!dynamic design - art help

[Jason_Batten]

Well, it has been 5 years that I have been doing web site design and I still can not design. Well, maybe it is more of the art side. The graphical side... I am just not that creative when it comes to graphics. I can come up with coding ideas any time but when it comes to grahpics... oh no, I'm like picasso... so crap people feel sorry for my ability and praise me.

Ok, no one praises me, no one pays me expect for the voice in the back of my head paying out for the skill I so very much lack. Hard on myself I am. Skill I need.

Read a tutorial, I have. My potential as an artist has not been lit. It took me 12 months to find a PHP tutorial powerful enough to break me through and look at me go :eek:

I stare at a blank image in Paintshop Pro... I do not know what to "draw". I almost have no concept of graphics and art. I can not create "art" 🙁

PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME FIND THE ARTIST IN ME.
Well to tell the truth, I've never had an artist in me :rolleyes:

[vaaaska]

Go for a walk.

Don't believe in limitations (as you seem so apt to do).

Use a pencil.

Read fiction (or really anything inspiring to you).

Don't sit in front of a computer (because design is hard work).

Dream.

Forget about solving problems, invent worlds to suit your ideas.

[goldbug]

Good stuff there

Also: don't worry about what you're writing down or sketching out. Go for quantity at first. If you do 100 really quick sketches, or several iterations of a theme, eventually you'll get closer to a mental "target" that you will be comfortable with. It's also a good idea to keep some record-keeping device with you at all times, like a Hipster PDA, so when you do get a quick thought, you can record it for later review. I'd wager most of my "better" ideas (note the relative sense), came to me away from my computer and/or work environment.

[davidjam]

Think spatially, up and down, side to side and then on angles and in arcs. Think about weight, heavy and light, big and small, dark and bright. Look at nature and see the balance. Look at things that impress you and ask yourself why. Start working on your first inspiration, then on your next. Keep mashing the design clay until something happens, until a new inspiration begins to form and then go nuts. But take breaks, often. Step away, do something else and return and see it fresh. Ask someone you trust to look at your work. Don't be afraid to throw some or all away. Don't be afraid to experiment. Print things out and see what they look like on a different medium. Take chances. Web design is new for me too. You gotta take chances and try stuff even if it turns out ugly, at least you will know and will step with more confidence the next time. But above all you gotta start! 🙂

[cretaceous]

the more you do it the easier it gets
of course you know art is different from design?
I like Jackson Pollock and Picasso but for a 'normal' website you dont want to be too creative!

If you want to do art you have to draw lots from life, with a pencil

For graphic design be consistent on all pages
build with "similar design elements" - each part should look kinda like it's part of the same family (brothers and sisters, not too many distant cousins - touchy feely family..)

Copy a site you like and make a change here and another change there - modify the colours- move chunks around
Stick to a limited few colours - or shades of a couple of colours

where possible align the chunks on the screen so tops line up, left edges line up - this is called designing to a grid - and I know how you like tables

and lay off fancy effects or just use one effect boldly - to use a cliche 'less is more'

[planetsim]

NetNerd does art interest you? What about nice looking graphics for web? For me art is quite boredom as well as looking at eye candy (web graphics). Thats why I try to use colour as much as possible only use graphics for Logos really and perhaps some small buttons also and never anything too fancy usually quite basic stuff a 5yr old could do in 3mins.

[Jason_Batten]

Thank you for your posts. They are most helpful.

Alright, call me whore but just for explanations sake take a look at www.microsoft.com :o Now I can do the lines, the text, the colours... but the graphics on the page. I wouldn't know where to start. I have no idea on the process of what to choose to put there. You can learn image editing techniques but knowing what to put there... eh :bemused:

Now take a look at www.pixel2life.com, if you focus on the template rather than the cluttered content section. The graphics and look of the site, IMO is nice, it is the sort of thing I try to achieve.

Now take a look www.zimmertech.com & www.wpdfd.com/editorial/articles.htm these are basic examples of how even basic graphics can add to a page.

I am NOT a eye-candy type webby. Although flash moving backgrounds and headers are sometimes nice :rolleyes: Some web sites (cant find an example atm) use images for everything, they bevel, blend and shadow everything making a dark dirty site. That’s not why I want to use images. I want to use them to enhance and brighten a site.

Alright, take a look at this "click here" it is the latest version of my personal gaming web site. Now the banner image makes that site and I didn't even create it my mate did 🙁 Although I have recently learnt how to do similar image effects 😃, well last night to be exact.

But I believe my problem is I just don’t have any ideas when it comes to graphics but it goes hand in hand with my lack of knowledge of what I can do but then again that’s thinking inside the box, yah got to think out side of the box which I just can't seem to do with graphics (as vaaaska said about limitations). I don't have any boundaries when it comes to coding, I think of something then DO IT.

insert graphics comprehension here

[cretaceous]

dont worry (be happy) your site looks fine
learn how to use photoshop
learn how to do rollover image replace for fancy buttons (image ready or Fireworks)

do you take photos? anyone who can take good pics has the internal knowledge for 'object' placement

the other sites you show have been designed by professional designers - that comes with 3-4 years at art college - like programming you cant learn it overnight

my first thought on seeing yr site is "its a bit drab" - but that is perfect for WW2 gaming - sepia photos, washed out colours, it fits the product - if you've got that your 9/10ths of the way there

[vaaaska]

I've turned on a few programmer-types who really had no knack for graphics to the world of typography. In alot of ways, understanding type and typography is alot like programming. There are alot of rules and things to know - which I believe is helpful for folks who like the objectivity of programming. One of the sites you show was clearly done by a person with a strong grasp of these rules.

You won't necessarily need photographs...and you can still play with color and layout in very creative ways.

[cretaceous]

Hey Vaaska - you could be right about rules - I studied graphic design and have spent a lot of time on the typographic side of things - and I enjoy programming php

lots of designers are terrified of code
lots of programmers do lousy design
here's to multitasking!

[vaaaska]

Oops, this isn't to say that there aren't rules and things to know in graphic design (generically speaking), but graphic design is forever going to be a rather subjective-intuitive industry (unless of course you find yourself working for some ultra agency where they speak in three, four, five, six, seven letter acronymns code to each other - but that's a whole different story).

[cretaceous]

acronyms? designers?
most cant even spell acronym - too right brain intuitive !

but my belief is that everyone has both sides in them and you can educate the other half

[davidjam]

cretaceous wrote:

...but my belief is that everyone has both sides in them and you can educate the other half

Most people are dominant on one side or the other, some highly gifted on one side, and some have strong capacity on both (although not necessarily "gifted"). I think (I like to think..) I fall into the latter category, though many times I'm frustrated and feeling awful mediocre. Well, like the Far Side penguin said: "I just gotta be me!"

BTW netnerd, I think you'll be allright. You seem to have some great gifts yourself. I'm thinking curiosity, willingness to learn and try new things, openness, etc. Keep it up. 🙂