The Ideas (part B)

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Idea Description:

Just like what I said in my previous post, the design concept of this card is about fun and creativity. Christmas is suppose to be fun, so I start on the idea to make my drawing cute and humor to attract people’s attention. Creativity is fun too. But to be creative, somehow you have to think out of box, that’s mean you have to throw away your logically mindset for a while. Let’s say, during the cold winter, it is suppose that the Santa give the white avatar a cloth to wear on. But in this card, I turn things around. So, instead of giving a cloth, I let the Santa to throw a flamethrower to the white avatar. This is something that people can’t expect. Besides that, I also include in a poem that suite with the theme “FUN”. By this little humor of Santa throwing the flamethrower to the white avatar, I hope that it will make the reader to laugh on the idea and have fun with it.

The Design:

Most of the design is being design by me using Photoshop and illustrator skill. The only two things that I took from Google is the big Xmas tree (the front one) and the Microsoft Window background picture.

References:
http://mcg1024-1051106009.blogspot.com/
http://wins.myweb.hinet.net/photoshop_cs/html/photoshop_cs.html
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The 25 Marks

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1) Applied hue & saturation effect on the background
2) Use brush tool to draw snow
3) Apply snow effect: sponge, threshold, motion blur
4) Import image to Photoshop and turn it to smart art object
5) Apply drop shadow effect on some of the drawings
6) Invent new technique to draw Santa
7) Rasterize image to allow editing
8) Create shapes using rectangle tools
9) Create chat box by merging shapes (rectangle and triangle)
10) Use pencil tool to draw object
11) Use type tool to write messages
12) Apply outer glow effect on wording
13) Apply inner shadow on some object
14) Apply strokes on words
15) Apply bevel and emboss effects on words
16) Use history brush tool to create new background
17) Use dry brush effect from filter gallery
18) Use lens flare effect on background
19) Use inner glow effect on background
20) Add vector mask to layers
21) Use rectangular marquee tools to select picture for copy and paste purpose
22) Use blending mode of color burn on the design for background
23) Use magic wand to remove unwanted part
24) Create clipping mask to serve as the window flame
25) Use line tools to draw line for the window flame
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Steps (Part 3)

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Continued from Part 2:

1) Open a new A4 size file. Import in the 1st page of greeting cards. Resize it using Ctrl+T until it fix half of the A4 page.

2) Repeat the 1st step by importing the second image.

3) Create the window flame. Duplicate the 2nd image and use the rectangular marquee tool to choose the window flame. Copy it and paste it for the 1st image. You can use line tools to adjust the broken part.

4) Finally, The work is now done.

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Steps (Part 2)

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Continued from Part 1.

1) Create an A4 size file. Use the rectangle marquee tool to select the whole picture, color it. Add the inner glow effect. Set the color for inner glow as black, blend mode as color burn. Adjust the value until you get something like this. Next, go to filter > render > Lens flare.

2) Add vector mask to the layer. Change the foreground color to be set as black. Open the grunge paper image. Go to image > adjustments > threshold. Set the value. Use rectangular marquee tool to select whole image, go to edit> define brush preset. Set the name of the newly created brush. Go back to our original file, create a new layer and click on the brush tool. At the brush tips shape, choose the brush we just created. Click once on the image and then resize it by pressing Ctrl + T. Set the blending mode to color burn.

3) Apply hue & saturation to make the image brighter.

4) Draw the snow field using brush tool.

5) Type the greeting using type tool. Apply the wording effect. I used drop shadow, outer grow and bevel and emboss.

6) Continue with the poem.

7) Import the trees to your file. Adjust their position using move tool. Apply the drop shadow effect to make it look a little bit 3D. To remove the unwanted side of the picture, use magic wand or lasso tool.

8) Created a new layer. Using rectangular marquee tool, select a long rectangular on the right hand side of the page. Use paint bucket tool and color it. Now, open the vintage flower design. Copy and paste it on the original workspace. Press Ctrl+T to resize it, make sure it is bigger than the rectangular shape we created just now. Press Ctrl +Alt then click in between the layer on the rectangular shape and the vintage flower. A clipping mask is created. Set the blending mode to soft light.

9) Duplicate the layer for 3 times. Use the move tool or Ctrl +T to resize and move the images. At the end of the step, you should have something like this. It is just like a wooden window flame. Apply some drop shadow effect to make it even more realistic.

10)Draw the Santa. The steps is same with the one I used before to create the 1st Santa.

11) Import in the white avatar.

12) Import in the fire signal image. Resize it by pressing Ctrl+T.

13) Draw the flame using Illustrator. Import in the flame.Use magic wand to remove unwanted side.

14) Draw the angry symbol and snow using brush tool.

To be continue...
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Steps (Part 1)

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1) Create an A4 size file, import the Window Desktop Wallpaper as the background of the design.

2) Go to new adjustment layer > hue and saturation. Adjust the color until your satisfaction.

3) Using the brush tool, draw the snow field. Adjust the brush size and color to create the blue shadow.

4) Apply the snow effect. To do so, create a new layer. Color it using black color. Go to Filter > Artistic > Sponge. Next, go to image > adjustment > threshold. Adjust the threshold level until you are satisfy with it. Now, go to filter> blur > motion blur. Adjust the distance. Finally, change the layer 1 into screen. (refer to my previous post)

5) Draw some Xmas tree using Illustrator and then import them to the Photoshop. If you cant draw well, you can use the picture from Google. For my case, the tree at the front is from Google while the less I drew using Illustrator. Since it is a vector picture, you can color it easily. After that, apply the drop shadow effect on the trees.

6) Again, create the avatar using Illustrator. Import it to Photoshop. Color it using Paint Bucket tool. Apply the drop shadow effect.

7) Here is a new technique I invented. Draw the Santa using Illustrator, import it to Photoshop. Duplicate the layer. Hide the new layer, at the 2nd layer (the below one), color the Santa using brush tool. It should look something like this.

8) But when you unhidden the new layer, it appeared to be like this. Always remember to raster the picture or else you cant edit anything on it. To do so, go to layer > rasterized.

9) To make the snow look more realistic, use the brush tool to draw some snow.

10) Create the chat box. To create the chat box, draw a rectangle and triangle using the shape tools. Put the two object together and merge it. Color the chat box and type the words on it.

11) Draw the angry symbol using pencil tools and line tools.

12) To make it more realistic, use the same technique at step 7 to draw the angry symbol.

13) Type down the greeting using the type tools. Apply drop shadow effect, outer glow effect, inner shadow effect, stroke and bevel and emboss effect on the words.

14) Save the file into JPEG format. Open a new file, import the saved JPEG picture. Create a new layer, then press ctrl + A to select the whole picture. Press delete. Then use the history brush tool to create the effect below.

15) Go to Filter > Filter Gallery > Dry Brush. Steps for Part 1 is finished.

To be continue...
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The Materials

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Microsoft Window wallpaper which will serve as my background picture.

The Xmas Tree.

Grunge Paper

Vintage Design
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Final Draft

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Final outcome...
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Quick Draft 4

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Second page of greeting cards. =D

The Ideas

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Lets ignore about the greetings first. I will focus more on the image (the front page of the greeting card) in this post.

Since Xmas is coming soon, so I decided to do a Christmas card as my second assignment. Initially I would like to do something that is simple and direct to the points. It should be something like this:

These are the invitation cards for my coming music performance and Xmas celebration in Pulau Penang. =D

But, I can almost guarantee that I wont be able to get a high mark if I follow this kind of design. So, I start to seek for a new one.

And ha~ I get my new ideas thanks to the cold weather in Cyberjaya during these few days.

Winter is cold. People will be freeze if they wear nothing ( which what my white avatar did). So I start to work on this idea and create the images using Adobe Illustrator. In my opinion, I believe that by creating something humor can attract one’s attraction. These should explain why my avatar and the Santa look so.

I gained this idea because of the word: Penang. In mandarin, Penang sound like Ice City.

For the Xmas tree, some of them is create using Illustrator and some of it are from Google.

Just play with the shape tools, pencil tools and pen tools, you can create the Xmas tree.

For the aurora, it is actually my window background theme. I modify it to be my winter background. And by combining all these pictures and some Photoshop skills, it can already create a nice greeting cards.
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Quick Draft 3

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After applied with new effects. =D

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Quick Draft 2

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More to come... Stay tuned...
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Quick Draft

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Done with the snow effect, together with the white avatar, Christmas tree and Santa. =D
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A Draft is to Draft

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Lot of things need to redraw and reedit, but this should be my 1st draft for the greeting cards. The eclipse part will be the part that I will need to redraw.

Greeting Cards

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Seriously, I still don't have much idea on the design of greeting cards. =.="

However, the design should be something like this:

Or this:

Anyway, the effect that I confirmed will apply is the snow effect. =D Perhaps with some crystallize object along. And of course, my avatar! XD

Ha, I bet there will be someone clever enough to know my idea already.What to do, I really lack of idea now. =="

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