Poke the Merch business card

For Anime North 2014 (a convention) , I designed a business card for the blog my friends and I run called Poke the Merch.  Last year we had convention goers ask us for a business card during our giveaway and unfortunately we didn't have cards to pass out at the time.  This year we were more prepared!

The colours of the card are meant to match the colours of our logo and blog. The printed version is fantastic!  The Poke crew couldn't be happier!

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator

Poke the Merch

Poke the Merch is now over a year old and it only just occurred to me that I had never posted the progress of how I developed the logo for that blog.  Since "Poke the Merch" was the original title my partner and I thought of, we decided we wanted a finger in our logo (to emphasize on the poke).

I took several photographs of my hand in certain poking positions.

 

Eventually I vectored over the one that looked best in Illustrator and tried out various designs.  Below are some results.

We used this one in the end as a watermark for our photographs.

This one is used for our banner so it's easier to develop a design around the hand.

You can check out the blog here!

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator

Lighting Effects

Oh, how I miss using light in a lot of my work.  I used to do it a lot back in the old days, so I want to try it again.  I tried out some sample pieces first based off a tutorial I quite enjoyed a while back and from there I began adding items to it, making it my own.

It started off like this:

(Yes, I like the word Fantabulous, despite it being made up)

Then I wanted to create a fantastical night scene out of it because that blue was just gorgeous.

I borrowed a set of cloud brushes from Brusheezy and a moon from Google and combined it with a photo I had taken in Japan a few years back.  Having a weak spot for soft light, I cropped out part of the ocean from my Japan photo first and changed the mode to soft light so it melded with the blue background, immediately creating a night scene.  Afterwards, I split the moon in half and created a reflection in the water with it and then threw some clouds into the scene.  Because the clouds were so gray, I applied an outer glow to it.  Finally I created some speckles for stars and  threw them in the background, and here is the final result!

Developed in: Adobe Photoshop

Music

Music is and always will be a wonderful thing.  It always calms me down when I'm sad or upset, and surprisingly enough, it doesn't take more than three songs to help me simmer down.  So here's a layout for a made up music site, just because I love music.  Originally it was just black in the background, but I added coloured sound echoes/ripples to make it more interesting.  Needless to say, I'm pleased with the final result.

(Clearly a title for the site hasn't been created)

Developed using: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop

Icons - Because they're awesome

I'm back!  With some icons this time as well!  I keep looking at my Android phone thinking about how I could develop my own.  I guess it inspired me to make some of my own set for different purposes.

Here's a compass I made in Adobe Illustrator using various gradients, and I must admit I'm very proud of this one. A compass would definitely come in handy for someone as directionally challenged like me.   You can see why I made a compass first!  I vectored random shapes in the background to make it look like a map.  It was much better than leaving it a plain blue.

Next up we have music and videos, because most phones nowadays have these options.  The video one is rather straightforward, but I wanted to have fun with the music icon.  I gave the note a set of headphones because it made it more fun!

Finally we have a map.  There isn't much for me to say except I'm extremely grateful phones have map applications.  They tend to be lifesavers for people like me, so I wanted to make a map icon with the other three.

And there you have it!

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator

Magazine layout

Here comes another magazine layout!  Another one for Poke the Merch, that is.

A friend of mine is currently working on a review for these figures, and I just really wanted to create a magazine layout with some photographs we took a while back.  Interestingly enough, both characters (Takasugi and Kamui from Gintama) are crazy, but they look great in natural areas.  Fortunately there are some nice, quiet, green areas in my neighbourhood.

We definitely wanted to capture Kamui (below) in the shade because he isn't able to stand in the sun for a long period of time.  It also worked with his shady expression.

For now, I'm using Lorum Ipsum, but I'd love to add actual text once the reviews are done!

Developed in: Adobe InDesign
Photos edited in: Adobe Photoshop

A Bag Full of Fashion

Here's a typographic purse I did a short while back!

I had to look up quite a few synonyms to fill this pretty thing up, but I managed to do it.  Having recently watched more Project Runway I wanted to create a bag and fill it with a wide variety of terms relating to the fashion.  I had a lot of fun making this.  I think next time I'll do a PS3 controller and fill it with gaming terms.  The gamer in me is itching to try it out at some point!

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator

Website work in progress

It's been a while since I've posted anything, so I figured I'd show off a WIP.

I've decided to revamp my website.  This time I'm going for a stationary-themed design, and I'm quite content with what I have so far.  I've added textures to the background, and I've added some bright colours to contrast the gray tones.  The paper has some texture on it as well.  I created my own paper texture and set it as hardlight over a light gray.

I liked the idea of using sticky tabs as well.  It reminds me of the good old school days when I had to carry around countless textbooks.  Stickies would be hanging out from the sides and even from the top.

Once I find enough time I'll break it apart and hopefully piece it together using DreamWeaver! It's exciting!

(Okay, it's actually supposed to be the portfolio page, but I accidentally kept the "about" tab on top...You get the idea)

Currently being developed in: Adobe Photoshop CS3

Cyber-Seniors Banner

Whew, it's been a while since I've updated, but I'm back with a nice banner I designed for the Cyber-Seniors booth at the Healthy Living Fair 2012 (located at Christie Gardens).  I wanted to keep the images around the logo circular so I used round masks on the photos provided by Cyber-Seniors.  To keep the banner nice and bright, I stuck with blue tints as well.  I'm quite happy with the way it came out.  Originally I had some facebook/youtube/twitter icons at the bottom left corner, but it didn't work out, so I replaced them with a nice swirly design.  The result was great!

Also, I used the Verdana font for the website link because it was easier on the seniors' eyes.

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator CS3
Photos and logo belong to their respective owners.

Icons

I think it's time I made some icons using the Adobe programs.  At first I couldn't decide which ones to start with.  Then I looked at my Android and thought I could try different weather icons.  It gave me a chance to think of various designs since the weather is ever changing.

I thought about three different versions for each.  One large one, one gadget for the computer, and one small icon for the phone.  I'm pleased with how they turned out.  I used various gradients for the background, the clouds, and the sun.  Then I created symbols out of the sun and clouds.

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator CS3

This way or That way?

Here is another vector piece I developed a short while back. I originally made it a red vs blue theme, but then the colours (mixing with white) reminded me of some flags... So I changed up the red and made it green. I'm still pleased with the outcome. I've always liked vector arrows along with nice, round shapes.

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator CS3
Edited in: Photoshop CS3

Vectors

Boy, do I love blue gradients.  They feel so cool and icy sometimes.  I just felt the need to do something with blue in Adobe Illustrator, so I went right at it!

As you can see, there is a lot of blue in this vector.  The circles overlapping reminded me of pulses or beats, so I chose to include some notes, which spread out.  I also had fun turning the star shapes into flowers.

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator

The good old days

Thinking back to my time at Sure Print & Design I felt like making a nice but simple poster template for long distance rates.  I love the orange and yellow gradient.  I felt I didn't use it often enough so I used it for a poster template.  Adding in the faded white in the background just gives it a nice extra effect.  Maybe some day the text boxes will be filled with information!

Basically a logo, title, or banner would go at the top, the information would go around the centre, and finally, copyright, disclaimer, contact info, etc... would be placed at the bottom of the poster!

Developed in: Adobe Illustrator CS3

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

Website

I've been learning html and basic CSS as of late! I've been pretty busy figuring out how to fix the little errors I've been making and I've come a long way, so here's a little preview

I think I'm going to change up my blog or update it, mainly because my current one is out of date and it's getting a tad wonky on me. I can't even have a regular compose/html post box...so yes, that is a sign for me to revamp! It will work out well since I'm already working on a new layout for my website. I'll go into 2012 with a bang!

I quite like the texture I used for my website because it's actually white tissue paper. I found a nice flat piece in the house and used my scanner to scan it. I adjusted the colour and added some effects on it and the result is wonderful.

The thumbnails for my works have a nice border around it. It's the same texture used for the background. The main white section is slightly faded and I used my grunge brushes to remove some sections from the sides. It has a nicer effect. At least to me it seems more interesting than plain shapes.

Most of the icons are set up now in css and html. I have some of the copy done for the about section and I believe I will be keeping what I originally had in my contact section from my previous layout.

Currently being designed in: Adobe Photoshop CS3
Additional pieces designed in: Adobe Illustrator CS3
Currently being built in: Adobe Dream Weaver CS3

Playing with InDesign

I picked up the Tales of Xillia Famitsu DX Pack early September and took some pictures for a post at my Poke the Merch blog. I took a photo of the Tipo plush and made a small page out of it. I really just wanted to get used to playing with text over images.

Edited in: Adobe Photoshop CS3
Developed in: Adobe InDesign CS3