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Create a Cut-Out Type Effect in Adobe Photoshop

c.bavota — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:39:41 +0000

Photoshop is a great tool for creating simple yet impressive design effects with type. I don’t pretend to be an expert but I do know how to do a few things that look pretty awesome. Recently, one of my clients wanted me to create a logo that used a “cut-out” type technique for the company name. I was able to accomplish this simple effect with Photoshop in a few easy steps.

Here is a quick video that’ll show you how to do it.

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Win a One-Year Subscription to Layers Magazine

c.bavota — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:08:53 +0000

October is here and that means it’s time for another contest. This month I will be giving away a one-year subscription to Layers Magazine. For those who have never heard of Layers Magazine, it is the #1 how-to magazine for everything Adobe. Each issue features tutorials, reviews, designer inteviews and a whole lot more. To win a one-year subscription, all you need to do is link to this post on your site. It is as simple as that.

Just create your own link to this article or use the following code:

Win a One-Year Subscription to Layers Magazine

On November 1st, 2009, I will randomly select a trackback and award the winner a one-year subscription to Layers Magazine.

This contest is only open to residents of Canada and the United States. The winner will be contacted through their Web site on November 1st, 2009. Contest ends October 31st at 11:59pm.

Discover and Create Great Color Palettes with Adobe’s Kuler

c.bavota — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:19:58 +0000

Whether you pronounce it “kuh-ler” or “koo-ler“, Adobe’s color palette creation tool Kuler is a must for any designer. You can choose from thousands of color themes or even start from scratch and create your own. Got a colorful image you love? Kuler allows you to upload it and select a group of colors based on the image’s “mood”. Once you find or create something you like, you can download the theme as an Adobe color palette or copy and paste the hex values to use however you choose.

If heading to the site is too much work for you, most of CS4 has a Kuler panel built right into the software. There is even an Adobe Air desktop app available and a Dashboard widget for those who work on a Mac.

Creating a Grid in Adobe Illustrator CS3

c.bavota — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:48:35 +0000

Whenever I start a project, I like to work with a grid layout to help me place all the elements I need into proper alignment. Most sites work around a grid. You have a header, main sections, maybe a sidebar and usually a footer. Within each of these elements you can break it down even further.

Here is a quick tutorial on building a grid in Illustrator CS3 (I haven’t upgraded just yet).

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How to Create a Vinyl Record in Adobe Illustrator

c.bavota — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:02:11 +0000

A couple days ago I posted a collection of 6 vinyl records vectors and I thought it would be a good idea to actually show everyone how I created them. I decided to simplify it a little bit and show a different and easier way to create the records so that even beginners can follow along. This tutorial is a bit more elaborate then my others so please let me know if you have any questions.

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You can download the original vectors I created HERE.

Using Photoshop Filters in Illustrator

c.bavota — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:37:12 +0000

Sometimes when you’re working in Adobe Illustrator, you want to take advantage of all those great filters that are easily accessible in Photoshop. The only problem is, though they are available under the Filter menu in Illustrator, they are always grayed out.

What gives?

Well, what you need to first understand about Illustrator is that is works with vector shapes whereas Photoshop works with bitmaps.

What does that all mean?

Quite a bit, but all you really need to know is that if you want to use and/or abuse Photoshop filters in Illustrator, you need to change your vector shapes into bitmaps.

How do you do that?

Very easily. Select your shape, go to Object => Rasterize.

A panel will open up where you can select different options. Choose and select OK. Now you vector shape will probably look pretty crappy, but at least all those amazing Photoshop filters are now available to help make it look better.

6 Free Vinyl Record Vectors

c.bavota — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:38:19 +0000

Sometimes when I’m bored I decide to try to replicate something using Photoshop and/or Illustrator. I was thinking of incorporating a vinyl record into a logo for a client and after I was done I thought I should offer some colourful alternatives for free. This collection was created entirely in Adobe Illustrator CS3 (click here for tutorial).

Flash Player 10 Kills WordPress Flash Media Uploader

c.bavota — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:04:50 +0000

Some of you may notice something not right when you try to upload media with WordPress’ Flash based upload. You probably just upgraded to Flash player 10, which now no longer supports. According to bit101 on the WordPress support forum, “The problem is the interaction with the SWFUpload JavaScript library. Flash 10 does not allow you to open a file browse dialog except via a direct mouse click. It is that SWFUpload tries to open the dialog indirectly that causes it to fail.”

The folks at WordPress are looking for alternative solutions but this issue will probably not be fixed until WP 2.7 comes out. Moderator Otto42 said, “I’m working on implementing a Gears solution. I figured out how to make a Gears uploader (surprisingly easy), and am reading the WP code to figure out how to integrate it nicely and provide fallbacks. I doubt anybody will get it in until 2.8, but I’ll see what I can do. I can say that Gears uploading is *sweet*. Fast and clean.

If Flash is going to break things like this, then we can’t rely on it. We have a patch that works in WordPress, but IMO the new SWFUpload is a bit of an ugly hack (no offense to the excellent work by the SWFUpload crew, I blame Adobe for this one entirely). Having to make a button in flash changes the look to where it no longer has the same look and feel as the browser’s own buttons. Even the idea of making a button in HTML and covering it with a transparent Flash button strikes me as unbelievably stupid. Clever, but deranged. The idea is to be browser neutral here, people. That said, we’ll probably leave Flash in as a fallback, if you don’t have Gears.”

There are two options at the moment that are temporary fixes:

Downgrade to Flash Player 9. Remember to first run an uninstaller.
Install the No-Flash Uploader plugin to default your image loader to the Browser uploader. I personally use WP-CMS Post Control which also has an option to switch to the classic Browser Uploader.

Whether WordPress goes with Gears or manages to find a solution which works for Flash Player 10 (and whatever newer version come out), I think the most important thing would be to always have the classic Browser Uploader as an option, but also include the ability to disable whichever new uploader they decide to go with. A few more checkboxes in the settings menu would help solve a lot of headaches for WordPress users.

How to Create an Aqua Button in Adobe Illustrator

c.bavota — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:55:38 +0000

I recently needed to create some buttons for a client’s website and I thought it would be a fun little tutorial to put together to show you how quick and easy it is to create one of those nifty looking aqua buttons you see everywhere. It is only really a five step process and you can use any shape you choose.

Here are some samples I created.

Placing text or an image on top of the buttons is pretty simple and these buttons can really add some nice visuals to any professional web design.

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How to Create a Custom Colour Swatch in Adobe Illustrator CS3

c.bavota — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:31:38 +0000

I know this is a pretty simple thing to do but there might be some beginners out there who are getting a little frustrated when it comes down to Swatches and Adobe Illustrator. Whenever I work with Illustrator I always create a new colour group where I store all the colours that I’m working with. This is a great way to stay organized and have all your colours available in one place. No more need for the eyedropper tool to select the colours you want and no more frustration in not knowing the exact shade you were working with.

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