Graphic Designers of NT, Come Hither.

[stunthard]

I would like to know if you would be interested in a design competition, where everyone submits a design based on a theme or a quote "The World is Yours", for example, and the design voted as best will receive a reward of some sort, maybe a stretched canvas print of your design or something.

I'm starting to realize that all marked improvement comes through competition. We wouldn't have ventured to the moon when we did if it weren't for Russia. It makes us improve, as well as learn new things from our competitors.

The reason I didn't post this on another forum is because I know there's some talented designers on here (paging 206), and I wanna see what would happen if we did something just for fun that could potentially be very awesome.

On the other hand, this is NT, so it could go terribly.

Discuss.

 

[Fong$tarr]

I wouldn’t mind participating but me being a realist, I know I am hardly going to contribute because of a) I am horrible with deadlines, b) I design at a turtles pace and c) my creativity comes in spurts. I am interested in knowing who else would want to do this. I always like seeing inspiration and the best thing that can come out of this is friendly criticism on our work. I say friendly as if it could be that easy but I know everyone is a critic and will bash the holy h3ll out of things.

Didn’t we have some official graphic design thread? Wish we could constantly contribute in that one but they always fail on NT.


Off topic, I made this for my blog the other week. Kind of happy with it even though it will only be used for digital use and nothing more.

And working on this graphic right now....

 

[natelav129]

real talk, im down.

 

[stunthard]

this is a personal project i started working on the other day, which is based on a bunch of doodles i did while i should have been paying attention in class.

I would like to add a worthy incentive to this so more designers would be willing to contribute.

Gift cards? NT clothing? Just throwing out ideas here, seeing if they'll stick...

 

[iheartboost]

Ive never used Illustrator before, just Photoshop

 

[Fong$tarr]

StuntHard....sick man. Is that CS5? I am still using CS2 believe it or not. I am usually partial to upgrading all my programs but I feel like I really don't have to for some reason. I guess what I won't know won't hurt me but I am wondering if I am doing things the hard way.


Just some inspiration. One of my favorite designers are 123 Klan from Europe. They are a graff couple that turned designers and did work for Nike, Johnny Cupcakes and even Fubu.

I love these designs and sketches and this was done years ago.

www.123klan.com/

 

[hypebeast mcstreetwear]

I'm more of a Photoshop guy, but like Fontstarr said my creativity comes in spurts.

Sidenote: I REALLY gotta learn Illustrator. Is it that much different than Photoshop?

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^^Illustrator is different in the sense you are working with vectors rather then pixels but as far as the process, it can be the same in a way. Illustrator is all plot points and moving anchors here and there. Thankfully the process of Illustrator hasn't changed a whole lot like Photoshop has. It's usually just sketch > scan > trace > fix anchors until it looks the way you want it. I would suggest just playing with it but don't expect a fast production value like photoshop has. For me, it takes hours just to achieve a simple graphic and I honestly don't even know why but I am kind of neurotic about my stuff which doesn’t help.


Here's another designer that I have been into an where my flame thing kind of came from. His name is Mel Marcelo and I believe this is all Illustrator. You kind of appreciate this stuff more when you realize how damn hard and long this must have taken him.

 

[ins]

I do more print stuff. Not so much branding and Identity.
Peep game... will post examples later

 

[feelmode]

Fong, I thought I was the only dude on the planet that still uses cs2

Even have cs5 on my partners computer but I still just use cs2. Good to here there is someone else out there in my shoes.

Also have always enjoyed 123klans stuff as well...

Ill keep my eyes on this thread, cant contribute at the moment cuz im on my phone tho.

not to thread jack but if enough people are into it maybe I could help with some incentives too.

 

[elpablo21]

I'm fairly new to illustrator and the stuff I have is pretty basic so I'll be watching from the sidelines

Those Marchelo pieces are

though

 

[stunthard]

^^
I'm on CS4, but in my opinion it really doesn't matter, if you know what you're doing, any version will suffice. I think the only thing that has changed is the live trace features and better brush manipulation, which I seldom use. I still sketch out everything and then trace with the pen tool, which is only 150-200 dollars worth of illustrator.

 

[josebronx]

so op wants us to do work for him for a stretch canvas print???

 

[dimez81]

I might be down. I do this as a full time thing so timing might be a problem.

 

[Sir San Diego]

Hmmm...

I may throw down for some fame. Prizes would be nice too!

 

[stunthard]

Originally Posted by JoseBronx

so op wants us to do work for him for a stretch canvas print???

Lol that's another thing, everybody keeps the intellectual rights to their work (as Far as things posted on a message board are concerned), I don't want any profit off this. I'm even willing to come out of pocket to bring this into fruition, so the entry fee will remain free.

I stick to a particular way of doing things for my work, and have come too far with that to want to bite someone else's steez.

Interesting point, though.

Would a 4-6 weeks be a realistic timeframe? Longer if necessary, I know we're all busy.

 

[Fong$tarr]

Originally Posted by FeelMode

Fong, I thought I was the only dude on the planet that still uses cs2

I actually had CS3 but that was when Adobe started getting strict with their registration codes and I think my comp is banned from installing it unless it is a legit copy. The only thing that I really miss is the panoramic stitch in Photoshop. CS2 has like an old ghetto version that can never align photos correctly.

Originally Posted by Elpablo21

Those Marcelo pieces are

though

For real man. What is even more crazy is the guy has no legit website either. I think the guy is Filipino or something.





Some other designers/firms that I bookmarked recently. I think these guys are from London:

http://ilovedust.com/ild


And this is a letter press company that does tons of stuff. Super cool and clean designs and their prints are the best I have seen:

http://www.beastpieces.com

And if you don't know, a letter press looks like this:

 

[hypebeast mcstreetwear]

Yea I figured Fong.

I'm trying to get a functioning copy of Illustrator. The Demo from Adobe was like 16gb so I gotta free up space first

 

[solesavage]

Off topic - Fongstarr - what are some good tutorials for learning how to get a sketch design transfered into illustrator and the process of getting it vectorized? Similar to your first sketch?

I have been messing with this for a while and learning the pen tool. Im getting better the more I get into it.

 

[trynafeelmink]

Originally Posted by solesavage

Off topic - Fongstarr - what are some good tutorials for learning how to get a sketch design transfered into illustrator and the process of getting it vectorized? Similar to your first sketch?

I have been messing with this for a while and learning the pen tool. Im getting better the more I get into it.

I have a very similar question but instead of starting off with an actual sketch im starting with digi cam pics... I have shot some interesting concepts that i want to incorporate on T-shirts but im lost on how to actually get it done

 

[bp the owner]

this could be a really nice thread. I won't be able to participate much, but I'll definitely be checking in.

 

[Fong$tarr]

I swear.....why is there even schools for this no when you have Youtube:

This seems like a pretty basic video on just understanding how to use the pen tool and showing how much of a pain it can be just to trace things:



And to give you just an insight of how Illustrator kind of works, check out this video below. Notice it is alll about layers with vector objects. Just remember to work from the ground up....kind of like with graffiti. The fill and color should be at the bottom and the outline should be at top:



Also people that are into illustrations should invest in getting a tablet. I have never used one personally but from this video, it makes life a lot easier:




Think of Illustrator as just a drawing tool. It shouldn't be any different then the it is to draw something with a pen, paper and some markers. Just think in that literal sense and Illustrator should be no problem. Plus I am kind of bad explaing design things on the web and it's probably just easier for your guys to watch a video.

 

[mitchellicious]

This thread is relevant to my interests. I start studying Graphic Design next year, I've wanted to be one since I was 15.

 

[elpablo21]

I got a small tablet (Bamboo) but I never use it. I'm so used to using a mouse

 

[calypso chanta]

wordd checking in. Double major in illustration and graphic design. I grad next fall. Will post more when i get back to the crib. #VCU