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Help me create my first logo in photoshop


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vaindioux

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Hi

I need to create a logo for my first website ever and was wondering if i could get any pointers (No outright solutions yet!) on what would be the easiest way to create that logo in photoshop.
I have been through one full photoshop CS tutorial and know the basics. I have used the software only for optimizing pics so far for the web.
My website is about horror DVD's(Infos only, no sales) and is still offline being build and the site name is "Afterdark".
This are 3 ideas i got for my logo.
1)Draw a bat with it's wings up and "after" being written in one wing and "dark" in the other.
Or 2) "After" being written horizontally and "dark" vertically and have the two words meet with the "A" like in a crossword puzzle, also i would like a half moon in there.
3) Or the 3rd and final solution would be "Afterdark" in one word written with some scary fonts and a little spider dangling from underneath the "A" .

Thanks for your help

Patrick
 
Welcome

You have some good ideas there, give it try yourself first and post your best image and then we will be able to make suggestions to give you a hand.

But you need to give it try by yourself first. :righton:
 
Welcome to the forums, vaindioux! Yep, as Rick said, you've got some good ideas there so give them a start and we can help you refine them in Photoshop with technique tips.

Here's a tip! There is a great bat dingbat font at...

http://www.fontfreak.com/index2.htm

Once there go to the 'B' page of Dingbats and look for BatBats. It was created by the guy who owns and runs FontFreak so you know it is a legitimate piece of freeware.
 
Rick and Welles

Ok i'll try to do something first, i don't know where to start but i'll manage something and then will post back.
Also thanks for the link Welles and for the warm welcome from both of you.

Patrick
 
Welles said:
Nice avatar, JoeD. Very seasonal.
Click to expand...
Thanks, but didn't make it myself, otherwise I would have made the animation slower. ;)

I'm more in the mood for Halloween this year than a year ago, since my youngest is now old enough to be taken by his parents for a trick or treat in the neighborhood :D
 
My first logo

Hi

I am back with what i call a prototype to my first ever logo(Or serious project) in photoshop. I have used photoshop only to optimize some pics for the web so far.
There are several things i would like to do to my logo but my progress got stopped by lack of skills(And i searched the web extensively today.)
This is how i created the logo:
1) I found a picture of a bat online via a web search.
2) Used the lasso magnetic tool on the picture purple background then i used SELECT/INVERSE and finnaly COPY.
3) I opened a new document and PASTED the bat selection in it(One ear is a little cut but i can redo the whole thing later).
4) I used the PAINT BUCKET tool to change the bat color to completely black(This was messy but it worked, it wasn't all black for a while.If you got a tip to make that easier thanks.)
5) I used a FILTER/RENDER/CLOUDS effects which i adjusted with EDIT/FADE CLOUD to around 75% (Big problem i couldn't fix here. I wanted to apply the CLOUDS effect to the bat only and not outside of the bat. The outside should be gone.)
6) Selected the HORIZONTAL TYPE TOOL with a AUGSBURGER INITIALS fonts which i loved a lot, all in red. To that i applied the CREATE WARPED TEXT with an ARC LOWER style if i remember well.
7) I then saved the pic as a GIF in FILE/SAVE FOR WEB and i reduced it's size a lot too.
Please help me improve my logo especially how to add color or a filter only to a selection(The bat here) and not what should remain transparent.

Thanks again 8))

Patrick
 
Patrick I'm assuming here that the Bat image is on a seperate layer. If that is correct the you just need to hold down the Ctrl key and click on the bat layer icon to select the Bat, the apply your filters and only the selected part will be affected.
 
Bingo!

Rick

Thanks a lot you did fix that easily. I went back and i managed to apply filters and colors to the bat only.

Thanks so much!

Patrick
 
All right Rick. Now what I'd suggest, Patrick is to experiment with some Styles to add a little depth or some other effects to your individual layers. If nothing else this will be a learning experience.

Double click on the layer to which you wish to apply a style and the layer style dialog comes up. Down the left hand side is a column which lists the possible effects. Checking the box makes them active. Clicking on the name of the effect highlights it and brings up the dialog which gives the options for that effect. Complex styles use four or more effects. Bevel and Emboss and Drop Shadow are very often used. I would suggest that you maybe experiment with some of those effects as they may embellish your layers in ways which add to the effect of the banner.
 
Welles

Thanks for the tip, this is what i need, to try stuff. I learned a lot today on my own creating that logo. Starting tomorrow i will try to apply some of the styles you recommend and will post the results here again. It might take me to next week-end as i am very busy during the week.

Thanks again

Patrick
 
Logo update

Hi

I worked on that logo for several hours today. I am learning a lot. I played around with the styles as mentionned by Welles and also added a border to it.
I think i will keep it as is for now. I am pleased with the results. The drop shadow effect didn't look good on my webpage background so i went only with a "Bevel and emboss" style applied on the texture. It gives it a rocky look, i like it.
Please everyone comment on the logo, good or bad.

Thanks again Welles and Rick

Patrick
 
I think it is coming along nicley; I find the text a little hard to read, maybe just my old eyes, ha ha . What I find refreshing is that you are experementing and through that learning

Keep at it and most of all have FUN 8))
 
If you are happy with the result, it's a total success. :}


I will echo Rick when he says the type is a bit difficult to read.
Old eyes, yep the old eyes...that's it! ;)
 
Comment on the logo...it's quite hard to read your font. It could say asterdare as well as afterdark. Maybe that is because it's quite small...just a reflection.

/Moltas
 
A very appropriate logo to comment on right after Halloween... :D
I agree with the comments that the font is hard to read (I'm not sure I would have read it as Afterdark if I hadn't known that that's what it was supposed to say).
However, the design CONCEPT is nice with it being incorporated into the bat, and the second color combination is much better in terms of readability.
One thing to keep in mind with any logo is that it should be readable wherever you'll use it. Seems obvious but I've seen plenty of logos that look great when they're a few inches across (i.e., when they're being developed), only to become totally indecipherable when reproduced on a business card or as a small logo on a web site.
I'd most definitely play with that font and even toy with making it much bigger to fill up more of the bat shape.
Have fun! :}
 
Hi

Thanks a lot everybody for the great feedback. I will redo the logo one more time and keep everything the same but will change the font. I had asked my wife prior to post here and she said the same as all of you, "it looks good but i find the fonts hard to read."

Thanks so much to all and i'll be back with my next project.

Regards

Patrick
 
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