hello guys! i just want to say thank you for 28.8k reads! i really appreciate everyone's support. for the votes, and comments especially, thank you so much.

recently i pondered posting a rant/tip book on my account like what most designers do, but then i thought i would get lazy eventually on updating.

so here i thought i could summarize all that in a chapter! if you're interested, read ahead. (or skip this update that's what i'd do) lmao cx

enjoy!

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please, before you read on, toughen up your meat. i don't really flip cuss words everywhere, but i speak the truth. as we all know, the truth hurts.

PART I. | R A N T S

so i don't have much, because i learned that the key to horrible people on wattpad, is patience. but here is something that will always be one of my concerns:

inspiration vs copying

LISTEN FOLKS, TAKING AN ELEMENT FROM ANOTHER PERSON'S WORK AND INCORPORATING IT INTO YOUR OWN GRAPHIC ISN'T INSPIRATION.

OR EVEN COPYING THE CONCEPT OF A COVER ISN'T.

no one is exempted from this. i don't want to sound like a close-minded person here, but in my design experience, a few famous, talented designers have taken my ideas and incorporated them in their own. i felt really bad because even though i'm just an amateur, i was proud of my work. i thought that maybe i was first to come up with that style or whatever. then here goes a totally amazing designer i look up to and one day i see them posting a cover with my idea. somehow, my idea looked so much better on the designer's graphic.

it was a triple kick to my face. (let's call the designer Tart and objectify the gender to 'it') Tart was my inspiration. Tart is talented and yet it took something that's mine. Tart took recognition for that graphic with my idea.

i wanted to ask Tart if it took the idea from me, but well, i was intimidated. i mean, who was i? i definitely lacked confidence in my self at that time.

but i did ask Tart about it and Tart said a requester asked it to do this and that, like how i did.

in the end, i just felt horrible and mad and sad and i stopped designing for a while.

anyway, it was a long time ago, i want to be over it, but this is an issue i want to address.

please, don't do that. if you think the idea is cute, then just admire it. don't fashion your own graphic into something reminiscent of others. i know this is just wattpad, but sometimes it hurts. the solid difference is inspiration sets your mood, pushes your creativity, and helps you set a picture or concept in mind.

i mean, when you look for "inspiration" when painting, do you look at Mona Lisa and copy her creepy ass smile? no. why? because da vinci owns that smile.

ladies and gentlemen, i own the crap i post. respect that.

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mini rant: why do people overuse the semi-colon (;) for aesthetics? i'm not a writer, but i know that ; this is ; not how ; you use it ; freckles ; beauty ; as the moon weeps ; i'm poetic ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

PART II. | TIPS

these aren't actually "rules" of design, this is just how andy makes her stuff, and she hopes some could serve as tips. (warning: technicalities; photoshop needed)

1. psd colorings

in my style, i like to use colorings to set certain moods in the graphic, and not use them (esp heavy ones) as a cheat-out. and by that i mean slapping on a lot of colorings so that it overpowers everything. i believe it's still nicer to have colors that you could see everyday in real life! :)

2. contrast

since we're talking about colors, let's talk about this too. i like to use strong color contrast in my design, except if the graphic has a pastel like theme. i like to make the blacks stand out. to do this, i play with the levels and curves on photoshop. i also play with selective color all the time!

3. font shopping

usually, i add the words to my graphic as the last step. and when i do, that's the time i start looking for a good font to match. when nothing in my current inventory is working, i go to dafont to find some good ones.

4. topaz

topaz is a photoshop plug-in that you can use like a filter to edit your graphics.

my use of topaz varies from some to none at all. i use it to improve the edges in my graphic mostly. it's sort of not my style, really, and i feel like it reduces the realism in a manipulated graphic. but overall, a little of topaz cleans ups a graphic really well.

5. avoid mainstream aesthetics

i try to avoid the "bebas nue on a picture of a pastel telephone from we heart it" or "fancy script font on a pic of a couple on tumblr" as much as possible, because i feel like there's so much more you could do and add to such a graphic. i believe simple covers don't have to be so "simplistic" per se. i love trying out new things, and maybe that's why i have a pet peeve for "aesthetic covers."
(but ok i admit i sometimes i give in to requests like those and then just add some fart flair hehe.)

6. pngs

there's actually this fact that i never cut my own pngs until this year!

back when i used picmonkey, i just blend my models with the background using the eraser, or searched "nina dobrev png" on google lmao. i even subbed to those threads that took cutting model pics as requests. it wasn't until i got photoshop last year that i tried cutting with the magic wand. then this year, i learned how to with the pen tool.

trust me, you need to learn how to cut your own images! not only will everything be much more convenient, you will have such a wide range of images to use.

TL;DR: if you want to make a good graphic, learn to cut your own pngs. if you want to make the best graphics, learn to cut with the pen tool.

7.lighting

when making manipulations, pay attention to your lighting. set one point as where the light comes from and balance all the elements with the light that hits them. that's makes the graphic look much more natural, and put together better.

8. experimentation

nothing happens when you stay stuck in a cover type. don't settle for simple. don't settle for minimalist or vectors. don't settle for simple manipulations.

delve deeper, and soon you'll develop and hone skills for ecery type of graphic put there!

9. feedback

i'm not talking about critiques. sure, that was an important part of me growing as a designer, but i'm taking about pure positive feedback. this made me grow more into an acceptable

designer, because i always had these amazing talented people to encourage me. looking back, the covers that i posted on Graphic Stalkers were horrible. but you know what? an amazing designer i will not name put one of those horrible covers in the Hall of Graphics (2015) (some tumblr page of inspiration). i was so shook and inspired i pushed myself to get better with the technicalities.

up to this day, i'm still learning more and more, and pushing myself because i love design, and many people keep encouraging me. so thank you guys, i truly love you all!

that's pretty much it!

(i feel like it's related to the topic, so when amazing people i admire so much like ArtiePants, uproars and many more started to follow me i felt like i was flying. it was the best feeling in the world to be recognized by huge talents and my idols. i feel like that's another thing that pushed me. the community i got to be in as i designed. grow and learn with people, all that.)

so far, wattpad has been such a great place to meet a new family, and for that i am truly grateful. a huge part of me would not have been completw without this messy but addicting orange site.

love lots xx

-andy