Making Words POP On A Photo???

Dee Dee wrote:

Having a problem with a logo that has a photo in center (YES, I HAVE to keep the photo, it’s all ready been decided …. trust me, it has to be this way), and I’m having problems making the words POP on it. The photo is of an eagle and flag … and the words just aren’t popping, no matter what I do .. different colors, shadow … outline …. and I can’t put a background to it … has to be on the eagle.

Any suggestions??? Suppose to have this in by tomorrow … or day after. Thanks guys!
Dee

Link?

Dee Dee wrote:

Having a problem with a logo that has a photo in center (YES, I HAVE to keep the photo, it’s all ready been decided …. trust me, it has to be this way), and I’m having problems making the words POP on it. The photo is of an eagle and flag … and the words just aren’t popping, no matter what I do .. different colors, shadow … outline …. and I can’t put a background to it … has to be on the eagle.

Any suggestions??? Suppose to have this in by tomorrow … or day after. Thanks guys!
Dee

Maybe you can post a link to what you’ve got now?

"Dee Dee" wrote in message

Having a problem with a logo that has a photo in center (YES, I HAVE to keep the photo, it’s all ready been decided …. trust me, it has to be this way), and I’m having problems making the words POP on it. The photo is of an eagle and flag … and the words just aren’t popping, no matter what I do .. different colors, shadow … outline …. and I can’t put a background to it … has to be on the eagle.

Any suggestions??? Suppose to have this in by tomorrow … or day after.

If the words are too dark against the eagle, try using outer glow to make the edges stand out more. If the lettering is too light, add a drop shadow. If the background has both light and dark elements, use both.

Add a bit of dash to your result by using Liquefy to make the shadows follow the ripples in the flag. Russell Brown has an excellent tutorial on how to do this, using the folds of the flag as a mask to limit the effect of the Liquefy.
—
Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com

Mike,

I’m designing this in Illustrator … and they want it kept in Illy … and sent as a file in Illy …

Dee

"Mike Russell" wrote in message

"Dee Dee" wrote in message

Having a problem with a logo that has a photo in center (YES, I HAVE to keep the photo, it’s all ready been decided …. trust me, it has to be this way), and I’m having problems making the words POP on it. The photo is of an eagle and flag … and the words just aren’t popping, no matter what I do .. different colors, shadow … outline …. and I can’t put a background to it … has to be on the eagle.

Any suggestions??? Suppose to have this in by tomorrow … or day after.

If the words are too dark against the eagle, try using outer glow to make the edges stand out more. If the lettering is too light, add a drop shadow. If the background has both light and dark elements, use both.
Add a bit of dash to your result by using Liquefy to make the shadows follow the ripples in the flag. Russell Brown has an excellent tutorial on how to do this, using the folds of the flag as a mask to limit the effect of the Liquefy.
—
Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com

Dee Dee wrote:

Mike,

I’m designing this in Illustrator … and they want it kept in Illy … and sent as a file in Illy …

Dee

But you’re asking in a Photoshop group. 🙂
(next time try alt.graphics.illustrator)

The answer Mike gave you is still the same though, cause you can do it all in Illy too. (except the Liquefy tool)

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

Mike,

I’m designing this in Illustrator … and they want it kept in Illy … and sent as a file in Illy …

Dee

But you’re asking in a Photoshop group. 🙂
(next time try alt.graphics.illustrator)

The answer Mike gave you is still the same though, cause you can do it all in Illy too. (except the Liquefy tool)

Oh yeah … gosh, never thought of that … just thought ya’ll hang out at both sometimes 🙂

Anyway … I’ve never used the glow effect in Illy …. I tried using it on text, but can’t .. even if I do rasterize it first .. which I really don’t want to do.

Dee

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

Mike,

I’m designing this in Illustrator … and they want it kept in Illy … and sent as a file in Illy …

Dee

But you’re asking in a Photoshop group. 🙂
(next time try alt.graphics.illustrator)

The answer Mike gave you is still the same though, cause you can do it all in Illy too. (except the Liquefy tool)

Trace:

Here’s the rough draft >>> http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm Dee

"Mike Russell" wrote in message

"Dee Dee" wrote in message

Having a problem with a logo that has a photo in center (YES, I HAVE to keep the photo, it’s all ready been decided …. trust me, it has to be this way), and I’m having problems making the words POP on it. The photo is of an eagle and flag … and the words just aren’t popping, no matter what I do .. different colors, shadow … outline …. and I can’t put a background to it … has to be on the eagle.

Any suggestions??? Suppose to have this in by tomorrow … or day after.

If the words are too dark against the eagle, try using outer glow to make the edges stand out more. If the lettering is too light, add a drop shadow. If the background has both light and dark elements, use both.
Add a bit of dash to your result by using Liquefy to make the shadows follow the ripples in the flag. Russell Brown has an excellent tutorial on how to do this, using the folds of the flag as a mask to limit the effect of the Liquefy.
—
Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com

Hi Mike,

In case you want to see what I’m talking about … here ya go >>> http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm

They won’t want any ripples, I know … and I have added a shadow to middle line … take a look and tell me what you think so far .. and what else I might do to POP it more. Or is it ok as is?

Dee

"Dee Dee" wrote in message news:5R4qf.53061
….

In case you want to see what I’m talking about … here ya go >>> http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm

They won’t want any ripples, I know … and I have added a shadow to middle line … take a look and tell me what you think so far .. and what else I might do to POP it more. Or is it ok as is?

It looks more than good enough. This doesn’t stop me from having a couple of ideas on how to make it better – maybe one or two of these will be useful.

Consider changing the words around the edge to a lighter font style, and use mixed upper and lower case to prevent the secondary message from drawing the eye away from your main message.

Using a lighter font will give you space to include the association’s web address somewhere along the perimeter. If they don’t have a web page it’s a serious omission; sign up for one at godaddy.com – this is your next project 🙂

Include the numeric equivalent of the phone number, since cell phones (which you’ll be relying on) have a different letter/number system than land line phones. If possible, include a two word description of why someone would call the number "report unusual activity to" or some such..

The eagle is angled too aggressively, more than an actual bird would be- maybe tilt him back 5 or 10 degrees toward level. Use an emboss effect for the text around the outside perimeter, and add some shading to make it look more like a medallion. Or add a cloth or canvas texture to make it look like a patch.

Other ideas to make things less busy: drop the saturation of the flag to 70 or 80 percent. This adds depth, makes the flag seem larger and further away and the eagle closer, and helps make the text stand out more. The blue line should simply disappear where it intersects the "NYS Terrorism Tip Hotline" text, again for readability.
—

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com

Mike wrote:

<<snip>>

Other ideas to make things less busy:
drop the saturation of the flag to 70 or
80 percent. This adds depth, makes the
flag seem larger and further away and
the eagle closer, and helps make the
text stand out more. The blue line
should simply disappear where it
intersects the "NYS Terrorism Tip
Hotline" text, again for readability.
—
Mike Russell

Hi Dee,

I like Mike’s ideas. Also, I would prefer ot see the thin white line inside the inner circle go away. There is a crescent effect in the upper left (over the eagle’s head) that looks awkward, kind of unfinished and out of place.

If the flag and eagle go all the way into the blue circle, they will give the appearance that we are seeing a portion of each of them. Stopping the way they do gives the feeling that we are looking at a piece of a flag and a piece of an eagle.

Overall it is a nice piece, just touch it up a bit and you’re there.

Cheers Lee O.

Dee Dee wrote:

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

Mike,

I’m designing this in Illustrator … and they want it kept in Illy … and sent as a file in Illy …

Dee

But you’re asking in a Photoshop group. 🙂
(next time try alt.graphics.illustrator)

The answer Mike gave you is still the same though, cause you can do it all in Illy too. (except the Liquefy tool)

Trace:

Here’s the rough draft >>> http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm Dee

I think Mike’s suggestion to blur the flag a bit is a good one. Just a little bit to let the text pop out more. (and that’s what you want, right?)

You could also to take out some of the bright whites in the bird and flag. And/or try to desaturate the eagle and flag a bit.

Rotating the eagle a bit so it looks more downwards is a good suggestion too. It looks a bit "clueless what to do" now and I think it should be more ‘hey, I’m watching you", shouldn’t it?

The ‘extended’ red line doesn’t really make sense to me, but that’s just a taste thingy, I guess. And the spacing between Red White and Blue lines is not really equally divided.

Anyway, I think you should look for solutions in the background rather than trying to fix it with the foreground.

HTH & Good luck

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

Mike,

I’m designing this in Illustrator … and they want it kept in Illy … and sent as a file in Illy …

Dee

But you’re asking in a Photoshop group. 🙂
(next time try alt.graphics.illustrator)

The answer Mike gave you is still the same though, cause you can do it all in Illy too. (except the Liquefy tool)

Trace:

Here’s the rough draft >>>
http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm
Dee

I think Mike’s suggestion to blur the flag a bit is a good one. Just a little bit to let the text pop out more. (and that’s what you want, right?)

You could also to take out some of the bright whites in the bird and flag. And/or try to desaturate the eagle and flag a bit.

Rotating the eagle a bit so it looks more downwards is a good suggestion too. It looks a bit "clueless what to do" now and I think it should be more ‘hey, I’m watching you", shouldn’t it?

The ‘extended’ red line doesn’t really make sense to me, but that’s just a taste thingy, I guess. And the spacing between Red White and Blue lines is not really equally divided.

Anyway, I think you should look for solutions in the background rather than trying to fix it with the foreground.

HTH & Good luck

Trace,

Yup, I’m trying some of these suggestions now .. will post when done.

I’ve taken down the saturation .. does look a bit better .. now if org will agree. He actually has the final say here, I’m just following what he wants.

Rotated eagle a bit more …

Extended line was my idea to make it stand out more .. but org hasn’t seen it yet, if he doesn’t like it, it goes.

Thanks!
Dee

"Mike Russell" wrote in message

"Dee Dee" wrote in message news:5R4qf.53061
…

In case you want to see what I’m talking about … here ya go >>> http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm

They won’t want any ripples, I know … and I have added a shadow to middle line … take a look and tell me what you think so far .. and what else I might do to POP it more. Or is it ok as is?

It looks more than good enough. This doesn’t stop me from having a couple of ideas on how to make it better – maybe one or two of these will be useful.

Consider changing the words around the edge to a lighter font style, and use mixed upper and lower case to prevent the secondary message from drawing the eye away from your main message.

Using a lighter font will give you space to include the association’s web address somewhere along the perimeter. If they don’t have a web page it’s a serious omission; sign up for one at godaddy.com – this is your next project 🙂

Include the numeric equivalent of the phone number, since cell phones (which you’ll be relying on) have a different letter/number system than land line phones. If possible, include a two word description of why someone would call the number "report unusual activity to" or some such..
The eagle is angled too aggressively, more than an actual bird would be- maybe tilt him back 5 or 10 degrees toward level. Use an emboss effect for the text around the outside perimeter, and add some shading to make it look more like a medallion. Or add a cloth or canvas texture to make it look like a patch.

Other ideas to make things less busy: drop the saturation of the flag to 70 or 80 percent. This adds depth, makes the flag seem larger and further away and the eagle closer, and helps make the text stand out more. The blue line should simply disappear where it intersects the "NYS Terrorism Tip Hotline" text, again for readability.
—

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com

Thanks Mike … those are some great suggestions . will try some of them now. Others I can’t use because as said before .. I’m following what the org wants … and can only suggest so much. 🙂

Will let you see results in a bit …
Dee

"Lee O." wrote in message

Mike wrote:

<<snip>>

Other ideas to make things less busy:
drop the saturation of the flag to 70 or
80 percent. This adds depth, makes the
flag seem larger and further away and
the eagle closer, and helps make the
text stand out more. The blue line
should simply disappear where it
intersects the "NYS Terrorism Tip
Hotline" text, again for readability.
—
Mike Russell

Hi Dee,

I like Mike’s ideas. Also, I would prefer ot see the thin white line inside the inner circle go away. There is a crescent effect in the upper left (over the eagle’s head) that looks awkward, kind of unfinished and out of place.

If the flag and eagle go all the way into the blue circle, they will give the appearance that we are seeing a portion of each of them. Stopping the way they do gives the feeling that we are looking at a piece of a flag and a piece of an eagle.

Overall it is a nice piece, just touch it up a bit and you’re there.
Cheers Lee O.

Thanks Lee!

I’ll try your suggestion with the blue circle …

Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you in e-mail … I’ve been crazy with this project, another small one and Christmas preparation. Maybe after the holidays …

Dee

Dee Dee wrote:

Here’s the rough draft >>> http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm

I can’t help but smile. I envision a bunch of rednecks, while saddling their snowbobiles, going like, "let’s go drive up and down them snowy trails and find summa those terrorists hiding in their igloos".

You Murkins are fun.

—
Gregor’s Motorradreisen:
http://hothaus.de/greg-tour/

"Dee Dee" wrote in message

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

Mike,

I’m designing this in Illustrator … and they want it kept in Illy … and sent as a file in Illy …

Dee

But you’re asking in a Photoshop group. 🙂
(next time try alt.graphics.illustrator)

The answer Mike gave you is still the same though, cause you can do it all in Illy too. (except the Liquefy tool)

Trace:

Here’s the rough draft >>>
http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm
Dee

I think Mike’s suggestion to blur the flag a bit is a good one. Just a little bit to let the text pop out more. (and that’s what you want, right?)

You could also to take out some of the bright whites in the bird and flag. And/or try to desaturate the eagle and flag a bit.
Rotating the eagle a bit so it looks more downwards is a good suggestion too. It looks a bit "clueless what to do" now and I think it should be more ‘hey, I’m watching you", shouldn’t it?

The ‘extended’ red line doesn’t really make sense to me, but that’s just a taste thingy, I guess. And the spacing between Red White and Blue lines is not really equally divided.

Anyway, I think you should look for solutions in the background rather than trying to fix it with the foreground.

HTH & Good luck

Trace,

Yup, I’m trying some of these suggestions now .. will post when done.
I’ve taken down the saturation .. does look a bit better .. now if org will agree. He actually has the final say here, I’m just following what he wants.

Rotated eagle a bit more …

Extended line was my idea to make it stand out more .. but org hasn’t seen it yet, if he doesn’t like it, it goes.

Thanks!
Dee

FWIW theres no way in a million years that you will convince me that the red line looks correct crossing into the outer circle, it should be on two lines, or smaller to fit in.
The blue line could be redone to sit just above and follow the curve of the inner circle and that would free up some space above it to move the white line down a bit and fit the red lines in and also the eagle and flag pic needs to be aligned horizontally

Dee Dee wrote:

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

"Trace Elliot" wrote in message

Dee Dee wrote:

Mike,

I’m designing this in Illustrator … and they want it kept in Illy … and sent as a file in Illy …

Dee

But you’re asking in a Photoshop group. 🙂
(next time try alt.graphics.illustrator)

The answer Mike gave you is still the same though, cause you can do it all in Illy too. (except the Liquefy tool)

Trace:

Here’s the rough draft >>>
http://home.twcny.rr.com/kittykatz/room%202.htm
Dee

I think Mike’s suggestion to blur the flag a bit is a good one. Just a little bit to let the text pop out more. (and that’s what you want, right?)

You could also to take out some of the bright whites in the bird and flag. And/or try to desaturate the eagle and flag a bit.

Rotating the eagle a bit so it looks more downwards is a good suggestion too. It looks a bit "clueless what to do" now and I think it should be more ‘hey, I’m watching you", shouldn’t it?

The ‘extended’ red line doesn’t really make sense to me, but that’s just a taste thingy, I guess. And the spacing between Red White and Blue lines is not really equally divided.

Anyway, I think you should look for solutions in the background rather than trying to fix it with the foreground.

HTH & Good luck

Trace,

Yup, I’m trying some of these suggestions now .. will post when done.
I’ve taken down the saturation .. does look a bit better .. now if org will agree. He actually has the final say here, I’m just following what he wants.

Rotated eagle a bit more …

Extended line was my idea to make it stand out more .. but org hasn’t seen it yet, if he doesn’t like it, it goes.

Thanks!
Dee

Did you try the ‘Blurring the Flag a tiny bit’ option too?

"Greg N." wrote in message
….

I can’t help but smile. I envision a bunch of rednecks, while saddling their snowbobiles, going like, "let’s go drive up and down them snowy trails and find summa those terrorists hiding in their igloos".
You Murkins are fun.

The "fun" may just be beginning, unfortunately. As you know from your own history, fear can cause democracy to fail in abrupt and very dangerous ways. —

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com

Dee wrote:

I’ll try your suggestion with the blue
circle …

Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you in
e-mail … I’ve been crazy with this
project, another small one and
Christmas preparation. Maybe after the
holidays …

Dee

No problem, Dee. Good to see you’re moving the project along. I saw the last version (yellow text) check the arc of the top line. It looks a bit awkward to my eyes.

Have very safe and happy holidays.

Cheers Lee O.