CreamSoda Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Hey, I am working on a logo for a company called Dracula Electrical and I need help....Here is what I have so far... what should I do to it? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-(dp)- Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 The mouth appears to be facing directly left, while the rest is more of a 3/4 view. You should be able to see the other fang, and maybe the other side of the collar. I would also make the nose smaller, and maybe a little bit less pointy. The outline is very rough still, and uneven, just put some more time into cleaning that up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreamSoda Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 The mouth appears to be facing directly left, while the rest is more of a 3/4 view. You should be able to see the other fang, and maybe the other side of the collar. I would also make the nose smaller, and maybe a little bit less pointy. The outline is very rough still, and uneven, just put some more time into cleaning that up.ummm good points!Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. I will see what I can do with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undead Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Really nice start here. dp is right on all points. Also, I think the hair should be black because it's dark, mysterious, and Bela Legosi's hair was black. The gold part, the shoulder I believe, could be made into a lightning bolt to tie in the electric part. Don't make it real zigzaggy though. Keep the curvy shape but put in a little jut in there to give a little indication of electricity. Can't wait to see how this develops. Portfoliobobschultz6' class="bbc_url">@bobschultz6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopskid Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 One thing that bugs me is that Vampires are almost always extremely pale. You've given him a sort of tan.The eye looks a little creepy, but that might be a good thing in this case.Well done overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreamSoda Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 Really nice start here. dp is right on all points. Also, I think the hair should be black because it's dark, mysterious, and Bela Legosi's hair was black. The gold part, the shoulder I believe, could be made into a lightning bolt to tie in the electric part. Don't make it real zigzaggy though. Keep the curvy shape but put in a little jut in there to give a little indication of electricity. Can't wait to see how this develops.ohh i like that idea. Ill see if i can make that work. Thanks for the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreamSoda Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Update: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Make an "Electric Dracula!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santoleri3 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 What there is of an expression on the face is too happy. Sinister eyebrows and a more menacing mouth would improve this a lot. Love the color scheme, and the whole cape/collar thing. Courtesy chapeeko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rentz Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 You should lose the shadows on the face. As a logo you should want as few colors as possible, and you are adding two shades of grey with shadows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkychewbarky Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 It's getting better. I like the lghtning bolt on the collar. Maybe it could be a brighter colour. The black hair looks good.The mouth needs to be within the face, and not opening to the side. Its tough doing a 3/4 face. (That's why you'll notice that most caricature artists do a straight-on, or side view). I think if you resolve the mouth, it'll look pretty decent. Dracula Electrical, eh?What's their slogan..."We Don't Suck!"? *The Battle of Seattle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliott Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Ok, there is a difference between corporate logos and sports teams logos. This is looking more like the latter. A lot of the really effective company logos I have seen are focused on simplicity and definitely don't have the shading that you are using here. Focus on the sillhouette. Drop the shading/detail completely. Fill the green-gray, gold, and maroon portions with white or maybe another light color. So you will either have a two color or one color logo, simple for reproduction. Figure out what color you want to focus on, I think purple would be good for a vampire theme, and then fill the black part with it. When it comes to the smaller details, tweak the mouth to give it a more menacing expression, and focus on the teeth a little more, right now the mouth has some small details that might not translate well to products with this logo on it. And then add a wordmark. If you are actually pitching this to the company, go the extra mile and brainstorm other ideas for alternate marks. Think about what else relates to vampires (bats, coffins?), and then work up simplified renderings. It's good for the company to have multiple directions to go in. Hopefully that helps you make this look more like a corporate brand. I just think simplicity is the best way to go here. Dribbble ... Behance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreamSoda Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Ok, there is a difference between corporate logos and sports teams logos. This is looking more like the latter. A lot of the really effective company logos I have seen are focused on simplicity and definitely don't have the shading that you are using here. Focus on the sillhouette. Drop the shading/detail completely. Fill the green-gray, gold, and maroon portions with white or maybe another light color. So you will either have a two color or one color logo, simple for reproduction. Figure out what color you want to focus on, I think purple would be good for a vampire theme, and then fill the black part with it. When it comes to the smaller details, tweak the mouth to give it a more menacing expression, and focus on the teeth a little more, right now the mouth has some small details that might not translate well to products with this logo on it. And then add a wordmark. If you are actually pitching this to the company, go the extra mile and brainstorm other ideas for alternate marks. Think about what else relates to vampires (bats, coffins?), and then work up simplified renderings. It's good for the company to have multiple directions to go in. Hopefully that helps you make this look more like a corporate brand. I just think simplicity is the best way to go here.I agree with the simplicty comments. I will try another approach with that. I have a word mark, just wanted feeback on the head logo. Thanks for the input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9erssteve Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Okay while all the other input you have been given is great and highly relevant, especially Elliotts assessment of the difference between corporate graphics and sports graphics, the best advice I could give you just now is stop. Leave the logo alone for a day or two and just go off and learn how to draw a human head properly. Right now your perspectives are off, your proportions are all over the place, the hair is too low and the hairline unrealistic, and the whole thing looks really twisted, and not in a good spooky way just in a things pointing in different directions kinda way.Sorry if that sounded really harsh, but that's how it stands just now. This isn't a lost cause or anything by any means it's just human heads are a total bugger to draw! From what you've got so far you've demonstrated a decent level of artistic ability and a skill level with regards ability to use your chosen software tool to suggest you can do this and do it well, so all you need to do now is master the proportions of the human head and you'll be laughing. It's all about research, did you draw this idea out on paper first or just start straight off on the computer? (I suspect I know which) Did you look up any reference images for this project? Old movie stills, or posters? (again I suspect I know the answer) I'm not saying find these images and lift from them directly but at the same time everyone thinks they know what something looks like but in order to get the most accurate results possible you need to research your subject matter. Look at iconic images of vampires (and there are plenty) and use them as inspiration. Are there more suitable or more instantly recognisable poses or a particular style of costume that might suit your end need better. But most importantly from your research you'll be able to get the proportions right and that will improve your finished product a thousand fold.There are plenty of books or online resources for learning to draw heads and I promise if you take the time to learn that and do a little research then come back to this project the final result will be the better for it.9erssteve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreamSoda Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Okay while all the other input you have been given is great and highly relevant, especially Elliotts assessment of the difference between corporate graphics and sports graphics, the best advice I could give you just now is stop. Leave the logo alone for a day or two and just go off and learn how to draw a human head properly. Right now your perspectives are off, your proportions are all over the place, the hair is too low and the hairline unrealistic, and the whole thing looks really twisted, and not in a good spooky way just in a things pointing in different directions kinda way.Sorry if that sounded really harsh, but that's how it stands just now. This isn't a lost cause or anything by any means it's just human heads are a total bugger to draw! From what you've got so far you've demonstrated a decent level of artistic ability and a skill level with regards ability to use your chosen software tool to suggest you can do this and do it well, so all you need to do now is master the proportions of the human head and you'll be laughing. It's all about research, did you draw this idea out on paper first or just start straight off on the computer? (I suspect I know which) Did you look up any reference images for this project? Old movie stills, or posters? (again I suspect I know the answer) I'm not saying find these images and lift from them directly but at the same time everyone thinks they know what something looks like but in order to get the most accurate results possible you need to research your subject matter. Look at iconic images of vampires (and there are plenty) and use them as inspiration. Are there more suitable or more instantly recognisable poses or a particular style of costume that might suit your end need better. But most importantly from your research you'll be able to get the proportions right and that will improve your finished product a thousand fold.There are plenty of books or online resources for learning to draw heads and I promise if you take the time to learn that and do a little research then come back to this project the final result will be the better for it.9erssteveI drew it first on paper and did look up images.I dont want a perfect human head, its a logo. Its supposed to be cartooney... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9erssteve Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I drew it first on paper and did look up images.I dont want a perfect human head, its a logo. Its supposed to be cartooney...For a logo cartoony, or rather simplified is fine, but even cartoons or simplified images have to follow the rules of perspective and for cartoons or caricatures to be successful you need to understand the proportions of the human head and how to manipulate them in order to exaggerate certain features while retaining recognisability. As it stands right now yours Dracula doesn't follow these rules I'm afraid. I stand by my advice that it would be in your best interests here to leave the logo alone and go practice drawing heads, real or cartoon/comic book style. Whether you decide to do it is entirely up to you but that's what I'd suggest.9erssteve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rentz Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 If you want to improve yours head-drawing skills, I cannot recommend "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" enough. It is really the pinnacle of artistic instruction... well maybe not but it's a terrific book, very helpful and explains the concepts very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9erssteve Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 If you want to improve yours head-drawing skills, I cannot recommend "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" enough. It is really the pinnacle of artistic instruction... well maybe not but it's a terrific book, very helpful and explains the concepts very well.The pinnacle of artistic instruction is maybe a bit over the top, but I second the recommendation of "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way"!It's an excellent grounding in the basics of drawing. Using primary shapes to build compound ones, understanding the proportions of both heads and bodies and understanding how to convey emotion through posture and expression. It's stating to show it's age a little with regards the layout of cells and the now more extreme and exaggerated bodies and actions found in popular comics today but it's still the first reference I would recommend to anyone interested in drawing comics or looking to create logos involving people or faces. I've had my copy over fifteen years now and still refer back to it regularly.9erssteve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreamSoda Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 great call on the corporate aspect!here is the update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreamSoda Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 too with wordmarks: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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