How to: Get Better...
The past few months have been a whirlwind for my creative skill. There's no doubt I've taken HUGE steps in creative growth recently. I have noticed there's been a huge difference in the quality of photos and videos I've been creating lately. How exciting! But how have I gotten so much better?...
The past few months have been a whirlwind for my creative skill. There's no doubt I've taken HUGE steps in creative growth recently. I have noticed there's been a huge difference in the quality of photos and videos I've been creating. How exciting! But how have I gotten so much better? One could say I'm just a talented person, one could say I've just gotten a lucky shot... The truth is, there are specific reasons why I have grown creatively lately. Although you can grow by accident, I've found if you apply these 3 things in your life, you will see exponential growth, faster than you have ever seen before. Let me share them with you!
Get More Experience
by doing more...
This is kind of a no brainer... If you want to take better photographs, you have to take more photographs. If you want to get better at guitar... you have to play more guitar. If you want to write better, you have to write more words. There are times in my life when I just feel bored with creativity. In those moments it's most important for me to get out my camera and take pictures. There are times when I feel like I am stuck playing the same few chords. In those moments I need to play more guitar. When we get bored with what we are doing, but still force ourselves to keep going, we find new ways to "do." You'll learn new chords, you'll find new angles, you'll work with new words. If, once you get bored, you stop creating two things happen. One: your axe gets dull and you have to work harder (or resharpen it). and Two: you have robbed yourself of an opportunity to learn something new, therefore, putting yourself further back than what you were before you set your axe down. Bottom line: force yourself to keep going when it gets boring. I guarantee you, you will be happy with the results.
Surround Yourself
with people who are more talented than you
Surround yourself with people who are more talented than yourself
In the beginning of 2017, I was in a situation where I set creative bar. It was up to me to come up with new ideas and push the envelope when it came to creativity. I felt I was making strides in my own personal creativity and was happy with the results I was seeing. Here we are at the end of 2017 and I am in a completely different situation surrounded with people who are way more talented than myself. I work in a church on a team with several members who are stuffed with talent. I personally have never been in this situation. I have always been part of small organizations and I was the driving force of my own creativity. Now, I work with a large specialized team, and also have experience outside of the church working next to filmmakers who have an unbelievable amount of talent. This has pushed me in two different ways:
1. I am learning like crazy from them. Obviously, just working next to others you gain insight by the way they accomplish things. Simple things like how they organize their workflow all the way to particular ways to do certain specific tasks. Every day I am learning new skills from them, making me raise my bar.
2. Because I am surrounded with people more talented than myself, I have noticed I am subconsciously forcing myself to produce better content. It's a weird experience for me to think of myself not as talented as those around me. Although I have been in rooms filled with people smarter than me before, I have never felt the urge to push myself to my own personal limits. I think I have said I was but it just wasn't the truth. I think the difference now is I have some how surrounded myself with people who are very likeminded and I want to be able to make sure I am pulling my own weight. In doing this, I have noticed my content has taken a jump in quality without formally learning new information. This doesn't only apply to my content at work, but all of my creative content has taken a bump in quality.
It's pretty crazy the power others can have in our lives. I have never felt belittled around these talented people I get to spend time with, if anything I feel they give me more credit than I deserve, but I still push myself to strive farther than I ever have. Although it is completely up to yourself to see personal growth, if you can find a few people who are near the same skill level or slightly higher in your field to spend time with and "talk shop," I promise you will see higher quality in your content.
Find something
you can't do, and do it!
This is a big one. And a simple one. Simply look at someone else's work and say "how did they do that?" Figure it out, and do it! There's plenty of times when I am watching a Youtube Vlogger or tutorial and wonder just how they "did that" and I will then research how to do a certain effect, or get a certain shot, or find a certain angle. By doing this I now have that skill in my toolbox I can store away for the perfect moment. When the time is right, I will remember copying the idea and then add elements of the idea to my creative content. It's a simple process but before you can add that skill into your toolbox, you need to spend time replicating someone else's process so you can make it your own. Try it out. Find a piece of music you couldn't already play and replicate it. Watch for a commercial where you wonder how did they make that motion graphic, and research it until you can do it. Actually do it. Get in After Effects and spend the hour on that 2 second motion graphic. You can do it. Figure it out! Don't let your limitations limit your creativity. Just get it done.
A Few Extra Tips
Here's a few extra things I've learned over the past few months.
TV IS A TIMESUCK - I've realized that you can sit in front o f a tv and lose 5 hours of your life without even trying. As much as you think it's a way for you to unwind, you are really just wasting your life. Find a new way to unwind: read a book, listen to a new album, spend time with your family, spend time with yourself, read your Bible, organize something, build something, get some rest, go to sleep. Seriously, this is coming from someone who makes videos for a living. Don't get sucked into sitting in front of a screen for several hours at a time, wasting your life. Your time is worth more than that to you.
TAKE NOTES ON WHAT THE WORLD IS SHOWING YOU - I am always trying to find new ways to look at life. If you see a photograph you like, note it. If you see a graphic that catches your eye, note it. If you hear a piece of music you like, note it. Make sure you are paying attention to the creation around you. You'll be surprised just how inspired you can be from what is happening around you!
GEAR WILL NOT MAKE YOU BETTER - As much as I LOVE new gear, it will not improve my game. In fact, I think it may be a hinderance to growth. Hear me out: when I get new gear I get distracted by the shiny new buttons and forget about the skill. Most of the time when I get a new lens, I actually see a drop in quality in my photos for awhile because I'm more focused on the new toy than I am with the skill of taking photos. Also, whenever you add a new piece of gear to your tool belt, it takes a period of time for you to get acquainted with how the piece of equipment can be used in your process. Now, that being said... new gear is essential for growth. The better your gear, the easier it is for you to create quality content. BUT don't let the gear blind you of the creative process of your craft. Example. I recently started working at a new job with lots of new toys I had never played with before. It's taken me months to get acquainted with the equipment. I finally am just starting to get to the point where I am able to subconsciously make the adjustments I need to make in the real world situations. As time goes on, I am more comfortable with the equipment and can use the gear to help me tell the story better. Bottom line, don't go buy something new and expect to see a huge improvement. Instead, use what you have and make people wonder how you got such quality content out of such subpar equipment.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE CONSTANTLY POURING INTO YOURSELF - This is a common theme for me. If I stop learning, I stop growing. Make sure you have a constant intake of fresh information. There's several ways how I accomplish this. Youtube is one of them (not pointless youtube of bears juggling bunnies, But those are fun too...) Find people on Youtube who can help you improve. Make sure you are reading. Make sure you are getting plenty of rest. I have several ideas come to me because I am well rested.
At the end of the day, the only person who can help you get better is yourself so get at it!
If you haven't read the book "Oh, the places you'll go!" by Dr. Suess lately, you should. Seriously.
“And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
You’re off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!”
Graphic Design 101
Social media has changed the way we do life. If we want to share a thought or idea on our favorite social media site, boring words no longer are attractive. Facebook has started letting you create images with text on them to emphasize your point...
Social media has changed the way we do life. If we want to share a thought or idea on our favorite social media site, boring words no longer are attractive. Facebook has started letting you create images with text on them to emphasize your point. YouVersion Bible app lets you make images inside the app of verses you love. Instagram now lets you write on top of the picture you just took. This is essentially graphic design.
“Graphic Design /ˈɡrafik dəˈzīn,dēˈzīn/
the art or skill of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books.
”
Working in the church, I have always had to make graphics. It is something I love and enjoy doing. There's something fulfilling when I create a great graphic blending text, font and images to display the theme or thought to it's next level. In a sense you are being a visual storyteller. In all honesty, it isn't very hard to make good looking graphics as long as you have a decent eye and you pay attention to a few guidelines. I thought I'd share a few things I've learned over the years working with high productivity apps like Photoshop and Illustrator. NOTE: most of these tips will be geared toward creating graphics for churches or social media promotions. Obviously, if you are creating a folding 3 page brochure, hopefully you have tackled some of these easy ideas already, or maybe they will be a good reminder for you.
In the world we live in today, most people do not need professional apps like Photoshop to make a graphic to share on the web. There's tons of choices of fun apps that give you everything but the text. Some apps you have to pay for each graphic, some you don't. Font Candy is a great example. Another great example is ReType (one of my favorites). Canva is another popular app. All you have to do is type in your message and it generates backgrounds or pictures and arranges the font in a fun order. If you already have an idea of a graphic you want to make, I suggest you use Keynote on your IOS device or Mac. Keynote is a very powerful app when it comes to graphic design. Design a slide and export it as an image and you are good to go.
Now, on to the main core elements of graphic design:
Step 1: The concept
Everything inside your graphic says something. Whether it's a person, or a color, it's all saying something. The first step to designing a graphic is to think through exactly what you want to say in your graphic. What mood do you want it to have? What is the main idea of the graphic? What are you trying to accomplish? Who is your audience? What is the call to action?
A few tips on the concept:
1. Focus on what you want the viewer to do (ex. go to my website). If the image is just for creative enjoyment, what do you want the viewer to feel? (ex. wow, thats a beautiful verse).
2. Dial in either your style. Everything in your graphic describes your style. Think through every aspect and what it style it is depicting. (crayon fonts are childish, etc). Even if you like them, certain aspects of your graphics will not work with your concept. Always keep your concept in your mind while working through the graphic.
3. If you are making a graphic for your church, remember your church's branding (digital identity). What are their colors? Will your concept match their logo?
Step 2: The Background
Once you have your concept, I almost always start with the background. Take a photo, select an image, or create a color/texture that will help portray your concept.
A few tips on backgrounds:
1. Empty space is a big part of creating a clean looking graphic. Don't select a cluttered image
2. A small trick to hiding your background is to add a black box over the entire image and lower the opacity until the text stands out (see "What's your story" example above).
3. If the background doesn't connect to the main concept, it's time for a new background
4. Simplicity is very popular right now.
5. Gradients are HUGE in 2017. Look at your phone, so many of your app icons are gradients (Instagram, Vimeo, All of the Apple apps, Nest, Facebook). Here's a cool website that helps you pick out good looking gradients.
6. Remember the moods of color.
Step 3: The Text
The font you use is almost as important as the text itself. Fonts can date a graphic faster than anything. When you are thinking of which font you want to use, make sure it matches everything else in your concept.
A few tips on Text and font:
1. If you haven't already, do some research on font classifications. It will help you understand what emotion a font describes.
2. Only use 2 types of fonts in your graphic (besides your logo). Typically I'll find a thick font and a thin font to accent. Usually you can find a second font in the same family.
3. Use size to emphasize your point. This will add dynamics to your image.
4. Look at other images and logos to see what fonts are popular right now. Try and recreate a look of another image to expand your experience and bag of tricks.
5. Find a font you love and use it instead of trying to find a new font every time.
6. Never ever stretch a font. gross. Change the size if you are trying to match it up.
Step 4: Arrangement
This is where your graphic all comes together. Once you have your background and font/text, take time and layout your image.
A few tips on Arrangement:
1. If you haven't heard of the rule of thirds, this is a must. Use this in both your background and your text.
2. The biggest problem with most graphics is space. If you think your graphic is too crowded, figure out what doesn't need to be in the in the graphic.
3. Let it set. Create the final product, and then come back to it in 24 hours. You'll see what you don't like. If you don't have the time, ask someone else or compare it next to another graphic.
Obviously, there is much more to graphic design, but these will help you get started on making great graphics. The key is experience. Start with what you know and improve by replicating what you see. Take a picture of a good looking graphic at Starbucks and try and replicate it when you get home with your concept. Here's a link to some of the other graphics I've made. If you ever have a question of how I created something, feel free to ask!
What are some of your favorite design tips?