Friday, June 17, 2011

FINAL COMPLETE WITH TUTORIAL


...week #5 project is finally done.  Before creating my final design I found some high res ice cream scoops and paper texture art to use within the project.  The first techniques I used were to create the translucent text in the scoop of strawberry ice cream.  The first thing you do to create this technique is type whatever text you want to use in Illustrator, taking care to select a fairly bold typeface style.  Once you type the text, select it and go to Type>Create Outline.  Then select grayscale on the color swatch palate and choose 50% grayscale.  Choose Effect>Warp>then whichever effect you like best to 'warp' the text to the desired shape or style.  Choose Object>Expand Appearance.  To give the text more dimension choose Effect>3D>Extrude and Bevel and from this menu choose several options such as Classic Bevel, Plastic Shading, Preserve Spot Colors, set the Ambient Light at approximately 17% and rotate the Custom Rotation as desired.  You may have to play around with these features and the highlights in this effects area to get the look and feel you need before the next few steps.

Once you've set the text as you like, copy and paste it into a new document in photoshop.  In this case I wanted to use the text as a transparent 'icy' layer on top of the strawberry ice cream scoop, so I first created at least 3 layers of my ice cream scoop to work with.  Next, I selected the text layer and chose the Filter menu>Artistic>Plastic Wrap style, then from the Plastic Wrap menu I chose a high Highlight Strength and Smoothness effect and low Detail effect.  I then made 3 layers of my text using different blend tools.  I found the most effective blend tools to be Overlay, Screen and Color Burn.  These three blends combined made for a very nice translucent effect.  
Once I completed these blends I turned off each layer except for the first layer with no blend effects but plastic wrap filter effect.  I used this layer to create each of my three beveled mask layers.  First I selected with the magic wand tool the top or flat 'high light' area layer of my text, taking special care to include only the highlighted areas of the text.  Then I selected one of the layers of the ice cream scoop and clicked on the mask tool to create the top translucent area of the text image.  Once turning on this new layer and deselecting the first text layer you can now see the translucent effect just created.  I repeated this technique with the two other ice cream scoop layers selecting, one at a time, the side beveled areas of the text and then lastly the shadowed or back areas of the text.  I turned off the first text layer and turned on each of the ice cream layers to see the effects created by this technique.  I grouped each ice cream layer into one folder before turning on the blend effect layers:  Overlay, Screen and Color Burn.  Once each layer was turned on, the translucent effect appears and I then made sure all layers were on top of the first ice cream scoop to appear as if it were actually part of the ice cream itself.
The next steps were to create any vector art necessary for the piece in Illustrator.  I created the circle shapes, triangle shapes, ice cream drips, box areas, half-circle and mouth image all as basic vector images and coloring each.  All the images were left flat except for the ice cream drips which I took individually into photoshop, rotating them as necessary and using a Plastic Wrap Filter effect on them as well.


Once I had created each piece in Illustrator I took them individually into Photoshop and arranged them as desired on top of a high resolution paper texture background image that I first changed the color to.

To change the color of my background texture image I selected Image>Adjustment>Hue & Saturation to select the desired background color; I chose a soft pinkish red tone to match the images I had created in Illustrator.  Once this layer was complete I created two more layers of the exact same image to use later.  But first with the background image I selected Edit>Free Transform to enlarge the image to bleed off of the page.  Then I selected the second background paper texture image layer and followed the same procedure only to enlarge the size enough to reach the outer parameters of the overall images.  Finally I selected the final background paper texture background image, followed the same enlargement procedures and enlarged it only within 1/4" of the second layer background.  Using this background layer I moved it to the top of all the images except for the ice cream scoops and the ice cream drips.  This technique gave it a slightly 'dirty' or grunge effect, adding depth and warmth to the piece.  I added each ice cream scoop to the top of each ice cream cone and then brought in each ice cream drip, plastic wrap filter texture already in place, into the the piece and positioned where I wanted them.

Once this was completed I also brought in another ice cream drip layer that I had created in Illustrator adding not only the Plastic Wrap Filter effect but also a warped text of the words 'Real Cream.'  I experimented with several background colors and effects with this project but in the end felt the reddish-pink background was the strongest and most appealing to the look and feel of the 'Eat Ice Cream' Ad.  Other effective alternatives would be either the 'chocolate' or 'vanilla' backgrounds. Anything to say 'icy cold and refreshing ice cream.'  I've learned a lot of very useful and effective techniques in this class and would enjoy taking it again sometime.  Each technique I've experimented with and used in my projects will be very useful in the future and I look forward to experimenting with ones I did not have to time to play with as well.  I've enjoyed this class a lot and have found it to be most useful!  And absolutely loved, loved, loved taking this class online, too!  Thank you.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

OK I know, I just need to STOP...but here's a version I think I like best

...what do you think?

Some Different Versions of the 'Eat Ice Cream' Ad...

Here are several other background options for the ice cream ad.  Some make the ice cream more appetizing, more mouth watering and make you want to reach right in and grab one.  I tried to make some of the backgrounds mimic the colors of the ice creams in hopes to make the ad more appetizing but let me know if you think that works or not....I realize some probably don't work so much.  Maybe not as appealing.  I know my favorites, now let me know what you think works the best.  What makes your mouth water the most of these ads?  I've completed the week #5 final project now and am ready to do the tutorial.  That's next on my agenda for today.






Week #5 Project FINAL 'Eat Ice Cream Ad' Complete...Ready for Tutorial

This is my final project for week #5.  I've used several techniques I've learned to create the piece which was inspired from several pieces I've studied throughout this class.  I'm ready to write my tutorial for this final piece but will need to start that fresh tomorrow morning when I've had time to think about it some more and try to recall all the steps it took to get to this end result.


My original piece above and inspiration pieces below.



Tuesday, June 14, 2011

WEEK #4 COKE PROJECT COMPLETE, FINAL PROJECT & TUTORIAL PLAN Idea

I think I will take a break from the 'Coke' elements and techniques and go back to some other projects I had considered working on.  Here are some inspiration pieces I will choose from for my own original piece.  I already have some ideas from a previous project I did, which is at the very bottom of these images.





Week #4 Coke Bottle Project Complete!

I'm pretty sure I could keep working on this project FOREVER......

....some things just seem to keep on going, and this is one of them.  I still feel like a lot of the images are too flat and I'm sure that's just because I'm still not confident in what I'm doing, but I've learned a lot of techniques, in this project in particular!  I've incorporated several of them here, my favorite being the transparent text from last weeks project.  I think there's a lot that you can do with that technique.  The bottle image still needs a lot of work in photoshop.  The vector drawings in illustrator weren't so bad once I figured them out from the blackboard recording, but once I got into photoshop it was a whole other story.  Giving the bottle dimension isn't as easy as it looks.  And I know I have a long way to go on that.  The digital smoke can be re-worked as well to get all the right effects and I'm sure I fell a little flat in some areas, but over all I think the coke project turned out fairly well!  I just had to make myself quit so I could move on to the next and final project of this class.  I will consider this an on-going project and keep working on the elements I've been struggling with, though.  Trying to perfect them as best I can, like the condensation dripping down the sides.  I never got that part and it's going to take some practice much like the ice and dry ice, I'm sure.  I will also continue to try and re-work the bottle in photoshop to make it look more 3-dimensional, more realistic.  Once those elements are fine-tuned, as well as the digital smoke....now that I look back at the final project, it looks more like tree branches then dry ice....I think this could become a strong piece.  Any input would be appreciated!


My original piece above and below are my inspiration pieces for the project.




Forgot my logo and cap...

Ready for Photoshop Effects...

...had a little trouble with some of my vector art but I think I've got it to where I want it now, as much as I can anyway; I know it's far from perfect.  So now I'm ready to take it into Photoshop and give it some effects there as well.  I will add the Coca-Cola logo which I've already created in Illustrator as well as digital smoke I've already created in Photoshop and then add some ice and other effects before finishing it off with a 'refreshing' text layer.  Ran into some problems yesterday trying to get this done...but today's the day to finish.  Then on to my next and final project which I'm already thinking about, just want to complete this one first.  I'll post all as quickly as I can.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Finalizing my Coke Bottle Project Today...

....WiFi wasn't fast enough where we were camping this weekend for me to watch my blackboard recording so I'm just now really watching it to finish my coke bottle project.  I will post updates ever so often to let you see how I am progressing on it and I should have this completed by tonight.  Sorry it's late.  Got in too late to start on it again last night.  Thanks for the recording.  This will help a lot I'm sure.

....cont'd 12:00pm....I've almost completed the NEW vector drawing of my coke bottle following the steps on the blackboard recording (which I was finally able to watch in it's entirety this morning) and see now how simple the Illustrator portion of this project should be.  I think once I take it into Photoshop I can add the Coca-Cola label art I created last week maybe?  And then finish my digital smoke art I made last week as well (haven't posted that part of the project yet, still adjusting it to fit this image) and some ice at the bottom as well.  If it's not too much trouble I may still need some tips to recreate condensation dripping down the sides of the bottle in photoshop along with the ice perhaps, but I will do the best I know how to do myself as soon as I get this into Photoshop, which shouldn't be too much longer.  Thanks!