Ok…I lied about that last part…

Step 1

I added this background image from Shutterstock. But, any image of polished concrete should work pretty well.

Step 2

Find an image of a head shot of a soldier. I used this image from Shutterstock. Get rid of any background that your picture may have.

After you have added your image, you will want to desaturate it. You can do this by going to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate

Step 3

In the Filter Gallery, you will want to apply the Sumi-e filter with the following settings:

You image should look something like this:

Step 4

To make the image blend more naturally with our background, use the layer Blending Options and set it to Multiply

Step 5

Because this is a patriotic poster, it is only natural that it should consist of patriotic colors. To do this, you will use the Layer Options and Color Overlay. Use the setting below:

After you add the color overlay, you will want to reduce the over all fill of they to about 62%

Step 6

Now we will add in our patriotic American who is pumped to be buying war bonds. I used this image from Shutterstock. If you deside to use another image, be sure to cut out and background colors or texture.

Step 7

To give this image the look of the older printer posters, we will apply the Cutout Filter to this image. Open the Filter Gallery and use the following setting with the Cutout Filter:

the result should look something like this:

Step 8

We now need to change Blending Options of this layer as well. Change them to Multiply.

Step 9

Keeping this poster patriotic, will will change the color of this image by adding a color overlay with the following setting:

Step 10

Obviously with all these blending options, our layers are overlapping and not looking so good. You need to get rid of the soldier portrait layer that falls behind our patriotic American. You can use the Erase tool.

Or you can Auto Mask the layer of the man by command clicking on his layer. Next, click on the layer of the soldier portrait and just hit delete. This should make a perfect erase.

Step 11

The layer of the soldier portrait was looking a little bold to me. So I reduced his transparency some. But this step is a bit irrelevant, because I adjust the colors in the next few steps. I simply added this step because I wanted to show you how the image evolved as I made it.

Step 12

A war poster wouldn’t be complete without stars and stripes. While they are easy enough to create in Photoshop. I just ended up buying this image from Shutterstock to save time.

After you add the layer to your document, you will need to use the Blending Options again to set the layer to Multiply. Adjust the Fill to 56%.

You will then need to erase the portion of the layer that overlaps our other main layers. Feel free to use the method from step 10.

Step 13

Now the image is really starting to take shape. But, I dont like how the colors look at this point. So I decide to play with the colors of our two main subjects. First, I adjust the Color Overlay from step 5 again. I changed them to the following:

I also decided to get rid of the color overlay on our patriotic American all together.

Step 14

To give the poster that grainy look of the old war posters, I create a new Fill Layer on top of all my other layers. I use the color #72acb9, set the fill to 20%, and the blend mode to Multiply.

I then use the Layer FX to create a inner glow with the following settings:

Step 15

Under the layer from the previous step, I create a basic rectangle and add some text.

Show Notes

The book I mention in the podcast is called The Writers Market. they also make a Graphic Designers Market, but I have never looked at that one before. I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has.

Step 1

When recreating vintage pieces like this, it is important to do your research so that you create something that is true to the period. This is the ad that I found to use as inspiration for this tutorial:

Step 2

Before I start actually working on the design in Photoshop, I like to first gather any image I may need for the design. For this tutorial, all my main images came from Shutterstock.

Pinup Girl Photo
Background Texture
Coppertone Girl(Not Shutterstock)

Step 3

Create a new document in Photoshop with the follow specs:

Step 4

Open your background graphic and paste it as a new layer on your document.

Step 5

My background graphic was a bit to orange-ish looking for me. So I adjusted the hue/saturation of the image to make it a little more white.

Step 6

Now add your main pin up girl image above the background layer. Depending on your image, you may have to cut out or erase some of the background.

Step 7

To make the image look like it is part of the add and printed on our background layer, all we have to do is adjust the layer properties. Change the Blend Mode for this layer to Multiply.

Step 8

At this point I went ahead and threw in the image of the Coppertone Baby. All I did here was download the image listed in step 1 and cut out the background. Nothing to major.

I also added the tag line from our example ad with the font: Bakery Script (paid) There is a free script that is somewhat similar called Oliver

Step 9

While our example ad doesn’t sport this feature, I noticed many older ads had their text in a white box. So, to make better use of the space in this ad, I decided to add a white text box. To make it blend a little better I reduced the Transparency of this layer to 72%.

Step 10

Next we need to erase the portion of the box that is covering up our model. To do this, you need to Rasterize the white box layer.

After you rasterize the layer, it is just a matter of using the Eraser Tool to erase the portion of the white box that covers up the model.

Step 11

All I did here was add some more sales copy to the white text box area. I used a basic Arial font here.

Step 13

I noticed in a lot of other vintage ads that the designers liked to underline calls to actions and important text. So to fill up space and keep the ad true to the time, I added a underlined called to action using the same font as the tag line.

Step 14

I also noticed in other vintage ads that sometimes there was a border around the entire ad. I thought this would finish off the ad nicely. To do this, I drew a square shape with rounded corners. I made the object just a touch smaller than the image and centered it on the page.

Step 15

Create a new blank layer under your pinup girl layer. Go back to the rounder square layer and Select the layer.

Next, in the Toolbar, go to Select > Inverse

Step 16

Click on your blank layer that you create in the last step and use the Fill Tool to fill that layer with White. Then delete the rounded square layer.

Step 17

To put the finishing touches on the ad, I just added the company name to the bottom of the page. Your final image should look something like this:

What Exactly Are Website Templates?
Website templates are generic layouts that are meant to work with a variety of different online websites. All of the hard coding of the website has already been done by a website designer, and all that’s left to be done by the consumer in order to have a complete website is to add their own content and graphics to suit their own needs. When designed correctly, many customers will be more than happy to purchase and use website templates because of the foolproof customization and low maintenance involved with website templates.

How To Sell Your Own Website Templates Online
Now that you’ve gone through all the trouble of designing several different website templates, you’ll need to start selling them. However, even some of the most experienced website designers have no idea where to even begin when it comes to selling their own website templates online. Thankfully, this article is meant to serve as a step-by-step guide to get you on your way to selling your own website templates in your spare time; all while making a little bit of extra cash in the process.

Showcase Your Designs

Obviously if you’re selling website templates, you’ll need to showcase them on your own website. This can be achieved in a variety of ways:

Display an image of each template. This is usually the easiest way of displaying the current website templates you have to offer, though it can be difficult to manage if your templates consist of several different pages, or even if scrolling is required in order to view the whole page. If this is the case, you may want to consider the next option for showcasing your website templates to potential customers.

Include a fully functional version of each template. Because you have already done all the hard coding on each website template yourself, it’s not very much extra work to go ahead and include a clickable link to each one of your website templates so your potential customers can see everything up close for themselves. But there are several disadvantages to this, including the increased online storage space required to hold a copy of each template, as well as the increased risk that your website templates may be copied or stolen without your permission.

Making Sure Your Designs Stand Out Amongst The Rest

As a current website designer you should already know that there are millions of websites dedicated to each and every subject imaginable – and of course selling website templates is no exception. In order to make sure that your designs stand out amongst your competitors, there are a number of steps you can take.

Make your website (and your website templates) as user-friendly as possible. This means using colors and fonts that are easy to read as well as making sure that all of your clickable links are accurately labeled and that they actually work – which could end up costing you a sale. This holds true for not only your own website, but for your website templates also.

Browse your competitor’s sites and look at their designs. Take notes about any areas that you think need improvement and make sure to implement these changes into your own website and even your own templates.

Create templates for all occasions. Remember that some of your potential customers are going to want a serious look to their site, while others may want a fun and exciting look. Catering to all audiences is a great way to increase your bottom line.

Offer Additional Services

Although website templates are extremely easy to customize, some clients may still want you to do it for them. Since you are already well familiar with the layout of the website (as it is your template), you may even be able to offer this service at a reduced price. Any other services you may be able to provide, such as content development, graphic design, Search Engine Optimization, etc…, can all be offered at an additional charge as well.

Advertise Using Various Methods

Internet advertising and Pay-Per-Click services. Google AdWords and Microsoft AdWords are both great, low-cost options when it comes to spreading the word about your website template services. And because you only pay when someone actually clicks on and visits your site, these kinds of programs really let you get the most for your dollar.

Social networking sites. In addition to your main website, you may want to consider setting up profiles on some of the more popular social networking sites these days. Many businesses are already doing it, and it has been proven as a great way to gain exposure to millions of potential clients – and many times it can be done completely free of cost.

Online classified ads. These kinds of advertisements have become quite popular, and many freelance workers try to sell their services through some kind of online classified ad – and some have a great deal of success doing so.

Newspaper and magazine ads. Even though you are advertising an online service, you don’t need to stick strictly to online advertisements. Placing ads in newspapers and magazines is a great way to advertise – and many are not near as pricey as they once were.

Bulletin boards at local colleges, universities, and even grocery stores. Typically such places will allow you to post your own printed advertisement on their bulletin boards, though it is always good courtesy to ask for permission first.

If you are unfamiliar with the show Weeds, here is a description from Yahoo TV;

“A widowed suburban mother determinedly keeps up appearances in her idyllic community, whose residents remain oblivious to the fact that she’s the source of the high-quality marijuana that’s suddenly flooded the neighborhood. In Season 2, Nancy evolved into a true business woman from her humble beginnings as a dealer. She struggled to meet her obligations to her family and her new found “career.” Her questionable choices continued to play havoc with her life. Last season, viewers saw Nancy venture from hesitant but determined toe-dipper in the unpredictable waters of drug dealing to confident, full-fledged queen-pin entrepreneur.”

What I learned from the Show

There is an episode in the series in which the main characters accountant mentions that he canvas college bulletin boards for things like small business clubs and entrepreneur groups. He then makes arrangements tos peak at these clubs and meetings, upon which his lectures are designed to confuse the hell out of people when it comes to taxes and accounting. He then passes his business card around and the “deer in headlights” members come asking for his help.

Now I’m not suggesting that you find some similar groups and confuse the hell out of them when it comes to web design or graphics, but speaking at these sort of events can lead some decent work. Places like the Small Business Development Center and other small business association usually have work shops and guest speakers on a regular basis. If you don’t have a fear of public speaking, these organizations can be a great way to drum up business.

How to Find Small Business Clubs and Associations

If you are interested in trying out this networking technique, there a number of places where you can start looking for clubs and associations in your area.

Colleges
As mentioned above, colleges can be a great place to start looking for these sorts of clubs. You can always try out the college website first. Sometimes these websites are more geared toward recruiting new students then promoting campus activities. If you can’t find any information about clubs on their website, you can always try calling student services. These people will generally be able to anwser any questions you have about clubs, or at least point you in the right direction.

SBDC
The Small Business Development Center has locations all over the US. You can check out their website to find a location near you. You can also look at their calendar of events to see what sort of workshops and lectures they provide. After you are a little more familiar with what your local SBDC offers, try contacting them and pitching a lecture about the importance of web design or something similar. They are likely to jump at the offer and set something up right away.

Meetup.com
Another place that I have found useful in finding local small business groups in my area is a website called Meetup. This website is full of homemade groups in your area. Some of them can be as broad as “Small Business Owners of City Name.” Some can be even more specific if you are into niche work like “Bloggers of City Name.” These groups tend to meet once a month or more usually have a guest speaker or specific topic they talk about. If you contact the group founder, it is highly likely that you can arrange some sort of design specific topic night.

Final Thoughts

Do any of you have any experience with doing this sort of thing to driver business or just educate fellow entrepreneurs in your area? Im sure your fellow readers would love to hear your experience and how they worked out for you in the end. If you have any stories regarding this topic, please share it in the comments section below.

The image for this article was purchased from Shutterstock

The Question

@DannyOutlaw How do you allocate time for skill building or side projects? Is it scheduled around client work or regimented? (via @webdesignfanboy)

Getting Started With Reseller Web Hosting

Like anything else online, getting started with reselling hosting requires a bit of shopping around. You will need to find a web hosting company that works with developers like you who wish to resell hosting to clients. Fortunately, there are many such companies available; unfortunately, wading through them all can be downright confusing. To begin with, it helps to have a basic understanding of what web hosting actually is.

Web Hosting In A Nutshell

Basically, a web hosting service is one that allows people or organizations the ability to make a web site accessible on the Internet - to make a website go “live,” so to speak. Web sites require space on computer servers in order to exist; web hosting service companies lease out space on their own servers so that people can run their website in an affordable way. Web hosting services come in a variety of sizes and with a broad array of different options; the most basic ones offer a simple web page and limited file transferring capabilities, while more extensive hosting plans include database support and the platforms required for application development.

How Reselling Web Hosting Works

When you resell web hosting, you purchase a certain number of space on a web hosting service’s servers and pay a monthly or annual fee; in this case, let’s say that fee is $100 per year. You then break that space up into lots and lease them out individually to your clients. If you broke that space up into ten lots and leased it out for $20 per year, you would make a $100 annual profit. Those numbers are strictly for example, though; you can stand to make a bit more, depending on what you plan to offer.

What To Look For In A Reseller Web Hosting Provider

Since reselling hosting has become such a popular option, many web hosting service providers offer plans specifically for this purpose. These are the plans that you should shop around for, since you won’t need any extensive knowledge of web hosting - or have to deal with issues like hardware, software, connectivity problems or other issues. Those types of problems are forwarded directly to the service provider, and completely circumvent you.

So, what should you look for when shopping around for a reseller web hosting provider? We’ve highlighted a few of the most important things to find out below:

• What is the fee? Is it charged monthly or annually?
• How much space do you get?
• How many clients can you serve at one time?
• Is the plan upgradeable - i.e., can you add space for additional clients if necessary?
• Is a user-friendly control panel included with the service?
• What kind of customer support is provided?
• What kinds of maintenance tools does the service include?

There may be other details to consider, depending on what kind of hosting plans you intend to offer. The point is, though, that you need to shop around and compile as many different quotes and comparisons as possible. You’ll discover that pricing and features vary greatly from provider to provider; by shopping around, you’ll be able to find the best deal that you can make the greatest profit from - and that won’t consume all of your free time.

Suggested Hosting Companies

The majority of big name hosting companies out there all tend to have some sort of reseller program. Just because they offer it, doesn’t mean it is a good one or easy to use. If you know very little about the whole hosting reseller process, you should go with one of the larger hosting companies that are known for easy reseller options. These hosts will be much more apt to walk you through the whole process and offer more support than those who just offer reseller programs on the side. Here are some of the most popular hosts with reseller options:

• 
  

  1. Host Nine

  Get up and running for under $20 with our complete solution, which includes a merchant account/domain reseller account, FREE WHMCS billing software and FREE cPanel control panel.

• 
  

  2. Host Gator

  You would be amazed how easy, lucrative, and cheap it is to become your very own web hosting company! We give you all the tools and support needed to have you up and running in just a few minutes time.

• 
  

  3. Eleven 2

  You would be amazed how easy, lucrative, and cheap it is to become your very own web hosting company! We give you all the tools and support needed to have you up and running in just a few minutes time.

• 
  

  4. Site 5

  Starting your own web hosting business has never been easier. We now offer 3 diverse reseller plans which all enable you to literally become your own host, and to start offering high-end hosting services to your friends, family, and other potential customers within a matter of hours!

Advertising Your Service

Once you’ve signed up with a suitable reseller web hosting provider, the ball really is in your court in terms of getting things going. While extensive knowledge of web hosting is not required to resell hosting, advertising and marketing know-how definitely is. You need to get the word out about your reseller hosting plans - and make them competitively priced enough that people actually want to use them.

Market To Your Existing Customers

The first thing you should do is let your existing clients know about your new service. You may be surprised to find out how many of them are interested in it. Place prominent advertisements about your hosting packages on your website and through the various social networking websites you use. Mention the new service in emails you exchange with your existing clients - get the word out wherever possible.

Advertise To New People

Since you will now be providing web hosting, you can expand your advertising to target entirely new people. This is a great opportunity to engage in a new advertising campaign revolving around your hosting services. Make sure to expand your promotional efforts beyond your existing circle of clients.

Bundle It Up

The absolute best way to market your hosting plans is by bundling them with the other services that you provide. This is not only smart marketing, but it can give you an edge on the competition. Whether you offer web design, search engine optimization and other Internet marketing tools, SSL certificates, domain names - or a combination of all of those and other services - adding web hosting to the mix can only improve your success.

By becoming a one-stop shop for all of your clients’ web-based needs, you can really broaden your customer base. Reselling hosting doesn’t have to be difficult; the most important factors are finding a web hosting services provider who is easy to work with - and advertising your services effectively. As long as you do both, everything else will fall into place and you’ll have an additional income stream.

The methods below are documents from a Mac perspective. That said, many of the below methods can still be applied in Windows. To do some of these things in Windows however, you may need to download some additional applications.

I would also appreciate it if you shared how your organized your designs files. If you have a organization method that has proved to be exceptionally useful, tell us about it in the comments section below.

Change Icons for Frequently Used Folders

Being that we are designers, it only makes since that we are visual thinkers. I don’t just mean we think creatively, but that we learn and see things in a more visual manner than most people. It is this theory that led me try out replacing some of my most commonly visited folders with with some bold icons.

My thoughts on this are that since I am a visual person, I am more likely to quickly glance at and remember folder locations that have some sort of bold icon associated with them rather than a basic folder icon. I know it doesn’t usually take too terribly long to find folders that you frequently use, but you would be surprised at just how much faster this method works. It seems to me if you have only a few bold images associated with common folders, you can find those folders much more quickly with a visual scan.

Obviously this method won’t work if you do it for all of your folders, as that would defeat the purpose. What I am suggesting is to do it only for your top four or five folder that you use the most. For me it is the following:

• Design Resources - This folder holds all of my stock images, icons, PSD template, etc.
• Blog Images - I do a lot of linkbait articles and this is where I store all the images and folders associated with various clients and articles.
• Client Work - This one is a little self explanatory. This is were al my paid and client design work goes.
• Personal Projects - I run a number of other sites and businesses, this folder is where I can them organized.

I’m not suggesting everyone use this format, but I think a lot of you probably have something similar in place already. If you don’t, using the above list could be a good start to helping you organize or re-organize you design files.

Before I changed the icons on my top four folders, the looked like the image below. They had the same color and look to all of my other folders. While I could find the files by looking for them, I couldn’t just do a quick visual scan to find the folder I wanted.

Before

After

Surely you can see how much easier and faster it would be to navigate to these folders now that they stand out a bit more. Over time you will easily associate said image to the folder and you will be able to find the folder you are looking for without even thinking about it.

How to Change Folder Icons on a Mac

To change the folder icons on a Mac it is really just a simple matter of copy and paste. Check out the directions below:

Step 1
Select the volume, application, folder, or file whose icon you want to stamp onto another, just click the icon to select it.

Step 2
From the File menu, choose Get Info or press Command-I to open the Info window.

Step 3
Click the icon in the upper-left corner of the Info window to select it.

Step 4
From the Edit menu, choose Copy or press Command-C.

Step 5
Select the volume, application, folder, or file whose icon you want to replace.

Step 6
From the File menu, choose Get Info or press Command-I.

Step 7
Click the icon in the upper-left corner.

Step 8
From the Edit menu, choose Paste or press Command-V to replace the icon.

Organizing Your Stock Graphics

I use a lot of stock graphics. From vector files to photography to web elements, I have a lot of stock files. I have so much stock work it feels like I have bought every file off iStock Photo. In order to eliminate hunting for the right photo or graphic when I need it, I make it a point to keep my stock folder super organized. Every time I buy or download a new resources, I immediately put it in to the corresponding folder. This way I can find it right away.

Some people like to keep stock images associated with client work in the same general file with the rest of the clients files. If you only ever plan on using those stock files for that project, then this is perfectly fine. But, if you plan on keeping the resource filed away for future use, then this is a poor means of organizing your stock resources.

In the section above you will notice that I have a “Design Resource” folder. Inside of that folder I have several stock folders. Rather than have a single stock folder with all of my stock resources in it, I separate things up a bit. Below is a list of folders I have in my Design Resource folder:

• Icons
• Stock Photography
• Photoshop
• Vector Files
• Colors and Patterns
• Comps
• Audio
• Video

I won’t go into detail how I organize the inside of each folder, but I will give you some tips and suggestions on a few of the files based on my own personal organization method. Here are how I keep the inside of some of these folders organized:

Icons
This folder is pretty easy to keep organized. I usually just create a new folder for each icon set I buy or download. The only unique thing I may do here is if the icon set is a mini set, say 16×16 icons or something, I will usually mention that in the files name. For example, a folder of mini icons would read like:

MINI-Web-Gloss-Developer

I title the folder “mini” at the start because I like to keep my folders organized alphabetically. With “mini” at the start of the title, all of my “mini” icon folders end up in the same place. Yes, I could create a “mini icon” folder to keep them all in, but that would just result in an additional folder to click through which isn’t really necessary in my opinion.

Stock Photography
This folder is probably the most organized out of all of my design resources folders. I have a lot of stock photos and don’t want to hunt for them when I want them. Inside this folder I have a ton of category type folders. These folders are named similar to categories that you would find on stock photography sites. The amount of folders in this section grows based on the images that I acquire, but as of current, I currently have the following folders inside of my stock photography folder:

• Paper
• Specialty Papers
• People
• Animals
• Landscapes
• Backgrounds
• Conceptual
• Blank Photos
• Textures

Using Mac Color Labels

If you aren’t into changing folder icons, but still want some way to visually organize and separate your files, you can always use the Macs built in color labeling system. The App Storm blog has a great article on this where they talk about it a little more in depth. The idea is the same as with changing the icons, with the exception that it is a little more global. You will have to create a default set of labels that you can apply to a variety of your folders.

To set the labels all you have to do is open the Finder Preference screen. To do this open any Finder window, click on Finder in the menu bar, then click on Preferences. You can then set your globally labeling system accordingly. If you are really anal, you can even setup your iCal labels to match colors with your folder labels.

Assigning labels to a folder or files is as easy as Control clicking on a folder.

1. Ballpark

2. Want Stream

3. Mozilla Songbird

4. Amidst

5. Concierge Live

6. Fluid Tumblr Theme

7. Seen It Yet

8. Episodic

9. Send Space

10. Answer Me

11. Swatchblot

12. Code Base

13. Blinksale

14. WuFoo

15. Groove Shark

16. Go Plan

17. Basecamp

18. Help Suite

19. Human Race

20. Crazy Egg

Q&A Advice for passive income ideas? from Danny Outlaw on Vimeo.

For more information about my suggestion on passive income, check out some of these articles:

10 Tips for Handling Slow Business Periods
Discussion: Upsell and Passive Income
Making Money When Things Get Slow
How to Make Money Selling Wallpapers
How to Make Money By Giving Things Away

How Do You Make Passive Income?

What do you guys do to make passive income? If you aren’t taking any steps to make passive income, why not? What is stopping you from taking action? Do you not have the time? Do you think its not worth it?