Illustrator - Text Wrap Tutorial

As part of this assignment the criteria stated that I would need to use the Text Wrap Tool. This is something which we hadn't covered in lecture and hence was something I went away to research and practise myself. I decided to use the simplest form of text wrap to begin with. This was simply wrapping the text around the image. The image below shows the end result. Please note this image and text was only used as a trial and not anything to do with my final product.

 

At this point it is worth noting that the text was sourced from http://www.lipsum.com/feed/html. This is a site which randomly generates text for this exact person. To try out elements of designs when no text is known. All the text sourced throughout this process is taken from this site. The tutorial where by found out how to achieve this look can be found at: http://tutorialphotoshop.me/rukmlI_pBaY/Text-Wrap-Tutorial-Adobe-Illustrator.

 

So what did I actually do? Well this is pretty simple. I firstly opened an image. In this case an image of the UCP building. I then used the text tool, drew a text box and pasted in my text which I sourced from the above website. The next stage was to add the text wrap. To do this I firstly sent my text to the back of my overall image. I selected the text and then right clicked with my mouse. The arrange tool then allowed me to send this text to the back. Using the Selection Tool I then selected the whole image (both text and UCP building). I then went to the Object menu along the top of the screen followed by Text Wrap. My next step was simply to select Make. This has now wrapped the text around my image.

 

Due to the fact that this was such a simple process I decided to look into this slightly further to explore all my options. In the process of this I came across a second tutorial which can be found here: http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/wrapping-text-around-an-image-in-illustrator. This tutorial did show the basic text wrap which can be seen above but also displayed a way which I could wrap my text around the image but leave some space which acts as an outline to the image. Do achieve this I simply went to Object, Text Wrap and the finally Text Wrap Options. I then changed the Offset figure much higher. This increased the spacing between the image and the text. This can be seen below. I exaggerated this effect so it could be seen more clearly here however in terms of my disc design I probably wouldn't offset it this much.

 

 



 

The third Text wrap tool which I played around with involves using the pen or pencil tool to draw around the area you wish to wrap text around. In this example I used a different image. The image I used was a border. This image can be sourced at: http://all-free-download.com/free-vector/vector-floral-border.html. To achieve this text wrap I simply opened my border and then added my text in the same way which was mentioned above. I then used the pencil tool to roughly draw around my floral border. With this selected I then went to the Object, Text Wrap and Make tool in the same way that I did in the first instance. The image below shows the effect this had.

 

Overall these tutorial have shown me aspects of Illustrator which I wasn't aware of previously. They have given me various options with the text wrap which I could use in my assignment.

 



Illustrator - Type Tool

Within a previous Lecture I spent time looking at different type tools. I have decided that seen as the type tool is such a big part of both the Photoshop and Illustrator elements of my assignment I will look into these further and spend more time getting my head around different aspects. The first aspect I am going to look at is the terminology used within text. The image below shows a piece of text with the correct terminology for each aspect.

One of the most important aspects of this to note are 'Serifs'. These are the added flicks on the end of fonts. This can be seen perfectly above, the opposite to this are Sans Serif. These are fonts without these flicks and the best example of this is the font Aerial. This is the font I am using now. In illustrator nearly all of these features can be changed and adapted which is why it is so important to understand what they are and look at ways they effect the font. On a personal level I prefer Sans Serif fonts as these seem softer and more pleasing on the eye.

The main different between the type tool in illustrator and Photoshop is that Photoshop use Bitemap type. This is type which has pixels. This works in the same way that images does in a sense that if it is blown up too large the type becomes pixelated and hence the size is normally limited. Illustrator however uses PostScript Type. This has a series of points and each point is instructions on how to use draw the letter. This eliminates the need for pixels and hence looks a lot tidier at a wider range of sizes. The image below shows this.



So now we know about the Serif and Sans Serifs fonts we can look at other font elements. Some fonts can be Monospaced. This means that each character has the same width and height. This is often use in programming and working in columns.

There are 3 main font styles. The most common is regular. This is simply the font as you see it in the font bar. Then there is italic. This is used for quotations and finally Bold. Although these three seem very simple concepts its vital to chose the right combination to create the right feel when working with type in designs.

The final issue to consider when using type in design work is tracking and kerning. Tracking is simply the separate between each letter. This can be found in both Illustrator and Photoshop. Kerning refers to the separation between just two letters. It is most commonly used on the first two letters of a word. You can decide how close you want the second letter to be to the first letter for example. They could effectively sit under each other or be separated with some distance to create different effects. This is also an option which can be found in both Illustrator and Photoshop.

When using the Type tool in my assignment it is vital that I look into all of these options in order to produce the best effective. In a later blog post I will look at Digital Font Formats and how these could effect my final design.

Illustrator - Disk Template

DVD Disk Template:

The first stage of creating my disk overlay was creating a template. It was important I created a guide which would allow me to simply add elements and arrange them to fit within my template. This prevented me from worrying about sizes when creating different elements.

As in my previous template for my DVD inlay it was important I added a bleed area. I didn’t create a safety area this time as this element would not be cut out so it shouldn’t need any more guides to improve its accuracy. The bleed area I created was 4mm. This was slightly larger than that of my DVD inlay but this would help to act as a safety area as well and hence I made this slightly thicker.

In order to create a template which was the correct size I did some online research into the size of a disk. I used a template taken from ‘Wizbit Internet Services’. This can be seen below. This gave me all of the relevant dimensions I needed to create my template. The height of my disk template is 125.5mm and the width is 117.5mm. These are the main two measurements and include the bleed area. Within this large circle I needed to make a smaller circle for the hub and the stacking ring. The hub is the smallest circle and is hollow with the stacking ring being around the edge of this. This can be left blank or covered with the overlay. This would vary from one disk to another. The hub of my disk is 8.7mm and the stacking ring is slightly larger at 16.7mm.

 

 

 



 

I created my template using illustrator. I firstly opened a new document. I changed the settings within this new document dialog box to the following: I only need one art board and hence I changed this setting to one. The art board is Illustrators equivalent to a workspace in Photoshop. For obvious reasons I only needed one. Next I needed to set the size of my art board. I needed my disk to comfortably sit on this and hence it had to be bigger than the dimensions I mentioned above. For this reason I set my art board to 210mm by 210mm. This gives me space around the edge of my disk to overlap images and elements. I can then use clipping masks to make them fit my disk. I think I will benefit from having this extra space around my disk template. Unlike Photoshop Illustrator uses the CMYK colour mode as standard. This I have changed to RGB. RGB will give me a better view of the colours I am using for my disk and then these can be converted if I was to use this disk in industry. All other features I have left to the default.

Now I have my art board set up I needed to start thinking about my template itself. The first thing I did was create guides to find the centre of my art board. This allowed me to create a circle right in the centre. To create these guides I simply ensured the rulers were visible around my art board. (If these are not visible you can show these by going to View, Rulers, Show Rulers, these are hidden in the same way). I then simply dragged the guide from the vertical and horizontal ruler. It is very difficult to achieve accurate locations when dragging these rulers free hand and hence I used the tool along the top bar of the screen to set these to the centre. This was 105mm both in horizontally and vertically.

To create the circles I need for my disk template I used the Ellipse Tool in the shapes tool option. With the Ellipse Tool selected I used the ‘Alt’ and ‘Shift’ keys on the keyboard and took my curser to the centre point of my crossed guides. I then clicked and dragged out my ellipse to a reasonable size. To make this ellipse the exact size I selected the already drawn ellipse and then used the transform tools to adjust the size. My next step was making this ellipse a guide. To achieve this I went to View, Guides and then finally Make Guides. This then set my new ellipse as a guide. I then used the same path to lock my guides in order to start this process again and make my next ellipse. I repeated these steps until I had created all of my disk template. The final result can be seen below.

 

Photoshop Backcover Image 1

After creating my DVD inlay spine I decided I would work on the different elements I wanted for the back cover. This included two separate edited images. The first image I edited was the photo of Cameron Diaz which can be seen below.

Sourced: http://fabulouscelebrities.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Cameron-Diaz_8.jpg Accessed: 19/02/2014

 

My aim for this image was to airbrush and perfect her skin. When researching to find a suitable image I decided on the above based on the fact that the skin on her face had imperfections but also the light on her arm and the slight glow on her face could be enhanced and brightened easily to really improve the image.

 

To achieve the effect I have I used a mixture of resources. In a lecture we did some slight airbrushing and perfecting, some of these techniques I have reused within the editing stage of this image however I also looked deeper into the topic and found a tutorial which worked in a slightly different way. I used the combination of these two techniques to create my final image. The link below shows the tutorial I used: http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/

 

So now lets look at what I actually did:

 

1. The first step I took was to open my image into a Photoshop workspace. I then duplicated my layer twice. The first duplicate I named High Pass and the second duplicate I named Low Pass.

 

The first thing I noted was that this tutorial was actually quite confusing. I created a Low Pass layer however I didn't actually use the Low Pass tool, I used an alternative. This will become clear in step 2.

 

2. I now selected the Low Pass layer and locked both the Background and High Pass Layers. This prevents me from editing them accidently. So with the Low Pass layer selected I added a filter. I simply went to Filter, Blur and then selected Surface Blur. This filter blurs the image but retains the edges. This means the image as a whole keeps its original shape and sharp edges. Ideal when airbrushing faces. The Surface Blur menu then appears. I firstly played around with both the Radius and Threshold settings to see what both of these did. The radius alters how blurry you make the image while the threshold determines how sharp the edges are. The settings I went for can be seen below:

 

 

These settings were used as I wanted to create a blurred skin effect but still retaining my sharp edges. This is why the Threshold is highly than the Radius. The radius is still quite low on the scale, this is due to the fact that i wanted to keep the image professional and realistic. There is nothing worse than an over airbrushed image and hence these figures reflect that.

 

3. So the Low Pass layer is now complete. My next step was to lock this layer and unlock and select the High Pass layer. The very first thing I did on this layer was change the blend mode to linear light. My next stage was to create a layer mask, this would allow me to show come effects in some parts of the image will leave other parts as the original image. I then applied my image (Background) to the layer mask. To achieve this I used the Apply Image tool. I then clicked back to the original layer.

 

 

4. Still using the High Pass layer I then added the High Pass filter. To find this filter I used the Filter Menu, Other and finally High Pass. So what does the High Pass actually do? The High Pass retains edge detail in the specified radius where sharp colour transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image - Adobe Help Centre. With this filter selected a dialog box appears which requires a change of radius. The screenshot below shows how I changed the radius. Again like in the Low Pass layer it was important I didn't over do this as it would make the image look over done and hence unprofessional. To tone down this filter I adjusted the opacity of the layer. I reset this to 22%. This allowed some of the filter to show through without over powering the image.

 

 

 

 

 

5. This next step now uses the layer mask I previously created for the High Pass. This stage adjusts the brightness and contrast. To achieve this I selected the layer mask and then used the Brightness And Contrast option in the Adjustments panel. The screenshot below shows my Brightness And Contrast settings.

 

 

 

6. To achieve a different effect I decided to add Levels to the Low Pass image. This was a step I added after considering all of my options and I feel these Levels turned out to completely change my image. These can be found in the adjustments panel. The screenshot below shows how I adjusted the Levels in my image. Like the High Pass filter I found the Levels adjustments too much in full force. To tone this down I changed the layer transparency to 70%. This simply took the edge off of the effect.

 

 

 

 

The levels which I added to this image made it slightly darker. This gave Cameron Diaz the elusion of a natural looking tan, she now looks much healthier as well as more polished.



 



7. This is now where I differed from the tutorial I was using. This tutorial suggested that I then limit the area which I wanted the effect to show however I didn't do this stage. I was really happy with how my image looked and although I did try this on areas I found it very hard to find a happy medium and opted to leave the image edited as a whole. The only thing I did do was group my layers to make life slightly easier.

“High Pass retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.” - Adobe Help Center
Read more at http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/#ScKqriSfHVpvGCCX.99

“High Pass retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.” - Adobe Help Center
Read more at http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/#ScKqriSfHVpvGCCX.99

“High Pass retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.” - Adobe Help Center
Read more at http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/#ScKqriSfHVpvGCCX.99

“High Pass retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.” - Adobe Help Center
Read more at http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/#ScKqriSfHVpvGCCX.99

 

 

The below image is my final piece. This is my airbrushed image of Cameron Diaz and can be compared to the initial image which can be seen at the top of the blog post.

 

 

What key tools where used in this process:

Layers

Levels

Layer Masks

Brightness/Contrast

High Pass Filter

Surface Blur Filter

Layer Transparency

 

 

Like in my previous blog post regarding my Spine creation I will also evaluate the effectiveness of this aspect in terms of my inlay as a whole rather than an individual piece and hence this is to follow at a later date.

  



Illustrator - Current Disk Designs

Current Disk Designs:

When faced with this task I initial looked at a couple of DVD disks as basic inspiration however after progressing through this assignment further it has become clear that I will need to find more ideas and variations of DVD disks in order to aid my own design process. For this reason I have analysed many current DVD Disks in order to help me make my own decisions as to what works well and what doesn't work quite so well. Within this blog I have uploaded the DVD disk and made comments on its appearance and its overall suitability commenting on what I like and hence could take forward into my idea.

The Big Wedding:

The disk is very simple and takes a lot of inspiration from its DVD inlay. The large family image which sits to the right and below the central hub is the full size image which was broken down for the front cover. I like the way this has been done and the sense that this is a different image when it has simply just been used in a different way. This is something I could look into when creating my disk design, I could break down my main image into smaller images in reverse to what has been achieved on this disk. The font and title style as a whole is exactly the same on the disk as the inlay, this achieves a sophisticated and consistent look. The company logo is placed at the very top of the disk, this is a very simply logo so doesn’t look out of place however I am not sure I like this positioning on a personal level. The age rating on this disk can be found left of the hub just above the main image. I like the positioning of this and would where possible like to use this in my own design. The colours used on the disk are the same as those used on DVD inlay, I feel this is definitely the best way to go to keep it consistent. Overall I don’t feel this disk has many bad points. It is quite simple however I often feel simplicity is bets than over doing something. I would like to compare this design to one which is slightly busier to see which one I prefer overall. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.

 

 

 

 

The Holiday:

The main and first thing I notice about this disk is the title of the film. This is very bold and stands out on the disk as a whole. I like this idea and I believe the colours used help achieve this. When applying this idea to my design I could go for my bright pink text on a white disk background. The images are displayed slightly unconventionally on this disk. There are four images of the four main characters each in a small square box under the hub. This is unusual however I quite like the idea. This also frees up a lot of space to allow for the white background to show and hence the simplicity of the disk to really be displayed. This disk has even less on than the previous one I looked at however I feel the overall appearance gives off the same vibes and this has shown me that I don’t need to fill the disk to make it look good. All of the logos and age ratings are positioned either side of the central hub between the row of images and the title of the film. This works well and breaks up the disk as a whole. Overall I like this disk design but I feel that this disk matches the simplistic inlay which was created and I evaluated earlier, my inlay is much busier than this and hence I feel that my disk could look slightly out of place in comparison. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.

 



 

 

 

Dear John:

This disk design appears to have taken the image from the DVD inlay directly. The disk has a more noticeably full design than the other disks I have looked at although ‘the big wedding’ arguably uses a full disk design. The title on this disk is positioned below the hub. This is unusual however works best with the image as if not the title would cut off the heads of the two main characters. This is a good idea and shows that I don’t need to fit my main image around my title as it would still be effective in other positions. Like all of the other disk designs I have looked at ‘Dear John’ also uses the same style and coloured title to achieve the consistency. This is something I am now certain I will do when creating my own disk design. All of the logos and age ratings for this film are located to the left of the hub. This could again be due to the nature of the main image used however I don’t feel they look out of place. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.

 

 



Friends With Kids:

The design on this disk uses very similar techniques to those used in ‘theBigwedding’. The main aspect of this disk is the image. This has been taken from the DVD inlay. This seems to be a general running theme however I am undecided whether I like this aspect or not. Under this main image is a pink bar with the company logo inside. This is similar to the DVD inlay which keeps them consistent. The title on this disk can be found centrally above the hub. This uses the same style and colours as those used throughout and is very effective. This font is of a good size and stands out well on the white background. The size of the title is something which I hadn’t yet thought about and hence this gives me something else to consider when designing my own disk. The age ratings for this film are located to the left of the hub, this seems a common location and hence I plan on experimenting with this on my own design to see if I will follow suit. All other logos can be found to the right of the hub. This also works well and acts as a breaking point between the title and the main image. This is similar to that of ‘The Holiday’. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.

 

 

Friends With Benefits:

This is by far the most simply disk design I have ever come across and hence I felt that it was vital I evaluated it to really compare the two ends of the spectrum. The white background of this disk is good and seems a running theme throughout the disks I have evaluated and hence something I would like to look into experimenting with them creating my own disk. The title is the same style and colour as that on the inlay and hence this keeps the two consistent. The location of this is top central. This works well however this title could have been anywhere based on the sparseness of the disk as a whole. The age ratings on this disk are located in the same positions as those on the other disks I have evaluated (central left). This works well and as mentioned above something I will look into further. All the other logos for this disk can be found underneath the hub. This disk is far too simply for my liking. I feel I would also have a great deal of trouble hitting all the criteria I need to with this kind of design. It is effective but not on the same level and those previously mentioned. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.



 



 

 

 

 

 

Illustrator - Hand Drawn Ideas

Hand Drawn Ideas:

After creating my brainstorms for each ideas I decided to turn these into drawings. I have designed four different disk designs. Now I have set my theme through my Photoshop work I am more limited with the options I can chose based on the fact that I wish to keep my three elements similar and hence professional. I want all my elements to follow the same theme. For this reason the main colour I have used throughout is pink and I have taken the idea from the front of my DVD inlay (the pink sky with clouds) and used this in different variations for each design. My four designs can be seen below. The next step I wish to take is to look at current disk designs and evaluate the good and bad features (in my opinion) of each. This could give me ideas for adaptations to my own but also look at things which I didn’t think worked so well and hence could avoid with my own.

Illustrator - Initial Brainstorms

Brainstorms:

Moving on from my initial ideas I began to brainstorm four ideas which I could use for my disk cover. These brainstorms allowed me to think about and look into each design idea I had more easily. The main things I thought about while brainstorming are the positioning of titles, logos and age ratings, the main feature of the disk cover, colours used and finally whether the disk cover was going to be printed onto the whole disk or just a segment. The four brainstorms can be seen below. My next stage is to draw out each of these designs to get a feel for how each could look.