I traveled to the coast last week for a nice relaxing vacation. Being born and raised an Oregonian, I’ve spent many, many of my vacations at the beach. I like to go there because generally, I’ve seen what there is to see and done what there is to do, so I’m more inclined to take walks on the beach and for the most part snuggle inside and enjoy the changing weather (Don’t worry, I didn’t get swept away by the potential Tsunami). I also love, love, love to watch TV shows that I never see on a regular basis. I checked out many episodes of Cash Cab and the Price is Right, and even a little Dog Whisperer (I don’t even own a dog, but that show rocks). Meanwhile, I missed my DVR and longed to fast forward through commercials.

I can’t say that that watching the commercials was a complete bust, because I did catch on to a cool new trend: smoke art. In a couple of the ads I spotted the use of smoke interacting with a type treatment or image. The effect used black smoke on a white background, creating a high-contrast, dramatic effect that was both eerie and beautiful. Upon further research, I also found a variety of gorgeous smoke images using brilliant colors.

I loved the effect of the smoke in the TV commercials, and it got me interested in finding out how I can create a similar look in my own designs. I found a few tutorials on how to create my own smoke effect in Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as some helpful brush sets, but I think the most dynamic images are when smoke has been photographed and then incorporated into a layout. I’m very curious to try a few of these techniques, and can’t wait to see more from this emerging trend.