you are amazing, thanks! :)

thats actually really easy
cool dude

i don't have illustrator, but i'm commenting here so i can find it some day

awsome thanks man

nuts to halftones! what's the secret behind your oh-so amazing textures? Is there some Photoshop brush or voodoo incense that grants you the ability to vectorize solid concrete?!?

now I just need cs2

Aaron yelled at me for making halftones like this

Paths to Illustrator

That will create an AI file that can be used in pre-CS2 Illustrator. From there you'll need to fill in the paths created which, unfortunately, is more hassle than Live Trace but the results are basically the same.

nice!

wullagaru, the same principles apply to Photoshop (pre-CS2).

1. Create a new file, in Grayscale.
2. Create a gradient shape (using seletion tools)
* or create a solid black shape then Gaussian Blur (to achieve the "gradient")
2. Filter » Pixelate » ColorHalftone (must be in Grayscale Mode)
3. Select » ColorRange - select black (or use MagicWand to select the black)
4. Click the button at the bottom of the Paths palette called "Convert Selection to Paths"
5. File » Export » Paths to Illustrator

That will create an AI file that can be used in pre-CS2 Illustrator. From there you'll need to fill in the paths created which, unfortunately, is more hassle than Live Trace but the results are basically the same.

i make my textures by live tracing photos of gravel and reeds and stuff, then layering them. or else you could download a font called Cocaine Sans from DaFont.com. the lowercase p is just a nasty chunk of mess that makes a good texture.

yeah ive dont that cody and it works okay theree are som eslight glitches with that process btu it works

awesome tips, thanks very much.

next question:

How do you cultivate hair growth just below your bottom lip? I'm inexplicably bald in this one area...

good ol flavour savour

good ol flavour savour

rub stuff on it and the hair will grow as a natural barrier to abbrasion. i learned it from bricklayers who carry bricks on their shoulders and grow a handy hair padding to protect their skin.

Hey, thanks for posting this!

nice tip d3d... my current sub uses a similar method.

btw - I'll be trying that regrowth method for my head... I'll get back to you about the results.

wow... and i've been copying a channel, pasting it into a new grayscale file, and converting it to bitmap in halftone mode.

whatever works for you is cool. i'm sure my way is probably wrong if you asked anyone who knows what they're doing, but it's what i stumbled upon and it works for me.
i only discovered it after my Breaking Up design, in which i drew all the damn little dots by hand.

That's really helpful. I'm bookmarking this blog, even though I don't design.

Will this work for Illustrator 10? I'll give it a try...

nice tip. Its quite different in Illy CS3, well a few less steps in some places and more in others. I'm gonna make some video tuts, so when I do that, I'll make one showing what you showed...

do you have any other tuts i can use to practice with this program ???

Wheels, i don't think Live Trace existed before Illustrator CS, so it won't really work the same. Somebody may know how to make it work, but I don't sorry. I already had CS2 before I ever attempted halftones.

littleD, i'll occasionally post what I know and the other designers here will be doing the same. Search the blogs for "Tips" and you should find quite a bit of handy info.

You're my new hero d3d. Could we perhaps go out sometime and I'll buy you a mocachino?

i can't. you're a kiwi. it wouldn't be right.

kiwis v aussies

american's v mexicans v canadians

Fair enough. I get used to those sorts of rejections.

So it goes (love Kurt Voengut)

I'm still going to use your illustrator tips though! So there!

That's the way life is I guess!

But I don't hate aussies really. I'm not a Rugby supporter.

Did you know that the wife beating figures go UP when we win a game MORE than when we lose.

That's just fucked up.

THANK GOD! I've been dyong to learn how to create halftone gradients! :D

thank you is due!

CS3's LiveTrace function has this really handy "Ignore White" button that allows you to skip the last step.

And the "hollow arrow" is the Direct Select Tool.;)

i never knew that in 8 years of using it. shame on me. that CS3 feature sounds good though.

When I live trace is doesn't work right..am I being stoopid? (again).

it works best for people under 7 feet tall.

you might need to fiddle with some settings under the live tracing options, though i use the defaults so i don't know what to suggest. how exactly is it not right?

Just traces as a kind of blob instead of neat little circles. Also, shut up! Or else I'll bring my 7 ft ass round to yours for a fight! ;o)

maybe adjust your corner angle setting or something. mine traces the individual halftone dots as blobs too though instead of clean circles. i don't let it bother me.

it bothers me...it bothers me big time!!

Alice, unless you're planning on printing it MASSIVE, it won't be noticeable.

If only you were as Illustrator savvy as me.

ZOMG! Now I get it fully!
Thanks d3d for this blog, and thanks to Rock Deputy for teaching how to do this Photoshop!

yay!!

I'll print you massive in a minute *shakes fist*

I almost see 70% of the subs using this method.

yeah it's everywhere these days

90% it looks like shit. What a crazy fad.

If you don't want rubbish blob shapes, you just need to adjust the path fitting in the live trace options. The lower you go, the longer it takes though!

BEST TIP EVER!

Yuss.
Not that I use halftones, but still, nice to know how...

help please...

i hav (old) illustrator 9, i was fine doing this method until i reached the live trace bit. this stupid illustrator doesn't have it! without updating my illustrator is there another way of doing that step using AI9??

I have the same question as fc gravy but about CS. Any options there?