tutorial website

http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/ - what i like about this website is that there is a section for creative inspirations.
http://www.lynda.com/Photoshop-tutorials/ - what i like about this website is that you can watch & learn at your own pace.
http://www.photoshopessentials.com/ - what i like about website is that it is very easy to follow along with the tutorials & it's not a video so it's right there in front of you.
http://planetphotoshop.com/category/tutorials - what i like about this website is that it is very tightly layed out so you don't have to look far for what you want, it's all there together.
http://www.photoshoplady.com/ - what i like about this website is the layout & how the categories are very specific.
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/illustration/50-best-photoshop-tutorials/ - what i like about this website is how rad the tutorials are. there are some things on here i wouldn't think of creating in millions of years.
http://layersmagazine.com/category/tutorials/photoshop - what i like about this website is that there's not only photoshop tutorials, there are tuorials for all other adobe programs.

websites

shutterstock.com
dollarphotoclub.com
istockphoto.com
123rf.com
thinkstockphotos.com
fotolia.com
deamstime.com
veer.com
graphicstock.com
fotosearch.com

the last blog post for illustration!!!!

 This weeks blog post is about drawing. We do weekly drawings in my class which at first I dreaded but eventually came around to see how useful they would be in the end. Drawing definitely isn't my strong suit but I have always been open to trying new things. Especially in this instance because I may need it somewhere down the line as I'm working as a graphic designer. I definitely enjoyed it. Not only the drawing part but the extra skills I have attained through the process. I believe I've seen some improvement in my drawing skills. Nothing drastic but definitely an improvement so I'd like to thank Mrs. Percy for making us do them. I like using pencils the best. Not just because I can erase my mistakes (which were plentiful) but I feel it gives the picture a different more serious effect than if I was using a pen or some crayons. Below is a drawing of mine that I liked the best.

illustration skills

 I don't have the book yet because i was out of school but I will try my best to write this based off of prior knowledge. I think illustration skills are important as a graphic designer because with them you can convey your ideas better. Also, type can influence feelings towards something so knowing how to work with type is also important. These both are essential if you want to be a successful, versatile graphic designer.

illustrator

The part I like most about illustrator is how many possibilities there are versus photoshop. I learned about this the other day while I was having a conversation with my teachers. You can do quite a bit with photoshop but illustrator is a completely different story.
 For example, in illustrator everything is vector which means it can be stretched & manipulated endlessly & there is no distortion like there is with photoshop. To explain further, if you were to stretch something out in photoshop it would look pixelated & would not be the same quality as it originally was but if you were to do that in illustrator there would be no distortion it would look the same no matter the size.
 Another thing that I very much enjoy about illustrator is that you can trace over images so you can manipulate them even though you may have not created them in the first place. For example, if there was a photo of a desk I liked I could image trace that picture to turn it into a vector & add/take away things from it without affecting the quality of the image or making it look fake.

collage !!!

 This week in college we had to make a collage. This project was different from the others because it wasn't done on the computer. AT ALL. It was totally hands on which was kinda sick. The subject or theme or basis of the collage was a song & we had to do our best to put that song into visual form using whatever pictures/materials we could find. it was a really interesting project because i've never made a collage before so i didn't know how it was going to turn out.
 The song I picked was 222 by the flatbush zombies. They're a group from New York that makes really good music. They're really into spirituality, governmental corruption & things of that nature. I picked the song because it basically sums up their entire album/message. Also, when I saw them in concert it seemed like that was one of the most important songs they played & not only that but it is one of my favorites.
 My collage is a lot of pictures that I felt went along with the song & the message of the song. The eye of horus is the focal point. I chose that for the focal point because not only is it a significant symbol but it is mentioned in the song. Throughout the collage there are various pictures, words, & numbers that I felt should be there. I tried to stray away from using too many random pictures that just fill up space.

week 4

this week in my design course our teacher instructed us to make a take out menu. at first i was kinda skeptical about it because i don't know shit about making take out menus but as with anything i was just going to try my best & work as hard as i could on it & it actually turned out really well just like all of my other projects have. i'm really happy about having such a wide variety of things i can create. it's definitely going to help me in the long run when i run into potential customers.

WEEK 3

3rd week in self promotion & marketing/illustrator & i'm feeling really accomplished. We did package design for our project & i think mine turned out well. I used the font from american horror story to give it a creepy/cool feeling & simple colors like black & white to keep it, well, simple. personally when we do projects & design i don't like to go overboard with colors, pictures, etc.. i like to keep things simple & clean looking but at the same time put some of my personality into it. that sounds kind of lame but i definitely think it's important to put some of yourself into everything you create.

graphic design week 2

for the last two weeks in my graphic design course we had been creating logo's for different bakeries. the logo i had to create was for a bakery. it didn't take too long to come up with idea's but what took the longest was deciding which one best expressed the feeling i was trying to convey. personally i think i did a pretty good job & when i presented it seemed that everyone including the teachers liked my logo designs.

graphic design week 1

so far i've had a pretty good experience in my graphic design course. it's lowkey exciting all of the stuff that we're going to be able to make by the time we're done. i don't even really care too much for schooling but this is different because not only is my teacher cool but i get to just create shit that i think looks call every week. i'm pretty satisfied with my path choice because i really don't care for monogamous 9 to 5 desk jobs. I'd much rather be doing something that allows me to be creative all day. now i'm in a self promotion & marketing course which is pretty helpful because not only is it going to help me with the whole graphic design thing but anything i want to do overall i'm going to need to know how to promote myself & market whatever it is i'm trying to sell. everything is looking pretty good so far.