!sbubby
@lemmy.worldHey all, just rehosting the Ultimate Guide to Sbubbymaking that was originally posted to the subreddit. It'll still contain some Reddit terminology (Lemmy doesn't have flairs and such) and some Reddit links are still in the table of examples for each category for now, though I may try and go back and replace them with Lemmy posts when I'm able, or in the case of Freebles when we have enough examples.
I would like to continue to maintain and improve this guide, so if anyone has any additions to the guide, let me know and I'll update it! (however, I don't think we need any more recommendations for image editors at this time.)
Welcome to the Ultimate Guide to Sbubbymaking! This guide is intended to be a resource for helping people make quality logo edits for r/Sbubby. It aims to provide those new to image editing with some basics to get started with making their own Sbubbies, and to help experienced Sbubby makers refine their craft with more advanced tips and tricks.
This guide is not set in stone, and is open to contributions! Everyone has their own way of doing things, and if you know of any useful techniques that aren’t detailed in this guide, write something up (or even make a video if you want - see the Walkthroughs section) and either make a comment below, or contact the moderators, and we can see about adding it in!
The first step in making a Sbubby is choosing an editing tool. There are several popular options for image editors that are capable of making Sbubbies. If you aren’t already familiar with an editor you prefer, you may want to try out a few different options and see what works best.
Any of the following editors should be powerful enough for most, if not all, Sbubbymaking needs.
Vector graphics (typically saved in the .svg format) save image data as a set of points, lines, and shapes, as opposed to the pixel-by-pixel data stored by typical “raster” formats (.png, .jpg, .bmp, etc). While vector formats aren’t suited for storing highly complex images such as photographs, they are excellent at working with images with clearly-defined lines and shapes, which is well-suited for logos.
Most professional logo design is done with vector image editors. Vector editors have the potential to be extremely powerful Sbubbymaking tools, though the different skillset required and greater difficulty in tracking down source images (raster images cannot be modified by vector programs) make it quite rare.
What to do before even opening your image editor.
Editing basics that should apply to most/all image editors.
Logos are ubiquitous in the modern world. Everywhere you look, there are signs, symbols, words, and figures that we associate with products, services, businesses, and causes. Famous logos, like those of Nike or Coca-Cola, are instantly recognizable to billions of people. Moreover, logos don't just identify, they communicate. They reflect beliefs, personalities, and visions. Studies have shown that people can form genuine psychological attachments to brands and the values they claim to represent.
A sbubby, at its core, is about taking a logo and making it communicate something different. Oftentimes, this means taking all that identity and meaning and transforming it into something silly or nonsensical. The best Sbubbies are those that remain instantly recognizable while being utterly absurd, sending the viewer careening into the uncanny valley. The focus of this tutorial is on how to come up with in-spirit sbubbies with that refreshing, surreal flavor.
It's impossible to precisely explain what makes a good in-spirit sbubby; it's like jazz in that if you have to ask, you'll never know. That being said, leading Sbubbologists have succeeded in characterizing two general categories of in-spirit contributions:
Note that these are not mutually exclusive genres -- a sbubby may feature elements of both. However, in this guide we'll focus on each separately as they tend to work towards different goals.
Companies spend enormous amounts of time meticulously crafting wordmarks, taglines and slogans to resonate with their intended audience. Every phrase, word, and letter is carefully selected and focus-grouped to make the best possible impression. Meanwhile, a good Eef Freef is like a proverbial bull in a china shop. These Sbubbies come in many varieties, but all tend to inspire reactions like these:
Eef Freefs take the language incorporated into logos and spins them into a meaningless slurry of sounds or a crazed flight of ideas. However, you can’t just smash your keyboard and call it a day. There’s a certain uncanny valley in which Eef Freef tends to work best. In general, there should be enough of a connection to the original wording such that it’s still recognizable as a corruption of the original, but twisted enough such that it’s total nonsense. Even when an Eef Freef changes logo text to something entirely different, there’s usually some structure to it.
Below we provide a non-exhaustive list of common styles of Eef Freef alongside illustrative examples:
Common Styles | Description | Examples |
---|---|---|
Classic | The text superficially follows the form and cadence of the original, but turns out to be complete nonsense upon closer inspection. | Red Lobster → Roob Loob, Duolingo → Dungomungo, Chromebook → Cronkbomk |
Repetition | The text gets stuck on a particular word, phrase, or letter and trails off. | Sega → Assssssssss, Fortnite → FORTNAAAAA, Yamaha → Yamahammahayaayamama |
Clanging | The text turns into a chain of rhyming, alliteration, or other sound associations. | Ratatouille → Ratatatatatata, Johnson and Johnson → Johnson and Ohnson and Hnson and Nson and Son and On and N |
Replacement | A memorable wordmark or slogan gets substituted with something entirely different. | Kodak → Flarble, Subway → Midladmirg, Hitman 2 → Swause 2 |
Eeble Freeble The majestic Eeble Freebles are the graphic design counterparts to Eef Freefs: dismantling and rearranging the visual elements of logos to make something wholly new and/or strange. Again, there’s no strict definition here, but common reactions include:
As a guide for inspiration, there following are examples of Eeble Freebles that have graced the subreddit:
Common Styles | Description | Examples |
---|---|---|
The Maze | Logos are pulled apart, resembling winding and forking paths. | Subway → A subway to… somewhere?, Sega → Racetrack loop, Google Tool Suite → All over the place |
Pattern Continuation | Extends a pattern or motif in the original logo to the point of absurdity | Adidas → An endless staircase, Subway → Knitted pattern, Burger King → Burger Kibble |
Allusion | Used to create a mash-up that stylistically references some famous artwork. | Playstation → M.C. Escher, Coca-Cola → Hokusai |
This section is intended to showcase guides detailing the Sbubbymaking process, covering either specific techniques or the entire Sbubbymaking process from beginning to end. If anyone has a video they’d like to contribute, please link it in the comments below, and we can get it added to the guide!
https://youtu.be/FbBnsu82pQg - Contributed by u/Ethereal_sandwich
While it is normally recommended to avoid mobile image editors for making Sbubbies, it is in fact possible to make high quality Sbubbies from your phone, and a handful of contributors to r/Sbubby make their submissions on mobile. u/SorridoSnake has put together a walkthrough detailing how a mobile Sbubby can be made, from the perspective of iOS. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-C1FxZsXiuOMheeOcvsonHgaspO4f-33nXXeCZPsCfE
Special thanks to all who have contributed to making this guide possible!
@jedibob5@lemmy.world (yours truly), @endeavour@lemmy.world
And the following Reddit users, usernames transcribed for posterity:
u/Ameren u/SorridoSnake u/Ethereal_sandwich u/Mister_Aitch u/Lost-Entrepreneur439 u/nonorarian u/ZeroSocialSkillz u/SpaceBeUberCool u/BepisBoyTweeleafSoy u/justcatt u/warpspeedSCP u/BlitzTD
(if you happen to be one of the above Reddit users and are on Lemmy, let me know and I can update the credits with your current username)
Bringing back this tradition from the subreddit! Request the creation of Sbubbies here!
I'm not going to cycle this weekly at this time, but we'll see how the frequency works out.
Just a quick and simple logoswap this time. Hope yall like it!