The New Year is Just Around the Corner Whether you like it or not, the big stores are already cramming Christmas decorations down your throat, and we haven't even gotten through Halloween yet. This is a clear signal of the end of the year. If you aren't careful, it...
Photography: Telling a Story It doesn't matter what artistic profession that you are in. Whether it's Graphic Design, Illustration, Web Design, etc., the majority of us use photos in our work. We use photography to set a mood, or to tell a story. The saying...
Opacity Masks in Illustrator When you are trying to learn new software, it can be difficult to find your way around. You may not know the terms to look for, or you may not know where to look to find what you are looking for. If you are transitioning from another...
Tutorial: How to create Gifts Author: Freepik Program: Adobe Illustrator (CS6) Difficulty: Intermediate Topics Covered: Creating graphic fills, combining paths Estimated Completion Time: approx. 30mins - 1hr Step 1 First grab the Marquee Tool and create a...
Tutorial: How to create a Christmas Tree Learn how to create a Christmas Tree in Illustrator in this tutorial. Author: Freepik Program: Adobe Illustrator (CS6) Difficulty: Intermediate Topics Covered: Creating a brush, Combining paths Estimated Completion Time:...
Create a Cartoon Character in Adobe Illustrator Chances are, if you use Adobe Illustrator, and you get good with it, you'll eventually come across requests for cartoon characters. People use them in advertisements all the time to create a fun and inviting atmosphere....
Why You should Choose Design as a Profession I have a lot of friends that hear about my job and think "I would love to do what you do!" I love the enthusiasm, but I don't think a lot of people really know what is involved in graphic/web design, illustration, or...
I like how so many people like to say that web design and graphic design is going to do this and that. Honestly, I don't think anyone knows where the world of design, web design and web development is going to to be by the end of the year. Some people say that we need...
As art artist, designer and illustrator, I have come to understand the importance of sketching. Sketching is the proverbial drawing board. It is the place where our ideas start, and where we can put them down on paper. I have found that sketching helps tremendously in...
This article is made to be more funny than anything, just because of how people think when they know, or are friends with a graphic designer. Sometimes it can be really frustrating when being a designer, because a lot of people assume that you can do things that...
Glow effects can really add drama to your designs and really make them stand out. Contrast is key here, so it is always a good idea to use a really dark, or even black background. You can add these types of effects to anything such as text, lines, shapes, etc.To do...
Yanko Design- Never Miss the Keyhole Fast Company - An Amazing Collapsible Lamp My Modern Met - Beautiful Watercolor Landscapes The CSS Awards- The Best Free Fonts of 2010 The Photo Argus- 60 Breathtaking Fall Images for Your Inspiration Andre Jolicoeur Illustration...
The economy is in a rough place right now, despite what the media says about no longer being in a recession. None of us can afford to bomb an interview, so I thought I would share some tips and things to think about when going for a big interview. 1. Be confident, not...
I recently came across a case involving Pentagram, where one of their designs were blatantly ripped off by a famous clothing company Sean John, owned by the famous rap artist known as P Diddy. Sometimes you can argue that a work is inspired by someone else's work, and...
You can control the opacity of each individual color of a gradient inside of Adobe Illustrator. This is fantastic for flexibility with colors. Simply click on the color swatch of the gradient, and there is an opacity setting on the gradient panel. You can also double...
You can easily control the opacity of colors in Illustrator. You can Control the opacity of the stroke and the fill individually by using the appearance panel. Directly under each stroke and fill layer in the appearance panel, there is an opacity section, where you...
I was asked a question yesterday that really got me thinking: What do you think the future will hold for design and advertising? What will be the next big platform to design for? I thought about this for a long time, and my guess is as good as yours. People are always...
I frequent a lot of design blogs, simply because I like to know what is on the mind of other designers, and also because I like to have my ear to the ground regarding our industry. One thing that I caught wind of was a discussion about designers and web designers and...
First off, I want to thank everyone that participated for their invaluable comments for this post. There are many aspects to branding and corporate identity, and I think each comment touched on a different aspect. Branding is a vital part of marketing and building a...
I got this question yesterday, and thought that it would be a good topic for the day. If you want to fit text to a certain shape, you have a couple of options. The first option is to do what is called an envelope distort. First, you make your shape, and then take the...