Knives' Homeroom

A little about me, I guess. Well allow me to introduce myself to those who don't already know me, I am Knives. You will notice that I have lost quite a few of my marbles, so forgive me if I scare you. I have been using the Program Photoshop Cs2 (And I just got Cs3! I'm just as good with it) for a total of 4 (going on 5)years, and i've been wanting a position like this for a while. I am going to be teaching you different skills in signature-making, overall design, and a few new tricks that you may have not realized you can pull off. Also, if you don't already know how to, to Download fonts from different websites as well as Brushes from my source: DeviantArt. Oh! And I almost forgot, if we dare to venture into it, I may even teach you guys how to use transparency. ;3

If you need to contact me, I have all sorts of messengers, and of course there are always PMs.

AIM: LadyKniv3s
MSN: VivaLaDarkness@hotmail.com
Yahoo: TearsOfArmegedon

+ HylianShroom
+ Ice_Dragon
+ musical zombie.
+ sugarpoultry
+ Umi
+ Nata'kar
+ Malachi Constant
+ Tacheon Black
+ Kitsuné
+ TriforceOfDeath
+ Doomender

To get started, I would like to know what type of experience you have, so I'm going to have you answer a few questions.

[ Send your questions to me with your request to be my student in a PM. ]

+ What version of Photoshop do you have?

+ How long have you been using Photoshop?

+ How familiar are you with all the different menus and tools there are? Which ones do you use most often?

A s s i g n m e n t # 1:

Create a 367 x 113 Signature with a 1 pixel border, and use this render that I cut out just for you guys. You may also use one another if you please.

Make sure to note all of your steps, because when you post your signature you are going to post the steps along with it. Also, save your image as a .PSD when you are finished, so that you may edit the changes that I suggest when I critique your piece. Have fun!

A s s i g n m e n t # 2:

This assignment is going to introduce you to brushes, and let you experiment with them. Alright. What I want you guys to do is go to DeviantArt.com, use my tutorial to help you download the brushes, and find some brushes that you like. I want you to use whatever size canvas you'd like, and go crazy. Make sure you are consistant throughout the piece, whether it's abstract or vector, and have fun! I want to see what you can come up with.

A s s i g n m e n t # 3:

Alright then! Now that i've let everyone experiment and mess around with those brushes, i'd like you to be serious this time. Create a signature within the limits of Zelda Universe (400 x 150 pixels), and use one or more of the pictures I provide below of Midna. I'd like you to incorporate the brushes more this time, make it look great my minions. >:3

[ Midna 1 ] { Midna 2 } [ Midna 3 ] { Midna 4 } [ Midna 5 ]

Have fun everyone. <3

A s s i g n m e n t # 4:

This assignment is going to be similar to the idea DSL9 introduced, an Art Worm, but it is going to be done individually by each one of you, and its going to be smaller. (I can't find an example of one so i'll be making one today when I get home from school) So I think it would be proper to call it a "Mini Art Worm." :3

So first off, create a 1050 x 215 canvas. Second. use whatever methods you'd like to blend in however many different brushes you'd like, and give it different looks in the sections you specify. It would be a good idea to split the canvas into however many sections you want first, so you know the boundaries and you can work with them. I know this may seem kind of confusing, but when I get home I will start on it immediately so that everyone can do it. If you have an idea of what I mean, by all means go ahead and begin but if you do not then wait for my example.

A s s i g n m e n t # 5 :

For this assignment, I'm going to have you guys mess around with vector brushes and stuff. MAKE SURE that when you use text you use the appropriate style! I would like you guys to work on a large canvas, and use whatever colors you'd like. I'll provide some links to vector brushes below that you can use if you don't have any idea what you're supposed to be looking for.

Tribal Grass Brush Set

Buildings Brush Set

Vector Grunge Brush Set

Rising Sun Brush Set

Random Vector Brush Set

YAYAYAYAYAY

first postssssss, and first student.......i think.

BRB, makin assignment sig.

Congrats on becoming a Graphics teacher! You are awesome! *is thinking about becoming a student* I totally would, but I don't know if I have time?

Thank you. :]

And you should if you have time.

**** YES!

*cough* I'ma become a student of you if thats okay, you're just so pwn. ^_^

Oh, and White text + White theme = unreadable

I'm on PS CS2 and I've been using it for about 2 years now. Before that I used PSP7 and Paint. Go me ^_^. I like using the gradiant tool, pentool, and I smudge becuase I don't often know how to beild up a good background. (Blerghhhhh!)

I see. Well, that's nice. And welcome. :3

Also, I don't think you noticed but to reduce bulk I put it in the directions to send your application to me by PM. Silly.

HAR HAR I AM QUICK

assignment sig:

step 1: gradient (using colours from render)



step 2: black layer with white pentool and soft brush



step 3: set that layer to soft light and fiddled settings



step 4: messed with hue/saturation to get a more dark, saturated colour, also more yellow-green.



step 5: added render (feathered by 3 px), and lighting in white with soft brush. Also a yellow brush over that set to soft light and reduced opacity.



step 6: added photo filters (cooling in bottom left, warming and yellow in top right over render). Also added black gradient to darken bottom left half. ALso a wave filter and ocean ripple filter layer, set to soft light (?)



step 7: made some text (made of three text pieces, copied and placed in different places at different sizes). Merged text layers, set to overlay at about 45% opacity, gaussian blurred. erased over render.



final product: added copied layers of the text and erased to create layered feel, darkened bottom left again, blur layer to blur bg, sharpen layer to sharpen render, 1px black border.



DONE

EDIT: i may have missed some brightness/contrast layers etc. sorries

^Wow... I don't think I can do that...

Alright Shroom. (No worries about the missed layers)

Overall it looks great, but I notice that mostly what you use is either filter effects or the pen tool in most of your work. I would like you to try and browse DeviantArt for some brushes that you think would fit. If not that, then find another render and mold it in. I say this because the left of the signature looks empty, like there could be something added.

I'll show you how I used that render, and another I stumbled upon.

This whole assignment was inspired by that Link signature contest, as well as the entry I made for it. So here was what I came up with:

I used a variety of brushes that I overlayed and sharpened the vector image of Link. I also changed the color of Link's eyes using the magic wand and the adjustment tools, but I should have made the saturation less. And I also used brushes for the transparent border.

WAAAAH?! We have to post steps too? Damn that white text. Right, prepare for this to be a damn long post, I fiddled with this so much, I'll do my best to be accurate, but I'm probably going to miss some bits. I'm such a bad boy.

Step 1 : - Gradiant using colours from the render


Step 2 : - Adding render and depth.


Step 3 : - Using a brush strokes filter to add texture to the gradient.


Step 4 : - Added a C4D, Colour Dodge, 26% Opac. and Glowing edges...


Step 5 : - Adding more interest to the background using the Ocean Ripple Filter,
Soft light.


Step 6 : - Added some brushing, and played with filters until it got an effect I "liked."


Step 7 : - Gradient Map


Step 8 : - Gaussian Blurred the BG to soften it. Added C4D, Lighten 53% Opac.


Step 9 / Final Product : - Added final black border, and pen tool and text.


----------------------

Hooooooorahhhhh! Finally wrote all that up. Photobucket decided to break at about step 5, so I had to switch to Imageshack.

Damn you Shroom, making me look bad with your superior skillz! ^_^;

Originally Posted by Lady Knives

[INDENT][SIZE="1"]Alright Shroom. (No worries about the missed layers)

Overall it looks great, but I notice that mostly what you use is either filter effects or the pen tool in most of your work. I would like you to try and browse DeviantArt for some brushes that you think would fit. If not that, then find another render and mold it in. I say this because the left of the signature looks empty, like there could be something added.

hmm...yeah, im not all that great at brushing. Can you reccomend some brushed form deviantart so i dont have to trawl through?

;___;

that is too good.

I used a variety of brushes that I overlayed and sharpened the vector image of Link. I also changed the color of Link's eyes using the magic wand and the adjustment tools, but I should have made the saturation less. And I also used brushes for the transparent border.

hmm, yeah, im just getting into trying some colour adjusting and stuffs, will have to try that.

You must have done more than that though....the BG? how u do dat?

EDIT: wait...was the Bg the brushing? im no good at brush backgrounds...

Alright, Icy. Time to obliterate some habits. >:3

So I notice (and yes you did mention) that you use the blur tool an awful lot. I'm going to help you break this habit, and help you develop a sturdy, balanced background that blends well with the render.

You add a render into a signature to draw attention to that place, correct?

Well, unless you want to accentuate certain features (as you did with the eyes) on a render, you would not want to blur it further, but sharpen it instead.

I also noticed that you like to use filter effects, just as HylianShroom does. I'd like to let you know that you can fill in that extra space with either another render, or a variety of brushes (not the ones that come with photoshop). I really don't know where you pulled that little blue brushing from, or where the color yellow came in. When you're finding other colors to use in a signature besides the ones that you can sample from the render with the eyedrop tool, black and white are always good choices.

[ I can tell that i'm going to have to do a tutorial on Downloading brushes from DeviantArt. ]

And Shroom, the point is to find what is visually appealing to you. When I started downloading brushes, I didn't have anyone to suggest brushes to use, so set off on your own. I'll get you to the point where you need to be, but other than that I want you to use your own artistic sense to find the ones you think would work.

Also, on the piece I created, the wolf render is the vanilla colored background you see. I added brushes and overlayed a variety of them to get the effect that I got.

Holy mother of tutorials, i'm double posting in my thread.

Here is the tutorial I made, JUST for you guys.

:]

I could have just found one somewhere on DA, but I made one, just because I love you so much. <3

OH HAI

I'd like to become a student of some sort; I need to learn to use brushes to some extent, don't I? ;]

Yes, darling. But answer those little questions in my first post and send them to me either on msn or in a PM, just so I know some stuff about the way you work.

'Tis done, Milady. I will get to work on the first assignment.

Alrighty! Sounds good. :3

Make sure to look at that tutorial I made for downloading the brushes, but after you've done your first assignment so I can see this little sample.

>:3

Ok, I am officially your student now! Be patient with me, I don't have time like MZ and Shroom to whip these up quick as they did, but I'll attempt at this first assignment. I'll have it in by tomorrow mmk? I look forward to working with you!!! Thanks much! ^_^

Flarg.




I'm too lazy to make cool little image posts like they did, so I'll just list mah steps.

1. Picked a colour from the render; went to colours palette, and made it ALMOST black with that colour.
2. Filled bg.
3. Duplicated render 8 times.
4. Smudged first render a bit, set to 25% opacity.
5. Smudged the SECOND render a bit more, in a flowing direction, and set to colour dodge.
6. Smudged third render, set to colour dodge again.
7. Smudged fourth render, set to screen on a low opacity.
8. Smudged fifth render, placed to the left, set to colour dodge.
9. Repeated steps 6-8 'till I got something I liked.
10. Left last render untouched.
11. Did an angled strokes filter going \ that way, set to soft light, erased over render.
12. Did a Displace filter with some random PSD, set to lighten, erased over render.
13. Three gradient maps: black and white, set to multiply, orange to violet, set to soft light, and cyan to yellow to pink, set to soft light at 15% opacity.
14. Added a C4D flowing \ that way, set to colour dodge.
15. Added another C4D but set to soft light at 35%.
16. Gaussian blurred the bg at 1.0; erased over render.
17. Added some splatter-brush clipping masks at the base of the render.
18. Pentooled three lines, and made them clipping masks.
19. New layer, apply image, sharpened, and erased everything except the render.
20. New layer, apply image, used the dodge tool to lighten some stuff up.
21. Added a nice yellow lightsource.
22. Added two stylistic squares to the top left corner of the signature, in matching colours.
23. Added text.

WOOT

mz. me no likey.

i like the lines under the text(s) (clipping mask?)

but overll this is a step back for you. The steps are reminiscent of your Halo tut (which was awesome, but SO long ago)

I see the trademark clipping mask splatter brush, too :/

but then again, wow, im ion the same tutor as mz. !!!!!!!! badass.