12 tips for creating geometric vector graphics and art
Leading illustrators share their tips for perfecting artworks and patterns based on geometric shapes.
Create collections
"Build a file of geometric shapes from drawings you have created by
hand. This gives you a collection of ideas to play with when you are
working. Lately I have been scanning in a lot of geometric shapes drawn
with rulers and other tools, and combining them into a single PSD work
file to dive into when I am working. This process feels more natural and
integrated with my other illustration work. "An illustration I recently produced for Wrap Magazine was made with a
combination of these shapes alongside curvy line work. The poster for
Disko Vraiment is made completely with shapes from the work file without
drawing anything beforehand." Rick Hedof (NL)
Making beautiful black-and-white images is easier than ever before, thanks
to powerful adjustments in Lightroom and Photoshop, as well as specialized
conversion software like Google's Nik Silver Efex Pro, Perfect B&W from
onOne Software, Tonality Pro from Macphun and B&W Effects from Topaz Labs.
You can play around with the sliders in these programs and in plug-ins, and you
may wind up with good results. However, with a deeper understanding of
black-and-white imaging, you can create a more powerful, more dramatic and more
artistic image. I'll cover the basics in this column, showing just some of the
endless possibilities that await you in black-and-white processing.
ORIGINAL
Here's the file (cropped from my RAW file) from which I created the iceberg
image.
Before we get going, however, here are some important factors to think
about as you're shooting when your goal is to create a great black-and-white
image.
SEE VALUES
You need to see in values rather than seeing colors. You also need to
envision how shadows and highlights will "play" in your
black-and-white images. As you shoot, envision how the scene will look without
color, which can be enamoring, as well as distracting (in a good way). With
practice, you'll start to see in black-and-white.
SEE THE LIGHT
Dramatic lighting leads
to a dramatic black-and-white image. In other words, strong shadows are very
important in black-and-white photography. In fact, the expression "Shadows
are the soul of the photograph" is especially important when it comes to
black-and-white photography.
Lightroom—which
I used to create this image of an iceberg in a glacier lagoon in Iceland—offers
awesome black-and-white capabilities, even when you don't use a plug-in. This
screenshot of the Lightroom Develop module shows my enhancements to my original
color file. First, I selected the B&W Contrast High preset. To add more
impact to the image, I boosted the Contrast and Blacks, and then reduced the
Highlights.
SEEK OUT TEXTURES
Textures are also very
important in black-and-white photography. Textures are emphasized by shadows,
usually created by side lighting.
FIND SHAPES, FORMS AND PATTERNS
When you combine shapes,
forms, patterns and textures with dramatic lighting, you're on your way to
creating a dramatic black-and-white image.
Technically,
here's something else to consider when it comes to black-and-white photography:
Color files can have up to 16 million different colors, whereas a grayscale
image has only 256 shades of gray. This is why considering and adjusting
contrast—the difference between shadows and highlights—becomes more critical in
black-and-white photography.
LEARN ABOUT COLOR FILTERS
Understanding the effect
of color filters is very, very important in creating the black-and-white effect
you desire. Basically, here are the effects of digital color filters on an
image:
Red:Darkens a
blue sky for a more dramatic image.
Orange:Darkens
the sky slightly more than a red filter. Like a red filter, it can also reduce
atmospheric haze.
Yellow:Darkens
the sky less than a red filter, which can be beneficial, depending on the
desired effect.
Blue:Honestly,
I've never found a use for a blue filter in black-and-white photography. In
landscape photography, it often lightens the sky too much.
Green:Lightens
foliage and slightly darkens the sky.
Infrared:Simulates,
somewhat, the effect of black-and-white infrared photography.
Experiment
with the effects of applying filters in your processing software. You may be
surprised to see how an image changes as you switch between filters.
CONSIDER CONTRAST
My iceberg image has
strong contrast—one of the elements, as I mentioned, that contributes to strong
black-and-white photographs. Strong contrast is often desired, which is one
reason to shoot in the early morning or late afternoon (as I did here) when
strong shadows add contrast to a scene.
Enjoy
your exploration of black-and-white photography. In doing so, think about
black-and-white photographer Ansel Adams' philosophy: A picture is never really
done. Go back again and again, and try different changes—even subtle ones.
Also keep
in mind what another great black-and-white photographer, Ruth Bernhard, said,
"There is no such thing as taking too much time, because your soul is in
that picture."
Rick Sammon is a longtime friend of this magazine. See more
of his work atricksammon.com.
I use various types of pomades ranging from water-based, to petrolatum-based (which many are familiar with seeing an orange tin on the shelves), to old school (now) discontinued grease that was used to slick up the hairstyles which emulate today. And while I've used and loved several brands, Layrite has been one that has done my hair no wrong since the start! Now, when you go to the supermarket, barber shop, or beauty supply store, you'll find yourself staring at a whole bunch of different hair products. Various types of: gels, creams, pastes, waxes, pomade, sprays, tonics! Then you've got the various finishes: matte, dry, natural, wet. Also, different textures! But, since we're focusing on pomade, let's just sort you out with that...
With events season in full swing, here are some cracking world-class conferences, festivals, exhibitions and more for April and May 2015.
April is a gloriously hectic month in the global design calendar, building up to a crescendo of world-class events in May.
Here's our pick of the key creative dates you need to know about over the coming weeks. Are you going to any? Let us know in the Comments below – we'll see you there…
At time of writing there were still a few tickets remaining for the design event of the year: Generate New York, which takes place this Friday.
net magazine and Creative Bloq's leading conference for web designers and developers features some of the biggest names in web design, including Mike Monteiro, Val Head and JoonYong Park as well as some fantastic new speakers, the two-track one-dayer promises inspiration, education and unparalleled networking opportunities. Here are 13 reasons why you need to attend...
Waldemar Guest Ranch 1005 FM 1340, Hunt, Texas, USA
An intimate, three-day, hands-on, workshop-driven design retreat on the rustic banks of the Guadalupe River, AIGA's Design Ranch is about reviving your creative spirit, putting away your mouse and getting your hands dirty. The ranch is open to people of all creative disciplines "seeking a recharge".
Work must have been published for a client in India or created by a studio in India for a client abroad
The final deadline for submitting entries to the 2015 KyooriusAdvertising and Digital Awards has been extended to Friday 17th April. This year Kyoorius has added a host of new categories to incorporate emerging areas in advertising, communication and digital design.
The nine-member advertising jury comprises of international and Indian agency representatives, and will be led by Nils Leonard, chairman and chief creative officer, Grey London, while the Kyoorius Digital Awards will be helmed by Andy Sandoz, creative partner, Havas Work Club and Deputy President of D&AD.
Judging for the prestigious D&AD Awards starts on 19 April 2015. The organisation will announce results as they are confirmed on the D&AD website. Winning work will be featured in the 2015 D&AD Annual and on the D&AD site. It'll also be showcased at D&AD's Awards Night, and at D&AD exhibitions and events internationally.
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Centre, 1941 Broadway, New York, USA
"Get fired up to make sh*t happen" at Behance's annual conference, 99U, which is designed to shift the focus from idea generation to idea execution – in short, bringing ideas to life.
Talks inspire action, with everyone from comic artists to CEOs and directors sharing the secrets of their success. This year's line-up includes Christoph Niemann, MoMA's Paola Antonelli and Adobe's Scott Belsky.
Babylon, Platoon Kunsthalle, Urban Spree and numerous art spaces in Berlin, Germany
The world's largest conference and festival for contemporary character culture design and art, Pictoplasma unites artists from all realms of media and discipline with some of the world's leading graphic and games designers, animators and illustrators.
Full of lectures, presentations, screenings, workshops, performances and more, with confirmed speakers including Adventure Time's Andy Ristaino, Yves Geleyn, Hikari Shimoda and TADO.
The UK's original contemporary graphic arts festival is now in its sixth year. Subverting the norm of your traditional art fair, Pick Me Up showcases graphic art in all its forms.
A fun, quirky and informal festival with studio spaces where you can shop for affordable art, digital Q&As, competitions and workshops. Up-and-coming artists are celebrated, so get networking!
The 25th anniversary of HOW Design Live promises to be the biggest and best ever, with a bolder-than-ever speaker line-up including Jessica Walsh, Karim Rashid, Spin's Tony Brook and Mucca Design's Matteo Bologna. This is one of the biggest international design events, and this year will be merging five events into one experience.
F5 seeks to unite art, technology and design by bringing together the thinkers and doers that are breaking ground and shaping new standards in media and design.
The two-day festival gathers filmmakers, writers, digital artists, game designers, graphic designers, VFX experts and many more seeking to inspire and create. Speakers this year include Patrick Clair, Debbie Millman, Eddie Opara, Partik Moberg and Block & Tackle.
What Design Can Do explores the impact that design can have across all creative disciplines, with 2015's speakers including the inimitable Stefan Sagmeister, johnson banks' Michael Johnson, Google Creative Lab's Steve Rura, and experimental artists Bompas & Parr.
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, John-foster-Dulles-Allee 10, Berlin, Germany
The global design conference with a typographic flavour returns to Berlin with talks and workshops covering "design, culture, society – with a little bit of kerning."
With this year's theme of 'character', talks will present strategies against a culture of superficiality, with a view to building personality within your work. The myriad guest speakers include Aaron James Draplin, Matthias Frey, Jon Gray, Josh Higgins and Gemma O'Brien.
London motion graphics studio Manvsmachine opted for a bit of performance art at OFFF Barcelona 2014...
28-30 May
DHUB, Plaza de les Glories Catalanes 37, Barcelona, Spain
This year marks a milestone for OFFF Barcelona. It's the 15th anniversary of the epic three-day design conference, and plans are in place to make it a party to remember.
This year's featured artists include Laika, Michael Cina, Mirko Borsche, Stefan Sagmeister and Studio Blup. It promises to be an explosion of graphic design, web development, motion and sound design – and almost everything in between.
The evolution of a photographer is rarely a linear one. We get better, we get worse, we think we’re improving but we’re not, and then with some luck and a lot of patience and practice, we actually start to produce great images. For some that last point is never reached and it’s usually due to a few common mistakes. As a portrait and fashion photographer I struggle with these mistakes on a regular basis as much as anyone else, and have included a few of my own photos as retrospective of my personal progress.
