Logo Design Tips and Tricks

[cephasjames]

I'm at the GIMP download page and there's a whole lot going on there that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Do I download the 2.2.9.tar.bz2 or .gz? What's the difference?

[reds1]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

I'm at the GIMP download page and there's a whole lot going on there that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Do I download the 2.2.9.tar.bz2 or .gz? What's the difference?

I followed the links to the stable, pre-compiled binaries for Windows. The link is here:

http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

I installed two of the files listed:

First: GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment (version 2.8.9, for Windows 2000 and newer; updated installer)

Second: The GIMP for Windows (version 2.2.10) This program won't work unless the GTK+ is installed first, as I found out.

Hope that helps.

[reds1]

As Bill Murray would say in 'What About Bob' - Baby steps, baby steps...

A link provided in another thread provided baseball logos in eps format. Discovering that this is usable in Photoshop, I tried my hand at a few logos that I was already using in my solo league, only they were logos without any city listed. Attached is my first crack at producing some basic modifications to them. All I did essentially was either add text or blank out the prevoius text and put in new text.
I need to explore much more of the progam (while my trial version still works). I wish there was more variety in text styles, as they seem to be the same as Microsoft Word. Pretty boring. Also, I should have looked at how to resize the logos to 150x150. They look OK in the game, but are not exactly crisp or sharp - more jagged. I think this is due to distortion.

Anyway, you got to start somewhere! And I would appreciate any suggestions on making them better.

Edit: I modified the files below so that they are now 150x150 and added a border around them. They now show up much better (sharper) in the game,

[jf7623]

Originally Posted by Faroo6

I figured that since there are a few of us around we could share some tips and tricks with each other as well as have this be a thread newcomers looking to make their own logos could reference.

Photoshop

-Create Actions: This works very well when you are doing things over and over.
- For my Ring Logo Template I have an action that Creates a New Layer, The Ring Selection, Fills the Ring and switches my Paint Swatches. I was trying to get it to stroke the ring but it won't just use the foreground color. So I have to Stroke and Deselect. Not a big deal. I have the action on the F3 key, so all I have to do is decided on my primary and secondary colors, F3, stroke, deselect.

- I believe this may be the most important action you can create. I call it Replace True Black. First it merges all the visible layers. Then it goes to the Replace Color and swaps out all instances of 0,0,0 with something like 20,20,20. To the eye it looks black still but it won't show up in OOTP as transparent. After this I save it as a .jpg and then use the history to undo the merging of the layers. I have this assigned to F2. It makes life a lot easier to just hit a key when you are done creating the logo and not have to worry about the black.

- Save Selections. I do this because I've notice that after a while of just filling a particular color area the edges start to get fuzzy. I have my Ring saved as a selection that I fill on a new layer for each logo I make. I've found it keeps the edges nice and crisp.

- Try to save every piece of art for the logo in a seperate layer inside the same file. I know the file will get large, in which case start a new one and just transfer your template layers over. If you ever need the old artwork you can always drag it in as a new layer. I know I've made a few logos that I just flattened and saved as .jpg's with out saving the .psd file. Sure enough someone will like the logo and ask for a small modification that takes much longer than it should because you have to edit a .jpg instead of a quick layer edit.

a nice typed out word document with step by step examples would be greatly appreciated if possible

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by reds1

I followed the links to the stable, pre-compiled binaries for Windows. The link is here:

http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

I installed two of the files listed:

First: GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment (version 2.8.9, for Windows 2000 and newer; updated installer)

Second: The GIMP for Windows (version 2.2.10) This program won't work unless the GTK+ is installed first, as I found out.

Hope that helps.

Dowloading right now. Than you very much.

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by reds1

As Bill Murray would say in 'What About Bob' - Baby steps, baby steps...

A link provided in another thread provided baseball logos in eps format. Discovering that this is usable in Photoshop, I tried my hand at a few logos that I was already using in my solo league, only they were logos without any city listed. Attached is my first crack at producing some basic modifications to them. All I did essentially was either add text or blank out the prevoius text and put in new text.
I need to explore much more of the progam (while my trial version still works). I wish there was more variety in text styles, as they seem to be the same as Microsoft Word. Pretty boring. Also, I should have looked at how to resize the logos to 150x150. They look OK in the game, but are not exactly crisp or sharp - more jagged. I think this is due to distortion.

Anyway, you got to start somewhere! And I would appreciate any suggestions on making them better.

First off, I think your logos look good. Secondly, you have the trial version of Photoshop? Which do you like better GIMP or Photoshop?

[reds1]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

First off, I think your logos look good. Secondly, you have the trial version of Photoshop? Which do you like better GIMP or Photoshop?

I didn't use GIMP long enough to properly appraise it. As soon as I learned that you could download a trial version of Photoshop, I jumped to that, figuring it would be the way to go. But its kind of hard to justify shelling out $600-700 US for a program that would essentially be used for a hobby. As well, the reviews on Amazon.com for Photoshop CS2 were underwhelming to say the least. Lots of bugs and poor support issues, apparently.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...013173-2383931

Thus when the trial version expires, I'll most likely experiment with GIMP again.

[Cuss]

CS2 is obviously the best, but if you can get your hands on a prior version of photoshop on ebay or whatnot, you will be in pretty good shape as the main features of the software are pretty much the same in the past 3-4 versions.

[reds1]

Originally Posted by Cuss

CS2 is obviously the best, but if you can get your hands on a prior version of photoshop on ebay or whatnot, you will be in pretty good shape as the main features of the software are pretty much the same in the past 3-4 versions.

I just looked on eBay, Cuss. Are my eyes deceiving me? You can get CS2 V9.0 full version for only $11.00 US + S&H? What's the catch?
I've always been told, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adobe-photoshop-...ayphotohosting

[reds1]

As a follow-up to a previous post on wanting to redo one of my team logos (Altona Ironbirds), I made the following modifcations to the original as shown below. I bought a copy of Photoshop CS2 through eBay and now I'm just waiting for it to arrive. Hopefully there will be no unpleasant surprises when I load it up. Then I can start learning the darn thing step by step and hopefully make better logos.

[Cuss]

Originally Posted by reds1

I've always been told, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adobe-photoshop-...ayphotohosting

I would agree.

[reds1]

Originally Posted by Cuss

I would agree.

NOW he tells me!

[Faroo6]

Yeah let us know how that turns out.

[reds1]

Originally Posted by Faroo6

Yeah let us know how that turns out.

I will. I didn't go for the offer in the link above, but rather a different one. It said:

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS2 FULL PRODUCT FOR WINDOWS
This is the full retail product, in which you will be able to register the product & receive all the latest updates from Adobe. This is not a trial version or a 30 day demo.

There were multiple copies available, so I wasn't the only one who 'won' the bid. With the exchange it comes to just over $24.00 CAN, delivery included. Still waiting for it; I ordered it back on the 15th. The seller (in Great Britain) has a outstanding rating from others buyers so we'll see how it turns out.

I'm flying out to Edmonton Wednesday evening and won't be back until Sunday (more AutoCAD training). I was hoping it would arrive before I left but I doubt it now.