Adobe Creative Suite: Without it, graphic designers would be S.O.L.
I was watching some period movie this evening, and I thought to myself, “God, what if I got stuck in some kind of time warp and ended up having to make a living as a graphic designer without any kind of software? No Photoshop for drawing; no InDesign for setting type. I’d be so screwed.”
In that instant, my appreciation for Adobe software, namely the CS4 trial versions I’ve been using for the past 10 days, skyrocketed.
Welcome to the third installment of reports on my Adobe CS4 Trial Period Graphic Design Challenge! If you’ve been reading the other missives on this subject, you know that since I only have access to Adobe CS4 for the 30-day trial period, I’ve vowed to create one design project for each day of the trial period.
As I go along, I’m learning little bits and things that are keeping me up-to-date on graphic design software, as well. Here’s what I’ve been up to over the past three days:
CS4 Trial Challenge: Day 7
Design Project: Desktop Wallpaper and Calendar
For the seventh graphic design in my challenge, I wanted to create a desktop wallpaper that would also serve as a calendar. I thought I’d use a Bingo card theme for the design, and I ended up creating a little still life.
Since the “January at the VFW” design had a mid-seventies feel to it, I wanted to make sure the finished product looked appropriately vintage. For this purpose, it helps to have a good handle on gracefully aging a modern-looking image. I’ve found this tutorial to be invaluable.
CS4 Trial Challenge: Day 8
Design Project: Package Design
Next, at my mom’s suggestion, I decided to try my hand at package design, something I’ve done before, but never mocked up in 3D. To showcase my stunningly urbane and sophisticated sense of humor, I decided to make packaging (individual wrapping and a presentation gift box!) for fictional Lifesavers flavored condoms. Stay classy, O’Dell!
But seriously, I love Lifesavers, I love the rainbow of colors available in that palette, and I think that safe sex is important enough to not be shocking anymore.
The real lifesaver (Ouch! Pun!) for me in this project were the Bevel/Emboss and Contour effects, which allowed me to create juicy, shiny, jellied rainbows and candies for the packaging. Here’s a brief explanation of gel effects, but the real fun (and reward) comes from playing around with the different contour presets yourself.
Modeling the box turned out to be a nightmare. I designed a shallow, rainbow-shaped container; for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to make a 3D mock-up in Photoshop. The final result is rife with flaws, but still, a cute and challenging project! I have simply got to learn more about how to create 3D models using Photoshop CS4, that’s all.
CS4 Trial Challenge: Day 9
Design Project: Portfolio, Back Cover
Previously, I created a design for my portfolio front cover in InDesign CS4 using a striking palette of navy, green, and Tiffany blue. I decided to work on the back cover in a similar set of shades, substituting cardinal red for navy blue. Also, I started the graphic design in Photoshop CS4 rather than InDesign CS4.
I based my design on a vintage 45 (vinyl single, for you pretty young things who don’t know) sleeve I’d seen online. Many hours and 35 layers later, I had managed to create an acceptable design. When recreating vintage paper products in Photosop, it helps to have good paper textures to start with. Next, you really need to be judicious about adding and adjusting textures, colors, and stains. And never let the text layers give you away with full opacity and crisp edges.
All in all, I’m pretty proud of my portfolio cover (shown here back to front, ready for binding).
So far, I think my Adobe CS4 trial period is going pretty well. In nine days, I have a few graphic designs I love and a few that will be great with a little more tweaking in Photoshop CS4 and InDesign CS4.
Plus, I’m staying undated on graphic design software and learning more and more about how to use the new tools and features in Adobe Creative Suite 4.
