I was recently asked what advice I would give to someone studying to be a professional graphic artist. I had a whole list of things and I thought I would share with you. Enjoy!
1. Ok, I know those art school commercials say you don't need to be creative to be a graphic designer. FALSE. I strongly believe art/design/colors/layouts/fonts should all be something your passionate about. It isn't something you can just LEARN overnight. Yes, you can learn programs and how colors work but if you think it will happen magically without work and goals you are kidding yourself. There were people like this in my college and it just took time away from the us, the students who seriously wanted to learn and succeed.
2. An important tool to master would be the pen tool. It is one that I use all of the time... learn it, love it, own it. You'll use it a lot including one of my biggest pet peeves, cutting stuff out in photoshop. It's embarrassing for everyone involved when we watch people cut stuff out using the marquee or lasso tool. I mean those other tools work, just not as good and not as easy to make adjustments. It makes you look like a total nube or a lazy, just say'n.
3. KEEP EVERYTHING! Never use the eraser tool if you can help it. It's always best to mask your things out incase you need to modify in the future. Photoshop has layers and groups for a reason, use'em. Nothing is more irritating than opening up someone's files and finding everything low res and flattened. TEARS.
4. SHORTCUTS. They hounded and hounded us in college to use shortcuts and I'm thankful for that. There really isn't any reason you should be mousing up to do things. I have worked with several designers in the past that didn't even know how to copy paste with shortcuts. RED FLAG, they ended up being horrible workers and they were horrible designers as well. Know your stuff, shortcuts are EASY. If you aren't using them, please know we are all laughing at you behind your back.
I'M TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE I CARE.
5. Macintosh computers. Gosh I hate to bring this up again but seriously you should be working on a mac for graphic design. It's just meant for our programs. Don't be scared... once you go mac you wont go back. I'm serious.
6. Backup your work and hit save as much as you can remember. It's only a matter of time [especially on a pc] when your computer will bite the dust or freeze up. It has happened to me one too many times. I should know better by now. SIGH.
7. When your in college design things that will work in a professional world too. You need to think about what potential employers will be looking for [DVD cases, posters, ads, business cards, logos, and packaging...ect]. I'm not saying to suck out all of the creativity and fun but just to keep in mind you will need good marketing portfolio items, don't make everything pink.
8. Networking. This is one of the biggest things in the design world. You have a friend that needs a logo, DO IT. The more people you meet and know the better off you will be. Plus, you'll have items to use in your portfolio. Try your best to be friendly, I've won freelance jobs just because I'm friendly [and they told me so, a feather in my cap!].
9. Design Fun. Make sure to venture out and do things for yourself. Make sure you have the coolest business cards, myspace profile, facebook icon, custom t-shirts, and custom artwork on your walls. Stay freshy fresh and creative. I notice when I design for fun it really gets my creativity going.
10. HIGH RESOLUTION. Make everything in the highest resolution as possible [including: custom shapes and smart objects] so you wont lose quality if you need to go back.
I hope this might help any new designer looking for tips, or even an old designer that is looking to pump up the volume. It was fun to share some of my knowledge, it's second nature to me.
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