Dansky

Holy sugar nuggets! Over 1000 people have downloaded my mosaic grid plugin for Illustrator over the last 2 days, that's bonkers! Thank you so much 🫶

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 72

Dansky

Recently created a free Illustrator plugin to instantly take multiple images and consolidate into a nice clean block 😁

Here's a link to download, including instructions to install: academy.dansky.com/offers/dhguYd2w/checkout

4 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 220

Dansky

Absolutely loved today's AI vs. Designer stream, thanks to everyone who joined! Here's the finished logo design, not bad for 4 hours work... 😅

1 month ago | [YT] | 123

Dansky

I'll be live today reviewing your design work from 3pm BST. Here's a link if you'd like to submit your work for review - www.dropbox.com/request/1iimr5zyc0nxzuxrzzvi

Feel free to include a written description with details about the project, what it is, who it's for, what the goals/objectives were etc...

Can't wait! 😁

1 month ago | [YT] | 106

Dansky

My first time trying Adobe Fresco yesterday!

It’s a free app for drawing and painting, and if you’ve used Photoshop before, it feels pretty familiar.

I was tired, and honestly had no idea how this was going to turn out. Apart from spending about 30 minutes getting familiar with the tools earlier in the day, I was completely winging it.

One of the main reasons I wanted to use Fresco was because, unlike my recent Pokémon-inspired projects in Photoshop and Illustrator, this meant painting everything from scratch. No shortcuts, no assists, just a rough pencil sketch to get things in place.

The goal wasn’t really to create a masterpiece, it was to improve my digital painting skills.

And doing it live, in front of other people, felt like the perfect way to throw myself into the deep end. I’ve found that most growth comes from discomfort.

The moments where you’re unsure, under pressure, or worried things might go wrong are often the moments that teach you the most.

Whether that’s livestreaming your work, posting your designs online for the first time, or trying something completely outside your comfort zone, here’s my advice…

Screw it. Just do it.

Whatever happens, you’ll learn something, you’ll improve, and you’ll be better off for having tried.

A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor and all that.

So if you’re about to take a leap, post your work, start a project, or try something that scares you a little, tag me or leave a comment and let me know 💪

Onwards!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 327

Dansky

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!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 512

Dansky

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 🐙

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1 month ago | [YT] | 145

Dansky

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

1 month ago | [YT] | 255

Dansky

What features or changes would you love to see in a future Illustrator update? 🧐

1 month ago | [YT] | 24

Dansky

Wow… actually managed to finish this artwork in Photoshop 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!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 543