Note: this chapter was made back when i was still using mobile apps.
All the graphics in this particular chapter were made via mobile apps as well. So yes, its cringe.

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Alright, so I'm finally doing it. It's not like I never wanted to do it, but I just wanted to wait a few more months ( or perhaps, years even ) until I did something this extreme. But well, I've got some HUGE number of PMs asking for a tutorial book, so I'm basically doing it...in my style-- Tips and Tricks.

Before you read ahead, I must caution you that I'm still some sort of an intermediate, so do not expect me to flush out everything pitch perfectly. Nonetheless, being a perfectionist, I'll try my best to atleast reach your twig of the "GREAT EXPECTATION". There will be mistakes, and I'll basically do it in my style so it may differ from your way of doing the same thing, so you have two options:

Risk it and take the chance

or

Leave it and shed tears of regret ( regret?? )

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

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S O C I A L    M E D I A

Instagram: alienxpride

Email: [email protected]

Deviantart: alienxpride

Youtube: AlienXPride

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R U L E S

➳ You have to be passionate towards it. If you're just doing it for the sake of your parents' impression, then I'm sorry to inform you that YOU WILL BE BLACKLISTED and ignored for the rest of your lives ( specifically, till the time I have this book running ). 

➳ You have to be patient. Patience is next to godliness ( in the learning world ). I improved because I learned in patience, and I'm quite sure you'll be too ( do not break my trust ).

➳ Behavior matters. "Ah, I'm so sick of it, when will I learn? Ugh this book is so stupid!"-- I see it, I hate it, I don't want it, I kick it. New version of 7 Rings. Get used to it.

➳ Sharing is caring. You know something that might help other designers? Don't hesitate to share it with the rest in the comments! You more you give, the more you gain.

➳ Locked and unlocked. Some chapters will be locked, and will need a specific amount of votes or followers to be unlocked. 

➳ Accept criticism. Don't be afraid to hear others' opinions. The more you will be criticised, the more you will learn. From experience, I've got a lot of criticism in my life, and although it seemed rude at first, I've started to enjoy it now. It's a good feeling when you can finally get to a level when your most annoying critiques ultimately go out of words.

➳ Practice is the key. The more you practice, the better you'll get. And believe me, if you're passionate about it, you'll automatically start practicing. That's the beauty of love.

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K E Y   T H I N G S   T O   R E M E M B E R

✮ Graphic designing is all about stealing. No, not like the way you're expecting. More like, not-copying. For example, in simple language:

A = A [ That's copying ]

A = a [ That's stealing ]

See what I did there? Consider the "A" as a resource or inspiration. I took the "A" and changed into "a"-- the depiction is same, but the whole aspect ( visualization ) changed. I'll make it more "graphicy" for you to comprehend:

That's the point ( ignore the fact that I turned the beautiful lady into an ugly something with a headache ). Take inspiration, and create something original-- not just overlap that inspiration and get yourself busted. That's idiotic man, believe me.

✮ Visualize before creating. When I first started designing, I didn't much plan anything. And the results were quite...well, either horrible, or not up to the point. Before you comment "my random edits are usually better", let me ask you one thing: why would you choose to design that random picture without the spark of an idea of how you want it?

I mean, isn't that why many of you set up detailed forms in your shops?

✮ It's not Quality Before Quantity. It's in fact Quality and Quantity. Yep, quality matters, but does quantity on an equivalent balance. I wasted most of my effort into making something with high reso, but never really thought about the quantity when I first started designing. That's where I made the mistake.

For example, look at the pictures below:

See what I mean? Both pictures are of high reso, but look at the quantity of the other things on both the images. While one has too much of it, the second one seems to be lacking that same amount in it. Do you think you'd consider one of them as perfectly balanced? Now take a peek at this:

Quality- check.

Quantity- check.

Perfectly balanced- check, check, check

That's what I'm talking about. Good quality and quantity.

✮ Lightning: mood, background, foreground. First of all, does lightning really matter? YES, IT DOES. And seriously, if you ask me the reason, I'll just consider you an idiot. But well, I'm a good alien, so here are the basic reasons: vibrance, wow-ness, mood. Get the point, so moving to the main focus.

DONT BE THE STUPID GUY who expects a sad-mood/theme to be displaying on their graphic, but instead brightens up the whole picture. Wow, man, you are such a genius- you should get an award for RUINING the whole image.

Like, for real. Imagine Sherlock Holmes, the greatest mystery book ever written, to have a bright cover like Captain Underpants. Hmm, let me see: I'll pick up the book, and...throw it at YOUR FACE. Dont underestimate me.

But it's not just the mood we're talking about, it's about the background and foreground too (they're both related at some point but you know, there are sometimes when it isn't ). Here's something to help u:

I'm pretty sure it's useless to ask "which one do you think is better?" because well, we both know it. Anyways, there'll be a more detailed chapter on this in the book later on.

✮ Dont post unless you're happy with the result. You made a edit, but you're not confident enough about it? Dont post it. If you dont love your own creation ( forget love, atleast "like" ), don't expect others to be proud of it too. That's really something you should understand without having me to explain. And believe me, there's nothing wrong about it.

✮ Show not tell, or Show and tell? Now, many of you might be told that graphic designing is all about "Show not tell", alas it's all about the visualization! But here's a secret, IT'S NOT WHAT THEY SAY. 

Have you heard about "Typography"? It's a type of graphic where fonts and words make up an edit. Would you say it's "show not tell"? Because we both know that it's related to "telling" ( usage of fonts ), but it's a graphic ( showing ). We'll soon be learning more about it in a locked chapter that would need 50+ votes to be unlocked [ It's worth it, though ].

✮ Practice makes a man ( and a woman, basically ) perfect. And as I mentioned before, if you're passionate about it, you'll automatically start practicing.

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Well, now you basically get the idea of what I meant by "Tips and Tricks", although I must say that this was just an intro: the game's yet to be played. In the following chapters, there will be more detailed tips and tricks, and in some ( or more ) cases, tutorials will be present too.

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Questions go here ⇢
Tutorial requests go here ⇢