It's art time! This is my portfolio to display graphics I have made for users on wattpad as well as commissioned graphics for ebooks and paperbacks.
Lovely cover by @Forcade
Highest Ranking: #38 in Random ( 30/6/16)
My previous guide explained the fundamentals about kick-starting graphic design. This guide will go deeper into graphic design such as the tools and tricks!
1. The cutting tools
When you make a graphic, it is most obviously that you need to cut up some stocks and piece them together to form a graphic. Cutting is very important as you can't make a good HQ graphic without cutting beautifully. There are two types of cutting: hard cut and soft cut. Both uses different tools.
Hard cutting tools:
- The pen tool
- The lasso tool ( polygonal, free and magnetic)
- The crop tool
- The magic wand tool
Soft cutting tools:
- The eraser
- A brush loaded with black foreground color
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When are hard cut and soft cut used?
Hard cutting is used when your stock has solid edges ( such as rocks, statues and buildings). Or when you want a very solid cut of a model.
Soft cutting is used mostly in dark graphics or when you want your stock to meld into the background ( or create a soft/ cloudy/ misty) effect.
If you're cutting a statue, I recommend using the magic wand tool. It selects an entire area with one click and if you hold down shift+magic wand tool, you're able to select many other places. Then hit ctrl+delete to get rid of the space you've selected. Keyboard shortcuts are very important as it saves time.
Apart from cutting, the pen tool is ideal for drawing too! It's one of the main tools in Adobe Illustrator as it can be used to draw perfectly matching hearts, circles and also, great for vectors! But the pen tool needs a lot of practice to get used to. I know the pen tool used to hate me but now I love it!
Oh, and you're even more lazy ( like I am), I use Topaz Remask 4.0.0 for cutting models. Topaz Labs is a Photoshop plugin. But you gotta pay for it. If not, you can use the one month trial. It can do both hard cut and soft cut, you just need to figure out which working brush size is suitable for what stock you're using. Here's my tip: use a brush with a smaller edge for best effects.
