13 horrifying Photoshop and Illustrator tutorials for Halloween
By Digital Arts Staff on October 29, 2013
With Halloween just over a week away, you're no doubt looking to tap your creative talent to produce artwork and decorations in the unholy spirit of the season. Here we've collected 13 of our favourite tutorials that detail effects that'll help turn your most disturbing ideas into truly nightmarish visions – plus an inspiring guide to that mine of messed up artwork, heavy metal album covers.
Click on the images to get to the tutorials.
Bring the wolves to your door
Dan Mumford reveals how he created this lycanthropic poster for punk band Gallows.
Celebrate the Day of the Dead
Bring Mexico's Día de los Muertos to wherever you are.
Design a highbrow horror-movie poster
Karim Fakhoury explains how to create a creepy, unsettling piece of poster art
Paint a fire sprite
Create a fiery figure from a photographic model shot.
Skeleton on a fixie -- hell yes!
Ollie Munden details how to create a mix of horror and hipster that could be called Funny Bones: the Shoreditch Years.
Create a stylish modern cyborg
Fabio Sasso shows you some techniques for creating a cyborg from photographic sources in Photoshop, tapping into the movie heritage of the cyborg, but mixing it with the glossy ‘Bleach-Bypass’ look of modern sci-fiTV shows such as V and Battlestar Galactica.
Conjure a nightmare vision of a wolf in a boy's clothing
Mix natural and unnatural elements to produce a disturbing but melancholic piece.
Skulls and owls
Joshua Smith, aka maverick illustrator Hydro74, has a style that’s instantly recognisable – combining the thick, clean lines of graffiti with the iconography of tattoos and the symmetry and patterns of vector art.
Here he takes you through how he created a work based around his regular motifs of skulls and swirls mixed with that illustration icon, the owl.
Make a skull out of type
Unlock the power of Photoshop's Distort tool to create this enigmatic image.
Creepy chimeras
Chimeras – a mix-and-match approach to animal part favoured by Greeks for many mythical monsters – are great for Halloween. Here Fabio Sasso puts a new spin on Alice's Cheshire Cat.
Build a fairytale asylum
How Stephen Chan and Andriana Katsiki (AKA Wundercloud) created this unusual artwork.
X-ray specs
See your insides revealed with the quick guide to producing X-ray effects.
In this tutorial, character art guru Paul Shih shows how to create a detailed black-and-white artwork – using Flash. Shih says: “I personally find Flash’s drawing system work best for the style we are making. It’s fun and easy.”
You’ll learn handy tips for drawing in Flash, focusing on some essential drawing tools that make creating this artwork quick and simple. Starting with Flash’s unique Line tools, we take this tool a step further by converting lines to create fills for a comic book-style ‘focus lines’ effect.
You’ll also pick up tricks on maintaining visual clarity in a detailed black-and-white artwork. Feel free to embellish and add your own twists to the artwork as you create.
Time to complete
8-10 hours
Software
Adobe Flash, Photoshop
Project files
Files for this tutorial are downloadable from here
Texture can really add depth and a tangible quality to vector illustrations. In this tutorial, illustrator Jeffrey Bowman discloses the techniques he uses to create texture and then explains how he adds this to his work.
You’ll learn how to take scanned textures and turn them into vectors using image trace, then effectively apply them to your illustration using clipping masks. Jeffrey will also explain how to add brush strokes to hard vector edges, so as to give a hand-drawn feel to your artwork.
To help you follow along with this masterclass, Jeffrey has provided some sample vector shapes and textures in the project files.
The techniques featured in most of this tutorial can be applied to almost any version of Illustrator, but the texture vectorisation process in Steps 10-11 require CS6.
Time to complete
4-5 hours
Tools
Illustrator CS6
Project files
Files for this tutorial are downloadable from here
Many works that look complicated are really made from simple elements. In this tutorial, Russian artist Alexandra Zutto shows how to build up complex, beautiful images by patiently layering and building up small, straightforward segments, always varying them to prevent monotony.
For this piece, which Zutto created for the Blood Sweat Vectorexhibition in Berlin, she says: “I tried to reproduce the tundra’s atmosphere, with its pale sun and soft lighting. It required looking closely at a lot of references to understand how I can achieve these kinds of effects.”
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build up many elements to create a vector image with real depth and richness. Zutto explains: “I spend most of the time picking out colours that match each other to form harmonic colour composition. It takes a lot of time, but it’s worth the effort.”
How the graphic designer and illustrator brings the cities he visits to life in an abstract fashion.
By David Popov
Intro
In this masterclass, London-based David Popov will take you through the process he used when creating his ‘Round the World’ series of graphic artworks.
“I initiated this project because I wanted to have something that only I would have to remember my travels by,” explains David, “not just the photos that everyone has of Paris such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Moulin Rouge.” Instead, he produced more abstract pieces based upon the patterns and textures of the city’s architecture.
Here David will be focusing on how he went about creating his composition in Illustrator using colour and pattern swatches. He will also discuss the influences and experiences that informed the patterns and colours of the artwork’s final design.
Design portfolios come in all shapes and sizes, whether you're an illustrator, graphic designer or web-savvy developer. These 35 inspiring examples are some of the best of the bunch.
The internet is full of thousands upon thousands of awe-inspiring design portfolios. To enable you to stand out in this tough market, it's important to make your online portfolio as impressive as you can.
It's not just the examples of work that need to blow away your potential clients (although they do help) it's the way that they're presented. You don't have to be a superstar web designer; a touch of creativity and innovative thinking will get you a long way. And there are plenty of free online tools, such as Behance, to help you build a portfolio without any coding knowledge.
So, check out these 35 inspiring examples of online design portfolios, both for individual designers and design agencies - to help you angle your own in just the right way...
Robby Leonardi stars in his own interactive design portfolio
Robby Leonardi is a multidisciplinary designer based in New York City. Specialising in illustration, graphic design, animation, and front-end development, he has worked with the likes of Fox, Speed TV, FX Networks, myNetworkTV, and G4. This incredibly fun interactive design portfolio will have you scrolling for hours.
Dive into the world of Lizzie Seymour with this adorable portfolio
Lizzie Seymour is a designer that loves to dabble in character design, illustration, installation, a bit of coding, and stuff that moves. This adorably crafted portfolio will give you a sense of her brilliant work and her impeccably cute characters.
A beautifully simplistic and easy to navigate portfolio
This beautifully minimal, easy to navigate portfolio from Björn Meier is a feast for the eyes. Designed by German based agencyBASICS09, the portfolio went on to become recognised on theAWWWARDS.
Check out the brilliant choice of colours on Hyak's site
Hyak is a full time freelance designer, who also happens to be a music producer by night. After high school he continued to study on his own, reading and gaining experience working as a graphic designer. This cleverly crafted portfolio has a lovely colour scheme and an ace scrolling experience.
London based agency Stereo Creative have created this simple, yet striking portfolio site. They explain, "Our people lead and deliver projects with energy and accountability. We're flexible and responsive, adapting our approach to meet the needs of individual assignments. We stay close to our clients, partnering with them, to create and deliver as one team".
Fieldwork are a focused team of makers and do-ers who specialise in crafting engaging experiences across digital, web and brand. Founded in 2012 by Loz Ives and Andy Gott, the company has worked with a number of brands including craft beer brewers and illustrators. Their attractive-looking portfolio is both clean-cut and easy to navigate.
Some wonderful icon designs ensure Jeremy's portfolio stands out
Jeremy Sallee is a self-taught French graphic designer. Creating wonderful icons, Sallee uses a very popular portfolio layout but with a few precision tweaks to make it stand out from the creative crowd. Salle has an impressive array of work on offer that you can navigate using some very cute mini icons.
Simple colours and a responsive layout makes this a portfolio to die for
This portfolio from designer Marc Thomas teams a sleek layout with a handful of striking shades. His use of typography is masterful, plus the look and feel of the site stays consistent on mobile screens.
A unique and original approach to the usual portfolio layout
Julien Renvoye's portfolio benefits from a clean design, brilliant use of typography and cute characters. A particularly nice touch is how the shapes that surround each example of work are highlighted and enlarged when you hover over them.
It may look scattered at first but we love the layout of this portfolio
Rosie Lee is a hybrid creative agency, with on and offline expertise in branding, advertising and retail design. We love the unique layout and the use of complementing colours makes it a winner in our eyes.
Leading designer Frank Chimero's portfolio takes a minimalist approach
Frank Chimero is a designer and illustrator based in Missouri with clients including The New York Times, Nike, Wired, Facebook and many others. He believes great design comes from sharp thinking and reflective practice and every solution creates unexpected problems. His online portfolio is minimalistic, which makes it easy to navigate. We love the overlaid imagery that displays his portfolio of work.
The content in the Projects section reorders itself when you switch menu items
Studio Airport is a design agency based in the Netherlands, with a strong online presence embracing airport graphics, large photographs and strong typography. We love the little animated reordering of contents that takes place in its Projects section when you switch options in the left-hand menu.
The design portfolio of Paul Currah is clean and simple
Paul Currah is an award-winning multi-disciplinary graphic designer, delivering creative, innovative and engaging solutions to communication problems across brand identity, print, packaging, environmental, and digital. His portfolio is a clean and simple offering, with each project photo fading in and out, showcasing different aspects of the creation.
Teacake's portfolio is nothing if not eye-catching
Teacake is a quintessentially British, inventive and conscientious design studio. Its online portfolio instantly catches your attention with its yellow backdrop and large imagery. Navigating through the site you see a strong and diverse portfolio of work. Our only plea would be for the trackpad to allow for horizontal scrolling through the content.
The online portfolio of Smart! has a simple structure
Smart! is a multidisciplinary team of professionals in graphic design, communication and information technology that have two offices in Buenos Aires and Perú.
Their online portfolio has a simple structure, with the grey turning to full colour once you hover over each project. We love that the selected images from each project are presented in a horizontal line.
The online portfolio of Olly Gibbs shows real attention to detail
Olly is a London based, multi-disciplined designer and illustrator who has already worked with the likes of Warner Bros, Muse, and The Salvation Army. It's the attention to detail within his portfolio that really makes it stand out.
The sense of fun immediately showcases Olly's personality, whilst the typography and lay-out makes it work aestheically. We especially love the 'About' section.
Pollen's online portfolio is beautifully structured and reminiscent of editorial layouts
Pollen are strategists and innovators, as much as as they are designers. They have developed a format that allows them to work closely with clients as creative partners, engaging the target audience and driving results. Pollen have a beautiful structured website, comparable to editorial layouts. We’re a big fan of the chunky yet simplistic footer.
The online portfolio of design agency Viget shows just how important photography is becoming in the industry
Working as a team of 58 creative individuals, Viget have got some impressive projects under their belt. Set up by brothers Brian Williams and Andy Rankin and their Dad, Wynne 'Pop' Williams, Viget Labs was established back in 1999 when the internet was changing.
The portfolio showcases just how important photography and user experience is within this industry. They're able to showcase their work in a stunning fashion that allows potential clients to really get a feel for the agency.
We love the illustrated wire and circuits in the online portfolio of Laureano Endeiza
Laureano is based in San Luis, Argentina and has been working as a web designer for almost a decade. Although his portfolio is pretty simple, it's the brilliant illustrated wire and circuits that make all the difference.
Each wire connects to a different project, which shows off Laureano's hard work. The wire connecting to the sites also coincides with each project's colours, which works as a perfect finish.
The online portfolio of web design agency Super Awesome is, well, super awesome
With a name like Super Awesome, you'd expect this web design agency's portfolio to be pretty, well, awesome. And it's safe to say that it most certainly is!
Making sites not suck since 2007, the layout of each project allows the user to gain an insight into each aspect of the web page. We love that the site isn't afraid to produce statements such as 'portfolios are boring' and 'we don't do meetings'. Bold, super awesome stuff.
The design portfolio of Ashleigh Downer is immediately attention grabbing
In a world of quick clickers and impatient scrollers, it's important to instantly grab the attention of your potential clients. Too much text on the homepage could scare away the curious, so it's a good idea to entice them with an image. Here, Ashleigh Downer does just that with a quirky landing page before showcasing her incredible collections. Remember, you want to make your visitors click and you can't help but do just that with this portfolio.
The online portfolio of Small Studio showcases great use of horizontal scrolling
Small Studio is an award winning creative agency, founded in Melbourne in 2007 by directors Paul Kotz and Todd Proctor. Describing themselves as 'design adventurers', this online portfolio is an adventure for any user.
The horizontal scrolling already enables the portfolio to stand out from the rest, with each section of the site within easy reach. It also looks pretty great on a tablet!
Bleed state that they "represent a mix of cultures and disciplines to challenge today’s conventions around art, visual language, interaction, media and identity". This mode of thinking is implemented within their online projects, full screen imagery and large type engage the user whilst scrolling through the site. We love they have included a manifesto at the end - nice touch.
The online portfolio of Kendra Schaefer is packed with personality
As soon as you stumble upon Kendra's site, you're immediately presented with this image and we love it! There's nothing better than showing off your personality and sense of humour.
Not only is it great photography; the colours, typography, and statement, "This is how I feel when I'm not making the internet. Luckily, I make websites for a living", will instantly etch Kendra in your memory.
The online portfolio of Cast Iron Studio is full of creative flair
With a name like 'Cast Iron Studio', you're going to need a pretty vintage looking portfolio. Thankfully, this design studio does just that but with some creative flair.
Using the simple grid structure, the site oozes class with the use of traditional, vintage-looking typography and complementary colours.
This is an online portfolio that really stands out from the crowd. DJNR crafted this highly interactive site, which includes a GIF of a working day that coincides with the bar running at the bottom of the page.
There's also music and a highly eye-catching colour scheme. You can browse through all the projects on one page, which includes development, games, animation and design. It was even a FWA site of the day!
The design work of Gareth Strange is showcased well, with the colours complementing each other perfectly
The phenomenon of Pinterest has meant a huge rise in Pinterest-style layouts. Whilst some may grit their teeth at the sight of yet another 'copycat', graphic designer Gareth Strange manages to make this one his own. The homepage directly focuses on his illustrations, with the colours nicely complementing each other. The visitor is able to immediately gauge Gareth's design approach, which certainly makes for a successful portfolio.
The design portfolio of Emil Olsson offers a great scrolling experience
When you first stumble onto Emil Olsson's portfolio, it may not seem the most impressive of sites. However, once you start scrolling - and we all love a good scroll - it quickly becomes sleek, stylish and highly original. Today, more and more of us are visiting websites via our smartphones and tablets, so it only a matter of time before designers showcased their examples of work on the little gadgets... on their websites. We think it works extremely well but what are your thoughts?
The design portfolio of Steven Bonner is reminiscent of Pinterest's layout
Steven Bonner is a bonafide illustrator, whose work deserves to be splashed across any screen. Thankfully his online portfolio - designed by Mike Sullivan and David Cole does just that. Laid out in a lovely Pinterest-ish fashion, you're able to hover over each image to gain insight into the brief and Steven's original ideas. It's a fantastic addition to the design that enables the user to really get to know Steven's style. You can also change the layout with a simple click of a button if the array of images is a bit too much for you.
The design portfolio of Ion Drimba Filho is based around a revolving cube
Now this is certainly a new take on the online portfolio. Created using Flash by designer Ion Drimba Filho, it's an interactive, revolving cube! You can hover over each image to highlight the example and click on it to read more about the project. Allowing your user to interact with your work is always a bonus and this one works perfectly. Very nice indeed.
The design portfolio of Jesse Willmon has a playful sense of fun
This playful portfolio comes from designer Jesse Willmon. As soon as you arrive on the homepage, the site alludes an instant sense of fun whilst still managing to showcase the examples of work in an innovative way. Its cute approach allows the visitor to feel welcome, with its chatty tone, felt-tip font and colourful icons. It only gets better once you click on the links as the style continues throughout.
Odd Web Things certainly lives up to its name by portraying its portfolio in a somewhat unusual way. Instead of images, web designer Peter Godek showcases his portfolio using numbers - with an image appearing every time you hover over one of them. Once you click on an image, the right to left scrolling continues with the example in full. The site is easy to navigate, fun and fresh.
The design portfolio of Seymour Powell offers both Flash and HTML versions
You can enter this site in both HTML and Flash, which allows the visitor to see the portfolio in any way they choose. We were curious enough to check out the Flash version and boy, is it awesome! Firstly, you're presented with a stack of business cards entitled 'Seymour Powell in seven clicks'. What ensues is pretty self-explanatory but it's one of the most original portfolio presentations we've ever witnessed.
The design portfolio of Lounge Lizard, who describe themselves as 'brandtenders'
Website design and marketing agency Lounge Lizard has been making waves on the design circuit for almost 15 years. Describing themselves as 'brandtenders', this bar-themed portfolio is the perfect execution of their work and style. It gets even better once you click the 'Games' or 'Mobile Apps' icons, with the examples portrayed on an iPad you have to turn on yourself and another you have to feed money to. A truely impressive, highly interactive portfolio.
The design portfolio of Tim Lahan is perfectly laid out
New York based graphic designer and artist Tim Lahan presents his portfolio in a simple yet stunning way. The important logo and information stays firmly at the top of your screen as you scroll through his colourful examples of work. The drawings and designs are also perfectly laid out to really show them off; with no framing or barriers to distract the visitor or alter the work's effect. Sometimes, simplicity really is the key.
