the points of the path outline to give the impression of a brush stroke. These subtle changes in width do a great job of enhancing the illustration with a hand-drawn inked style.

The new ‘inked’ effect lines look much better than the plain strokes. Use areas with multiple points to create thick transitions between lines, such as the knee area of the right leg.

Begin drawing in the detail lines with the Pen tool, then outline each stroke and manipulate the paths. Tweak any open ended lines so they taper into a point to further replicate the brush stroke effect.

You can manually add tapered points to specific areas to help define the shapes of the body. Just draw the triangular shape with the pen tool, then rotate and carefully move it into place.

The design really starts to take shape when the finer detail linework is added. Here I’ve also completely recreated the face and hair by manually drawing new elements directly. The great thing about working digitally is that paths can be tweaked and edited, unlike a pencil drawing.

Colouring the illustration

Draw a selection around the whole illustration and outline any leftover strokes, then click the Merge option of the Pathfinder to blend it all together into a solid shape.

This merged outline then allows use to use Illustrator’s Live Paint Bucket tool to quickly fill each area with a block of colour. Select a colour swatch then click the red outlined areas to add that particular colour fill.

Continue adding colour fills with the Live Paint Bucket tool, then go to Object > Expand and select just the Object option to convert the fills into editable shapes.

The area around the eye wasn’t outlined, so the Live Paint Bucket filled the eye with the same skin tone. Draw a white shape to compensate for this and adjust the stacking order so it sits below the black linework but above the facial colour fill. Add colourful makeup to the eye area and some small specular highlights. The eyes of any character are the most important feature, so take the time to add a few extra details.

Adding depth with light and shade

Select the main hair object and switch the solid colour fill for a gradient to add radiance and shine. Use a range of browns and yellows to recreate a blonde type hair colour, then adjust the gradient angle.

Draw a series of flowing shapes across the underside of the character to act as shadows. Follow the black outline roughly, then cut across the inner areas of the character with smooth paths. Change these fills to Multiply at 10% opacity.

Add these shading shapes to areas of the face taking into consideration elements that would likely cast a shadow, such as the hair flowing over the face, or the head over the neck.

To really add depth and dimension to the illustration, switch out the solid colour fills with subtle gradients. Give each area of skin a radial gradient that gradually flows from light to dark tones. Adjust each gradient with the gradient tool so it flows in smoothly from outside the shape area.

Giving the black boots a dark to light grey gradient helps define their shape by giving the impression of light and shade.

To replicate a glossy or shiny appearance, add some basic highlighting shapes to the boots. Set these shapes to 10% White with the Screen blending mode.

Blonde vector pin up character

With all the colour fills and shading in place the character really comes to life as a cute and sexy blonde…

Rock chick vector pin up character

…or alter the colours slightly and you have a ravishing rock chick! ;-)

Download the source file

vendredi 21 janvier 2011

Spoon Graphics | Latest Blog Entry

Spoon Graphics | Latest Blog Entry


My Favourite Links of the Week – January 21st 2011

Posted: 20 Jan 2011 11:00 PM PST

In this week's roundup of creative goodness, we have a fabulous lighting effects tutorial, an guide to getting started with HTML emails, a colourful digital art tutorial, a unique photomanipulation tutorial and an overview of optimizing web forms.

Create a Colorful Aged Poster With Special Lighting Effects

View the article

Getting Started with HTML Emails

View the article

Create A Futuristic Photo Illustration With Photoshop

View the article

Undress a Giraffe in Photoshop

View the article

10 Tips for Optimizing Web Form Submission Usability

View the article

lundi 17 janvier 2011

Spoon Graphics | Latest Blog Entry

Spoon Graphics | Latest Blog Entry


How To Give Your Photos a Vintage Polaroid Effect

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 11:00 PM PST

Follow this step by step guide to giving your photos a cool vintage Polaroid style effect in Photoshop. We’ll adjust the colours of the image with adjustment layers then use Photoshop brushes to distress the photograph for an aged appearance.

Vintage photo effect before and after

The vintage effect we’ll be creating transforms your photos with faded colour casts, aged marks and a distressed Polaroid style border to frame the shot. Subtle additions of noise and various overlays all help to achieve that old-time look.

Open up your chosen image in Photoshop. Here I’ve picked out a nice Summer shot of a group of friends on the beach from ThinkStock. Make small Levels adjustments to increase the contrast slightly.

Add a Curves adjustment layer and change the drop down menu to select the Red channel. Begin manipulating the curves line into a slight inverted S-bend to begin adjusting the colours.

Change the drop down to the Green channel and make similar adjustments to the tones controlled by this channel.

Adjust the Blue channel so the colours are clipped at the bottom and top areas of the graph. The result should be a retro looking mix of yellow and red.

Select the Gradient Tool and set up an orange to yellow radial gradient. Drag this gradient across the canvas and set this layer to Soft Light at 50%.

Paint in a couple of red brush marks around the edge of the photo and change the blending mode to Screen at 40% to create some subtle light leaks.

Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer at the top of the layer stack and finely tune the saturation level to tone down the impact of the colours.

Fill a new layer with white, then go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise with the settings of 35%, Uniform, Monochromatic. Set this layer to Soft Light at 50%.

Paint a white highlight near the centre of the image using a large soft brush. Set this layer to Soft Light at around 90%.

Use a couple of brush stroke Photoshop brushes to paint in a distressed border around the edge of the picture to create an old Polaroid style frame.

When using Photoshop brushes, alter the angle by adjusting the target shaped icon in order to paint the border in each direction around the edge of the canvas.

A handwritten note on the photo stating the year helps tap into the vintage theme. Here I’m using the cool Faraco Hand font.

A subtle Drop Shadow effect adds a soft highlight on the bottom edge of the text to give the impression that the writing has been pressed into the photograph by the nib of the pen.

Finish off the vintage photo effect with some distressed marks and signs of age using these awesome Subtle Grunge brushes.

Photoshop vintage photo effect

Download the source file