If you want to read the entire series from the start, please follow these links:
Getting Started
HDTV Graphics: Getting Organized
HDTV Graphics: The Rules - Chapter 1
HDTV Graphics: The Rules - Chapter 2
Ok, so we've discussed organization, we've went over a few rules and now you're all set to start creating graphics for your church. Well hold up there lil' cowpoke, you still need to gather up a few things so you have some resources to work with. Stock photos, video, fonts, music, etc is extremely important to have on-hand or at least bookmarked in your browser so you can get to them quickly.
My most valuable asset is my Graphics Drive or as I call it, The Grab Bag. The grab bag contains all my collection of photos, videos, music, sound effects and the like, as well as things like color palettes and fonts. Having all this in one place means that I don't have to spend hours and hours searching and downloading resources each time I want to create something. I simply load Photoshop, open my Default HDTV Picture Format.psd file and choose from my organized selection of backgrounds, fonts, etc. Bingo! You're done. Thanks to being organized, the graphics below were created in about 10 minutes each, not hours.
Getting Started
HDTV Graphics: Getting Organized
HDTV Graphics: The Rules - Chapter 1
HDTV Graphics: The Rules - Chapter 2
Ok, so we've discussed organization, we've went over a few rules and now you're all set to start creating graphics for your church. Well hold up there lil' cowpoke, you still need to gather up a few things so you have some resources to work with. Stock photos, video, fonts, music, etc is extremely important to have on-hand or at least bookmarked in your browser so you can get to them quickly.
My most valuable asset is my Graphics Drive or as I call it, The Grab Bag. The grab bag contains all my collection of photos, videos, music, sound effects and the like, as well as things like color palettes and fonts. Having all this in one place means that I don't have to spend hours and hours searching and downloading resources each time I want to create something. I simply load Photoshop, open my Default HDTV Picture Format.psd file and choose from my organized selection of backgrounds, fonts, etc. Bingo! You're done. Thanks to being organized, the graphics below were created in about 10 minutes each, not hours.
Creating you're own Grab Bag
Photos -
So let's talk about photos for use in backgrounds first. It has gotten incredibly easy to gather up free photos from stock photo websites. In the past you'd have to spend anywhere from $5.00 to $75.00 for a single high resolution photo. That's not the case anymore. Now you can visit all sorts of sites that are giving away high resolution stock photos or desktop images all the time, and for FREE. Below is a selection of the sites I visit. Some sites you need to subscribe to (but it's free), some of the others you don't. Still others are free, but attribution to the creator is required. Just pop on to any of these sites and download their new photos as they release them and you'll start filling up your own grab bag. I also encourage you to do Google searches for certain images you're looking for. Just make sure they are free to use.
So let's talk about photos for use in backgrounds first. It has gotten incredibly easy to gather up free photos from stock photo websites. In the past you'd have to spend anywhere from $5.00 to $75.00 for a single high resolution photo. That's not the case anymore. Now you can visit all sorts of sites that are giving away high resolution stock photos or desktop images all the time, and for FREE. Below is a selection of the sites I visit. Some sites you need to subscribe to (but it's free), some of the others you don't. Still others are free, but attribution to the creator is required. Just pop on to any of these sites and download their new photos as they release them and you'll start filling up your own grab bag. I also encourage you to do Google searches for certain images you're looking for. Just make sure they are free to use.
Fonts -
Just like photos, fonts are easy to obtain as well. The problem with fonts though is getting too many and filling up your fonts directory with styles you may never use. Some are very tempting to download because they look awesome. However, they might not look so awesome in video or on a digital Hymn board monitor when you're sitting 60 feet away. The following are some of my favorites.
Be very careful when heading to a few of these sites. Make sure you're pressing the correct Download button to download the font you want. Some of these sites can be a bit misleading as to what Download button to press to get the font. Most of these fonts are available from the same website, but I purposely gave you different site locations so you can look around on your own as well.
Video -
Free stock video can be a bit harder to find on the web, especially if you're looking for something specific. But there are sources out there! Like with Photos, some of sites you need to subscribe to (but it's free), some of the others you don't. Still others are free, but attribution to the creator is required. As before, I encourage you to do Google searches for certain videos you're looking for. Just make sure they are free to use. Here are a few sites I tap into from time time.If you're looking for something specific, you may have to just cough up the cash to get what you need. Another thing I do is to make sure I have my HD video camera along when I'm out traveling about. If I see something I could use, I shoot it. This then creates your own private stock footage.
Resources -
Since I can't cover everything you need or need to know in a single blog post, here are a few resources available out on the web.
So as you're downloading your brains out with photos, video and the like, have you been paying attention to organization? Or have you just put everything in your Downloads directory? If everything is in your Downloads, you may need to revisit my post on Organization again. If you did pay attention, then your Projects and Graphics drive should look something like this:
Clients/
Stock Footage/
Stock Graphics/
Stock Music/
Stock Photos/
And under each of these directories would be the subject matter that each one deals with. Again, organization is key to getting things done quickly in the long run.
If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, well it's suppose to be. It's taken years to build up the library of files I have on hand to design graphics and create videos. Just like anything else, you can't expect to create perfection right off the bat. So don't try and download everything from every site so you amass a bunch of stuff you'll never use. Take your time and only download what you need so that you can reuse those files over and over. In time you will create your own Grab Bag of everything you need.
Just like photos, fonts are easy to obtain as well. The problem with fonts though is getting too many and filling up your fonts directory with styles you may never use. Some are very tempting to download because they look awesome. However, they might not look so awesome in video or on a digital Hymn board monitor when you're sitting 60 feet away. The following are some of my favorites.
- Amatic
- Arista
- Baron
- Dker Poster
- Duke
- Dunkin
- Epoxy
- Great Vibes
- Klinic Slab
- Nevis
- Pacifico
- Qwigley
- Rounds
- Simply Rounded
- Tommaso
- Wisdom Script
- Yellow Tail
Be very careful when heading to a few of these sites. Make sure you're pressing the correct Download button to download the font you want. Some of these sites can be a bit misleading as to what Download button to press to get the font. Most of these fonts are available from the same website, but I purposely gave you different site locations so you can look around on your own as well.
Video -
Free stock video can be a bit harder to find on the web, especially if you're looking for something specific. But there are sources out there! Like with Photos, some of sites you need to subscribe to (but it's free), some of the others you don't. Still others are free, but attribution to the creator is required. As before, I encourage you to do Google searches for certain videos you're looking for. Just make sure they are free to use. Here are a few sites I tap into from time time.If you're looking for something specific, you may have to just cough up the cash to get what you need. Another thing I do is to make sure I have my HD video camera along when I'm out traveling about. If I see something I could use, I shoot it. This then creates your own private stock footage.
Resources -
Since I can't cover everything you need or need to know in a single blog post, here are a few resources available out on the web.
- A great resource are these guys: Makerbook. They have links for just about everything that's free.
- The Church Graphics Handbook (although a little out of date) is a good resource to have on hand if you're not a designer.
- Though it's meant to be more for web type graphics design, this post on Snappa Blog is another great Non-Designer tip list.
So as you're downloading your brains out with photos, video and the like, have you been paying attention to organization? Or have you just put everything in your Downloads directory? If everything is in your Downloads, you may need to revisit my post on Organization again. If you did pay attention, then your Projects and Graphics drive should look something like this:
Clients/
Stock Footage/
Stock Graphics/
Stock Music/
Stock Photos/
And under each of these directories would be the subject matter that each one deals with. Again, organization is key to getting things done quickly in the long run.
If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, well it's suppose to be. It's taken years to build up the library of files I have on hand to design graphics and create videos. Just like anything else, you can't expect to create perfection right off the bat. So don't try and download everything from every site so you amass a bunch of stuff you'll never use. Take your time and only download what you need so that you can reuse those files over and over. In time you will create your own Grab Bag of everything you need.