The reason why Lobster has received such acclamation relies on its careful design, a large number of ligatures and little touches, plus a high attention to details, turning Lobster into one of a kind in the world of typefaces. The font went mainstream once it was included on the Google Fonts API and everyone found out about its existence, since that day we have seen more and more sites, designs and applications adopting Lobster as their pennant.

The problem is that even when we designers are often behind the establishing of new tendencies and art expressions, we are susceptible of getting absorbed by the market and thus end up employing the same thing that everyone uses just because it’s the “trend”. This has happened to Lobster sadly, reaching a point where some designers have gone as far as calling it the new ComicSans!!!. The issue is that the font is so darn appealing that many of us don’t resist placing it in some part of our designs, fortunately we’re starting to gain conscience about this situation and things are about to change.

What started as a classy font designed for retro designs and elegant websites has now spread to corporate websites, technology blogs and applications, it seems that people think that using Lobster is a synonym of good design. If we add the fact that people are becoming addicts of the whole “vintage” thing, it was to expect that Lobster was going to be present in every hipster gig poster and retro-looking application.

What is the need of using Lobster on this poster?, everything else is using a SansSerif typeface and if the idea was selling cinema as an old tradition that we should always remember, then they’re sending a confusing message that mixes a “retro” font with modern colors and fonts.

Used as a display font, Lobster delivers excellent results such as in the example above. Unfortunately, many people have begun to use it as a web font, working with sizes below 16 px that totally destroy the beauty of Lobster. What pisses me the most is that now, thanks to the @font-face property and the Google Font API, the possibilities for choosing a font are enormous, so there’s no reason for sticking with Lobster.

It’s funny the fact that we complain about the people that refuses to abandon Internet Explorer or those who think that Papyrus is the best choice for making a wedding invitation, however we keep using Lobster for every new freebie we make and if someone ask for a “vintage” look then voilà, Lobster is here to save the day. Before Lobster was here and even before Mr. Impallari began his career in typography design, there was a whole array of fonts that designers worked with for creating “retro” designs, so if someone says that the reason why he uses Lobster is because it’s the best font ever, then he’s lying!.

The previous example is clearly an abuse of Lobster, even when the tittle looks good, there was no need to use the same font for the author’s name because as I said before, Lobster shouldn’t be shrink to such small sizes.

This is a classic example of Lobster abuse. Many of the latest freebies featured in sites such as ThemeForest have been displaying lots of freebies and resources with Lobster everywhere, the colors and the style of the ad itself are not precisely “vintage”, however it supposedly looks good because it was made with Lobster.

I can’t deny the fact that this “Under Construction” design looks beautiful, nevertheless I think that Lobster was not the only way of making this design to look good.

Lobster has also taken control over blogs, here we can see a Lobster title that does not connect with the rest of the page made with SansSerif fonts, pixel perfect elements and lots of white areas.

On this case the Lobster usage is great, as it was picked for making a “retro” website along with a beautiful color palette. This is a clear example of when and how you can use Lobster, though the upper left banner and the texts located behind the menu elements are quite small, making them hard to read.

Another example of Lobster abuse, there was absolutely no need of bringing Lobster into this set of clean and modern design elements.

Finding “vintage” themes such as this one has become something very common; hopefully this saturation of cyan-almond websites and Lobster titles with the same “Inner Shadow” effect over and over can persuade people to look for something else and thereby stop this Lobster invasion!.

I’m not advocating for a cease of activities regarding the Lobster font, actually I’m a big fan of this beautiful typeface and I have used it in many of my designs. What I’m asking for is a little judgement before deciding that Lobster is the best option you have, there is a big shelf filled with beautiful fonts that can help you prettify your designs. I disagree with those who think of Lobster as the new ComicSans because there’s a huge bridge between the two of them, therefore the only thing I suggest to every designer out there is: Stop abusing this lovely font before we start seeing it in every single restaurant out there!.

Well no more words, now I invite you to enjoy this quick dose of inspiration from this great Latin artist.

Shirt illustrations

Vector illustrations

If you want to see more amazing vector illustrations, don’t forget to follow this brilliant artist, he’s currently publishing 5 new illustrations per week during the next 365 days, so you’ll be truly inspired by following his work!!!.

Ingredients

• Digital camera with Manual or Bracketing options available
• Photomatix Pro
• Adobe Photoshop
• Topaz Labs

Step 1: Taking the pictures

The first thing I did was shooting three different pictures at different exposure values, you can do this by manipulating the aperture and speed values or if you’re one of the few lucky ones with the “bracketing” option incorporated in your camera then you just have to use it and the camera will do all the job.

Step 2: Photomatix

Now that we have the initial seasoning, we’re going to merge down these pictures through Photomatix, an amazing software that many HDR artists love. Click on “Load Bracketed Photos” and follow the next screenshots.

So now we have a rough version of our afternoon picture, this means we still need to do some processing in order to achieve a better result.

Proceed by making click on the “Tone Mapping” option, this will open a side menu from which we can adjust all the values such as exposure, contrast and brightness in order to obtain the best result possible.

The Tone Mapping window displays a series of options that allow you to customize the resulting picture according to your preferences, you can manipulate things such as saturation, contrast, brightness and more.

Sometimes Tone Mapping is the best option but others you might want to opt for Exposure Fusion. The first one is commonly used for developing the famous HDR effect, while the second one is utilized for correcting pictures that have some exposure problems, take your time to experiment with the different handlers till you’re satisfied with the result before moving to Photoshop.

This is the result we’ve obtained in the end, now click on Process and save the picture as a TIFF file and open your Photoshop to start working on the final touches.

The first thing to do is taking the Crop tool to remove the red halo that usually appears after working with Photomatix, this will not affect your photograph as the halo is just a few pixels wide.

Once you’re done with the cropping, create a duplicate of the layer and place it on top of the original, having the duplicate selected we’re going to use the Topaz Labs plugin.

You can learn more about Topaz Labs in our article HDR photography, mastering the technique, in that article we explain the steps for installing the plugin as well as the website where you can download a free trial or purchase a copy. Go to Filter>Topaz Labs>Topaz Adjust 4 and wait for the new window to show up.

If you want, you can experiment with the different Presets, though in this case we’ve chosen the Dramatic preset due its capacity to enhance skies and background elements, hit OK and you’ll be back in Photoshop.

Good, now select the duplicate layer and change the blending mode to Luminosity, then adjust the Opacity value to 67%, this will be enough to highlight some details without making the picture look too crispy, now we just need to play with Curves and our afternoon scene will be done.

Following the previous screenshots will help you enhance the warm tones of your picture, resulting in a more beautiful afternoon scene!, you can make some additional manual adjustments but that’s up to you, which means that now our afternoon scene is complete, let’s take a look at it.

There you have it, our afternoon scene is complete, what’s your method for working with pictures like this?, we’d love to know your opinion so don’t forget to leave us your comments, we hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and we’ll see you next time, hasta pronto!…

Agafito is a graphic designer from Colombia, he went to Los Libertadores University and is one of the guys in charge of making most of the illustrations for Totto during the next 2 years, so every time you see a Totto accessory (bags, t-shirts, pouches…), it’s probably Agafito the one behind the design process of that piece. Well, after telling us a little bit about the funny story behind Agafito Pelaes, which came out more by coincidence that by brand choosing, he talked with us about the different stages that he follows when making a new product as well as all the different things that he has learned during these years.

Mishës: How’s designing for products like?.

Agafito: Well, at first it was a little bit odd because we’re not taught in college about designing and illustrating for specific products, the process has many differences in comparison to 2D surfaces (now most of my work goes to 3D products), for example, designing for a bag means that you need to control what’s going on in all the different sides of the product.

Mishës: And what’s been the hardest thing of the process?.

Agafito: Oh man, one of the most complicated things has to be designing for girls … that was really hard at first because it was something that I’ve never done before!. I’ve designed for both genres in the past, usually following my own style, but creating something for girls-only is something quite different that still gives me some trouble occasionally.

Mishës: And what’s the process you follow when you need to release one of these artworks for a new collection?.

Agafito: Let’s see, the whole process begins by digging about the latest tendencies around the world, that allow us to know what are the colors that will be trending next season and many more “crazy” things, so then what we do is breaking down this information and isolate the information that we’re actually interested about, such as the colors we’re going to use.

Once this part is done, we make a “street vision”, which means that all designers that are involved in the process have to watch lots of TV shows, so we do a lot of zapping and spend some time watching Cartoon Network, Disney XD, Nickelodeon, etc. We also make some online research to find out what’s currently capturing kids’ attention, we also talk directly with some of them to find out a little more about their tastes and preferences. Then we set up a meeting in which we socialize about the different things that we found during the “street vision”. That’s how the latest Robot-Rock collection was born, thanks to all the things we analyzed regarding tastes and current tendencies amongst children.

The next thing to do is making the initial sketches, then I start working on the illustration and pass it to the approval committee to see what changes they propose. Once the illustration is finally approved,  we choose the technique we’re going to work with and send it to production.

Mishës: And what additional considerations you need to take at the time of making the illustration?.

Agafito: All illustrations have to be very “generic” in the good sense of word, I mean that we cannot inject too much of our personal taste towards certain things but on the opposite, we have to be really careful in picking a graphic that will attract as many kids as possible.

Mishës:It must be awesome to walk down the street and see a kid wearing a bag that you designed, or walk into a store filled with products that you helped to create, right?.

Agafito: It’s something really exciting indeed, at first when I saw a kid wearing one of my bags I got so excited that it made me want to run and say “hey!, I made that character in your bag”, then you start to get used to it and you lose the excitement, specially when you see those products that you’ve designed but then were manipulated by tons of people, making me feel as if I’m staring at an unknown work though.

Mishës: And with all the knowledge you have acquired, have you ever considered going solo with your designs?.

Agafito: Of course I have!, that was a very recurrent theme every time I went out with some of my coworkers, “we should start our own company”, but then the idea was soon forgotten and it remained as a beer’s conversation, therefore we never did anything till last year when we decided to make things work and now we’re super excited with this new project!.

Mishës: Well congratulations!, thanks a lot for spending some time with us and good luck with your future projects, we will stay in touch to share with our fans the launch of your new brand, please let us know so we can make the corresponding coverage!.

Agafito: Thanks guys, sure I’ll let you know!, thanks a lot for your support and granting me this space in your blog.

If you want to know more about Agafito, don’t forget to check his portfolio to see more of his work, also leave us your questions and comments about the interview, see you around!.

The PSD file comes fully layered so you can easily edit it. The homepage contains several sections, including a main slider, latest projects, latest blog entries and in footer you can find the contact information, latest Flickr pics, latest tweets and copyright.

 All the images belong to Marcela Sánchez and cannot be utilized without her previous permission. You can download the PSD and use it for non-commercial purposes.

Don’t forget to leave us your comments and share it with your friends through Facebook and Twitter, what other freebies would you like to see?!.

Download the Designer Portfolio PSD here

Technology and related news

The last year saw many amazing gadgets coming out as well as new software editions, new standards and more, so we’d like to take a look at some of the most important releases and updates that we witnessed in 2011.

Adobe acquires Typekit

One of the most important news for graphic designers during 2011 was the purchase of Typekit by the Adobe team. Typekit has been a leader in the typography market for quite a long, delivering high quality fonts ready to be implemented in web design, the site has reported more than 250K costumers, including some of the biggest names around such as The New York Times and IGN.

From now on, Typekit fonts will be offered as a standalone service and then will be included as part of the Adobe® Creative Cloud, which is one of the latest announcements of the design giant. Hopefully this purchase will benefit designers and artist around the world, let’s see what other things Adobe has to offer this year.

Adobe CS5.5

So we did not see the iPhone 5 seeing the light and we also did not see the Creative Suite 6, however the iPhone 4S came out a few weeks ago and Adobe gave us the CS5.5.  I’ve decided to wait till the CS6 hits the store, as I consider these .5 versions to be just minor updates, also the major programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Fireworks have not been updated, though a new product dubbed Photoshop Touch SDK has been released to help developers build apps for desktop and mobile devices. One of the most important differences between CS5 and CS5.5 is an increase on performance enhancements, providing you with a better editing experience. Another thing to mention is that CS5.5 features two new members of the family, Adobe Audition CS5.5 and Adobe Acrobat X Pro.

In conclusion, Adobe CS5.5 provides some improvements in terms of performance, a major HTML5 integration in response to Apple’s constant ban to Flash and finally a better mobile experience. In our opinion, this is just an attempt for keeping customers happy whilst CS6 hits the market.

HTML5

There’s no doubt that during the past 12 months, HTML5 achieved huge success among designers and developers, changing the way people approach the web. While some people are still arguing about going native or web, HTML5 keeps evolving, blurring the difference between the two of them and setting new standards. This year we had the opportunity of seeing many companies working with HTML5 in their mobile websites, the language provides a great dynamic experience that more and more devices are supporting every day.

Another field where HTML5 is gaining importance is gaming development. These games have become a big hobby for smartphones and tablets owners around the world. Even some Facebook games are now being developed in HTML5, so we’re definitely going to see many great games this year build upon HTML5. Another aspect we need to parse is responsive web design, HTML5 allows you to work with conditional loadings, touch detection and more, therefore it’s going to be easier to create fluid websites with HTML5 only.

One of the most intriguing concepts that started recently is offline caching, a HTML5 trick that allows the browser/device to sync with the browser and remember everything even if the connection is unavailable, this feature has been included in the Kindle Cloud Reader, an Amazon app that works with your Kindle device, offline caching is supported by Firefox 6+, Chrome 11+, Safari 5+ and iOS 4+. This is one of the most exciting features as many times we’d like to work in places where going online becomes something difficult. This year HTML5 is going to bring more surprises to all of us as it continues to evolve, so if you haven’t say goodbye to Flash (only in the web), then it’s time.

Note: Adobe has officially announced that it will cease the Flash support for all mobile devices.

Lytro’s Multifocus Camera

Hitting the market this year, Lytro announced its first multifocus camera last year, the Lytro Light Field Camera. The camera features a 35-280mm equivalent, constant F2 lens that along with a 11 megaray sensor lets you refocus after shooting, meaning no more out of focus pictures. The camera will come in 8 and 16GB versions, with prices ranging between 399 and 499 US, though this double lens technology has been around for quite a while, this is the first commercial version that people will be able to put their hands into.

iPad 2

Before going to Valhalla, Steve Jobs introduced to us the iPad 2, the newest version of the world’s most famous tablet, but what does this new iPad has to offer to us designers?. The iPad 2 comes with 2 cameras (back and front), which is something that can help us take great pictures even if you don’t have your camera around, besides you can download many great photo editing apps to spicify your pictures even more!. iPad 2 features 512 MB of RAM, which makes your browsing experience much pleasant, so now you can enjoy watching videos, processing pictures and more with ease.

The iPad 2 features a high resolution screen that provides you a better browsing experience, you will also find really enjoyable the new multitouch capabilities that will show you the real power of this tablet. In case you’re running a design/tech blog, the iPad 2 has a neat keyboard that overruns Android’s version (that’s a fact), hence if you want to buy a tablet for writing blog posts, then the iPad 2 is your best option, though there’s still a long road to walk before designers will be able to see in a tablet all the great benefits of regular computers.

Latest design news

Secondly, we have those news that mostly designers and web developers put their eyes on, these news include new social sharing websites, major redesigns and a new user interface that will definitely shake things up during 2012, so let’s take a look at these news that caused some controversy in 2011.

Google Plus

What started as the ultimate Facebook killer ended as Orkut and other similar projects, Google Plus is the latest social bet from the famous web company and without a doubt the best attempt so far in building a solid social network. Google Plus includes many great features such as Circles, YouTube and GTalk integration and more, however they failed in the way they presented the product and hence it’s only been used by geeks and famous people around the world.

In terms of design Google Plus is way much better than other networks, with a great icons’ usage and a thoughtful color application, using HTML5 is another bonus point for this social service that hopefully is going to grow throughout 2012 instead as fading out as other Google products.

Facebook Timeline

As usual, Facebook is always leading the controversy headlines, either for breaking people’s privacy or making its interface dummy-proof, this social networks is always on the eye of the hurricane. Recently Facebook launched its timeline, which is the new version of the old profile webpage, many people hated it but in fact, there’s no reason for that other than the common privacy issues.

The new design makes a new space management by displaying in one side your recent activity and on the other your latest interactions with friends and acquaintances, you can also upload a portrait picture along with a small avatar, so now you can show people who you are in two different pictures. Timeline also includes Maps and other sections that where previously harder to find. The only problem that we saw is that this timeline affects your privacy settings and therefore many people will see things you want to keep hidden before you realize the problem.

Twitter redesign

The Twitter guys are not willing to let Facebook take any advantage, and that’s why they also redesigned their website in order to provide a much cleaner an organized homepage. The new Twitter interface allows you to keep an eye on the latest trends on suggestions whilst watching the main tweets, you can also tweet from any screen thanks to the new top bar, which also gives you access to your interactions, discover new topics, customize your profile or search for an username or specific subject.

YouTube redesign

In YouTube’s case, they have revamped their design to make it more social, that’s why from now on you can easily share your favorite videos, stay connected with your friends, check the trending and popular videos and more. You can check the newest videos from your friends and exclusive recommendations based on your interests. YouTube has also started to implement HTML5 in order to adapt to those devices that don’t provide Flash support, so it seems that this year is going to be really exciting for the world’s most famous videos website.

Windows 8 Metro

Finally we have Metro, probably the most exciting thing for many web and graphic designers around. Metro is the given name to the new design language developed for the Windows 7 Phone interface and for the upcoming Windows 8. Metro is the first design revolution in the era of mobile devices, as every single one of them was simply trying to emulate the iOS style with a few customization to make them look “original”. Metro offers a new user experience build upon a careful typography selection, color management and more.

Regarding typefaces, Metro features Swiss-like fonts inspired but those found on the most important transportation systems around the world, that’s where the Metro concept comes from. Metro is characterized by a larger use of plain colors, hierarchies and contrast, removing lots of gradients and chrome elements that are so common in other devices. It seems like the people of Microsoft finally realized how important design is at the time of reaching new costumers and without a doubt, Metro is going to be one of the most exciting things to see in 2012.

So that’s it, those are some of the biggest design and technology news that emerged in 2011, what do you think is going to happen this year?, will HTML5 defeat Flash once and for all?, is Metro going to be the new design paradigm?, the debate is open and we’d like to hear from you, so leave us your thoughts and opinions in our comments section and we’ll see you soon, bye!.

1. Vintage Effect in Photoshop CS5

Our first video tutorial shows you how to easily apply a nice vintage effect to your photographs using Photomatix and Adobe Photoshop.

2. Graphic designer resume, best tips and examples

One of our more popular articles where we share some key tips that will help you create a successful and well-designed curriculum.

3. Tattoos and illustrations by La Duquesa Colectivo

We met the people of La Duquesa Colectivo a few months ago, this Colombian group creates some of the most beautiful tattoos that we’ve ever seen.

4. Best sites to grasp design inspiration

If you’re a graphic designer or aspiring artist, then this showcase will give you plenty of sites where you can instantly boost your creativity.

5. Must-follow people for designers

If you’re into graphic and web design, this list gives you the most important names that you need to keep in mind in order to stay informed with the latest design news and trends.

6. Illustrator strokes, tips and secrets – advanced version

This Illustrator tutorial gives you some handful tips to help you leverage the Stroke tool in this popular Adobe software.

7. Snapping pixels in Illustrator CS5, all problems fixed

One of the most common problems that designers have to face when making pixel perfect designs is snapping pixels, on this tutorial we give you a series of tips to achieve a nice pixel perfect design in Illustrator.

8. Beautiful kite designs

Inspired by the beautiful kites’ season that arrives every year in many countries, we decided to look for some of the most beautiful kite designs that have taken over the sky.

9. Old tree texture in Photoshop

An advanced Photoshop tutorial that shows you a nice method for emulating an old tree texture that unlike low quality pictures, will never pixelate or lose quality.

10. Design portfolio, best sites to showcase your work

Nowadays, one of the easiest ways of gaining exposure at low cost is building an online portfolio, this article shows you some of the most important sites where you must definitely include your work.

11. Illustrator strokes, tips and secrets – beginner’s version

One of our first tutorials, on this article we give you some basic tips to help you harness the Stroke tool in Adobe Illustrator.

Hey Diego!, how’re you doing?, is a pleasure to talk to you once again.

Hey man thanks!, you’re honoring me without a reason! hahaha.

How’s everything going in Australia, I’ve heard that it’s an amazing country, right?.

Yes, Australia is a world apart … the culture, the economy, the lifestyle, the variety of people and scenarios make this a must-see country.

How’s the reception like for graphic designers and artists in the country?.

Well in general terms, it’s pretty good. Australia is a place full of people from all over the world and I think that this cultural diversity makes design and art to be constantly feed by several styles and perceptions, people is very into art down here, and the graphic movement is well represented in different fields such as graffiti, illustration, publishing, web design and more. A few days ago I went to a street art exhibition and I was amazed by the amount of artists that were featured in the event, there were around 50 artists from many places, including international artists such as Bansky!.

Have you considered establishing indefinitely over there?.

I have to say that is a very tempting option, the study and working opportunities are massive!, however it will be too soon for me to make that decision because there are other aspects that can make you go back to your homeland.

Tell us a little bit about your graphic style, how have you managed to develop that particular style that is admired by so many people out there?.

Hahaha, you keep honoring me without a reason my friend. I feel that I still have a long road to walk before mastering my graphic style, though I think that the things I have accomplished so far are the result of countless hours drawing and practicing with different tools, besides I still need to work in important aspects such as the concept as I consider that being too literal is one of my biggest flaws.

What are your main design tools?.

I have plenty of tools, I’ve always had a special fixation towards anatomy and from the past couple of years I’ve been interested in surrealism, I’m a huge fan of James Jean, I’ve been following him for many time, you can also find many great references online as well as in comic books.

I had the chance to see your clip “Me Lleva por 500″, what was your inspiration for creating such an amazing piece?.

Haha well, one of my favorite topics is the one going around all things social, and in Colombia one of the most common things that people complain about is transportation, each year our governors propose the creation of new highways and better transportation options, however the problem relies on the fact that these systems have been changing for the past 50 years and hence they have become a problem that is part of every citizen, that’s why I was interested on working about these characters and hence the most common stereotypes that you see everyday can be seen in my clip.

Have you thought about making new video productions?.

Of course!, animation has always been one of my main goals and I hope to become more involved in that field on the upcoming years.

And regarding color and typography, what are your thoughts on these two aspects?.

I think that they are the bread of life and creation calyx of every designer.

Well Diego, thank you so much for sharing with us, is there any advice you would like to share with young artists and designers that are looking forward to follow your steps?.

Thanks to you!, as for the advice I can this: Love what you do, never stop practicing, watch and study, design and creation cannot be found in sealed packages!.

Today we bring the final edition of our Flickr Monday, we have gathered the best creations that many of you have sent to our Flickr group, which currently includes more than 200 different works from many different artists and designers. We hope you enjoy this post and if you want to get featured on the next edition, please send us your work!.

Step 1: Find the illustration we want

First, we must define the image we want to place in our wall, in this case I’ve chosen a picture of my grandpa to pay him a small tribute. Once you have picked your picture, you can redraw it in Photoshop or Illustrator to highlight the main edges and define the main lights and shadows, then you can make a quick sketch to see how is going to look in your wall.

On this point is where your creativity is required, because whatever you place on this instance is going to be featured in your wall, so let your imagination fly!.

Step 2: One problem, how can we enlarge the image?

I have defined the picture that I want to place in my wall (I have the colors and everything), however, there was something worrying me, and that was the fact that I’m an awful cartoonist and I had no clue of how to translate the image to my wall in a bigger scale. First I thought about printing it in several sheets and then join them with tape, but that seemed too complicated and bothersome, so I figured out an easier and simpler way of solving the problem.

These are the tools I employed:

I went to the nearest stationery and bought a translucent sheet (you can find a special type that allows you to print over them in case you want a more accurate model) and a Sharpie. Then I went back home, I opened Photoshop and I traced the picture on the sheet using the Sharpie while I kept the sheet over the monitor with my other hand. Then I grabbed some cardboard to build a projector (I ended using a box that already had the shape I was looking for), you can build your own box using cardboard and glue/tape. The next thing to do was pasting the translucent sheet in one of the box sides, then I took a lamp, my old tripod and I began making tests.

Step 3: Adjusting the set

This step is very important if you want to make things right, you must find a strong base for your projecting box, in my case I utilized my old tripod and I attached the box to it by using some tape. Having the lamp (the strongest the bulb, the better), I placed it in a steady place (on this case I used a chair), it’s just a matter of being creative and harnessing any object that you find in your house, make sure that the lamp and the box remain still once you start drawing.

Step 4: Projecting the image

Once I had everything set, I made a few tests in order to obtain the sharpest picture possible with the dimensions I wanted, you just need to adjust the distance between the box and the wall and the position of the lamp in order to obtain the best picture possible.

Tip: Do not put the lamb right next to the box because the image might look double (I guess it has something to do with the lamb filaments), instead of that you should move the lamp sideways till the image looks clear enough, this is really easy to accomplish.

Very important tip: Once the box and the lamp are set, do not move them until you finish drawing, if you move them in the middle of the process, it will be hard to obtain the same picture again, so please be careful and take off your bear slippers.

Step 5: Painting the image

Finally, you just need to grab your favorite tool and start painting, you can use brushes, colors, airbrushes and just anything you feel comfortable with, in my case I worked with Sharpie to highlight all the edges.

I made a huge mistake, I traced the entire picture and then I decided to apply a lighter base color, so I covered again with paint and oops!, I accidentally moved the box, so then it was impossible to leave everything as it was before, therefore the final result was slightly different than the original idea.

This was the final result, I hoped you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and you start adding life to your walls before the year ends. On my case I’m already working on my second wall, this time I’m gonna experiment with typography, so once I have it done I’m definitely going to share it with you in a new article.

By the way, don’t forget to send us your mural designs to our Flickr group so we can share it with the rest of our visitors, see you around!.