Are you excited to create animated GIF from your illustration/vector/artwork? You’ve just landed to the right place. However, just before we begin, if you’ve not created any GIF earlier (link embedded in statement), this would be a better first step.

Many steps in the tutorials are same, but, this procedure is a bit more advanced. When making a GIF from out of a video, you are cutting existing frames and editing them to a GIF. But in illustrations, the frame don’t exist, and you’ll have to create new frames. Now this can be tricky, so follow my lead and we’ll sail your through this process in an organized manner.

Step 1: Select the illustration/artwork/icon you’d like to animate

For this tutorial, I will be using a vector icon to keep things simple and convinient

Step 2: Separate your artwork into layers

In this step, first convert the art work into a PSD docx. You can do this by importing layers from illustrator and procreate etc. or maybe copy paste layers in between programs. Keeping layers separate is an important thing that needs to be looked out for. This will assist in animating specific elements.

Since this is a vector icon created in Adobe Illustrator, I’ll just copy and paste my elements in one at a time.

• Open the vector artwork from the illustrator file.
• Decide which layer is needed and which elements are to be animated
• The layers you don’t want to animate merge them together and copy to Photoshop file.
• Paste them in as a Smart Object (a window will pop up asking you this)
• Only one at a time, paste the layers that are to be animated.
• NOTE: Separately copy the layers. For example if I want to animate the little sparks around my icon one at a time that means each spark is neede to have its own layer.

In the above image, you’ll see I have all my artwork separated into layers. I’ve highlighted the layers I want to eventually animate in yellow, and the layers I want to stay static in orange.

Step 3: now it’s time to Set up your timeline

After pasting the layers open the “animation” or “timeline” window in the Photoshop (name depends upon which version you are using)

• Open the Photoshop and select the “animation” or “timeline”
• Open the “Create Video Timeline” after the window opens.
• Click on the three horizontal lines called the hamburger menu on the top right corner of the screen in the same window and a menu appears.
• Place your mouse on the convert frame and click on the “Convert to Frame Animation”.
• In the end you should have only one frame on you timeline.

Your “timeline” should look like the above photo (I’ve also circled the “hamburger menu” in yellow if you weren’t able to find it)

Step 4:  Begin animating frames

You can continue animating your artwork after you have your file set up. Since in my GIF I want that the sparks around the bulb to shine all at once and for this it means each actions should have one frame. I want 10 frames since I have 9 sparks around the bulb. They are mentioned below.

• Frame 1: 0 sparks visible
• Frame 2: Only Spark 1 visible
• Frame 3: Only Spark 1 & 2 visible
• Frame 4: Only Spark 1, 2 & 3 visible
• etc.

You can see from the small thumbnails in my Timeline window how the sparks are appearing one by one. You’ll also see a little “5 sec” below each thumbnail. That means each frame will be on screen for 5 seconds before moving to the next. We will fix that amount of time in the next step!

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ADVANCED TIP:

This is a simple GIF animation tutorial but if actual movement is required across GIF then the same process has to be repeated.

If I wanted to float my bulb across the screen from left to right then the whole light bulb is required to be in one layer and visible on frame 1.

After that I will create frame 2 (to create a new frame, hit the icon next to the trash symbol in the Timeline/Animation window), then create a duplicate of the light bulb layer, and poke the new layer to the right (hold down shift, and hit the right arrow key) and the previous layer is hided.

Before creating layer 3 the duplicate of the previous layer is made again and poked to the right corner and the previous layer is hided again. Repeat this process until the light bulb moves across the whole screen.

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Step 5: Edit key frame rates

After the creation of all the frames when you play the GIF you obviously think why this is taking so long? This is the point where key frame speed comes to rescue.

You need to select all the frames in your timeline, click on the little arrow on the back of time and select the required time. The time can be selected based on the need of the project and your taste.

After you choose a specific key frame rate for your animation then you will also want to hit the dropdown for looping options and click “Forever”. After doing so your GIF will loop for infinity.

Above images show before and after I set my framerate/looping time

Step 6: Play and Export!

After the above mentioned steps, have a look at your GIF how it looks and animates. Once you are satisfied with the GIF then you are ready for final export.

When exporting a GIF, you won’t just “Save As” like you might with a JPG. You’ll want to go to File > Export > Save for Web. Once you hit “Save for Web,” a popup should come on screen. There are a lot of different options here, but in most cases you should just be able to hit “Save” and be done!

Applying hanging punctuations correctly to justified text is one of the modern impacts of InDesign. This is done by setting the optical margin adjustment. Hanging punctuation moves the punctuation mark outside the text margin slightly and makes an illusion of an even edge for the text. Also, a portion of the serifs can be moved out of the text margin with optical margin adjustment.

If you are new to InDesign, hanging punctuation is a strategy for typesetting bullet points and punctuation marks to prevent margin alignment breakage and maintain the flow of text.   See graphic illustration below:

In the image above, the quotation mark in paragraph 1 is tucked inside close to the “D”, losing arrangement.  While the paragraph 2 shows that the quotation mark is slightly outside the text margin.

From your InDesign interface, click on TYPE then STORY

Choose OPTICAL MARGIN ALIGNMENT; change the value till you are satisfied with your choice.

And in Illustrator, from the top menu, choose TYPE, and then OPTICAL MARGIN ALIGNMENT

When in doubt, ensure that the overhang is similar in size as the text.

As the holiday season approaches, you are probably looking for ways for you and your family to pass some time. Why not relax and destress with coloring books? Now, you don’t have to go out and skim through tons of coloring books to find images that are fun to color. You can make coloring books yourself. All you need is:

• Images, photographs, or vectors
• Adobe Photoshop
• Some time

With that, let’s get into the two simple ways you can create a coloring book. So simple that anyone can do it!

Using Vector Images to Create a Colouring Book

Step 1: Start a new document in Photoshop. You can pick whichever size you want, but ideally, you want it to be 8” by 10”, so it is big enough for you to color with ease. 

Step 2: Choose a vector pack of images. Browse through to find the perfect images that you and your family will enjoy coloring. One thing you need to ensure is that the stroke color is black while the fill color is white. The stroke shouldn’t be too thin or too thick, so keep it around 1 pt. 

Using Images to Create a Coloring Book

Step 1: Start a new document in Photoshop. Once again, you can pick any size you like, we recommend going with 8” by 10”. You now need to open the image you want to use, so, click File and Place your image into the document. 

Step 2: You now need to desaturate the image. Click on the Image tab, scroll down to Adjustment, and select Desaturate from the list. 

Step 3: Now, click on the Filter tab, go down to Sketch, and select Photocopy. We recommend adjusting the darkness to 20 and detail to 3. But play around with it to find a setting you feel is best for you.

Step 4: To remove the background, you need to click on the Select tab and select Color Range. Touch the gray line art with the eyedropper, which will automatically select the outlines of the image on the screen. 

Step 5: Then, click on the Select tab and Inverse option, and the background will no longer be red. 

Step 6: Deselect the lines by hitting Ctrl + D. 

Step 7: It’s now time to darken the lines. Click on the Image tab, select the Adjustment option, and then Levels. Adjust the black levels now, making them dark enough for you to see the outlines of the image.

Step 8: To finish it off, all you need to do is add a white background. 

With that, you have an image you can print on an A4 paper and color. 

One of the questions we have been asked frequently is – (what is/are the process we use to create our illustrated flyers and posters). I will try to answer this frequently asked question with a tutorial on how our Ohio graphic designers turn the illustrations they created into flyers or posters.

At the end of this tutorial, what we would create is this flyer that was created for our recent Go media inc. Art show.

Insert picture here

Before I give a detailed explanation, here is a quick highlight:

Draw with Pencil on Paper.

Ink your penciled artwork.

Scan your artwork at 300 dpi.

Create a second copy of the artwork at 150 dpi.

Create a color layer just under the artwork (set your artwork layer to multiply)

Color your artwork.

Delete the artwork layer, and return the color layer to 300dpi

Open the original 300dpi artwork and paste it above the color layer.

Flatten the image and save it.

Import the image into your design software

Add text and graphics

Export the final design.

Step 1. Draw with Pencil on Paper.

The first step to turning your illustrations into flyers and posters is the pencil drawing. I can teach extensively on how to draw, but this tutorial’s main focus is how to turn your pencil drawings in to a finished design.

Here are the tools you’ll need:

Paper: I recommend a plate finish Bristol paper. This paper is heavy enough to handle a lot of reading, and thick enough to absorb ink and not wrinkle in the inking phase

Pencil: I use a mechanical pencil like the KOH-I-NOOR Technigraph 5611 Lead Holder. It holds a thick piece of graphite, similar to that of a real pencil. When you sharpen and use it, it gives a better result.

Eraser: Staedtler Mars plastic reader and Sandford tuff stuff eraser stick are what I will recommend in this tutorial.

NB: When you are in the pencil drawing stage, flexibility is very important. You can get inspiration from basic shapes, draw faint lines to see if the shape works. When you get what you want, you can tighten up your drawing.

This is what a fairly loose pencil drawing looks like:

Insert picture

Here is a follow-up sample of a fairly tight pencil drawing:

Insert picture

A word to encourage you about drawing: don’t be hard on yourself, some illustrators expect to sit down with a piece of paper and drawing set, and just project what’s on their mind at one trial. I think it is nearly impossible to get it right on the first attempt.

Drawing is a process, it might take a long time to get what you are looking for. I like to make comparison between a good batter in baseball and a good illustrator. For a major league, a great battling average is ‘300’. This means that they can get three hits out of 10 throws, or they can hit a throw 30% of the time. I think this percentage is great for an illustrator too, if I get three great drawings out of a possible ten attempts – to be fair, I think I have done well.

Relax while you are drawing with pencil, get more than one paper, be flexible, get loose, don’t be disturbed by ‘bad sketches’ – just toss them over and restart on a new sheet.

Here is our finished tight pencil drawing – insert picture

Step 2. Ink your penciled artwork.

Now that you’re done with your pencil work, it’s time to ink your drawing.

Here are the tools you’ll need:

Paint Brush or Crow Quill Pen: small paintbrush is recommended (try #1, #2 or #3)

India Ink: I like using the thick India inks, Higgins waterproof black India ink can also give a great result.

Marker: a black waterproof marker would do the trick.

This regular #0 Windsor & Newton camel hair paint brush is one of the brush I use, I have also used the new synthetic nylon or polyester fibre paint brush with great success. The masking tape rolled around the tip of the brush is to get a better grip while using the brush. The extra handle gives me a better control over the tip of the brush.

Insert picture

I fill the large areas of black with a marker.

I think it is better to ink with either crow-quill ink pens or a paint brush because of their ability to give varying line thickness. In the spot where you need a thick line, you just have to push down to draw the thick lines, you’ll raise it up a little if you need to draw thin lines.

You can try it out couple of times to see how it works!

Insert picture here

A couple tips about this: to show depth in your drawings, objects that are closer to you should be drawn with thicker lines, and objects in the background should be drawn in thinner lines.

Also, to show bright spot, for instance, if there is a light source behind an object, just over the edge of the object, the outline of the object might get thin to the point where it stops.

Sometimes, there is too much ink on the brush after deeping it in the India ink, Just tap it on the ink well, or draw a few lines on a scrap paper before you use the ink on the brush on your drawings.

It is also important to use the right type of paper, the spread of India ink on some papers cannot be controlled. Get a few type of Bristol paper and experiment on them. After experimenting, I found out that a thick smooth or plate finish Bristol papers the best.

If you want to fill a large area, black waterproof market would be perfect.

Once you have finish inking your drawings, wait a while before erasing your pencil lines. I usually wait for at least one hour before I erase my pencil lines. I just run my plastic erasers over the entire drawing. If your work is not dry, it will snear if you erase it. Give it plenty of time to dry. Once the ink is dry, erase the entire paper gently, the pencil sketch will disappear but the ink will stay.

Step 3. Scan your artwork at 300 dpi.

Once you have completed your black and white artwork, it’s time to get it into your computer for coloring.

Here are the tools You’ll need:

Computer: you’ll be completing the rest of your designs on a computer. A powerful design station is what I recommend, if you don’t have any, you can work with what is available for you. A simple computer is fine for a small art work. If you are doing a very large scale artwork, you will need computer built with processor that can handle the size of your work.

Scanner: If you have a large format scanner, perfect! It will make you life much easier. If you don’t have a large format scanner like me, it’s ok. I use an 8.5 x 14 inches scanner. I scan my artwork in pieces and stitch them together. Although, this can be a bit tedious.

Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter: although I think painter might be better, I use photoshop. I choose photoshop because I’m very familiar with it.

Switch your artwork together: since most of the times I scan my artwork in pieces because I have a small scanner, the time below will help you if you also have a small scanner:

1. Align one edge of your paper with that of the scanning surface and scan. Once you scan the first part, slide the art, keeping one edge of your art aligned with the edge of the scanner again. It will prevent your art from rotating, making the stitching process easier.
2. Scan your artwork at 300 dpi. 300dpi is a high resolution. It is better to scan with very high resolution than lower resolution. You can eventually shrink the artwork down later, but start with high resolution.
3. Stitch your artwork together. You can do this by bringing every pieces of your artwork together on a large canvas, lining them up. To make lining up your artwork easy, set each image layer to multiply.

Once you have scanned your black and white artwork into the computer and stitched it into one piece of work, the next step is resizing the image to your desired output. For this tutorial, we want the art size to be a 4″ x 9″ flyer. we start by shrinking the size of our artwork to 4″ across, we will also add an extra canvas, such that our final art size is 4″ x 9″.

NB: If you intend to add graphics or text above your artwork or below your artwork, take your time to first sketch how you would layout your graphics. For instance, if you want to add a text title above the illustration, you need to first decide how much space you’ll need for it. Once you get to the design phase, you’ll have plenty plenty background art to work with.

Here is the final scanned art: insert picture

Step 4. Create a second copy of the artwork at 150 dpi.

Create a second copy of the artwork at 150dpi. Save a copy of your 300dpi, black and white artwork and set it aside (you’ll still work on it later). Create another copy of the artwork in 150dpi. This new copy is what you’ll be using for the coloring. You’ll color on the lower resolution to make work east for your computer.

Step 5. Create a “color” layer just under the artwork.

The setup of your photoshop layer should be like this:

Top Layer: your artwork in black and white (set the layers to ‘multiply’ to see the color behind your line art).

Middle Layer: this layer is blank, it is where you’ll use for coloring (set the layer to multiply)

Background Layer: White.

Step 6. Color your artwork.

The process of coloring is complex, we cannot discuss it in detail in this tutorial.

Here are a few tips on coloring:

The main shapes should be filled with colors that has medium value (I.e not too bright or too dark – just somewhere in between).

Go back and add shadows and bright spots on the medium value color.

Insert picture here:

Switch to the top layer (your artwork layer), select an area on your artwork you want to colour with a magic wand tool, then switch back to the middle layer to apply paint. This way you can color almost carefree, without actually going outside the line.

Generally, working in different layers is good, for example, having solid colors on one layer, shadows on another layer, and doing highlight on another can safe you the stress of starting all this over again when you need to make any changes on your work.

It is important to have a color strategy. Have a limited color pallet to work with, don’t go outside your color pallet. A lot of my coloring looks almost like a monochrome, I use a restricted color pallet, I’m not the best colorist!

You can also use photographs in your coloring process, to give your work the needed texture.

Step 7. Delete the artwork layer, and return the color layer to 300dpi.

At this step, only the layer with color should remain on your document, no artwork. The next thing is to return your image to 300dpi.

Step 8. Open the original 300dpi artwork and paste it above the color layer.

The original 300dpi artwork is the original black and white file you scanned at 300dpi, saved and set aside. Select the artwork then paste it on top of your colored image. Remember to set the new artwork layer to multiply.

Step 9. Flatten the image and save it.

This step is self explanatory. Congratulations, your artwork is complete.

Insert picture here:

Step 10. Import the image into your design software.

Personally, I use Adobe Illustrator, I think it is the best design software out here. You can use freehand or corel draw depending on what you know how to use best. Use the “place” function for importing your artwork into your illustrator file.

Step 11. Add text and graphics.

Add vector graphics and texts to your image as you would have done to any photograph.

Insert picture here:

Step 12. Export the final design.

That’s all, your artwork is ready!

I know this tutorial did not go really deep, explaining all the things you wanted to learn. The tutorial is meant to give people general knowledge of how we create our illustrated designs. We could spend all day discussing or writing about the many aspects of drawing, coloring and illustration. The list is endless.

Please keep in mind that there are several ways to do this type of work. The process I explained is what works for me. You may discover shorter method or easier way to do it. Hat is why we encourage you to experiment. If you have any doubt or any question, just ask!

The first step to creating your metal logo is to thoroughly understand the band you’re making it for. For example, understanding the category the band fits in or what their target audience is will help you find inspiration from relevant sources. If death metal isn’t really your thing, you can always look up existing bands or put a unique twist on it by looking for inspiration in other places like ancient symbols or glyphs.

The next step is for you to start sketching your ideas onto paper. Aim for 2 or 3 sketches that you’re pleased with overall and if you’re not familiar with the basics of typography, that’s alright! Just try and make the letters as symmetrical as possible, especially the first and the last one. Some letters are a bit more complex and symmetry with these can be difficult. A tip for this is to make a mirror image of the most complex letter and then use that image as a template. 

When you’re happy with your sketches, scan them and get your band to pick out their favourite.

Once you have your final sketch, open a new document in Adobe Illustrator and import the sketch in by clicking on Import and then Place. Click on View and then Rulers and bring the rulers down to places where you want straight lines.

For the next step, lock down the sketch layer and open up a new one. Choose a stroke colour (bright red, orange or yellow works best) and set the fill colour to transparent. Next, use the Ellipse tool to draw circles over all the curves in your logo.

Open up another new layer, drag it under the circles layer and then lock the circles layer. Now using the pen tool, start drawing in the shapes as smoothly as you can, making sure to set the stroke colour to transparent and the fill colour to black. 

You can use this step to clean up the letters. For symmetrical letters, draw one half, duplicate it and then flip it over to get a perfectly symmetrical letter.

For the next step, open up another new layer and copy the letters from the last layer onto it. Setting the stroke to green and the fill to transparent, flip all the letters to get them symmetrical to the first half. Place the remaining letters onto the parts that match the other side and then lock the layer in. Go back to the layer before (the one with the pen stokes) and draw in the other letters, using the green outlines as your guide. Try and get them as smooth, legible and symmetrical as you possibly can.

When you’re done, click on View and then Grid and using the rulers, align and space the logo the way you want. Once you’re happy with how it looks, save and export the file as a JPG. This is useful if you want to show your band the black and white vector file and if you want to access the image outside of Illustrator.

You can probably stop here if you’re happy with your black and white vector image but if you or the band that you work for are looking to have a logo in colour or a different texture, you can go one step further and edit your image in Adobe Photoshop.

Before closing up the file on Illustrator, select all the letters and drag them out to a much larger size. Click on Edit and then Copy. 

Open up Photoshop and create a new document. Paste the letters as a Smart Object and then try out different styles and textures until you create something both you and your band are happy with.

And there you go! You now have a symmetrical metal logo that you’ve designed from scratch. Remember, practice makes perfect so if you’re not happy with it, keep at it.

Did you ever yearn to make an animated GIF, of 8-BIT characters, aimed at chopping each other?
Trust me, it’s such a handy job, and easy to create characters of your choice.
Well, that’s not sophisticated at all. My tutorial will take you to another level where you will create vectorised 8-BIT characters, that is to be used for creating an animated GIF.
The vector source file is also attached, so you could make one for your own animation creation.
So, let’s get started.
1.Setting up a document in illustrator.
The first step is to open the Illustrator.
Create a new document. (No matter what the size of the document is, because the vectors could be adjusted according to the needs). Since, the default 8.5 x 11 dimensions are absolutely ok.

2. Turning the Grid on.
The next step is to turn the Grid on. You can turn it on by two ways.
Either click on the VIEW menu and select the SHOW GRID option.
Or just hold the shift+Ctrl+ keys for a shortcut mode.
The grid helps as a guide for the pixels you will use while making the characters, or background, or even other items of GIF.
You can click on the “Snap To Grid option”. This helps in moving the pixel on the grid, not by lining them by hand as they may cause the wastage of time.

3.Squares creation (to be used for creation of characters).
Now it’s the time to work on vector 8-BIT characters.
You need to make a square that would be of the same size of the squares of the Grid. This single square will then serve as a single pixel which would be copied to make all the objects of the 8-BIT environment. Since, use the square tool and that is quite easy after we have a Snap to Grid option.

4. Create the dream on the grid.
Sketching or winging the characters is the two straightforward ways to bring your dream characters into life, on the grid.
For clarity while guiding you, I am just winging the characters from Final Fantasy. This is the point where we can’t waste much time. Work with one colour at the moment to move the pixel around quickly, so that the character is created efficiently.
The more fast way is to select the desired pixel, hold the key of ALT and then press the arrow in the direction, in which you want the pixel to set off. This will copy the pixel and move that copy in any direction you desire.

5. Color the characters
After you did the outlining the character, you will jump to the step of bringing them to life with adding the colors. Use the mouse to place the colors in the pixel. While choosing colors, always be mindful about using the authentic palate that portrays a true 8-BIT game. If it sounds helpful, you can put one pixel of each color, next to the character, since we preserve it for later use. It can be used easily latter when creating the 8-bit world you are planning to create.
And yes! How can you forget creating a weapon for your character?

6. Creating the other characters.
After you are done with the lead character, go for others as well. Like I made rivals. After all, our character needs someone to fight with. Don’t he?

7. Create your environment
Now it’s the time to create a surrounding environment. Some people find it tricky. But in retro games, there is a single block that is repeated across the screen.
Like i have used the trees and to make it even much realistic and adding depth to it, I have used the green and brown colors. Later, I used the HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTE CENTER tool to distribute this tress in the background. They look uniform now.
I have also created a dirt road to place my characters on. If you want to block the larger background areas, it is easier to create these larger color sections, by using Square Tool.

8. Creating the more objects.
Yu will also want your character to interact with the other elements in the surrounding as well. For this purpose, I have created some other things such as mushrooms, torches and boxes as well. By creating these things, I have made a free vector pack.
Now work on an animated GIF and bring your characters to life.

Freebies!

Distressing or grunge graphics are useful for designing a worn out look which is why it is an essential part of designing t-shirts.

This tutorial will show you three detailed techniques that are easy to understand and apply when adding a distressed look to a graphic design using Adobe Illustrator.

The Grunge Brush

Adobe Illustrator comes with brush tools so in this first technique you would learn how to take advantage of these brush tools and the brushes in them.

Step 1: Open your vector file

Step 2: Expand your vector object or group. You can do this by selecting all ( CTRL + A or CMD +A for a laptop or Macbook ), go to menu “object” then “expand”.

You may be asked to select what you want to expand, check all boxes.

Step 3: De-select your vector art then pick a brush tool that interests you. You can open the brush panel with F5 or from the left toolbar.You click on the left toolbar then click on the menu icon, this is at the lower left corner.

Scroll through the menu to pick the “Artistic – Chalk / Charcoal / Pencil” brush set. Pick the first brush and brush tool.

Step 4: Pick a random color that is not used in the design element you’re planning to distress out. This is because you don’t want anything but the brush strokes to be selected when you’re making use of the magic wand tool to select the brush strokes.

Use the brush tool to make a few brush strokes that cover your vector element. Cover your vector element but don’t overdo it.

It’s okay to dabble with how you draw the paths with the brush tool but when it comes to stroke thickness it’s best to use one that won’t cause you to worry when you’re editing the paths later with a direction select tool.

To easily turn the brush stroke on/off, switch the brush stroke to your background color by tapping on the X key repeatedly.

Step 5: Select your vector object and your brush stroke then go to Object > Expand to expand.

This is so you can merge the brush stroke with the design using the pathfinder tool.

Step 6: Go to the pathfinder and click on merge.

Step 7 : Use the magic wand tool to get rid of the color you won’t need in your final design.

Click anywhere on the strokes to select all of them, press DEL key and it’s distressed.

But sometimes Adobe Illustrator leaves some transparent elements that need to be cleaned up too.

Select everything (CTRL/CMD + A) then use a magic wand(Y) to click on these leftovers. Select all of them and delete.

Using A Texture; Find a grunge texture and ensure it is high resolution.

Step 1: Open the file

Step 2: Place the grunge texture in your document

Step 3: Place and select the texture, this action brings up the live trace button. It appears on the top toolbar of the illustrator. You could use the presets or click on the tracing options at the bottom.

To get the most details from the object you’re using as input you can set Path Fitting, Minimum Area and Corner Angle to 1. Also if you want to mainly see the grunge texture you can click on ignore white. Increase Threshold to get a darker texture.

Click on preview to see how the design is turning out.

If you’re satisfied with the result, click Trace and Expand.

Step 4: Change color, place and size.

Step 5: Expand

Step 6: Merge

Step 7: Clean out the colors.

Grunge Vector Element

Natural distressed design needs to look spontaneous and not repeat itself. While the grunge brush technique is really easy as it comes with the illustrator it might not look natural which is why you might need to use resources specifically made for distressing.

Step 1: Open the vector file and grunge vector( Special resource for distressing)

Step 2: Select a color to use for the grunge vector, the color used in the grunge vector should be one that has not been used in the element about to be distressed.

Step 3: Sizing and placement. Center the vector and then increase it to cover the vector. If the texture doesn’t look distressed enough for you then move to the next step.

Step 4: Copy the texture and paste it in front of the element about to be distressed. (CTRL/CMD + F)

Step 5: Expand (Object > Expand)

Step 6: Go to pathfinder and click on merge

Step 7: Use the magic wand tool to clean out the colors you won’t be needing in the final design.

Are you an artist? Do you love screen printing? It is a process of stenciling and painting, where the image that is custom made is laid over a tightly stretched screen using brushes and or squeegees, then ink is pressed against the screen from a printing press. The mesh screen absorbs the ink, and only the image that is on the screen shows through. (When it is text (like on a shirt), then ink is pressed over the screen repeatedly, and the text appears in the image.) The ink is then removed because it drips then, from the screen and the shirt, onto a flat surface, where the screen is then reused.

If you wish to print your own designs, you should visit your local art store to get an affordable silk screen and a squeegee. You can also check online for wholesalers in screen prints and contact them for a fair deal.

How to screen print in the absence of carousel

A carousel screen printer is a circular device, usually a diameter between 12 inches to a maximum range of 24 inches. It handles the printing plates in varying sizes that are rectangular. Most screen printing carousels are expensive, ranging from a price of $1500 to about $2500. Most of you won’t afford such when you are in the initial process of setting up your place. You don’t need to worry much. Talk to a friend who will help you out. Ask them to firmly hold the screen in position to avoid any movement. Apply ink to the screen using a squeegee and request them to remove the screen. This is a wonderful way to save some cash and grow your business.

Using photo emulsion affordably

Appropriate conditions will favor the easy utilization of photo emulsion. You should understand the process of converting your artwork on the screen to become a stencil.

First, while in complete darkness, use a photo emulsion to coat your screen. Dry it to ensure the emulsion sets well. You then set the transparency of the artwork on the screen before exposing it to light. The result will be your artwork’s stencil.

Purchase a Darkroom Safe Light 

Safe-light condition is the most appropriate way of working with a photo emulsion. It allows you to work with the photo emulsion in a safe light condition to view the coating on the screen and mix the emulsion while preventing UV light exposure. You can visit eBay and have a look at the available safe lights.

With current movie and digital photographic technology, the safe- lights are no longer in great demand; you can find them at a very affordable price in your nearby stores.

Purchase Some Scoop Coater and Photo Emulsion

You can buy this from Amazon or directly from the supplier.

Screen Coating 

You can follow the following simple procedure to coat your screen. 

Put off all the lights and plug your safe light in the socket. The plugging in will allow you to start working in a safe light condition. Follow the manufacturer’s specifications when mixing your photo emulsion.

Have the mixed emulsion on the scoop coater and use it in coating the screen’s underside. When coating the screen, tilt it slightly on the back and slide it up. Complete the screen coating process by pulling it away after leaning it back when at its top.

Screen Drying 

After coating the screen, allow it to dry. Take the screen to a dark place and let it face down as it dries. The drying process takes some time. Ensure you plan for a safe light during the entire drying process. The screen should never have exposure to daylight or any other UV light.

You may use a suitcase to store your coated screen for some time and allow them dry. Put some block on the ends to prevent the screen from touching the bottom and place the screen inside to face down.

Close the suitcase and cover it with a thick blanket to block any light penetration until it dries up. The drying process is much faster in the summer season. During the winter period, the process can go up to one week. You can also supply it with a low heat fan to increase the drying process.

The best way is to ensure that your artwork is under safe light condition during the entire drying process and only expose it to other light once completely dry.

Other people discovered a cheap way of drying their coated screen with the cardboard that packages laptops. After buying a new laptop, they don’t throw away the packaging cardboard. They seal the cardboard with dark tape and place a few blocks on the ends to secure the screen from touching the bottom. They close the top lid and through a thick blanket over it to prevent any light penetration. The screen should face down, and the box closed then left to dry for about 2 to 3 days.

Construction of an Affordable Exposure Unit 

It is quite expensive to purchase a brand new vacuum sealing exposure unit. How do you survive when you have a low budget or what to save some cash for some other things?

Here are some tips for exposing your screens in a cost-effective way 

Buy a Lamp for An Exposure Unit

A 500-watt halogen work light may retail at your nearby hardware store at $30. The lump usually has a clear glass lens, black housing, and a wire grill covering on the front. Once you buy the lamp, remove the glass and the grill from the front part before using it. The bulb’s front lens and the grill is a UV filter, and you may need a maximum exposure of your artwork screen on the light.

You may raise the lamp on a piece of wood if you have a shed. Allow it to be about 32 cm away from the thistle table for exposing the screen.

Attaching a hinge on the wood will make work easy. It will allow you to be folding up and down the lamp when not in use. If you lack enough materials for the construction of the shed, never get worried. Use what is at your disposal. Some people use a guitar stand to raise the lamp in the recommended distance from the exposing table, and it works.

You will need to purchase some form of rubber for fitting under the screen. You should make the form deeper than the screen. It will facilitate pushing the screen from the table when placed under the lumps face up.

Purchase a 3m plain cloth fabric. The material will help in covering the foam rubber and exposed areas under the screen.

Cover the form entirely by wrapping it with a piece of black fabric. Attaching the black fabric using the screws may be challenging. You can alternatively use liquid nails for attachment. Once you cover the form with the plain black cloth, it will work.

Purchase a piece of one quarter plate glass (should have zero UV rating or any lowest rating possible), have its measurement to ensure that it is enough for covering your artwork, and hold it down flat on the screen. If you make it slightly more significant than the inside edge of the screen, it could be the best.

Secure the edges of the glass by sanding to prevent getting cuts when handling it. You can visit any glass supply store to support you in the sanding process.

The above items will help you in your task. You should safely keep the remaining black fabric. You will need it in covering the table area when you are ready to expose your screen.

The Procedure for Exposing the Screen 

It is advisable to carry out the procedure at night because some processes need safe-light conditions. Garden horse with pressure may also help you in cleaning out the screens.

Place the forms on the underside of the screen. Put off all other lights and switch on the safe light. Bring out your coated art screen with a dried photo emulsion. Have the form packing in the screen’s underside position and place the screen in the middle of the black cloth. Have the artwork on the screen as you consider the way you wish the art print to appear. Hold it flat against the screen by placing a glass on top. Switch on the work-light and expose the screen for about 5 minutes.

Turn off the work light after 5 minutes of exposure and switch on your safe light. Wash your screen by soaking it in soft spray water. Turn on high-pressure water to eliminate the unwanted emulsion. Dry up your screen, and it will be ready.

Conclusion 

If you love the artwork, you can get into this as a side income. Earning some side income is good. You may expand and open a cloth line and make a decent profit. You may use the tips above to simplify the printing process and lower the operation cost. Some material is locally available and can help you evade the enormous expenses of purchasing costly materials and equipment.

Additionally, using the above simple procedures can spare your time as you work on your daily jobs. Reading through the work must be of great value! You can now practice new skills and make money.