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    Photoshop Tutorials: Free Stock Media #2 plus 9 more


    Photoshop Tutorials: Free Stock Media #2 plus 9 more

    Link to Photoshop Tutorials

    Free Stock Media #2

    Posted: 07 Aug 2012 12:58 AM PDT

    Free for a limited time (usually 7-30 days from post date). If you can’t download them, it’s probably because the promotion has expired. Subscribe to stay updated on our website!

    Photos

    Illustrations

    Video

    Audio

    Judo combat - 30 seconds version

    YeeHa Banjo Bill

    Cheerful Song (LOOP)

    sunset dreaming

    City of the Damned

    Web

    Others

    Photoshop: 20 Exclusive Photoshop Layer Styles Pack vol.2

    3D: Real dice, Materials and studio scene

    Tutorial: How to Paint Psychedelically in Illustrator


    Turn a Regular Headshot Into a Cold Winter Portrait

    Posted: 06 Aug 2012 12:47 PM PDT

    Preview of Final Results

    Download the PSD

    Winter Portrait.zip | 9.43 MB
    Download from Website

    Winter Portrait Photoshop Tutorial


    Tutorial Resources


    Step 1

    Open a new file, in this case I used 940x 1200 pixels, since the image is just a portrait, that resolution is great.

    step-001


    Step 2

    Let’s select the models skin with the lasso tool. Don’t worry about been perfect cause then you can use the eraser in the edges of the image.

    step-002


    Step 3

    After the selection is made you have to press CTRL + J to duplicate the skin. So then you are gonna have a new layer like this:

    step-003


    Step 4

    Then you have to apply a surface blur filter, to make the skin softer. For this you have to go to Filter -> Blur -> surface blur-> and then add 8 for radius and for threshold.

    step-004


    Step 5

    Then desatured the skin’s layer a little bit like -30%. Press CTRL + U to see the menu.

    step-005


    Step 6

    Use the patch tool to erase the hair that is on the model’s lips.

    step-006

    step-006a


    Step 7

    After removing all those imperfections, use the lasso tool to select the model’s lips, and duplicate the layer pressing CTRL + J. Remember that doesn’t matter if it not perfect you can always used the eraser close to the edges.

    step-007


    Step 8

    In the layer you duplicate apply multiply with 50% of opacity and 80% of fill, to make the lips darker.

    step-008


    Step 9

    Press Ctrl + j to duplicate the lip’s layer once again. In this case use the layer mode in soft light at 60% of opacity. that will make the lips look shining.

    step-009


    Step 10

    Now we are going to work in the eyes. Go to the layer of the model’s skin and select the eyes with lasso tool then duplicate the layer CTRL + J.

    step-010


    Step 11

    Press ctrl + u to change the color of the eyes. I used hue at 200 to make the eyes blue.

    step-011


    Step 12

    Duplicate the eye’s layer and use the layer in color dodge option at 70% of opacity to achieve this look.

    step-012


    Step 13

    To do the blush I created a new layer and paint the model’s cheeks with a soft brush, using a pink tone.

    step-013


    Step 14

    Apply Gaussian blur filter at 60% to make the blush look more natural.

    step-014

    step-014a


    Step 15

    Put the layer in multiply with 50% of opacity and 80% of fill.

    step-015


    Step 16

    To make the model’s makeup I apply blue eye shadows. So to make this create a new layer, press shift+crtl+N. then choose a dark blue violet in the palette, and paint the models eye with a soft brush.

    step-016


    Step 17

    Apply Gaussian blur filter with a 8.0 radius. and then put the layer in multiply. you can choose to make the eyeshadow look darker or softer changing the opacity of the layer as you prefer.

    step-017

    step-017a



    “The Pain” – Create this Eerie Abstract Photo Manipulation

    Posted: 30 Jul 2012 12:47 PM PDT

    Preview of Final Results

    pain30-final

    Download the PSD

    The Pain.zip | 28.04 MB
    Download from Website

    The Pain Photoshop Tutorial


    Tutorial Resources


    Step 1

    Create a new document, choose the size with1333x1000 px and fill it with white ( or any sizes and any colors you like).

    pain1

    Open grunge texture 1 stock. Use Move Tool ( press V to active it) and drag it into our main document, resize it as shown below:

    pain1a

    Choose Edit-Transfrom-Flip Horizontal:

    pain1b

    Then press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U to desaturate this texture. You’ll see it turns into black and white:

    pain1c


    Step 2

    Open grunge texture 2 stock. Drag it into our canvas and do the same technique in step 1 ( resize, transform, flip it). You may notice that I only use the center part of this texture for this tutorial:

    pain2

    Change the mode of it to Multipy 50%:

    pain2a


    Step 3

    There is a part on background that I want to fix. It’s a carved circle on the right edge. Create a new layer ( hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N to do it) and press S to active Clone Tool. I use this tool with settings below :

    pain3

    pain3a

    Hold the Alt key on the part of source then clone over this circle. If you’re not familiar with this tool you can follow many good tutorials over the web.

    Here is my result:

    pain3b

    No need to be so cleaned with it as we’re working on grunge background!

    After cloning this part becomes a bit blurred. Don’t worry, you just need to sharpen it. Go to Filter-Sharpen-Unsharp Mask:

    pain3c


    Step 4

    Now we’re going to add splatter effect for background. Create a new layer and set foreground color to black. Choose dried blood splatter you’ve downloaded and take one for your taste and draw on background. You can see my choice of brush:

    pain4

    Move it to the top of picture and change the mode to Soft light 100%. Depending on the boldness of brush you can vary opacity or even duplicate it to get the effect you want.

    pain4a


    Step 5

    Make a new layer and I use the first brush of brush pack to continue painting on the left side of background and I set the mode of it to Soft light 50%. Then I duplicate it and move it to the right.

    pain5

    Continue with two layers ( or number of your choice) and draw some small splatters. I set one layer to Soft light 50% and another to 100%. You can add layer mask to erase any unecessary parts:

    pain5a



    How to Create a Stunning Winter Princess Artwork in Photoshop

    Posted: 23 Jul 2012 12:47 PM PDT

    Preview of Final Results

    final-results

    Download the PSD

    Winter.zip | 45.41 MB Download from Website

    Winter Photomanipulation


    Resources


    Step 1 – Background

    Open the ‘Background 1′ image and let’s crop the part we are interested in.

    step-001

    Duplicate the image and set it to Multiply. Opacity 80%.

    step-002

    Open the ‘Background 2′ image and put it above the other layers. Delete the part with the tree (as you see below).

    step-003

    Set the layer to Soft Light. Opacity 50%. As you can see on top there is a part of the tree that is not well belended. Delete it with the Erase Tool or with a Layer Mask (I prefer this method because it doesn’t destroy the image).

    step-004a

    This is what you will have.

    step-004b

    Create a new layer. Choose a big round soft brush with low Opacity and pick Black color. Paint a vignette like the one you see in the image below and add Gaussian Blur if you want.

    step-004c

    Set the layer to Multiply. Opacity and Fill to 80%.

    step-004db

    We need to create a kind of ray of light. Create a new layer. You can paint it with a soft brush or use a light beams brush like this.I used this color: #ccdffb (The black background is only to make you see the light, you will not have to do it!)

    step-004e

    I left the layer with Normal Blend but I put the Opacity at 80%. Double click on this layer and a window will pop up. Check ‘Outer Glow’. Put the color #ccdffb instead of the preset yellow.

    step-005


    Step 2 – Lady

    Extract the Lady and put her above every layer in the position you see below. (I previously worked on her skin with the Smudge Tool and liquified a bit her face).

    step-006

    Add a Hue/Saturation only for the lady’s layer and set the Saturation to -60.

    step-007

    Create a new layer below the one with the Lady. Load the ‘Smoke’ brush and with color #999da3 paint something like the image below.

    step-008

    Set the layer to Linear Dodge with Opacity and Fill at 50% and this is what you’ll have so far.

    step-009

    Create a new layer linked only at lady’s layer (above the hue/sat we created before). Choose a soft brush with low Opacity and Flow. Pick the color #cad7e7 and paint some light at the edges of the lady.

    step-010

    Create a new layer above everything and let’s paint some hair to give it volume.

    step-011

    step-012


    How to Create a Surreal Scene with an Invisible Man Inside a Mystic Cave

    Posted: 16 Jul 2012 12:46 PM PDT


    Preview of Final Results

    clip_image002


    Surreal Scene Photoshop Tutorial


    Tutorial Resources


    Step 1: Create a new Photoshop File

    Create a new file in photoshop using these settings:

    • Width: 2835px
    • Height: 1950px
    • Resolution: 300px/inch

    clip_image003


    Step 2: Add the Cave

    Open the cave stock and select the cave using the Quick Selection Tool (Shortcut: W). Here's a few tips on how to make selections with the Quick Selection Tool, you'll use them a lot throughout the tutorial:

    • Clicking anywhere in the canvas with the Quick Selection Tool will add to the selection
    • Holding Alt/Option and clicking will subtract the selection
    • You can quickly change the size of your brush holding Alt/Option, clicking anywhere in the canvas with the right mouse button, and dragging to the left to decrease the size of the brush, and to the right to increase it (you can use this technique with any tool that uses a brush)
    • To quickly use the Zoom Tool, hold the Z key, click with the left mouse button in the canvas and drag the mouse to the left to zoom out and to the right to zoom in. When you stop holding Z, you'll return to the tool you were using before

    The result of my selection is painted with red in the image below (I'll always show my selections painted in light red).

    clip_image004

    Copy and paste the cave into our project and use the Free Transform Tool (Shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd+T) to adjust it in our project (see image below).

    • You can also use the Move Tool (Shortcut: V) to move the cave, but if you use the Free Transform Tool you can use the image below as reference.

    clip_image005

    Now select the Rectangular/Marquee Tool (Shortcut: M) and make a selection on the top blank space of our image (see image below for reference).

    clip_image006

    Press Shift+F5 to open the Fill window and select Content-Aware.

    • After you're done with your selection, press Ctrl/Cmd+D to deselect your current selection

    clip_image007

    And here is the result:

    clip_image008

    To fix some problems with the edges, Hold Ctrl/Cmd and click in the thumbnail of the Layer 1.

    clip_image009

    Then go to Select > Modify > Contract and set the contract value to 5px.

    clip_image010

    clip_image011

    Reverse the selection by pressing Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I and then hit Delete to erase a little bit of the edges. You probably won't be able to see the results in the image below, but If you followed the steps correctly your edges should be fixed now.

    clip_image012

    Now make a selection of the left side of the cave using the Quick Selection Tool (Shortcut: W), then copy (Ctrl/Cmd+C) and paste (Ctrl/Cmd+V) into our project.

    clip_image013

    clip_image014

    With the Layer 2 selected, go to Edit > Tranform > Flip Horizontal.

    clip_image015

    Select the Move Tool (Shotcut: V) and move the cave part (Layer 2) to the right side of our image.

    clip_image016

    Now let's erase the part of the cave we don't want. To do that, select the Layer 1 and use the eraser (Shortcut: E) to delete the red part of the cave in the image below. Here are some notes when dealing with brushs:

    • To change the hardness of a brush, click with the right mouse button anywhere in your project and change the Hardness value
    • To change the opacity of a brush, just change the Opacity value on the toolbar at the top of your screen (it will only appear when you are using a brush)

    clip_image017

    Go back to the Layer 2 and erase some areas as well (see image below for reference).

    clip_image018

    Your result should be similar to this:

    clip_image019

    Select both cave layers (Hold Shift and left click on them) and merge them in one layer (Ctrl/Cmd+E). Then, double click the name of the new layer and change it to Cave.

    clip_image020

    Let's fix the colors of our cave now. In the Layers pannel, click in 'Create a new Fill or Adjustment Layer' and select Curves.

    clip_image021

    Adjust the curves like this:

    You can also use the Output values in the image below as reference while adjusting the curves

    clip_image022

    And the cave is done! It should look like this now:

    clip_image023

    Everytime you add an adjustment layer that you don't want to affect all of your layers (just the first layer below it), you need to clip it to the that layer, like this:

    clip_image024

    Now to clean our workspace a little bit, select the Cave and the Curves layer and add them to a new group by pressing Ctrl/Cmd+G. Name the new group Cave.

    clip_image025



    Step 3: Add the Desert

    Open the Desert stock and use the Quick Selection Tool (Shortcut: W) to select it.

    clip_image026

    Copy (Ctrl/Cmd+C) and paste (Ctrl/Cmd+V) the desert into our project and place its layer below the Cave group.

    clip_image027

    Use the Free Transform Tool (Ctrl/Cmd+T) to resize the desert without losing the proportion. Here are some tips for this tool:

    • To increase or decrease the size, click and drag one of those little squares on the edges
    • To increase or decrease the size of the image maintaining proportion, hold the Shift key while doing it
    • To see your entire selection, press Ctrl/Cmd+0 and the zoom will be adjusted automatically

    clip_image028

    Add a Curves adjustment layer like we did with the cave and see the image below for the input values. Like we did before, clip this adjustment to the layer below (the desert layer).

    Always remember to clip an adjustment layer to the layer below it (if you don't want it to affect any other layer)

    clip_image029

    Here is the result of this curves adjustment:

    clip_image030

    Add a Color Balance Adjustment Layer and see the image below for the input values. Remember to also clip it to the desert layer.

    clip_image031

    clip_image032

    Your image should look like this now:

    clip_image033

    Select the desert layer and its adjustment layers and add them to a new group called Desert (Ctrl/Cmd +G).

    • You can also rename the desert layer (Layer 1) to Desert if you want to

    clip_image034


    Step 4: Add the first underwater stock

    Open the Underwater stock (first one on the list), press Ctrl/Cmd+A to select the whole image and copy (Ctrl/Cmd+C) and paste it (Ctrl/Cmd+V) into our project.

    clip_image035

    clip_image036

    Use the Free Transform Tool (Ctrl/Cmd+T) to resize and stretch the ocean. Just click and drag the squares in the edges (you don't have to hold Shift this time) until you have something like this:

    clip_image037

    Now add a layer mask to this layer and start painting following the image below. Here are some tips when painting a layer mask:

    • Press B on your keyboard to select the Brush Tool
    • Press D on your keyboard to return the colors of your palette back to Black and White
    • When painting a layer mask, black will hide the layer, and white will reveal it again
    • If you make a mistake while painting a layer mask, you just have to paint the area where you made the mistake with the opposite color again (if you made a mistake while painting with white, paint with black to start over)
    • You can quickly change between your background and foreground color by pressing X
    • To hide a layer mask, hold the Shift key and click on the mask. Do the same thing if you want to reveal it again
    • To view your layer mask hold Alt/Opt and click in the layer mask. Do the same thing to return it to normal

    clip_image038

    clip_image039

    And here is the result:

    clip_image040


    Step 5: Add the second underwater stock

    Open the underwater stock 2, press Ctrl/Cmd+A to select it all, copy (Ctrl/Cmd+C) and paste it(Ctrl/Cmd+V) into our project.

    clip_image041

    clip_image042

    Press Ctrl/Cmd+T to resize and stretch this new underwater stock like we did with the last one.

    clip_image043

    Like we did with the other underwater image, create a layer mask to this layer and paint (Shortcut to the Brush Tool: B) it following the image below.

    clip_image044

    Here is the result:

    clip_image045

    There are some stains in this stock image and we're going to fix it now. Select the Spot Healing Brush Tool (Shortcut: J) and just start clicking the areas you want to fix.

    • Remember to select the actual image rather than the layer mask before you start

    clip_image046

    Here is the clean image:

    clip_image047

    To add the surface of the water, we're going to go back to the second underwater stock we used and make another selection. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (Shortcut: M) to draw this rectangle:

    clip_image048

    Copy and paste it into our project. Place this layer right below the Cave group and use the Free Transform Tool (Shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd+T) to resize and stretch it.

    clip_image049

    Here is what your ocean should look like now:

    clip_image050



    How to Create an Odd Looking Cityscape in Photoshop

    Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:47 PM PDT

    Download the PSD

    How to Create an Odd Looking Cityscape in Photoshop PSD.zip | 242.32 MB
    Download from Website

    Preview of Final Results

    Odd Looking Cityscape Photoshop Tutorial


    Tutorial Resources


    Step 1: Create a New Photoshop Image File

    Now, let’s start by creating a new image file, go to the Menu bar and click File > New, and then input the following values on their respective fields:

    • Preset: Custom
    • Width: 3000 pixels
    • Height: 3000 pixels
    • Resolution: 300 pixels/inch
    • Color Mode: RGB Color; 8 bit
    • Background Contents: Transparent

    image005


    Step 2: Create a city as seen from above

    We will start off by creating a city from aerial view. To start, let’s open “Looking down on Ulm” by Zhonk. Once the stock image is open, activate the Move tool by pressing V on your keyboard and left-click on the image and drag it to our 3000x3000px canvas.

    Once on the canvas, position it as shown below:

    image006


    Step 3

    Next, rename this layer to “city”. To rename a layer, simply double-click on the words: “layer 1″ (you can find that on the layer window) to prompt a text box to appear.

    image007


    Step 4

    Next, we will resize the city. To do that, activate the Transform tool by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + T and then resize the city layer as shown below:

    image008

    image009

    image010


    Step 5

    Now that we had resized the city layer, it is now time to give it motion blur effect, to give the viewer the illusion that this city is actually moving. To do that, left-click on the “city” layer and then go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.

    Once activated, input the following:

    • Angle: 0′
    • Distance: 30pixels

    image011

    The result should be similar to the following:

    image012


    Step 6

    Next, we will create a glary haze over the city layer to produce the illusion that it is far away.

    To start, let’s create a new layer over the “city” layer, by left-clicking on the “city” layer and pressing Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N. Doing this will automatically create a new layer over our “city” layer and a box will appear asking several details, but the only important thing is to give it a name.

    Input “haze” on the name field.

    image013


    Step 7

    Now, that that’s done, we will now activate the Brush tool (B) but then let’s make sure that the active Brushes are the default brushes. The default Photoshop brushes are shown on the image below, if that’s not what you see, then follow the instructions below:

    image014

    Right click the canvas while a layer is selected and while the Brush tool (B) is activated and then click on the button highlighted below:

    image015

    Then click on “Reset Brushes” from the contextual menu.

    image016

    Now, that that is done input the following settings for our Brush tool (B):

    • Brush size: 2200px
    • Hardness: 0%
    • Opacity: 15%
    • Flow: 100%
    • #: ffffff

    image017

    Note: The #: ffffff is the color of the brush. To change it to that, simply do the following:

    image018

    Once the Color Picker box opens, input the following on the # box:

    image019

    Now, we’re all set to paint, use the brush as shown on the image below:

    image020

    The result should be similar to this:

    image021


    Step 8

    Now that we’re done, group all the layers that we’ve created by selecting all the layers and pressing Ctrl/Cmd + G. Once grouped, rename it to “City from above”.

    image022


    Step 9: Create the Weird Buildings

    Now, we will be adding the oddly positioned buildings. To start let’s open the stock image – “Old buildings with green windows” by lucianont. Once opened, activate the Polygonal Lasso tool by pressing L on your keyboard.

    image023

    Use the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) to select the outline of the building.

    image024

    Now, that you’ve created a selection area around the building. Activate the Move tool (V) and drag the selected building to our canvas. Once on the canvas, rename this layer to “building”. Now, position it as shown on the image below:

    image025

    Next, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and then resize it as shown below:

    image026

    The result:

    image027



    Freebie: 12 Seamless Flat Rock Textures

    Posted: 30 Jun 2012 12:47 PM PDT

    Seamless Flat Rock Textures

    4

    How to Load Patterns into Photoshop

    1. Go to Edit > Presets > Preset Manager (or Edit > Preset Manager)
    2. In the Preset Manager window, select Patterns from the drop-down menu.
    3. Click the Load button.
    4. Browse for the pattern file then click OK.

    There are a few ways to add patterns but the easiest is to add a Pattern Fill Layer. To do this, go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Pattern.

    Download Photoshop Patterns

    Seamless Flat Rock Textures (12 Variations)
    Download

    Seamless Flat Rock Textures (55 Variations)
    Join SparkleStock


    16 Awesome Negative Space Illustrations by Tang Yau Hoong

    Posted: 25 Jun 2012 12:47 PM PDT

    Interview with Tang Yau Hoong


    Hi Yau Hoong! Welcome to pstutorials.ws! Can you tell us something about yourself so we could get to know you better?

    I am a 27 year old illustrator/ graphic artist based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I hope to make graphics that spark the viewer. As a graphic maker I try to convey messages visually.

    clip_image001

    clip_image003


    What made you pursue visual art and graphic design? How did you train for it?

    I am self-taught and I learned from mostly looking at other artist’s work of any form. Few years ago I started submitting designs to online t-shirt design contests. It was the beginning of the journey and I hope I can keep on pursuing it.

    clip_image005

    clip_image007


    Malaysia is a place that is rich in tradition and culture. Does this environment influence your aesthetics or inspire your work in any way?

    In terms of aesthetics, not very much. In terms of thinking and concept wise, yes. The multicultural aspect has helped me to learn different things and be open to various points of view.

    clip_image009

    clip_image011


    Is there any artist that you look up to and inspires you?

    I find inspirations from various artists and designers. Rene Magritte, Shigeo Fukuda, Saul Bass, Christoph Niemann, Banksy, Michel Gondry, Rinko Kawauchi and many more.

    clip_image013

    clip_image015


    Can you tell us about your style? You have such an ingenious way of using negative space in your illustrations. How did you develop this kind of style?

    I have no idea how I developed this kind of style and probably it is not done on purpose. I always love simple designs with strong concept.

    clip_image017

    clip_image018


    How does a concept come to life from start to finish? And how long does it take you?

    There is no standard work flow but most of the time I am doing the thinking part rather than illustration part. It can take up to weeks but it can also be done in a day. I do a lot of roughs on paper and if I am lucky, the idea will evolve into something I like.

    clip_image020

    clip_image022


    Can you tell us about Journey to the City of No Horizon? What was the concept for this work?

    It is about negative space and surrealism and it marked the beginning of my illustration style. The concept is open-ended. City, flow of life, surrealism could be the themes.

    clip_image023


    Are there any projects that the readers should look out from you?

    I love doing personal projects and will be posting new work incorporating negative space and surrealism.

    clip_image025

    clip_image027


    Lastly, any message for our readers?

    Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoy looking at my work.

    clip_image028

    More about Tang Yau Hoong

    http://tangyauhoong.com/
    http://www.behance.net/tangyauhoong


    How to Create a Violin Player in a Grassy Landscape

    Posted: 25 Jun 2012 11:56 AM PDT

    Preview of Final Results

    final-results

    Violin Player in a Grassy Landscape Photoshop Tutorial


    Tutorial Resources


    Step 1: Create a New Image File

    Create a new 3500×3500 pixels document (File > New).

    1


    Step 2: Create the Background

    First off, let’s open the calm field in Photoshop. We will be using sky from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas.

    2

    Click the calm field and press M to rectangular marquee tool and make a selection around the sky. Now activate move tool (v) Left-click the image and drag the image to the main canvas and change layer name to “sky”.

    3

    The result should be similar to this:

    4


    Step 3

    Activate transform tool (Ctrl+T or Edit > Free Transform) then scale the mage as shown below:

    5

    The result should be similar to this:

    6


    Step 4

    Open the Sunny Field image in Photoshop. We’ll be using the grass field from this image.

    7

    Use the Rectangular or Ellipse marquee too to create a selection like shown in the image below. Copy and paste the selected area into our main document. Rename the new layer to “Ground”.

    8

    The result should be similar to this:

    9


    Step 5

    Use the Transform tool (Ctrl+T or Edit > Free Transform) to scale the image like shown below.

    10

    The result should be similar to this:

    11


    Step 6

    Select the Eraser tool the input the following settings:

    • Brush size: 400px
    • Hardness: 0%
    • Opacity: 40%
    • Flow: 100%

    12

    Erase the area shown in the image below.

    13

    The result should be similar to this:

    14


    Step 7

    Now create new Color/Balance adjustment layer from the bottom of layers palette.

    15

    Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (sky layer and Color/Balance) to make a mask.

    16

    When the Color Balance box opens, input the following:

    17

    The result should be similar to this:

    18



    19 Massively Detailed Illustrations by Shi Chun

    Posted: 20 Jun 2012 05:54 PM PDT

    Interview with Shi Chun


    What are your plans after finishing your degree?

    My plans are kind of fuzzy but generally in the direction of completing some personal projects while working on some freelance work and hunting for a job. Singapore’s culture does not exactly encourage taking time off for self exploration and finding one’s way in life. It is expected that one finds a job as soon as possible right after graduating so there is that constant pressure from my parents.


    Bestiarum Vocabulum is such an amazingly detailed work! Can you tell us the story behind this project?

    Haha thank you so much! I’ll try to keep the long story as short as possible. We were given the freedom to work on “anything we wanted” for our Year 4 Final Year Project (FYP). I simply went into it not having the slightest idea what I’ll end up with but thinking I really just wanted to draw creatures. I love fantastical creatures! Dragons, especially. It’s probably one of the few things I’ve been obsessed with since I was a kid. That said, I actually doubted my own skills for most of the FYP which had caused my mentor and I much frustration. I would describe the process of the whole project something akin to fumbling in the dark damp fog, occasionally tripping over rocks, bumping into trees and sometimes I’d spot certain sources of light only to snuff them out with my own hands. After a few months, my mentor said to me, “don’t think, just draw”. The thing was, I was afraid of the blank canvas. I was afraid that I could not live up to my expectations all the time. After that, I tried to churn out as many creatures as I dared, although not nearly enough. Months before the graduation show, my mentor told me, I should do something big but retain all the small details as I had in my A4 and A3 drawings. I wanted to reject the idea but he was right, that’d make an awesome product out of this entire project. As cheesy as it sounds, one day as I was drafting ideas for the big piece, inspiration hit me. Up til then I had been thinking of how I’d draw one creature, but what if that one creature is made up of many. Paying homage to the dragon came naturally. Piecing all the small creatures together was really a fun, irritating and rewarding experience all at the same time. After the final draft was done, all that was left was to draw it on the large canvas. At the end I hope I’ve created something that’ll inspire others as much as others have inspired me with their mind blowing works since I was young. I hope that was a good summary haha. I’ve never been that good at it in my English exam papers.


    How long did it take you to finish this?

    The whole FYP was roughly 10 months long. If we’re talking about what can be seen in the final show, it’d be about 4 months from conceptualization to completion. The large drawing itself took up 2 months.


    What made you pursue graphic design? Was this a childhood dream?

    Honestly, graphic design was not a childhood dream. My childhood dream was to own a pet dragon, haha. My parents noted I had an interest in drawing when I was young and signed me up for weekly drawing lessons but little did they know I’ll eventually continue for roughly 7 years. My interest lies in seeing how the little strokes, lines and curves on a canvas eventually come together to form a visual that everyone can enjoy. Now will be a good time to quote the overused quote, “a picture speaks a thousand words,” that is not limited by language. Visual Communication was as close to what I can get in Singapore for a degree in something related to what I might want to do in future. I’m not strictly a graphic design or typography kind of person but I did enjoy the many things I’ve learnt in school about them. Life and art should never be restricted to just learning one’s own specific field. Learning more about graphic design and typography allowed me to appreciate what goes on inside a canvas even more and also distil the essences of the thoughts and processes behind working on visual communication projects.


    What usually inspires you to create?

    Music! I can never work without music. I’m not one that restricts myself to only a few genres. And also things I see in everyday life and the internet. They mesh up together somewhere in a dark room in my mind and outputs ideas that I’ll consciously go through. I enjoy rolling ideas I have around in my head and see what they can snowball to, though it becomes a problem when I think too much about an idea and leave myself too little time to execute it. I tend to switch around between working with ideas that revolve around more thinking and ideas that revolve around less thinking and more technical to keep the mind fresh and happy. Ah of course, gaming impacts not just my art but life too. The influence from games in some of my works can be easily traced.


    You create different projects through a variety of mediums. What medium/materials do you most enjoy working with and why?

    The digital age can create so much more with the power of digital mediums, it’s amazing. I’m starting to try and get myself more involved with digital mediums but currently I still enjoy working with non-digital mediums more probably out of habit. Pencils and pens are among my favourite tools although lino block prints do make a strong fight for that position too. There’s certain peace and excitement when I’m neck deep in concentrating on working on a piece of work that I can touch. It’s a certain feel about the tactile experience of working with non-digital mediums. Perhaps I am just old-fashioned haha. When it comes to colours, I’d say watercolour is my favourite although I’m less apt at it. There is something very beautiful about the translucent and transcient feel of watercolours especially in capturing sceneries or fleeting moments.


    Can you tell us about the design you made for your school assignment (album cover for Mono)? Why did you choose this design and can you tell us your work process for this piece?

    Before the assignment, I have never heard of Mono or their music before. When I obtained the album from my friend, I was blown away. I was thinking, how could this be the same instruments that people used to make rock music! The sounds presented were really “epic” and introspective at the same time. I imagined that I was standing before an endless horizon of a sparkling sea and the air was full of energy that was fierce at times and quiet at others. I presented some rough initial ideas to my class and one idea was almost unanimously chosen by my classmates. That idea developed to be one of an antelope running across the sea of waves, embracing the world. It will be bold and it will be elegant. It will be wild and it will be serene. Using paper cuts was almost the perfect solution. It could display a sense of fragility yet when you start to play with the form of papers and stack them up, there is suggestion it could be more than what it seems. That captured the essence of how I feel when I listen to Mono’s album. I tried a few different ways of playing around with the paper before the final design came to be. From there the colours and final design of the abstracted form of the antelope, birds and sea pieced together naturally. The final touch was the illustration of the album name which came unexpectedly as I had thought of using existing fonts beforehand.


    Are there any projects that the readers should look out from you?

    Haha nothing really concrete at the moment although I did start a simple web comic on gaming and nerdy stuff recently that I hope to continue for a long time. I really enjoy doing little works that brings a smile to people out there that I do not know and may never know in my life. I’ve been very occupied with the Avengers and Diablo III lately, so my new projects could very well be inspired from these sources. I’d organise and upload the other creatures I did earlier in my FYP that I feel deserve to see the light soon on my Behance profile. So that’s at least one thing to watch out for ;)

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    Lastly, any message for our readers?

    I wish to quote Neil Gaiman here in his recent speech. Whatever good or bad situation you find yourself in, “make good art.” I can’t believe how much that 3 words can pack such a powerful message. Additionally, finding out what you’re really passionate in or care about is very important. Only when you find something you really want can you actually change and start to really move forward in life. All my life I’ve only found out what I do not wish to be and I’ve hardly budged at all, even now. I wish everyone all the best in their journey in life and never forget to be happy and appreciate everything around us.

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    More about Shi Chun

    http://www.behance.net/shich



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