We’re thrilled to announce a set of new effects for our users: Candy Minimal. It’s based on a style of photo editing created by Matt Crump, an Austin-based artist with a flair for color. He created the photo above and this entire style of editing by playing around with hue, saturation, and gradients, and he makes (and even sells) his compelling art using the same kind of mobile phone you probably have in your pocket.
Matt Crump, father of #candyminimal
We’re big fans of Matt’s highly original style, so we commissioned him to design two new effects packs for Pixlr members. Starting today, you’ll find a new overlay pack called “candyminimal” and a sticker pack called “shapes” that offer the kind of pastel-hued, super-saturated, sticky sweet colors and gradients that make this look stand out so well. Both packs are available on Pixlr mobile and for Pixlr Express on the web throughout this week, and they’ll continue to be available for Essentials and Pro members after that as a premium pack. Our goal with this pack was to give you tools to make images that are as compelling as the one Matt makes, like these:
Join our #candyminimal #pixlrcontest
We also have something fun to go along with this new pack — a new contest. We haven’t had a contest in some time, and we thought this would be a fun way to give away a whole bunch of candy. Throughout this week, we’ll be featuring the best images made with this new pack — just like we do with our regular weekly challenges. But we’ll also be choosing 5 outstanding photos as winners. We’ll send each winner a prize of their choice from pixlrcontest.com. Plus, we’ll pick a Grand Prize winner at the end of the week and award a Polaroid Socialmatic camera + 100 prints:
If you like candy (or cool cameras), you’re going to love these prizes. Entering is easy. Just make your own minimalistic, pastel-hued photo and share it on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, or Facebook with two hashtags: #candyminimal and #pixlrcontest.
What makes a good Candy Minimal photo?
- Simple as can be: First, you’ll want to take a minimalist photo. Some of the best Candy Minimal photos often have one item peeking out from a side or corner of the frame. The rest is all negative space. This style demands simplicity.
- Editing is important! Editing your photo is as easy as applying one of the Candy Minimal effects packs. But you can go further if you want by adjusting the hue or bumping up the saturation. Note that you can also use more than one Candy Minimal overlay. And you can always dial down the amount. This is partly a challenge of composition — how your photo is framed — and partly a challenge about editing.
- Details matter: If you peruse the #candyminimal hashtag on Instagram, you’ll see that a lot of these photos have big sky backgrounds. You’ll also notice that elements of architecture are heavily represented. (If you know what “mid-century modern” means, you’re going to be great at this challenge.) The one thing you don’t want is clutter. This style is all about keeping your image clean and very simple.
Need some more help? Check out the #candyminimal hashtag on Instagram to see what kind of things people make in this unique and lovely style. Or, watch this quick video that shows you the basics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KEHSiXe2QA
