[cbrfanatic]

give me your opinions on my 5 minute limit photoshop quickies...


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[cbrfanatic]

im new to photoshop fwiw

[cla]

Well, practise, practise, practise... =)

The more design you do, the more you're going to avoid type with bevel effects, drop shadows and textures. Surely there are context where these kind of effects do their job, but I wouldn't say this is one of them :>

[cbrfanatic]

how would you have done it if you dont mind me asking?

[BlueSky]

If you're going to use Photoshop's layer effects, make the bevel small for the text, maybe a size 1 or 2. Don't use white for the highlight color. Make the color a light version of the color of the text and set it to screen or color dodge (reduce opacity so it doesn't look like neon).

Same with the shadow, though not as crucial...rather than black, a darker shade of the text color set to multiply.

Don't soften the bevel too much, if at all...or it will end up looking like a Photoshop layer effect.

[art_director]

Originally Posted by cbrfanatic

how would you have done it if you dont mind me asking?

I'm not going to put words in cla's mouth but I can guess where he / she is coming from.

a. Beveled type is generally hard to read.
b. Bevels are a gimick often employed by people who are new to dabbling in design.

My impression is that you're new to design and Photoshop. I say this because of the samples you posted. There's nothing wrong with that, we all start somewhere.

Moving forward I suggest that you remember that the ability to design and the ability to use an application (ie. Photoshop) are not the same thing. Applications are tools and do not make you a designer. They simply allow you to do things with your design.

IOW, anyone can slap paint around with a brush. Not everyone can paint like Pablo Picasso or Vincent VanGogh.

[cbrfanatic]

thanks for the tips, and yes im new to design, fresh out of highschool.

[art_director]

Are you looking to persue a career in design or just doing it for fun?

[cbrfanatic]

its for fun, although i had a hand in designing the flyers for Hondas biggest sponsor Repsol at the US grand prix in Laguna Seca this year, so i dont know, ive had a few good doors open already.

[iREZ]

i dont find this any better than shirts that read 'my other shirt is a versace' or 'where did i go?' (while printed on a camouflage shirt). this really isnt 'design' is it?

id worry more bout design aspects than technical aspects with the above...whatever it is.

sorry for coming across like a pompous ass, but its only one dorks opinion.

[scauntay]

that stuff would have worked out in illustrator pretty well too. to get better at photoshop you should try for example taking people out of one picture and put them in another. or erase peoples arms and legs. stuff like that. thats a fun way to practice too. like this, FilmWise. i did something like this but it was a few second video. very tricky but fun.

[cbrfanatic]

thats pretty awsome! what software do you use to do that?