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Some Graphics I Have Made [TaylorGraphics]
- Thread starter iMacBoy
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Brutally honest here if only to get you to think outside the box:
#1 - zero
you did nothing new, in fact, this looks like any typical stock vector...just with apple in the middle. seriously...its a bunch of rays and a gradient shadow
#2 - zero
this looks like it was made in 1999. the font is horrendous. the white outline and gradient lighting effects are useless
#3 - zero
looks like PowerPoint word art. the embossing of your text...seriously?!
#1 - zero
you did nothing new, in fact, this looks like any typical stock vector...just with apple in the middle. seriously...its a bunch of rays and a gradient shadow
#2 - zero
this looks like it was made in 1999. the font is horrendous. the white outline and gradient lighting effects are useless
#3 - zero
looks like PowerPoint word art. the embossing of your text...seriously?!
Someone not open to criticism is doomed.
Id comment further, but you are beyond hope from your DOUBLE replies.
EDIT: lawls, seems the OP edited both his posts which were basically the opposite of what they say now "Thank you."
use your imagination folks.
Id comment further, but you are beyond hope from your DOUBLE replies.
EDIT: lawls, seems the OP edited both his posts which were basically the opposite of what they say now "Thank you."
use your imagination folks.
Really not trying to be rude here... have you just recently discovered Photoshop? You are making the same mistakes almost every body makes when they first start using photoshop... they use every filter and effect and style available thinking it looks cool. Now go look at professionally done graphics, once's in magazine ads and billboards, and commercials, and web sites, etc... etc... and study them. You'll see that professionals don't "bevel and emboss" type like that.
you're also making the over-done mistake of thinking being a designer is easy.
-je
you're also making the over-done mistake of thinking being a designer is easy.
-je
I Get what your saying, and your right but i didn't say these where meant for anything, there were just experiments when i was bored.
Thanks anyway
*cough*
Now, to be fair we do not know how old you are.
As JasonElise1983 pointed out many people starting out (not everyone) run riot with Photoshop filters etc.
Before you get "creative" learn by looking. Look at magazines, Design industry journals…
Try and re-create them. You will learn a hell of a lot by re-building even the simplest ones.
Start with some paper and pen/pencil.
Pay attention to the subtle things like proportion and white space.
At the end of the day software is your tool to express your creative design. You do not design by running through the list of available filters.
Less is more.
Discipline.
Practice those scales and then some.
*cough*
Now, to be fair we do not know how old you are.
As JasonElise1983 pointed out many people starting out (not everyone) run riot with Photoshop filters etc.
Before you get "creative" learn by looking. Look at magazines, Design industry journals
Try and re-create them. You will learn a hell of a lot by re-building even the simplest ones.
Start with some paper and pen/pencil.
Pay attention to the subtle things like proportion and white space.
At the end of the day software is your tool to express your creative design. You do not design by running through the list of available filters.
Less is more.
Discipline.
Practice those scales and then some.
You seem to be the only one with a brain here, thanks for your advice and where i said i am hoping to create a site soon, i meant when i'm older i'm only 13.
You dont seem to have a grasp of what a critique is.
I said nothing out of line or personal about you, just the work.
Id say grow up, but you did that for me.
I think you would have saved yourself a lot of grief by mentioning your age in the first post. I hope you aren't discouraged by the brutally honest feedback you got here. Believe it or not, it's very useful. Professional designers seldom hold back when critiquing work - usually because they get the same treatment from others every day.
One of the first lessons in becoming a designer is "Don't take it personal."
One of the first lessons in becoming a designer is "Don't take it personal."
Not bad for a 13 year old. Keep going, but spend a bit more time looking at successful design and ask yourself why you like it. What makes it effective? Print it out and trace over it to isolate the elements. Is there an underlying grid structure?
Be careful of making stuff that is trendy or because you think it looks cool. Before you start any design, ask yourself "what am I trying to say". Design is all about communication so you need to make sure you understand the language of design. Shape, color, positive/negative space and typography all have an influence on that message.
Take a couple of your designs and play with different color palettes. Notice how it changes the message? Do the same with the type.
Try doing some designs without color or gradients. Just black and white. Are they strong enough to support your message?
Finally, you should state who you are and what your goals are when asking for a crit from others. Then don't take it personal when you get responses. Even with bad crit, there are gems of information you can use to improve.
Consider taking classes in art, design and history. Drawing and painting helps.
Good luck, and keep going.
Be careful of making stuff that is trendy or because you think it looks cool. Before you start any design, ask yourself "what am I trying to say". Design is all about communication so you need to make sure you understand the language of design. Shape, color, positive/negative space and typography all have an influence on that message.
Take a couple of your designs and play with different color palettes. Notice how it changes the message? Do the same with the type.
Try doing some designs without color or gradients. Just black and white. Are they strong enough to support your message?
Finally, you should state who you are and what your goals are when asking for a crit from others. Then don't take it personal when you get responses. Even with bad crit, there are gems of information you can use to improve.
Consider taking classes in art, design and history. Drawing and painting helps.
Good luck, and keep going.
Don't shoot down the kid's aspirations, it seems rather harsh....
The BEST advice I can give you is that design is more than just knowing software and FX. IMHO a good designer is make up of 3 core aspects these being a mix of EXPERIENCE, TALENT and LEARNED SKILL. I can see you have one of those aspects along with passions (which is a good thing) but you really need to harness the rest, learn about design not just the software.
I also would recommend learning the craft before you try make money with it, over 10 years experience in creative has taught me if you don't have the competency the industry WILL leave a very bitter taste for you. Don't give yourself the grief, wait and learn.
But with that said I would recommend you take a look at Smashing Magazine it's a great resource for design.
The BEST advice I can give you is that design is more than just knowing software and FX. IMHO a good designer is make up of 3 core aspects these being a mix of EXPERIENCE, TALENT and LEARNED SKILL. I can see you have one of those aspects along with passions (which is a good thing) but you really need to harness the rest, learn about design not just the software.
I also would recommend learning the craft before you try make money with it, over 10 years experience in creative has taught me if you don't have the competency the industry WILL leave a very bitter taste for you. Don't give yourself the grief, wait and learn.
But with that said I would recommend you take a look at Smashing Magazine it's a great resource for design.
Taylor - one lesson I learnt when I was about your age (a long, long time ago - pre computers) has stuck with me.
We were asked to design new graphics for an air sea rescue helicopter (but not to follow anything existing) for an art exam. Being the best art guy in the group (and a lover of model kits and having an extensive library of book about helicopters etc ect) I spent days drawing a a helicopter. I then redesigned a squadron badge following lots of research on what they looked liked. Mine was a hand reaching into the sea with an eagle etc etc... It was a thing of great beauty and craft. Wow - was I going to walk that exam...
But I failed. People who'd spent an hour or so with a splash of coloured paint passed. When I'd (eventually) calmed down about it (about 2 months later) I began to realise that the teacher was right. I shouldn't have passed. Had the brief been - copy and adapt slightly an existing design and extra marks will be awarded for demonstrating artistic craft skills - then I should have got an A+++!
But it was a design project. I'd shown no design thinking at all. In fact my artistic ability had handicapped my ability to be a 'designer'. Other people without any art skills had been forced to 'think' about the problem and came up with better solutions. I've never forgotten that lesson.
You've demonstrated great computer 'craft' skills - carry on with that (they're essential these days) but as the others have suggested here - design skills (which are about thinking really) take time and are painful to develop. Keep plugging away and keep asking for help - you'll get there. You've got years to do it in.
We were asked to design new graphics for an air sea rescue helicopter (but not to follow anything existing) for an art exam. Being the best art guy in the group (and a lover of model kits and having an extensive library of book about helicopters etc ect) I spent days drawing a a helicopter. I then redesigned a squadron badge following lots of research on what they looked liked. Mine was a hand reaching into the sea with an eagle etc etc... It was a thing of great beauty and craft. Wow - was I going to walk that exam...
But I failed. People who'd spent an hour or so with a splash of coloured paint passed. When I'd (eventually) calmed down about it (about 2 months later) I began to realise that the teacher was right. I shouldn't have passed. Had the brief been - copy and adapt slightly an existing design and extra marks will be awarded for demonstrating artistic craft skills - then I should have got an A+++!
But it was a design project. I'd shown no design thinking at all. In fact my artistic ability had handicapped my ability to be a 'designer'. Other people without any art skills had been forced to 'think' about the problem and came up with better solutions. I've never forgotten that lesson.
You've demonstrated great computer 'craft' skills - carry on with that (they're essential these days) but as the others have suggested here - design skills (which are about thinking really) take time and are painful to develop. Keep plugging away and keep asking for help - you'll get there. You've got years to do it in.
Thus the difference between art and design
A hard lesson to learn, it's about applying graphics to a context for the best possible solution. All good designers learn it (I did and it ended up with an Art Director throwing a laptop through a window).