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THE END OF TWEE

hildren's iJlustration is often bomeware shops, and look ro what Blend rools and hand-drawing posrers, ro

O considered to be the embarrassing

kid brorher of 'proper' illustration _
the one who followed you around as a
teenager beaming enthusiasm and throwing
around bright colours, while you were more
focused on adult pursuirs. In reality though,
there's just as much true creativity and
artfulness in children's illustration as in the
'grown-up' stuff _ you've just got step away
from rhe nauseatingly twee bilge that clogs
up much of the kíds' sections in book and
underground artists sucb as Luke Pearson
(creator of Hildafolk, above) are doing with
the formo There's a sense of imagination and
using subtle organic textures in Photoshop.
In all of these, a sense oí experimentation
and fun is essential if we are to apply thern
play in these works that we all can learn in our own work. So let's go out ro play.
frorn, whether we're creating formal graphic
or web design projects, or animated ads.
Speaking of graphic design, this issue
also includes logo creation ríps from such
luminaries as Michael Johnson and Sagi Neil Bennett editor
Haviv from C&G. And in these pages you'lI neil_bennett@idg.co.uk
learn techniques from mastering Illusrrator's Twitter: @digilo/_orts

WELCOME
) [J
/ /
CONTENTS
INSIDE THIS MONTH'S MAGAZINE

SC¡=
nCIE
mus
lEum
MORE TH>N
P26 TOP LOGO TIPS

WHERE THE KIDS ARE AT A WICKED SCENE

P16 Children's illustration
doesn't mean dumbed down
and insipid designs. Five of the
best artists in the field tell Alice
Ross about their approach
P40 Phil Wheeler lifts the lid
on his Sin artwork, in which he
uses IlIustrator and Photoshop
to bring foliage to life in a
unique 'Garden of Eden'

THE RIGHT MARK SHAPE AND FORM

P26 Michael Burns talks to the
identity designers behind some
of the world's most recognisable
logos, and discovers the secrets
.:_:.: ;, of thei r success
._
.-
P44 Textured shapes formed
the basis of froncois Leroy's
recent DACS exhibition piece.
He explains how to grow them
into organic structures

CONTENTS

HAND-DRAWN POSTERS
PSO How Ollie Munden ond
Horriet Seed ochieved the
vintoge effects in their recent
poster design, bosed on 50s
rockobilly ond noval motifs
MASTER BLENDS
PS4 The Blending tool is o
little-used IlIustrotor gem. Here,
Rodim Molinic uses it to turn
the number three into on
eloborote piece of orlwork
visit digitalartsonline.co.uk for news, reviews ond tutorials
•• LL. THIS MONTH'S MAGAZINE
I
P6 We mode this
Meet the teom who contributed
to this issue of Digital Arts
SPOTLIGHT
P8 This month's hoppenings
The best new creotive projects,
events, books, kit ond other
things you need to know
pa Photoshop trickery
New book delails how pholo-
realislic manipulation is
revolutionising surreal photography
Pll Interview: John K
The creator of Ren & Stimpy discusses
his recent work on The Simpsons
DOWNLOAD ZONE
P32 Find out what goodies you can
access al our creative resource
SHOWCASE
P34 Check out amazing new work
from up-and-coming creatives
SUBSCRIBE!
P12 Save money and get every
issue of Digilal Arls delivered
directly lo your door
REVIEWS
P62 Wacom Cinliq 24HD
P63 Olympus Pen E-P3
P63 Nikon 1 Vl
P64 Apple Thunderbolt Display
P64 LaCie Little Big Disk
Thunderboll
CREATIVE FREEDOM
P66 Alex Varanese
Our cover ortisl on how he come
up with his retro-fuluristic robot and
where you can see it in oction
MONSTER TALENT
PS8 Andy Council, who has
perfected the ort of turning
cityscopes into prehistoric
beosts, reveols 011
CONTENTS DigitaIAtts 5
) .. WE MADE THISOISCOVERWHO'S BEHINOTHIS MONTH'S ISSUE

The team behind this month's magazine tells us:

What was your

favourite illustrated
book as a child?

"The 1983 Return of

the Jedi storybook
was like creative crack
cocaine for children"
COVERART
ALEX VARANESE
For a self-described failure, Alex Varanese's 1 Am Made Of
Robots project has proved surprisingly successful- providing
both our stunning cover arrwork and an educational srory on
page 66. Despite the project not quite panning out, it provided
elements that - when manipulated with a different focus-
created his latest grand endeavour. a/exvaranese.com

"Asterix In Britoin, "How to Drow Comies "Tintin and the Azrecs,

written by René the Morvel Woy by as it was so detailed"
Goscinny with John Buseema"
illustrations by
Albert Uderzo" Andy Council
Micnoel Burns Johonn Chon Twitter: @AndyCollncil
liredbydesign.com Twitter: @JohonnChon ondycouncil.co.uk

"Charles Fuge's "Meg ond Mog, drawn "Mauriee Sendak's

Monstrosities hod by Jan Piehkowski. Where the Wild Things
awesome pencil- Great primary colours" Are. At once scary
shoded imoges of and beautiful"
ghouls and ghosts" Alice Ross
Qllie Munden Evo Peoty olicerosswrites.com
megomunden.com Twitter: @evopeoty Twiller: @olmo;tideolist

"Eric Carle's The Very "Alan Aldridge's The

Hungry Caterpillar, it's Butterfly Ball and the
beautiful and Grosshopper's Feost"
brilliont!"
Harriel Seed
horrydrawspictures.com Phil Wheeler
Twilter: @horrydrows pweye.com

EDITORIAL ADVERTISING MARKETING PUBLISHING SUBSCRlPTIONS/BACK ISSUES

.Editor NeO Bennert
neil_bennett@idg.co.uk
Art editor Johann Chao
johann_ch8n@idg.co.uk
With thanks to Eva Peaty,
David Bradfortb aod Nick Spence
Group advertising manager
James Poulson j8mesp@idg.co.uk
Deputy group ad manager
Selen Sevket selen_sevket@idg.co.uk
Sales execunve Rebecca Clewanh
rebecca_clewanh@idg.co.uk
Contact Digital Arts advertising on
02077562835
Acting marketing manager
Emma van Beurdcn
emma_vanbeurden@idg.co.uk
PRODUCTION
Head of production Richard Bailey
richard_bailey@idg.co.uk
Deputy production manager Fay
Harward fay_harw8rd@idg.co.uk
Editor-in-chief Mark Hatrersley
mark_ha.tcrsley@idg.co.uk
Publishing director Mustafa
MU"8f. mu"afa@idg.co.uk
Managin,g directo r Kit Gould
PRODUCl'lON SERVICES
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COMMl.NICKIIOl>S
)I?
/ /
SPOTLIGHT
THIS MONTH'S DESIGN HAPPENINGS
) .IA. PHOTOMANIPULATION
Mindblowing
A new book charts how high-end photomanipulation
lrered lmages is a new book
O collecring artworks thar use
ultra-high-end Photoshop
rrickery to provoke reactions in the
viewer - from Iaughrer and an unsettling
sense of the uncanny - to a sense of
wonder ar what has been ach ieved.
SubtitIed New Visiollaries ill21st
Cen tury Phorography, it focuses on works
rhar initiaJJy present thernselves as
photographs, with the iUusion of realiry
rhat such a term implies. A strong
reacrion is often provoked by the
dichotomy between that and the obvíous
manipulation needed to creare the image,
Author RomanyWG - aka Jererny
Gibbs - believes that so much is now
SPOTlIGHT
Photoshop trickery
can be used to toy with your emotions
possible using photomanipularion rools
that artists can spend more time
concentrating on the conceptual side of
digital arr than the process - and that his
book celebrates those possibilities.
"With all the various computer
software available nowadays the
possibilities are almost endless,' he says,
"but ir's still down to the artist/
photographer to come up with the
conceprs and make thern work. lt's the
same theory as in photography, anyone
can rake a photograph, bur it doesn'r
make them a photographer."
Jeremy notes that ro create such
works, you don't necessarily even need ro
be a photographer. One of the featured
artists in the book, Elena Dudina, creates
her works using stock images exclusively
- but manipulares rhern so extensively
that they are unrecognisable from their
origina I forms.
_ __ ... _ _ _ __ • w
Throughout the book, Jeremy rnakes
reference ro the theories ofFrench
philosopher Jean BaudriUard, who
wrote that much of the nature of
realíry and how our sense of reality is
coloured by our conscious or
unconscious choice ro call certain things
'real' and others 'artificial'.
We asked Jeremy if che obvious
manipularion of the photos means that
viewers 'read' them more like paintings
visit digitalartsonline.co.uk for more news ond projects
_;.;,;;,..;=.;.;.;..;.;;_.;;;.;;__;;.;_;..;.;.;.;.;;...;_..;.;...;.;_.;;_;;__;..;_..;_;;.;._;~_;;.:~~
The Simpsons' 'couch gag' reinvenfed - p.l1
»»>
Old and Yaung by
Aaron & Avery Nace
(above); Living 0011
by Donielle Tunstall
(far 'ef,); Untitled
work by Michel
lagorde (Ieft); and
cover art by
Jorge Miguel
Blazquez (right)
ALTERED
'N.a.fIIiIIIC!I.
IMAGES
o,¡',," _.,.
"During che compiJation process
than photographs, to which he replied 1sent many of the arrísts a nurnber of
that the nature of such work allows questions, one of which was, 'Do you see
multiple ínrerprerarions. yourself as a photographer or a digital
"I'm sure every individual will see artist?' 1was surprised at first that
the conrenrs differently, from one contributors thar 1would considered
[piece] ro another," he says. "That is photographers actually thought of
the beaury of 'digital photography' themselves as digital artists. 1guess the
now, rhe boundaries are limitless. photograph was just pan of the process."
Sorne manipulatíons 1originaUy saw Alrered ¡mages is out now frorn
as photographs, bur 1now see thern as publisher Carpet Bombing Culture.
digital arto carpetbombingculture.co.uk
SPOTLlGHT DigitaIAtts 9
 •

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An encounter with John K
ohn K is the clear headliner at this year's
O Encounters International Film Festival in
Bristo!. We caught up with the creator of
Reo & Stinlpy (below right) and the second-ever
outsider - after Banksy - to create a 'couch
sequence' for The Simpsolls (above, which debuted
in October) ahead of the event ro discuss rus
madcap approach to anirnation.
DA: How did you come lo work on Ihe 'couch
gag' for The Sinlpsons?
JK: "[Head writer] Al Jean emailed and asked me
if I'd be interested. I had lunch with him and Matt
[Groening] and we tossed around some ideas.
Then I went off and did it."
DA: Whal did you wont lo do with Ihe sequence?
JK: "Matt asked me tObreak alJ The SimpsollS' rules.
'Draw them off-model,' [he said]. 1can't draw my
own characters on-rnodel, so thar was easy, [ also
wanted ro test ideas 1had been experimenting with
on some Adult Swim station IDs."
SPOTllGHT
Pick up a subscription - p.12
»»»
Participate
, .
.....
---
__ o
........ _od'...
_ - r
t~"
DA: Someone here described your sequence os
"Ihe Simpsons reimogined by o rather hungover
Picosso". Is this o compliment? And whol would
il be like if you did o whole episode?
JK: "I'll take that as a complírnent, sure. If 1did a
whole episode, it wouldn't be so fast-paced of
course. 1had to squeeze apile of ideas into 3S
seconds. [If 1did a whole episode), 1would
definitely keep on experimenting with the way
they [the characters] move and the acting.
"I'm sure 1would do rny trademark long scenes
of two characters interacting with each other
without a cut. 1would [also) want to do more stuff
with Marge. lloved anirnating her and was inspired
by the way [Max) Fleischer anímated Olive Oyl.
"l couldn't anímate a whole half hour rnyself, so
1would hire other animators with strong styles and
SaulBass
cast them according tO which parts of the story
would best take advanrage of their individual
talento My one rule [would be] to make all the
ideas support che story, 1 [would) try to keep the
artists from going off in tangents," --
..-.-
DA: Did you find working with someone else's --
chorocters ond o fixed fonnol conslroining?
JK: "Not ar all. l like working with strong characters.
Undersranding the characrers is what gíves me the
ideas of how ro visuaUy have them perform. The
only constrainr was the short time frame."
johnkstuH.blogspot.com, encounters-
festival.org.uk
SPOTlIGHT DigitaIAtts 1 1
~POTt'GHT
_- -- --,_.- -- -_,-- ... --,"',-----------------------------------------------
,

• • ••••o" ' .•'. '"'. o,.'. o,.'. ".'0 ". o. ".'. o"'. •'.'. ".'.' .••..• "'f1iJ
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.
) ."." GET DIGITAL ARTS DIRECTTO YOUR DOOR

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'ery issue is pocked with slep-by-slep luloriols deloiling omozing ortislic techniques

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12~ SPOTlIGHT
 It's not just kids' stuff - p.16

IMPERIAL

Hat-trick rebrands Imperial War Museums

ast-London's Hat-trick Design has "We chose bright, medium and dark colours,

O rebranded the Imperial War Museum

group of museums to give it a stronger
and more focused identity, under the overarching
that were inspired by the collections of the IWM,"
said Gareth. "The idea was ro use colour
combinations ro ser differenr rones. The range of
therne of the 'force of war' (hence tbe split blocks). [rnaterials] is wide - sometímes ir is addressing
"Because the brief stated that tbe naming farnily groups, and other times a much more
should rnove ro the initials IWM, we started by sophisticated audience." hat-trickdesign.co_uk
setting the name in various fonts and sryles," said
Gareth Howat, director of Hat-tríck.
Har-trick wanted ro creare a cJean, modem look
and evenruaUy chose Dalton Maag's sans-serif
lnrerface typeface ro help hold all the branding
rogether, The lerrers were then ser in a block and
cut up by hand, representing a fragmented or
shattered appearance. Six core colours were
chosen as the agency wanted ro broaden the
choice that the in-house team had ro work with.

Canon adds flagship models

anon has launched a new digital SLR and

O inkjet printer that both sit at the top of

their individual ranges.
The EOS-1D X is a high-speed, 18-megapixel
digital SLR camera that replaces the cornpany's
EOS-1D Mark fU and EOS-ID Mark N models.
Ir fearures increased speed, a brand new
irnage sensor, and a high-densiry AF system.
It'll ship early next year.
Meanwhile, Canon says that
tbe Pixma Pro-I is the world's first
A3+ printer to fearure 12
separare inks, with a design
inspired by the EOS lineo
The 12-ink system
significantly expands the
printer's colour gamut over
prevíous Pixrna Pro models.

There are two black inks, three greys, six

colours and a Chroma Optimizer, whích
Canon says "increases black density and
makes glossiness uniform".
The printer has USB 2.0 and Ethernet
ports, and costs E665 plus VAT.canon_co.uk

SPOTLlGHT DigitaIAtts 13

The best creators are leaving saccharíne clichés and simplistic figures far
behind in an effort to captivate today's yo
_ .. hildren's illusrration often
seems to exist in a world apart
from the rest of the illustration
scene, sealed away near ro greetings
card designo Look ar the children's
section in mainstream book, clothing
and homewares stores and it's not
hard ro see why: an awfullor of arr
and designs aimed at children are
sugary, uninspiring affairs, packed
wirh clichéd colour schernes and
insipid character desígn - and in the
case of books and anirnatíons, often
stodgy morallessons too.
But when it's good, children's
illusrration is one of the most powerful
and influential artistic mediums of all
- and it's made all che more powerful
by the fact that it's the first experience
many people will nave of artwork.
Good children's iUusrrations wiU be
pored over again and agaín, and truly
brilliant ones can transform stories
and linger in rhe collective
consciousness for generaríons, such as
Sir John Tenniel's arrwork for Alice in
Wonderland, EH Shepard's Winl1ie the
Pooh íllustraríons, Quentin Blake's
drawings for Roald Dahl, or the works
of Dr Seu ss.
These are artists who understood
instínctívely that children are not just
stupid adults, and they certaínly don't
need talking down tooThey drearnt up
HERE snc. ;s!
He,.&. :s l:iClur mumml:i!
1 6 DigitafMs FEATURE
I
ce, finds Alice Ross
caprivating characters and let hem
TUnriot in tbe most fantastical
landscapes they could conjure up.
The best children's illustrators
relish the fact that children can have a
pretty dark sense of hurnour; love the
absurd and nonsensical and are
fascinated by groresque or slightJy
scary rhings. Sir John undersrood
this perfecrly, creadng srrange,
dísrorted characters.
But children also have an
undertying need for security and
familiarity. Max, hero of Mau rice
Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are,
spends much of the book being
rhrll1ingly menaced by huge beasrs-
but in the end he returns to the safety
of horne, where his dinner is waiting.
Illnstraríng for children is
particularly complex as ir requires
creatives ro make work that is simple
withour belng simplisríc. For arrísts
who are flrmly couched in the adult
wodd, reverting ro myths, animals,
maglcal c:rearures and
anthropomorphism can require quite a
shíft of focus - but that's what many
children's projects require. Children's
illustrarors effectively crea te their
own worlds, which means a
fertile imagination and a
distinctive outlook are
essentia.l attributes.
Chlldren's combine ,
stories and artwork created by a sing e
illustrator (rhough rhere have been
many memorable partnerships such as
Astérix author René Goscinny and
artist Albert Uderzo). Then there's the
challenge of strucmríng the srory so it
holds a child's arreruion - engaging
characters or bright colour schernes
alone aren't enough. Children's
íllustration can encornpass everythlng
from cardboard books for toddlers to
sophisticated comics for teenagers,
and each age group has differenr
demands. Very young children
particularly relish repetírion, while
older ones appreciate a more story-
driven approach.
In designing for children,
íllustrators bave one key advantage:
everybody was once a child.lfyou can
rediscover that child's perspective, you
have a promising sean. But you have
ro grasp whar being a child is reaUy
like, rather than fallíng into the
idealised, candy-coloured pastiche.
8elow An Imoge 110m
Chris Hcuqhton's A BII "Draw things rhat are strange,"
losl (poge 181.which advises íllustrator Luke Pearson. "If
feolures a baby owl you're thinking, 'this is terrible, but it's
IIYlng lo find his mum what kids like', then you're doing it
wrong. Draw things for the child you
once were, or things thar you'd like
your own children to see."
Here we introduce five iIJustrators
whose work for children is a match for
anything in the world of illustration
for adults. Largely published by smal.l
presses aJ1d art iJlustration specialisrs,
these five combine supreme artistic
skiUs witb a way wich narrative, use
visual scyles rhat appeal to adult
aesthetic sensibilities, deliver a
childlike sense of wonder and mix just
the right anlount of innocence and
knowing. They also give twee rhe
kicking it so richJy deserves.
Case study 1 Laura Barrett

Raising the profile

Por its first children's book,
Taschen - a publisher best
known for írs art, design and 'sexy' [
books- has rurned ro the original
fairy rajes of rhe Brothers Grimm,
teaming them with illustraríons
by sorne of che fínesr chiJdren's
illusrrators of the 1820s ro 1950s. Ir
also commissioned a series of new
silhouertes for the book, from London-
based illustrator Laura Barren.
Laura's elegant vignettes are at intricate, so 1had ro work in a slightly
once evocative and mysterious, bolder scyle ro make every detail
thronged with animals and symbols legible," she says.
and people whose expressions you "1can still clearly remember the
can't make out. This makes them a illustrations in so many of my
perfect match for the stories, childhood books, and Ilove the idea
which are charged with rnagic and that a child will grow up with this
hidden meanings. book in their collection, possibly
"Despíte the large amount of derail picruring rny illusrrations when they
and intricacy, the nature of silhouettes think of certain fairy tales," she says.
means that a lor is left up to the Laura is now working on another
imagination of the viewer. The stark fairy tale project: "It's a gothic fairy
contrasr within a silhouerte also works tale picture book, that will also be
weJI tOcapture the opposites in fairy suitable for adults. l'd love ro continue
tales: Iight and dark, good and evil illustrating for such a wide age range,"
and so on," she explaíns. she says.
She set out ro caprure "rnoments of laura barreN.carbonmade.com
movement and action" from each tale,
sketching out individual characrers
and elements in Illustrator before
combining them and experímenting
with the composition, and adding aH
manner of decorations, "1can get very
caught up ÍIl making my work too

Top A silhouelle for Tom Thumb's Trove/s,one

01Ihe Brolhers Grimm lolry toles

left louro's silhouelles recoll medieval

woodcors or poper CUIOUIS 'There ore some
dork elemenls wilhin my work, bul ch,ldren con
sfollidenlily wllh Ihem -In Ihe some woy os
wnh Ihe toles Ihemselves: soys Lauro

RIght Lauro oullines her ideos in o sketcbbook,

IInking key words ond imoges >
FEATURE DigitalArts 1 7

Case study 2 Chris Haughton
Losf and found
> Bright, graphic and instantly
charrning, Chris Haughron's A Bit
Lost is the tale of a baby owl who faUs
from his nest and must find his way
back to his mother, with me help of
wooclland crearures.
The srory has a sing-song rhythm.
"1 reaU y like me idea of it being like
pantornime - on the turn of the page,
it needs ro be, 'what's going ro be
next?'," he says.
Scenes are dotted with hidden
details. "All the animals are in che
background - the mother owl's in all
rhe picrures looking for him. 1 liked it
that you don't notice that at first, but
on subsequent reading maybe you'll
see it," he says.
The style was inspired by classic
illustrator Leo Lionni. "My tendency's
always ro overwork things, and 1
looked at Leo and realised 1 don't
need half that stuff. 1 kept it as
simple as possible, beca use it has
more character,"
This simplicity belped him avoid
rweeness, "There's something cool and
graphic about ir," be says. "It's trying
ro ger that balance, not including any
details you don't need."
18~ FEATURE
Top Woodland
creolures ore hldden
m Ihe bockgrounds 01
manyimages
left Chris warks wilh
a brighl bullimlled
calour polelle
Creating the book was surprisingly
chaUenging. "1 do an advertising
illustration in two days, maybe a
week. Doing the book took Iü-and-a-
half months," Chris says ruefully.
Full-page illustrations often face
pages with only the characters on
them - a simple technique that
balances out each spread. But this
wasn'r an automatic decision: "There
were things 1 hadn't even thought
about," he explains.
"Because I'd been working as an
animator, aU my pages originally had a
full background, and 1couldn't work
out what was wrong. After rwo
months of experimenting and doing
vignertes, it occurred ro me ro knock "1 do an advertising
out the full background so you only
see the characters - it's not the most
obvious thing ro do. As an animator or
illustration in two days.
illustrator you don't do that."
A Bit Lost was an insrant hit: it has This took la months"
been translated into eight languages
and has won international awards -
there are even owl toys. "lt's been
quite remarkable," Chris says. His
second book, Oh No, Georgei, is due
out next year.
vegetablefriedrice. cam Chris Haughton
 Case study 3 David Lucas

Monsters and myths

"> Colossalsea rnonsters, lonely
robcts and questing skeletons
populate the fairy tales of David Lucas,
wbose deceptively simple images turn
out to have hidden deptbs.
"I like storíes that make sense, that
mean something, that end in a
satisfying way," be says. "1 see the
world as a meaningful partern - and
my work grows from that. { see both
stories and pictures as patterns, and 1
want both to be beautifuI, like a
fractal pattern, with every part
reflecting tbe whole."
The author of a dozen childrcn's
books inc1uding The Skelecon Pirate
(out next year) , Lucas's stories are
usually "absurd visual metaphors for
common emotionaJ states", he says.
"My startíng poínt is usually ro mix
up themes and motifs from fairy tales
or myth, with detaíls of my own life-
usually focusing on sorne problern or
difficulty I've been thinking about.
"1 try and find rhings in my own
life tbat wiU resonare with others,
and that fit the timeless pattern of
fairy tales."
His illusrratíon sryle is similarly
timeless, with a graphic, brightly
coloured look that is inspired by
Top The Robot
ond Ihe Bluebird
uses o tened-
down bul highly
engoglng colour
scherne, combined
• wuh ímoglnollve
ro .R¡.
il~1. ,
~
I j' cornoos.uen
medieval and folk arto "1 like my work
ro have a slightly antique flavour-
1 deliberately disrance it from fasbions
and the present," he says.
In keeping with this medieval
ínfluence, Lucas's characters are
deliberately simple and almost flat,
"My characters are more like puppets
or paper cutouts," he says.
"1 make them out of simple shapes,
making a kind of approxímatíon to
realíry - wíth, 1 hope, just enough
realism to be convincing. I've always
loved sharp, ciear outlines."
The images are bright and
exuberant, but look closer and
there are darker forces at work:
Lucas plays with scale, so a hero is
shrunk ro ant-Iike proportions agaínst
a vast, looming monsrer, or towers
over a castle.
"1 try and find a way of uniting
all sorts of opposítes within a
picture: flamess and deprh, pattern
and realísm, a sense of both the
particular - a specific person or place
- and the universal.
"Something comes mysteriously
alive when there is that tension
between opposítes," he says.
dovidlucas.org.uk

....,.., '"' • •'

Top left The
cxoggeroled scole
~J • ~
01 Ihe seo beosl
ogoin51 Ihe liny boro
odds to Ihe dromo of
Ihis scene Irom The
5keleton Pirote
"1 try to unite opposites:
Left Dovid's sludlo.
os he prepares his
newesl 510rybook,
flatness and depth,
Orende!. due oul
in 2013 pattern and realism"
Bottom Anolher
scene Irom The
5kelelon Pirole

David Lucas

FEATURE DigitaIArts 19
Case study 3 11Sung Na

Sweet d reams
"> There is a softness and delicacy to the work ofIl Sung
Na, a Korean íllustrator with six titles tOrus Dame. The
stocky, rounded animal characters in his bedtime book
Zzzzz: A Book oi Sleep are etched in soft lines and decora red
with warercolour splashes, patterns and doodled motifs,
closer ro toys than to wildli fe.
Jusr as appealing as the characters are che jewel-bright
backgrounds they sir in; riehly rextured and subtly
ornamented with little emblems, they give the images a
tactíle, sponraneous and somehow very engaging qualicy-
as one reviewer has pointed out, there is more than a hint
of modernisr Mare Chagall ro them,
"Colouring is my favourite part of the whole book-
making proeess," ti Sung says. He draws and colours the
characters and backgrounds separately, "1enjoy using
aerylie, soft pastels and oil bars. Sometirnes 1use pen and
ink, too. Then 1use Photoshop to assemble them."
Like many chíldren's illustrators, II Sung finds that less is
more when it comes to character designo It's a process of
constanr refinement ro get to the essenee of that crearure.
"I observe a subjecr that I want ro make a characrer very
carefully, trying to find the distinguishing features that
make a subject itself," he says. "Then 1exaggerate or
emphasise those parts and keep the rest very simple."
. ' .
*
Altbough he sornetimes collaborates wirh writers, he is
just as happy writing his own texts, using stories tbat pop •
.
into bis head "ar any time, from nowhere," he says. "whars
irnportant is that the text and image work together as ene -
[he texr doesn't need to be long, explain many things or be
very fancy."
ilsungna.com
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._~ .- .. 9
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, p
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"'"\ • \-.-/
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~

A
Top. for left and
bottom Farbednme
book ZZ111. 11Sung
No uses o colour
•
"...
•
I ....J • I
4 ~~
polctle that is
muted but ovolds
• • • • • ... cutesy pastels

e ,
( {( Centre A colour
samplcond

1
, , sketchbook for
cnothor af 11Sung's
.. l .
"What's important is ~

•
books. Teocup in
o Slarm
•
that the text and image
work together as one"

11$ung Na

20~ FEATURE
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Case study 4 Luke Pearson

Draw things that

are strange
" By rurns funny, scary and sad, Luke Pearson's comic
Hildajolk is the story of a girl's adventures in the eerie
Scandinavian wilderness that is perfectly pírched ro give
kids a thrill without keeping them awake aJJnight.
"The main airo was something that could be enjoyed
across a range of ages, including my own," says Luke, best
know for his graphic novels for adules, such as the recently
released Everytli ing WeMiss. "With the child reader in
mind, 1tried ro creare a world that was ripe for adventure.
The landscape Hilda lives in is barren and cold, maybe a bit
scary, but ít's offset by scenes of extreme cosiness."
While Hilda is relentlessly chatry and upbeat, the chirpy
tone of the cornic is undercut by the unsertling characters
she rneets. "1didn't try and avoid it being a bit weird and
scary, There's a layer of cuteness, but the woodman is a
pretty strange character, and the scenes with the troJJ are
reallya bit sinister," explaíns Luke. "But there's no actual
bad guy or anyone wanting to harm anyone. I'd like ro rhink
it's a good story for a child ro read before going ro bed: just
creepy enough ro give them strange dreams, but making
them acutely appreciarive of being snuggled up."
For Hildajolk, Luke used a brighter colour palerte than
he'd choose for rus usual artwork, "1wanted it to be more
like a Saturday-rnorning carroon than an indie comic," he
explains. "1 [also] dropped any real experirnentarion with
panel layout or heavy design influence, and tried ro make it
as smooth and accessible a read as possible."
Luke says he found the transition into writing for
children easy: "1enjoy dcsigning simple, appealing and fun
characters, 1like drawing strange landscapes and monsters.
My adult cornics have a simplicity rhat sometimes seeros
like I'rn doing messed-up kids comics anyway - so in a lot of
ways, children's work comes more naturally ro me."
A follow-up, Hilda and the Midnight Giant, was released This poge "It's o simple odvenlure slemming Irom nolhing bul Hildo's
in November through Nobrow (nobro,,,,.net). desire lo wonder ond explore ond drow sluff: soys luke 01 Hlldafolk "If's
nol preachy. bUI I wonled 11lo be devoid 01nosnness"
lukepearson. com
Right There is genulne lenslon when Ihe enigma'ic Iroll foUows Hilda home

"lid like to think it's a good

story for a child to read
before going to bed"

Luke Pearson

22~ FEATURE
 Alíce had no idea what to do. In despair shc put
her hand into hcr pocket, and pulled out a box of
comfits, (luckíly the salt- ...vater had nor got into it),

Top Luke oims lo creote a series of Hildo

and, han~ed them
•
0r~ as prizes.

cornks, 'modelled on bonde dessínée

olbums líke T1nlin ond AslériX'

Thc COI in .he

And be $lId ro "J,
10,\'1,>' dd )'OU .'{!l ahen! Ii\_e \hat?"

FEATURE DigitaIArts 23
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• • • •
Leading designers tell Michael Burns how to create the perfect logo
hat makes a successfullogo rhese
days? The question 'does it work in
black and whire?' will be
recognised by identiry designers everywhere,
and while that's stiJJ mainly true in these
colour-sarurated days, logo designers now
also have ro deaJ with a muJtitude ofrnedía -
from giant digiral signage ro animatioos 00
rhe screen of a smartphone.
"The fundamentaJ principies rema in, bur
wirh brands seeking ro becorne rnuch more
relevanr ro people's lives, there's even more
reason ro add a richness and depth of
character rhar gives you a grearer
undersranding of who the brand is," says
Clinton Duke, lead designer ar GyroHSR
(gyro.com).
"Tradirionally we were aJl trained ro
design clear, simple píeces that could have
fallen out of any book 00 Swiss design,"
says Michael Johnsoo of johnson banks
(johnsonbanks.co. uk). "And, of course,
those logos look great - but they alllook the
same. More recently we're aiming for more
unusual solutions."
The conrexr is as ímportant as the conrent,
according ro Stuart Wood, executive creative
director at Firch (fitch.com), who poínts out
that logos rarely appear on their own.
"Creating a distinctive colour palette, layout
sryle, and approach ro photography and
rypography tells you as much about rhe
brand as rhe marquee."
However the key is ro keep it simple,
according ro Robin Garton, creative director
ar Maher Bird Associares (lnba.co.uk). It's a
view shared by most of the designers in
this feature. Robin explains thar meaning
comes from association with the brand
and brand messages over time. "You will
never get a logo ro say everythíng you wanr
ir ro," he says.

Steven Bonner
IIlustrator and typographer
"Keep your ideas relevant. There are going ro be
occasions when you'lI ger carried away with an idea
CHARLES
and it'll starr ro veer off track into something that
might be visually beautiful, bur has lost the initial idea
rhar made ir representative of your clíent's business.
CARTER HAIR
Try ro regularly step away from the work and be London hoirdressing salan Charles Corter (2011),by Steven
Bonner. The hoirdressing sheors ore unmislokoble ond ore
objective about it. Does ir still fit your clienr's brand combined wilh the compony's initiolsused os hondles
or are you indulging yourself? If not, pur ir ro the síde,
no marter how artractive ir is."
stevenbonner.com

Jason Butler
Creative director, Appetite London
"Asecondary elernent, icon or symbol in conjunctíon
with a logorype can lead ro a strong visual shorrhand WHERE BUSINESS WORKS
and be extended into fearures of other
Adgistics(2010) ond Segro (2007), by Appetite
communications. Look for dífferentiation and London. The Adgisticslago slemmed Irom the
ownership in the design - know the competition. slropline 'the ha me lar inlelligent ossets' ond the
Strong logos are recognisable even without colour and 'A' wos designed lo symbolise o rool slructure
effect: for example Chanel, Virgin, 02 or lBM. Less can
mean more; avoid overcornplicated stylised effects - if
you need these then che core design is not right."
appetiteuk.com
Adgistics
Alun Edwards
Senior designer, Studio Output
"The secret is ro capture several ideas in one graphic
image. Start by suggesting exactly what the brand
does. The best logos combine two ideas (often emotive
and descriptive) so when you see thern, a switch is
turned on to who the identity is foroThen make sure ir
can be reproduced, scaled, remains legible and can
cross media. But ir shouId always come back ro an
..
Club 18·30 Ior Thomos Cook ond
intelligent visual solution ro the problem." the Big Splosh for BBCSpert/British
studio-output.com Swimming, by Studio Output

26~ FEATURE
Caleb Owen Everitt
Visual designer
"Observe; approach naively; research thoroughly;
stay open; embrace rnisrakes; channel both your
inner caveman and scholar; stop when you think
you know the answer and let your subconscious
work on ir; listen to your intuition; stay playful;
and seek sarisfaction from the work alone - ir will The Genllemon's Roce icon lar 5109 Provisions lor Men,
by Coleb Owen EveriH
be obvious in the end result."
caleboweneveritt.com

Bill Gardner SeoWorld Cores, by Gordner

President, Gardner Design Design. A whole's loil fins ore
crodled in o poir 01 honds, wilh
"More logos live in an RGBenvironrncnt than cvcr
o subtle grodolion Ihol gives
before. This mean a surge of identities crafted wirh Ihe impression 01 Ihem rising
technical gradarions and transparencies. These can from Ihe woler
be beautiful and effective wheo paired wirh the
righr clicnr, bur rhis slickness can also strip rhe soul
from a logo thar needs a measure of the human
touch. Gardner Dcsign has crcared a library of
naturally stíppled texrures that we've converted ro
vector. On an appropriare projecr, the subtle layering
of these can creare beautiful gradations that convey
a personal connection usually lost by che digital tools
of a design program."
gardnerdesign.com

Robin Garton
Creative director, Maher Bird Associotes
"You will never get a logo ro say everything you want ir Fít the best
ro. The key is to keep ir simple. lt is its association with
the brand and brand messages over time that then Everesl (2010), by Moher
imbue ir wirh rncaning." Bird Associoles
mba.co.uk
Making more of your environment
Sagi Haviv
Partner, Chermayeff & Geismar Nolionol Broodcosling
"Understand clearly whar the visual idenrity has ro Compony (1985), by
address and undersrand whar makes the brand special, Chermoyeff & Geismor. NBC's
In rerms of rhe design, always rake the long-rerm view exisling peocock symbol wos
reworked lo moke whol hos
so ir can endure and have a manee ro gain subsrantial
become one 01 Ihe world's
public and/or industry recognition. If your design mosl recognised Irodemorks
relies on trends or the larest rechnology ir will become
dated and need ro be changed. Use the form of the
mark ro convey an idea, while keeping it simple yet
distinctive enough ro be memorable."
cgstudlonyc.com

Richard Holman
Founder and lead creative director, Devilfish
"The logo is the objective correlative of a brand; írs the
soul of a brand made flesh. lts form should be as pure
as possible, with no unnecessary adoroment or 5tudioconol (2011),
frippery. It should be worked 00 as a craftsman works a by Devilfish
piece ofwood. Touched, trimmed and smoothed. For
as we know, the simpler something appears, the longer
ir rakes ro creare."
dev¡Ifishcreative.com
STUDIOCANAL
)

FEATURE 27
 Arden & Amici ond Surf, by
IHQ. Arden & Amici sells
ltolion-mode biscuils in tbe UK.
Friendship is shown vio the
Tim Holmes enlwincd 'A's ond Ihe Englisn
Design director, 1HQ ook ond ltolion olive bronch

"Being aware of all of the cornperirors, and the way

they are positioning themselves wirhin the marker, is
key ro finding a unique positioning. Try ro creare an
idenriry rhat people can relate to, and insrantly
recognise. Think of what captures both the key
ernotional feeling and functional benefit and bring rhe
two together, Finally ask yourself, can ir be copied?"
Jhq.co.uk

Gareth Howat
Director, Hat-tnck design
"When designing legos, one thing we have found really
useful, is ro run the prospective logo design out onro
A4 paper and theo mail ir ro yourself in the post. That
way ir tums up a couple of days later, and you open it
while not thinking about ir - ir gives you a chance ro
put sorne perspective on the design and helps you
HORNIMAN
decide if it's any good."
hat-trlckdesign.co.uk
MUSEUM
&GARDENS
Michael Johnson
Co-founder, johnson banks
"There's a duty for every designer to look for the Hornimon Museum & Gordens (20 11)ond
hidden 'gift' in a logo designo We were lucky enough ro Greol Brilish Chels (2011), by Hor-trick
fínd ir in our logos for Shelter (with its embedded 'h')
and More Th> n (with its 'more than' symbol). Ir may
not be there, you may not fínd it bur you have to at
least try. Otherwise it may come back to haunt yOU.
johnsonbanks.co.uk

Justin Thomas Kay

Creative director and graphic designer
"Trust your gut as both a creative individual and a
MORE TH>N SCi_
consumero I gravitare towards product design thar is
both rype-driven and bold or colourful. So, naturally, ir
seems ro make sense ro brand things as such. Be your
nCE
own best customer, Ir is importanr for me ro not lose
sight of the fact that the work I crea te becomes a part
of people's lives, and they deserve to have something
IilUS
nice ro look at."
justinthomaskay.com
More Than, rhe Science
Museum and Sheher, by
[ohnson banks EUIil
Tom Muller
Design director, helloMuller
"Any logo designer should know ro dcsign in black and
whire. Colour(s) can be added later, as long as the
basics work. lf your logo needs a colour or any kind of
effect 10 transmit its message, the message is lost. It's
easy to gcr lost in the glossy world of bevels, gradients
and textures. But the best logos are aJways presented in
pure black and white. Clarity is key."
hellomuller.com

One One Nino, by Juslin ECE Arcnileclure (2011), by nelloMuller

Thomas Koy ond New Sludio London )

28 FEATURE
 •
C:~non
OfFlelAL SPONSOR

• • '!he UEFAEURO 2012'" officJallogo 15 protected by trildemar1cs•

copyright and/or designo AlI rights ~rved.
-
Robert Soor
Creotive director, Drogon Rouge London Good Eorlh Tea (2011),
by Drogon Rouge London
"What is the organisation, what does it do, what is its
character? The organisation is a brand and a brand is
more than a logo, but the logo is a vital ingredient. We
are reaching a saturation point, however the rules of
logo ereation still apply: keep it simple, ít must be
distincrive, it must be memorable and it must be
appropriate. Surround it with character and
personaliry. And don't forger eolour - think
T-MobiJe's magenta and Tiffany's blue."
drogonrouge.com

Felix Sockwell
Nolíonol Quolily Ccnter, by
Editorial illustrotor ond identity consultant Felix Sockwell ond Mollhios
"Collaborate, always and often. A11of the projects Ernslberger (Ieft); Nolionol
pictured were collaborations. They aU started out as Compoígn Agoinsl Youlh
doodles on napkins at the bar over a pint, eonversations Violence, by Felixond Erik
T Johnson (below)
by emaíl or phone calls. One of the best things is being
able ro jam \....ith a friend at a moment's notice. It's like
jazz. You play here whiJe 1 strurn thcre and after lunch
we can play it back and see how it sounds. Designing
with your friends is the only way to get better and
rea11y enjoy the process."
felixsockwell.com

Jamie Wieck
Senior designer, Airside
"Don't relegare an identity to a mark at the base of a
póster. Have the mark be the identity and the
identity be the mark. Let the logo inhabit everything
it's applied tooRernember, we live in an age where
everything has the potential ro move. A mark that
looks perfect when printed may not when anirnated,
so eonsider movement when designing. If using
Adobe Illustrator to set type, turn Optical Alignment
on - this will speed up the kerning process."
oirside.co.uk

TM

Anlcolony (2009), by Airside.

Anlcolony is actor Mo.
Stuart Wood Minghello ond producer Tim
Executive creative director, Fitch Bricknell's prcducíicn compony
"Don't work it too hard. Don't try to capture everything
the brand does, rather what the brand is; a spirit, an
ethos, a multi-dimensional personality, Logos rarely research
appear on their own, they are an important part of a
brand's visual language, but the context is as irnportant
as the contento Creating a distinctive colour palerre,
now
layout style, and approach ro photography and
rypography tells you as much about the brand as the Reseorch Now ond Jewish
marquee. Think of the bigger picture." •
fitch.com JEVIISI~ Museum London, by Filch.
Online firm Reseorch Now
hod recenlly merged wilh

"SEU
LONDON
E·Rewards. Linked leíters show
porlnership, while Ihe 'cursor'
hinls 01 Iheir online nalure

30~ FEATURE
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Leroy uses to give an organic feel to
his ortwork for Designers Againsl
Child Slavery (page 44).

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1
•
.....
...• -i/
 visit digitolortsonline.co.uk for more tutoriols

T.T •• IAL ILLUSTRATOR & PHOTOSHOP

) L ••• " VECTOR FOLlAGE

HOWTOAVOID
GOINGDOTTY "To retain only the
Create a garden ) IYhen wolking wilh
dols in IlIuslrolol - be
il scallell, glids or polltO
black pixels I
dols - olvroys slort wilh deleted the white
of sinful pleasure smell doís, Vouron
stroke Ihe oulSide 01 Ihe
dols lo gel 101981dOls background,
IlIustration supremo Phil Wheeler 'gets wicked' with different bul you (on', 90 Ihe
textures and approaches in a poster-sized image olhel woy 10 eOlily. selected the Magic
hi! Wheeler talks us through Phi! had the desire ro experíment Eraser and clicked
O the creative process behind his
artwork Sin, where
experiments and limited time lead to
but lirnited time, so started out with a
'let's see whar happens' artirude.
As the process was to sorne extenr
on the white"
sorne ínterestíng results. led by circumstance rather than
Sin had to fiUa 70 x 100cnl poster planning, Phil ended up jurnping
formar and fearured in the Association berween lllustrator and Photoshop -
mi .• . • .1 ..
. "
• • •'.
of Images' lmages 3S exhibitíon. more than he usually would. . •.•'......
• • • •••• •
.1.', •
Phil wanted ro illustrate all seven You'll learn how combining these .. .'.' ..,..
.. '.
• '. e ,

,.
.. ..
11 ••

"-..
deadly sins happening in the Garden
of Eden, which meant it was going to
two tools can save you time and how
working with dots in Illustrator opens , ,
.
."... . .', " ,. ,.'" ,',' .
..,' '.'
'.~
, .,
,'
.
....
.• .... .... . ." ....,
" ...' .
,

. •••• .. .
be a busy and detaíled image. up all kinds of possibilities.
..
• ••. .'•••••
."..'...'..... .
.. '.....'.''. ..,. '..
~ Firsll »»; ~:
,,,'
,: .' •••••••••' •

......... :-- .. ,..

.
".' . .
•• .- • t•• ~ • .' • •
~ creoled
' ..
• Olt l..,
o series of ~Ik '.,! •
" ......
B~.,_t... •
dol lextures in
IlIuslrotor, using
daIs of vorying
sizes ond densilies. ~ Next I opened Ihe WBMP file
I porticulorly liked ~ in Pholoshop, resized il lo
Ihe inlerploy of malch the size 01 Ihe original imoge
flol ond shoded (l,800 pixels) ond chonged Ihe Mode lo
shopes Ihol I Groyscole. To reloin only Ihe block pixels
ochieved using I deleled Ihe white background, selecled
rondom scoHers Ihe Mogic Eroser 1001 (E) ond clicked on
ond shoded Ihe while. I soved Ihis os o PSD file.
diffusions. For
voriety, I 0150
orronged some
dots lo suggesl
Ilowers ond
••••
...."
blooms.

•...:,.f...
• •... ....
••••••
-- -
-
.
JI! -
..; '"
'"'líIL> I
• • • ••••••
..... \•••:-:.
... .. •••••I.. ,.-: •
.. . .-:. ~

...._.
-.-...-
~.- -- • . .
•• .- I

• .. . .
~
~
Allhough it is possible lo drow
o diffusion of daIs freehond, . -- - 6'1
~

I made o guide in Pholoshop by I soved Ihe image os o WBMP • •••

oirbrushing my desired shope with a pale
grey gradienl. By converting Ihe image
into a monochrome bitrnop, I changed
Ihe shading inlo o scaHer of block pixels
on while. I reduced Ihe image size lo
around 200 pixels, olherwise Ihere would
hove been loo mony dots lo place laler.
lile (File> Save for Web & ~ Nexl I opened the PSD file in
Devices). In Ihe Presel box, I selected ~ lIIuslrolor. I used the Ellipse
WBMP and Diffusion. The Dither con be 1001 (L) to make o dol on o new loyer
tweaked lo suil, bul I used 100%. Then I (while holding down Shift). I Ihen
clicked Sove. copied ond posted individual dols ond
drogged Ihem into ploce over Ihe guide,
unlil I v;..."..1-. )4", ir r" '., Ihv IE.·;··' ..

MASTERCLASS ~41
 ORGANISE ANO
ARRANGE
> Ifyou ole wOlking
on o IOlgecomplex
imoge, vou should plan
the loyel oldel ond
orrongement os madi
01 possible. It will sove
you o lot of time loter
nnd owid the inevitable
heederhes mased by a
(haoti( jungle ollayels .

~ I olso needed o rondom scotter 01 dols. In o new

~ Illuslrotor documenl, I mode otile pottern by filling "'i"":1 I wanled my figures lo be humonoid, generic ond
o rough squore with evenly spoced dols on o single loyer, ~ genderless and oimed to recycle hands, feet ond
leoving the edges rough ond broken. I then duplicoted the poses as much as possible. On screen, I drew a rough droft of
loyer ond drogged the new loyer olongside to see how the my figures which I prinled out, Iracing a finol versión using o
edges linked up, tweoking the dols neor the edge lo moke o 0.8mm art peno
smoolh join. I did Ihe some lor the top ond bottom edges.

•• •••••• •• _. ... , ......

•••••••••• ... ""-- ,j,

• • • •• •
• • •• • • • ••••• • • • • _..- ......
\ A.IIIt ./

••••
• •• ••• • ••••• •
•
•
•• • • • • • • •
• • •• • ••
•
.... ID

• • •••
•• • •••••••••• • ••••••
•• •••• ••• ••• • •• • • • ••
~
• •••• •• • •••••
Once my liles combined well lo moke o lorger ~ I sconned my figures bock inlo Pholoshop 01 300dpi.
~ pottern, I increosed Ihe size 01 the dots by increosing ~ To clean up ond add conlrost, I adjusled the Levels
Iheir Stroke volue. Then, using the Losso tool (Q), I selected (Image > Adjustment > Levels) by pushing Ihe black ond
some rounded shopes from within this potten to oct as foliage, while poinlers on the Input Level bar lowords íhe middle to
belore copying and posling them onto another loyer. I deleted cleon the white background ond blocken Ihe linework. I used
broken dots near the edges 01 the foliage, ond shifted the the Color Ronge lunclion lo grob 011 the lines simultaneously
position 01 Ihe dots near the edges lo improve íhe final shape. (Seleet > Color Range) and copy ond paste Ihe black
. • .••• -.... • (~. ·-....1 linework onto o new layer. To ensure the lines were complelely
-
.'............. ••
•••• 'o. °0 .... ;;
.0, o':
•• '00•
•••••••••••• 0 •• :: 00 _ ......
'o ~ \~
... '"•
o' " ° o,;', •
...... , -. .. ....: ••.".:.:••:.:::':..:.... :.. :;::i•.·•.· .: ..•.
• • 0°, 0 ••••

00, '.: ••••• 0: \to0 ::: ~:--.' .:::' ..

0' ••••
block, I chonged Ihe lighlness in the Hue/Saturalion menu lo
:.. "..-v..
o •••••
<"......v ..'.:
! lO'
.....
:.::.; ::.'!:."!':::::
~.
L.! •••••••••: •••••••• !:~••
',0°, .' ' ••• '
:.•••.•••. :••0,.
o' • : •• :" '.
0.' 00, •••
0'.'::', l.
0°1, • ·100 (Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation).
' ••~...
• ' ••
•....-¡
:0...
~ .••••••••••• :...... o,. .,,:
'/' ,...,,1..
00":,' • o'. • 0.'
0°0
•• 0°'
••••
',';_<
• .~. -v.. ;" ••••••••••• :. ~"", ••• ~...
". ~.•.:~ •.:••:..•:.~..:: ~..•.
~~·I"~·
..· . '::.. o o"
: ..o.:..::'ii.o ~

:;;;~
•.;~::;.
'. (;- "::i:~~~:.:.:~~::::H::::.:.:.·~~~~~:. '::. . ....... . .: :,::i:;':;"
'.'.. ..,. :::.......... :;. o....
.::_.•-....-x.::••••••:............... , :..
'. .•••

~::.:.:.".~
••
(~
0;:"

i.i~\;:J:\!¡•·~~:~:~~'.::::i·"
~... . .
: •• : •••• :........

i) ~·;·;:~~:!i:ii,·/:.:
o •• ...::......
.. •••• ::.~.,..

..::.::!:;:::~:~;iii{.:.
•••
o
• .:.: .: •••~••
: ..

.' .••.••• ~,...'"\:.... • .~ o'

._
.0•• 0 .: •••••••• : ..

"l. \ :: : ..
·· .......•
.'.':.•~.-1
' '., .•...
',' ~.. t!. iti(.!"...
-'
"-.
.t••• ~•• 14;}
•••\ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
~., ~..... .
:::..;;
.00 ••• ..: : •• : •• :::: •••••••• : .:: .

•.'" '.' '., t··••·.~

, ::•..•:: ••::1.:•..••:;::.:
:.........•.....::...:.
: '.!.o •.• o •• ·~..
'.".",J•..,,)•••• • .. : ••••••••• : •••••••••••••• : •• :.
•• • o •••••••••••••••••••

.:. :~
', ,.~o,:~~..
;.: .....~.... .'. .•••..:::::.:
..' V'.. • 'J..
'• r;';· .' ~-,; ¿ l"<;.1;. i1.' .........• "!l••••••:
;.: ...-.
.......... ~.'2.if. ..
0 •••• :;:.: •• :.
••,: \ ••:. .' • • :,:. .; ::.':.::
' :.. 1: ,'.. ••••.• "
.•••.
~• t~ t. •
• .•••• -¿~,:(... .' ." •.•..••••••• \. .: •••••••. ;.
.;:': '1:.-:. ,-. •• )o.. • • • •• • ••••• ..... •
r......•..••••••• "

'.
•.•,':.••..'!.' .
......... • • • " ••
~::...
o•• ','
....
• •
. ..: •••
....:.:
..... , ••,. • o,. ••
..:.!..,.,:... . . ... ' .:',.,'.'
•• ro:.
..,
..• ..
• o ••••••••
'..
':.:... .. ..
...•..1••••••I
•••••.. '.i
......'..' ~'.'" : ,
*
'.
..•.•. ••. .,'.
••••• . . •

. ..'. .• o·, •• :•• . .'

..
lI':T:'1 Now it was lime to play around more freely with
ID Using the Losso 1001 (L), I selected a figure and
posled il inlo the rnoin image in its own loyer. I now
needed lo colour my figures. Using the Magic Wand tool
~ the dols. I tried lo suggest a voriety 01 lolioge ond (W), I clicked inside Ihe oreo lo be coloured, holding down
blooms using rings 01 dots ond by combining different-sized Shift ond clicking lor rnultipleareos. To ovoid nasly edges,
dols. I also experimenled wilh removing dots from the random I expanded my selection (Seleet > Modify > Expand) by
scatter for o more organic leel. two pixels ond filled the new selection with my desired colour.

42~ MASTERCLASS
- -" --- --- _._ -~---",,- ....,...
~ I broughl logelher íhe folioge,
fII.D choroc1ers ond Ihe word 'SIN'
in lorge Iype in Pholoshop. 1found it
difficull lo combine my figures wilh Ihe
dol folioge, os the folioge wos dense
ond mode Ihe figures hord lo see.
I decided lo drow íhe folioge more
freely, porticulorly lo fill Ihe spoce
As this wos o big ond detoiled
Pholoshop imoge, ond lo
ovoid ony heodoches editing it loler, 1
orgonised my loyers corefully.
Behind Ihe layer with the pink figures,
1created new loyers for eoch of six
colours I wanted lo use (three shades
of green, one orange, one brown and
one blue).
1crealed o second sel of loyers for
each colour beca use I needed some
leoves ond foliage on top of the figures.
l!I"'r.1 I pulo block layer al Ihe base
~ of Ihe layer stock beco use
íhe dots, once coloured, worked
besl on block ond mode the colours
more vibront. Then loyer by layer, I
oirbrushed in new Iones, mixing in
colours os I wen!. I worked Ihrough
odding highlighls ond shodow ond
lonal subtleties.
I olso used o wolercolour lexture Ihol
hod been sconned in and coloured
seporolely on lop. This odds o differenl
chorocler lo Ihe colour thot you con't gel
wilh on oirbrush olone.
MASTERCLASS
T.T •• IAL ILLUSTRATOR & PHOTOSHOP
around my figures ond also lo sove
lime. I went Ihrough Ihe some process
lo draw Ihe folioge os I used for Ihe
people (skelching on screen, prinling,
Irocing and sconning bock in). Bul I now
composed Ihe drowings more carefully
so Ihey would fil oround Ihe position of
Ihe figures.
I!I"I":I To complele Ihe imoge,
tI.C,¡I I odded Ihe fruil ond elemenls
in negolive space, such os block
onimols ond block Irees on íhe dols.
In order lo break up some of the soft
folioge, I repeoled Ihe shorp Iriongulor
shopes of Ihe Iype. And Ihere you hove
il - o sinful Gorden of Eden .•
/ ///
Aboye top This artwork wos originolly
o CD cover for a compilation of
dance music for Universal colled
Dance Groaves Twa and had a white
backgraund.
Aboye centre Sil/baard Magazine in
the US cammissianed Phil to iltustrate
a piece an new media platfarms in the
Latin music market.
Aboye Phil illustrated every manth's
Zadiac sign far Cosmapalitan in
Germany. "1enjoyed the challenge af
trying to do samething new with what is
possibly the mast over-illustrated thing
aut there," he says.
MASTERCLASS ~43
)
HONE YOUR OESIGN SKllLS WITH EXPERTTECHNIQUES

)I.'~.~--------------------
TIME TO_COMPLETE _
• 3-4 hours
SO FTWARE--,,--------,,-,--
• Adobe Photoshop CSS and Illustraror CSS
PRQJECT FIL-E_S'---:-:- -fjiiiUal
•Files for this tutorial are •
downloadable from digitalartsonline.
co.ukldownloads

44 fl9tal'\rts . MASTERCLASS
 visit digitolortsonline.co.uk for more tutoriols

T.T •• 'AL PHOTOSHOP & ILLUSTRATOR

) L.A." LlGHTINGEFFECTS OON'T HOlO

YOURSElF BACK

Grow organic ) Mosl of Ihe lime

when l' m working
I experirnenl wilh

texture and shapes 1001ond shopes

lo gellhol speciol
feeling. Irecommend
experirnenling wilh
French illustrator Fran~oisLeroy explains how he created the (omp~ilions of
textured organic shapes in his Iso/afion composition elernanls ond exploring
olllhe possibililies of
o 1001. When viewed
ollowing Rob Shields' guide to will detail his Photoshop method for independenlly, Ihings

O how he created hís artwork for

the latest exhibition by the
Designers Against Child Slavery
carnpaign last month, here we see how
Parisian illustrator Francois Leroy
created one of three pieces for the
colJection. First, Francois wiIJ explain
how to creare simple textures in
geornetric vector shapes in Illustrator
as tbe basis of an arrwork and grow
thern into organic forms. Second, he
making tbe shapes look like drips.
Francois, who was the featured
artist for the exhibition, says that the
process is flexible enough ro allow you
to reaUy bring your own touch ro the
final producto "I always encourage
artists to creare materials such as
textures and shapes ro evolve and map
out their own sryle."
Next month we'll bring you a final
DACS artíst,
lika our veclor shopes
Ylon'llook verygood.
Bul dcn't worry, il you
experiment willrolfrer
~
~
Repeol steps one ~nd two.lo
moke o snoke of lines whrch
form on olrnost complete ring, Leove the
elemenls ihe resulls will centro] oreo emply for Ihe foce. I mode
be berter. eighl lines bul feel free lo moke more.
Open Photoshop ond creole o new
documenl 01 3,000 pixels wide by 4,500
pixels 1011- high resolution is olwoys
better when working in detoil.
Go bock lo lllustrotor, select o line
ond copy ond poste it inlo Pholoshop os

,_
__ ..........
~ t-_ u-
o Smort Objed. Import Ihe rest of Ihe
lines one 01 o lime so Ihey ore seporole
elemenls in Pholoshop.

~ To begin this piece, open lIIustrotor

~ ond creole o new A4 documenl. The first slep is o boosl ---========-;
Ihe controsl,
creoling a bosic elemenl lo grow your forms. Using íhe Ellipse
1 inverted eoch
1001, hold down Shift ond drog out a simple, smoll cirele. loyer (Cmd/Ctrl
Edil its oppeoronce lo give its stroke a weighl of 0.5pls ond + il· ~ Seled one line in Pholoshop
a block-to-white grodienl os FillColor. Duplicole Ihe ellipses ~ ond roslerise it (Layer >
mony limes, resizing as you go lo produce a seemingly Rasterize > Smart Object). Apply the
rondom wriggling line. Liquifyfiller (Filter > Liquify). Then use
Ihe Forword Worp 1001 (W) lo moke il
,/
~ look more orgonic ond less geomelricol.
O. Repeol this for 011your lines.
:J,

I~
..
~

.¡JI
, ~- --
~

~29-
•I

.JI
/

~ To moke Ihe shope seem more orgonic, we ~ Pick o few lines thot sil behind
~ need lo blend between Ihe cireles. Fir51,set your ~ others ond moke them
blending options by double-elicking on the Blend 1001, sel dorker by opplying o -150 Brighlness
Spocing lo Specified Step ond the volue lo 3. Seled Ihe odjustrnent (Image > Adjustments >
firsl cirele, Ihen Ihe second, ond so forth until you hove Brightness/Contrast). This boosts Ihe
a shoded line. controst 01 the whole ond odds depth. )

MASTERCLASS D9taIArts 45
MASTERCLASS
T.T.R'AL PHOTOSHOP & ILLUSTRATOR

UVENUP
MONOTONE
) I ohen Yrolkin
block ond yAlile but .,
Ihil con be bOling, 10
l iecommand opplying
o rew colouled tints
ond Iones lo bling o
pieco lo lile. Ir you
use odjullmenlloye¡s ~ Now it's time to creote the drip shopes. Using
lika (0101 Salonce ond ~ Ihe Pen tool, drow o block shope with blobby
(honnel Mixel on Ihe
globallayelS, Ihen you 'stologmites' ond 'stolcctites' in íhe bollom left of the imoge.
con change Ihe linl Repeol the process from step eighl to opply the texture.
when you wonl unlillhe
~ Now you hove your shopes orgonised, we must piece il finilhed
~ creote o texture which we will opply in onother
Photoshop documenf. Open o new document in the some
resolution (3,000 x 4,500 pixels) ond opply o very dork
colour (such os # 161616) with the Point Bucket tool.
Go to Filter > Render > Reticulation to odd some
block ond white noise. Now opply some white in the middle
with the Brush tool, chonging this element's blending mode
to Layer Style > Overlay. Merge 011 the loyers, then go to
Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast ond odd
more controst.

There ore monywoys to creote ~ Drow more shopes oround the structure (1 mode 11)
fhe noisy,simple texture we wont aI.l:.tt ond opply textures to Ihem. As with the lines, some
here. Experimentwlthdifferent
voriotion in lightness would be beller. To créete the lighter
blending modes to get o different
look qulckly. versions, duplicole the originol hidden texture loyer, unhide it,
jock up its brightness, hide it ogoin ond then use thot insteod
~ Apply more white of the originol texture in the procedure detoiled obove.
a:u strokes with the Brush
tool, using o blending mode of
Loyer Style Overlov, Now merge
011 the loyers ond copy ond
poste the flollened texture into
the first documento

~ Ploce the texture loyer just obove the background.

~ Duplicote it ond hide the second versión. Chonge
the opocity of the first texture loyer to 20%.
The hidden texture loyer will be used os o base for opplying
texture to other shopes. Using Cmd/Ctrl ond clicking on
one of the line loyer's thumbnoil in the loyers ponel to seled
only the line, click on the hidden texture loyer ond select
Layer > New > Layer Via Copy (Cmd/Ctrl + J). Place
ID Downlood the free Femole Stock 47 from the
excellent Kotonoz-Stock on Oeviont Art 01 bit./yl
tTrmem. Open this in Photoshop ond select only the foce (the
the new texture loyer diredly obove the reloted line loyer ond Losso tool is fine for this os the selection doesn't need to be
use o blending mode of lighten. The texture now oppeors detoiled). Copy ond poste Ihe foce in your document under
on the line. Repeot this step for ollline loyers except those the other loyers ond obove your hidden texture loyers. Use
you dorkened in step filie. Image > Free Transform to fil it to the slrudure. )

46~ MASTERCLASS
 •
In •••

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 MASTERCLASS
_-- -- _- -..... ~~ -
~fAL ~"i-¡(jf()5HOP& ILLUSTRATOR

~ Select Ihe middle porl 01 the strudure with Ihe Losso tool, go lo the íirst
~ hidden texture loyer ond hit Cmd/Ctrl + J. Poste it obove the lace using
o blending mode of Overloy. Desolurale the lace loyer ond use Ihe Eraser 1001lo
remove onything thot sticks oul beyond Ihe lines.

.. ,
I coloured only Ihree 01 Ihe
lines lo preserve Ihe overoll
block ond while sryre.

l1:'I:1 The first step in odding colour

~ back lo Ihe piece is lo opply
il lo so me lines. I've chosen o yellow
(#ff7400) bul you can Iry il with o blue,
red or green.
Cmd/Ctrl ond click on the line
loyer Ihumbnoil lo select only the line,
Ihen use Ihe Painl Buckel 1001 lo lill Ihe
selection with colour on a new loyer
obove. Give this new loyer a blending
mode 01 Soft Light.
l1:"'l':I The losl porl of crealing
~ íhis ortwork is lo fine-tune
Ihe overoll look. Go lo Ihe lop 01 Ihe
layer stock ond seled Layer > New
Adjustment Layer > Color Balance.
Sel magenlo al -8 in Midlones, blue al
+ 12 in Shodows ond yellow 01 -10 in
Highlighls. Then seled Layer > New
Adjustment Layer > Channel Mixer
ond selecl Ihe Block&Wh ite wilh Yellow
Filler (RGB)oplion. Chonge Ihe loyer's
opocity lo 500/0.

l'En Nexl go lo Layer > New

r:I:'r.'I The shodow is simple lo moke.
~ Take Ihe Brush 1001, seled
o neor-block shade ond poinl il on o
new layer. Then go lo Filter > Blur
> Gaussian Blur, Ihen reduce Ihe
opocity lo 20%.
~ Adjustment Layer >
Curves ond edil Ihe curves for more
controst. To do Ihis pull up íhe lop righl
o bit ond pull down the bol1om left o
bil. Chonge Ihe layer's opocity lo 60%.
This has left the ortwork looking o little
cold, so lel' s warm il up o bit. Go lo
Layer > New Fill Layer > Salid
Color, choose o mid-red (such as
#ffOOOO). Chonge Ihe blending mode
lo Soluralion ond Ihe opocity lo 50/0.
Duplicole Ihis loyer, chonge Ihe blending
mode lo Exclusion o nd you' re done .•

4B~ MASTERCLASS
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 visit digitolortsonline.co.uk for more tutoriols

T.T •• IAL PENS & PHOTOSHOP

) L••• " POSTER AAT

Collaborate for
vintage poster effects
Ollie Munden and Harriet Seed get shipshape with techniques
for tattoo-style art, based on 50s rockabilly and navy motifs

his vintage-style pos ter is the mostly on the general layout and

O result of me first-ever
collaboration between Harriet
'harrydrawspictures' Seed, and Digital
Arts regular Ollie 'Mega' Munden. "We
wanted to creare an image that would
work seamlessly, even though
generally our sryles are quite
differenr," says Ollie.
Ollie took the lead when it carne ro
hasbing out a rough sketch, focusing
rougb positioning of certain elements.
Once Harriet gave her input, he then
drew up me main character.
Meanwhile, Harriet began to design
the type and otber elements
decorating the poster's border. There
was a lot of discussion about the final
outlíne and once tbis was agreed, the
final PSD file was handed over ro
Harriet to be coloured.

~ To stort with, Ollie opened on 111

~ A3 document in Photoshop.
Using lound imogery, he construded
whot is shown in the screenshot. You con
!!,t~
""""""
create something similor by sourcing
reference photogrophy Irom the internet.
Useful tools ot this stoge ore Free ~ At this stage Ollie odded in
Tronsform for scoling elements (Cmd/ ~ some rough shoding on o new
Ctrl + T), the Lasso tool (L) lor moking loyer to give him on ideo 01 where the
seledions, ond the Pen tool (P) lor highlights ond shoding should go ... Ihis
cutling oul photogrophic elements. Once wos moslly relevont lo the hoir.
Ollie hod designed Ihis he sent it on lo
Horriet ond she begon lo work out Ihe
typogrophy. Ollie then focused on Ihe
lemole choroder. ~4) -... ., • I

•¡• • • •
u ..
lun IJlI ""'"11 1111' ,¡u '1 J 111 tll' ~u. t '.!Al'h',
•••
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.... •__•
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._
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Ii
lO

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u
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•
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iI

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•

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.....

~ Ollie printed out the design ot
~ A3, to drow comlortobly on it,
He mode o simple pencil sketch 01 the
oullines and suggested shoding oreos
using Irocing poper.
---
Ollie lurned down Ihe opocity
rr:"C1 Once Ollie hod skelched 01 this loyer lo 20% - so il
~ oul the outline 01 Ihe girl, could be used os o guide - ond creoled
he removed the prinloul ond retroced o new loyer obove il lo point on. Ollie
his pencil skelch with line liner lo give used o brush with setlings os shown in
o much lighler-Iooking linol drowing. the screenshol to delicolely shode in
He sconned his inked version in and the hoir oreo 01 the illuslrotion. Hoving
using the levels poletle (Cmd/Ctrl + L), Shope Dynomics switched on in the
odjusted the block ond white bolonce lo Brush ponel ollows you to drow o line
give himsell o cleon-Iooking imoge. thot goes from Ihick lo Ihin. )

MASTERCLASS ~51
 ·/./_./
./
''/

\
\

~ Using layout paper and block

n':'9'1 Ollie then golhered some
a:¿:J reference for troditional
tottoos. He wanted lo add o full body
covering on Ihe girl, and included logos
of his ond Horriel's nomes omong Ihem
os hidden details.
lJP:1 Once the girl was complete,
~ Ollie placed her with sketched
typography he' d received Irom Horriet,
and uplooded the layered lile lor her
to continue working on. At this stage il
looked like that shown above.
faA.:.I ink pens, Horriet traced the
linework ond sconned it into Photoshop.
She filled in the oreas thot needed to be
block, ond posilioned Ollie's artwork.
She Ihen deleted the block oreas Irom
behind the girl, ond merged Ihe two
loyers lo creme one block layer.

l1'fC"l Ollie mode onother printout of

li!Lt the finol cleaned-up lifework
wilh new shaded hair.
Using Iracing paper, he odded the
tottoo elements he wonted lo include
within the body of the girl. He then
scanned it in and ploced it into his main
artwork file.
~
~
When Ollie had finished the
ortwork 01 the girl, Horriel
worked out the linal layout. She made
o very basic collage in Pholoshop using
cul and posted photogrophic lottoo
elemenls and shapes. She then prinled
Ihis oul to scole and drew by hond
where she wanted everylhing else to go.
lID As the theme of the posler
wos tottooed lodies, Horriet
chose so me circus-style type, inspired by
her collection of books conloining old
Letroset fonts. She scanned Ihe type in
and scoled il up to size. She then printed
out the leltering ond drew it by hand,
odding shodows and detoiling.

52~ MASTERCLASS
 MASTERCLASS / ///
T.T •• IAL PENS & PHOTOSHOP

Harriel scanned in Ihe type and posilioned ea eh leller using Edit >
Transform > Rotate lo place. You con use o guide or curve lo moke
sure the lellering sits correctly on the poge. Harriel Ihen deleled areas of the black
layer which were behind the type.

-·~~f)
....~~.......c-.'"
=- -
. .~. -,. JIJtlij·S
.._
,\~
'\ -4l:I,"

.. .._.,
_ .._- ,"'_
._- Jtj.;j:.! tl 'J
, -
4"'""
'- • "\
-, -
l!E'n Harriel then scanned in each
~ colour. Using Seleet > Color
Range, she copied and pasled Ihe
colour lo the final image, adjusting Ihe
colour using Image > Adjustments
> Hue/Saturation. She usually uses
a Mulliply blending mode to make her
~ When Harriet was happy with colours look like print on paper.
~ Ihe layout, she printed out
íhe block and white image. She likes lo
work out her colours on paper and used
good old-foshioned fell tip pens to mark
in where she wanted eoch colour to go.

rt:"r.1 Harriel printed out Ihe outline

~ onto layoul paper, one printout
per colour. Using her felt-lip colour
guide, she cut out the oreas she wanted
lo colour with a scalpel. She then spray-
mounled the slencil to heavy cortridge
paper and rolle red Ihe oreas using a
high-contrasl colour block prinl ink.
m-n Horriel then added Ihe
~ stors, skulls ond 'dead sea
mob' lago. She drew the 101100 skulls,
sconned them in ond deleled Ihem from
Ihe block loyer. You con cheal smoll
oreas 01 colour like dols ond stors by
copying ond pasling íhe colour .•

MASTERCLASS ~53
 visit digitolortsonline.co.uk for more tutoriols

T.T •• IAL ILLUSTRATOR & PHOTOSHOP

) L••• " SMOOTH SHADING

STOPTHE PAIN OF
LOSTWORK "Make sure 011
Add complexity with ) OUliog every sloge
01 IhisIUlolial,ensule
youhoveo copy 01 eo,h
new paths are
neatly touching
blending techniques
loyer/group. Tirenil
youacddenlolly delele
somelhing youmiglrl
neadogoin,you\Yon'l the original
Radim Malinic has a recipe for successto help you create great hove forlo find il.When
type art using IlIustrotor's little-used Blending tool wOlking inlIIusllalol,
mokeocopy by
character shape.
drogging whileholding
ce illustraror Radim Malinic mulriplying - by taking two elements Help yourself with
O
downtheAltkev.
says that when you look at the and working out every stage
Blending tool among [he in-between, shouJd you need ro Smart Guides to
plethora of other features wíthin prepare an elaborate swatch library.
Illustraror, ir is like rhe onion in an Radim puts this hidden gern in the get perfect joins"
lrish stew. Although you wouJdn't use spotlight and, once rnastered, he
ir as the main ingredient, ir provides believes the Blending tool shouJd
vital depth of f1avour. beco me a srapie feature of your
In a similar way, the Blending rool creative arsenal. Here he offers a
provides invaluable help with colour foolproof way ro creare a striking
gradients, path blending - even shape illustration frorn one simple idea.

-
.-
¡.; •• .- .-

•
•• ~-
:,
:,
• ~ Turn your Preview mode lo
• a:aJ Oulline (Cmd/Ctrl + Y) and
make sure 011new poíhs ore neoíly
louching the original choracter shape.
Help yoursell with Smarf Guides (Cmd/
Ctrl + U) lo ochieve perfect joins. Next,
make a copy 01 the final group ond use
Live Poinl (K) with various
colours lo see íhe
~
~
In IIlustrolor, teke o look 01 your fonl librory lo see which typeloce would be
suitoble os o bosis lar íhis imoge. Allhough we will chonge mony aspects 01
-- ...
_....
:. ~
Ilow 01 your new
segmenls.
íhe original shope, observe the curves ond chorocter Row. II you ore not sure which
one lo choose, lay your oplions side by side. My selected font was Eloquenl, which is
-'--
- .
•

available Irom Veer al bit./y/iFvOPx

• ••
'.
Me;
--- ... __
--
-
,....... .•

~ As perfect as Eloquenl's
~ number Ihree is righl
now, we need lo Iweak a lew 01 Ihe ~ We need lo ereote lines
anchor poinls lo help us build up the ~ thot lorm íhe boundaries
blending parts. 01 íhe blends. You are quite likely lo ~ The main reason lo use Live
Turn íhe charocler into an outline spend the mojority 01 íhe lutoriol in ~ Poinl is nol only lo see Ihe
(Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + O) and using the this slep. overall dynamics, but olso lo neally
Direct Selection 1001 (A), choose poinls Change theoutline colour lo 50% separale each segmen!. You could hove
and adjusl bezier poths lo lurn parts 01 block and lock íhe shope (Cmd/Ctrl + used Ihe Pothfinder options, bul Live
íhe number into sharp points. You con 2) lo make the workflow eosier. Point works even beller. Go lo Object
also odd anchor points by hilling (+) Use the Pen tool (P) lo draw íhe lines. > Live Point > Expond to ungroup
ond clieking on Ihe path itself. Two-poinl poths give the besl results, the object. )

MASTERCLASS ~55
 ..
-_.--............
~

...
.-
...

--e.-,'=-~
.....
..
••
'_-
----,,--
--
---
--- - -
--
-'"'''''_
....-. .-.. -~.
--•
,
•

;::¡-:
. _ ..
0-'
0-'
••

~ The Blend 1001 creoles excellent colour hormony,

a.:.L:..I bul it's imperolive to work with groups of colours
thot complemenl eoch other OS well as working in Ihe
opposile. I chose four shodes of purple, plus yellow ond
oronge. To place Ihem in o Swotch group, selecl 011 ond go
to Edit > Edit Color> Recolar artwork. From the pop- ~ We could eosily finish the piece Ihere, bul shiny
up box, click Ihe New Color Group icono ~ effects will give il on extro-speciollouch. Sove your
work ond creole o new A3-size CMYKconvos in Pholoshop.
Fill il with o mid-brown (C55, M55, Y55, K10) ond poste íhe
moin objecl os o Smort Objecl.

-
-oc_ ~ .-

Wilh Ihe colours now in Ihe

Swolches panel, the next slep
is lo see how Ihe colour blends will
work with differenl Stroke weighls ond
Profiles. Toke one segmenl ond copy it,
Double-click lo Isolole Selected Poth,
click A lo select one side of the poth
lo delele. Lock (Cmd/Ctrl + 2) the
remoini ng polh a nd paste in place Ihe
original port (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + V)
ond delele Ihe opposile side. Chonge
the oulline colour ond Ihen blend
logelher (Cmd/Ctrl + B) using Specific
Steps sello 15.
rr:'!':'1 If you work oul o quick
~ shortcul sequence, then the
losk of creoling eoch slep will nol be
os dounling os il seems. When you've
compleled a segmenl, it's olso helpful
lo hide (Cmd/Ctrl + 3) Ihe finished lI:'r.'1 Bring in every port of Ihe number as solid objecl
ports so you hove fewer ploces where ~ shopes, ploced on lop of the Smort Object. Copy
you could occidenlolly click or select íhe ond Posle os a Shope loyer ond don't worry obou1 the colour
wrong port. Play with colour oplions ond too much right now. Moke sure eoch segment oligns well with
see how Ihe number works overoll. the original.

56~ MASTERCLASS
_'-,-..,.--------" -__ ,_,..., ---,- -
MASTERCLASS / ///
T.T •• IAL ILLUSTRATOR & PHOTOSHOP
- ---
-
-
--
.---
\~.

......
-- I

-.':G --

--- ..
- ".-... ..-
_ "":;tr:.
•
-
--
--ji;
•
"'J

-==~
-1-

lID We wont to opply o slightly

3D look to the vector shope.
Double-click the nome of one of the
Shope loyers (within the Loyer panel),
which will bring up the Loyer Style
options. Reduce the Fill Opocity to 0%
ond heod to Bevel options. Input the
settings from the imoge to odd futuristic-
looking reflections to eoch shope. The
plocement of the shoding could be quite
tricky ot first, explore how Angle/ Altitude
offects the look. Once ~~--""l!!!~the
you ore hoppy with the
first effect, copy ond poste
onto 011 the Shope loyers
.In your group.
rI"I:'I
l:I..I:.I
Since the moin document
has still gol quite o 2D feel
to it, we'lI odd extra vontoge points for
perspective. This will be done with o
quick Shope Iayer.
Hit the Shope tool (U) ond select on
ellipse. Drowo circle filled with white,
then opply Outer Glow vio Loyer Style.
Then Free Tronsform the object from top
ond bottom to resemble o shodow on
ground. See whot size would work
best within the convos.

I!I'I':I The ideo for this number three

~ come from my work Eight
Rondom Focts, which has extra wording
Ironsloted into vorious longuoges
oround on 'S' shope. Reselect the Shope
1001, drow o few cirdes ond then odd
the words. This is lo balance the centre
~ Step owoy from the monitor imoge within the negotive spoce.•
~ ond see how well the overoll
colour looks ond feels. Select the moin
Vector Object ond odd Hue/Solurotion
vio Ihe Adjustment loyer. Either hold
down AII when you seleet the filter from
íhe Loyer panel options 01 the very
bottom or clip it on the loyer vio Cmd/
Ctrl + Alt + G. Right now we will
increose the Soturolion levels for shoper
colour contras!.

MASTERCLASS ~57
 HONE YOUR DESIGN SKILlS WITH EXPERTTECHNIQUES

LI .... PENTECHNIQUES ~ Itook

~ dozens

Place a cityscape within of photos of

local londmorks
in Crouch End

a prehistoric beast
as drowing ond
colour references.
These included
Andy Council has made a name for himself transforming street pictures of
scenes into prehistoric monsters - here's how the illustrator does it buildings token
from many
ndy Council has created a fair beast. Usíng The Crouch End Dinosaur different ongles

O few dinosaurs in his time -

made up of various towns and
cíties. His most recent, based on the
Crouch End area of north London, is
his most detailed yet.
Commissioned by a Crouch End
resident, Andy toured the area looking
at the local sights before creating the
as an example, Andy explaias how he
uses colour to creare balance and add
depth to pieces, and how simple layers
(you'lI see why in
a bit). I olso noled
Iheir locolion so
of shade are used ro add weight and thal people who
defínition. These techniques can be knew Ihe orea
applied ro any hand-drawn line work. would see o level
Go tO crouchenddillosaur.co.uk for of accuracy in the
more on The Croudi Elld Dinosaur. finished piece.

58~ MASTERCLASS
 visit digitolortsonline.co.uk for more tutoriols

T.T •• IAL PENS & PHOTOSHOP

~ I worked with Ihe person commissioning Ihe piece

fI..:Lj lo ereote o very rough pen sketch 01 Ihe dinosour.
We ogreed on o diplodocus shope os Ihe best lorm bosed on
Ihe rood loyout. Building locotions were noted ond plotted in
occording to opproximote geogrophic locolion ond to fit lo Ihe
shope of the creoture. For exomple, Ihe semi-circulor window
01 Ihe Hippodrome wos chosen lo be Ihe eye.

n':'!:'1 I colloled oll the pholos ond used Ihem lo moke

~ o series 01 pen sketches 01 Ihe key londmorks. I
often ended up drowing the some londmork o lew limes Irom
differenl views lo ligure out how besllo fit eoch in lo the piece
(hence the need lor pholos Irom different ongles).
Drowing Ihe buildings before slorting on Ihe final illustrotion
helped me lo work oul ports Ihol could be simplilied, os only
Ihe key detoils 01 o building ore required when it is done smoll.

n':'9:'I Using Ihe preporolory sketches lar relerence, I drew

~ o pencil version 01 the linol dinosour over three
sheels 01 A4. I senllhis lo the clienl lor review belore inking
Ihe line work ond sconning.
I then cleoned up Ihe imoge in Photoshop, removing poper
join lines ond stroy pixels. )

MASTERCLASS ~59
 MASTERClASS _/./ ~
T.T •• IAL PENS & PHOTOSHOP

~ I used the Bockground Eroser Tool (E) lo delete íhe

~ while oreos ond keep only Ihe block line work. I Ihen
duplicoted Ihe loyer. I kepl Ihe lop loyer for line work ond Ihe other
for colour. Using Ihe Poinl Buckel 1001 (G), I slorted off by odding
roods ond green oreos for íhe bock ond belly of Ihe beosl. This
wos lo bolonce Ihe piece ond breok up Ihe brown of Ihe buildings.
I used the Eyedropper Tool (1)lo pick oul colours from my photos.

~ On my line work loyer I

a:¿:.¡ coloured Ihe lines of buildings
in Ihe distonce in vorying shodes of
grey. These wenl from dork grey in the
foreground lo lighl grey in Ihe dislonce.
This wos lo odd depth lo the piece ond
moke Ihe dinosour slond oul. The colour
fills on Ihese buildings were done in
lighler shodes lo olso odd deplh.
l'J":C"2 High-rise buildings in the Cily
a:ü were coloured in lighl grey
blues os Ihey ore on Ihe horizon ond
reflect the blue of Ihe sky. On o new
loyer behind the line ond colour work
I odded Ihe sky using the Grodienl 1001
(G). I used o very pole blue-to-white
verticol grodienl.

~ I ploced o new piece of poper over Ihe lop of my drowing

~ ond drew on oulline of Ihe oreos for shodow. This wos
sconned in ond filled in block using the Poinl Buckel 1001 (G). I Ihen
copied ond posted il into o new loyer obove Ihe line ond colour
work. Once positioned correclly, I odjusted the opocity of Ihe loyer
lo gel the desired shodow effect .•

60~ MASTERCLASS
New Business. CRM •Calendar

beca use it's comp.rehensive, but well considered

and easy to use. We've sp'ent years refining it,

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Bigger and befter or bloated extravagonce? John Allison
tokes a look at the designer's luxury tablet, revamped
espite a hefty price rag,
O Wacom's Cintiq line of pen
tablets tablets lend a fluency
and efficiency to illustration that will
usually repay the outlay for
professionals, There's a reason that
they're ubiquitous in the animation
industry - a Cintiq is rhe fastest way
ro get a lot of drawing done.
The new Cintiq 24HD has a
24.1-inch screen with a resolution of
1,920 x 1,200 pixels, and it's almost
disconcertingly vasto
A Cintiq overlays Wacom's
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a monitor, removing the cognitive
dissonance of working on a tabler
while looking at the screen. The Cintiq
24HD, Iike its 21-inch cousin and the
Intuos4 range, has 2,048 levels of
pressure sensitivity. It uses a two-
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a rubber grip and a pressure-sensitive
eraser on the other end. If you don't
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thern and cover up the hole with a
second supplied grip.
For people used to working with
older Wacom models, it mean s a lot
more finesse with a gentle touch.
Unlike the 18-inch and 21-inch
Cintiqs, the 24HD doesn't have a
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either side, and can be elevated to an
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the desk's edge and into your lap. It
even has two flip-out feet so che
keyboard can be placed just
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62~ REVIEWS
The Cintiq
24HD is extrernely
comfortable to work
with, however, given its size you'll
have tO say goodbye to a large part of
your workspace. The footprint when
laid flat is 80 x 60cm and ir's 37cm
deep when che screen is fully raised.
As wirh aU Cintiqs, calibration is
che key issue. The cursor is a few
millimetres below where the pen nib
bits the glass, so you have ro calibrate
the cursor to match up wíth your line
of sight. Despite che large expanse of
the 24HD screen (and the fact that the
human head has a tendency to move)
after a couple of tries che calibration
was exceUent.
Unlike earlíer models, current
Cintiqs have a glass screen with 811
anri-glare coatíng, which lends a very
slight,
pleasant
resistance to the
peno This coating will,
however, evenrually scratch due
ro dirt and grease getting berween che
screen and the pen nib. Using the
24HD simultaneously wirh the
keyboard is challenging, but
fortunately the tablet fearures 16
prograrnrnable Expresskeys. The
touchstrips of previous models, useful
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error (they ended up living in shame
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The Cinliq 24HO For digital artists, desígners, CAD
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style all its owu. It's easy enough for
novice users to pick up and use tbanks
ro its simple auto mode, and it's also a
camera thar enrhusiasts and
1•••
CONTACT_ _ _ _
*****
• Olympus,olympus.co.uk
PRICE -c--=-c--c--c----c-~~~-
• Body only, f583 plus VAl';double
zoom lens kit. f766
SUMMARY .
• Pros: Abiliry to focus or take a
pícrure just using the screen
• Cons: Issues with focusing
performance in low-Iight conditions
) T•• T•• INTERCHANGEABLELENS CAMERA
Nikon 1 Vl
Good for point and shoot but not much else, says Elias Plastiras
he 10.1-megapixel Nikon 1 VI
O is capable of producing
excellent images. Colours ruro
out vibrant, derails are crisp and the
camera gers tbe exposure right more
often than it gets it wrong, even in
difficult conditions. It's a very good
camera for anyone who just wants to
use auto mode and point and shoot.
However, it's not the nicest camera ro
use if you're looking for more control:
I~'~
CONTACT _
--~-*-*
*_*
• Nikon, nikon.com
PRICE._ __.
• f640 plus VATwith 10-30mm lens;
E815 plus VATwith 10-30mm and
30-110mm lenses
SUMMARY---=-=-~c-- _
• Pros: High ISO performance;
excellent image quality
• Cons: No focus ring; blurred pictures
in low-light conditions
A little disk with puppy power -
professionals wiU love thanks ro its
manual controls, interchangeable
lenses and high image quality.
The camera ítself is a good síze.
It feels solidly built and its handgrip
makes it cornfortable ro hold. The
shutter button has a distinct rwo-step
feel ro ir aod all tbe otber dials aod
controls are easy ro manipulare.
Once you've adjusted all your
settings, you can frame you r pictures
using the 3in OLED screen. It's rich,
bright and it even has sorne touch
functionality. You can simply touch
anywhere on tbe screen to focus on
mar part of tbe picture, and you can
even set it so that a picture is taken
every time you touch tbe screen.
Focusing performance is one of the
key selling points of this camera. Ir has
a dual-core processor and irnproved
techniques for analysing a scene and
often-used control buttons are
missing, the len ses don't have manual
focus rings and changing shooting
modes is a chore because you have to
navigate through me menu system.
Mostly, it's a camera that is geared
towards users who don't rnind lerting
the camera automatically detect
exposure settings, yet wanr to be able
to chango lenses depending on the
focallengtb they require, We got the
best out of this camera by simply
leaving it in program mode and letting
it decide most of the settings by ítself.
We did have some problerns with
image stabilisation though. Sorne of
our pictures came out very blurry
when shooting indoors or in low-light
ourside, even when a shurter speed of
I/60sec was selected.
We used the 1 NikkorVR 10-30mm
f/3.6-5.6 and tbe 1NikkorVR
30-I101nm fJ3.8-5.6, tbe lenses in the
double zoom lens kit. These
visit digitolartsonline.co.uk Ior more reviews
p.64
»»>
Above The PEN focusing as quickly as possible.
E-P3 hos o built-in However, when shooting indoors or
Hosh ond hot-
shoe ond il con outdoors in dim lighting conditions,
occommodole on and regardless of which lens we used
oplionol electronic
viewfinder
(we had tbe double zoom lens kit witb
ond exlernol the 40-I50mm and the 14-42mm zoom
microphone
lenses), the camera refused to focus on
the part of the screen thar we wanted.
We eitber had ro do it manually or find
a different angle with different lighring.
Despite this, stunning clariry and
colour richness can be captured by the
PEN E-P3 and for tbe most parr ir was
an aboye-average performer .•
r{¡/con .
•••
"
•••
•••
V1
Above The N ikon 1 performed very well witbout any
VI is comforloble lo
hold, slurdily buill
ond comes in while
obvious chromatic aberration, not roo
much distortion and supplied
or block reasonably decent deprh of field in
close-up shots despite the camera's
tiny 13.2 x 8.8mm CMOS sensor.
Ultirnately, the Nikon 1 VI can
produce very good image qualiry,
However, it's not a camera that we
can recornmend wholeheartedly. It's
nor inruirive, has a small sensor
compared to cornpeting models and is
just thar little bit too expensive .•
REVIEWS DigitaIArts 63
)0 REVIEWS
THE LATEST OESIGN TECH TESTEO
) T'.T'. 27 -INCH MONITOR
Apple Thunderbolt
James Galbraith finds a display thot shines, but is olso shiny
rom most angles, Apple's new
O 27-inch Thunderbolt Display
looks just like the 27 -inch LED
Cinema Display released last year,
However, it's gained an Ethernet port
and, of eourse, a Thunderbolt port-
and alongside rhe Mag Safe adaptor for
charging laptops, there's a Thunderbolr
cable that takes care of graphics and
data l/O. For MacBook Pro users, this
new monitor acts as dock, with
._._'.----------~*~*~~--*-*
CON.JACT~----~--------
• Apple, apple.com/uk
PR'CE
• f749 plus VAT
SUMMARY_-o-- -:-:
• Pros: can charge Apple laptops;
single cable from Mac curs down
clutrer; fase Thunderbolt connectiviry
• Cons: Glossy screen
) T'.T'. PORTABLEHARD ORIVE
LaCie Little Big Disk Thunder
Neil Bennett checks out the fostest smoll storoge oround
pple's Thunderbolt conneetion
O standard allows you ro edit
HD video using a MacBook
Pro like never before - even topping
the throughput possible with an
eSATA add-in eard. LaCie's
Thunderbolt version of its Little Big
Disk is a rwo-drive box thar'll easily
slip into your laptop bago It's available
in ITB and 2TB hard drive versions,
but the one that many editors will be
after features two 120GB SSDs for
ultra-fast performance.
.•,.
CONTACT-;--
__ ;:--
__
****"r
• LaCie,lacie.co.uk
PR'CE _ mirrored (in case you need the extra
• 240GB SSO, f625 plus VAT;1TB
7,200rpm, 1::335;2TB 5,400rpm, f250
SUMMARY~~-~----
• Pros: Fast data throughput; great HO
video performance; small unit
• Cons: Pricey; requires mains power
64~ REVIEWS
Display
everything shuttled through that single
conneetion - including fast data
transfer to external hard drives such as
the LaCie Lirtle Big Disk (below).
The Thunderbolt Display has a
2,560 x 1,440 resolution; a brighrness
rating of 375cd/m2; support for 16.7
million colours; a 1,000:1 eontrast
ratio; 178-degree viewing angle; built-
in míe; and a 49W speaker - identieal
to the LED Cinema Display.
We used an X-rite ColorMunki Photo Above Apple's with deep blacks.
ro calibrare the Thunderbolt Display.
For cornparison, we also looked at the
Thunderboll Disploy
offers greol oulpul - The biggest
problem was the
for Ihe price - we
27-inch iMac, 27-inch LED Cinema juSIwish Ihere wos glossy finish on
Display, and HP ZR30w. As expecred, o molle screen the screen, whicb gave annoying glare.
version ovoiloble
the Thunderbolt Display looked just like If you can live with this and don't need
_ the LEO Cinema Display. the ourput quality of a .¬ 1,500display
Uniformiry was not a problem across such as the Eizo and NEC models we
the screen, Greys were neutral after looked at last month, the Thunderbolt
calibratíon, and the glossy screen helps Display is an innovative display system
designs look rich but not overblown, for MacBook owners .•
We benchmarked our unir using
BlackMagic Design's free Disk Speed
Test app (bit.ly/n¡JSczH), whieh is
designed to tell you if your storage is
fasr enough ro feed Its editing
hardware. Using the LBD in the
standard striped mode (RAID O), we
clocked a write speed of 245.8MBps
and a read speedof476.6MBps-more
tha n enough
for real-time HD or 2K editing.
In comparison, the 5,400rpm drive
built into our MacBook Pro topped out
ar 92.0MBps (write) and 93.2MBps
(read), which is just about good
enough for SD formats.
The
LBD isn't
withou t flaws
We tested the LBD with both drives though. Its price will
keep it out of the reach
securiry), and got relatively good of most llserS - though it's
results (127.6MBps write and well worth the cost - and while
4I9.9MBps read). But with only Thunderbolt can deliver power, the
120GB of storage, you'lI only really LBD has ro be plugged into the mains.
Above loCie's new
want to do this if you're editing on-set drive is smoll ond Even so, its performance alone makes
in a swamp, for exarnple. blisleringly fosl it a winner .•
)
/ /
eRE JIVE FREEDOM
LEAOING OESIGNERS ANO ARTISTS REVEAL THEIR PERSONAL PROJECTS

Alex Varanese I Am
Made of Robots
Neil Bennett discovers o project tho1 never 100k off,
but left behind greot orl - ond inspired something new

t's a truth universally acknowledged that retro-

fururistic robots are much cooler than modero
designs (ef original Transformers toys vs their
recent CG incarnations). For San Fransisco-based artist
Alex Varanese - who drew on both 50s and 80s trepes for
his recent robot-based project J Am Made Of Robots - ít's the
"hílariously naive and endearing'' 50s idea of what artificial
intelligence would be like in the furure thar he loves.
"How is it that machines surpassing human cognition
can't figure out how to speak beyond a monotone pitch?"
he says. "Why would amazingly advanced robotic creatures
flail their limbs around like toddlers at a birthday party? It's
hard not to love something so consistently contradictory,"
JAn! Made Of Robots was initially conceived as an
animated series for the web. Alex had previously been
working almost excJusively in print, and was looking for a
project that allowed him ro work with narrative. Key to thís
was making robots as fallible as humans.
"One of my story ideas was about robots taking over the
world for no real purpose other than to gratify their own
collective ego," he says. "1wanted [to depict] legions of
victorious robots suddenly realising (with a mild sense of
embarrassment) they're not sure whar to do next, or even
why they went to such effort in rhe first place."

Future imperfect
To reveal this imperfection, Alex says he wanted the robots
tO look "clunky and outdated", unable to move with the
grace oc freedom afforded by human joints.
"They move in very rigid, orthogonal parterns," he
A-Side B-Side
says, "and their beads are double-sided audio cassettes.
1sketched them out initially using nothing but squares,
trying to crea te a basic shape that seemed humanoid but
with the absolute minimum level of detail, then added
articularion only where necessary."
Cassettes are one of Alex's favourite visual elernents, and
he used them in this project as a signature flourish. He a1so
wanted tOcreare characters that could swap berween good
and evil as quickly as changing sides on a cassette.
Once Alex began mapping out storyíines, the project
stalled. He discovered that while retro robots are visually
interesting, tbey don't make particularly relarable or
versatile characters. So the focus moved ro humans.
"1 began creating human characters ro inreract with the
robots, rendered in a deliberately different, flat vector style
instead of the 3D style used for the robots tbemselves," he
says. "What 1didn't realise was that this was going to ser
the stage for [a human-focused show], which 1transitioned
into rather gracefully by simply dispensing of the robots
and building on the existing character and ser assets,"
The fírst episode of the new show, Dcnron Diphthong,
can be seen ar dantondiphthong.coln. The robots survive
onlyas a series of posters (right). aLexvaranese.com •

66~ INSPIRATION
style
CUADRO FERMI