How do you start a new piece?

[AlmightyQuinn]

It sounds really simple, but how do you start a new piece?

Sometimes, particularly with websites and forum skins, I like to do a quick sketch on a piece of paper! It's a lot easier to gain the concept and is a LOT quicker to do, because if you're not happy you can just tear it up and start again.

It's slightly harder if you're just creating a signature banner of some sort, but it does allow you to gain the concept before you move on to your chosen designing application.

What do you guys do? Any tips?

[??pril]

See, I would love to be able to sketch out what I see in my head beforehand. I'd love even more to be able to have a wacom tablet to do that. But I've never been one to really sketch it out first, I kind of just go with the flow and build around what I'm making as I go. I should get more organized about that

As for signature banners, I usually start out just making the background. Then I let what I've made inspire me from there as far as adding images or text. Sometimes I do start out a banner with a specific theme in mind, but most of the time it's not that planned out for me.

Which can be a problem sometimes because I end up having a banner but then nothing to add to complete it.

[Oneeb]

When designing websites, I make a rough outline, either in my head or on paper, or both, then I make mockup of it in Photoshop, tweaking colors, shadows, borders, etc. to make it a cohesive whole, before coding the mockup.

[Deleted]

I always start out with a logo or name. Ill open Photoshop and just start on a name ill just type it out in a very bland bold black text and from that i decide if this name would need a icon logo,if the text will work it self, if the text would look better in a photo etc.. then i go to a navigation bar and work my way down. everything is based off the name and logo.

[AlmightyQuinn]

May 6, 2013 17:10:58 GMT -5 ??pril said:

As for signature banners, I usually start out just making the background. Then I let what I've made inspire me from there as far as adding images or text.  

This is probably the best way to do it with a signature banner, as it normally ensures the picture in the foreground blends well with the background!

May 6, 2013 18:36:51 GMT -5 @twdfan said:

I always start out with a logo or name. Ill open Photoshop and just start on a name ill just type it out in a very bland bold black text and from that i decide if this name would need a icon logo,if the text will work it self, if the text would look better in a photo etc.. then i go to a navigation bar and work my way down. everything is based off the name and logo.

I think the name is key! If the name of the piece related to.. I don't know.. fire maybe; you know immediately what the colour scheme is going to be.

What about sizes? Most people always make their signature banners the same size, but do you ever start with anything a bit bigger then crop after? I find it's helpful to do it that way to avoid 'dead space'.

[Stealth]

I start with a stock or render, then background, then color variations, then lighting and some times depth, then text as I see fit.

[Deleted]

I haven't done a actual sig in so long i wouldn't even know where to start... i just got cs6 and im upgrading from cs4 so the amount of new features is very overwhelming maybe ill have a go at a sig later but im working on a design now so lets see how it goes

[Teg]

I'm with Stealth. I start with the stock, and work on the rest. I place the stock, work out the background and lighting, then fix up coloring. If I decide to use text I do, if not then I leave the text out.

[Camilo ?]

May 6, 2013 17:10:58 GMT -5 ??pril said:

As for signature banners, I usually start out just making the background. Then I let what I've made inspire me from there as far as adding images or text. Sometimes I do start out a banner with a specific theme in mind, but most of the time it's not that planned out for me.

^^^