Photoshop: your best friend and worst enemy

[JacksonRobinson]

If you are a budding designer or illustrator, I would like to have a little chat with you.

Well actually it is a very simple simple conversation.

If I could give you any advice on how to become a "better" artist it would be this. DO NOT USE PHOTOSHOP FILTERS. The absolute worst thing you can do for your professional careers as a digital artist is to use Photoshop filters. Plain and simple they are the absolute biggest crutch of bad design, bad concept and bad execution.

Everyday I receive portfolios of artist applying for open positions at the studio a work at and without fail 50 - 75% of every portfolio is just a recreation of the Photoshop filter library.

I'm sure this is a big enough topic for another conversation but I really don't believe in the word "talent" someone may pick up something a little faster than others but talent is the MOST overused concept in the field of art as LUCK is in gambling.

The only true and never-changing force in the world of art is practice.

[Don Boyer]

If you are a budding designer or illustrator, I would like to have a little chat with you.

Well actually it is a very simple simple conversation.

If I could give you any advice on how to become a "better" artist it would be this. DO NOT USE PHOTOSHOP FILTERS. The absolute worst thing you can do for your professional careers as a digital artist is to use Photoshop filters. Plain and simple they are the absolute biggest crutch of bad design, bad concept and bad execution.

Everyday I receive portfolios of artist applying for open positions at the studio a work at and without fail 50 - 75% of every portfolio is just a recreation of the Photoshop filter library.

I'm sure this is a big enough topic for another conversation but I really don't believe in the word "talent" someone may pick up something a little faster than others but talent is the MOST overused concept in the field of art as LUCK is in gambling.

The only true and never-changing force in the world of art is practice.

If it's possible, I'd love to see some examples of "When Photoshop Goes Bad!"

[RandyButterfield]

Here's a couple examples of the Glowing Edges filter. There's probably some others used as well.

thanks, Randy

[JacksonRobinson]

I teach a Photoshop / Digital Painting class at The Gnomon School of Visual effects. The first thing I teach my students (besides basic design and color principals) is when someone sees your work they shouldn't be able to know what software you used to make it. It is joked about, but 9 times out of ten a budding artists' career is demolished by using the Plastic Wrap filter, or Glowing edges... and the grand daddy of them all THE LENS FLARE. (QUE cinematic orchestra hit) In order to create relevant designs that are not either faddish or novelty you must first have a good design.

I actually don't even allow my students to use filters until the third or fourth term. LOL I even have an assignment where I have my students to paint a lens flare. You would be amazed at how much nicer the lens flares end up looking.

[xela]

But zoom + motion blur, radial blur, render clouds, lighting effects, mosaic pixellation...

Yeah you could do all of these manually but why? They all have their place in various design, and even the seemingly idiotic filters like plastic wrap can be used well in an abstract art piece.

Generally speaking, filters should at most be accents. If I use one, it's because I am a lazy motherfucker. For professional work, though, I would recommend avoiding all but lighting effects and zoom filters.

Lens flare in and of itself is a horrible, horrible effect that should be outlawed. If you were my teacher I'd be thrilled that you hated it until you made me paint that monstrosity on my own.

I think one of the biggest sins in any design is using a "default" effect. For example you're making a text effect and you drop an outer glow + bevel/emboss. Boom. Everyone fucking know what you did. That shade of yellow on the outside of text makes me cringe whenever I see it.

[kdklown]

Gobbledygook!  These posts hurt my head.  Might as well be Ancient Aramaic.     Enjoy talking shop, Gents.  Just be sure to keep designing ridiculously beautiful decks for me to enjoy please! 

[MrMollusk]

Lens flare in and of itself is a horrible, horrible effect that should be outlawed. If you were my teacher I'd be thrilled that you hated it until you made me paint that monstrosity on my own.

J.J. Abrams must be your arch nemesis.

[xela]

Considering I skipped both movies because of that, yes

[The Quadfather]

From the title, I was kinda hoping this was gonna be a thread where we show off our photoshopping skills by creating pictures of our best friends and worst enemies that have been somehow put together to create some sort of best-enemy-worst-friend hybrid.

But that's because I've never used photoshop before. I've got zero artistic talent both on and off a computer!

[Paul Carpenter]

I agree with Jackson wholeheartedly. Perhaps a subtle shadow here or there or a slight gradient to enhance an area or add some dimensionality, but heavy default bevels, glowing things and the like are too often used IN PLACE OF solid design instead of ENHANCING solid design.

I often start my designs with pencil and paper, and look at it for a very long time in black and white. If it doesn't hold up, speak to the theme, be visually interesting and grab you in its simplest form, then adding lots of color and effects is only polishing a turd. I toss out a whole lot of stuff that just looks lame in black and white.

[xela]

I agree with Jackson wholeheartedly. Perhaps a subtle shadow here or there or a slight gradient to enhance an area or add some dimensionality, but heavy default bevels, glowing things and the like are too often used IN PLACE OF solid design instead of ENHANCING solid design.

I often start my designs with pencil and paper, and look at it for a very long time in black and white. If it doesn't hold up, speak to the theme, be visually interesting and grab you in its simplest form, then adding lots of color and effects is only polishing a turd. I toss out a whole lot of stuff that just looks lame in black and white.

Oy, gradients and layer effects aren't filters!

[Alex Willis]

I prefer vector over raster so I only work in AI.  But I do love me some lens flare! 

[RandyButterfield]

I prefer vector over raster so I only work in AI.  But I do love me some lens flare! 

Hey Alex,

Are you saying these designs are Illustrator Vector files? They definitely don't look it, but if so, why?!!
There's no logical reason or point for these to be Vector based.

I do about 90% of my designs in Photoshop. I used to work in Freehand a lot, but once Adobe bought that out they pretty much let it go in favor of Illustrator. Which is sad, because I always thought Freehand was a much stronger program.

thanks, Randy

[Paul Carpenter]

I agree with Jackson wholeheartedly. Perhaps a subtle shadow here or there or a slight gradient to enhance an area or add some dimensionality, but heavy default bevels, glowing things and the like are too often used IN PLACE OF solid design instead of ENHANCING solid design.

I often start my designs with pencil and paper, and look at it for a very long time in black and white. If it doesn't hold up, speak to the theme, be visually interesting and grab you in its simplest form, then adding lots of color and effects is only polishing a turd. I toss out a whole lot of stuff that just looks lame in black and white.

Oy, gradients and layer effects aren't filters!

OK, they aren't "filters" but they are layer effects, so they are generally applied to other art that needs to be solid on it's own. They can also be overused quite easily.

[xela]

I agree with Jackson wholeheartedly. Perhaps a subtle shadow here or there or a slight gradient to enhance an area or add some dimensionality, but heavy default bevels, glowing things and the like are too often used IN PLACE OF solid design instead of ENHANCING solid design.

I often start my designs with pencil and paper, and look at it for a very long time in black and white. If it doesn't hold up, speak to the theme, be visually interesting and grab you in its simplest form, then adding lots of color and effects is only polishing a turd. I toss out a whole lot of stuff that just looks lame in black and white.

Oy, gradients and layer effects aren't filters!

OK, they aren't "filters" but they are layer effects, so they are generally applied to other art that needs to be solid on it's own. They can also be overused quite easily.

Unless it's web design or interfacing. Looking at Win7 or Mac OSX I can easily say 99% of it was done through layer styles. Though I don't know if interfaces qualify as "art."

[Alex Willis]

I prefer vector over raster so I only work in AI.  But I do love me some lens flare! 

Hey Alex,

Are you saying these designs are Illustrator Vector files? They definitely don't look it, but if so, why?!!
There's no logical reason or point for these to be Vector based.

I do about 90% of my designs in Photoshop. I used to work in Freehand a lot, but once Adobe bought that out they pretty much let it go in favor of Illustrator. Which is sad, because I always thought Freehand was a much stronger program.

thanks, Randy

Wow, you are good to have picked out Freehand!  Yes, these are all Freehand.  I do game design work in AI, but my cards have all been Freehand.