My new website is up!

After working on it for quite some time, I have my new design up!  Check out sylpherius-graphics 2.0!  I happily added textures into the background.  It's much different from my first design, but it's aesthetically pleasing!  I have the lightbox working perfectly now!  Since I used the old version last time, I had a strange glitch.  I fixed up nearly all the issues I had in my last design.  Everything is much better now!

Come check it out!
www.sylpherius-graphics.ca

Valentines card!

No, it's not that time of the year yet, but I wanted to play with textures and fonts!
I added some pattern overlays on top of the hearts and then made them stand out even more with the bevel and emboss effect.  I thought about how I would want the card if it could be printed out.  The hearts and striped ribbon going across the bottom would be embossed (bumpy) and velvety.  It seems suitable.  I also used a bit of texture in the background because I want the paper to be a tad grainy.  The overall look is simple but nice and I'm very happy with it! Funny because I originally wanted to do a Christmas card.

The font is French Script MT arched.

Developed in Adobe Photoshop CS3

Amazing

I think this is the first time I realized how fun and amazing colour dodge is.  Without that effect, I wouldn't have completed this little tag.  I wanted to learn how to make things more flashy in Photoshop.  Well, I know of some techniques but it never hurts to learn more.  This could also help with my skills in typography one day.  The background is actually a shrunken version of some tissue paper I scanned a while ago.  

I used a masking effect on the letters and erased using a brush tool at 40% opacity, which would leave some solid parts of the letters behind.  I then added some colour in the background (on another layer).  The letters sit on top of it which gives it that nice colourful effect.  I added some brush work using some "colour" effects in the end.  Hopefully I can continue to make some of these awesome little pieces in the future!

The font used is: Gill Sans Ultra Bold

Developed in: Adobe Photoshop CS3

Vector background for figures

Recently I learned some new techniques in Photoshop!  After using some grunge brushes in the background for both Totori (the figure with the blue background) and Milla (the figure with the burgundy background) I added some nice glows and vector shapes on top.  I must say the result is lovely.  The colours stand out nicely and they don't take away from the figures themselves.

Milla

Totori

I incorporated some vector designs created in Adobe Illustrator in both of these images. It was a bit difficult doing some of the shapes in Photoshop, so I used Illustrator.  Fortunately I could use the swirl and curve tools there.  They made life much easier.  The strokes came from stretched circles.

I used various effects in photoshop, such as colour and gradient overlays, which I don't use as frequently as I probably should.

I particularly like the Totori one because of the flask.  It's like a beautiful experiment where colours just burst from success! I also liked the additional glow effects.  I added some to her eyes to make them sparkle a bit more.

Photographs and figures belong to: Sui Chee
Developed in: Adobe Illustrator CS3 & Adobe Photoshop CS3

Professor Layton Layout

I wanted to use various designs and fonts in Adobe InDesign.  I realized I hadn't created any fake magazine covers yet so I tried that using my own photos.  Since I don't have images of models (for fashion magazines) I decided to be more creative by developing a cover for imported figures!  Inspired by Poke the Merch!

I did some editing on Professor Layton (the figure shown on the cover) so it was slightly brighter than the original.  I tried out various fonts and they seemed to work well with the cover.  There's some emphasis on more significant sections, such as orange for "figures".

I also included a spread with the cover.  I have a third page, but it's incomplete.  It's really just the final bits of my review for this figure.  The copy, which is a review of the figure, is by me.  You can read the full review at Poke the Merch's blog.  You'll also find many more pictures there!

Brown for the background seemed suitable because I wanted it to match Layton's dark hat and coat.  It also mixes well with his orange shirt.  I'm quite pleased with the final result.  I was able to play with the fonts (and sizes) and I was also able to incorporate my own photos.

Photos and copy by: Sui Chee

Developed in: Adobe InDesign CS3

Edited in: Adobe Photoshop CS3