Freelance Projects, Design and Programming Tutorials
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Meet Timba Smits, an artist, designer, illustrator, publisher, curator and wannabe Olympic ping-pong player, who has the heart in him to share with us all some fantastic advice for all of you budding and upcoming world-class illustrators. Timba worked himself up from being turned away from design agencies, to becoming an extremely successful, world-known and award-winning creative, a founder of a superb magazine publication and a founder of a great brand known as Lyrics & Type. Read on to find out how he has gotten so far in life.
Reason is both a sequencer for creating music, and a sound source that can be rewired to other DAWs. Last week’s article explored Logic’s history and features. This week, we will learn how to use it.
Because there are several ways of using the program, there are an abundance of tutorials available on the Internet, including sites dedicated to Reason tutorials (for example, Reasontutorials.net and Reasonstation.net). Some deal with using Reason as a MIDI sequencer, others with programming Reason’s synthesizers, and still others with using the various sound source ReFills.
Here is a balance of tutorials covering the different aspects of Reason from Youtube and Audiotuts+.
“This is part one of my tutorial on how to use Reason to quickly create a full song in under 20 minutes. Featured is my Nintendo NES reason refill sound pack I have available on ChipCollection.com via paypal. In this video I give out all my tips related to song composition and even mastering the final product at the end (in part two).”
“This is part two of the Reason song tutorial where I show you how to make a track in less than 20 minutes.”
“Reason Tutorial by Freakwncy from Illmuzik.com.”
“In this Reason Tutorial we go through some cool ways to add more to a great Bass sound suitable for Dubstep, Electro, House, Tech, Bassline and other music Genres. Adding Reverb automation and Distortion wll provides some interesting results and effects!”
“This a tutorial about vocoders.”
“This video demonstrates how to create a similar synth to the lead in Project Bassline -Drop The Pressure (Jack Beats Remix) to create the wow effect from the song watch the next video.”
Instructions:
Jan 29th in Reason, Sound Design by Eric Shafer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument that reproduces a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies and waveforms. Propellerhead’s Reason features various forms of synthesis, and it’s often difficult for the user to decide which synthesizer to use.
In this tutorial, we’re going to explore the art and the science of synthesis, as well as discuss how Reason’s synthesizers can be used, and in which situations you should use them.
Jul 21st in Reason, Sound Design by Bratu Sebastian
In this tutorial we cover how to create synthetic drums perfect for a house/trance track. We’re going to create a drum loop with only the synths and effects included in Reason. No drums from the Reason Soundbank will be used: we will be creating these drums from scratch in Reason’s Subtractor. A couple of known artists use this technique, as you can create your own sound and reuse your signature kit in future tracks.
Jul 14th in Reason, Sound Design by Eric Shafer
In this tutorial, we’re going to work through a hands-on workshop and create several Thor synthesizer patches. Then we’ll take our new patches and combine them into a redistributable Reason refill using Reason Refill Packer.
Jun 22nd in Mixing & Mastering, Reason by Gönenç Giray
It’s always been fun to play around with devices in Reason. When it comes to creating a unique device, synth or effect, you have limitless possibilities. You could call it playing Lego with audio devices. In this tutorial I will continue building blocks and explain three different ways to set up DLL-1 devices within Combinator.
Apr 9th in Production, Reason by Gönenç Giray
Some of Reason’s most-loved patches are the Combinator’s [RUN] patches. These patches are very useful as the Combinator plays along with your song, often inspiring as song starters or templates. However, it is scary to turn the rack around and see hundreds of cables go from this device to that device. It’s not that complex; once you’ve figured it out you can make great background patterns and drum machine templates for your songs.
Apr 23rd in Production, Reason by Gönenç Giray
Reason’s Combinator is a powerful device that can be used as a machine for drums and background patterns. With some routing tricks and some unusual pattern settings a Combinator Machine can evolve throughout the song.
In the Part 1 of this tutorial we created a drum pattern and two pads with Auto-Pan controls. In the second part we’ll incorporate more sounds, and with the use of “uneven” patterns we’ll create a Combinator patch which is not just a simple loop.
Feb 20th in Production, Reason by Mo Volans
Even if you are not familiar with the term ‘sample and hold’ it’s pretty likely you have heard one of these effects in action. If you know the classic track ‘Rez’ by Underworld then have most certainly come across the technique, as the entire track is based around a resonant synth line modulated by a sample and hold LFO.
Feb 16th in Arrangement, Reason by Eric Shafer
Finding a set of sounds that work well together can be difficult. In Reason, it can be a laborious effort to create a combination of instruments, record some MIDI on each and then play them back. In this tutorial, we’ll look at a trick you can use in Reason to allow you to hear playback from multiple Combinators in real-time from your MIDI controller.
Feb 5th in Reason, Recording by Eric Shafer
In this article, we’re going to look at ten things you can do to help maximize the performance of Reason, fix various annoying issues, and avoid CPU strain during heaving automation and interaction with other DAWs.
Jan 21st in Production, Reason by Eric Shafer
Reason’s Combinator is a very interesting tool. It is all too tempting for new Reason users to use the Combinator as simply another instrument in which to load patches. In reality, the Combinator is far more than that, and has the ability to be the most powerful tool available to you in Reason. You may be a bit skeptical, but in this tutorial, I’m going to prove to you that the Combinator is truly Reason’s deadliest weapon.
At Audiotuts+ we irregularly put up a reader track for workshopping and critique (find out how to submit a track). This is how it works: you upload your song, and every week or so we’ll publish one here and step away from the podium. The floor is yours to talk about the track and how the artist can fix problems in and improve upon the mix and the song.
This track has been submitted for your friendly, constructive criticism. They have put their track (and their heart and soul) in your hands to learn and get useful feedback.
Artist’s website: www.gethatched.ca
Description of the track:
Originally inspired as a Ben Folds style, but took a different direction. Everything is synth/sampler except a shaker and tamborine track … and vocals. Mixed in Logic Pro 9.
Download audio file (davechickchckn8rivegivenup.mp3)
Terms of Use: Users can stream the track for the purposes of giving feedback but cannot download or redistribute it.
Have a listen to the track and offer your constructive criticism for this Workshop in the comments section.
Need constructive criticism on your own tracks? Submit them using this form.
Learning how to design interfaces can be an enduring journey if you have to do it alone. My name is Tim Silva, and I have been attempting to design these types of interfaces for over 5 years now, and I have lots of valuable information to share with you to speed up and ease the learning process. Here is what I have come to understand about designing detailed, realistic, and cool looking interfaces: You have to be great in many areas of Photoshop to be good at interface design. So along with the actual steps needed to create this particular interface, in this series I will also provide as many references to other tutorials, resources and concepts as possible. That way, you can have access to some of the tools that will allow you to create completely original interfaces utilizing the same methods I teach in collaboration with your own creativity. Let’s move on with Part 2 of this two part series.
Let’s review and plan. We got this far. Next, we will start to fill out the screen area. Blue is the safest cool color to use. As an experienced interface designer, I am still completely in love with it.
Hide the two inner screen areas. In Part 1, I labeled them “Inner” and “Inner_Screen.”
Repeating the method taught in Step 37 of Part 1, create a 2-3 pixel white reflection at the bottom of the base Layer. I used multiple layers to end up with a result that I was happy with. Use the Eraser Tool (E) with a Brush Size of 75px and a Hardness of 0% to clean up any pixelation you might run into.
From here, continue ahead to create 1-3 pixel black indents on the tops and sides of the shape. The left side should be thicker and more complex while the right side will be thinner and more simplistic due to the light source. None of the following effects were created using Layer Styles. Everything is from 1-3 pixel slivers that I moved, adjusted, and cleaned up manually. I used about 20 Layers worth of tiny details here. As I explained in Step 49 of Part 1, these types of details “aren’t hard to [create], they just take time.” Take your time with the details and match these results as closely as you can.
Next we will add some dark shadows and gradients. Add a Drop Shadow outside and to the left of the shape’s base. Additionally, put some dark gradients at the bottom coming upwards.
Like always, the brighter effects come after the darker effects. Utilizing the same methods as Step 3 (from Part 2), add some white gradients to the design. Repeat the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sentences of Step 46 from Part 1 to create highlights on the left side and the top of the shape.
Now we can move onto the outer-most Inner screen. Unhide both of the inner base layers, and fill the inner most one with a temporarily flat blue color of #38a6de.
Repeat Steps 2 through 4 again to create similar effects on the outer-most inner base Layer. Note the white gradient at the very bottom (outside of the shape), the dark gradients at the top and bottom of the base, and the brushing in the corners. The effects on this base shape will take the longest. I used almost 25 layers to create the details here. It requires lots of trial and error to get the corners to look smooth.
While the same effect can be achieved with the Blending Options alone, I prefer to use no Styles at all so that I have complete control over the pixels. There is never any step-by-step process I follow for these types of details. I just continue to add until I am satisfied with what I see. Go into pixel-pusher mode!
Next add an Inner Glow Layer Style to the blue base. Create a duplicate of the blue screen’s Layer. Right-click on the Duplicated Layer and choose Clear Layer Style to get rid of the Inner Glow Blending Option. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Type in 10 and press OK. This will create a blue glow effect outside of the screen. Make sure to move this blurred layer underneath the original, just to help keep everything clean later for on. Repeat this step several times with different Blur sizes and Blending Modes. Aim for a nice, strong, ambient glow.
Use the Eraser Tool (E) to go back and remove any parts that are too strong. Make sure you remove most of the blue glow from the right side, since the light source’s shine would weaken the blue glowing effect in that area.
Next we will add an Inner Glow Layer Style to the blue base. Create a duplicate of the blue screen’s Layer. Right-click on the Duplicated Layer and choose “Clear Layer Style” to get rid of the Inner Glow Blending Option. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Type in 10 and press OK. This will create a blue glow effect outside of the screen. Make sure to move this blurred layer underneath the original, just to help keep everything clean later for on.
The safest way to add depth in a screen is to add a subtle dark gradient from the bottom up. Using the Gradient Tool (G), match my result as closely as possible. Note that I used a Linear Gradient that was perfectly vertical (because I held the shift key), not a Radial Gradient like before. Experiment with the Soft Light and Overlay Blending Modes. I also went back and made the Inner Glow for the main blue layer 200x stronger. Often times I go back and adjust Layer Style settings. In fact, most of the cleaning/revising process is made up of really small adjustments to the settings.
The screen should still look flat. In the past, I would leave it here and try to make up for it with other details. Luckily, the interface community has enough members who care. I came across a new approach that has proven to be both effective and fruitful. Lance Thackeray, who I mentioned in Part 1, made several orbs and screens with this basic look. First, Fill a Circle on a New Layer in the middle of the screen that is about this size. You can fill it with any color, because you will be setting the Layer’s Fill to 0% anyways.
Set the Layer’s Fill to 0%. Open of the Layer Styles and add an Inner Glow with the following settings.
Duplicate the Layer and Transform the Layer horizontally (Command + T) to about 85% of the original width. Next, open up the Inner Glow options and fill in the following data.
Next we need to create an inner ring. This adds to the illusion of depth because it adds a deep end of the screen that is slightly darker. First, we must create a strong, exaggerated ring. You can use the Brush Tool or the Elliptical Marquee Tool for this. First, create a basic shape, and then use the Blur Filter again to blur out the edges. Once you have a ring matching mine, lower the Opacity to about 10%. You want it to hardly even be there. That is when it is most effective. I also made the screen a little bit darker to bring out the richness of the colors and gradients.
Now comes one of my favorite parts – the highlights. Using the method I taught for the side highlights on Step 46, create a strong highlight at the top of the blue screen. Also, add a 3-4 pixel reflection at the top by repeating the infamous Step 37 again. Make the top-most edge even stronger. Little gradients within these 4 vertical pixels can be very effective. I used 8 Layers to get my results.
I like to add some tacky brushes to my interfaces. It really bring the look up to date. Zane Bien, aka z-design has compiled a massive collection of advanced tech brushes. Z-Design Tech Brush Sets: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4. Have a look through those and pick something that you like. I chose one from the second set and placed my personal logo inside the blank area in the middle for a stunning result.
It would be fair to stop here since it is essentially completed. Now, I would like to take this the extra mile and enhance the core interface we have created up until now. Everything you have worked on should all be well organized within a Folder called “Interface.” I want you to Duplicate this Folder, and flatten (Command + E) the Duplicate.
NOTE: You should never, under any circumstances, ever delete or flatten your original folder.
To this day, I see people posting complaints like, “Oops, I lost that part of the design,” or “That part was flattened, I wish I could go back and change it.” Save yourself from this nightmare and save the original folder. Go one step further and create a duplicate source file before moving on to the next part. I duplicate my source files after every 2 hours or so of work. I add “_01″, “_02″, etc to my filenames so that I lessen my chances of loosing the most recent updates. I lost important source files on two of my largest projects ever. One because of a black out that corrupted my open source files, and another from a complete hard drive failure. Don’t risk it. Back your files up now. I mean it.
Rename your newly duplicated and flattened layer to “flat.” Place it into a New Folder called “Interface_80%.” Press Command + T to Transform it to 80% both vertically and horizontally. Press Enter when done.
Duplicate this shrunken down layer, and go to Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen. This will make the interface much more crisp.
Grab the Eraser Tool (E) and clean up any parts of the interface that are too crisp and that even appear pixelated. Use custom Eraser settings to clean up the parts you want to clean up. Take your time on this step, it could easily take up to 15 minutes of zooming in and erasing at a close up view.
Flatten your sharpened and unsharpened layers into one. Add a Drop Shadow and an Inner Glow with the following settings.
Use the Dodge and Burn Tools (O) to add brightness and darkness to parts of your interface that you feel need some touching up. Again, like with Step 18 [Part 2], take your time on this. I took about 15 minutes to work on this.
Now lets give the screen some more attention. Load the inner screen’s base and in the menu, go to Select > Transform Selection. Type in 80% for both the height and the width, and save this new selection as “Inner_Screen_base_80%” so that you can grab it again later if needed. Create a New Layer and fill the “Inner_Screen_base_80%” selection with black. Set the Layer’s Fill to 0%, and add a 15 pixel black Inner Glow. Duplicate this layer, and change the new layer’s Inner Glow to Overlay. Experiment with different settings to achieve a clean result. Recreate the highlight if you have to by loading the selection and creating it manually. That highlight’s corners should stay crisp and visible.
Using these lines that I have provided for your, fill in a grid over the screen that makes it look more technical and computerized. This is seen on calculators and other handheld devices, so I thought it would be a nice little touch. I used the Eraser Tool (E) to clean out the center of the grid where the logo was, and I also lower the Opacity of the Layer to about 10%. Use multiple Layers with multiple Blending Modes if necessary.
Our interface is starting to develop character. We need more details. Add some micro bolts and nuts to the various surface shells. You can download a basic, transparent bolt here. Open the file in Photoshop, copy the contents of it, and paste it into your other document. Set the bolt layers to Overlay and/or Soft Light and alter the layer Opacities depending on what type of background they are sitting on. Starting with just the left side, duplicate and place bolts throughout the interface. Once you are happy with the left side, duplicate and flip them all for the right side. Also, throw a nice title or name on there with an appropriate font.
Flatten everything up until this point in a duplicated Folder. Hide the original folder, and continue to work with this new one. Command-click on the flattened Layer’s icon to show its selection. At the bottom of the Layers Panel you will find a button labeled as “Create new fill or adjustment layer.” Click and hold this until a new list of options comes up. Move your mouse to “Vibrance” and release your click. A new dialog box will appear. Set the Vibrance to about 15 and the Saturation to 10 before closing the box. Your blue should appear even richer now.
Once again, go through your interface with the Dodge and Burn Tools (O) on customized settings until you are happy with the contrast of your finished interface design.
I hope you found this tutorial to be useful. It was not an easy set of concepts to teach, and I hope that it gives you enough to at least be inspired to learn more about high tech, realistic interface design. There really aren’t too many of us out there, even though our genre is definitely expanding exponentially.
Additionally, I would like to clarify my opinion about the difference between art and design. Art is communication in any form, and it is without boundaries. Design has restrictions, and it is about how users interact and experience something.
An interface player with buttons that works as an actual skin is a design. However, if an interface doesn’t have buttons or interactive agents, and it only exists as a static image with no interactivity, it is a psuedo-design. When that line becomes blurred, it is really more likely to be art.
I am happy with the term “fantasy interface designs” because it is ambiguous enough to cover everything with one name. I have been trying to understand the differences between design and art for several years, and my current philosophy is very strong in my mind. If you have any thoughts, critiques or opinions about my tutorials, techniques, and ideas feel free the share them below with a comment.
Anthony Scime is an exceptional digital painter who creates very unique paintings. Anthony decided to start painting because he believed it was a medium to create anything a designer could think of. In our interview Anthony talks about his creation process, and also about one of his amazing paintings.
I’m Anthony Scime. I was born in Buffalo N.Y. but lived in south Florida for most of my life. I have always had in interest in the arts. Whether it be illustration and design, sculpting or photography. For as long as I can remember I have had the urge to constantly create. So getting started in the field was simple. In a sense I have always been in this field. But really I started to get involved professionally after graduating The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 2008.
I first started doing digital paintings after really understanding the impact it has in the art world. It’s the Medium of a new generation of great artists. It gave me the ability to create pieces that were never possible for me in my original medium which was colored pencil. But my first digital painting was a simple apple. And it made me realize just how much more advanced I can become in my skills with this medium. I learned how important it was to study everything around me for inspiration, light, shadow, shape and texture.
Well, I have a drafting table that was found on the edge of the road. I fixed it up and use it for sketching and layouts. And Tech wise, I have a desktop PC, A 19 inch screen which is really in need for a size upgrade and a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet.
Most of the time I start with a sketch then scan it and begin from there in Photoshop. I always pull some reference photos for lighting, architecture, things like that. I normally have a good view of what I want the piece to turn out like, but as always, things are changed and tweaked along the way. I also have a set of few brushes that I use for most of everything, and a second set for textures.
I started with the idea of combining a kind of world feel image, something maybe seen in a times or national geographic magazine, with elements of sci-fi. It’s a concept of showing what the Sadhu, the holy men of India, may look like in the future. Things like his eye piece and glowing shirt are so common in the future that they span across every region of our planet. So having them is as natural as a pair of glasses. I started of with a good deal of research, building up a small reference library. Sketched it out, scanned it in and started painting in Photoshop.
To be honest I just focus on the painting, It‘s hard for me to say that I focus on one thing the most I guess. The realism, colors, composition, lighting, textures, nothing is singled out unless it’s called for. I think it’s important to see the piece as a whole and not in separate parts.
Not trying to sound like a suck-up but when I was first starting and really trying to learn some techniques in Photoshop I went to Psdtuts, and still do to see what’s going on and new in the design world. Another site that I stay pretty active in is CGSociety. Some great books of contemporary Digital illustrations are the series developed by Ballistic Publishing. And for inspiration, well It’s all over the place, on the Web and not.
I really should be the one thanking Psdtuts for this opportunity! It really means a lot. And for final thoughts, It’s a must to break away from the rest of the competition. It’s always important to research and discover what’s out there. Create what represents yourself and realize that what you learn in the beginning is only a guide, grow from it.
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