Throughout this little blog journey I have seen myself improve not only my knowledge of the programs I am using but also making connections with many people all around the world who are also fascinated with this software. I didn't know that there was actually so many people interested in this kind of software and also interested in what I can bring to the table in regards to it.
I hope to keep going at this for awhile not just to teach people about the programs but also to expand my thinking on them and better myself and the people around me who are in my program of study. I hope you all stay with me on this journey so we can learn it all together! It has been a fun experience so far into seeing what people actually think about when I post my ideas and thoughts into a certain topic. I enjoy seeing all of you follow me on other social media and professional accounts. I hope we can all connect and collaborate with one another to see what we can design for the world to see! Please follow me on my Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and connect with me on LinkedIn!
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Friday, November 13, 2015
Random Design Thoughts
Looking through the majority of my blog post you can more than likely tell that my favorite program to use is InDesign. This mostly has to do with the easy way that Indesign is set up and there isn't too many restrictions that will pop up with indesign. Usually any errors you will get in indesign is ones that you should have known will happen once you place anything into indesign from another source. If you are creating something from scratch in indesign, then more than likely you will not have any errors besides the occasional overset text that comes from basic human error.
Photoshop and Illustrator definitely have a lot of restrictions while using them. Both will have certain restrictions on editing depending on the type of original source that you are using. Photoshop for instance won't let you completely editing the main image before you make a mask on it to edit over that. But this is a good thing to do in photoshop.
If you are editing an image, specifically of the face, don't just edit the main picture. Sometimes while editing you will realize that what you are doing just doesn't work well and you might want to back up a few steps. Or even comparing between the original and the editing one is a lot easier to do you you are just editing a mask over the original image. Using the mask you are able to turn it off or on so see the differences. Also when erasing or adding back parts of the image you are able to do that quickly but just using the erase tool and toggling between the main background image and the mask you are editing. The video above does a good job in explaining why one should utilize a mask!
Photoshop and Illustrator definitely have a lot of restrictions while using them. Both will have certain restrictions on editing depending on the type of original source that you are using. Photoshop for instance won't let you completely editing the main image before you make a mask on it to edit over that. But this is a good thing to do in photoshop.
If you are editing an image, specifically of the face, don't just edit the main picture. Sometimes while editing you will realize that what you are doing just doesn't work well and you might want to back up a few steps. Or even comparing between the original and the editing one is a lot easier to do you you are just editing a mask over the original image. Using the mask you are able to turn it off or on so see the differences. Also when erasing or adding back parts of the image you are able to do that quickly but just using the erase tool and toggling between the main background image and the mask you are editing. The video above does a good job in explaining why one should utilize a mask!
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
More InDesign Fun
Although I have said in my previous Illustrator post that Illustrator is the most difficult program, many would say it is InDesign that is the most confusing and difficult. And I can definitely see where they are coming from with this mindset. Starting out with this program was pretty hard. I had a professor my freshman year in college who was literally obsessed with Indesign so he would always make us use it. Me being a freshman who had never used this program viewed it as very boring and hard to use. I did think the other programs were hard too because of my lack of knowledge of them, I just viewed them as more of fun programs which Indesign most definitely was not.
Learning about the program really showed my the appeal of this program. After using it for about three years now I can see why my professor was so passionate about it. You cant really finish a project without it! If you are designing a poster you do not want to just print from Illustrator or Photoshop. You would never know if it will print the right size or where the page ends on the document and where the ink will end.
Probably one of the top features that should be utilized in Indesign is the very basics of setting up the initial document. Usually when you just open the Indesign program you are given the option to customize your page size. Make sure to do this! This will cut down you time in half if you have already designed what you want to print in other programs. You just have to define you print size, such as standard letter size or tabloid. It also gives you options to create a bleed. A bleed is just allowing the item to be printed farther then the actual print size so you don't have awkward looking lines and placements. This bleed is also accompanied by crops, which you are able to turn on once you export the item. This is good to used so when the item is printed you are able to cut off the bleed section by following these crop marks. This way you are left with nice pristine line!
Learning about the program really showed my the appeal of this program. After using it for about three years now I can see why my professor was so passionate about it. You cant really finish a project without it! If you are designing a poster you do not want to just print from Illustrator or Photoshop. You would never know if it will print the right size or where the page ends on the document and where the ink will end.
Probably one of the top features that should be utilized in Indesign is the very basics of setting up the initial document. Usually when you just open the Indesign program you are given the option to customize your page size. Make sure to do this! This will cut down you time in half if you have already designed what you want to print in other programs. You just have to define you print size, such as standard letter size or tabloid. It also gives you options to create a bleed. A bleed is just allowing the item to be printed farther then the actual print size so you don't have awkward looking lines and placements. This bleed is also accompanied by crops, which you are able to turn on once you export the item. This is good to used so when the item is printed you are able to cut off the bleed section by following these crop marks. This way you are left with nice pristine line!
Sunday, November 8, 2015
InDesign! The Favorite
This post is going to focus on my favorite program! InDesign! A lot of people view it as the most boring or even most difficult, but I think it's the most useful. Although you can't really design spectacular designs with it, you can layout stuff for final print or publishing. I find I enjoy getting stuff ready for print and into other hard copy items more than the actual design aspect of projects. Also I'm pretty laid back and designing things just isn't my forte.
Overall Adobe InDesign is a program that helps you position and layout designs and text for final production. It helps minimize any mistakes and helps locate any previous mistakes. I find it very useful in showing me where I have overlapping text or images. This means that certain images or text are being cut off by one another. The preflight feature at the very bottom of the screen lets you know if you have any errors which is very useful.
The main reason I like InDesign is specifically in the Fonts category. You have an unlimited option on what kind of fonts you want to use, and you are easily able to download new fonts from the internet if you wish and it will not hinder your progress. It is also very beneficial when you have unsupported fonts, it lets you know right away and asks if you want to update the font before continuing. Although most people, including myself, spend hours and hours looking over fonts trying to find the best one for the job. But I find once I have chosen one that works well with the project there is a certain sense of satisfaction. Another tip for you all! Do not implement text into the design in Illustrator or Photoshop then importing the design into Indesign. Once you have saved that project in the previous programs it is very tedious to go back and fix text because it wont print well or show up well on a website. Do that portion in Indesign!
Overall Adobe InDesign is a program that helps you position and layout designs and text for final production. It helps minimize any mistakes and helps locate any previous mistakes. I find it very useful in showing me where I have overlapping text or images. This means that certain images or text are being cut off by one another. The preflight feature at the very bottom of the screen lets you know if you have any errors which is very useful.The main reason I like InDesign is specifically in the Fonts category. You have an unlimited option on what kind of fonts you want to use, and you are easily able to download new fonts from the internet if you wish and it will not hinder your progress. It is also very beneficial when you have unsupported fonts, it lets you know right away and asks if you want to update the font before continuing. Although most people, including myself, spend hours and hours looking over fonts trying to find the best one for the job. But I find once I have chosen one that works well with the project there is a certain sense of satisfaction. Another tip for you all! Do not implement text into the design in Illustrator or Photoshop then importing the design into Indesign. Once you have saved that project in the previous programs it is very tedious to go back and fix text because it wont print well or show up well on a website. Do that portion in Indesign!
Friday, November 6, 2015
Illustrator: The Very Beginning
As I said in my previous post I am not the biggest fan of Illustrator. It is not the easiest program to start off with, so I definitely recommend starting off with Photoshop and working your way too Illustrator instead of the other way around. Not to say that both are exactly the same in set up and option, they are not! But it will help you get accustomed to the Adobe Suite a little bit better before starting on Illustrator.
Illustrator is similar in the sense of layout to Photoshop. Pretty much all of the Adobe Suite programs will essentially look the same in layout. Illustrator is a lot different on implementing an image into it. If you are attempting to edit an image in Illustrator...STOP! That is what Photoshop is for. Do not making it harder than it has to be by trying to edit an image in illustrator. You will not get the same options and flexibility as in Photoshop. I have attempted this and trust me it is just a waste of time and a huge pain trying to force this program to do what it wasn't designed for.
To start off with Illustrator you have to get comfortable with the tools and areas of other editing features. I am not going to walk you through each and every single tool and item. Let's just say it would take my hours and maybe even days! There are a lot of options for you designers to utilize in editing their vector based art. Getting back to what are vectors, this is what we used while using illustrator. Vectors are not pixelated items, but use mathematical algorithms to create a design. If you'd like to visually see the difference between raster and vector scroll back a few blog posts.
Illustrator is similar in the sense of layout to Photoshop. Pretty much all of the Adobe Suite programs will essentially look the same in layout. Illustrator is a lot different on implementing an image into it. If you are attempting to edit an image in Illustrator...STOP! That is what Photoshop is for. Do not making it harder than it has to be by trying to edit an image in illustrator. You will not get the same options and flexibility as in Photoshop. I have attempted this and trust me it is just a waste of time and a huge pain trying to force this program to do what it wasn't designed for.
To start off with Illustrator you have to get comfortable with the tools and areas of other editing features. I am not going to walk you through each and every single tool and item. Let's just say it would take my hours and maybe even days! There are a lot of options for you designers to utilize in editing their vector based art. Getting back to what are vectors, this is what we used while using illustrator. Vectors are not pixelated items, but use mathematical algorithms to create a design. If you'd like to visually see the difference between raster and vector scroll back a few blog posts.
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