Your home for everything artistic

Archive for the ‘graphic design’ Category

Recent graphic design project

A local actor recently hired me

to create an online portfolio and some promotional materials for him. Here’s the post card I came up with:

JPC1JPC2

The front features our home city of Pittsburgh in a washed out photo as the background. It also emphasizes his build and history as a boxer.

The back uses a plain white, non-distracting background for sort of a minimalist effect. It also shows a few different look variations with the small images as well. I’m sure he won’t mind the contact info being out there, after all, that’s the whole point of promotion isn’t it?

I made sure to use a fairly interesting font but also tried to keep it simple enough to be easily readable.

Here’s the online portfolio I built on his behalf:

Julio

Cool custom layout tool for the artistically inclined

I love WordPress

It’s an amazing platform to showcase your work and thoughts as well as to discover some really interesting things that others have put out for your viewing and reading pleasure. With that being said, I also enjoy another similar tool called Tumblr. With that being the case, I thought I’d share a site I found that can be a major asset to any graphics enthusiast who might want to design his or her own layout without having to be heavily technically skilled.

The site by Totally Layouts is provides a Tumblr theme generator allowing you to customize everything from fonts to backgrounds with just a little creativity on your part. If you use this platform at all or are considering doing so, this might just be a good place to start.

I know that being a provider of creative graphic services and recently starting to help others with SEO efforts through social media, the visual and creative can be just as important to drawing attention to your work as it is fun to work on in the first place.

tumblr theme

Help choose the new photos for my website

What do you think?

My photography and creative arts business website is going to be getting a makeover in the near future. And, I’d love to have the readers here at Creative Dreamers offer up your suggestions for a new look.

The current look of the Three Rivers Creative Arts website features six photos on the homepage that rotate in something of a slideshow. While this format will remain, I’m looking to change the featured photos and replace them with others from the various galleries on the site.

In the end, a mix of photos from the following galleries will be chosen to be included in the new homepage layout:

Landscapes

Models

Occasional Portraiture and Events

Wildlife

To have your two-cents considered, feel free to choose up to six photos from the site by providing the name of the gallery, the page number within that gallery and the number sequence in which the photo appears. See example below:

Landscapes

You can submit you favorites by commenting on this post.

Thanks for your feedback!

Another useful online photo editing option

Anyone who does even basic work with photography probably realizes that Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard when it comes to photo editing. However, it can be a bit cumbersome and also tends to be quite pricey. This being the case, some people have opted to use online photo editing tools to do the job when possible.

A while back I mentioned several interesting and effective options for working with your images that can be used as an alternative to the aforementioned Photoshop. However, I just randomly came across another the other days and decided to test it out.

fotoflex

FotoFlexer

This application can be found at www.fotoflexer.com and while it isn’t free, it does offer a 30 day free trial. If you decide to continue to use it, the cost is less than $4.00 per month which seems pretty manageable compared to some of the other options out there.

Pros:

- Fairly user friendly layout.

- Allows importing images from a number of popular sites like Facebook, Picasa and Flickr for example.

- Offers quick fixes for basic problems like the redeye effect.

- Allows for various effects, the inclusion of text, animations, work with layers and more.

Cons:

- Grabbing images from other sites sometimes fails to work properly.

- Some elements are a bit simplistic.

Check it out for yourself if you like.

Guest blogging/posting

For those of us who consider ourselves creative people and also try to get the word out there about our creative ambitions, guest posting or guest blogging can be a good opportunity.

With that being said, I’m looking to both guest post for other blogs as well as feature other people’s posts on mine. If you own or run a blog and are interested in in either of these possibilities, please let me know either in the comments section or via e-mail at trcapromo@gmail.com .

What I’ll accept for this blog:

Anything arts related in any way. It must be original work and at least 250 words (unless it’s poetry or a visual submission like photography or a drawing). I’ll provide one backlink per poem or visual submission and up to two per written other form of written post.

What I can provide:

Having worked in journalism as well as the arts, I am up for providing mostly anything. However, if possible I’d like to keep the topics related to:

Poetry and writing

Photography and the visual arts

Movies and video

Music and the performing arts

Goth, emo or punk subcultures

Body modification

Graphic design

Maybe we can make this work out well for everyone!

 

Art instruction in a digital world

In an age when nearly everybody uses the Internet, and in times when arts programs in schools and all across society are being threatened by financial uncertainty, there are some new options out there to both learn about the arts and correspond with others who enjoy them as well.

And the best part is, such options are often global and can be utilized from the comfort of your own home.

One example is the website Art Safari 101.

art instruction

Do your artistic interests fall into any of the following categories?:

Drawing 

Painting

Music and other performing arts

Video and video editing

Photography and photo editing

Creative writing

If so, this might just be a good fit for you.

How to convert images to Black and White effectively in Photoshop CS5

Method 1

The fastest method, can also use the shortcut Command+Shift+U on macs, and Control+Shift+U on PC’s

Step 1

Select your layer, then navigate to Image>Mode>Grayscale

Step 2

When prompted, select the discard button. We can always use command+z to undo any steps, so don’t worry.

Method 2

Step 1

By navigating to Layer>New Adjustment Layer> Hue/Saturation you can change the image to black and white while maintaining control over values. This method is also referred to as “nondestructive” because it can be reversed at any time (as long as it’s saved as a PSD).

Step 2

With the Hue/Saturation sliders on hand, lowering saturation, hue, and lightness values can give you a customizable black and white image.

Tutorial provided by CJ, a talented Photoshop enthusiast and intern for Three Rivers Creative Arts .

Graffiti as art

Yes, graffiti can be ugly…

And no doubt there are times when it is legitimate to call it vandalism. But under the right circumstances, it can be quite beautiful and artistic.

Many who dabble in graffiti are indeed art students or hold jobs related to the arts such as careers in graphic design.

Here are a few examples of some amazing work for your viewing pleasure:

Why You Should Consider Making a Flyer For Your Next Event

Guest Post by Mike Turner

Flyers can be great promotional tools for any event. They are extremely affordable and easy to produce. They can be distributed almost anywhere. It’s a great way to put onto paper your upcoming event in a way that’s eye catching and easy for potential guests to hang onto. Using flyers is one of the best ways to advertise your event while working to a budget. If you want a lot of guests, make sure that you print out a large number for distribution. The more you get out, the more potential guests you will be able to reach.

Promotional flyers can be placed or distributed almost anywhere. Consider going to a store that sells the same interest as your event. For example, if you are promoting a concert go to a music supply store or record shop. You can place materials under the windshield wipers of cars in the parking lot, and many stores will let you place a stack of on their counter for customers to pick up if you ask them. This is a great way to reach a targeted audience that you already know shares a common interest in the event you are promoting. It also allows you to reach people you wouldn’t ordinarily have been able to.

If you’ve got some time on your hands, you can also stand on the sidewalk in front the store and hand them out to passers-by. Try not to be too pushy, and think of something clever to say when you do this. If you just shove a paper in their face, most people will just walk away without ever taking it your hand. If you take a minute to think of something funny or memorable to say as you are handing them out, they will be more likely to both take it and actually read it. Adding personality is always a good thing when you are promoting!

Another option is stapling your flyer to telephone poles, if your city allows this. Start in the area where your event will be held and then work your way out. Your event is more likely to appeal to local people who happen to see your signs and notice that it takes place close to their home. Consider dotting the neighbourhood with your flyers, and you will maximize the number of people who see them. The more people that see them, the more likely your guest list will increase.

Never place them on walls without written permission from the local authorities! This can be illegal. Just make your sure they are catchy to look at, clear and concise in what they are advertising, with a clearly written brief description of the event, time, date and location. Keep these points in mind and have the follow through to distribute them accordingly, and your flyers can be one of the best and most affordable promotional tools you’ve ever used!

About the author:

This post was written by Mike Turner, a design, home and technology enthusiast, who is currently doing online research on behalf of Vistaprint, Flyers specialists.

A few keys to creating top-notch business cards

You’re about to get your own business up and running. You’ve worked out all the basic details and have dotted all your I’s and crossed all your T’s on the necessary paperwork. You’ve handled all the setup for your office or storefront. Now you just have to finish one more simple little thing, your business card.

Although it may sound simple, like most things involved in creative graphic services, there are good ways and bad ways to design your business cards. And sometimes, even the smallest things can make all the difference.

WHAT TO DO

Use readable fonts for your text, If the font is also somewhat attractive looking, that is good as well. But readability comes first.

Simplistic in design and color is a good thing. It helps to avoid distraction from your message.

Make the text read in a logical, predicable order. The reader should be able to flow naturally from one part of the card to another.

WHAT TO AVOID

Fonts that may look interesting but can be difficult to read can be a major turnoff to potential clients/customers.

Avoid overwhelming your potential client/customer with sensory overload. The point of your message can get lost that way.

Do not make your reader’s eyes have to dart all over the place in find what they need. A more natural, left to right, top to bottom flow works best.

Tag Cloud

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 481 other followers