Firstly, I’m happy to say that the MentalMirage flickr Pool is already getting new images brought to it, so be sure to check it out and contribute!

Secondly, this here is the images for my new business card, that I made ready for my trip to Tokyo. I think it turned out quite nicely, and I’m happy with it, and now looking forward to getting the prints shipped to me, hopefully within the next 10 days or so.

Thirdly, since I quite liked how the front of my card turned out, I’m offering it as a card print over at my redbubble site, so be sure to check it out and buy one!

Now, without further waiting, here is the front and back it:

I’m planning on making a tutorial (short or long, time will tell) on how I made the front image. I’m not sure exactly when I’ll have time for this, so we’ll see. But its coming!

Support a starving (no, not really) artist and buy some prints!

The MentalMirage flickr group is now up and running! So if you follow any of the tutorials here, and get a nice result, be sure to either link them in the comments or add them to the flickr pool! Its always great seeing how others go about it, and can be a wonderful source of inspiration.
Also, if you just have images that you feel are appropriate to the style of the group, feel free to add them! Its always awesome seeing what others are doing!

Speaking of tutorials, there are more to come soon. I’ve been quite busy with university, plus I’m planning a trip (returning) to Tokyo on the 19th december to the 12th of january. Exams are coming up, and I’m cramming Design Theory to be ready, hence things are going a little slow.

I’ve pretty much finished up a new business card, once I’ve put the final changes to it, I’ll be sure to put it up here, as well as give a tutorial on how to create the effect.

- Philip Zeplin

Support a starving (no, not really) artist and buy some prints!

Head over to my RedBubble or deviantArt shops, and check them out! Jump! and Sichuan are only some of the things that are up for grabs, other posters, t-shirts and designs can be bought there too!

Special note on Sichuan Poster:
All profit made from sales made within November 2008 to November 2009 will be donated to charity focused on the earthquake victims and china.

RedBubbble also has a t-shirt design you can buy, and I’m working on putting more up there! On deviantArt there is also mugs, mouspads, and everything else that you could possible wish for!

Support a starving (no, not really) artist and buy some prints!

So I felt creative, and wanted to do something, and this is what happened to come out of it. A good 5 hours work or so, I suppose.
I really wanted to work some some colors, and get something dynamic going, I think it ended up looking pretty good! Click for a higher res.

Jump! - By Philip Zeplin

The original image can be found on istockphoto.com, where many other great shots are!
I actually use the site for a great deal of inspiration… just browsing through pictures until something jumps out and speaks to me, and I go “Wow! I could totally do something cool with this!”. Well, if it ended up cool or not is up for you to decide!

This is a short tutorial on how I made the SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE 2008 picture. Do not that far from all small details are included here. Instead, this tutorial is more of a walkthrough on the overall effects and making of the picture. If you have a fair knowledge of Photoshop though, it shouldn’t be too hard to follow. If you have any questions about anything specific, feel free to ask!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tutorial: MentalMirage Blog Header

In this first tutorial, I’ll go over the basics on how I made the top graphic (header) for my blog. We’ll be working with masks, blending modes, the LucisArt plugin, color correction, levels, and brushes.
A basic understanding of Photoshop is needed to follow this tutorial.

Read the rest of this entry »

A recent article posted by Computer Arts Magazine brought up some interesting points.
The article focused on the current economic recession, and its influence on graphic designers, and how to survive that.The main part of the article, however, wasn’t interesting. What was interesting was the point at the end:

“The dotcom bubble saw a lot of people with Microsft FrontPage on their CV’s jump on the internet bandwagon and claim to be webdesigners. When the bubble burst, they scurried off to become estate agents and take advantage of the housing market bubble. If the same thinning of the herd happens again, leaving the cream of creativity, then maybe that’s the silver lining to the current cloud of uncertainty.” - Jason Arber.

He makes an interesting point, one that I by co-incidence have been discussing with others recently. Nowadays, everyone with a graphics package thinks they’re designers, and that’s a problem. Why? Some might think “well surely if they aren’t good, they simple won’t get paid, and no one will hire them.” Ah, but if it was only that simple. Read the rest of this entry »

Its my plan that in the near future, I’ll write up an in-depth tutorial on this image (watch out, its huge):

I also have planned to write a less in-depth image on how I achieved the effects of the Sichuan image.

All things to look forward to in the future!

A recent school project was to make a poster based on the Sichuan Earthquake 2008. The below picture is my result of that:

It turned out quite well I think! I got quite a bit of praise from teachers and students alike, far more than expected actually.
Because of that I’m currently trying to find out who holds copyright on the original picture of the ruins used, in the hopes of being able to sell it as a poster, with all profit going to the earthquake victims! We’ll have to wait and see how things turn out, but it could be interesting.

The blog is now officially up and running.
There might still be some changes to the colors and minor layout changes here and there, but it wont be anything major.
For now, I plan to use the blog as a puplishing tool for tutorials, news and whatever ramblings I might have. I’ll probably occasionally put up pictures I dont deem worthy to put up on the main sight, or that I want to discuss or have something extra to add about. But you never know what the future holds!

Anyway, for now, welcome to the blog of me, myself, and my website!