A big social thank-you

I wanted to do a quick blog post and thank those that have given me the most support.  As you can see from my blogger analytics report certain sites have referred more traffic than anyone else.  Aside from Google organic search (that's my penchant for using the correct keywords) - these people are primarily responsible for my blog getting noticed.  I cannot say thank you enough and trust me I have supported your sites as well. Beyond the occasional tweet I often forward your .com address to other people I know because you are a great resource.

Top Supporters for Suztv blogspot are:

www.Brushesdownload.com
www.22pixels.com
www.aetutsplus.com
deviantart community
stumbleupon
Linkedin 
and the cgsociety forums.

Thanks so much for making me feel important!

What other artists can take away from this article is that certain venues help artists and they should be subscribing/joining those sites.  If you make tutorials, resources or write articles that deal with any aspect of the design community then the sites I've listed are your best friends outside of using proper SEO.

Photoshop digital painting: satin or silk tutorial

Top 24 Fireworks and Pyrotechnic resources

Fireworks (the explosive kind not the software) are a tradition in many culture but some of the most extravagant displays are in the United States on the 4th of July.  Obviously Americans have an affinity for blowing things up but the pyrotechnics are supposed to represent the battles that took place when we fought for our right for independence from England, so every year we party by blowing things up in spectacular displays.  Of course as a designer - you have to partake in the festivities by creating some awesome graphics for your Facebook page or your blog or even your party invite.

Below I've listed some excellent resources that you can use in Photoshop, AfterEffects, 3DS Max, Cinema 4D and Blender.  Why keep things static - I'd say that if you have access to the software you should try out some of the MoGraph and 3D tutorials.  Making fire in digital land is way less messy and the best part is that you won't loose a finger or an eye.  Plus your mom won't freak out because one of those twirly firecrackers just went under her car.

Hopefully you'll take a moment to create your own great images but if you're pressed for time there are some excellent presets, brushes and photos available too!

Photoshop Brushes:

Photoshop Actions:

After Effects No Plug-ins:

After Effects with Trapcode Particular:

Red Giant Preset:

3DS Max:

Cinema 4D:

Blender:

Photos:

Random stuff:

Photoshop Brush Showdown: Stamp vs. Dynamic

Tweet

While perusing my reader and looking at Photoshop Brush sites I thought about the types of brushes out there.  Generally speaking the types of brushes available are probably 90% photo-stamp brushes.

Think about that.  Photo-stamp - an image or drawing that has been placed into the brush library and is now black and white (pretty much what you would get by copying the image on a copier).  There is no flexibility - the person who created the brush just selected that image and never added variety.  You can edit the brush and create a dynamic brush out of the image - but that would take more time on your end and without knowing how large the image is, whether or not the image is copyrighted etc.

Also there's no reason to even open the brushes palette other than to rename the brush.  I honestly do not think a majority of these type of brushes are useful.  Granted there are some that really do help with design or can be considered valuable.  But at the same time I find that I can do the same exact thing with an image (open image in Photoshop, select all, edit, create new brush).

As for the line drawings - if it ain't vector it ain't helping me.  Don't be smitten by the The scroll-work, pretty frames, shapes and other "vector" like brushes that are out there.  These really are not helpful if you want to use it for Print (300 dpi), Motion Graphics (1080p) or enlarge it later.  The actual brush size limits the size of the object and you can only have it as large as the brush was made which just makes for more work in the end.  I don't know about you but I hate having to rip apart a design because the asset I used was lower resolution than what I needed.

So here's a few tips (for those of you who download brushes with abandon):

• Only download dynamic, hard to find or unusual brushes.  (There's no reason to have thousands of grunge brushes - if you really only use 3 of them). 
• Really take a look at the brush content - you need to analyze whether or not the brush is actually a rip-off of a dingbat, or vector drawing. 
• How useful will the brush be in your design(s)?  If you design websites that are clean and have sleek lines - then why in the world would you download a brush that is hand drawn flowers?  I've made this mistake and had to go through my library - test each brush-set out one by one and ask these questions.  If I can't say that I'd use it for work or for personal projects then I should just delete it out of my library. 

Sometimes using a stamp brush and converting it into a dynamic brush helps create a whole new workflow, so do keep that in mind.  But don't forget to experiment and above all don't forget what your objective is - an improved workflow or a very unique design/piece of work.

Dynamic Brushes are a different story.  These are meant for uniqueness and no two strokes are ever the same (look up the word dynamic - it means ever changing and not the same twice).  They create texture based on the color, brush mode, layer mode and artist movement.  It isn't a stamp - it isn't meant to be.  These brushes will help retain the artists vision without borrowing or outright stealing another artists work.  Don't get me wrong - that type of design work is done all of the time and it is acceptable, but if you want to the work to be entirely yours then actually creating the image from the ground up will make you feel tons better.

Taking those brushes and making something unique and having to work-over the drawing - well then we're talking artistry.  It's even more impressive if you actually create the entire scene and scape using your imagination.

If you are just "Designing" then Photo-stamp brushes are probably the way to go, however the brush has to be unique and something that is useful in your designs.  If you are painting and creating then dynamic brushes are what you need - either make them, purchase them or find them via artists.

Here's a list of some of my favorite spots to get brushes:

Photostamp Brushes:

Brusheezy
BrushKing
QBrushes
FBrushes
Obsidian Dawn

Dynamic Brushes:

ImagineFX














Skin Brushes:  
Skin Texture Photoshop Brushes and Tutorials from Best Design Options

Deviant Art

Creativemac

Chris Wahl

Mark S. Johnson Photograhy: watercolor brushes

Brush Tutorials:

3D Total

ImagineFX

Ah Design

Inspiks

Scribd

Paul Lasaine

3d Total

FxGuide

Zbrush alphas make awesome Photoshop brushes - of course with some manipulation:

http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/downloadcenter/alpha/

http://www.creativecrash.com/zbrush/downloads/alphas-brush-shapes-/c/
(you will need to register to download)


I think that those links should keep you busy for quite some time - if not, remember the internet is a vast cornucopia of tutorials, how-tos and downloads.

All you need to do is ask the all knowing Genie:  Google

Don't forget to try out some of the samples and freebies I have on my site for all sorts of Photoshop brush goodness:

FireBrushes:

Arctic Gale:

Freebie Sample: 

FurBrushes:

Freebie Sample:  

Artists Tools:

Freebie Sample:     

10 Super Moon Resource Round-Up

Today is Super-Moon day!  In that vein I'm posting some great Moon texture image and video resources that you can use to create Moon designs and other such constelletory things.

1. PlanetPixelEmporium: 

This site rocks - you can get lunar textures of our beloved satellite for free in different sizes as well as the bump maps.  This is a great resource for 3D, Photoshop and general CG use.

2. Celestiamotherlode.net: 

Another great site not only for moon textures but other planetary textures.  Several different types of textures are available for download.  This resource is a fabulous find for all things lunar.

3. NOAA.gov:

Of course the government has image maps of all the different planets.  The moon is no different.  This texture is pretty good - however not the highest resolution.  But still useful if you just need a texture map for your moon and don't need the high resolution detail.


4. Planetaryvisions.com:  

This site is a royalty free texture site for planets and other space worthy image texture files. These textures are free to try out and free for personal or non-commercial use; but for commercial use there are license fees.  That being said, I feel that it is one of the most comprehensive resources for this type of resource.  They have really taken the time and effort in creating Hi-definition texture maps that when used properly should give the correct amount of detail even when creating a close flyby scene.



5. ApolloImageArchive:  

I cannot say how great these images are - if you are creating your own textures and need assets, this is such a great resource. You can click on any of the images and zoom in to such detail.  I can imagine ALL sorts of uses for these images and I'm not even trying.  You could make your own tiling texture, styles, use the images for composite work, create your own lunar texture for a planetary system elsewhere.  The possibilities are quite numerous.  Arizona State Apollo Image Archive


6. Morguefile.com:  

I love morguefile.com.  It is probably the one site I go to to find general images for use in creating texture or background.  The amount of photos on the site is astounding and the fact that you can use the imagery for free for commercial projects makes it that much better.


7. GraphicRiver:

Yeah I know it's not free, but the texture that this person created is pretty sweet and if you're in a pinch for time, $2 is better than creating a texture and having to eat up valuable design time.  Trust me I know - just purchase the cheap texture and move forward with your project you'll be much better off in the long run.  Here's another one I found that is a little different but still quite useful: Going to the moon

8. Deviant Art: 

I think that if anything a lot of artists owe their livelihood, knowledge and love of art to DeviantArt.  This site is the absolute bomb when it comes to content and resources.  Just look at the available resources listed under "moon".  Great find - however, please do pay attention to the type of rights listed for each listing.  Some deviants are more charitable than others and it is important that you respect their rights as artists.

9. Photoshop Brushes:  

There are so many sites devoted to Photoshop brushes out there that I felt just listing the top 5 that I liked would be the best way to give you what you needed:

Spacebrush and lunarbrush pack

Moon Brushes for PS 7 V.2

5 Shining Moon Photoshop Brushes

Moon Brush Set

Moon Background 5

10. Moon Videos


There really isn't that much out there for free but feel free to peruse the Archive.org files or some of the NASA files.  If anything they are quite interesting.  Of course in Photoshop you could always just create your own animation.  Or better yet - get that phone, camera or video camera out this evening and take some really great video yourself.

Archive.org

Apollo Moonwalk

Super Secret 11th resource:

I wouldn't be giving myself enough credit if I didn't at least call out my own work and freebie asset:

Planetary Styles Photoshop Layer Styles