Faux Cartooning in Photoshop
December 30, 2009
So I stumbled across a method in photoshop recently that in a few quick steps can make just about any image (provided it has enough detail and contrast) appear to be hand drawn. There are built-in filters that can approximate this effect, but I found this method produces better results and can be fine tuned a bit more. All you need to do is apply a Gaussian blur with a radius of at least 3 pixels (and up to 10 or so, I had good results at 4.5 on many historical images) to the image layer, then fade the filter effect (shift+ctrl+f) using the Darken or Darken Colors mode to dial back the blur. You can play with pixel radius of the blur and the opacity of the fade effect, as the best results seems to vary from picture to picture. I had great fun messing around with this on historical color images from Wikimedia Commons. Here’s couple examples of the historical variety, and one of my more successful modern ones.
Soldiers at Leisure on a Tank
Arc d'Triomphe
California Surfer (Credit: Mila Zinkova)
Lifehacker Post
December 29, 2009
Lifehacker featured a piece that I created during my old job at the National Geographic Green Guide. I re-purposed some flash used for creating Nat Geo maps to put together a visual guide to beef certifications. Check it out on Lifehacker and the original on the Green Guide.
Beef Label Decoder
King Hippo
November 5, 2009
This is the first figure from a larger piece that I am going to be working on with quai-realistic drawings of video game characters with animal names. First up: King Hippo of Punchout fame.
King Hippo
Yet Another Natural Type Graphic
August 4, 2009
I’m not sure why I’m so drawn to natural imagery for design, but I certainly skew that way when left to my own devices. Thought I’d share this logo I made when playing about with the pen tool.
LEAPfrog, a ficticious design firm...
My Little Planet
August 3, 2009
So a while back I heard a story on NPR about taking photos with well defined levels and making them into “planets” through a process in Photoshop. I decided I would try my hand at them. I made quite a few, but these were some of the best examples.
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My tiny Venice
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Mayan Ruin in Mexico
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MiniManhattan
Convention Logo
May 14, 2009
I suspect this design will be a bit too out there and harsh for the people here at my job. They will want something more colorful and “happy”, but hey, I like it.
Boston... 2010
More Photoshoppery
May 12, 2009
This was for a charity auction item… it’s probably best that you don’t ask exactly what that item was.
Hoppy...
T-Shirt
February 11, 2009
This is an idea I’ve been toying with for a t-shirt. I think it works better as a shirt in the simple black on red, but I like the more colorful one as a standalone graphic. For those wondering about the spelling, it is how Ovechkin is spelled in Cyrillic (not to mention a nice play on Shepard Fairey’s Obey).
Plain Version
Colorized version
Sideshow Poster
February 4, 2009
A poster I made for a comedy show.
Mythical Newsroom
February 4, 2009
The following are a few items I crafted for my girlfriend’s improv group. Enjoy.
Photoshopped and ready for submission to festivals and all around hilarity.
The image before I jazzed it up. Just for comparison's sake.
And a closeup of the logo.
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