TUTORIAL 39:

This part of the tutorial explains how you can make it have a special lighting effect. To make things seem like they have spots where they are shining and glaring, you can simply use the paint brush tool. and just reduce the hardness and make it so it has a blur around it. Then, while using the color white, you make a dot or line or whatever on your image and it will look like that part is glowing.

Website: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/create-destructive-black-and-white-lettering-with-a-dramatic-splash-effect/

Link: create destructive black and white lettering with a dramatic splash effect.

TUTORIAL 38:

In the same tutorial as before it also shows how to make these really cool splatters, and how you can implicate them within your image. First you make a new layer white, and then you make 3 spots and then with the splatter tool you go over them, and to make them blend, you use the gaussin blur tool. 

Website: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/create-destructive-black-and-white-lettering-with-a-dramatic-splash-effect/

Link: create destructive black and white lettering with a dramatic splash effect.

TUTORIAL 37:

This tutorial shows how to do a number of things. One of the things that I didn't know how to do was to make the text look awesome and have some depth to it. I screen capped each step they took to make it so I will always have it with me. He edited the word in 'layer style' and just altered the settings to make the text really pop.

Website: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/create-destructive-black-and-white-lettering-with-a-dramatic-splash-effect/

Link: Create Destructive Black and White lettering with a dramatic splash effect.

TUTORIAL 36:

This tutorial explains how to use the clone stamp tool. I've been trying over and over again to use this tool and it just wasn't working for me. I think because you can't use it on the background layer. You have to create a layer by itself, and then use the stamp tool settings. I didn't know what else to click, cause it wouldn't allow me to, but when you use the clone settings, and the image isn't locked, then it's smooth sailing.

Website: http://revver.com/video/334874/adobe-photoshop-cs3-clone-stamp-tool-tutorial/

Link: Clone Stamp Tool

TUTORIAL 35:

This design is absolutely beautiful. I've wanted to create something like this (but the opposite side :)), but I really had no idea where to begin. A simple way to just make the wings look real is to use the blend tool. Then to create the shadows and lighting effect, you use the paint tool, and use the brush that looks right and paint in the areas that would need the shadows created to make it look more realistic. Layers are key to this design, because while you keep everything separate, you can blend them all together in a very organized way making it look really freakin awesome in the end.

Website: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/photo-effects-tutorials/learn-how-to-create-a-fiery-demon-montage/

Link: create a fiery demon montage

TUTORIAL 34:

This tool seems kinda handy, I really like the effect it has on the finished image. To make something look stained you gotta get the brush brusheezy, it was created particularly to create stain like smudges and what not. And you add a layer and paint an outline of where you want the stain to be and then you edit the type of brush you want and then continue making marks where you want the smudges to be.

Website: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing-tutorials/how-to-create-a-grunge-style-illustration-with-stains/

Link: How to create a grunge style illustration with stains

TUTORIAL 33:

This tutorial was really cool, it showed and explained how you can adjust a picture to make it look fantasy like. THERE'S A SMOKE TOOL!?!?! are you kidding me, well that just solves a bunch of problems - that was just exciting to find out, that just ahhhh....so nice to have. The other thing that is really cool, was how he made the girl have a distinctive glow. He just altared the hue and saturation to give her a more fantasy, colorful, glow to her and it turned out pretty rad.

Website: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/photo-effects-tutorials/how-to-create-a-sparkling-fantasy-photo-manipulation/

Link: Sparkling fantasy photo manipulation

TUTORIAL 32:

This tutorial shows how to make an object look shiny and reflective. The flare tool is used a lot in this tutorial and makes it seem glass like, and show the reflection of light going onto the clock. He used the lens flare effect/tool and changes to opacity and effectiveness of it to make it seem more distinctive. This clock looks freakin awesome when it's all done, and I hope I can remember some of the things he used. Photoshop can do anything, it's pretty intimidating. 

Website: http://psd.tutsplus.com/category/tutorials/

Link: Create a reflective time piece

TUTORIAL 31:

I'm really starting to become more comfortable with the pen tool in illustrator, so I hope I am as comfortable in photoshop. In this tutorial it shows the breaking down of the pen tool when creating a letter. The other part of the tutorial shows the cursors and what they stand for. I only new what + (add an anchor point), - (minus anchor point), and free hand pen tool, so I never took into consideration what these others meant. While reading this, I realized that my life will now become easier because each of these tools are very specific, doing what they do well.

Website: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/photoshops-pen-tool-the-

comprehensive-guide/

Link: Pen tool

Building Proposal:

These are my final art building proposals. This was a fun project, and I really enjoyed it. I think because the sky was the limit really, we could do pretty much anything we wanted, and so it was nice. I chose to do nick's revolution because it was soooo much freakin fun to create, and I was laughing most of the time. The embedded tree was a more calming one, and just seemed realy neat and relaxing. The wishy flowers came out very psychedelic and 7o's, which is okay, because I don't think it looks tacky or anything like that. I could have done like 10 more, but even though they are fun, they took some time. This was kind of a stressfull project for me for some weird reason, I think because I'm starting to get overwhelmed with all of these projects with all of my classes. The cool part is that when I wanted a break from some of my other lame homework I would do this project because I actually enjoyed it. On flicker when doing the critiques it was awesome to see what other people have come up with. It just shows the different styles and tastes of everybody else. I enjoyed it overall, and I think it's cool that even though we're just beginner graphic design students, we can still have input on the art community...did that sound lame? haha oh well. :)

TUTORIAL 30:

I know it's probably the easiest thing in the world of photoshop, but at first when I was trying to bring an image into photoshop it wasn't working like it was with illustrator. I thought you could just drag the image into the file because you can with illustrator and photoshop is the diamond of picture editing. But, you can't and you have to open in through photoshop. It's just something that'll come in handy when I get stupid for a minute.
 

Website: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=414

Link: Opening an image

TUTORIAL 29:

This one is really cool, he explains and shows how you can edit the text and give it effects. I know how you can do it on illustrator but it's very different in photoshop. He used a text layer, and simply changed the glow of the layer, and the opacity to give it the effects that he wants. In the end it looks really cool, and I think it's going to be a very handy tool to have in the future.

Website: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=414

Link: Adding text

TUTORIAL 28:

This tutorial explains how you can crop your image, without getting fully rid of the image you cropped out. You use the crop tool, and crop out what you want on the image, then you can click on the hide button and it will hide the image that you don't want to see, then bring the image back later. It allows you to work on the part of the image that you want to work on at the time.
 

Website: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=414

Link: Cropping artwork

TUTORIAL 27:

This tutorial shows how you can sharpen the image, so it is more depicting. He uses the unsharp masked tool, and changes the number to make it sharper. This can show more detail in the picture, which allows the picture to have more effect. 
 

Website: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=414

Link: Sharpening the focus of the image

TUTORIAL 26:

This tutorial shows how you can completely altar the background. He changed the sky to dark and gloomy, and he does what I didn't expect. He added a gradient to the sky and then clicked on overlay to make it more realistic and less pitch black. I thought he would just use the transparency tool to make the sky darker, but he took it one step further, and it looks really good. Before the sky was blue and nice looking, now there's like a dark cloud that is shadowing over the hotel. Very real.

Website: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=414

Link: Creating a dark and stormy sky

Building design sketches

These are just some sketches and ideas that I had for the building project. The first thing I thought of for some reason, was a black tree, with branches coming out all over the place. And so I did some sketches mirroring that idea, but they didn't turn out the way I visioned it, so I was trying out some other ideas. I have this pillow with a close up of a flower, but I thought that would be too girly, so I sketched a close up of one of those weeds that are all over and you can blow the limb things off, and it's like little fuzzies so I tried that out and I really liked the way that turned out. I wanted to use some colors in the design since it's for art buildings, but I didn't want it to be like corny, tacky colors so I was just working on some lime greens, oranges, and yellows and what not. 

YOU'RE AWESOME KATE! HOPE YOUR GRADINGS THIS WEEKEND DON'T MAKE YOU HATE LIFE!!!! :)

TUTORIAL 25:

I like how you can adjust all of the colors on the original picture. I really like how you don't have to adjust the colors on the entire image, but on a specific part of the image that you want changed. I have wanted to do this before, just changing the hue of maybe one object within an object, but haven't been able to do so. Now with this tool, you can change it within layers which I think will come in handy.

Website: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=414

Link: Adding a couple of adjustment layers

TUTORIAL 24:

This cloning tool is awesome. All you have to do is click on the cloning tool, and then click on an area that you want to clone, hold down the alt key, and then paint wherever you want that cloned image to be placed. I have seen people use this tool, but I honestly had no idea how it was done. It seems so easy, and it really makes your options endless. I'm excited to use this tool, I just hope I can use it well.

Website: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=414

Link: Cloning trees