Buying Better Brands

 

When painting or drawing with traditional media, it’s always a good idea to use high quality materials. In the example above, I used cheaper, student grade Sap Green watercolor on the left. On the right, I used professional quality Holbein watercolor in the same color. Notice the difference in vibrancy and clarity. This becomes particularly evident when the colors are dry.

The obvious drawback to purchasing name brands is the higher cost. However, these paints are so loaded with pigment, you will almost always have to tone down the color, as it is too powerful straight from the tube. This means using more medium and less paint, saving you money in the long run. It also gives you a good reason to charge higher prices for your artwork. If you suddenly find yourself making too much money from your commissions, go ahead and send those extra funds my way; don’t worry about any inconvenience it may cause me. 

Richard Huante Design & Illustration 

Hobo of the Month

We'll reserve this space for images of your 2nd all time favorite typeface, Hobo Standard, in use. Your number one favorite, of course, is Papyrus (you know you love it).

This one was found at a Walgreens in Glendale, Arizona.

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

The Logo Process

I thought it'd be interesting to show the process of how I create a company logo. With the kind permission of my outstanding client, Quality Pickets, I will do just that.

After taking notes during the initial discussion with the client about their vision and ideas of their identity, I sketched up around 75 thumbnail designs. Here is a sampling of them.

 

From these thumbs, I narrowed it down to 5 rough designs for them to choose from. I kept everything in a dark value gray, so we could focus on the design element at this stage. We'll worry about color later.

The client liked the first design, but asked for a slight modification of the "I" and "picket" combination. Here are the variations of design #1.

 

1B was chosen. If you'll notice, I slightly thickened/stroked the word "PICKETS". I did this because I did not want the thin, negative spaced "E" to get lost when printed at smaller sizes. A minor detail perhaps, but I wanted to make sure nothing was overlooked. Now on to color:

 

I used Adobe Kuler to help me find appropriate complementary and analogous color schemes for the logo. Client liked C4, and after a slight alteration of the "I"-picket bevel, we arrived at the finished product. Let me know how you liked this demo. Again, a big thanks to Quality Pickets for allowing me to post this quality blog. Pun intended.

 

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

 

 

Podcasts

I don't really watch a lot of TV or movies. I can't tell you which contestants are left on the X-Factor or what happened to Snookie last night. However, I do enjoy listening to podcasts that I download. This may make me the most boring person that you know (or don't want to know). Eh, what can I say?

I like to listen to design and illustration related podcasts, especially when I'm...designing or illustrating. It's a nice change of pace from listening to the same old songs or when there's not a ball game on to listen to. Some of the podcasts I enjoy are:

Ninja Mountain Scrolls. A group of artists talking about the field of illustration. They give out the occasional critique, too.

36 Point - The Reflex Blue Show. An informative and insightful podcast on the graphic design industry. I find this program educational and a good listen, although one of the hosts has a bit of a sailor mouth.

InDesignSecrets. Lots of tips and techniques relating to everything InDesign.

The Illustration Underground. A couple of professional freelance illustrators sharing their experiences and advice.

These are a few of the podcasts that I am familiar with (all free by the way). Give them a try; you may find them interesting and worth a download or too. But hey, if people start calling you boring, don't blame me...

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

OpenType Fonts

Some OpenType fonts will contain additional elements such as ligatures and glyphs. In the example above using Feel Script, you can see the variations of the typeface, even though they are all the same weight. This was achieved in Illustrator's character palette. Select the "OPENTYPE" tab, and toggle the  buttons that say "Standard Ligatures", "Swash", etc. As you do this, you'll notice the different looks of your type. Give it a try; you may be surprised that you have different options.

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Get Wacky

A few designer friends have asked me if they should get themselves a Wacom tablet. My answer is a resounding yes. I use the Intuos3 model, and it is not only great for digital drawing, but for design work in general. You'll find that using the pen tool in Illustrator or Photoshop becomes easier with a Wacom. I have not tried other brands such as Genius or Adesso, but if they are comparable in quality to a Wacom, I'd definitely consider getting one.

Once you get the hang of using one, which won't be long at all, you won't go back to using only a mouse again. So do yourself a favor and get yourself a digital graphics tablet. Beg, borrow, or steal if you have to. On second thought, disregard the previous sentence. Never resort to begging. :)

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Dragon Sketches & Layer Modes

When sketching in Photoshop, try using different layer modes. For instance, for your shading layer, set to Multiply. On the "lights" layer, see how the Color Dodge or Screen modes look on your drawing. Hard Light or Pin Light modes work well with your highlight layer. These will give you interesting, transparent effects that you cannot get using standard, opaque "normal" modes.

Richard Huante Design & Illustration