#also my scans are not really high quality but thats the best i could do :((

[royalbloodlp]

ROYAL BLOOD cover & interview in French magazine MYROCK #47, July-August 2017 (click to enlarge)

Translation of the interview below (thanks to @believersdie​ for their help)

                                               ROYAL BLOOD

                   AN ALCHEMY IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS

Three years after winning the title of this generation's most exciting challenger, the duo composed of Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher is coming back with "How Did We Get So Dark?" a long-awaited second album which exceeds our expectations by far. It's an authentic classic, played with only drums and bass guitar, to prove once and for all that no, guitar isn't the ultimate rock instrument.

(Thomas Malfrouche / Photos Manon Violence)

Three years ago, no one had heard about Royal Blood. Since then, you've played shows all over the planet and you've been taken under the wings of Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page and Iggy Pop. Doesn't all of this make your head feel dizzy?

Mike Kerr (lead vocals, bass guitar) : My head feels good, thank you!

Ben Thatcher (drums) : So does mine, but I try to protect it as you can see [he's wearing a typically French beret, note from the author]. Hats are my new thing. I decided to swap my usual cap for the local hat. Today, we're in Paris so it's a beret, but I intend to get a cool cowboy hat in the US!

M.K. : To answer your question, our lives did completely change in the space of three years. When we started Royal Blood, we didn't think that one day, our music would be listened to by people other than our friends. Playing our songs all over the world, in front of an audience who was always asking for more, that's what I'll remember from this two-year madness.

People are under the impression that playing shows helped a lot to increase your visibility. When your first album was released, some were skeptical. But whoever saw you live joined your adventure. Each night, each concert, were they just battlefields?

M.K. : Absolutely. Since the beginning, concerts are the essence of Royal Blood. It started up like this, making the most noise we could in a basement. We kept this. The location doesn't matter, whether it be a club, a stadium or a festival, each time we try to see ourselves in our small rehearsal premises and play with the same spirit as we did there. Moreover, being only two in the band accentuates this. We can look each other in the eye, react automatically to the other. On stage, we just follow our guts. And we lived awesome things on the last tour. I remember this concert in the plains of Quebec for the Festival d'Eté, where we opened for Foo Fighters. We played in front of a hundred thousand people, it was huge. There was a tornado notice, and the weather was becoming more and more chaotic as we were playing. We were literally seeing the lightning unleash. So much that we had to leave the stage after playing six tracks, for security reasons. But these six tracks will stay in my memory forever.

Did you get the chance to party with Dave Grohl anyway?

M.K. : Obviously! We spent almost three months on the road with the Foo Fighters guys, and we saw Dave every day.

Is the rumor true, is he the coolest guy in the rock'n'roll scene?

M.K. : No, he became number two. Right after me (laughter).

B.T. : And after me! So Dave is the third coolest dude. But it's okay, he's still on the podium!

M.K. : We're joking around, but for us, two small guys from Brighton, all that's happening to us is still unbelievable.

B.T. : Every day, I feel like I'm living a dream. For example today, being in Paris to talk about our music is completely surreal. And we were just told we are headlining a show at the Zénith [huge concert venue in Paris, note from the translator] at the end of the year [November 9th, note from the author]. That's crazy! This world is crazy!

M.K. : We would never have imagined all of this. Let's take Jimmy Page, for example. One of our heroes. An untouchable musician. An icon. He came to see us live a few times, and he met us after the show to talk and party. He's a real gentleman, he is very polite and sophisticated. He doesn't live in a castle tower, like most of the rockstars of his level. He keeps being passionate about music, he goes out a lot, sees many concerts, discovers new bands. It's an honor to know he likes our work.

                                     MELODIES BEFORE ALL

With all the concerts you played, how did you find the time to write this new album?

M.K. : The secret is that we didn't take any vacation, we got back to work right away. It's impossible for us to write on the road. We could have, during sound checks, especially since we're only two. But we prefered to rest and keep our energy for the show. So we wrote this record after we went back home, in Brighton, like we always did up to now. We're used to going to the Brighton Electric, a small rehearsal studio that we love. Then, we recorded at the ICP studios, in Brussels. It's the best studio which we ever had the chance to work in, a place filled with gear, with lots of microphones, amplifiers, and other toys. The location is quite isolated, and at the time the weather was cold. It was very immersive and very solitary. We spent two months there, literally cut off the world. It did us good. Especially when you see the state of the world we're living in...

The production of this record is incredible, the audience feels like you wanted to highlight the melodies. Of course, there are good old riffs, but the choruses are overpowering, they remind of the 80's, when Kiss', Alice Cooper's, Bonnie Tyler's and Joan Jett's hard rock was on the radio.

M.K. : We've always loved pop music, choruses that blow you away and make you want to sing them. For this album, we wanted to declare our love to melodies and stop hiding them behind our wall of fat sound. For me, a good chorus is the heart of a good song, it is what makes you want to listen to it over and over again. As such, I consider that this album is our most direct album. What's melodic isn't necessarily hot tempered. It's just a matter of balance and dosage. Desmond Child mastered this harmony perfectly. For instance, "Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi [co-written by Desmond Child, note from the author] is a pop song, and at the same time it's very hard, with fat guitar riffs. I love this kind of contrast.

              BEHIND THE ALBUM COVER, BY MIKE KERR

"Firstly, we wanted to create a unity between the cover of our first album and this one. When I saw this photograph for the first time, I felt like it represented exactly the impression I wanted to give with this record. It's difficult to choose an album cover. It must be aesthetically pleasant, but it must go well with the music too. And especially, it must be cool on vinyl format! What's funny is that, on our first album, you could only see the eyes of the character. Here, it's the opposite, you can see everything except the eyes. Is it the same person? You can create your own story..."

                      BASS, DRUMS, AND NOTHING ELSE!

Just like the previous one, is this album guaranteed without any guitars?

M.K. : Totally! You know, we worked hard to find our own sound, and I'm sure that if I played a guitar, we would sound like many other bands. And we'd rather keep our identity with the restraints which became our strengths, than make it easier with a guitar and blend in with the crowd. But I have nothing against guitars. Maybe one day, we'll end up adding some here and there.

B.T. : We'll call Jimmy Page then. (laughter)

Speaking of sound, did you use some new finds on this album?

M.K. : Not really, I always combine a lot of pedals with effects that transform my bass' sound. But no need to hope that I tell you my tricks, they're secret. (laughter) Let's say that this time, we minded the details way more, we made each song unique, when in our first album, all the tracks had the same sounds. In these new songs, there are a lot more variety and textures.

The drums are very wide, as if you were playing in a stadium. Did you play in a huge room with a natural reverb in the studio?

B.T. : Not at all, it was actually the opposite! The drums were in a tiny room, with a very muffled sound. I moved them in an angle of the room, which left me more space so that my hits could resonate. Sometimes you just have to be creative in the studio. The best thing is that for the first time, I was able to play in live conditions, with enough microphones to record all the parts at once. In the first album, I had to learn to play differently and record each part separately. It's very different, and it makes the tracks more groovy.

          STRENGTHENING THE BLOOD RELATIONSHIP

The album gets its name from this song, "How Did We Get So Dark?". A good old rock hit just the way we like them, heavy and overpowering at the same time. It's so efficient that we're under the impression that writing songs is quite easy for you.

M.K. : Yet we suffered with that one! The music was composed quickly, but as much as I wrote and wrote the lyrics again, I couldn't find a catchy melody. So, we left it out, and it nearly didn't make it to the album! Then, last January, I made our producer Tom Dalgety listen to it. He saw the potential of the song right away and encouraged us to keep working again and again on the chorus. Eventually, we managed to dig this crazy melody up. And in the end it became my favorite track. But it was far from easy.

Is this album title, "How Did We Get So Dark?", an assessment about the current state of the world which we live in, or is it more personal?

M.K. : A bit of both. How did we get there, why are we at the bottom of the pit? Is the planet fucked? Am I speaking to politicians? To my girlfriend? To my friends? It's hard to tell. This ambiguity made us choose this particular title. Each one can read into it whatever they like, I find it more interesting. And, well, I don't like explaining my lyrics.

Why?

M.K. : Because once they are released, they don't belong to me anymore. They literally belong to the audience. They can listen to my lyrics the way they want, there are no instructions for use.

A track like "She's Creeping" is really surprising. It's got a very 90's groove, it reminds of Nirvana, Weezer, and even the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

M.K. : We wanted a track that reminds of the greatest hours of alternative rock, with a groove that smells like sunshine. There's also a bit of a Bill Withers side. It's the first time we had ever written a song like this, and it was very pleasant to do. The approach was very minimalistic, but it reassured us on our process, because with only a bass guitar and a snare drum, you can write fucking good songs! The groove doesn't need anything else. It's also a song that says a lot about us, since it was born from an exchange between Ben and I. That's a band, it's an alchemy, an improvisation in the middle of chaos. We're in the same plane, we're working together to reach our destination. The complementarity which is the base of Royal Blood, you can really hear it on this particular song.

You were friends before starting the band, did Royal Blood change anything in your relationship?

M.K. : Oh yes, Royal Blood tightened the bonds between us. We have shared so much during these last three years... We spent more time together than with anyone else. In this kind of situation, hatred and love are your only options. We could easily have torn each other apart on the road, we could have learned to hate each other, but the opposite, we became closer than ever.

[dracoxgeorge]

Romeo & Juliet | Draco Malfoy

A/n: Hii, thank you guys for 56 followers!! Love you guys, I hope you enjoy this!!

Warnings: Angst? fluff, swearing, and crying. Please let me know if i missed anything <3

Summary: You get really insecure about Draco and Pansy’s play. 

Draco x fem!reader

You and Draco had been dating since the beginning of 5th year, it's now the middle of 6th. 

Professor McGonagal and Professor Flitwick decided that they wanted to do a school play inspired by the muggle book ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Shakespear. 

You had caught Draco reading the book once in the library, and you had thought he should audition when it was announced during dinner. 

He has many of Romeo’s qualities, he's extremely handsome, clever, very loyal and though he doesn’t believe you, he can be very immature at times. 

You did manage to persuade him to audition and he not so surprisingly got the lead role as Romeo. He beat not only Cormac Mclaggen but also Fred Weasley. 

Draco desperately wanted for you to audition for Juliet, but you turned him down. You are pretty shy, only around people you don’t know though, you are very open with your friends. 

There was a lineup of girls auditioning for Juliet which did manage to upset you knowing your boyfriend would have to kiss another woman while you watched.

Flitwick and McGonagal narrowed it down to 4 girls, Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown, Padma Patil and finally, your best friend, Pansy Parkinson. This surprised you because Astoria Greengrass auditioned as well but Pansy had much better acting skills. 

You were happy for Pansy and Draco, you helped them both practice their lines together. Thats what led to now, you had finally made it to the kiss part without them making any mistakes at all. 

“We should leave this for the show, right Yn?” Draco asked, silently asking for you to say yes. You knew that Draco more than anything felt guilty at even the thought of putting his lip on someone else's. 

That too made you queasy. Day and night your mind would wonder, what if he catches feelings for her after the kiss and falls out of love with you. Or what if Pansy falls in love with him?

Maybe for them it would be more than just a kiss and they keep doing it behind your back. You have no clue what's going to happen but can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

By preparing for the worst you just tried to spend more time with your boyfriend as if it could end, but you kept your head held high. 

-

You and Draco were cuddling in his prefect dorm, you had been on your side while you had your leg draped over his middle. 

Dracon was reading a novel, you tucked your head into the crook of his neck while your mind continued to wonder once again. I tear slipped down your cheek, as a small quiet sob escaped your lips.

Draco put his book down, looking down at you. 

“What's wrong, love?” He asked, you turned up to look at him, quickly wiping the tear away. 

Your eyes met, you watched him examine your features. Another tear slipping past your eye. His hand moved to your face, caressing it with his thumb while wiping the tear away. 

“It's nothing, get back to your book.”  You suggested, your hand began playing with the hem of his loose black t-shirt. 

You took a deep breath, inhaling his scent as if it were the last time you would do so. 

“Is it about the play? If it is, I hope you know Pansy is nothing more than a friend to me.” He whispered softly, kissing the top of your head.

“No, no, I want you guys to do good, I’m excited. I mean Saturday is only two days away.” You replied, cherishing the feeling of his warmth. 

“That doesn't tell me why you're crying,”

“I’m not, just tired is all.”  You answered, hoping he would buy it, which he did. 

Draco knew something was off, but he didn’t want to push you nor make you feel forced to tell him. 

Draco is very clever when it comes to you and how you feel. He can somehow always sense when or if there's something wrong. But he never wants for you to feel like you need to do something for him or to please him. 

You are a people pleaser to say the least. 

“Okay, did you want me to move over or are you comfortable?” 

“I’m fine, goodnight, my love.” 

“Goodnigt,” He whispered back. 

-

It was Saturday afternoon, the play was to begin after dinner. You wanted to be excited yet the thought had your stomach turning.

You heard rumors flying around you left and right, “did you hear, malfoys breaking up with yn”, “Draco cheated on her”, and “Pansys gonna take him”. You would be lying if you said it wasn’t getting to you.

“Hey, Draco, how are you feeling?” You asked, Draco was reading over his lines, pacing back and forth. 

“I-i’m fine, you're not supposed to be here, please, leave. Me and Pansy need to practice.”

ouch

Considering you had just seen Mrs. Parkinson, and Astoria you knew he just wanted you gone. Were the people right? Maybe he was just a little too stressed.

You did just as he asked, and without a word walked out. Unfortunately you walked right into Mrs.Malfoy.  

“Oh Yn, how are you? Have you seen Draco?” 

“Oh, yeah I just saw him, but apparently we’re not allowed to go in there. He just asked me to leave. So how have you been, where is Mr.Malfoy if you don’t mind?” You asked, with a light smile.

“Unfortunately he couldn’t make it. But we’re doing okay. Has Draco asked you about Christmas break? We wanted you to come see us.” 

You gave her a confused smile, why wouldn't he ask you?

“Oh, uhm yeah, but I’m not sure if I’m able to go just yet, I would love to see you though.”  You answered. 

“That’s okay, well I’ll see you in there.” You gave her a nod and left to see your friend Amara.

-

“He told you to leave?” She asked, you nodded eagerly. 

“Yeah, and he didn't tell me about Christmas, what if what everyones saying is true? What if he actually leaves me?” You asked, your words full of hurt and discomfort. 

“Yn, he’s not going to leave you over a stupid kiss, espeacially with someone he knows your insecure about. And Christmas is probably just a coincidence.” 

Amira stated, trying to relieve you, but it only slightly helped. 

But who could blame you? Everyone around you is talking about what they think is going to be happening. You were allowed to have your doubts. 

It was time for the play. 

You braced yourself for what is to come, wearing one of Draco’s black hoodies, making sure it was a long sleeve. 

You made your way to the great hall, finding a seat next to Luna and Neville. 

“What's wrong, Yn?” Luna asked, once you took your seat. You shook your head, putting a gentle smile on your face. 

“Just a little nervous is all.” You answered, adjusting yourself, scanning the room for a blonde. 

Your eyes landed on his, you watched as he hugged his mother, Pansy standing nearby. 

“I can see that you're sad, has Draco done something?” She asked again, very innocent and softly.

“Not yet, but that's okay. I guess I just have to play the waiting game for now.” You murmured. Neville scrunched his nose in confusion, but he decided not to question you. 

“Okay, well I wish the best for you and whatever it may be going on.” Luna continued. 

You envied Luna. She is an amazing person, she has a golden heart. There is not one bad or even half bad quality that you’ve noticed came along with her. People find her to be weird and tend to stay their distance, but she is so lovely. She sees things differently for sure, yet she always manages to stay so positive. You adored everything about her.

“Thank you everyone for coming. Please enjoy Hogwarts' first play and our interpretation of the muggle play ‘Romeo and Juliet.’” Professor McGonogal stated, stepping off the stage and beginning the play.

-

You watched the play go on, you were not only impressed but also extremely proud of your boyfriend. However the not couldn’t be said for Pansy. You hated seeing her as the enemy and attempted to shake out that part of you. 

You watched intently in awe as Draco and Pansy portrayed the characters very well. 

You watched the way he held her and looked at her, just like he looked like you. He’s acting, that's all it is, you thought.

Pansys long brunette hair swayed on top of her shoulders, you could never deny that she was beautiful. She had many boys wrapped around her finger, she could pull anyone she wanted with barely any effort.

This is it, you thought. You could only watch. You studied Draco’s expressions. You could see through most of his emotions, and watched his face contort between passion and an awfully awkward look. 

You watched him put his acting to work, instinctively discarding the face of awkwardness and replacing it with passion and intimacy. 

He leaned in, as did she, and closed the space between them. 

A tear fell from your eye, you felt as though your relationship had just come to an end. You had been practicing plea’s for Draco to stay since you found out about the kiss, which now you had worked out by figuring out which one exactly to use.

Although you had been contemplating what could or could not happen in your eyes. Thats when it hit you. 

He could actually leave. 

Draco was your oxygen, he was the light of your life and though you had only been dating for just over a year, he made you significantly happier than you were able to make yourself. That man has made you feel things you were never able to feel with anyone else, mentally and yes also physically. 

You felt over the moon whenever you were around him, you were ecstatic just getting a look at him, and oh how he could get you flustered. You couldn’t believe your ears when Draco asked you for Hogsmeade. You couldn't imagine a world without him, you went as far as to imagine a future with a man you’ve watched from afar for years. You loved him dearly and to think that he even considered leaving you at one point or another made you want to throw up. 

Tear after tear streamed down your cheeks, you couldn't watch any longer so you decided to make a trip to the bathroom. 

Once you got to the prefect bathroom, you slid down the wall and cupped your face in your hands and sobbed as if it were the last thing you’d ever do.

“Hey, knock knock, anyone there?” You heard a voice come from the other side of the door.

“Yeah, I’m done, sorry.” You answered, wiping your face with Draco’s hoodie, inhaling his scent as you did so. You stood up, opening the door to a very tall ginger who you knew as either Fred or George Weasley. 

“Shouldn’t you be at the show?” He asked. 

“Uhm yeah, which one are you?” You asked, looking him head to toe.

“George, and you are Yn,” You nodded at his gentle words. 

You scooted behind him, and murmured “I should be getting back now, see you around.” Before making your way back. 

Unfortunately yet somewhat fortunately, when you got back you saw that the show had ended and everyone was on the stage, bowing and saying ‘thank you’s’. 

You saw Draco, up on stage holding Pansy’s waist. You caught his eye and watched his smile drop, making your stomach- in turn- drop. 

He looked at your semi wet face and droopy mascara, flipping over what was supposed to be his happy night. 

You watched everyone begin watching off stage, Draco walking straight to his mother, and Pansy to you. 

“Hey, you did great.” You smiled full of sorrow. You watched her smile grow, making your heart throb. 

“Thank you! Where were you, you left in the middle of the show, what happened?” She asked, a flood of guilt washed over you. 

“Oh, I needed to use the bathroom. Sorry about that. But you guys did amazing!” You exclaimed. A deep blush flooded Pansy’s cheeks. 

“Well I’m going to go see my mom, talk to you later.” She said, walking away leaving you stranded, students absolutely everywhere. 

Suddenly, you felt a very familiar hand wrap itself around your wrist. It held three silver rings, which burned into your skin. 

He pulled you away, to the back of the room, he moved left and right dragging you along with him. Finally he found his mother, bringing his arm around your waist to greet her. 

“Draco, darling, you did phenomenal!” She said, leaving her son with a faint blush and beautiful smile plastered on his face. You were stuck admiring his features. 

“Thank you mother.” He responded, you looked up at him, smiling. Looking back over at his mum. 

“Well, I should be on my way, my dear, talk to you soon, love you.” 

Draco nodded, whispering an I love you too.

She gave him a hug before making her way to the entrance of the school and apparating home. 

Draco dropped the happy smile on his face, dragging you to his prefect dorm. 

He gently pushed you into his room, shutting the door behind him. “Why’d you leave?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed beside you. 

“First, you did absolutely incredible and secondly, I needed to use the washroom.” You answered, watching him sigh. 

“You know I don’t like it when you lie to me.” He stated, in a very stern voice. You hated lying to Draco, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be honest. 

“I’m not lying, why would you say that?” You asked, scrunching your face in fake confusion. 

“Oh really? Is that the story you're sticking to?” You nodded confidently in response. 

“Well Weaselbee told me otherwise.” You felt your heart drop, a frustrated sigh left your throat, you threw your head back trying to blink the new forming tears away. 

“How much did he tell you?” You exhaled, why did George have to say anything? 

“Why were you crying?” He asked, using his index finger and thumb to make you look at him.

“It’s nothing. No need to worry, Blaise told me they are throwing a party for you in the common room, you should go. You're the man of the hour of course.” You stammered, hoping the newly formed tears threatening to spill would just disappear.

“No, not until I get an answer.”  

“Fine, look I’m sorry, just seeing you kiss her and look at her. Have you heard what everyone’s been saying? And your mother told me about Christmas, I just, I don't know. Maybe you’d be better off with Pansy, it seems to me that you two really are Romeo and Juliet.” You answered, letting out a choked sob and not even trying to stop the tears anymore.

“Yn, don't you get it. I don’t like Pansy like that, as a matter-of-fact I resent her. I absolutely hated having to work with her. She’s annoying and petty. I would’ve much rather had you to work with. You are the most amazing girl I have ever and will ever know, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.” He started,

“And as for Christmas, It’s the beginning of November, darling, I wanted it to be a surprise. I need you to understand that I would never in eternity try to hurt you, I have only ever wanted to see you happy. I fucking love you and nothing will ever change that. It's you and me, we are Romeo and Juliet.” 

It was true, never once had he told you a lie, and never has since. You guys really were Romeo and Juliet. 

A/n: Sorry if this is absolute shit, but i hope you enjoyed it, thank you guys for 56 followers again! Requests are open!! 

[boratanical]

graphics guide

a guide filled with basic info, tips, and answers to common questions that i hope helps people who want to start making graphics

*this was made based on my experiences of making graphics and is what i thought was important to cover but everyone has different ways and approaches so dont feel the need to follow everything on here

what is a graphic?

a graphic (also known as ‘gfx’) is a image edit that incorporates various elements (textures, filters, text, etc) in order to visualize a idea or to create a aesthetic composition 

unlike making gifs, there is no right or proper way to make a graphic so dont get too caught up in the idea that a graphic should look a certain way - just stick with your style and what you think looks good 

anatomy

image/subject

usually the main focus of the whole graphic

you should always try to use a sharp hd picture - getting it from the original source is always the best option 

make sure the source of the picture allows editing - pictures from public sources like a company or the news can be edited while fansite pics and scans need to have permission asked (and if they give you permission make sure you link them when you post your graphic!)

coloring 

often referred as ‘psd’ because that is the format they are in (i.e. pink psd pack)

comprise of multiple layers that can alter the images look 

a lot of people make their own colorings since the outcome of the look also depends on the image’s original coloring 

textures

smaller cut out images that are often used to decorate the graphic

can also refer to a image that can be use as a background of a graphic

can be found in the form of a png (copy + paste into graphic) or a brush (”painted” on to the graphic) 

avoid using any textures that does not state the original poster made them - you could unintentionally be using someone’s work that was not made to be used [read more about it here + resources that you can actually use]

text

text can be used to tell information or just for decoration

try to choose fonts and colors that are legible

faq 

what software can i use to make graphics

most people use some version of photoshop (i currently use photoshop cc 2018) and a lot people have it cracked but if you cant afford photoshop, find a cracked version or a patcher (i used adobe zii 3.0.4 for mac), or are uncomfortable with getting a cracked version then there are other softwares that are just as good!

i can only vouch for gimp since i used it when i first started making gfxs. it is very similar to photoshop and shares most of the same tools and has a similar look to photoshop. it is also probably the most popular photoshop alternative and would totally recommend it if you cant get photoshop!

[visit + download gimp here]

where do you get your pictures from

official sources such as teasers companies release, photos released by press, photos from idol’s instagram - basically photos that are made for the public to see are whats best to use for a gfx. you should download the photos straight from the source so you get it at its highest quality 

some phrases you can use to search for pictures on google: - [group name] photoshoot - [idol name] press  - [group name] showcase  - [idol name] teaser

remember the more specific you are in your search the better! also when you search through google make sure you check your source!

avoid getting photos from reposting websites like we heart it and pinterest  avoid using fansite pictures and scans unless you are granted permission

i don’t know where to start/i’m overwhelmed and i don’t know what to do/ where should i begin

figure out what you want to make or a theme you want to follow - do you want to make a simple graphic or a infographic? do you want it to center around a certain theme like a comeback or a photoshoot? once you determine what you want to do it becomes easier getting ideas and finding stuff you will need for the gfx

example thought process: “i want to make a loona graphic” →  do you want it to be the whole group or a certain member or unit? will it just be a simple gfx or a AU gfx or based on a event that the group is doing? “i’ve decided on doing a kim lip one” → do you want it to have a certain theme like kim lip smiling or kim lip with blonde hair? is there a certain frame of time in which you want the graphic to represent like during eclipse era or hi high era?  “i want it to be from max and match era with her teasers” → from here you can start finding pictures to use and thinking of colors and textures that would fit your theme

where do you get ideas/inspiration from

i mean it’s different for everyone but for me i literally just think of stuff and i’m like wow i want to make that happen asdfsdfj but mostly when i see pictures or watch something thats where i suddenly get a idea 

but tumblr is full of graphic makers!!! ive seen so many amazing graphics from various fandoms like kpop, anime, marvel, etc. 

some amazing graphic editors i know myself include: primirene, ireone, nctjaemin, celo-mar, 1hyungseo, jeongahn, haechxnie, sonxiumin, syua, lulumelody, dinomite, lovelyeo, joohys, whatchatalkabout, yveu, maerinah, mihyon, lorbits, cherryjennie, thatporcelain, monoka, ifbin, 7ww

some other places you can look at are behance (dont go on behance if you have a cracked ver of ps - it might trigger a ingenue software alert that is a huge pain to deal with), pinterest, deviantart, dribble, and probably any social media platform if you just look up #graphicdesign

remember if you take inspiration from someone’s work then you should cite them in your caption - if you are afraid that you might’ve accidentally copied someone when you were trying to take inspiration from them its best to either try to remake the gfx again or just to ask the creator permission if its fine if certain details are similar/same

my stuff sucks how do i get better

literally just keep on making stuff aka practice. you can’t improve if you don’t bother putting effort. 

ways i’ve forced myself into practicing making gfxs is by: 1) starting a gfxs series - its self paced and is based on what you want to make (i.e. introducing my biases gfx series, my favorite outfits gfx series, etc) 2) taking in requests - people who would request from you probably like your stuff so its a win win situation (i.e. send me a idol + era, send me your bias + palette, send me a group and i’ll make a gfx of my fav member, etc)

tips

only sharpen your pictures after you are done resizing them, if you sharpen and then resize it might result in a more blurry or grainy picture 

always save your graphic every 5-10 mins in case photoshop crashes 

 have two copies of your image cutout: one will be the original and the other one will be the one you edit with - in case you mess up like over erasing or over sharpening your image you have a back up you can use

stick with a color palette so you don’t get overwhelmed when having to color everything and it makes all the graphic panels you have look more cohesive 

on photoshop you can favorite fonts!!! take advantage of it!!! your computer has a lot of fonts saved on it and it takes forever to look through a whole list of fonts so by favoring fonts you can see all of the fonts that you like to use for graphics

combine a png pack to one psd → when you open a png pack you will probably get a lot of png files and it gets annoying having a lot of tabs open in photoshop when most of them are just textures so by putting all of those pngs into one psd you can cut down the files you open and can easily see all of your options 

make folders dedicated to colorings and textures that way you can easily access them instead of looking through your computer for a certain file

name your layers... i dont do it because its easy for me to tell what layer is what but when you are working with a lot of layers its best just to name them it’ll make life easier

lock your main image/subject so that when you play with texts’ and textures’ location you don’t accidentally move your main image

use curves to help get a photo back to its original coloring! like if you have a photo that has a weird filter on it just use curves and it’ll help the picture look more natural! [tutorial]

try warping your text to make it stand out more! you can access it by pressing the icon on the top text bar that has a T with a curved line under it. i use flag and wave the most

alter a particular color by using a selective color layer

rather than changing the actual color of an image/texture you can: create new layer → select the image/texture and color it on the new layer instead of on top of the image/texture → change the opacity or the mode of the layer so that the color is put on the image/texture while keeping its detailing and not affecting the actual image/texture

resources

colorings: can be found on deviantart or tumblr just look up ‘psd coloring’ or ‘[color] psd’ 

textures: can be found on deviantart (check to see if its og content or stolen) simply just search what you are trying to find or ‘png pack’ or ‘texture pack’ common textures you can try to find: vintage flowers, memphis shapes, organic shapes, doodles other wesbites: pngtree, creative market, lost and taken, spoongraphics

fonts: if you are looking for a certain font then you can just do a google search but if you are browsing then dafont and font squirrel are really good websites too some of my favorite fonts: abril fatface, agfatumc, antonellie calligraphy, arcadeclassic, bebas neue, century gothic, couture, daily news 1915, dark larch, hondurhas, kotori rose, krinkles, risingstar, sant joan despi, studly, zing rust

color palettes: i made one myself which you can find here, color hunt, and honestly a quick google search will give you tons of options

if you have any questions, other stuff you want me to cover, or want to add more resources and tips then please dm or send an ask! i hope this helps!

[marcomoochala]

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to one very special machine, the Legendary HP Designjet T3500. In my humble opinion possibly one of the best large format printer and wide format plotter in Singapore (for medium size companies).

So why do i say it is one of the best, well let me share some of my experiences so that this may help in making a valuable decision when your purchasing or considering purchasing this machine.

Lets begin for those inclined to the technical side, at the time of writing this article, it has still the heaviest technical load outs for a machine at its price point. Even though HP , Canon and Epson have updated their machines, in terms of technical superiority at this price point it still reigns supreme , why is that so?

Intel i5 Core Processor

2.5 GB of ram

128 GB of Virtual memory

500 GB AES Encrypted HDD

A 100 Page Stacker

Jumbo Rolls

So you see folks…, this machine lacks in no way any lack of technical prowess. So how do all of these things actually really matter what makes this machine one of the best?

First of all lets begin from the very top of the machine and then work our way down so that we can fully appreciate the form and the design of this machine , which is no surprise as to why it won the IF design awards.

The Stacker: 100 Pages Of Perfectly Stacked A1 Copies

You might be wondering, why is the stacker even mentioned after all….how exciting could a stacker be? well if you think about it closely, the T3500 gets its form factor from the mercury line of HP products. This most notably is the HP T930, HP T2530, HP T1530, which formed the core of the machine. Now remember prior to HP’s innovation most plotters did not come with a stacker ( unless of course they were the really expensive ones) A masterstroke in design and functionality the HP Mercury Platform stackers, for the first time allowed an affordable solution for this very important aspect…..stacking.

So what! Its a damn Stacker! whats so special about a stacker! well, here’s the thing, suppose you have a set of drawings to print out, 1 set 20 copies, if you should purchase any machine without a stacker….then yes…you’d get a basket. You heard me right, a basket. Who wan’ts their precious drawings ending up in a basket, crumpled, unsorted, disorganized and  need i mention a Glorious Waste Of Time!! can you imagine yourself sending 20 copies to your plotter , then having to retrieve them from a basket which practically has other drawings on top of it and then having to take them out place them flat and straighten it all over again…jeez give me a break. Trust me if your a business owner you owe it to your staff and your company to invest in a machine with a stacker..if not it will just waste their time and by wasting their time wasting your money.

One of the most convenient and easy ways to stack and retrieve your drawings.

Instead, imagine a scenario, you just sent 20 copies to the plotter, its all been printed. Now its held on neatly by a stacker , simply walk up to your machine hold the copies on both sides and pull straight up….really its that simple. Oh and did i mention, its a 100 page stacker so should you attempt to print 100 a1 drawings on any other machine…fair warning its gonna get chaotic really quickly.  One last thing, other machines do have stackers, however they seem to be rather…how should i say..angled…so in order to see what you were printing you’d have to walk to the back, lift a copy and verify it was indeed your drawing…such hassles should be avoided at all cost!

The Scanner : Color / Mono Scans up to 36″ wide

When it comes to scanning, the HP T3500 is actually powered by another industry giant Contex Scanners. In the world of high performance and good quality scans context is hands down the leader. The HP T3500 wide format plotter comes equipped with this amazing peice of technology from contex. This combination offers seamless integration in a perfect sized bundle. So lets learn about this scanner.

First of all, the tech specs(for the tech inclined),

7.5 inches per second in monochrome

2.5 inches per second in color

600 dpi max scan

Scan formats : pdf, jpeg, tiff etc.

Not bad for an all in one scanner…again..tech specs are one thing, lets think of a real life scenario i see every time i see and speak to the customer. Most drawings are rolled, and you know what happens when your drawing is rolled….well it curls. Don’t you just hate having to uncurl your drawing! imagine you had to do 30 scans…curl ,uncurl, curl, uncurl and so on. In a short time your going to get really really really frustrated . So its not really the technical load out that impresses me about this scaner . its two things one its large table size and two its auto width detection. Let me explain.

When you have a large format print or wide format document that is curled and you try to scan it, you better make sure your scanner has the right table width for you to easily slot in your scan drawings. If at the point of inserting your drawing you have to fiddle around just to get that damn curl out of the way the time taken to scan is going to be exponential. The image below shows you what i mean, take the two examples from two leading manufacturers and critically examine the insertion point of the document..then ask yourself..is it going to be easy to slot that drawing in?

Narrow Scan Path

A Super Narrow Scan path

A narrow path might have been advantages to the brave spartan men in the movie 300, but to the brave architect , engineer or construction personnel, not really. So what i love about the T3500 large format plotter is that its scan path is HUGE!  You literally get a working table for you to lay your curled drawings flat and easily slot it into the scanner!

A massive scan path to easily place and flatten your curled up drawings

I hope that now you can clearly see the difference a wide scanning input can make, especially when you have a great many scans to scan. The auto detection of the width is also really nifty, you don’t really have to align the document as per the size of the table, simply insert any document at its center and then the machine will automatically realize its width. It performs other cool functions like anti skew and neatly crops out your drawing for you. So its as simple as that.

Scan and copy quicksets :  Making life a little easier

Owning a large format plotter and large format scanner is suppose to make your life much more smoother and alot more efficient. In this respect the HP T3500 comes with this ability to create quick sets.

What is a quick set? : A quick set is a set of parameters that have been preset for you so  that when you walk up to the machine no further inputs are needed.

This works in a simple way for scanning or copying, support you have a color a1 size drawing that you now wish to print in mono chrome. well you can easily do that now. Simply walk up to your machine , slick on scan, select the quick set you desire and thats it.

In another respect you can also make quick sets of enlargements and reductions, so for example you can easily enlarge an a3 size document without having to worry about percentages if you have a quick set ready, simply walk up to the machine and select A3 to A1 and there you have it. No manual calculation needed or any of that brain numbing work.

There are factory quick sets that come with the machine but you can always add your own and you can also delete them if you find them no longer useful. The scanner allows you also to scan a multi page document, so if you have 10 copies and simply want one pdf file, then select the multi page file format. Its really that simple!

Well folks as this is part 1 of my blog post of the T3500,  i shall continue again to show you how and why this plotter is one of the best large format printers in singapore…and trust me we are just getting started!

Do write to me or visit my webpage below to see my entire portfolio and i look forward to hearing from you!

Full Range Of Machines : www.largeformatspecialist.com.sg/

WordPress                   : http://largeformatplotters.wordpress.com

Facebook:                   : www.facebook.com/uscsolutions

Add Me On Google+      : google.com/+MarcoMoochala

  Sales & Marketing CAD Division USC Solutions Pte Ltd

203A Henderson Road

#02-03 Henderson Industrial Park

Singapore 159546

  M: +65 90266787

T: +65 6278 3110

F: +65 6273 4208

      One Of The Best Large Format Printer In Singapore (Part 1) Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to one very special machine, the Legendary HP Designjet T3500…