TWO SLOW DANCERS, GRAPHIC TUTORIALS

000. FINDING YOUR STYLE

(This isn't a tutorial, just a conversation.)

I know that entering the graphic design community is difficult. And even if you've been in the community for a long time, it can still be difficult to gain an audience. But after 5 years, and a lot of different graphic styles, I have found the key.

What an audience is looking for is something that stands out, that makes your graphics different from someone else. And you might be thinking that because of the size of the graphic community, that must be difficult to find something that makes you stand out. But I find that's not true.

01. FINDING YOUR OWN STYLE

I sent a resource back to some of my graphic designer friends and asked them to make graphics with what they were given. They were allowed to use extra resources, but to put the main resources at the forefront of the cover.

And these are the graphics they gave me: 

(From LEFT to RIGHT: me, remuslupout, cIeopatras, luckyvirgo, spiderlad)

As you can see, each designer has a certain style that makes them a great stand-out graphic designer, but while some use the same elements, each interprets it in a different way. And that's what makes them unique.

In a final summary, since I've been on this platform for way too long, I've seen the trend of graphic designers trying to be someone else or try to adopt a graphic style that they might not be good at, or don't like, only for views and comment. I think we all need to understand the importance of our own graphic integrity before we begin making our graphics, for not only ourselves but for other people who request them.

It's not a bad thing to be different. With a platform where thousands of books and graphics are published daily, being different and playing to your own skillset is what makes the best designer.

02. PLAGIARISM VS. INSPIRATION

A. DEFINITIONS

Plagiarism: the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

Inspiration: the quality of being inspired, especially when evident in something.

B. EXAMPLES

For this example, I'm going to be using a cover I made for my friend in June 2020.

Original:

Inspiration:

(left cover by humaneity, right cover by remuslupout)

The inspired graphics have taken aspects of the original (the yearbook theme) and made it into their own. We can tell that it's inspired, even if it's not directly stated.

Plagiarism:

This is just taking the original graphic and adding a new title and PSD. This is taking someone's work and claiming it as your own.

HELPFUL TIP: If you are making a graphic and you accidentally create a cover that resembles someone else's, give credit to them. I've definitely done this multiple times without even realizing it, and it's not a bad thing, but it's important to GIVE CREDIT.