Since it's been awhile since a segment of this series was posted, make sure to check out the introductory post for a refresher on what this series is, as well as the first segment of the series!
Today we'll be covering the basics of epic graphic making. The whole graphic making thing may seem super complicated and hard at first, but it's actually really easy!
Ready to start learning?
Okay, let's get started! :D
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Materials:
You'll want to open up some programs recommended in the first installment of this series to help you create your graphic. I recommend Pixlr.
Also, you'll want to open up the How to Make Graphics presentation I whipped up awhile ago, as I'll be referring to some things in there.
Also, you'll want to open up the How to Make Graphics presentation I whipped up awhile ago, as I'll be referring to some things in there.
Tips:
- When using the brush/eraser tool in Pixlr or Photoshop (more about this on slide 9 and 11 in the presentation) make sure to use a smaller brush and/or zoom in to erase particularly small areas. Otherwise, your graphics will just look messy.
- Always save your transparent (and even non-transparent, for that matter) graphics in PNG format. This ensures that the background is still transparent, and that the image is higher quality.
- Try to take pictures for your graphics on solid backgrounds, like the ones below (the water/sky in most of the newer dens, grass, as well as the spawning area in Kimbara Outback are both great places for graphics):
- Always make sure to crop your graphic as tightly around the actual subject as possible. Although extra space around your graphic's subject may just look like an invisible area, it is actually just transparent space that is still part of the image. Having extra fluff, or padding around your graphic will make it harder for you and other people to use it effectively in edits.
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You'll see the rest of this series coming up in the next few weeks. But here's the schedule again real quick so that you can see what other goodness is coming up:
Day 2: Basics of Graphic-Making (that's this post!)
Day 3: Using the Instant Alpha Tool on a Mac to Get Transparent Graphics
Day 4: Using Pixlr to Create Transparent Graphics
Day 5: Using Photoshop to Create Transparent Graphics
Day 6: Creating Colored Background Graphics
Day 7: Using Filters to Change Colors of Graphics
Day 8: Creating Graphic Manipulations/Posters/Thumbnails etc.
Day 9: Creating Sidebar Images
Day 10: Creating Signatures
Day 11: Creating Blog Headers
Day 12: Creating 'Grab My Button' Codes
Day 13: Picking Color Schemes
Day 14: Creating Gradient Text in Photoshop
Day 15: Using Clipping Masks in Photoshop
Day 16: Selecting the Perfect Graphic-Making Images/Locations
Day 17: Creating Graphics of Animals
Day 18: Creating Graphics of Objects/Animals With Busy Backgrounds
Day 19: My Favorite Fonts to Use When Photo-Editing
Day 20: Ways to Use Graphics
Hope that makes you excited! :D
-Panda
Make sure to keep on viewing the blog so that we can reach our goal of 100,000 views by the end of March! I know we can do it!
Wow, cool!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see the "how to make Grab-My-Button codes" and "creating signatures!"
ReplyDeleteSnappa's drag-and-drop editor, it’s quick and easy to create your own graphics for blog posts, social media profiles and ads. The tool provides access to more than half a million free stock photos, 70,000+ vectors and shapes, and 200+ fonts. It's free to download up to 5 files per month, or $10 a month for unlimited downloads.
ReplyDelete