Graphics Unleashed

Astronaut with Space Background

2009-07-19T01:00:00.003-07:00

It was forty years ago today that the Apollo 11 mission passed behind the moon and went into lunar orbit. A day later, the first man set foot on the moon. Clearly this was a very historical event and it is one that is part of my earliest memories. You see, I was at the launch on July 16, 1969 when the mission to the moon started. I can't say I remember it in vivid details since I was a pretty small guy at the time.

In honor of this mission, I thought I should hunt down a space related piece of artwork for today. The result is a really nice vector graphic of an astronaut with a space background. For those who want to see some pictures from the mission, NASA has a nice archive on their site. Higher resolution versions of many photos are also available. Those of you who enjoy space images can literally spend hours on the site looking through the many photos.

Serif WebPlus X2

2009-07-18T01:00:00.002-07:00

This post will be fairly short. I just finished a full review of Serif WebPlus X2. If you are looking for a low-cost WYSIWYG Web editor, give it a look. Check out the review for all the details.

Bleeding Cowboys

2009-07-17T01:00:00.002-07:00

In the last couple of weeks I've spent a fair amount of time around cowboys. The most interesting was attending the "world's oldest rodeo" in Prescott, Arizona on July 4. If you've ever been to a rodeo, you know that the animals seem to win about as often as the cowboys. That led me to today's font, Bleeding Cowboys. As with many new fonts, it has a grunge aspect to it. In fact, I'm not really sure where the reference to cowboys comes from. I just know it is a very unique font that could make for some new headlines in the right project.

Scale Images Before Posting on the Web

2009-07-16T01:00:00.002-07:00

When different people look at a Web page, there can be a valid debate as to whether the site is attractive or not. Not everyone likes the same thing. Yet there are technical aspects of the site that can not be disputed as to whether they are right or wrong. Today I'll talk about the horrendous practice of including pictures directly from a digital camera on a Web page.

Before we continue with this discussion, I want to get one thing out of the way right now. Resolution is an absolutely meaningless number when it comes to Web graphics. Don't believe me? Stop right now and read K.N. Pepper's DPI, PPI, Pixels - Facts and Fallacies tutorial.

Today I was providing a critique for a client about a local business' Web site. On one of the pages was an image that was obviously taken directly from a digital camera and posted on the site. The file was a 3.5 MB JPG file with pixel dimensions of 3000 x 4000 pixels. The site "designer" allowed the browser to scale the image to 130 x 173 pixels. Sorry, I struggle to call the "designer" by that title since this is just one of a number of severe technical errors made in putting together the site. And yes, they are charging the client for their skills.

I opened the image in Corel PHOTO-PAINT and used the Image | Resample command to change the number of pixels to the same 130 x 173 pixels specified in the HTML code. The file I saved was 21 KB. That's smaller than the original file by a factor of about 1500 and it looks better! In fact, I can get the file even smaller by removing the EXIF data stored in the file. To do this we'll use the Stripfile utility I mentioned a few months ago in this blog. After stripping the extraneous data, the file was 7.84 KB. So the original file was 458,147 times larger than the file that was created properly. My finished image is shown at right.

Using extra large files on a Web site will causes pages to load very slowly. This slow speed could scare away visitors. Losing visitors will cost you. Plus it adds a vast amount of unnecessary bandwidth and that can also cost you. Make sure to scale your images to the proper size before posting them on a Web site. That extra minute or two you spend can save you a lot of money in the long run!

Memory Card Reader

2009-07-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

So many devices these days come with some sort of memory card. The two devices that immediately come to mind for me are digital cameras and cel phones. Unfortunately there are a wide variety of memory card types and you might get cards from friends, co-workers or clients that you need to load on your computer. That makes it a necessity to get a memory card reader that can handle all of the most popular memory card flavors. One of the best deals right now is the Kingston USB 2.0 19-in-1 Flash Memory Card Reader. It sells for only $13.99 at Amazon so you can even get one for your laptop and one for your desktop. I keep a card reader in my traveling bag and have another on my desk so I'm always prepared for whatever card type I receive. Make sure you are prepared for the next memory card you receive.

Have a Virtual Beer on Me!

2009-07-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

There are some tools in CorelDRAW that are very tough for me to master. The Mesh Fill is one of those. Luckily there is an amazing tutorial that shows you how to create a beer mug full of beer that is so realistic that you will try to grab it off your screen to take a drink. Unfortunately the original tutorial is in Russian and therefore hard for anglophiles to understand.

Thanks to automatic translation tools, we can read the tutorial in English. It may sound a little strange due to the computer translation, but you should be able to follow along and download the finished mug to explore.

Corel's July Deals Deliver a Free Pantone Huey

2009-07-13T17:35:00.001-07:00

If you've been waiting for a good reason to upgrade to CorelDRAW X4, Corel's super hot July deal may be that reason. If you buy CorelDRAW X4 from Corel before midnight (Eastern time) on July 20, you'll get a free Pantone Huey device for color calibrating your monitor. You'll find that deal and all the rest of the July deals below. Just remember that they turn into a pumpkin at midnight on July 20, 2009.

Free Pantone huey monitor calibrator with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4. Starting from $199. Sale ends midnight 07/20/09. Buy CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 now!
Save $50 on Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate. Was $99.99, now only $49.99! Sale ends Midnight 07/20/09. Buy Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate now!
Save $30 on WinDVD 9 Plus. Was $79.99, now $49.99! Ends midnight 07/20/2009. Buy WinDVD 9 Plus now!
Save $50 on Corel VideoStudio Pro X2. Was $99.99, now $49.99! Sale ends Midnight 07/20/09. Buy Corel VideoStudio Pro X2 now!
Save $30 on Corel Painter 11. Full from $369, upgrade from $169! Sale ends midnight 07/20/09. Buy Corel Painter 11 now!
Save $40 on WordPerfect Office X4. Was $299.99, now $259.99! Upgrade for $129.99! Sale ends midnight 07/20/09. Buy WordPerfect Office X4 now!
Save $30 on Corel Photo & Video Bundle. Was $149.99, now $119.99! Includes Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate, VideoStudio Pro X2, photo recovery software, Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4, a 2 GB USB flash drive and WinDVD! Sale ends Midnight 07/20/09. Buy Corel Photo & Video Bundle now!

Remember these deals last less than a week so make sure to place your order now to take advantage of the special pricing!

Sancho CDR Preflight 5

2009-07-13T01:00:00.001-07:00

When you output a file, how much does it cost you if the first attempt fails? And the second attempt? Clearly the costs can add up quickly if you are wasting time and materials. If you could prevent those errors, it would clearly save you both time and money.

Today's macro, Sancho CDR Preflight 5, gives you the ability to take a detailed look at files to find the problems that could occur during output. It will probably pay for itself the first time you save yourself from output failures by fixing the problems in advance. To get all of the details, download the help file and read it over.

Ten Amazing Skull Vector Designs

2009-07-12T01:00:00.001-07:00

It seems like every t-shirt I see these days has a skull on it somewhere. So I set out to find some vector artwork of skulls to use in my projects. I came across the Ten Amazing Skull Vector Designs which are supplied in SVG format. Each of them has a different style and there is definitely a skull for everyone in this collection.

TweetDeck

2009-07-11T07:48:00.003-07:00

Today I'm going to step away from the graphics world briefly to talk about some cool software. It seems like everywhere you turn someone is talking about or talking on Facebook or Twitter. Trying to keep track of all those messages can be troublesome if you have to constantly visit Web sites. Some of you are probably happy to not follow all those messages and I completely understand.

Those who want an easier way to follow messages and to post your own should check out TweetDeck. It allows you to follow a number of different accounts in different panels. You can also post messages directly to Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Don't forget to add Graphics Unleashed on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

Bete Noir

2009-07-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

Ever since the movie Jurrassic Park came out, I've been fascinated by fonts that had some sort of internal design element. Sometimes it is just a highlight that follows the outer curves and other times it is a more complex pattern. That is the case with today's font, Bete Noir. It contains a zig zag pattern within each character. According to the description it is a Retro font although I don't remember seeing anything like this in days gone by.

Create Your Own Palettes

2009-07-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure the exact number of color palettes supplied with CorelDRAW, but there are at least fifty of them. Probably even twice that many. Yet there are times it seems like you just can't find the color you want. Or maybe there are projects that require a specific set of colors. The good news is that there is an easy solution: create your own palettes!

Select Window | Color Palettes | Palette Editor to get the Palette Editor dialog box. Once there, you can modify an existing palette or simply create a new one from scratch. Add colors, delete colors, choose how the colors are sorted and much more. Over the past couple of years, I've create several custom palettes for my projects and it has made things go much more smoothly. Now I only have the colors I need in the palette and I can quickly select exactly what I want. For more details on the process as well as a movie showing the feature in action, get a copy of my CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed book.

Another Look at Graphics Tablets

2009-07-08T01:00:00.001-07:00

I covered graphics tablets almost a year ago and today I want to look at them in a different light. This comes about because of several questions that have come up in the last few days. As we talk about tablets, I'll answer those questions.

On its most basic level, a graphics tablet is a pointing device just like a mouse, trackball or pointing stick. For me, the tablet is the only pointing device I use on my desktop. Yes, I have a mouse somewhere until the pile of stuff on my desk. I might touch the mouse once a week for a few seconds, but I never use it for daily work. On my laptop, I have a touchpad that I do use from time to time when I am not doing graphics work. But when I do graphics work, I switch to the tablet. There is no reason you can't have two or three pointing devices connected at the same time. You just can't use them all at once.

The first question that came up was how to use the tablet in CorelDRAW (or substitute any other software in the question). Once a tablet has been installed into Windows, you don't have to do anything to use it in any software package. There will be some adjustment if you aren't used to a tablet since the tablet uses absolute positioning and the mouse uses relative positioning. When I made the switch it took a couple of days and that seems to be the normal timeframe.

There is one feature in CorelDRAW that uses the pressure sensitivity available in tablets and that is the Pressure variation on the Artistic Media Brush. While I love using Artistic Media, I rarely if ever use the Pressure variation. Corel PHOTO-PAINT can do more with pressure if it is turned on in Brush Settings. Some users like to use the pressure with their brushes, I tend to avoid it.

The other question was the preferred size. Smaller tablets have lower price tags. So if you don't need a bigger size, I can understand why you wouldn't want to get a tablet bigger than you need. My preferred size is 6" x 8" or 6" x 9". I find anything bigger than that to be too big. The smaller tablets are typically 4" x 6" and I have used this size with great success in the past. But, I prefer a little more size. Other users have larger tablets and they set the tablet up so only a small area of the tablet controls the whole screen. It is just a matter of personal preference. If you have a chance, work with someone else's tablet before you make a buying decision. The biggest must is purchasing a Wacom tablet and not another brand. They are the best and nothing else even comes close!

One user who recently switch made the comment that his mouse finger has stopped hurting after only a single day of tablet usage. This can also be true of your wrists if you have the early stages of carpal tunnel. To me it isn't a question of whether you should get a tablet, but which one you should buy. Graphics Unleashed has a full listing of Wacom tablets on our site that you can purchase online. Find the one that is right for you!

Getting Reliable Output

2009-07-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

Not a day goes by that I don't see a user having problems getting their CorelDRAW file to output properly. Some of these users are so upset that they threaten to give up on CorelDRAW and move to Adobe Illustrator. While their frustration is understandable, the problem won't go away by switching to alternative software.

The key is to properly prepare your files for output! Some effects are always going to cause problems so they must be simplified. Fonts can sometimes get lost in the transfer resulting in bad substitution. Of course there can also be color shifts.

Jeff Harrison covered the steps for getting reliable output in a recent blog post. This will take a little bit more of your time up front. But how much time do you waste if the file causes problems? How much money is wasted on materials if the file doesn't output properly? Getting it right the first time will save you time and money and Jeff has it all covered for you.

Jeff's Extract Alpha

2009-07-06T01:00:00.002-07:00

For me, there is no feature more important in Corel PHOTO-PAINT than masking. It is something I always emphasize when teaching users how to be as productive as possible. Today's macro is something that can help you when working with masks and objects. It will extract the alpha channel (just another name for a mask) from either a masked area or from a floating object in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Jeff's Extract Alpha doesn't have a huge feature list, but it does make one task very easy.

Ten Amazing Vector Backgrounds

2009-07-05T01:00:00.002-07:00

Typically the focus of a design is the artwork in the foreground. But it can be just as important to have a great background. Today I've found Ten Amazing Vector Backgrounds in SVG format that you can download. Since they are vector, there may be edits and color changes you want to make to get it just right for the project at hand. There are definitely some cool images included and I think you'll find something that you can use.

PhotoZoom Pro 3

2009-07-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

How many times have you gotten a photo that just doesn't have enough resolution/pixels for the project at hand? Sometimes this problem can be resolved by finding an original copy of the image that has more pixels. Even then, it still might not be enough.

Yes, popular image editors have the ability to upsample images. To increase the size just a little bit, that might work just fine. But if you really need to enlarge the image, you might want to look into a product like the just-released PhotoZoom Pro 3. It was designed for upsampling images with their patented S-Spline technology that provides a much-higher quality than what you find in image editors. The latest version of S-Spline is the S-Spline Max found in this new version.

In addition, there is now support for multi-processors so that images can be processed much quicker than in previous versions. You can run PhotoZoom Pro 3 as a standalone or you can use it as a plug-in with image editors that support Photoshop automation and export plug-ins. While I have not yet tried the new version, previous versions worked great with Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4.

A product like this is especially useful for those outputting large prints or signs. But it can also come in handy if you have a fairly low-resolution original that simply isn't good enough. I've had great results with the previous versions and I'm anxious to get a copy of this new release.

Hawaii Lover

2009-07-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

I'll be the first to admit that I love Hawaii. Of the islands I have visited, Maui is my favorite. Hawaii is also the newest of the 50 states in the United States so I felt it might be night to salute it just before we celebrate Independence Day. The Hawaii Lover font combines a script and a grunge font into one really cool font. Some of the characters even include what looks to be a grungy orchid. Just looking at it has me thinking of a trip to the islands.

Run Your LCD Monitor at Native Resolution!

2009-07-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

I covered the topic of running LCD monitors at their native resolution a little over a year ago. It is an extremely important topic that I'm going to discuss again today because of a phone call I had recently with a student from a previous CorelDRAW Unleashed Boot Camp.

This gentleman had spent over three hours on the phone with a tech support representative from Corel and they weren't able to find out why the edges of rectangles were distorted. At the end of the call, the support representative suggested that he give me a call. That definitely made me feel good!

Anyways, I tried the steps outlined by the customer and I had absolutely no problem with the rectangle showing distortion. Plus the customer had both printed and laser engraved the rectangle and it output without distortion. It was very obvious that the distortion was a function of the monitor.

We checked the monitor's settings and it was set to 1024 x 768 because his "eyes aren't as good as they used to be". Believe me, I understand that reasoning as much as anyone since I'm pretty sure bifocals are in my near future. I had him change his resolution to the native settings of his LCD monitor and the distortion was magically gone.

I just can't stress enough that you must run your LCD monitors at the native resolution or you will have problems! The upside is that you are able to get more information on the screen at the higher resolutions. I run mine at 2560 x 1600 on a 30" screen and absolutely love that I can have so much stuff available at all times. Or I have lots of extra room for designing, laying out documents or whatever else I'm doing at the moment.

Photo/Digital Video Lighting Kit

2009-07-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this summer was to increase my photography skills. To that end I've completed one course in using a digital SLR and I will be starting another course next week. The quality of my pictures is already showing improvement.

An important thing to consider when taking pictures is to get good lighting. Last August I told you about the Portable Lighting Studio for shooting smaller objects. Just as the name implies, it is very portable. I have one and use it quite often. Today I'm going to focus on something a bit larger. The Pro 100 watt "Cool-Flo" Fluorescent Photo/Digital Video Lighting Kit provides you a total of four 300 watt equivalent lights with two reflective umbrellas and stands. While it is not nearly as portable as the Portable Lighting Studio, it does come with cases for the umbrellas and stands. I ordered a set for myself and am looking forward to doing some shooting with them in the near future.

They are fluorescent lights, so the color is a bit "cooler" than incandescent lights. It is easy to adjust the color temperature in your camera or RAW processing software to compensate for this. You'll also be able to avoid the heat and the electricity costs associated with incandescent lights. The lights are also designed for those who are filming video. So no matter the reason you need the lights, you might want to check this set out.

Contrast Masking with Corel PHOTO-PAINT

2009-06-30T01:00:00.001-07:00

Hunter Elliott has a really interesting tutorial for Corel PHOTO-PAINT. It in he takes a cool picture and makes it even better by boosting the contrast in only part of an image. The process is called Contrast Masking and is a great way to make good images into great ones. Even better, it is a fairly simply process as long as you have a picture that lends itself well to this type of adjustment.

LineArt

2009-06-29T01:00:00.002-07:00

I still remember the Christmas where I received a Spirograph. I flipped through the book that came with it and was fascinated with all of the cool patterns that could be created. The sad reality is that I never once was able to complete any of the patterns without the gear slipping or the pen running dry. I even scuffed up my knuckles a few times as they rubbed against the edge of the gears. In reading the reviews of the current version, the current version seems to still be cursed with the same problem.

The good news is that we can now create even better patterns with CorelDRAW. They work every time and your knuckles aren't any worse for the wear. To automate the process even further, give the free LineArt macro a try. Now if you click on that link, you may be a little lost since the site is in Russian. Luckily Google can translate the pages into English for those of us who don't understand Russian.

As you can see from the screen shots on the Web site, there are four different types of mathematical patterns that can be created. Each of the patterns allows you to adjust some variable to create a nearly endless supply of patterns. I wish I could tell what the words on the four tabs are in English so that we could all better understand what the variables might do. If any of you understand Russian, please post a comment with the translations.

The Web site claims the macro is for CorelDRAW X4. I have not tested it in earlier versions, but it is possible that it may work in them as well. If anyone tries in an earlier version and has success (or failure), post a comment and let us know.

Chinese Dragon

2009-06-28T01:00:00.001-07:00

I was recently searching for vector dragon images. I came across a dragon I really like, even though it wouldn't work for the project at hand. Just in case I downloaded a copy of it so that I would have it for future usage. The file is supplied in SVG format and it will import just fine into recent versions of CorelDRAW. Included are both a full color version and a black and white outlined version. No matter what you need, you'll find it in this file.

Windows 7 Upgrades

2009-06-27T01:00:00.001-07:00

It might be considered a stretch to call an operating system upgrade a widget. While Windows does include widgets, it is the base upon which all of your other software will run. Well, except for those of you using Linux, Mac or another operating system. Just a few days ago I was discussing the earliest versions of Windows with someone. Things were much different back then as you only ran Windows to run a Windows-specific program. For the most part the tide began turning with Windows 3.1.

The general perception of Windows Vista hasn't been a positive one. Admittedly I'm still happily running Windows XP on all but one machine. While I have the licenses to install Vista on these machines, I can't find any good reason to install Vista on them.

By contrast, I've yet to hear much negative information about Windows 7. The media has had a very favorable view of it and advanced users who have tried the beta versions have reported great success. As I don't have a spare machine to use for testing, I have not yet installed it here in the office. I fully expect to switch my Vista machine over to Windows 7 and I'll be due to get a new computer in the next six months and it will definitely get Windows 7.

Microsoft has said that Windows 7 will become available on October 22, 2009. To make sure that the new operating system gets off to a great start they are making pre-orders of upgrades available at very enticing prices. From what I understand, these prices are only in place until July 11 or until some unspecified number of copies are sold. So if you are going to upgrade, get a pre-order now and save some serious money.

The Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade has a list price of $119.99 and can be purchased in this early window for only $49.99. In Canada, the list price is $129.95 and the early purchase can be made for $64.99. Due to legal hurdles Microsoft is facing in Europe, there isn't a pre-sale available there right now.

Users wanting more features can go for the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade. The list price is $199.99 and the pre-order price is only $99.99. It can also be purchased in Canada where the list price is $249.95 and the pre-order price is $124.99.

Since many of you are CorelDRAW users, you are probably asking how well CorelDRAW will run on Windows 7. Top CorelDRAW users who have been running the beta releases of Windows 7 have had no problems with CorelDRAW X3 and X4. And you can bet that Corel's developers have been running Windows 7 through its paces and that future versions of CorelDRAW will be developed with Windows 7 in mind.

Are you ready to upgrade right away or will you happily stay with what you have? Post a comment and tell me your opinion.

LaPointe's Road

2009-06-26T01:00:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I find it hard to categorize the styles of fonts. Today's font is listed as a Calligraphic font and I certainly don't think that it wrong. Yet that doesn't really seem to properly categorize it. It does look like handwriting with a lot of nice flourishes and swashes. Check out LaPointe's Road and let me know your description of it.

On the page you will see an old time photograph with a sample of the font at the bottom. I really love how this font fits with the image. It does have an "old time" feel to it. I think you'll find it a cool font to add to your arsenal.