graphics article @ tutorial

Creating round radial effect

2009-06-09T23:51:00.004+08:00

To do image manipulation, background is a main element that can give your artwork more juicy. Now i show you how to create simple round radial effect just using filter in photoshop.

Step 1
Create new document. Name it 'radial'. i just use normal size 640 x 480

step 2
use contrast colors for foreground and background. Mine use yellow and red.
Then go to Filter > Sketch > Halftone pattern.

Step 3
I use default setting, and you can slide the bar until you get better result

Step 4
Here's the result. Simple is'nt it.

You can add your favourite graphics to make your final artwork more interesting.

Easy Way to Create Transparency

2009-06-09T11:20:00.004+08:00

Step 1
Open up yor photos, I use angelina Jolie as my photo. Then go to Photoshop's Save for Web command.

step 2
switch to the Eyedropper tool in the Save for Web's Toolbox,

step 3
Click on the background color you want to become transparent. i choose white with eyedropper tool

step 4

Then, just below the Color Table on the bottom right of the
dialog, click on the first icon, which creates transparency from your selected color , save the file and you're done.

Creating simple line art from photos

2009-06-08T12:17:00.003+08:00

Step 1
To begin, lets choose your picture or you can choose whether its your boyfriend, hollywood celebrities or your lovely pet. I use brad pitt as my reference

step 2
choose filter > Blur > Smart Blur

Step 3
at 'mode' option, choose edge only
slide the bar until you satisfid with the result

Step 4
Your photos still in black background. You just need to choose Image > Adjustment and select inverse (mac shortcut : command + I )

Here's the final result. You can erased some messy lines with eraser tools .

Turn your photos into sephia mode

2009-06-08T11:43:00.005+08:00

Today i want to show you how easy to turn your photos into sephia mode. This effect is suitable to make your photo look classic.

step 1
open up your photo..i use nature as my theme

step 2
click image > adjustment > hue and saturation

step 3
hue and saturation pop up will appear. Please tick 'colorize'

your photos become sephia instantly..drag the slides until you get better result and suit your taste..

that's all...:-)

photo copyright
www.nature-wallpaper.info

Change common grid to Finer grid

2008-10-21T10:15:00.002+08:00

While we're talking Curves, by default the Curves dialog displays a 25% grid. If you'd
like a finer grid, you can Option-click for Mac (PC: Alt-click) once within the grid, and it will
then display a 10% grid.

Photoshop Action - Old Paper

2008-05-20T14:54:00.003+08:00

How to change new photo to old paper effects

before

after

download

Photoshop Action - Old Paper | 5 Actions set | 387 KB

Photo Ageing Actions

2008-05-20T14:42:00.003+08:00

click to enlarge

Download Actions

Photo Ageing Actions | 1.1 MB

Create A Sepia Tone Effect In Photoshop

2008-02-19T13:40:00.004+08:00

I'll show you how easy to convert your pictures to a sepia tone images

step 1
open up your images. I choose my favourite miss world from korea mrs Honey lee. Pretty, isnt it?

step 2
convert your image mode to greyscale

click ok

Step 3
convert your image again back to RGB mode

Step 4
click Image, at Adjustment, choose Photo Filter

Step 5
Follow the setting below and choose color that you like

Finish:-)

hope this basic tutorial helps...

Save Clicks When You Close

2007-11-21T12:39:00.000+08:00

This is such a quick little tip that you might not think that it matters, but it saves a few seconds every time you close a document. If you close a number of documents a day , it really starts to add up fast. When you close a document, Photoshop presents you with a dialog asking, "Save changes to the Adobe Photoshop document before closing?" You have three choices: (1) Don't Save, (2) Cancel, and (3) Save.

Here's the shortcut: Press the letter D for Don't Save, press S for Save, and C for Cancel.

Change the INCHES TO PIXELS super fast

2007-11-21T12:21:00.000+08:00

Want to change the unit of measurement for your image? Don't go digging through
Photoshop's menus for the Preferences dialog, just Control-click (PC: Right-click) on
Photoshop's rulers and a contextual menu will appear with a list of measurement units.

(Note: If your rulers are not showing, press Command-R [PC: Control-R]). Choose the
one you want, and your rulers will instantly reflect the change.

Change Brush Softness

2007-09-03T11:21:00.000+08:00

You can increase or decrease the softness of a round brush in Photoshop without
changing the size of the brush by pressing Shift-Left Bracket or Shift-Right Bracket.
Too easy. :-)

Create Transformers Logo In Photoshop

2007-07-03T13:04:00.000+08:00

Have you watched Transformers the movie recently? It's a cool movie, isn't it? I've watched it twice and looking forward to see it again. hehe.Here's the link to Photoshop users out there to create the Transformers logo.

Draw Transformers in Photoshop by hongkiat.com

cheers

EMBED YOUR MESSAGE INTO YOUR PHOTOS

2007-05-01T13:27:00.000+08:00

As you know, your digital camera embeds background info into your photos (called EXIF data) and Photoshop embeds its own info when you edit the image (called File Properties). However, in Photoshop CS you can add your own info (called IPTC data) in the IPTC area within the Metadata palette in the File Browser. This is where you might embed your copyright info, Web site, or other comments that people viewing your file might find important. To add your info, just click to the right of any IPTC item that has a Pencil icon in front of it, and a field will appear where you can enter your own custom info.

GETTING SMALLER PHOTOSHOP FILES

2007-05-01T01:12:00.000+08:00

Do your Photoshop .psd file sizes seem a little large? It may be because of a preference setting that makes Photoshop save a flattened version of your Photoshop image, along with your layered Photoshop file.

Why does Photoshop do this? Because there's a slight possibility you might share this file with someone using Photoshop 2.5 (just like there's a slight possibility that Congress will vote to cut their own salaries), and Photoshop 2.5 didn't support layers, so it can't read your layered document. But because, by default, that flattened version is included in your layered file, guess what2.5 can open the flattened image. What luck! Who cares? I'd rather have smaller file sizes all year long, and if you would too,

go under the Photoshop menu (the Edit menu in Windows), under Preferences, under File Handling, then in the File Compatibility section, for Maximize PSD File Compatibility, change "Ask" to "Never." Think about this one for a minute and you'll wonder why this is turned on by default. Think about it for two minutes and you'll wonder why it's in Photoshop at all. Don't spend too much time on it, or you'll start to wonder who's the poor soul that's stuck on version 2.5.

Photoshop Tutorial: Create glossy button for web 2.0

2007-04-21T02:49:00.000+08:00

This tutorial will show you how to create some of the more popular Web 2.0 style button using Photoshop CS. Very nice tutorial.

link
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web/

some glossy buttons that i have designed during my free time.

link
http://huzeyk.blogspot.com/2006/12/free-glossy-button.html

TURNING YOUR LAYERS INTO SEPARATE DOCUMENTS

2007-04-17T01:12:00.000+08:00

If you have a multi-layered document and want to turn each layer into its own separate document,

Click File menu, under Scripts, and choose Export Layers to Files.
walla!

Creating columns of text

2007-04-16T23:42:00.000+08:00

Create columns and rows of text easily in Illustrator by using the Area Type options.

1.If the text area is no longer selected, use the Selection tool () to select it now.

2.Choose Type > Area Type Options. When the Area Type Options window appears, you see many choices that include settings for not only rows, but columns.

3.For this example, check Preview and change the Number text field under the heading of Columns to 2, and click OK.

Result

4.Choose File > Save. Leave this document open.

that's all mate....

Getting Better EPS Previews

2007-04-11T00:46:00.000+08:00

Problem: The image looked great in Photoshop, but now that you've converted it to CMYK, saved the file as a TIFF, and placed it into QuarkXPress, InDesign, PageMaker, etc., the image looks awfulway oversaturated and totally whacked.

Reason: The preview of CMYK TIFFs just looks like that, so don't freak outif it looked right in Photoshop, it should print fine. Okay, what if you saved the file as an EPS, and when you place the image into your page layout app, the color of the image looks okay, but it's not crisp and clear, but pixelated.

Reason: By default, the preview embedded within EPS images is a lame 256-color preview.

Solution: In the EPS Options dialog, under Preview, choose JPEG. That way, it sends a 24-bit, full-color preview, rather than the lame 256-color preview.

Type in a Perfect Circle

2007-03-31T11:08:00.000+08:00

Now that Photoshop CS can really give you type in a circle, getting a perfect circle that you can add type to is not as obvious as you'd think.

To get this perfect circle, click on the Shape tools in the Toolbox and choose the Ellipse tool from the flyout menu. Then go up to the Options Bar, and in the second group of icons from the left, click on the middle icon, which creates a regular path, rather than a Shape layer or a pixel-based shape.

Then, hold the Shift key, and drag out your circle (the Shift key constrains the shape to a perfect circle). Now you can move your Type tool over the circle, and it will change into a Type on a Path cursor. Click on the circle, and get to typing.

HOW TO COMBINE TWO PATHS INTO ONE

2007-03-31T00:27:00.000+08:00

If you're using the Pen tool, and you've created multiple paths within your document, these paths are totally separate, and are moved independently of one another.

However, if you want these paths to move as one unitcombine them. Just switch to the Path Selection tool, then go up to the Options Bar and click on the Combine button.

Now when you move one path, all the combined paths move right along with it.

PS Tips - Use Your Last Settings

2007-01-16T15:33:00.000+08:00

USE YOUR LAST SETTINGS AND SAVE TIME

This is a tip that will save you time when you're making tonal adjustments using Levels, Curves, Color Balance, etc. (most anything that appears under the Adjustments menu under the Image menu). When you bring up one of the tonal adjustment dialogs, it always displays its default settings, but if you hold the Option key (PC: Alt key) when choosing it from the Adjustments menu, instead of coming up with the default settings, it will display the last settings you used in that particular dialog. You can also add the Option (PC: Alt) key to the keyboard shortcuts. For example, the shortcut to bring up the Levels dialog is Command-L (PC: Control-L), but if you add Option (PC: Alt) to those keys, the Levels dialog will open with your last-used settings.

PHOTOSHOP REMEMBERS THE LAST SIZE YOU INPUT

2007-01-16T15:17:00.000+08:00

Although there's no way to set a default size for your New document dialog (outside of creating an action to do it for you), there's a pretty cool little-known tip that lets you open a new document using the last settings you manually input. Just press Option-Command-N (PC: Alt-Control-N) and the New document dialog will appear using the last settings you input (rather than using the clipboard data to determine the new document size).

PS TIPS : OPENING AN IMAGE

2007-01-09T14:10:00.000+08:00

OPENING AN IMAGE AND CLOSING THE FILE BROWSER

Want to open multiple photos at once and have Photoshop close the File Browser for you? Just Command-click (PC: Control-click) on all the photos you want to open, then press Option-Return (PC: Alt-Enter). All the selected photos will open, and the File Browser will close.

Fast & Easy Way Of Transforming A Vector Shape Accurately

2006-12-26T15:21:00.000+08:00

Transform command in Illustrator CS makes it easy for you to to transform a vector shape accurately the fast and easy way. It is very useful in technical drawing and in creating FA for output.

Transforming Size
I've made a red square and as you can see on the Info Palette (1), the size is 3 cm x 3 cm. Same shown on the Transform Palette (2). I've also marked the square borders with guide lines so it'll be easier for you guys to see the changes.

Now, I want to add another 0.75 cm to scale from the centre point.
(1) Select the reference point of transformation, the centre.
(2) Click on the constrain width and height proportions icon to lock it.
(3) Change either the width or height value to 3.75 cm and click Enter.
Can you see the difference (a bigger square and the new transformed size on the Info Palette).

Let say that I want to add another 0.75 cm but this time only to right side of the screen.
(1) Select the reference point of transformation, the center left.
(2) Make sure the constrain width and height proportions icon is not lock.
(3) Change the width value to 4.5 cm and click Enter.

Rotating Shape
Now, I want to rotate it 45 degrees from the centre bottom.
(1)Select the reference point of transformation, the center bottom.
(2) Key in the angle of rotation and click Enter.

Easy, isn't. Same goes with shear (next to rotate). Try experimenting these features and have fun doing it.

Adobe Releases Beta Version of Photoshop CS3

2006-12-18T14:33:00.000+08:00

so fast. Im still using PS CS1

Experience a rich new feature set for Photoshop. Macintosh users will encounter native performance on both PowerPC and Intel based Macs.

You can download the beta version here

Adobe Releases Beta Version of Photoshop CS3

Company Also Previews Adobe Bridge and All-New Adobe Device Central

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 14, 2006 - Adobe Systems Incorporated

(Nasdaq:ADBE) will introduce a beta version of Adobe Photoshop CS3 software, the next release of the world standard in digital imaging, on Friday, December 15th. Adobe is delivering a widely available Photoshop CS3 beta to enable customers to more easily transition to the latest hardware platforms, particularly Apple's new Intel-based systems. The beta is available as a Universal Binary for the Macintosh platform, as well as for Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP and Windows Vista computers. The final shipping release of Adobe Photoshop CS3 is planned for Spring 2007. The software can be downloaded at: http://labs.adobe.com, in the early hours Pacific Standard Time on December 15.

Packed with new features, Photoshop CS3 beta also includes a pre-release version of a major upgrade to Adobe Bridge, as well as a preview release of the all-new Adobe Device Central. Photoshop customers can use Adobe Device Central to design, preview, and test compelling mobile content, created specifically for smaller screens. This new tool, integrated in the Photoshop CS3 beta, simplifies and accelerates the creation of mobile content through a preview environment and built-in device profiles.

"This is an exciting time for the Mac, and Adobe wanted to ease the move to new Intel-based systems with a preview release of Photoshop CS3," said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions Business Unit at Adobe. "We didn't want to leave Windows customers out of the party, so the beta is available to everyone in the creative industry's most passionate user community -- no matter what their platform choice.

We still have some surprises in store, but this beta gives customers an early chance to see the power of another great Photoshop release, optimized and tuned to run natively on the latest hardware and operating systems."

To utilize Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta, customers require a serial number from either Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Creative Suite(r) 2, Adobe Creative Suite Production Studio, Adobe Design Bundle, Adobe Web Bundle or Adobe Video Bundle. Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta is available in English only. Customers who have a valid serial number for all other language versions of qualifying Adobe products can download the software. Without a serial number, users can still download Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta, with the product expiring after two days. Customers must register online with Adobe or have an existing Adobe.com membership account to access the software.

In related previews of future technologies, Adobe has also released two new web tools as beta releases. Adobe CSS Advisor is a new web-based community site to easily identify and resolve browser compatibility issues. Web designers and developers can contribute their own issues, comment on existing issues, or become an editor to participate in driving the site's future. The site is accessible at: www.adobe.com/go/cssadvisor. Also introduced is a beta release of Adobe Spry framework for Ajax, a designer-focused solution for adding the interactive power of Ajax when developing rich, dynamic web-sites. Adobe Spry framework for Ajax is available at: www.adobe.com/go/cssadvisor.

System Requirements

For Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta, recommended system requirements are as follows. For Macintosh: Mac OSX 10.4.8 or 10.5, 1 GHz PowerPC(r) G4 or
G5 processor, Intel based Macintosh. For Windows: Intel(r) Xeon(r) , Xeon Dual, Centrino(r) or Pentium(r) 4 processor, Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher, Microsoft Windows Vista. Both platforms require 512 MB RAM and a 1024x769 resolution screen. Photoshop CS3 beta will expire soon after the launch of Photoshop CS3 in Spring 2007.
Details on final pricing, system requirements and availability have yet to be determined.

Creating Offset Path in Illustrator

2006-12-18T10:59:00.000+08:00

Offset path command is used to duplicate a path outside or within the original path of a vector shape by a specified distance.

Step 1:
Create a vector shape. Select it and on the Illustrator Menu Bar, go to Object > Path > Offset Path.

Step 2:
A pop-out window will appear and I'm using the setting below. Then, click OK.

Step 3:
There you go. An offset path is created and I've coloured it with lime green.

Step 4:
Try creating another offset path using a negative setting. The offset path created will be within the original path area which I've coloured with orange.

Easy, isn't it. Have fun experimenting offset path. You can also use it to give an extra impact in typeface design.

(Note: Make sure to create outline (Shortcut: Shift + Command + O) the fonts/words before applying offset path command.)

INDESIGN - ADD DROP SHADOW TO YOUR TEXT

2006-12-14T13:53:00.000+08:00

Applying drop shadow to text is a very simple task.
Here is how it's done.

step 1
Open your indesign application. Click Ctrl+N to create a new document.
Click text tool ( Ctrl + T ) and start typing a word.

I typed huzeyk and use the setting below.

step 2
While the selection is still active, click Object and then select Drop Shadow.

A pop out window will appear. Tick on the Drop Shadow and Preview selection box to preview the result. If you are satisfied with the setting, click OK.

There you go. The end result of adding drop shadow. Have fun trying it.

Transforming a geometric shape to an abstract shape

2006-12-05T17:07:00.000+08:00

Transforming a geometric shape to an abstract shape is so simple and easy using illustrator.

Step 1
Create a geometric shape,e.g a red square.

step 2
go to Effect > Distort and Transform and choose Pucker and bloat

step3
A pop out window will appear. Experiment with the settings till you're satisfied with it.

step 4

Try creating an abstract artwork using different shapes , sizes and opacity. Here is an example. Pretty cool isn't it? Have fun trying it :-)

Free Glossy Button

2006-12-04T14:56:00.000+08:00

If you love having glossy button for your website project, or as your desktop icon, here are some glossy buttons that i have designed during my free time.

you can download it here for free!

File type:PSD
Size:1.3 mb

enjoy..:-)

HALFTONE EFFECT for border

2006-11-03T14:43:00.000+08:00

Halftone effect is another creative way to make an image looks more interesting rather than just a normal boring rectangular image. The tutorial below will show you step by step in creating this effect.

Step 1:
Select an image. I'm using the image below which I took during the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix 2006 at the Sepang International Circuit. ( click for larger images )

Step 2:
Adjust the canvas size (Image > Canvas Size) by adding some extra space around the image for you to apply the effect.

Step 3:
Select an area of the image that you would like to focus on by using the Rectangular Marquee or the Ellipticle Marquee Tool. Experiment with the Feather size (Select > Feather). Bigger pixel size means bigger halftone effect area. I'm using 0 px.

Step 4:
Inverse the selection area (Select > Inverse) or (Shortcut: Command + Shift + I).

Step 5:
Press the 'Q' key (shortcut for Quick Mask) and a red transparent box will appear.

Step 6:
On the Photoshop Menu Bar, go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone.

Step 7:
Color Halftone pop-up window will appear and I'm using the setting below. The bigger the Maximum Radius pixel size means the bigger the halftone circles will be. Then click OK.

Step 8:
The red transparent box will show you the halftone effect area of the end result. If you are satisfied with it, proceed to the next step.

Step 9:
Press the 'Q' key again to release Quick Mask. A selection area will appear. Press Delete.

Step 10:
There you go. The end result of Halftone Effect.

Related Tutorials
1. Creating photo border
2. Creative-photo-cropping
3.Free glossy button

Making Seamless Pattern

2006-08-17T12:02:00.000+08:00

This technique shows how to create a pattern tile with edges that won’t be visible when the tile repeats.

1. Open the image that contains the area you want to use for a pattern tile.

image copyright www.atpm.com

2. Crop the image to the size and area you want the pattern tile to be.

3. Check the size of the file by holding down Option/Alt and selecting the size box in the lower left corner of the window. Make a note of the width and height pixel values.

4. Choose Filter > Other > Offset. Select the Wrap Around option; for the horizontal andvertical values, enter approximately half the value of the width and height you noted in step 3.

5. Click OK. The Offset filter splits the image into four sections. Notice that the left half of the image completes the right half and the top half of the image completes the bottom half.

6. Now use the Clone stamp tool to blend the center seams between the four sections of the image. I use a soft-edged brush set at 50% opacity. The goal is to try to blend the backgrounds of each rectangle together and to remove other elements that you don’t want to repeat.

7. To put the finishing touches on the pattern tile, we must reverse the offset process. Choose Filter > Other > Offset. This brings up the filter dialog box last used. Add a minus before each of the pixel values to reverse the offset effect.Click OK.

9. Next, test the pattern tile for any flaws. Choose Select > All (Command/Ctrl A); then choose Edit > Define Pattern.

10. Create a new file to use as a pattern fill test. Make sure that the file is several times larger than the pattern tile. Select a large area (or the entire file), and choose Edit > Fill. From the Use pop-up menu, choose Pattern. Use a Mode of Normal and an Opacity of 100% so that you can easily identify any problems in the pattern. Click OK.

11. Walla..and you're done..you can create piece of art that you like according to your creativity..here's mine

Live Trace - New Feature in Illustrator CS2

2006-08-17T11:50:00.000+08:00

The Live Trace feature has received a lot of attention because it makes creating vector graphics out of bitmap objects a fast and easy process.Live Trace may very well end up being your favorite new feature. It's certainly the one that has garnered the most attention and praise from the technology press. Import a bitmap graphic including photos into your Illustrator document, and then use Live Trace to convert it to a vector graphic. After the conversion has taken place, you can edit the object as if you created it yourself in Illustrator. Live Trace also works on scanned graphics. That means those great ideas you have that end up drawn on cocktail napkins no longer need to be tracedor even worse, redrawnon the computer.

Just scan the drawing,
import it into Illustrator,
and convert it with Live Trace.

In three steps you're done!

USING THE FILTER GALLERY

2006-08-17T11:35:00.000+08:00

The Filter Gallery is a separate interface used to quickly apply filters in Preview window.
If you don't like the way a particular filter is working, click a category and try on another filter.
Many filters use the Filter Gallery as their interface, so you are going to encounter it frequently. If you wish to turn off the gallery to free screen space for the preview, click the small double arrow button. The thumbnails of the filter gallery hide until you click the arrow again.

The Filter Gallery contains the preview on the left, categories of filters in the middle pane, and the filter controls on the right side.

In a single image or layer, you can use the Filter Gallery cumulatively: One filter can be used on top of another filter, on top of another, and so on. You can also apply the same filter several times. Under the filter controls appears a list of filters that are applied. Beneath that, at the very bottom-right corner, are buttons to create new effect layers or delete effect layers. You click the New Effect Layer button, and the list above populates with a new filter. When you click that list item, you can then find a filter from the gallery drop-down list of filters. Each filter builds on the one underneath it. For a different effect, you can change the stacking order of the filters by clicking and dragging the filter up or down through the list. You click the trash icon to delete an effect layer you have selected. When you click OK, your single or multiple filters are applied to the image.

Angled Grid - illustrator tips

2006-08-01T13:33:00.000+08:00

You can show a non printing grid by using View-->Show grid

Once the grid is showing, just go to the preferebces dialog by pressing Command - K ( PC - Control-K) and change the Constrain Angle field from 0 degrees to whatever angle you want.

click to enlarge

Hold down the Shift key to force tools to precisely follow the angled grid. Once you done, put it back to zero..that's it :-)

How To Promote Your Tutorials by Thomas Höfter

2006-06-29T01:18:00.000+08:00

Nice article on how to promote your online tutorials.. and get traffic to
your website for free.. it works for me...

"So you have written an online tutorial for an application like Adobe Photoshop or maybe an article about a programming language you know like the back of your hand and you did so not only to share your knowledge with others but also to simply improve the traffic of your website and the image of your online business? If so you might now have just one serious problem left, which might be: How to get the word about your new web tutorial out? How to tell others about the great piece of advice you have just written? Fortunately for you there are several simple ways you can take to showcase your tutorial to the public and which will help you to easily reach your goals of more visitors and an improved image - provided your tutorial is really as good and useful as you think.

1. Submitting your tutorial to tutorial database sites
There are many websites on the internet that simply index and showcase good tutorials to a broad audience. To most of those sites you can submit your own tutorial for free and if they accept it they will place a link to it on their site where it can be seen by their visitors. The biggest site of this kind (for Adobe Photoshop tutorials) is probably http://www.good-tutorials.com/ but you might find many others by searching in Google.

2. Submitting your tutorial to tutorial voting sites
Those work quite similar to the tutorial database sites from step 1: You submit your tutorial and if users like it they will vote for it. If a tutorial gets enough votes it gets published to the front page where the most people can see it. An example for such a site would be http://www.tutorialism.com/ but as for everything else on the internet there's quite a variety of different sites available for this purpose.

3. Other social bookmarking services
There are many more websites where you can submit a link and if users like it they can vote for it or tell their friends about it - those might or might not help your tutorial. Anyway, a big list of such sites can be found at Wikipedia in the article "List of social software" and since submitting is very simple it is well worth at least trying it.
After completing all those steps your tutorial should at least receive a few thousand visitors with the top being basically open (but greatly depending on your tutorial's quality). So you can at least be sure you did not write your article for nothing.

About the Author
The author of this article, Thomas Höfter, is an independant website developer who runs a smartphone software directory as well as a Mini SD memory comparison store and a web design tutorial bookmarking site.

Applying Screen Tone Effect

2006-06-26T19:34:00.000+08:00

Screen tone is used in Japanese comics which is also known as manga.
I will show you an easy way of applying screen tone.

Step 1:
First of all, get a comic illustration in jpeg file format.

artwork by thirtynine - http://www.luzrafikr.com

Step 2:
Make a new layer for you to apply the screen tone effect. Name it screen tone and select multiply mode as shown below.

Step 3:
Using the paint bucket tool, color each and every parts that you'd like to apply the screen tone effect with different grey tones. Before that, make sure you've selected 'All Layers'. Refer to the image below.

OK. Below is the sample of the illustration that has already been toned.

Step 4:
Select all by pressing Command and click at the same time on the screen tone layer to select the grey parts. Copy screen tone layer so that you can overlap the screen tone effect on the grey parts. Set the layer mode to multiply 50%. While the selection is still active, Click Filter>Pixelate and select Color Halftone. Use the setting below.

And here is the result of screen tone.

Finding And Replacing Text

2006-06-20T18:33:00.000+08:00

Finding and replacing text is very useful when you need to change a certain word to another without having the trouble of searching the whole document one by one manually.
Imagine if there are more than just one layer in a single document. You can end up having a headache trying to sort it out.
I'll show you how to use this helpful features in Adobe Illustrator. Just follow the steps below.

STEP 1:
First of all, select Edit > Find and Replace from the Menu Bar.

STEP 2: FINDING THE WORD
Find And Replace pop out window will appear and now you can type the word/sentence that you'd like to change and the word/sentence that will replace it.
I have highlighted the word that I'd like to change (graphics) in red to make it easy for you to see the changes.
When I click Find, Illustrator will highlight the word for you. Refer to the image below.

STEP 3: REPLACING THE WORD
Next, I want to change the word (graphics) with (IMAGE). Click Replace and look at the changes below.

STEP 4: TO CHANGE IT ALL
If you'd like to change all the word (graphics) in the whole paragraph to the word (image), just click Replace All and Illustrator will automatically do it for you.
And another pop out window will appear to inform you how many changes were made.

Walla. There you go. It's so easy isn't it. Try and experiment with all the sub features in Find and Replace and enjoy it.

WRAPPING TEXT AROUND AN OBJECT

2006-06-05T18:18:00.000+08:00

STEP 1: Wrapping Text Around An Object
Place the text in a text area. Then, place the object of your choice in front of the text area (Picture 1). Select the object and on Illustrator Menu Bar, go to Object > Text Wrap > Make (Picture 2). You can see that the text is arranged surrounding the object within the text area (Picture 3).

(Picture 1)

(Picture 2)

(Picture 3)

STEP 2: Wrapping Text Around A Path
Draw a simple path around the object using the Pen Tool. If the object does not have a transparent background, you will have to place it behind the text area (Picture 4). Select the path and on Illustrator Menu Bar, go to Object > Text Wrap > Make (Picture 5).

(Picture 4)

(Picture 5)

STEP 3: To Work With Wrap Objects
You can experiment with the wrap size by adjusting the Text Wrap Options [Illustrator Menu Bar - Object > Text Wrap > Text Wrap Options]. Can you see the difference between the two settings below?

(Picture 6)

(Picture 7)

Create superhero type in a single bound

2006-06-01T21:25:00.000+08:00

To comic fans out there..this is where you can create superhero 3-D type in Adobe® Illustrator® CS.

click here:adobe.com

Better .eps file previews - Indesign tips

2006-06-01T20:41:00.000+08:00

If you're not happy with the low res preview that comes built into an imported .eps file, use Indesign's import options to generate a better one

If the the lowres preview image save into your eps file isn't all you'd like or need it to be, check the Show Import Options box in the place dialog box.

In the EPS Import Options dialog box, check the Rasterize the PostScript radio button. This tells InDesign to ignore the canned lowres preview image and generate a new preview image from the PostScript data in the Eps File.

by Tim Cole
Indesign Guru

Creating Contact Sheet

2006-06-01T13:35:00.000+08:00

Contact Sheet is something like contact print or thumbnail print. Contact Sheet is usually use to arrange or print out a large amount of images in thumbnail sizes for easy viewing. I will show you the steps of creating Contact Sheet.

click on images to enlarge

Step 1:
Select File > Automate > Contact Sheet II from the Photoshop Menu Bar.

Step 2:
The Contact Sheet II pop out window will appear and you can start customizing your Contact Sheet II properties.

Step 3:

Source Images-
Start choosing the folder that contains the images that you wish to print by clicking the Choose button (Reference A). Another pop out window will appear for you to choose your image directory (Reference E). After selecting the folder, you can see that the the file tracking of the folder that you have chosen will appear next to the Choose button (Reference A).

Document-
This is to set your contact sheet document size, resolution and color mode. There are 4 color mode options (Reference B). I'm setting mine in A4 size, 300 dpi and in RGB mode.

Thumbnails-
This is how you would like to arrange the thumbnails on your contact sheet (Reference C).

Use Filename As Caption-
This is an option wether you want the file name of each images to appear below the thumbnails.

(Reference D) shows you a brief arrangement of the thumbnails, pages of contact sheet, amount of thumbnails/images in a page and the actual size of each thumbnails. Click OK button and Photoshop will automatically do it for you.

Step 4:

Walla! Your contact sheet is all done.

Note: Press the ESC key if you wish Photoshop to stop during the arrangement process.

Why I Like PDF

2006-05-31T21:02:00.000+08:00

by Jeremy Schultz

Is PDF the perfect file format? It seems to be everywhere, do anything and hold the key to everything we do as designers. I do think it’s the (almost) perfect format—here’s why.

More interesting articles and discussions on PDF files that you need to know

click to ---> http://designorati.com/dtp/2006/why-i-like-pdf/

Illustrator cs tips-easily change color modes

2006-05-30T19:59:00.000+08:00

If you need to change the color mode being used by the color palette ( From RGB to CMYK, for example),

just press -and-hold the Shift key, and click on the color ramp at the bottom of the palette. With each click, you'll cycle through the various color modes

Create Abstract wave with Illustrator

2006-05-30T16:24:00.000+08:00

Step 1

create new background..example-red

step 2
Make 2 stroke paths with pen tools
-1 is white -1 is yellow

step 3
Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options, enter Specified Steps = 20.

Then with the 2 strokes selected, go to Object > Blend > Make.

This will blend 2 white strokes and create an abstract wave effect. If you want to change the Blend step, you can go to Object > Blend > Blend Options or double click the Blend Tool(B) on the tool bar.

here’s the result..:-)

Stop clipping when saving as an eps

2006-05-02T18:06:00.000+08:00

Sometimes when you save a document as an eps file in Illustrator, and place it into a page layout program, the EPS file appears to be "clipped".*

To make sure that doesn't happen...
step 1
Create a rectangle slightly larger than the artwork, with no fill and stroke.

step 2
Choose File> Save As..and choose Illustrator EPS in the Format. (PC : Save as Type) pop up menu.

and you're done ..

*Missing some information at the edges

The Perfect Star - Illustrator Tips

2006-04-27T20:06:00.000+08:00

To create the perfect star without having to change the setting, press-and-hold Option-Shift ( PC-Alt - Shift ) while clicking-and-dragging the star. Option/Alt changes the radius to the ideal setting for a perfect star and shift will ensure the sides of the star are straight.

p/s:Star tool is nested under the rectangle tool in the toolbox.

World cup 2006 wallpaper

2006-04-25T22:07:00.000+08:00

Looking for world cup team wallpaper?

England

download 1024x768

Netherlands

download 1024x768

Germany

download 1024x768

Brazil

download 1024x768

Spain

download 1024x768

more soon!
design by:huzeyk

World cup 2006 logo © 2001 - 2006 FIFA, All Rights Reserved

Automatic layout adjustment - Indesign Tips

2006-04-17T16:27:00.000+08:00

When you change a layout setting that affects page size, margins, or columns, and the Layout Adjustment feature is enabled, that feature uses a set of logical rules to move and resize page guides and objects.

Page designed vertically, for print (left); page orientation changed for on-screen viewing, with layout automatically refitted by the Layout Adjustment feature (right)

You can modify the rules in the Layout Adjustment dialog box. The Layout Adjustment feature attempts to approximate the proportions of the old layout in the new layout by doing the following:

* Repositioning margin guides, but maintaining margin widths, if the page size changes moving column and ruler guides to maintain proportional distances from page edges, margins, or column guides.
* Adding or removing column guides at the right side of the page, if the new layout specifies a different number of columns.
* Moving objects already aligned to any margin, column, or ruler guide, or to any two guides perpendicular to each other, so that the objects stay with those guides if the guides move during layout adjustment.
* Proportionally resizing objects already aligned to two parallel margin, column, or ruler guides or to guides on three sides, so that the objects stay with those guides if the guides move during layout adjustment.
* Moving objects to keep them in the same relative position on the page, if the page size changes.

The Layout Adjustment feature produces more predictable results when a layout is tightly based on a framework of margins, page columns, and ruler guides, and where objects are snapped to guides. Results are less predictable when objects don't adhere to margins, columns, and guides, or when extraneous ruler and column guides clutter a page. Layout adjustment is not affected by the document grid or the baseline grid.

Note: Layout Adjustment affects columns inside a text frame differently than it does page columns. If the frame itself is resized by Layout Adjustment and the Fixed Column Width is not selected in the Object > Text Frame Options dialog box, text frame columns are resized proportionally. If the Fixed Column Width option is selected, columns are added or removed as necessary.

source:
Adobe Indesign CS Help

Vector versus bitmap graphics

2006-04-14T20:51:00.000+08:00

Adobe Illustrator creates vector graphics, also called draw graphics, which are made up of shapes based on mathematical expressions. These graphics consist of clear, smooth lines that retain their crispness when scaled. They are appropriate for illustrations, type, and graphics, such as logos, that may be scaled to different sizes.

Bitmap images, also called raster images, are based on a grid of pixels and are created by image-editing applications such as Adobe Photoshop. In working with bitmap images, you edit groups of pixels rather than objects or shapes. Because bitmap graphics can represent subtle gradations of shade and color, they are appropriate for continuous-tone images such as photographs or artwork created in painting programs. A disadvantage of bitmap graphics is that they lose definition and appear jagged when scaled up.

Logo drawn as vector art

Logo rasterized as bitmap art

In deciding whether to use Illustrator or a bitmap image program such as Photoshop for creating and combining graphics, consider both the elements of the image and how the image will be used. In general, use Illustrator if you need to create art or type with clean lines that will look good at any magnification. In most cases, you will also want to use Illustrator for laying out a design, because Illustrator offers more flexibility in working with type and with reselecting, moving, and altering images. You can create raster images in Illustrator but its pixel-editing tools are limited. Use Photoshop for images that need pixel-editing, color correcting, painting, and other special effects

Creating magic ball effects

2006-04-14T20:30:00.000+08:00

Turn your photos into exciting photo by adding special effects

Tutorial by: petrakhus3d

1. Make sure your subject or background is suitable to get the best result.

2. Make a new layer (Layer 2), make a round selection using Elliptical Marquee Tool.

3. Fill in with white and double click on Layer 2 on Layer Palette to activate Layer Style Window. Select Outer Glow.

4. Key in the setting below:
Elements - Spread = 7 - Size = 18. You can choose the color that you want in outer glow effects setting. As for me, I’m using blue.

5. Click on Filter>Blur>Gaussion blur. Set it to 3.7.

6. Duplicate Layer 2 and name it Layer 3. Hide Layer 2. On Layer 3, repeat the Gaussion Blur effect (Step 5) but reduce the setting (below 3.7).

7. Hide Layer 3 and select Layer 2. Change the opacity to 80%.

8. Finally, unhide Layer 2 and 3 to view the result. For better effects, adjust the opacity on both layers.

Tips :

For more advance effects, you can add more magic balls by duplicating the layers. Change it to different sizes and opacity. Arrange it according to your creativity. Experiment with Layer Mode Screen with one of the layers for better result.

Auto Levels

2006-04-14T20:08:00.000+08:00

This command is at Image - Adjustments - Auto Level

The Auto Levels command is similar to Auto Contrast in that it maps the brightest
and darkest parts of the image to white and black.
In the process of mapping the tones (adjusting the contrast) in the Red, Green
and Blue channels, dominant color casts can be neutralized. This is not always the
case; it depends entirely on the make-up of the image. In some cases the reverse
is true; when Auto Levels is put to work on a neutral image a strong cast results.
If this occurs, undo (Edit > Undo) the command and apply the Auto Contrast
feature instead.

Place Image in Text - Indesign Tips

2006-04-10T20:40:00.000+08:00

This tips shows how to place an image inside a text in Adobe InDesign CS..
here we go

Step 1
Type the text. Choose a fat font and a fontsize that is good for filling with an image.
I use arial black and 100 pt

Step 2
In the menu Text /Type choose Create Outlines.

Step 3
Then choose Place. Check that you have checked Replace selected item. Choose your image and it will be placed inside the text outline. Use the direct selection tool (white arrow) to select the image and to move it so you see whatever part of it you want to see and also to scale it the way you want to.
Note: The text is no longer editable.

that's it :-)

My Favourite Illustrator Artist

2006-04-10T20:04:00.000+08:00

I thought it would be cool to show you what some of the hottest artists out there are doing with Adobe Illustrator.

Here's my list
1.Philip J. Neal
www.pneal.com

2. Todd Feris
www.warking.com

3. Brooke Nunez
www.lifeinvector.com

4. Mark Anderson
www.bigwhiskeyart.com

x-limit pdf magazine

2006-04-04T11:44:00.000+08:00

Xlimit is an art appreciation by young graphic artists in Malaysia
through the internet. There are lots of interesting artworks which
include vector art, photography, graphic design, image manipulation
and many more.

To view --> http://xlimit.sifoo.com

To download --> http://xlimit.sifoo.com/pdf/xlimit_vol00.pdf
right click and save as

The content of this pdf magazine is in Malay. Sorry for the
inconvenience.

Below is my artwork that was chosen to appear on this magazine.

enjoy :-)

Opening InDesign CS2 files in InDesign CS

2006-03-29T13:55:00.000+08:00

Backward Compatibility in Adobe InDesign CS2 allows InDesign CS users to open Adobe InDesign CS2 documents by first exporting them to the InDesign Interchange (INX) format. To open INX files from InDesign CS , you also need to first install an update for InDesign CS called Adobe InDesign CS 3.0.1 April 2005 (CS2 Compatibility Update). To determine if you have the update installed, see document 331403 , "Determine if you have installed InDesign or InCopy CS 3.0.1 April 2005 update."

Content that you create using functionality that is specific to InDesign CS2 might be modified or omitted when you open the file in InDesign CS. For example, footnotes and object styles (new features in InDesign CS2) drop out. However, the INX file preserves attributes applied to page objects using the Object Style palette attributes when possible.

To export an InDesign Interchange file from InDesign CS2:

1. Open or create a file in InDesign CS2.

2. Choose File > Export.

3. In the Export dialog box, select InDesign Interchange from the File Type menu (Windows) or Formats menu (Mac OS).

4. Click Save.

source: Adobe.com

Miss the old gal? - Illustrator tips

2006-03-24T19:58:00.000+08:00

For all of its life, Illustrator has always used Botticelli's Venus as its symbol. Then in the CS and CS2 versions, she went away, replaced by flowers. If you miss the old look, you can get a glimpse of the past by holding down the Option key ( PC: Alt key ) and choosing About Illustrator. In OSX on the Mac, it's under the illustrator menu, in Windows XP, it's under the Help menu.

Source fom: Illustrator CS2 Killer tips
Dave Cross/Matt Kloskowski

Make your own pattern in Illustrator

2006-03-21T20:40:00.000+08:00

Step 1
Draw the shape you want in your pattern.Here's mine

Step 2
Select all the pieces and drag them into the swatches palette.

Step 3
Now you can use the pattern swatch to fill any object.

Creating a 3d banner

2006-03-21T11:05:00.000+08:00

Here's a quick way to create banner using 3d effects in Illustrator

Step 1
Draw a path as shown below. Set the fill for this path to None and change the stroke colour to whatever color you like.

Step 2
Choose Effects> 3D>Extrude&Bevel. Use this setting
Be sure to check the preview button so that you can see the changes.

Click for larger image

Step 3.

here's the result

Simple isn't it. That's all for now. :-).

Wallpaper for f1 fans

2006-03-20T14:02:00.000+08:00

design 1 - Scuderia Ferrari Malboro 1024 x 768

design 2 - Scuderia Ferrari Malboro 1024 x 768

design 3 - BMW - Sauber F1 Team 1024 x 768

design 4 - BMW - Sauber F1 Team 1024 x 768

design 5 - Renault F1 Team 1024 x 768

PC: To apply a wallpaper to your desktop, simply click on the link... when the wallpaper window opens, right click on the wallpaper - and select ' Set as Background'

Mac User: Click on the link. Then save the image to your hard disk and use the control panel to set the picture as your wallpaper.

i'll update another design later..:-)

IMPORTANT NOTE: huzeyk blog recognizes that all registered names, logos and various terms used on the wallpapers are registered trademarks of their respective owners. These terms and images are used for identification and artistic purposes only.

Dragging and dropping into Indesign

2006-03-16T22:52:00.000+08:00

There are number of ways in which you can use drag and drop to get content in and out of Indesign. Here are my favourites:

If you ever get a lot of content for a layout delivered to you in a folder full of images,logos, text files, etc., there's a fast and easy way to get the files into InDesign that will enable you to avoid placing them one by one.

Any file type that you can import into InDesign using the Place command can also be dragged and dropped into InDesign from the desktop.

What’s great about this feature is that you can drag and drop multiple ﬁles into
InDesign in a single step. You can drag and drop all the text and/or graphic ﬁles in a project folder into your InDesign layout in one step—and that could be a big time
saver if you’re looking at importing dozens of ﬁles.

When you drag and drop from the desktop, you’ll see the icons of the ﬁles you’re placing as your cursor moves into InDesign.

1.
Arrange your InDesign windows so that you can see the desktop folder from which you want to drag and drop the ﬁles.

2.
Select all the ﬁles you want to import,and then drag them into an InDesign document window. You’ll see ghosted versions of the icons. InDesign will cascade all the imported ﬁles when you release the mouse button, and it will use the position of your cursor as the starting point for the distribution of the placed ﬁles.

Here you see the ﬁles I dragged into my layout.

cool eh?

source:Adobe Tips, Tricks and Techniques - Adobe Indesign CS by Tim Cole

PIXEL STRETCHING FOR BLOG HEADER

2006-03-14T09:23:00.000+08:00

A simple pixel stretching suitable for blog header design and etc.

STEP 1
Open a graphic that you have selected.. choose a square one.. Here, I'm using Malaysian batik motif...

STEP 2
Now, change the canvas size to a rectangle shape.. Click on Image > Canvas Size and change the setting as below..

STEP 3
Then, select Single Column Marquee Tool..

.. and make selection at as shown below

STEP 4
Press ctrl+C ( copy ) and ctrl+V ( paste ) and automatically a new layer will appear on the motif.

Then, press ctrl+T ( transform) and stretch the motif till to the end of the canvas.

Click for larger image

LAST STEP
Add in your blog name or anything that you like.. Use your creativity by adding other elements of design..

or may be you can change the color using Hue & Saturation.. and there you go.. your own pixel stretching blog header.

Click for larger image

download .psd here

Make an official stamp in photoshop

2006-03-10T20:13:00.000+08:00

Learn how to make an official stamp and position it on your website using CSS.
Simple and easy to understand

link:http://www.alexallied.com/tutorials

Instant Cloud Effect

2006-03-06T15:49:00.000+08:00

Today, we're going to learn the fast and easy technique of creating
cloud effect using Photoshop.

step 1
Open a new document. Select #1799D5 as background color.

step2
Press 'Q'- shortcut for quick mask mode
Click on filter > render > difference cloud

Then, click ctrl+F ( PC ) or Command+F (mac ) for five times

step 3
Press 'Q' again to exit quick mask mode. Automatically there will be
selection on the background.

make a new layer and name it cloud.. then, fill in white color

last step
duplicate cloud layer to add on more clouds

Creating Photo Border

2006-03-02T18:00:00.000+08:00

Photo border... Another creative creation using Photoshop

tutorial by: jedimaster
www.muzamli.com

1. THE FIRST STEP

Select an image or photo. I'm using the image above (Photo A) which size is 327 x 260 pixels. Open a new document (Photo B). Size: 364 x 287 pixels with resolution of 72dpi and in RGB color mode.

Then, select Photo A and drag the image to the new document using Move Tools (V)

You can see that I had leave some space around the image for the Photo Border.

2. STROKE EFFECT

On Photoshop Menu Bar, select Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options > Stroke.

Use the setting below:

Structure:-
-Size : 10 pixels (make it thick)
-Position : Inside (Border will be construct inside the image area)
-Blend Mode : Normal
-Opacity : 100%

Fill Type: Color
-Color : White (or any other color)

3. Drop Shadow Effect

Again, on Photoshop Menu Bar, select Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options > Drop Shadow.

Use the setting below for Drop Shadow:

Structure:-
-Blend Mode : Multiply (Black)
-Opacity : 75%
-Angle : 90 degrees (uncheck Use Global Light first)
-Distance : 3px
-Spread : 0%
-Size : 10px

Quality;- Default setting

4. Background

If the Shadow effect is not visible enough, try to fill in color to the background. I'm using white as my background color.
(Note: Fill in color on the Background Layer! Not on the image layer). (See the result below)

5. Final Touch Up

You can use your own creativity to make it look more interesting. For example, make it looks like a pile of photos as shown above.

Simple isn't it. That's all for now. :-)

world cup 2006 vector logo

2006-03-01T18:33:00.000+08:00

world cup 2006 vector logo in eps format. open in any vector graphics application - Illustrator, coreldraw,freehand etc.

download here
WC 2006 vector

click free download

looking for world cup team crests?

download here
team crests

click free download
World cup 2006 logo © 2001 - 2006 FIFA, All Rights Reserved

Looking for world cup team wallpaper?

England

download 1024x768

Netherlands

download 1024x768

Germany

download 1024x768

Brazil

download 1024x768

Spain

download 1024x768

more soon!
design by:huzeyk

World cup 2006 logo © 2001 - 2006 FIFA, All Rights Reserved

Color scheme generator 2

2006-03-01T14:05:00.000+08:00

Choose a good color scheme..

Generator of color schemes and palettes to create good-looking and well balanced and harmonic web pages. This is the new version of the previous color generator.

click here
http://wellstyled.com

Energy Blast - Photoshop tutorial

2006-02-28T18:33:00.000+08:00

very nice photoshop tutorial . Learn how to make a neat looking blasted effect..simple and it's cool!

link

Illustrator Tips - Change one layer to outline view

2006-02-28T18:27:00.000+08:00

Changing to Outline view ( Ctrl+Y) is a great way see all the paths and anchor points. If you want to change only one layer to outline view, press and hold Control key and click on its eye icon.

Reset Horizontal Scaling

2006-02-24T23:43:00.000+08:00

To reset just the horizontal Scale field to its default setting of 100%, without affecting all the other text setting in the Character Palette ( Window>Type>Character), Press Command-Shift-X ( PC: Control-Shift-X)..

You can use this tips to reset the horizontal scaling of an entire selected text block or to simply change the setting in the Character Palette before you create another text object..

JUMP TO ANY LAYER - Photoshop tips

2006-02-24T23:41:00.000+08:00

JUMP TO ANY LAYER JUST BY CLICKING IN YOUR IMAGE
You can jump to any layer in your document without going to the Layers palette. Press "v" to switch to the Move tool. Now, press-and-hold the Command key (PC: Control key), and click on an object on a layer in your image that you want, and you'll instantly jump to that layer.

new wallpaper series

2006-02-24T11:45:00.000+08:00

download here

Photoshop Tips - HIDE YOUR OTHER LAYERS

2006-02-23T13:20:00.000+08:00

To hide an individual layer, click on the Eye icon in the first column next to that layer in the Layers palette. To make the layer visible again, click on the spot where the Eye icon used to be. If you want to keep one layer visible and hide all the others, hold the Option key (PC: Alt key) and click on the Eye icon beside the layer you want to keep visible. To make the other layers visible again, repeat the process.

click image to enlarge

CRADLE Projekt | ArtBlookazine Assemblage pt.1

2006-02-21T11:54:00.000+08:00

What, CRADLE Projekt?
Cradle stands for Corak Rekabentuk Alternatif Dalam Lakaran Ekspresif/Alternative Design Pattern in Expressive Perspective.
The projekt is devoted to all blogger that use blog/web as a medium to express their creativitism and idealism in Art, Illustration, Graphics, Comics Activities.
It's a small step taken by a art assemblage that called themselves Kembara as a medium for all Artist, Illustrator, Graphics Designer, Comicus to expressed their creativity.

Connecting and publishing artblogger creative contents and spread the message would revolt art. The concept of design architectural and creative development in one art assemblage, The ArtBlook Assemblage.

What, ArtBlook! Assemblage?
ArtBlook is inspired by the blogger all over the world that has published their journals in their blog in a book, so it was called a blook. ArtBlook stand for Art Blog Book.
Assemblage is a verb and has the definition of gathering, synonym like aggregation, assembly, association, collection, company, congregation, convergence, crowd, group, throng and in a easier way to tell is it's a collectives.

What is this Projekt For?
A creative human that observe the environment around to create something different and revolting to other. Someone that inspired and aspired to revolt art to the fullest and living and thinking outside the box.

Someone that strive individually and independently to show his creative side of thinking. If it a big show than a communites should gather to make it happen.

Any creative human that do not have a places to exhibit their right brain analogy. Any serious artist that need a route to be known in the world wide web.

Anyone that does Illustration, Drawing, Painting, Comics, Digital Art, Vector Art, Street Art, Graffiti, Graphic, Motion Graphic and any kind of Art And Craft. If you one of those creative human that wanted to share and show how you developed one art project, than it was you that we want. show your roght brain revolting creative art touch.

In a simpler way to make you understand it goes to anyone that has a blog and it's content are about art and craft and has a huge right brain.

Stay up for more newsinfo and update about CRADLE Projekt
for more info --->http://cradleprojekt.blogspot.com/

5 Reasons for Using Pre-Made Web Image Templates

2006-02-21T11:44:00.000+08:00

By Leva Duell

You can find templates for every type of image typically used on a web page. From web page templates to header templates, banner templates, navigation buttons, order buttons, and ebook covers, you can find what you need on the Internet. Why would you consider using a pre-made template? Well, below you will find the top five compelling reasons for doing so.

Save Time – Sure, you could make your own ... assuming that you have the graphic design skills, the software, and the time needed to put your graphic images together. However, most likely you will find your time better spent on developing and marketing your web site. What is your time worth? Even if you have the know-how and the right software, do you really want to spend your time on this time-consuming task? You would have a better chance of making money if you get your site online faster, and put more time and energy into marketing your site.

Save Money – The other alternative to creating your own web site and web images is to hire a professional designer. This would certainly save you time, but can be expensive – especially when you are creating multiple web sites. For about the same price you would pay to get one designer-made graphic, you could get a whole collection of quality, pre-made templates.

The Results – A high-quality web site with professional-looking graphics will instill confidence in visitors and promote sales. It has been shown repeatedly that using quality graphics can increase sales by 200 to 300 percent, and even more. If you don’t have the skills to design good images, and don’t have the budget to hire a professional designer to custom make them for you, then your best alternative is to invest in well-made templates. All you have to do is add your own text and you are ready to go. The result will be a greatly improved chance for increased sales.

Inspiration – Even if you do have the skills and time to produce your own graphics, coming up with the right image can be difficult. The blank canvass syndrome has plagued artists and graphic designers forever. If you have a collection of well-made templates on hand, then you have an almost unlimited supply of inspiration. You can either customize an existing template, or take one of the template ideas and create your own totally new image.

Availability – Pre-made, quality templates are readily available and generally economically priced. This makes purchasing templates a sound business decision.

Put your time and energy into the most productive tasks. Start using quality web templates to save time, increase productivity, and give a professional look to your web site.

Boost Credibility with Templates!

Header templates/web templates
FREE 34+ clipart and photo resources
Custom design of Web graphics

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leva_Duell

ILLUSTRATOR TIPS-THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FILTER AND EFFECT IN ILLUSTRATOR

2006-02-21T11:00:00.000+08:00

The main difference between Filter and Effect is Effect is more flexible where the object can be modified using Appearance palette (Window > Appearance) but this process uses to much of the computer's memory and processor's power.

In the other hand, Filter will immediately and totally change the object's anchor points and path segments and you won't be able to modify the changes after applying Filter. Applying Filter to an object is much more faster than applying Effect (if the object is complicated with many paths)

Below is an example of the difference.

Illustrator Tutorial-QUICK AND EASY WAY TO MAKE CURVED OBJECT

2006-02-20T11:34:00.000+08:00

1. Make a rectangle using the Rectangle Tool (Shortcut: M). Refer to the image below.

2. Then, on Illustrator Menu Bar, click Effect > Warp > Flag and key in the setting below.

3. You can see that even though the rectangle shape has changed, it still maintains its original anchor points and path segments.

Next, go to Illustrator Menu Bar again and click Object > Expand Appearance. This will create new anchor points along the modified path and it will be easier for you to experiment with the new shape.

I applied this technique to some of my design such as below.

8)

Line Art Coloring

2006-02-16T16:53:00.000+08:00

CONTINUATION FROM Digital Comic Coloring

The usual line art color for comic illustrations is black. Fill in Color is to change line art color to make the artwork more interesting. As you all know that you can fill in color when there is a selection area. And how do you make selection area on line art? You can use Magic Wand but this is not a proper technique plus it does not fully select the whole area that you want. It will missed to select the small and tiny areas. This is when Channel is used.

What is Channel?
I'll show you how to use Channel in this tutorial.

Step 1: Copy... Paste
Select all and copy [Shortcut: Command + C (mac) - Ctrl +C (PC)] line art Daria layer (Refer to 1). Then, click on Channel palette and make a new channel (automatically named alpha 1) and paste [Shortcut: Command (mac)+V- Ctrl +V (PC)] (Refer to 2).

Note: Click on the image to view its original size

Step 2: Load Selection
Invert image on Channel 'alpha 1' [Command +I (mac )] ( PC - change command to control) so it'll become a negative image (Refer to 1). Then, click to Layer palette and make a new layer. On Photoshop menu bar, go to Select > Load Selection (Refer to 2). Click OK on Load Selection pop up window (Refer to 3). Observe: Channel 'alpha 1' is the channel that we paste just now.

Step 3: Fill Color
Now, you can see the selection area on Daria line art image (Refer to 1). Fill in dark brown color (Refer to 2) or any color that you want. Turn off the original (black outline) line art Daria Layer.

Step 4: Fill In Color Part by Part
Deselect the selection are. On the same layer, make lasso selection at the hair area (Refer to 1). This is a bit tricky.

Click and hold on the thumbnail image on layer palette and at the same time press Command + Control. Then a window will pop out (Refer to 2) and select Intersect Transparency Mask. You can see that the hair area is selected. Fill it with black. I use Airbrush to get the smooth gradient effect.

Step 5: Fill In Color Part by Part Again
When you have finished with the hair, repeat the fill in color process on the eyebrows, eye lashes, lips and etc.

download complete digital comic coloring - pdf format (e-book)

download here

tutorial by: ensalim-huzeyk team
salimdawam@yahoo.com

MAGAZINE COVER: MASTHEAD EDITING

2006-02-15T16:16:00.000+08:00

Hi! We meet again in this huzeyk Photoshop Tutorial. This time we'll be designing a magazine cover where the masthead is behind the main image on the cover of a magazine.

Examples:

STEP 1
Get an image of your favorite artist/singer/etc or you can download the image below. Here, I am using the photo of Malaysia's popular singer, Siti Nurhaliza. Open it using Photoshop.
Note: Click on the image to view its original size

STEP 2
Then, type the name of your magazine. This will be the masthead. I'm naming this magazine as 'Trend'. Click Type Tool (Shortcut: T) and I use the setting below.

On layer 'Trend', click Layer Window > Layer Style > Blending Mode.

I use this setting for Stroke ....

.... and this setting for Drop Shadow ....

.... and this is the result.

Now, here comes the important part of this tutorial, to move the masthead behind the image so that the image will stand out and to make it looks like the rest of the top magazines in the market.

STEP 3
Change the opacity of layer 'Trend' to 25-30% so it'll be easier for you to make path. Click on Pen Tool (Shortcut: P) and start tracing the path around the head near the masthead.

Then, go to Path Window and click on 'load path as selection'.

STEP 4

The path will change to normal selection area. Click on the background layer, copy and paste on a new layer. Make sure this layer is on top of the other layers and name it 'head 1'.

.... and this is the result.

STEP 5
Finally, add on the bar code, published date, volume number, price and titles of the main articles in the magazine to make it look like a real magazine.

download psd file
download here

Announcing Adobe Acrobat 3D

2006-02-15T10:07:00.000+08:00

Adobe^® Acrobat^® 3D - The newest member of the Acrobat software family

Adobe Acrobat 3D software enriches collaboration by enabling extended teams to use Adobe PDF documents to more securely and reliably communicate 3D design intent. Insert and publish 3D designs from major CAD applications in Adobe PDF documents that can easily be shared with suppliers, partners and customers using free Adobe Reader 7.0.

Key benefits:
Convert 3D designs from major CAD applications
Capture 3D designs directly from your CAD application
Reduce errors, design changes and number of review cycles
Enrich communications
Accelerate collaboration
Leverage Microsoft Office documents
Control access

For more details, visit http://www.asia.adobe.com/products/acrobat3d/main.html

Illustrator tips - create your own cropmarks

2006-02-14T18:15:00.000+08:00

You can easily create crop marks around a graphic in Illustrator. Just draw a rectangle that represents the crop area. With the rectangle selected, go to Object > Crop Area> Make.

If you need to change the crop marks, use Object > Crop area> Release and then edit the rectangle

RASTERIZE TIMES - photoshop tips

2006-02-11T20:42:00.000+08:00

If you have multiple Type layers and you want to convert them all to image layers, there's a way to do it without individually rasterizing each. Simply go under the Layer menu, under Rasterize, and choose All Layers. This will rasterize all the Type layers at once

NO MORE JAGGY LASSO TOOL SELECTIONS

2006-02-11T20:17:00.000+08:00

Have you ever tried to create a smooth selection using the Lasso tool? It's just about impossible, right? If you were trying to create a selection for an interface design, or a realistic element of some sort, it would just be too jaggy to use. Here's a tip:

1.Draw around the area you want to use as your selection with the Lasso tool.

2.Press the letter "q" to enter Quick Mask mode (your selection will now be surrounded by solid pink).

3.Go under the Filter menu, under Noise, and choose Median. As you raise the Radius of the Median filter, you'll see your edges smooth out.

4.When it looks nice and smooth, click OK, then press the letter "q" again to return to Standard mode, and you'll have nothing but a nice smooth selection.

Creative photo cropping

2006-02-09T00:52:00.000+08:00

Step 1
Create a new document (480 pixels x 360 pixels). Make a new layer and name it 'brush'. Select brush tool (Shortcut: b) and start to sketch on the 'brush' layer. Try different brush size. Below is the example. Make sure the background color is black so it'll be easy for you to make selection later.

Step 2
Make another new layer and paste your selection of image on this layer. Name this layer 'pic'.

Step 3
Now, hide layer 'pic'. Select layer 'brush' and then go to (Select > Color Range). Select 'sampled color' and select on the black area. The whole black area will be selected automatically.

Step 4
Click layer 'pic' and the you can see the selection area on the image. Make inverse selection (Select > Inverse).

Step 5
Delete the area and the result is as below.

Step 6
Now, lets put some texture effect on layer 'background'. Pick foreground and background color. Using gradient tool (Shortcut: g), drags it upwards or downwards. Make sure the gradient is in Foreground to Background mode.

Step 7
Click Filter > Texture > Texturizer. I use this setting to get the watercolor paper effect.

Step 8
Double click on background layer to create a new layer and go to Layer>layer Style> Blending Options . To get this effect, I use this setting for Inner Shadow. But you can still experiment with the other options.

Finally,
There's your own unique photo cropping.yeayyy:-)

My Freezing Cold Office

2006-02-08T17:17:00.000+08:00

I've forgotten to bring my sweater today
It means that I'll be suffering in this freezing cold office
This vector artwork is to visualize what I'm feeling
Coz I can't switch that damn air-cond off..huahuha

Photoshop Tips - Change Tools Quickly

2006-02-08T02:37:00.000+08:00

There are many sets of tools that you access in the toolbox by pressing-and-holding on the visible tool, which pops-up a menu of additional tools. Another method to switch quickly between tools in a set is to hold down the Option key ( PC-Alt key) and click on the visible tool. Each time you click, you'll switch to the next tool in the set. Simple is'nt it?

Illustrator Tips - Round Joins

2006-02-08T02:15:00.000+08:00

When you create a path that has a sharp corner, you have a couple of options for making it " less pointy". in the stroke palette ( found under the window menu), you can either adjust the meter limit field by entering a lower number or in many cases, it is simpler to change the join from miter join to round join or bevel join by clicking on one of the join icons. Remember to expand the strokes palette if you can't see the meter limit or join icons.

default meter limit of 4

Miter limit of 1

Round join

Link Exchanges

2006-02-06T23:30:00.000+08:00

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Resources to start, maintain, or grow your Internet business. Are you looking to manage your income and manage your life? Our ebook outlet has everything you need to start your home based Internet business.

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Understanding Computer Graphics Formats

2006-02-06T21:36:00.000+08:00

By David Manson

Computer graphics can add life to any project but using the wrong format can mean that you could end up with a poor quality image or large file. Computer store images in different ways, as a bitmap where image information are stored in pixels or as a vector format where image information is stored in the form complex mathematical formula.

So let's first look at pixel format, a picture in this format can be broken down into thousands of tiny blocks called pixel. Each pixel stores information like color and brightness, when you open a image file thousands of these pixel align themselves to give you the final picture. Most common pixel formats are JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF etc.

In pixel formats, if you want a highly detailed image which directly increases the image file size - also when you zoom into pixel graphics you will notice jagged edges(pixels) which affects the appearence of the image.

Vector graphics on the other hand do not face these issues. In a vector format, an image is created mathematically by describing the position, length, direction and color of all lines, which collectively form the final image. The advantage of vector graphics is that it offers superior image quality. some of the popular vector formats in CDR (CorelDraw), AI (Adobe Illustrator), WMF (Windows Meta File) etc. One of the biggest drawbacks of vector images is that they are not photo realistic, pixel format are preferred for phot realistic images.

Color depth of an image determines quality and richness of the image. Color depth are coded at 8-bit (256 colors), 16-bit (65,536 colors) and 24-bit (16.7 million colors). 24 bit images offer true to life quality on the images as it supports and displays millions of colors. Athough would need a good graphics card to view at 24-bit which most computers today are easily able to display.

What are web safe colors? In simple terms, a web safe color can defined as a color that appears the same in all web browsers on both Windows and Mac computers. In HTML, colors are expressed either as hexadecimal values (for example, #FF0000) or as name of color (red,green,blue etc). During advent of Internet – computers and web browsers would display in 8-bit mode (256 colors supported) , but today all computers are able to display at 16-bit or 32-bit colors which is millions of colors. It is not critical anymore to use a browser safe color palette especially if you are targetted today’s computers as your audience. However do not forget that there are other ways to access internet through devices such as PDA’s and Cellphones which still continue to display at 8-bit mode.

So if you have a website or plan on a website where appearance of colors are critical you should play safe by using web safe color palette – there are 216 common colors that are web safe.

Images play a very important role in the look and feel of a web page or website. Good use of colors & images can boost the performance of your website, establish credibility and comfort for the user, but more importantly convey message of your product or services but here are few web design tips.

Internet Speed - Faster the Internet connection faster the users will be able to see your website. It is always a good practice to design for dial-up users.
Relevance - Faster is better! People start getting impatient if it takes longer than 30 seconds to download your page and its graphics.
Simple - Keep web page interface simple and easy to navigate and read text. Avoid flashy animations and bright colors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Learn more about learning HTML & website design.

David Manson is a successful internet entrepreneur and also works as an independent consultant for many Internet companies and has helped numerous home based web businesses become successful online. For more computer related information visit here

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Manson

new artwork - new wallpaper

2006-02-04T04:52:00.000+08:00

inspired by queen - i want to break free
medium:Illustrator 10 + hot coffee

download
1280x960
1024x768
800x600

CG Art is quickly replacing the old artists tools

2006-02-02T21:09:00.000+08:00

Author:Scott Davis

The world of art has been invaded by the computer age and its' many inventions. Artists are now finding themselves in a situation where technical knowledge of computers and programming is becoming as necessary as their artistic instinct. One program alone, Maya by Alias, uses over 1000 predesigned commands and allows for the infinite creation of your own through their proprietary coding language MEL or (Maya Encoded Language). Artists are now being called upon to write "scripts" to make their functionality and productivity more efficient. This efficiency is the key to being profitable as a digital artist. These artists are being pummeled with a myriad of new tools which they can achieve amazing results with.

Tools such as Photoshop and Gimp allow artists to work with layered and editable media. They no longer have to cover up their oil paint with another layer, and worry about distorting the textures. They can now create digital art with as many layers of contrasting color, light and detail as they can imagine. They can reproduce their art in massive quantities and make it accessible to the general public. They can advertise their art for sale on the web with low resolution "teaser images" and can sell their work as a digital download. Some artists still want to see their work printed.

Their are many fine art printers available on todays market that can produce amazing saleable results. One printer is the Roland SJ 1045. It will print media up to 4 feet by 8 feet ad over 1400 DPI of resolution. This is just one example of the types of equipment that are available to artists. Epson, HP, and Lexmark all make equivelant machines as well. This means that an independent artist can custom print his or her work based upon immediate need and current demand. A digital artist can even customize their art to suit the needs of a specific customer, whether that be a regular patron or a business client. This means that the digital artist is able to be flexible and responsive.

Gone are the days when a oil paint artist will be designing movie backdrops or cereal boxes. The digital artists ability to be flexible and adapt to the artistic and marketing visions of the "team" are making them an invaluable part of our modern artworld. This is a reality that is not wihtout its' detracting points. Art made off traditional media does have some advantages.

Oil and latex paint work can have a depth of texture and an originality that cannot be replicated with pixels. colors blend at a molecular level and become amorphous; whereas digital art is grainy if viewed up close, even at the highest resolutions. The sad reality is; digital art is taking over. Not many artists can afford to stick with the traditional media and only turn out one piece of art per month. Only the most elite and conspicuous of traditional artists will survive the digital age.

----------------

About The Author

Scott Davis is the VP of sales and Marketing of FerReel Animation Labs, Inc. He also teaches and runs a very popular art website, 3Dexcellence.com. He works with some of the most talented and noteworthy digital artists in the world. He has a degree from the California State University of San Bernardino and has done extensive post graduate work at the University of Redlands in CA and at the University of San Diego.

http://www.3dexcellence.com

Adobe Photoshop CS Glossary - A

2006-02-02T20:49:00.000+08:00

Action
A series of tasks that you record and save to play back later as a single command.

Active layer
The layer highlighted on the Layers palette.
The active layer’s name appears in parentheses in the image window title bar.

Active setting
Active setting
In the Curves dialog box, the point that you
click and drag to change the input and output
values.

Additive colors
A color system in which, when the values of
R, G, and B are 0, the result is black; when
the values are all 255, the result is white.

Adjustment layer
An additional layer for which you can specify
individual color adjustments. The adjustment
layer allows you to temporarily alter a layer
before making the adjustment permanent.

Adobe Bridge
A stand-alone application that serves as the
hub for the Adobe Create Suite.

Adobe ImageReady
A program included with Photoshop that
you can use to create buttons, rollovers,
and animations.

Alpha channel
Specific color information added to a
default channel. Also called a spot channel.

Ambience property
Controls the balance between the light
source and the overall light in an image.

Anchor points
Small square handles, similar to fastening
points, that connect straight or curved line
segments.

Angle
In the Layer Style dialog box, the setting
that determines where a drop shadow falls
relative to the text.

Animation
The illusion of motion, created by placing
a series of images in the same location
and adjusting the timing between their
appearances.

Annotation
A written and/or auditory note embedded
into a Photoshop file.

Anti-aliasing
Partially fills in pixel edges, resulting in
smooth-edge type. This feature lets your
type maintain its crisp appearance and is
especially useful for large type.

Artistic filters
Used to replicate natural or traditional media
effects.

Audio annotation
A sound file that is saved within a
Photoshop file.

Watermark your Photos for Copy Protection

2006-02-02T18:32:00.000+08:00

Placing an overlay watermark on images that you plan to post on the Web will identify them as your own work and discourage people from copying them or claiming them as their own. You can add a semi-transparent overlay to many images automatically when you use the Web Photo Gallery Creator feature in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Just look under the "Security" section of the setup dialog.

The choices available include custom text, copyright notice, the filename, a caption, credits, or title. Note that some of these options will only exisit if you have added them to the IPTC data through the "File Info" command in Photoshop, or through another image manager that supports IPTC data.

You can also control the color, font, size, and position of the watermark text.
Some options you may want to use for the custom text would be "Proof", "Sample", your company name and URL, or the copyright symbol.

To embed a watermark:

Open the image that you want to watermark. You can embed only one digital watermark per image. The Embed Watermark filter won't work on an image that has been previously watermarked.

If you're working with a layered image, you should flatten the image before watermarking it; otherwise, the watermark will affect the active layer only.

Note: You can add a digital watermark to an indexed-color image by first converting the image to RGB mode, embedding the watermark, and then converting the image back to indexed-color mode. However, the results may be inconsistent. To make sure that the watermark was embedded, run the Read Watermark filter.

Choose Filter > Digimarc > Embed Watermark.
If you are using the filter for the first time, click the Personalize button. Get a Digimarc ID by clicking Info to launch your Web browser and visit the Digimarc Web site at www.digimarc.com, or by contacting Digimarc at the telephone number listed in the dialog box. Enter your PIN and ID number in the Digimarc ID text box, and click OK.

Once you have entered a Digimarc ID, the Personalize button becomes a Change button, allowing you to enter a new Digimarc ID.

Enter a copyright year, Transaction ID, or Image ID for the image.
Select any of the following image attributes:

Restricted Use to limit the use of the image.
Do Not Copy to specify that the image should not be copied.
Adult Content to label the image contents as suitable for adults only. (Within Photoshop, this option does not limit access to adult-only images, but future versions of other applications may limit their display.)

For Target Output, specify whether the image is intended for monitor, Web, or print display.
For Watermark Durability, drag the slider or enter a value, as described in the next section.
Select Verify to automatically assess the watermark's durability after it is embedded. For more information.
Click OK.

From Sue Chastain,
source:http://graphicssoft.about.com

Illustrator CS2 Tips #1 - Make yourself famous

2006-01-31T22:22:00.000+08:00

Ok, so it's a stretch to include this tip anywhere, but i thought it was cool. Make yourself famous by appearing in the credits that display on a PC when you choose Help>About Illustrator and click on the Credits button. Just modify the file located in Adobe Illustrator CS2\Support Files\Content\Windows. The file name is CreditsText.utxt and it opens in any basic text editor.

Add your name into it, save it and show the credits. You can impress all of your friends by saying you were on the product team. (okay, maybe that's exxagerating a bit. They probably won't believe you, but it's still fun.)

---------
i've bought this book at MPH, Kuala Lumpur. Lots of new tips and techniques. love it!

From:Illustrator CS2 Killer tips by Dave Cross and Matt Kloskowski
www.peachpit.com

looking for world cup crests? you can download here

2006-01-31T12:23:00.000+08:00

world cup 2006 is just around the corner
download this vector file for your non-commercial projects

download here

free wallpaper download

2006-01-27T22:48:00.000+08:00

click image to download my latest wallpaper design.
hope you'll like it...

1280x960 resolution

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL - AQUA BUTTON

2006-01-27T12:27:00.000+08:00

There are a few techniques to create aqua button. This is one of it.

Step 1:
Open a new document. Set the size at 200 pixels x 200 pixels.

Step 2:
Select Pencil Tool and make two lines as shown. Pencil size is 1 pixel. Color code: R=104 G=137 B=171.

Step 3:
click rectangular marquee tools ( shortcut M). Make selection between 2 lines. See picture

Step 4:
Select Gradient Tool. Drag Gradient Tool vertically from the top
Color code: R=201 G=218 B=236 Background color: White

Step 5:
Using Rectangular Marquee Tool, select an area as shown. Make sure it's not too big. Set the foreground color: R=201 G=218 B=236 and background color: R=201 G=218 B=236.

Step 6:
Select gradient Tool and drag it vertically from the top. Make sure the Gradient Editor is in Foreground to Transparent mode.

Step 7:
Zoom the document to 200%. Select Pencil tool and make a line. Line color code: R=201 G=218 B=236.

finish :).
Simple isn’t it? Thank you for following through this tutorial and have a great time using your new buttons!

ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIAL - SIMPLE BASIC GLASS EFFECT

2006-01-26T14:06:00.000+08:00

This tutorial is for Adobe Illustrator CS users. I'll update it from time to time to share the techniques that I know.

step 1

Make a circle shape
Color code: R=237 G=107 B=17

step 2

Make a shape as shown. One to be place on top and another one below the circle.

step 3

step 4

Place these two shapes on the circle. Now, you've got yourself a glass effect button!

free wallpaper download

2006-01-26T10:48:00.000+08:00

click image to download my latest wallpaper design.
hope you'll like it...

Digital Comic Coloring

2006-01-25T00:49:00.000+08:00

The steps of the tutorials below is for Adobe Photoshop 6. All the shortcuts is according to Macintosh keyboard (quite similar with PC). This tutorial is for those who are familiar with Photoshop. To render a face is a bit tricky, needs a little patient.

Click on images to enlarge

Direction: Download lineart step 1, then click & download actual size file. When coloring in Photoshop, display the files next to the other so it'll be easy for you to refer and pick colors.

1. Download Lineart

p/s - click image to enlarge

Download lineart DARIA without changing the size and dpi.
Open the file using Photoshop (Command+O). Make sure the file is in RGB mode.

2. Layer Setting

Set the layer as shown above. Rename Layer 1 as 'daria' and set it to MULTIPLY. Create a new transparent layer below Layer 1. Name it 'flat' and set it to NORMAL.

Making Lasso Selection
Make lasso selection on Layer 'flat'. Hold the 'Option' key to select different areas of the face, hair, eye pupils & lips.

3. Filling Flat Colors (Flattening)

On Layer 'flat', fill in flat color to the face, hair, eye pupils & lips.
Shortcut for 'Fill Color' is Option+Delete.
Select colors for the face, hair, eyes & lips from the actual image using Eyedropper Tool.

4. Airbrush Tool - Brush Setting

Select Airbrush Tool from the Toolbox and set the Brush Setting to:
Brush pressure - 30%
Brush diameter - 175%
Hardness - 0%
Spacing - 25%

5. Start Airbrushing

The green guide circle that I made shows the brush size. Using Magic Wand, select areas of the face. Pick 'Foreground Color' from the Toolbox. Spray on the forehead with 3 clicks (1), observe the brush position which is a little bit off from the selection. Then, spray in the middle of the face with 3 clicks (2). Done.

6. Forehead Shading

Make lasso selection on the forehead. Pick color from the Toolbox. Shade the lower part of the forehead according to the movement shown.

7. Shading the Eyes, Cheeks & Chin

Make lasso selection just like the above. Set the brush diameter to 80% (Shortcut: Press the ' [ ' key for a few times). Pick color from the Toolbox. Shade on the lasso selection area according to the above. Observe the brush position. Set brush diameter to 40% and shade the lower part of the nose with 2 clicks. Observe the brush position.

8. Airbrushing Cheeks & Chin Area

Make lasso selection just like the above. Set the brush diameter to 70%. Pick color from the Toolbox. Spray on the lasso selection area with 2 clicks. Observe the brush position. Set the brush diameter to 50% and spray the chin area with 2 clicks. Observe the brush position. Now, you can see the form of the face.

9. Airbrushing Right & Left Cheek

Make lasso selection on the right & left cheek. Set the brush diameter to 60%. Pick color from the Toolbox. Spray on the lasso selection area with 2 clicks. Observe the brush position.

10. Airbrushing Lips

Make lasso selection just like the above. Set the brush diameter to 30%. Pick color from the Toolbox. Spray on the lasso selection area with 2 clicks. Observe the brush position.

11. Airbrushing Hair

Select hair area using Magic Wand Tool. Set the brush diameter to 60%. Pick color from the Toolbox. Spray on the selection area with 3 clicks. Observe the brush position. Now, the form of the face is much better.

12. Airbrush Highlights

Make lasso selection on the area of the hair, nose & lips (and forehead if you want to). Set the brush diameter to 150% for the hair, 60% for the nose & 30% for lips. Spray on the hair according to the brush position. Observe the brush position.

13. Airbrush Extras
Make lasso selection just like the above. Set brush diameter to 100%. Spray with 2 clicks. Observe the brush position. Now, it's all done.

14. Final Touch up & 2 Light Sources
When everything is OK, you can decide to add on shading or play with o few light sources. Daria is rendered with 2 light sources. Just try a few times so you'll understand then steps.

The Masters
Names such as Brian Haberlin (founder) & Liquid! are the first few people who applied this technique. Other names that are synonym with this comic coloring style are Justin Ponsor, Guy Major, Matt Milla, Richard Isanove and Dave Kemp.

Samples

download complete digital comic coloring - pdf format (e-book)

download here

by ensalim-huzeyk team
salimdawam@yahoo.com

huzeyk portfolio gallery
http://www.huzeyk.com/

Corporate Logo Design – 6 Keys to Success

2006-01-24T12:36:00.000+08:00

by Ray Smith

A corporate logo design should be highly instrumental in building your corporate identity and should successfully exude the company’s attitude. The viewers must have some idea about the disposition, character, or fundamental values of your company through your logo.
Following certain basic principles can ensure that your corporate logo design is professional easy to remember and creates a great impact on its viewers while successfully expressing the nature of your business.

Go for Professional Logo Designers You might save a few dollars doing your own logo or getting it done from the next door boy who knows the basics of designing but if you are serious about your business you should always go for a professional logo design firm. Your corporate logo is your identity, your customers recognize you by your logo, so the more professional and sophisticated your logo is the better will be your customer’s impression about your company.

Though most of the logo design companies charge exorbitant rates to create a corporate logo design but the industry is changing. These days there are companies that offer excellent professional logos for nominal charges (e.g., corporate logo design

Simplicity
Keep it Simple An ideal corporate logo design should be simple and memorable. Corporate houses spend thousands of dollars to ensure that customers remember them at all point of time and a simple logo is the key to that. Think about the Nike logo, it’s simple and memorable—once you see the Swoosh, do you ever need to think twice about the company name?

Colors
Colors you use for your corporate logo are a very important factor in your brand establishment. If you already have your corporate colors ask your logo designer to use those colors for the logo. If you don’t, suggest the colors that you think might give your prospective clients some idea about the type of business you do. For example, a company working in the fields of forest conservation might like their logo to be in green. At the same time, you also need to consider which colors will go well with your corporate stationeries as well.

Black and White version
While emphasizing the colors we must also remember that it is important for a corporate logo to come out well in black and white. A corporate logo design is used in all corporate communications including fax and photocopied document where they will be in black and white and the logo design must be such that it holds the same impact even in black and white.

Minimize Colors
This is more important from an economic and usability point of view. Corporate logos are often required to be printed for stationary and corporate literature. Using a one or two spot color logo can save a lot of cost compared to printing a full color logo.

Logo Format
It is advisable to always use a vector format for your corporate logo design. A corporate logo may be required to be reproduced at any size for different purposes in the future. A logo design done in vector format can be expanded to any size without any loss of image quality, where as a corporate logo in raster format will loose image quality, if scaled up. Also it is easier to convert a vector logo design to bitmap than vice versa.

If you get a professional logo design firm to do your corporate logo and brief them about this basic tips (most of the knowledgeable firms are well aware of these principles) you are sure to get a satisfactory corporate logo design that would go a long way in helping you establishing your brand.

Use your Logo:
Once you are ready with your corporate logo start giving it maximum exposure possible. Not only on your business cards and letterheads but also on your packaging, uniforms, pens and all possible goods should contain your logo. This gives wider exposure to your logo and people gets familiar with the corporate logo much faster. With all these you are on your way to establish your brand.

Ray Smith is a Marketing Expert with years of experience in different industries and specialised knowledge in internet marketing.He has come up with the new pricing concept of "your logo, your price", which is successfully implemented by the website. http://www.mycorporatelogo.com http://www.mycorporateidentity.com