Like I said earlier, I end up using my spare time to try out new stuff on my ongoing projects. This one was while I was playing with lighting effects in Photoshop. I didn't have time to create a top hat so I borrowed it from Very Icon who make some amazing icons. They saved me probably 30 min of work, which is a lot these days.

Anyways, it's fun to play with text and light, this based off a great tutorial by abduzeedo. The text in this one is taken from the old front page article on the Live Charge website. Live Charge, in case you're wondering, is what I do in my spare time when a video camera is available, fun skits and the like.

When I've got nothing better to do I end up playing around with tutorials and usually try to do something with text since it's usually so necessary in everything you do. I've been inspired by some of the 3D text art out there to get back into 3D modeling, hopefully I can do that soon.

Until then I'll stick to Photoshop. You always need something to work with so I usually end up applying what I'm messing around with to my own stuff (like Live Charge) or my sister. 

This one was made with ITC Avant Garde, a great font that my roommate Jeff and I use all the time and will probably bring to overuse soon. Some simple gradients, blending, and blurring and you end up with a really cool, vibrant effect.