ronmatt

Thanks, Welles, I've been at this a long time. Over the years I've been fortunate to pick up alot in both Photoshop and Illustrator. None of which I'm not willing to share. Some of my methods may seem to be not entirely to the letter of the BOOK. But most are tried and true 'shortcuts' that have worked for me. I may not be as technical as some of you, but I get results doing it my way. These forums are great for getting the technical help I need. I'll be here for a long time. None of us ever will be without need of assistance.

ricib

You've got some amazing talent there, thanks for sharing it with us.

leenapink

I really like the white shading, makes the camera pop out....I can't imagen having the patience to make something so detailed.
How many layers would you say you had going on the camera alone?
How big a file was it?
Do you have a website?
Lasa

ronmatt

lasa, You'll be surprised to learn just how small a file and how few layers there are. I build everything as an independant unit on a transparent b.g.
adding styles and effects and making actions for the repetitive stuff. Then, when I'm happy with the 'unit', I save it as a .png (and a .psd) into a sub-folder. Take the camera barrel as an example. It started out as a single dash, about 4px x 8px (that would be the very first unit in the upper feft corner of the barrel). I rasterize it and duplicate the layer and move the dupe to the right. merge layers, move the two dashes, merge etc. for the length of the barrel. (I never have more the 3 or 3 working layers).
then duplicate the first row and move it down (repeating the same process)until I have the width I want. I end up with a rectangle made of dashes and spaces. I duplicate the rectangle and keep it on it's own layer.
and eliminate 2 horizontal rows of dashes and shift it to the right and down
I apply a style to the top layer (ex. bevel, experiment with the curve and highlite/shadow colors) This creates the 3-d button effect. then I do alittle something with the second layer. Then merge. I clean up the parimeters with a rec. marquee and save the unit into a folder.
Now I start on a new element. When all of the parts and pieces are complete, I assemble the camera (or whatever) I can add new layer styles as I go. apply shadows from new angles etc. I can merge individual parts (such as the cam. body and view hood) and apply blends via brushes and lasso tools using gausian blurs etc. The best thing is, if I screw up, or change my mind, the original element is still in a folder.
Anyway, I'm sure you get the picture as to how I work. As few layers as possible. It's still the same amount of work, But you're not having to deal with all those layers and sub layers. Now that I have CS2 it'll be even easier due to the Bridge. It took me about 2 hours to build this camera. I use the save workflow for everything I do.
I don't have a website. don't really need one. I've got too much work as it is from my old established accounts. I do alot of agency freelance and contract work. You've probably seen much of my work in magazines. However, I do have some experimental Flash intros in the Web section of this forum. Check 'em out and tell me what you think.

leenapink

Thanks for taking the time to explain how you work...It was good to hear you don't manage 35-50 layers at a time...lol... To many layers overwelm me, but I assumed everybody else managed them with no problem.

You probably know this tip I use "A LOT" but I'll give it just in case:

To make a flatened layer of all visible layers, while still retaining all layers intact. : Shift + Alt while pressing Merge layers.

Keep up the good work,
Lasa