Draw an ice cream bar in Photoshop

Another fun step-by-step Photoshop tutorial at PSDTuts: how to draw the platonic ideal of an ice cream bar.

Draw an ice cream bar in Photoshop

[#1 posted by jmullan , December 19, 2008 10:52 AM]

It's Domokun flavored!

[#2 posted by Strophe , December 19, 2008 11:57 AM]

Pshh, this thing is Photoshopped. I can tell by the pixels.

[#3 posted by Strophe , December 19, 2008 12:28 PM]

Seriously, though:

You know how there are certain topics here that just escalate immediately into flamewar back-and-forth? The graphic design version of that, a bit of which is showing up at the bottom of the (rather well-produced and highly-screen-shotted) tutorial, is the classic I Could Have Done It Better theme.

Especially in cases like this, where you get the print-only fanboys who see the slightest use of vector and go "OMG Y didn't U do this in Illustratorz?"

Being a graphic designer can be brutal because every individual who has the slightest aptitude with the creative suite totally knows a better way than your way.

Me, I've been up and down Tutorial Street a few times, and this one is easily in the top 10% as far as clarity of the explanation and screenshots. Good find, Mark!

[#4 posted by octopede , December 19, 2008 2:38 PM]

Wait...shouldn't this be HOWTO draw an ice cream Bar in Photoshop? Also: OMG why didn't you do this in Illustrator?

[#5 posted by Shrdlu , December 19, 2008 2:47 PM]

Strophe: But this should have been done in Illustrator. Has nothing to do with whether it will go to print. You can do so much more with better tools--and that's not to mention the whole resolution-independent vector thing. Look, it's sort of akin to saying, "Look at this great spreadsheet I made in Microsoft Word. I should make a tutorial to show others how to make spreadsheets in Word because Excel is w-a-a-a-y too confusing."

Coming soon: tutorial on how to use Outlook as a word processor. You won't want to miss that one.

[#6 posted by guy_jin , December 19, 2008 2:56 PM]

does anyone else notice how, if you look at the area where the stick meets the ice cream bar, it looks like it should be leaning away from you, but the top obviously shows it leaning toward you?

[#7 posted by theawesomerobot , December 19, 2008 3:45 PM]

Damn, I was actually going to comment "why would I do this in Photoshop over Illustrator?"

Thwarted again!

[#8 posted by Nelson.C , December 19, 2008 5:45 PM]

I don't know why thinking "I know Photoshop, but not Illustrator" insufficient reason to use Photoshop. Or, for that matter, why this is regarded as a how-to for that picture, rather than a how-to for using Photoshop in these ways.

[#9 posted by dccarles , December 19, 2008 5:51 PM]

I've strapped on my stupid and I'm going in.

[#10 posted by eti , December 19, 2008 6:43 PM]

No teeth marks: FAIL!

[#11 posted by Sethum , December 20, 2008 1:18 AM]

Why would anyone do this in Photoshop when they could do it in MS Paint?

But seriously, the real question is why they would use strawberry filling and not chocolate for such a top-notch tutorial?

[#12 posted by Stickle , December 20, 2008 6:11 AM]

No matter what someone puts out on the net there are going to be trolls that criticize it. Having said that the one here does deserve some criticism but it is also reasonable for someone that it just starting out with photoshop.

The thing that really bothers me...alot.... is that this is ominously similar to a tutorial done by Bert Monroy a few months ago. The angles are changed as are a few other minor things but if you are going to copy at least give the originator credit.

[#13 posted by aandnota , December 20, 2008 8:49 AM]

OOOOH, meat flavored!

[#14 posted by Shrdlu , December 20, 2008 9:40 AM]

I think the whole solution to this is for Adobe to make the Gradient Mesh tool easier to use and manipulate. That would unleash the real power of Illustrator to the masses and make the rest of our lives easier. I don't think CS4 really did that.

[#15 posted by MattT , December 20, 2008 7:28 PM]

Guy Jin is right: The perspective is a bit wonky on the stick.

[#16 posted by membrain , December 21, 2008 11:57 AM]

I agree, quite Escheresque stick.

[#17 posted by C Holmes , December 21, 2008 1:12 PM]

I think the stick isn't your typical straight popsicle stick. It has, like, a slim waist, like the wooden spoons they used to give out with the little ice cream cup desserts in the cafeteria at the Ward L. Myers Elementary School in Muncy, PA back in 1971. That would make it look off-perspective.

[#18 posted by Strophe , December 22, 2008 9:34 AM]

@SHRDLU

I don't want you to think that I don't see what you did thar, so I acknowledge and applaud your Outlook metaphor. It's a bit straw-man, but OK.

Still, taking a one-over-the-other is missing the point of the programs. Many people learn either AI or PS, and simply defend whichever one they've been taught or spent a ridiculous amount of money on. Now, I haven't upgraded to CS4 yet, but I've been using AI and PS since long before the creative suite came into being. Obviously you can do more advanced vector work in AI. Frankly, I prefer the Bezier tool in Photoshop & always have. I can do what I want to do faster and without switching to a different tool.

Saying that one program is better than the other is unnecessarily dismissive. Saying that one program is better for a specific purpose is acceptable.

And yeah, the end goal does matter in the design world. Would you design a website from scratch in Illustrator? You could, certainly, but if you wanted it to be done in a reasonable amount of time, you might prefer trusty ol' Photoshop.

If any of the CS software was designed as an authoritative, end-all-be-all design program, Adobe wouldn't have spent so much time making them all play nice together (Bridge, Version Cue) and giving us an easy-to-use workflow.

In conclusion, if anyone here works at Adobe, I will be accepting my shill commission now. :)