A Graphic: How To

I made a post like this around Christmas time (see here), but that was a very simple one that didn't take very long. This one that I'm about to demonstrate took me approximately 3 1/2 hours to complete and I've broken it down into 15 steps (not including the sketch). [You can click on all the pictures to enlarge them].

So, I'm going to show you how I created this:

First I sketch out what I have in mind (a sort of rough draft), just so I have a visual of what I am aiming for. I usually only do this with my bigger projects. With smaller projects, I just sort of wing it and just picture it in my head.

Have you ever seen a crappier sketch in your life? XD

Step 1) I open Pages (since I don't have photoshop or anything) and set up what shape my graphic is going to be. In this case, I wanted it to be a poster shape. (The default color on the computer is green, I'll most likely change it later)

Step 2) I choose an appropriate picture that fits my sketch. I use this setting called "Instant Alpha" on Pages to get rid of the background around her.

Step 3) I begin to put together my title. I set up a box and rotate it slightly to accomplish the first step.

Step 4) Since I had different fonts and sizes for different parts of the title in my sketch, I do each part separately. I add a text box, select a font and color, and rotate it to set up the first part.

Step 5) I add another text box and do the same as step 4 for the second part.

Step 6) And the third part. Now we have the full title.

Step 7) I add in the boxes where the screen shots will go.

Step 8) I pick out which screen shots I want to use and put them in place. I also move the first picture into position (which could be another step, I suppose).

Step 9) I add the second picture and use Instant Alpha on the background (adding the two main pictures could be done at the beginning at the same time, at this step at the same time, or separately at different steps as I did here).

Step 10) I add the actor's names and finally change the background color. I tried a couple different colors and decided on yellow.

Step 11) Now I didn't originally have a tagline in my sketch, but I thought it needed one since the poster was a bit plain. I came up with this one: "A tale of pride, prejudice, and web video" (well actually I didn't come up with it entirely. It's similar to one I had seen someone else do "A timeless tale of pride, prejudice, and web cameras!".  I chose a font and color and placed it.

Step 12) (I did this in the previous step, but forgot to take a picture before hand) I add borders and shadows where they're needed.

Step 13)  I decided I didn't like where I had placed the tagline, so I tried it somewhere else. I liked it better at the bottom.

Step 14) I make some adjustments such as scooting the pictures over a bit, switching the screen shots around, changing the shade of some of the colors, etc. Also I cut off the edges so that it's a clean rectangle.

Step 15) I touch it up with some orange shadows around the border, giving it a less... flat cartoonish look. And there you have it.

To be honest, making a graphic is not that hard. It's just a matter of picturing what you want before you start. Even if you don't sketch it out, you ought to have some idea of what you want. I'm going to humiliate myself and show you a graphic where I had no idea what I was doing before I started:

All I knew with that one before I started, was the subject. I didn't know where any of the pictures were going or what colors I wanted to use or anything. That one's probably my least favorite graphic I've ever made (although I've got some other pretty horrid ones).

The hardest part is handling Instant Alpha. Yeesh. That is the most time consuming part of the project normally. You have to be so particular (that is, if the background or whatever you're trying to erase isn't all one color). Especially if whatever you're trying to erase is the same color as your subject.
This graphic that I made:

It took 7 or 8 hours to complete. Because practically everything on it, I had to use Instant Alpha for.

Anyways, there you have it. How to make a graphic without a photoshop program.