David Occhino Design Blog - Design News and Reviews

Star Wars Photoshop Tutorial Posted

2011-01-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Star Wars Photoshop Tutorial is free.

A free Adobe Photoshop™ tutorial is now available on the David Occhino Design website, the "Star Wars Titles Photoshop Tutorial."

Graphic designers and Star Wars™ movie fans with skill in the use of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator may use this step-by-step lesson to create artwork for print and on-screen viewing.

The tutorial highlights the Astro font, a Star Wars font from the David Occhino Design FontShop; however, the use of these fonts is not required; other bold typefaces may be used as well.

This Star Wars text effect tutorial also provides free background artwork by David Occhino, created in the style of movie poster artist Drew Struzan.

The Star Wars Titles Photoshop Tutorial is free and available on the David Occhino Design website.

Safari 2.0 is the Ultimate Indiana Jones Font

2011-01-05T12:05:00.000-08:00

Safari 2.0 is the ultimate Indiana Jones font.

An upgrade to Safari, the original adventure font, is now available from David Occhino Design.

Artist David Occhino has released Safari 2.0, which includes many new features. "In 1995, I drew the Safari font as one of my first font projects, and eventually released it in '96," recalls Occhino. "At that time there was no adventure font of this kind and I was still developing my design skills. I loved the bold, adventurous lettering created by Mike Salisbury and David Willardson, so I took this on as one of my first projects."

After Safari was released, other artists created their versions of this style. "Neal Davidson created 'Adventure' and Nick from ShyFonts released 'SF Fedora,' both of which are free downloads and have been widely used," explained Occhino.

"But the main issue with all these adventure fonts, including Safari, was that they were somewhat limited in their use. Setting paragraphs of text with them was out of the question due to poor legibility. None of them came in multiple weights. The small caps were not always drawn in the true style. International character support was spotty at best."

Occhino's remedy to all these issues is Safari 2.0. "I re-drew the font. I added a nice system of lowercase and created three weights: regular, medium and bold. With the Regular weight copy looks great, even at smaller sizes." He also created a true small caps and shadow variant for each weight as well as support for many languages around the world. Ten styles total comprise the Safari font family.

"With Safari 2.0 you can really create some bold, adventurous text graphics. You get all the splashy action-oriented headlines with the bolder weights, and fun, legible copy with the Regular weight. With ten fonts included in the family, Safari 2.0 is a great deal. It's a fun font to use and can't wait to see what other designers create with it.

Upgrade information has been sent to eligible users of previous versions of Safari.

A single-user, non-commercial license for all ten styles of this new Indiana Jones font can be purchased for $30 (USD) from the David Occhino Design FontShop. Additional information and samples can be viewed on the Safari font page of the David Occhino Design website.

Free Indiana Jones Titles Photoshop Tutorial Offered

2011-01-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

The Indiana Jones Titles Photoshop Tutorial is free.

Another free Adobe Photoshop™ tutorial has been posted to the David Occhino Design website, the "Indiana Jones Titles Photoshop Tutorial."

Professional designers and hobbyists with intermediate skills in both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop can use the tutorial to create adventurous headlines and display text graphics.

While the tutorial uses the Safari font, our ultimate adventure font, and Venture, an Indiana Jones subtitles font, the use of these fonts is not required; other bold typefaces may be used.

The tutorial is designed to create a graphic with a higher degree of control and flexibility in the way the gradients and effects are achieved.

The Indiana Jones Titles Photoshop Tutorial is free and available on the David Occhino Design website.

A New Craftsman Font for the 21st Century is Released

2010-11-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

Craftsmen, a craftsman font for the 21st Century

A new craftsman font has been added to the David Occhino typeface collection.

Those who enjoy the works of the American Craftsman movement will appreciate Craftsmen, an original and exclusive Arts & Crafts typeface designed for the 21st Century.

"A handcrafted elegance and tranquility were the main goals of this design," states typographer David Occhino, who created the design. "The craftsman movement began in Britain in the late 19th Century as a cultural and artistic revolt against the automation of the Industrial Revolution," explained Occhino. "The American Craftsman movement began afterwards, and the works of architects Greene and Greene in California and the work of Gustav Stickley and were influenced by the movement."

Designed for large and small display text use, the Craftsmen font is suitable for variety of styles. "It can convey the comfort of the Bungalow style, or you can place it in a stately Art Deco layout and it works great," suggests Occhino. "Craftsmen's finely crafted typography adds a calming touch of Harvey Ellis or Frank Lloyd Wright serenity to a layout."

Craftsmen Ornaments, a companion arts and crafts font, is available separately. Occhino states "When the two designs are used together, you get true American Craftsman design synergy."

A single-user, non-commercial license for all nine styles of this new craftsman font can be purchased for $30 (USD) from the David Occhino Design FontShop. Additional information and samples can be viewed on the Craftsmen font page of the David Occhino Design website.

Occhino Releases New Ornamental Arts and Crafts Font

2010-11-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

Craftsmen Ornaments is an Arts and Crafts font.

David Occhino Design has released Craftsmen Ornaments, a decorative Arts and Crafts font featuring classic elements of the American Craftsman movement.

"This font is a treasure chest of Arts and Crafts imagery," stated artist David Occhino. Occhino created the over 100 different ornamental designs found in the software. "You'll find dozens of trees, leaves, symbols, icons, logos as well as a large number of Arts and Crafts styled bullets and text ornaments. It celebrates the simple beauty of nature."

Craftsmen Ornaments is a companion font to the Craftsmen typeface, a full-featured text typeface also released today.

Occhino is enthusiastic about his creation. "I can't wait to see what artists do with this arts and crafts font. We tried it out in the studio after I was done with it, and in a matter of minutes we created some really hot-looking logos, wordmarks, background designs, borders and wood inlay tutorial which you can see on our website."

Designers can buy a single-user, non-commercial license for Craftsmen Ornaments from the David Occhino Design FontShop for $25 (USD). Commercial licenses are also available.

Wood Inlay Photoshop Tutorial Provides Tips for Designers

2010-11-23T07:38:00.000-08:00

Free Wood Inlay Photoshop Tutorial

The David Occhino Design studio is offering a free Wood Inlay Photoshop Tutorial.

The step-by-step tutorial features two recent font releases, Craftsmen and Craftsmen Ornaments by artist David Occhino. However, use of these fonts is not required and artists are encouraged to use their own designs.

Graphic artists with intermediate experience in Adobe Photoshop can use the wood inlay tutorial to create images which simulate the look of a handmade wood inlay design.

The Wood Inlay Photoshop Tutorial is available on the David Occhino Design website.

Cinema 3.0: A Classic Hollywood Typeface is Updated

2010-10-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

The Cinema font includes many new features.

David Occhino Design has released an upgrade to its popular Cinema font, a 1940s art deco design from Hollywood's Golden Age.

Many improvements and enhancements have been applied to Cinema 3.0. The character set now features over 200 glyphs including international characters, extended punctuation and other typographic and symbols. The typeface has also been improved with the refinement of the small caps design.

"Cinema was one of my first art deco display faces," remarked David Occhino, the designer of both the original version as well as the update. "I wanted this new version to be more useful, so I refined the look of the glyphs so that it works really well in longer headlines."

Users of previous versions of Cinema are encouraged to upgrade, and upgrade prices have been kept to a minimum. "We're offering a free upgrade to those who recently purchased Cinema," explained Occhino, "and those who have used Cinema for years will pay $15 or less for an upgrade." Previous users have been contacted with upgrade options.

A single-user, non-commercial license for the Cinema font can be purchased for $30 from the David Occhino Design FontShop. The typeface includes four styles, Regular, Medium, Bold and Outline. Additional information and samples can be viewed on the Cinema font page of the David Occhino Design website.

Jackie Collins 'Paris Connections' DVD Released in the UK

2010-09-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

The Paris Connections movie poster.

Moviegoers in the United Kingdom are the first to see Amber Entertainment's new film, Jackie Collins: Paris Connections. The film was released on September 6.

David Occhino Design worked closely with New York Times bestselling novelist Jackie Collins and the executive producers at Amber Entertainment -- Ileen Maisel (The Golden Compass, Dangerous Liasons) and Mark Ordesky (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Lawrence Elman (Team Qatar) -- to create original artwork to promote Jackie Collins: Paris Connections, Amber's first movie.

Artist David Occhino created the Paris Connections movie promotional artwork for the marketing of the film, including the background artwork, distinctive Jackie Collins wordmark and film titles. "Paris Connections has been a collaboration I am proud to be a part of, " said Collins, "and I'm so excited to have artwork by David Occhino that so fittingly represents this project."

"It was a pleasure to work with Jackie Collins and the producers at Amber Entertainment," Occhino said. "We created two different design approaches for Paris Connections. The first was a very romantic image with the Eiffel Tower and fountains and the lead characters in a dance pose; the second is an edgier, more modern design which, ultimately, worked better for the folks at Dunhumby, the UK marketing team."

Occhino will be working with Amber Entertainment in the creation of artwork for upcoming film projects. Jackie Collins: Paris Connections is being distributed in the UK by retail giant Tesco as part of an agreement with Amber Entertainment. Tesco Online and retail shops will sell the film for an exclusive period of three months. After this time period, other options may become available. In the meantime, Jackie Collins fans in the United States will need to wait to enjoy her latest film project.

Pan-Pacific: An Art Deco Font Rises from the Ashes

2010-07-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Pan-Pacific is a new Art Deco font.

Artist David Occhino has created a new art deco font inspired by the lovely Pan-Pacific Auditorium.

Those who lived in the Los Angeles area will fondly remember the majestic structure near Beverly Hills. Designed and built in 1935, this Southern California landmark was perhaps the finest example of Streamline Moderne architecture. The four soaring aircraft-fin towers at its entrance were a unique architectural element which greatly influenced art deco design.

The grand, elegant structure hosted many cultural events including concerts, sporting events and presidential campaigns. But the fortunes of the building took a turn for the worse in 1972, when the larger Los Angeles Convention Center was built: the Pan-Pacific Auditorium was closed shortly thereafter. Sadly, after years of neglect, the historic landmark was damaged by several fires in the 1980s and was completely destroyed by an intense blaze in 1989.

"The loss of that historic landmark made me sad," remembers Occhino, who was teaching in California the year of the final fire. "It was a joy to be able to bring back to life the lettering that once graced the entrance to that lovely, old building."

Art deco design enthusiasts will appreciate Occhino's efforts. The Pan-Pacific typeface is an authentic, classy design featuring four elegant styles. "The Antique version is my favorite," noted Occhino. "Pan-Pacific Antique features distressed edges which simulate an elegant, hand-lettered look that looks great in art deco layouts."

A single-user, non-commercial license for the Pan-Pacific font can be purchased for $30 from the David Occhino Design FontShop. Occhino has also designed a limited-edition poster to commemorate the development of the typeface.

Space Font: The '1970s Future' Redesigned for the 21st Century

2010-05-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

Space font by David Occhino.

David Occhino Design has released its new Space font, a futuristic design with a nod to the past. This classic space-themed look of the 1970s and 1980s has been updated with 21st century enhancements.

This bold, interplanetary space font has a modern appearance evoking a vision of the future in a adventurous, sleek manner.

Designers who add the Space font to their collection will appreciate its six styles which offer a variety of design possibilities. Unique feature includes razor-edged crossbars, squarish edges and minimalist design elements.

Explore the possibilities of Space, a space font that's truly out of this world.

Emblem Typeface is the First Release for 2009

2009-01-15T17:52:00.000-08:00

Emblem is a sleek car font design.

Emblem is a typeface designed to evoke a sense of engineered quality and cutting edge technology. Talon-like serifs, precision-cut angles and sleek bold lines convey bold, futuristic elegance. Not surprisingly, this car font enjoys the company of fast electric automobiles and futuristic space vehicles.

Designers who add Emblem to their collection will enjoy sixteen turbocharged styles that offer hundreds (over 600) of alternate uppercase and lowercase letters. Each of the font's four main styles (Regular, Bold, Serif and Serif Bold) come in four alternate styles ranging from traditional interpretations of letters to highly stylized, ultra-modern glyphs.

A single-user, non-commercial license for the Emblem typeface can be purchased for $30 from the David Occhino Design FontShop.