Impressions - April 2012 - (Page 62)

tS Screen Printing Graphics & Design Fig. 4 My re-creation of the original logo contains a different font and color combinations, and I used a few extra techniques with some of CorelDRAW’s effects tools. After doing a little research, I found a modern spin in both font and center style for the original logo. The goal was to get the right feel, but still keep it original. erty bar at the top. Finally, I go through and quickly re-create the curves by pushing the lines out with the Shape tool and adjusting the nodes as needed by moving the arrows. Using this method, you can quickly re-create a detailed shape with the minimum number of nodes. Having fewer nodes means everything looks really clean (Figure 3). DUPLICATING ARTWORK WITH CHANGES This type of submitted artwork is identical to the ﬁrst type, but now the client wants you to adjust the artwork in some manner. He may want it updated for a more modern look, or colors may need changing. He may even want an entirely new graphic or layout incorporating some of the original elements. 62 Impressions | April/May 2012 The challenge with this type of submission is getting enough information from the client without irritating him, yet still ﬁguring out what’s in his head. In our example, the client wanted a new center logo and more modern text. The layout was the only thing staying the same. This may seem like a total redo, but it is sometimes easier to work with completely new elements in a ﬁxed composition than just one new piece. Each customer’s design will be different, but you still can group them into categories of complexity (a design’s intricacy) and decorating difﬁculty (whether it will be a problem to separate and print). The main point during the evaluation and rough stages is to be clear with the client about the costs involved and to build time into your schedule to allow for some research. It is critical when creating compo- sitions that you are allowed a certain amount of time to look at designs in the same category and to get a feel for how things should look for this type of customer. Even if I have the perfect idea right away, I will almost always take a look at other teams, businesses and logos that are in the same category to make sure I’m not completely off target. Many times, this small step pays huge dividends later because you will know a general idea of the “look” that the design should have to ﬁt that category. And even if you don’t nail it right away, you will still get good color ideas from what is popular in the same group. The goal is to get the right feel and still keep it original. I found a modern spin in both font and center style for our original logo, so I did a rough draft on the computer with a different color combination (Figure 4). This re-created design uses a similar method to the ﬁrst style of artwork, but it contains a different font and I used a few extra techniques with some of the effects tools in CorelDRAW. There are no real substitutes for practice and patience in learning the art tools when it comes to creating designs. With regard to production work, it is very helpful to learn the fastest ways to complete tasks, as well as continuing to reﬁne how quickly and efﬁciently you can execute designs and separation. The last two types of artwork — designing from a client concept and coming up with something from scratch — will be covered in a follow-up article on intermediate techniques. A tremendous amount of skill can be achieved by practicing and copying client artwork in a production sense if it is done with thoughtful attention paid to both the method and the speciﬁc steps to minimize time and — therefore — maximize proﬁt and artistic capacity in your new art department. Thomas Trimingham is an award-winning artist, illustrator and author who has worked for some of the nation’s largest screen printers. His website is screenprintingartist. com. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Thomas at ttrimingham@ yahoo.com. impressionsmag.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - April 2012

Impressions - April 2012
Contents
Making Economic Sense of Sustainability
From the Show Director
FYI
ISS Conferences
Product Gallery
Spotlight on Caps
Outfitting the Active Customer
Future Leaders
Primed for Print/Cut Media
Financing Your Start-Up Decorated Apparel Business
Making Economic Sense of Sustainability
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Technique
Screen Printing Graphics & Design
Screen Printing Technique
Online Directory
Digital Decorating
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - April 2012