Overview: Graphics

Start with a Hand-Drawn Sketch

Start off with a mental idea of what you want and then do some rough sketches on paper.

I developed the idea for the Cloud logo over a week or so, pictured the US Air Force logo merging with the letters in Cloud to give the final result sketched above. It helps too if you have a vague idea of what size you want various aspects of the logo to be, you don't have to know all the numbers off by heart, but if you can say roughly that such and such a part of the logo is wider than it is high, it makes a big difference when you make that initial sketch on paper.

<!--nextpage-->

Draw with Vector-Based Package

Try and use a vector-based drawing package to draw a preliminary version of your design.

I'm a big fan of Corel Draw, started with version 3 a number of years ago and have now worked my way up to giving tutorials to people with version 7. Basically, you can create your new design using lines, boxes, circles, etc., and color in the individual shapes that make up the design as you wish. In this design, I created the outlines of the letters using gold rounded rectangles, and filled in the arrowheads and star with black.

You can then export this design to a GIF or JPEG file, and I find that the bigger the size of file you export to, the better it looks when you bring it into a paint package and resample (resize) it.

<!--nextpage-->

Touch-Up in Paint Package

I've now opened the exported JPEG in a paint package (I usually use Corel Photo Paint or Paint Shop Pro, but most graphics designers seem to go for Adobe Photo Shop).

While Corel Draw can apply a number of patterns to individual parts of its design, Photo Paint makes it easier to apply a particular effect to the entire image. The exported JPEG was a very flat looking design, composed entirely of pure gold and black sections. With the paint package, you can give the image more depth by applying a combination of effects, in the above image I first applied an emboss effect and then a canvas effect. At last, my Cloud logo is complete.

<!--nextpage-->

Try Your Logo in 3-D!

3-d drawing packages can be a bit of a nightmare for those of us who normally sketch in two dimensions. The screenshot above is from Corel Dream 3-D. This package incorporates a handy scene wizard which will create a 3-d logo or outside view for those who don't want to spend too much time using the package.

Getting a custom logo can be a bit more difficult, in my case I had to draw each of the shapes (prisms, cylinders, cubes, etc.) and get them to line up in 3-d. Hours of fun!