Computer Arts (May 2005)

108 Pages·2005·15.312 MB·English

CONCEPT ART
Mix tradition with technology to
create slick conceptual designs
It’s back!
Printed in the UK C$19.95
MAY 2005 £6
COVER ILLUSTRATION: EBOY
EDITORIAL
WELCOME
Creative Suite 2 is here at last! The software that’s been over a year
EDITORIAL 01225 442 244 in the making is fi nally launched and ready for action. This improved
GILLIAN CARSON SENIOR EDITOR Creative Suite release is a monster of a package that brings with it
[email protected] new versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat. Even
DOM HALL DEPUTY EDITOR
[email protected] GoLive gets a much-needed lick of paint. There’s also a brand new
RODDY LLEWELLYN SENIOR ART EDITOR
[email protected] application called Bridge, which serves to unify the products and will
TINA GLENCROSS DESIGNER be a boon to all collaborative artists. But that’s not all. The box
SOPHIE EMBLEY PRODUCTION EDITOR
[email protected] designs have had an upgrade, too, and we’ve secured an interview
DAN GOODLEFF PRODUCTION ASSISTANT with the artist to fi nd out how he freshened up his old designs.
[email protected]
JOSEPH RUSS NEW MEDIA CONTENT EDITOR One person who will defi nitely be upgrading is our very own Jason
[email protected]
MATT GALLIMORE SENIOR CD EDITOR Arber – columnist, designer and self-confessed software box
[email protected] collector. He investigates the phenomena that is the perpetual need
SIMON HOLLAND CD EDITOR
[email protected] to upgrade software and asks the question: do you really need to
install all those extra features on your ailing computer, or will life go
CD PROBLEMS 01225 822 743
[email protected] on without those ten extra fi lters?
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM So before you jump on the upgrade band-wagon, read what Jason
Hussein Al-Attar, Jason Arber, Matt Broomfi eld, has to say on page 20 and our in-depth guide to the new Creative
Ryan Carson, Christian Darkin, Mauro Gatti,
Karl Hodge, Christopher Kenworthy, Derek Lea, Suite, free with this issue, to fi nd out what CS2 can do for you.
Vicky Mitchard, Mark Penfold, Ed Ricketts, Chris
Schmidt, Kev Speck, Tim Spencer, Denise Wilton
GILLIAN CARSON SENIOR EDITOR
PHOTOGRAPHY James Wilson [email protected]
PRINT William Gibbons
REPRO Radstock Reproductions Ltd

SUBSCRIPTIONS
Computer Arts Subscriptions, Future Publishing,
FREEPOST RLSC-SXSE-SKKT, Unit 4 Tower House,
Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, Leicester LE16 9EF
SUBSCRIPTION QUERIES 0870 837 4722
OVERSEAS SUBSCRIPTIONS [phone] ILLUSTRATION IN THE MAG
EMAIL [email protected]
ADVERTISING 01225 442 244
ROSA SMITH advertising manager EBOY
[email protected]
GEORGE LUCAS senior sales executive The Berlin pixel powerhouse devised this colossal fi gure for
[email protected] our cover illustration, which showcases the German boys’
REBECCA BELL-ROBINSON classifi ed sales executive
[email protected] signature graphic style to brilliant effect. The rigid isometric
MANAGEMENT perspective forms a striking framework for the entire piece.
KELLEY CORTEN publisher INFO: www.eboy.com
DOM BEAVEN publishing director
FIONA TULLY marketing manager
CLARE TOVEY production manager
PAUL MCINTYRE group art editor DENISE WILTON ANDY POTTS
SARAH WILLIAMS software copyright co-ordinator
PRODUCTION Denise’s pixel art cityscape Andy illustrates our CD tutorial
NOLA COKELY ad production co-ordinator invites you to explore its with this becalming number –
KATTY PIGOTT production co-ordinator streets in minute detail. playing it cool with KoolMoves.
MIKE THORNE commercial print buyer
INFO: www.styledefi cit.com INFO: www.andy-potts.com
CIRCULATION & LICENSING
JASON COMBER circulation manager
PETE STOTHARD head of international licensing KEV SPECK TWELVE:TEN
SIMON WEAR overseas licensing director
Computer Arts has licences in China, France, Kev’s collage technique Altruistic open source
Italy, Poland, and Spain turns a drab photo into a software developers versus
UK DISTRIBUTION dynamic illustration. the corporate machine.
Marketforce Ltd 020 7633 3300
Kings Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London SE1 9LS INFO: www.kevspeck.com INFO: www.twelveten.com
FUTURE
ILOVEDUST SCOTT HANSEN
ROGER PARRY non-executive chairman
GREG INGHAM chief executive The Southsea crew sketch Successful calibrating
ROB PRICE managing director UK
JOHN BOWMAN group fi nance director e-commerce heaven with a requires men in suits, hot-
T: [phone] conveyor of stylish T-shirts. air balloons – and a plane…
URL: www.futureplc.com
INFO: www.ilovedust.com INFO: www.iso50.com
Computer Arts is a member of the Audit
Bureau of Circulations Jan-Dec 2004: 20,904
TIM SPENCER DEREK LEA
Computer Arts is the registered trademark of Future
Panudb lcisohpiynrgig Lhttds. iAnl tl hRisig ihsstsu Re easree rrveecdo.g Anlils terda,d aenmda arrkes Luminous neon and collage Photoshop’s Magic Wand
apclekansoew cloendtgaecdt uwsh –e rwee p’roes shiabplep.y I ft ow ceo hrarevect f aainleyd o vtoe rcsriegdhitt. yMouarte croiaply right collide in Tim’s sparkling casts a mystical light on
submitted is accepted on the basis of a worldwide right to publish in Scissor Sisters DVD cover. Derek’s exotic design.
printed or electronic form. All contents © Future Publishing 2005.
INFO: www.studiospooky.tv INFO: www.dereklea.com
Future Publishing Ltd is part of Future plc.
Future produces carefully targeted special-interest
magazines for people who share a passion. We aim to
srealtiiasbfyle t hinafto prmasastioionn b, sym craeratt binugy itnitgle asd ovficfeer ianngd v walhuiech fo arr em ao npeleya, sure ¸CONTACT
to read. Today we publish more than 100 magazines in the UK, US,
France and Italy. Over 100 international editions of our magazines Computer Arts, Future Publishing, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW PHONE: [phone]
are also published in 30 other countries across the world.
EMAIL: [email protected] SUBSCRIPTIONS: 0870 837 4722 OVERSEAS: [phone]
Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange
(symbol: FUTR).
May 2005 | 3
REVIEWS TUTORIALS
WHAT’S HOT LEARN THESE GREAT
AND WHAT’S NOT? TECHNIQUES
P80 DELL PRECISION M70 P54 CREATE NEON EFFECTS
Power, elegance and portability – are you Capture the vibrant glow of urban 072
ready for the most powerful nVidia-based neon with our Photoshop how-to
mobile workstation on the market?
P60 PHOTOS TRANSFORMED
P82 WACOM CINTIQ 21UX Even the most unprepossessing snap
Wacom does it again with this incredible can benefi t from a collage makeover
monitor-come-tablet hybrid. Just check
out the 21-inch 1,600x1,200 display P66 TOOL TIPS
Prepare to think outside the box with
P83 SITEGRINDER Photoshop’s versatile Magic Wand tool
Create websites from within Photoshop
using this simple layers-based plug-in P68 CD TUTORIAL
Create an animated banner for your
P84 COREL DESIGNER website using KoolMoves Lite
TECHNICAL SUITE 12
A powerful set of tools built around Corel’s

CAD-meets-Photoshop/Illustrator app FEATURES
P85 FINAL CUT EXPRESS HD
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Own an HDV camera? Then this HD IN YOUR INDUSTRY?
variant of Apple’s software editor will suit
034
P86 SONY HDR-FX1
Marvel at this superb high-defi nition video
054
camera that records to MiniDV in 16:9 HD
P87 FINEPIX E550 ZOOM
Superb image quality and powerful
features help Fujifi lm’s camera to shine
P89 BOOKS
This Ain’t No Disco tops our reviews list

GROUP TEST
FIVE TITANS BATTLE
FOR THE TOP SPOT
P34 CA INTERVIEW
“The way people use Photoshop
nowadays,” laments the self-styled
iconographers Never Stop Movement.
“It’s not so… nice.”
068
P48 ICON
Saul Bass: From Carmen Jones to
Casino, Bass’ work continues to
infl uence designers the world over
P72 GET STARTED WITH…
Selling your work online: Set up your UNIVERSITY

own e-commerce facility to better
P90 MONITOR CALIBRATORS promote your work and your wares CHALLENGE P112
Is your monitor faithful? On the colour Three teams of students respond
front, that is. We screentest fi ve tools to P114 CURRICULUM VITAE to a challenging creative brief
fi nd out – the ColorPlus, blue eye pro, Spencer Wilson: Basquiat and Dubuffet set by their tutors, and we get an
OPTIXXR, Spyder2 and Eye-One Display 2. inspire Spencer’s quick-fi re work ethic expert in to assess the results…
4 | May 2005
MAY ISSUE 109
040
`PAGE 60
TRANSFORM ON THE CD
THIS ISSUE’S
YOUR PHOTOS
SOFTWARE &
RESOURCES
Use Photoshop to revitalise your dull images
KOOLMOVES LITE (PC)
Create superb
animation with this
streamlined web
tool – see page 68
SKETSA 2.1 (MAC+PC)
Explore vector
heaven with this
powerful open source
SVG graphics creator
SWIFT 3D PLUG-INS (MAC+PC)
Render your favourite Flash fi les from
within LightWave or 3ds max
DESKTOP FLASH SITE BUILDER (PC)
Great-looking websites in minutes? Not a
problem with Trendy Flash’s top trial
DIGITAL-TUTORS VIDEO (MAC+PC)
How to make a draggable image mask in Flash
PAGE 28 ¸ See page 102 for more details...
PIXEL PERFECT
Create this isometric suburban landscape in Photoshop SUBSCRIBE NOW!
using our tried-and-tested techniques. Build a block of
Turn to page 46 for full
fl ats, then style up some tiny people to live there
details of great savings
May 2005 | 5
EXPOSURE
EXPOSURE
Send your work to Computer Arts and be seen by thousands!
2
RORY MITCHELL
LOCATION Lincoln, UK 1
JOB Freelance illustrator
CONTACT [email protected]
SOFTWARE Corel Draw, Photoshop
and old Acorn art packages
Rory Mitchell studied Visualisation at
the University of Teesside before
completing a graphics degree at the
University of Lincoln, specialising in
interactive and screen-based graphics.
“It was good to be able to experiment
with illustration and animation,” he
says, “but, most importantly, this
training gave me an opportunity to
develop a visual style.”
Having left university, Mitchell fi rst
worked for video games publisher
Digital Jesters, where he created Flash
banners and wallpapers for games,
but has since worked freelance for
companies such as Mampro and Elate.
“When I create something, I generally
try to leave visual fl aws or scratches so
that the image looks distressed,” says
Mitchell. “That way, the image doesn’t 1
look as if it has been created on a
computer. It looks more like it has
come from real life.”
Mitchell likes to add to his work using 3
the native drawing tools of an old Acorn
RISC PC. “The software has its own
inbuilt imperfections, something that
modern software doesn’t have,” he
says. “The limitations lend subtle
imperfections and visual noise to my
imagery, rather like using a favourite old
paintbrush with loose bristles. I prefer to
plan my images on paper fi rst, rather
than just randomly hacking at the image
until I’m happy with it.”
Much of Mitchell’s recent work –
Radio Boy and Munchausen, for
example – has been inspired by the
silent fi lms he watched during his fi nal
year at Lincoln: “One of my tutors, Phil
Eastwood, got us to watch fi lms such
as Das Kabinet des Doktor Caligari,
Metropolis, Voyage to the Moon and the
early Flash Gordon cinema series,” he
says. “But my longer term inspiration
comes from comic book artwork from
the early thirties through to modern
comic artists such as Doug TenNapel.”
4
6 | May 2005
EXPOSURE
To fi nd out more about this section, please
go to www.computerarts.co.uk/gallery/
5
1. Radio Boy 1 “This is a mood board for the Radio Boy
graphic novel. The style of the bulk of the Radio Boy artwork is
based on this, but far more simplifi ed. I wanted to place the
6 story in a thirties/forties Americana meets Metropolis setting.”
2 Radio Boy 2 “The Radio Boy images were fi rst sketched out
on paper. I then applied layer after layer of paint in Photoshop,
leaving gaps, so that underlying layers would show through.”
7
3. Radio Boy 3 “This image introduced one of the comic’s
main villains. Many of the Radio Boy spreads are infl uenced
by retro movie posters, and I tried to tie-in a few of these
components in the artwork.”
4. Radio Boy 4 “Here I tried to restrict myself to using a small
colour palette, like the comic book artists from the era the
comic was set in: red, cyan, cream, and black.”
5. Trick in Time 1 “This is the cover for a children’s book that
I’m working on. Since the story is about time being stopped,
I wanted to make it appear as if it were trapped in amber. It
makes the book feel as if it’s set in a sleepy afternoon.”
6. Trick in Time 2 “This is an image from mid-way through
the book as the hero, Barry, is about to enter the factory lair
of the evil clockmaker, Krank. This image was created in
CorelDraw and then coloured in Photoshop.”
7. Munchausen DVD “This formed part of a DVD menu system
for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. The paper theatre
scene aesthetic was inspired by the 18th-century theatre
scenery used in the fi lm and Terry Gilliam’s animation style.”
May 2005 | 7
EXPOSURE
1
DAVE DRAPER
LOCATION London, UK
JOB Architectural assistant
CONTACT
[email protected]
SOFTWARE AutoCAD, 3ds max
and Photoshop
1. External “I wanted to create the
feeling of light and space, both in the
building’s form and the image’s style.
Rendering in AutoCAD takes time
compared to 3ds max, but with
multiple spotlights and opacity maps
I was able to create crisp textures.”
2. Ramp “To increase the open feeling 2
of this image, I took multiple renders in
AutoCAD with different texture maps and
coloured spotlights. I then composed
them in Photoshop. This stacked effect
has created a vibrant appearance and another level of complexity.”
3. Swimming Pool “The ribbons and surfaces featured here were
generated by drawing 2D polylines in AutoCAD, rotating them in the
Z-axis and creating a ruled surface between them. I then increased
the number of faces to produce a thin smooth surface.”
4. Long Elevation “I love to explore the preconceptions of different
software; the background is rendered as a solid with angled planes,
but the stadium uses transparencies and curved surfaces. You’d
expect the background to be rendered in AutoCAD and the stadium
in 3ds max, but in fact it’s the reverse.”
4
3
8 | May 2005
EXPOSURE
1
CHARLES HOUSER
LOCATION Texas, USA
JOB Freelance graphic designer
CONTACT www.clanbe.com
SOFTWARE 3ds max, Poser 4,
Bryce 5 and Photoshop
1. A.I. “I spend a lot of time thinking
about how computers will one day
take over the world. This image,
which shows the creation of artifi cial
intelligence, is my version of what it
will look like when humans fi nally
turn into computers.”
2. NewAge “I used 3ds max and
Bryce to render this image of a
human transforming into a new-
age cyborg. I try to combine a
fl owing, artistic style with computer
effects. I look at a lot of Art
Nouveau stuff, compositions that
fl ow into each other really smoothly,
and then try to create my own
version with the new technology.”
2
GET EXPOSED
Send your work to us, along
with an explanation of your
techniques and software,
the titles of each piece, your
website details and email
address. Images should be sent
as PC or Mac TIFF or JPEG fi les,
on CD or DVD. A hard copy is
also a great help. We will
endeavour to return all entries
that provide an SAE. All
contributions are submitted on
the basis of a non-exclusive
worldwide licence to publish,
both in print and electronically.
Post hi-res fi les for print to:
Exposure, Computer Arts,
30 Monmouth Street,
Bath, BA1 2BW.
May 2005 | 9
STAR LETTER: ANAGLYPH IMAGES MADE EASY
WHICH SLR?
Although many of my gadgets are now
Did you know that there’s a quicker way of doing your 3D digital, I’ve yet to upgrade my faithful
anaglyph tutorial (issue 104) using just Photoshop? Well here it Nikon F90. So what holds me back? Well,
is... Open your saved left and right images and do the following: the cost mainly – and the fact that I’ve been
1. With the left picture, select Image>Adjust>Hue/Saturation – waiting for Nikon to release a digital SLR
“Master” saturation 60>OK. Repeat for the right picture. that I can afford. I hoped to be brand loyal,
2. Now with the right picture, via Image>Adjust>Levels (Ctrl+L), as I already use lenses worth about £1,000.
select red channel>second output to zero>OK. The thing is, while I very much like Fuji’s
3. With the left picture, via Image>Adjust>Levels (Ctrl+L), select FinePix S3, which is compatible with my
re
b green channel>second output to zero>OK. set of lenses, it’s over my budget. So I’ve
rA
n 4. With the left picture, select blue channel>second output to decided to switch over to Canon and opt
o
sa zero>OK. for either the EOS 20D or the replacement
J
© 5. With the left picture, select all (Ctrl+A)>Edit>Copy (Ctrl+C). to the EOS 300D, the EOS 350D. What’s
6. File>New (Ctrl+N). Add 100 pixels to Size>OK. This gives the difference between these two cameras?
you room to line up the pictures. Now Edit>Paste (Ctrl+V). Richard Hart, via email
7. With right picture, Select>All>Copy. New, Edit>Paste (in the Layers palette, choose Screen in the
+
drop-down list.) Now Move the image around while wearing anaglyph glasses, and once you’re Geoff Harris, editor of our sister
ready, Crop and Save as a Photoshopfi le. Peter Hughes, via email magazine Digital Camera Shopper,
replies: “If you can afford it, buy the
+
Thanks for that, Peter. It’s great to see our tutorials inspiring Canon EOS 20D. It’s got a higher
readers to think laterally and come up with their own solutions. specifi cation than the 300 or 350D, and just
about every camera magazine is raving
PRIZE: Rookledge’s Classic International Typefinder about it. It’s now available for just over
£1,000, which makes it a great buy. If you
As the Star Letter winner this month, Peter Hughes has won
want to save money by sticking with a
a copy of Rookledge’s Classic International Typefi nder, by
budget SLR, the new 350D has more
Christopher Perfect and Gordon Rookledge. Highlighting the
megapixels than the 300D, along with a
essential characteristics of over 700 typefaces, this book helps
designers to identify many of the most popular fonts currently in more advanced Digic II image processor,
use across the globe. Rookledge’s Classic International faster rapid shoot mode, the ability to shoot
Typefi nder is published by Laurence King and costs £24.95. JPEG and RAW images simultaneously,
and more. It’ll be available after Easter
for £749 (body only).”
IT’S A DESIGNER’S LIFE…
ved
All rights reser
Guigar.
Brad J.
© 2004
You can buy Brad Guigar’s new book, The Everything Cartooning Book, at www.everythingcartooning.com
NEXT ISSUE IN
BEST WEB DESIGN AGENCIES PHOTOSHOP • SOFTWARE • TUTORIALS • NEWS • REVIEWS
Where can I fi nd a list of the best web design agencies in England/
London? I’m a recent MA graduate and I’m looking for work
experience, but I have no idea who does what. Also, what are the
biggest web design awards? Thanks for your help!
Arthur Roper-Newman, via email
+
We don’t have a list of the “best” web design companies,
Arthur. We suggest that you think about what experience you want
to gain from your work placement, and then look for a studio that
will provide that necessary experience. Choose three or four studios
(large or small) and put all your effort into getting a placement with
them. That way, you won’t waste time. A large-scale, award-winning
design house in the centre of London may sound glamorous, but
there’s no guarantee that you’ll learn what you need there.
As for the web design awards, calendar highlights include the
interactive part of the D&AD site (www.dandad.co.uk), the Webby
Awards (www.webbyawards.com) and the BAFTA Interactive
Awards (www.bafta.org/interactive/).
QUALITY SCANS
I recently upgraded to an HP Scanjet 4670, being very pleased with
HP’s kit that I’d bought to date. Sadly, output compared so badly to
that of my old unit (a Linotype Saphir) that I immediately wrote to
HP to establish whether there was a fault with the device. They
didn’t respond. Eventually, through the reseller, I spoke to their
customer relations, who agreed that the quality of the scans was
poor. Then, after further delay, a member of their technical team
came back to me to say that this was as good as I could expect.
I’ve used professional SCSI units in the past, so I don’t know
where to set my expectations with the present range of consumer ...THE FASHION ISSUE
p£Sr1toe7dv0ue, c IJt seu.x bSpbtei,cl ltv,e iadas me tmhueca hsic lbaentnteerr raensdu lttrsa.nsparency adaptor cost roughly Panhdo tioss nhoowp sheats t ion bfi elt rthaete sda mvvayg faazsihnieo nfa pshhoiotong praagpehse orsv’e bre tshte f lraiesnt dfe w years © GETTY IMAGES
+ We passed your complaint on to HP, Steve, and this is what IMAGE
a spokeswoman had to say: “We’re sorry to hear that your reader PLUS...
has had such a poor experience. Be assured that HP will be checking
with customer support to investigate how such complaints are being NEWS ALL THE TOP STORIES AND RELEASES
handled… We pride ourselves on customer retention as a result of
REVIEWS TOP PRODUCTS TESTED IN OUR LAB
consistently high quality products and we’re disappointed that a
loyal customer has been let down. TUTORIALS 30 PAGES OF THE BEST EXPERT ADVICE
“The HP Scanjet 4600 series scanners undergo thorough testing
FREE CD JAM-PACKED WITH RESOURCES AND SOFTWARE
and the results show a good level of image quality. An online survey
of the installed base for the product also showed a 90 per cent PROFILES EXPERT DESIGNERS REVEAL THEIR SECRETS
positive response. There are other scanners available from both HP EXPOSURE BE INSPIRED BY OTHER READERS
and other manufacturers that offer professional levels of image
resolution, but they do not offer the unique qualities of this All contents are subject to change
particular product, including see-through, vertical and oversized
scanning capabilities. ON SALE THURSDAY 12 MAY
“The Linotype Saphir is targeted at a very different market from
the 4670, so it’s diffi cult to make direct comparisons.”
May 2005 | 13