Graphics Support Group

[Ainsley Lynch]

Hi hello this is a thread I've been meaning to start forever, I figured since it's something I'd find helpful that other people might find it helpful too!

I thought it'd be nice to have a place for graphic makers + anyone interested in giving it a try to chat & share ideas and resources we've found useful, as well as asking around for feedback or advice. There are a few people I usually message on Discord when I'm struggling with a graphic, but it'd be nice to have a more open place on site where anyone can ask for or offer help and support. Everyone's got a fresh set of eyes that can contribute!

So, this is that! If you've got a resource or tutorial you're loving, drop the link for others to share! If you're struggling with a WIP and need a few extra eyes on it to give it that extra shine, or have a few helpful tips to offer, here's the place!

I'll start us off; I can NOT get enough of ErenaeErae's textures oh my god. Most of her new stuff is behind a paywall, but if you go back a ways in her gallery there are a ton of AMAZING free resources I use in like. Everything. I also adore these light source brushes, I use them in p much every single graphic to bring things together - a little spotlight on soft light on a low opacity will work magic...

Anyone else got any resources or tips to share, or WIPs they've been bashing their head against? What's your favourite font?

((ps staff if this should be in on topic instead pls move it i wasnt sure where was best to put it lol))

 

[Archie Renner]

Ahh thank you for posting this!! Lord knows I get stuck and always need a second opinion or some help when something is off about a graphic and I cannot figure out what is wrong

Resource wise a site I absolutely cannot share/request people check out more is https://unsplash.com/ it has so many royalty free images and you can just use the search bar and search for what kind of image you're looking for and bam!! it's there

I really love the creator Annie Spratt on Unsplash, she has some really nice images of nature/greenery/flowers and she categorizes them really easily so if you're looking for specifically red or pink flowers you can find them here! https://unsplash.com/@anniespratt/collections

That's all I really have to share, I'll likely post in this thread asking for where someone got a resource I like or what font someone is using, I just don't have any burning questions from the top of my head

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

YESSSS I LOVE UNSPLASH SO MUCH!!!! Gonna have to check out that creator

While I'm here another rec I grabbed from Emzies a while back is PhotoPea - it's a free program that works in your browser, and does everything Photoshop does. It's an absolute lifesaver!

 

[Harper Alston]

Can this support group give me graphics muse?

But seriously, I'm so glad you posted this, Rowan, because I could talk about graphics for hours haha

For Photoshop tutorials, I really like PiXimperfect on YouTube. He's great at breaking down different tools, and it's because of him that I understand how curves work not that I ever use them but still. Skillshare also has a good beginner Photoshop course if you're just starting out. (They also have an advanced one that I've been meaning to check out.) I wouldn't recommend paying for them since you can find all the tutorials you need on YouTube / RP and graphic forums, but it's not too hard to find a free 30-day code from an influencer.

Favorite font is Yoghurt. I've also found a lot of really neat fonts through Creative Market's weekly free drops.

I'd love to hear other people's coloring tips/tricks/methods because I'm obsessed with coloring. It's legit my favorite part of making a graphic

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Can this support group give me graphics muse?

That's my hope too

As far as colouring I don't have any specifics to say really - my colouring technique is basically I. wiggle the sliders until it looks good???? I've never used PSDs or looked through anyone else's techniques or tutorials or anything (will check out that stuff you linked though i should probably Actually Learn What Im Doing) I just kind of faff about with adjustment layers until I like what I've got. There isn't really anything standard I do every time, it's just a messing about process until I find what suits the specific graphic haha

 

[Stefan Archer]

So i make more gifs than I do banners these days, but i was thinking about it recently, and chatting to Kaitlyn about it. But sharpening on gifs versus graphics. So when i make anything I do tend to sharpen it, usually a light smart sharpen/gaussian blue on banners, and then a much stronger sharpen on gifs, the settings of which I can share because the current combo i have is a miracle worker for most gifs

Do others generally sharpen their graphics or do you tend to like 'smooth' it out?

 

[Harper Alston]

I like my graphics to punch people in the eyeballs, so I always sharpen mine

I usually start with a Reduce Noise setting (I think I picked this up from one of Claire's tutorials haha) and then I copy merge and use Unsharp Mask, which contrary to its name, does sharpen things. I use the same settings (which I can share) for literally all my graphics because by the time I've hit this stage, it's like hour four and I just want to be done

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ahahah I work in the exact opposite direction Ana, I make two duplicates of the banner, smart sharpen the lower one, THEN run Claire's reduce noise settings on the upper one and lower its opacity until I get a nice mix of sharp lines and softness

Def curious to see people's settings though and happy to share mine if anyone's interested!

 

[Harper Alston]

Yes, would love to see your settings, Rowan! (And yours too, Emzies, though I'm too lazy to make gifs haha)

Reduce Noise:

Strength - 9
Preserve Details - 27%
Reduce Color Noise - 0%
Sharpen Details - 18%

Unsharp Mask:

Amount - 29%
Radius - 1.9 pixels
Threshold - 0 levels

(Sometimes I then use a layer mask and fade out any bits that look over-sharpened)

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Oooh, my reduce noise settings ARE slightly different!

Reduce Noise:
Strength - 7
Preserve Details - 3%
Reduce Colour Noise - 0%
Sharpen Details - 32%

Smart Sharpen:
Amount - 100%
Radius - 0.6%
Remove: Gaussian Blur
More Accurate

I like my smart sharpen Too Sharp and my reduce noise Too Blurry so that when I lay the noise reduced version on top of the smart sharpened version on a mid-low opacity they cancel each other out in a way thats sort of dreamy without losing crispness

 

[Stefan Archer]

I've never been a reduce noise person

but the softer sharpen i use is:

Spoiler: soft sharpening

Smart sharpen 1
amount 350%
radius 0.3 pixels
remove gaussian blur
with more accurate

Smart sharpen 2
amount 10%
radius 20 pixels
remove gaussian blur
with more accurate

gaussian blur - set to 10% opacity (though sometimes a bit higher or lower depending on the item)
Radius of 1 pixel

I play around with the blur until it looked right and have used a mask to erase specific areas if they look worse with it.

Spoiler: gif settings

Smart sharpen 1
amount: 450%
radius: 0.4 pixels
remove gaussian blur
with more accurate

Smart sharpen 2
Amount 30%
radius 20 pixels
remove gaussian blur
with more accurate[/spoilers]

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Lurking here as I start making my graphics for next year and I am reminded how little of photoshop I actually know how to use

But taking notes and maybe I can graduate beyond slapping gradient maps on everything lol

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Real talk the fact that you get the results you do with gradient maps is mind blowing to me, your colours are always so gorgeous! (Case in point the one you showed me on discord earlier )

I just finished making a sig with a gif overlay which reminded me I've been meaning to share the gif overlay pack I made a while ago. To use them once I'm finished making a sig I merge the layers and copy-paste it underneath the gif, set the gif to screen/overlay/soft light/whatever, crop it to fit the sig, and add whatever colouring layers I want on top

 

[Archie Renner]

While I am reminded this thread exists, I have been meaning to ask for font recommendations because I am very much in my comfort zone of using cambria and/or reman only and I wanna break free of this!!

I would LOVE to find some more free to use script fonts and serif fonts but of course I would also like to try something completely different, I just find it overwhelming to browse dafont because while it's great and there are so many options I find it really difficult to find something I really like and want to use more than once.

So if anyone has fonts they regularly use and love and wanna link here please do so!!

Also if you don't have Reman as a font yet you can find it here: https://www.dafont.com/reman.font It is the one I use on almost all of my graphics I am very set in my ways

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

So if anyone has fonts they regularly use and love and wanna link here please do so!!

meee i do <3

I've been meaning to make 'index cards' for all my fonts forever, because I have a gigantic font hoarding problem and there's no way in the font manager to categorise them properly (MICROSOFT FIX THIS IM BEGGING)

So this is uh. index cards for almost every font I have installed (I DEFINITELY missed a few in there somewhere) sorted into rough categories (some are miscategorised but I'm not fixing it dont @ me this took ages) They should mostly be findable on DaFont, though I think some come from free selections on creativemarket or other places like that They're all free so they should be out there somewhere. (Also there are system fonts mixed in there because I was cataloguing for my own reference when I'm makin a graphic)

WARNING THERE ARE SO MANY FONTS AHEAD

Spoiler: Script/cursive handwriting

Spoiler: Brush/non-cursive handwriting

Spoiler: Gothic

Spoiler: Fancy

Spoiler: Digital

Spoiler: Serif

Spoiler: Sans-Serif

yes it takes like five minutes for my photoshop to load why do u ask