2D Graphic Designs

Last year, I had always been envied with a friend who could always produce appealing posters for class projects using Photoshop and Illustrator. "Wow! These are such useful applications! I have to learn it ASAP!" I told myself. However, amidst the thick schedule of school works, deadlines and exams, there was no room for an independent study. On the orientation day of this school year, when Mr. Watson told me about the 2D graphic program, I felt very exciting! I had always criticized myself for not having any sense of art, yet this course challenged my thought and motivated me to transcend my own boundaries! There were ample challenges while doing some tutorials and weeks that I made nearly zero progress, but in the end, I have acquired some basic skills to apply in real-life situations. I am very contented with this course!

Tutorial Work: Movie Poster

My Photoshop "career" kicked off with some tutorial videos made by Mr. Watson. He introduced me to many fundamental tools and skills of Photoshop, including Blend Modes, Adjustment Tools, Clipping Masks, and Layer Masks. Later on, I added my own twist to the tutorial work by adding the solar eclipse, some lines of teasers, a funny "hardcore" rating, and other essential elements of a movie poster.

Tutorial Links: Adjustment Layers | Brush Tool | Blend Modes

Tutorial Work: Floral Typography

This second tutorial work was challengingly captivating for a beginner. It was a great test to my patience as I had to spend hours to meticulously erase certain parts of the letters to blend it inside the flower. After that, I messed around with the tools I had learned earlier, the color gradients, and some filter effects. To me, this is the most aesthetic work I have ever done in Photoshop!

Tutorial Links: Floral Typography

Tutorial Work: Double Exposure

As I went through some YouTube tutorial suggestions, the Double Exposure idea strongly fascinated me. It elevated my Blend Modes and Layer Masks skills to a higher level. My inspiration came from one of my friends who was dealing with social struggles and desperately crying to free herself from pessimistic thoughts.

Tutorial Links: Double Exposure

Tutorial Work: We Don't Talk Anymore

At the first glance of the "Transparent Clothes" tutorial video, a visual of a heartbroken man seeing his ex-lover walking away from him ran through my mind. With the accompany of another tutorial on the Glitch Text Effect and my own creativity in blending the lightning and raindrops into the image as well as messing around with the color, I had made my idea into a reality! The line "We Don't Talk Anymore" was also an allusion to the hottest Vietnamese social media meme at that time, when Charlie Puth's same-titled hit was compared to Vietnamese popstar Son Tung MTP's new single "We Don't Belong to Each Other".

Tutorial Links: Transparent Clothes | Glitch Text

Red Bullz Poster

The most not-so-serious work of the year! This peculiar poster with annoying alien graphics and inharmonious color choices was made for my group presentation in Geography class when we had to sing a parody song about planet Mercury. That was a bizarrely fun opportunity to put my Photoshop skills in a real-life situation for the first time ever!

CAMERA

Similar to Photoshop, I was introduced to Illustrator with Mr. Watson's tutorial in designing a simple camera, where I explored simple tools such as creating shapes, coloring, and using the distort effects. This was just an extra work to keep myself busy when I finished my Data Literacy work but it was really entertaining nevertheless!

Tutorial Links: Camera

FOX

Once again, I was seeking something to consume my free time in Data Literacy class, and I came across this really cool retro fox tutorial. It was tougher than the previous tutorial but I really enjoyed the challenge. I learned more advanced tools such as the pen tool, the eye-dropper tool, the Pathfinder panel and the warp effects to create complex shapes.

Tutorial Links: Retro Fox

HADDAD ACADEMY LOGO

The logo was designed for the Haddad Academy website that I have been doing with a friend in term 4. This is my first attempt in applying my Illustrator skills in practical application. I mainly messed around with the pen tool and the color gradient during the process.