Dansky

I help graphic designers create professional-level work with confidence.

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

Entering this Photoshop competition changed everything.

Back in 2021, I submitted my first competition entry for Benny’s Spooky Edit War. From start to finish, the final artwork took over 20 hours to create... and that was after spending another 10 hours on a completely different concept featuring an evil plant that sadly went nowhere 😅

The challenge was to use a specific set of images, with every image needing to be incorporated into the artwork in some form. I had never attempted anything like this before, and throughout most of the messy process, I didn’t even have a crystal clear vision of what I was making. The original idea started as a fun ghost and pumpkin party... and somehow ended with giant evil tentacles destroying the house.

Spending 30+ hours on these competition entries taught me so much about Photoshop, photo manipulation, and how to use different tools and techniques to achieve specific outcomes. The process was hard, full of coffee breaks, frustration, and YouTube tutorials... but somehow it all came together in the end.

Looking back at this artwork now, I still can’t quite believe I pulled it off... never mind placing 14th out of 1000+ entries.

This was the beginning of the end of me doubting myself, doubting my creativity, and doubting my technical ability.

So if any of that sounds familiar, keep going. You might only be one project away from creating a little masterpiece of your own 🔥

Onwards!

[benjamin @benjaminnathan]

Introducing Spectrum and Crystal.
Two all-new logo shaders.
Now in @framer.

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@icreatelife

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@robertoblake @icreatelife Wow! Beautiful 👏🔥

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

Hey Fabian! I’m working with Adobe at the mo, and have been playing around with both. Turntable generally seems to favour vector artwork, mainly because the cleaner shapes and edges give more consistent results. That said, Photoshop’s new Rotate Object feature is really good for raster graphics specifically. Similar idea, but with more freedom to rotate in any direction and adjust perspective 😊

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

I've noticed that conversations around AI, especially in creative spaces, are exposing another important issue. A lot of people no longer know how to discuss different opinions calmly, think critically, or adjust their perspective when presented with new information.

Everything immediately becomes black or white, all or nothing, with very little room for nuance.

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

Don’t ask me why there’s an octopus intimately entangled with a golden teapot, hanging from a rope 😅

This bizarre artwork was created during a livestream last year, where I asked the chat to shout out random objects, and then attempted to composite the images together in Photoshop.

This was the result.

So yea… meet Octeapus 🐙

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

Created this double exposure artwork with Photoshop, and really enjoyed blending nature, texture and portraiture together to create something that feels calm and reflective.

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@realestDesigner Cheers 👊

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

The Scorpion King, created with Photoshop.

Wow… actually managed to finish this artwork live yesterday evening, taking close to 7 hours from start to finish.

A few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed I’d be able to create something like this, starting with just a handful of images, some rough ideas, and no clear vision. Every time I go through this process, I learn something new, whether it’s a new technique or a better way to achieve a specific effect, not to mention slowly getting quicker and more confident in my artistic ability.

If you want to level up your photo manipulation work in Photoshop, I use the following 4 step system. Every. Single. Time.

1. Compose the scene and arrange the raw, unretouched images.
2. Balance the exposure between all of your images.
3. Balance the colours between all of your images.
4. Brush in shadows to composite the images together.

This may look hard, and honestly, it is. But with regular practice, time, and patience, it becomes far more achievable than you’d think.

Onwards!

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

- ChatGPT for pros/cons of business ideas.

- Generating stock-style reference images when I can’t find exactly what I need online.

- Using AI images as references for illustration and digital painting to better understand shadows, highlights, lighting, etc.

- To quickly generate a collection of product mockups for logo and branding projects in minutes, versus hours trawling through mockup sites.

- Speeding up repetitive tasks so I can spend more time on the actual creative decisions.

- Learning and troubleshooting faster without digging through forums for hours.

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

Original Pokémon card design for Jolteon. I digitally painted the Pokemon with Illustrator and Photoshop, followed by designing the card itself together with a delicious mockup.

A few years ago I honestly wouldn’t have believed I could make something like this, and super happy with how it turned out 😁

Artwork like this can feel insanely complicated, but once you learn the right tools, techniques, and workflows, it becomes way more achievable than you think. Most of it is just breaking things down step-by-step and slowly building up your skills over time.

If you’re learning art or design right now and feel like you’re not “there” yet, honestly just keep going, and don’t underestimate what you’ll be capable of in a year or two if you stay consistent.

Onwards!

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@round Design students seem to care 😂

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

Here's a quick 5 minute crash course for anyone getting started with @Adobe InDesign 🙌

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@ItsPeterDesign Editing a quick process video for my custom Pokemon card design. The Jolteon was vectorised in Illustrator and then digitally painted in Photoshop, as was the card design and mockup. Super happy with how it turned out 🙌

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@plusarchstudio I've been working with Adobe recently, and this technique is super helpful to make the Pen Tool easier to use. It's called the "clock method" or sometimes referred to as the "90° method". Hope it helps 😊
https://t.co/45Jds5Mukd

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@drapzdesigns Looking good!

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@realestDesigner @inspiredDZN @TheXEffect_ @TariusNG @ksv_craft @IlyasMOSBAH @SanStudioArt @BrainiacGfx @dezignbyjustice Wow what an amazing progression! 🔥 Made with Photoshop?

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@oykun I'd like to hear you expand on this, any insights you can share would be super interesting 👍

[Dansky @ForeverDansky]

@oykun Ahh that's an easy one, @fromsoftware_pr 😍