#rabbitpost!

[rabbithelps]

Hey guys! If anyone’s still hanging out on this blog, I wanted to let you know that I archived the original admin blog (@mxdam-a) for it some time ago, hence its Perpetual Languishment, but have finally transferred ownership to my new blogs (@mxdam and @vorcotec)--meaning I have access to the inbox again, and will be able to post, reblog, and answer things 😊

[rabbithelps]

I have checked your themes on your ABOUT! page and just wanted to know... where can I go to see your main tumblr blog? I want to read your posts, please?

Hey, anon! My main blog is here.

[rabbithelps]

Hello, everyone! I’ll be hanging out on this blog today, doing some fixes to the theme (maybe finally making a navigation page?!?!?!?) and writing some stuff up. I’m also going to be working on a New And Improved Version of Rabbit’s Resources Page, which--admittedly no one on Tumblr has ever seen, since it existed on another server entirely at least 3 years ago, but I promise, it’s awesome, you’re going to love it. Feel free to send any asks, etc.!

[rabbithelps]

*me voice* hey there, anon

[rabbithelps]

You know one thing that would improve virtually every Photoshop tutorial I see on Tumblr?

Every tutorial maker asking the question, “Why?” And then answering it in their tutorial.

“Why did I add this Selective Coloring layer? What is its purpose in the overall coloring?” Because I want to enhance the reds and make them very bright, but I also want to target the yellows and make them bluer. The red looks even brighter by contrast when you do that!

“Why did I choose this paint texture? What does it add to my graphic?” The ‘X’ shape of these paint strokes helps me bring the focus to the main image of my graphic, just like underlining a piece of text. Plus, the color helps bring contrast to my composition!

Or even...

“Why did I add this Color Balance layer?” I have no idea, I was just messing around. That’s one of the best ways to develop original colorings!

By adding in the “why,” you help less experienced Photoshoppers get a context for what you’re doing. If you just say, “put on This Layer, This Layer, and That Layer and you’re done,” they’ve learned your method, but not how to apply it in different ways. Their knowledge doesn’t grow, and they don’t benefit.

Moreover, it helps you understand your process better when you ask these questions and look at your own work. When you ask “why,” everyone wins!

[rabbithelps]

When you go to read what looks like a great, informative, lengthy tutorial but the first thing it does is tell you to gather your pictures from Google, Pinterest, and WeHeartIt

(source)

[rabbithelps]

Other people’s artworks are not your textures.

This is important. More times than I can count, I’ve been happily reading a tutorial, excited to reblog it here, only to find myself running into a “now we add the texture!” step, where someone adds a painting, a graphic from Behance, a copyrighted piece from someone’s Flickr, etc. to their edit and calls it good. This is not acceptable.

Part of the problem is that texture makers on Tumblr are prone to going to Pinterest, Behance, Flickr, and other places where art is posted, taking copyrighted works, repackaging them, and redistributing them as “textures”--often with the caveat of “Don’t claim as your own! Don’t redistribute!”

I’ve been tripped up by this horrible practice myself. Once I heard of it, I went through texture packs I’d downloaded from Tumblr and reverse image-searched them on Google. Half of them had been stolen from Behance pages and artists’ galleries. This was stuff I’d used on my own graphics, thinking it was okay, that I was making use of a resource created and shared as such--when really it was stolen art.

Be mindful. Look at the resources you’re using. A good rule of thumb is, “Does it look like a finished piece of art already?” If it does, it wouldn’t hurt to reverse image-search it and make sure you’re not using someone else’s art. Be as respectful of others’ art as you would like them to be of yours.

[rabbithelps]

i’m going to be shelving all other tutorials in the works (holding them for later) and focusing on a basic image prep tutorial, just so you guys know!