BreedGFX
Overview
My YouTube channel (BreedGFX) is what solidified my love for design. Although starting small, and only to track my improvement, I began applying knowledge gained from watching hundreds of tutorials to provide a range of different services, such as banner and thumbnail designs for various clients across the YouTube community. With my channel growing. I started to see how valuable my content was to others looking to learn. With time and practice, I was able to develop a deeper understanding of the value of design and evolve my skills to work with bigger clients.
Goals
Being self-taught, I always made learning a priority. Experimenting by constantly trying new things to achieve different results and looking online when I was stuck.
Software Used
- Adobe Photoshop
- Cinema 4D + Plugins
- RED GIANT : Magic Bullet Looks
- Adobe After Effects
SERVICES
Digital Design
Social Media
CLIENT
Various Clients
DATE
2013-2017
overview
My Style
People began to know me for a specific style of design. This style is a complete contract to the simple, functional designs I produce today. My workflow often started in my 3D software (Cinema 4D) where I would extrude a vector of a logo or some text. After applying my textures I would fracture the object into sometimes over 2000 pieces, this would take my computer over an hour to complete. I would then finalise my lighting and begin the rendering process which could take a much longer time to complete. I would then go on to my composting process in Photoshop.
My Community
While interacting with the YouTube community, I built strong relationships with many people that have gone on to do big things. At the peak of my time on YouTube, I worked as a lead designer in multiple gaming teams that produced work for various YouTube creators. My responsibility was to manage the visual identities of both “Mythological Gaming” and “Fractal Films”, as well as managing two teams of designers. Using everything I learned so far, I would go on to create for some of the biggest names on YouTube and hundreds of other channels all while juggling secondary school and my active social life.
details
Research
Research is a massive part of all my projects, and although this was a passion project, I still wanted to ensure I was creating a functional design solution.
I usually like creating mood boards for research, dragging and dropping images from google. When doing this, I am looking for working examples of simple, appropriate and functional branding for brand in their industry. It is also important for me to understand the audience of my client, with Scarlet being a B2B business, their new branding had to be able to thrive in that market.
The logotypes in this image are all companies in the same industry as Scarlet. They all use a bold, modern, geometric sans font that is legible, recognisable and memorable. Logotypes like these are timeless due to their simplicity.
PROCESS
Exploration and Modification in Illustrator
I jumped into Illustrator so I could quickly explore different solutions for the Scarlet logotype. From my research, I knew I wanted to use a modern serif type face much like other companies in the VFX industry.
I chose the Montserrat font because of is modern geometric qualities. I adjusted the kerning (space between the letters) to make the text more optically balanced and then added the responsive part of the logo. I done this by simply writing the name of the company division 3x smaller and right aligned under the logotype. Once i was happy with the design I started exploring brand colours.
PROCESS
Application
Overall, the final solution is simple but it was through the application of this branding that it started to take form.
Although this logotype was made as part of a design challenge, I still wanted to apply the branding to a range of mock-ups so I could prove to myself that the logotype was functional.
With Scarlet being a B2B visual effects company, I knew their branding should be presented using corporate mock-ups. My biggest challenge at this stage was getting the colour to match across all the images and even now I believe I could improve it a little.
PROCESS
Making a 3D Render
I usually began these banner projects by importing a vector of a logo (in this case the Synergy logo) into Cinema4D and extruding it into a 3D object. Once I have a 3D object, I used a plugin called Nitroblast to fracture it into around 2000 pieces and then used a combination of Cinema 4D tools to achieve a more detailed effect. For example, the “Boole” tool was used to hide the centre of the logo and I placed a sphere with a displacement texture to create the glowing blue orb in the middle. When I was finally happy with my model I would adjust my lighting and prepare my computer for a long night of rendering.
Compositing in Photoshop
After what would have been an extremely long time rendering, I would import the final render into Photoshop where I would start my compositing process.
In this image, I am layering a range of different images of lightning and adjusting their blending to create an electrifying effect over parts of my render. I used a similar technique for the orb in the centre as well as enhancing its glow. I would then go onto use other stock images of galaxies and smoke to create a background while also trying to develop volumetric lighting effects to enhance the 3D aspect of the design.
Finishing Touches
In many ways this was my secret sauce, I used the Magic Bullet Looks plugin from Red Giant to add a final colour correction to the banner. This step wouldn’t be recorded in my speedarts and would allow me to add an extra layer of effects to the final design. This plugin offered a range of colour grading and photography effects mostly used for the colour correction of photography but with my trial and error way of learning new software, I soon found a use for it in my work.
