Planet of the Web

The Advantages and Disadvantages of HTML5

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

HTML5 is the hottest thing in web development. In this article, I wanted to discuss the background surrounding HTML5 development and point to the advantages and disadvantages to using the language today.

Adding code for a clickable button to a URL in Flash

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Doing some simple things in ActionScript 3 like adding a button that clicks to a URL have gotten more complicated. Here's a simple piece of code that allows you to make a button click to a URL.

How Much Should I Charge for a Freelance Job?

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Students and Freelance professionals are always curious about what to charge for freelance jobs. I have a surprisingly simple formula for calculating this. This article discusses my process for figuring out this touchy subject

Where to download all the Google Font Directory fonts

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Google Font Directory is a revolutionary new group of fonts for web designers. This articles shows you all of the fonts on a single page with direct links where you can download them to your hard drive so you can use them to mock up your layougs.

How to make video iPad, iPhone and iPod touch compatible with JavaScript, Flowplayer & HTML5

Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The iPad, iPod and iPod touch are great way to view video, but Flash video players are not compatible with the device. A great way to solve that problem is through HTML5. This article provides a solution to making a player that's compatible with all browsers and devices and works great on the iPad and it's cousins.

Show an alternate image for Adobe Flash Animations to iPhones, iPod Touch and iPads using JavaScript

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

How to make your Flash animations display an alternate image that can be clickable to a URL when your site is visited by an iPhone, iPod Touch or an iPad.

Learning to program with PHP for beginners

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

PHP, the Hypertext Preprocessor is an essential technology for building websites. This article shows you the basics of PHP.

How to code HTML that is friendly to Google and other Search Engine Optimization engines

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Writing HTML that is easy to style with CSS can also help with usability and SEO issues. This article shows you how.

Paypal Buttons: How to create different most types of PayPal Buttons with HTML code

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Step by Step instructions on how to create PayPal customizable PayPal buttons on your website.

Learning to use FTP to access your site's files

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

FTP, the File Transfer Protocol is one of the many languages of the Internet. This article shows you how to work with FTP on a 1&1 host and use programs like Transmit and FileZilla to update your server

How to set up up a password protected directory using 1 & 1

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Setting up directories which are protected from normal visitors is a great way to develop projects visible only to some people. It's a great way to stage a site for a client before releasing it to the public. 1&1's awesome control panel makes it easy.

Google Forms: how to create a quiz or a test that automatically grades itself in Google Docs

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Google docs allows teachers or anyone to create forms for quizes, polls and tests quickly and easily. The results of the tests are stored in an Google Spreadsheet that can be programmed to quickly calculate your test results.

The second most important set of Google Analytic metrics

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Once you've got the hang of the key Analytics metrics, there are some additional tools in Google that will take your site from an average performer to a top performer. These metrics are important because they help you tweak your site and be a smart content designer.

Create a Button that clicks to a Website URL in Adobe Flash using ActionScript 3

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

If you're used to working with ActionScript 2.0, figuring out how to make a button click to a URL has change din ActionScript 3. This is a little hard to find in all of the manuals so I wrote a short tutorial on it.

Use HTML to create a simple form that is SEO friendly

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Building forms in HTML can be challenging. Here's a very simple HTML form beautifully styled with CSS that you can use as a starter for your web pages. It has an example of code for the most common html elements.

How to write articles so that search engines find them

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Writing content that is easily searchable means learning to write in a very specific manner that is both semantic and spider friendly. In the last part of my three-part series on Search Engine Optimization, I talk about what you can do within your pages to get SEO results.

Learning to take advantage of links to your website from other sites for SEO

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Inbound links are links to your website from external sources. This is an important way to generate traffic and a good ranking with search engines. Part 2 of a 3 part series on Search Engine Optimization.

The easiest way to include Adobe Flash SWFs in your sites

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Placing .swf files in your web pages can be complicated. The code that Flash creates when you publish a document can be daunting. I've created a simpler way using JavaScript to place these documents on your web pages.

How to write contracts for web design and web development projects

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Graphic Designers, Web Developers, Photographers and all other professionals in the creative field end up freelancing at one point or another, but freelancing is rarely taught in school. This article explains the process and some of the caveats when freelancing in the web design industry

The most important Google Analytics definitions

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Google Analytics and other web site traffic and metrics measuring tools allow you to keep track of the health of your website, but only if you understand how to use them. This article talks about the importance of each metric and what it means to your website

How to make money with your blog and Google's Adsense

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Google's Adsense is a service that allows you to place advertising on your blog or website easily with minimal setup and can help you generate revenue for your online efforts. This article discusses Google Adsense for Links and Search.

Learn the different ways online ads work

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

The web has developed a number of different types of ad units and formats. This article talks about the different advertising unit types and their impact on online consumers.

Learn the most common web graphic formats

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The World Wide Web uses a variety of graphic formats to display images, photos and illustrations. The modern web artist must learn the differences between the graphic formats and their advantages/disadvantages.

Important web tools for online professionals

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Internet has transformed the way people work, but true web professionals can get more done, because they work more efficiently and faster than others.

How to choose the best Content Management System (CMS) for your website

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Creating more robust websites with content that changes on a regular basis is best handled via a content management system. This article discusses the different Content Management System options designers have when creating websites.

Learn how to link to images and files in HTML

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The world wide web was created with the goal of linking documents to one another through hyperlinks. To be able to accomplish this, a web developer must understand the different types of links and references available. This article discusses the different types and methods of linking your pages.

Learn the basics of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Style sheets allow you to design how HTML in web pages look, understanding their structure is an important part of becoming a web developer.

How to set up a simple server with 1&1

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

In order to upload files to an FTP site, you'll need to know how to get to the username and password information on your host. This article discusses how to set up a 1&1 site and Cyberduck, a mac FTP client.

Learn the basics of HTML

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

HTML is the language behind almost all of the pages of the internet. This tutorial is an introduction to the important concepts and tags that make up the web's markup language.

Learn the history and key concepts of how the internet came to be

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

This article discusses the history and the different technologies that make up the backbone of the internet. It is meant for web professionals who are getting started on the field and is part of a series of a class I'm teaching at Seminole Community College called the Fundamentals of Interactive Design.

Understanding how a web server works

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Two of the most important decisions you'll make when setting up your web presence is your domain name and who you choose to host with. This article introduces you to the different server technologies available at different hosts and makes some suggestions on what you should consider.

Photo Editing, photo retouch and digital retouching tutorial

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I work for a TV and Radio studio and I do photo shoots every week. Most of my people photos are of radio personalities. Regular Joes with excellent vocal talent, but lacking some of the perfect skin that comes with young models. This tutorial shows you my workflow for editing without committing to any pixels until you're done.

How camera flash photography and digital flash units work

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A great deal of photography has to do with capturing light. Dollar for dollar better light gives you a better photograph than a better camera. The problem is photography requires a lot more light than our eyes. Flashes are a great way to take photos, but you must learn some of the technology behind their magic.

Panoramic photography and how to shoot and create a skyline panorama in Adobe Photoshop

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Learn the simple rules for taking great panoramas, the best time to do it, what your camera settings should be and how to put it all together in Photoshop.

Basic Photo Editing: How to whiten teeth with Adobe Photoshop

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Whitening teeth is a fairly simple and quick correction in Photoshop. There are lots of ways to go arround it...here's a simple and quick way to take care of it.

Mastering photography lighting...How to deal with difficult reflections

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Photography is largely about capturing light, but most of the light our eyes see is not from a direct source, it comes as a result of reflections affected by objects. Therefore, it's important for photographers to examine how objects reflect light.

Learning about lighting in Photography...the science behind light

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Why is it that sometimes you can get stunning photographs from your cellphone and someone with a $2,000 DSLR can still get cruddy photos. What makes the difference is the light. In this lesson Ray will explain the science and practical aspects of light.

History of Typography for graphic designers and graphic artists

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Great athletes who want to excel learn to spend time focusing on the fundamentals of their sports. For graphic design the most important fundamental to master is typography. This lesson takes a look at the history and origins of typography.

Introduction to portrait photography and lighting

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The portrait is one of the most common photographs you'll be asked to take. The elements you should consider when working on this project are the people, location, props, lighting and posing.

Understanding how camera lenses work in photography

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All cameras, wether DSLRs or simple point and shoots use lenses to capture images. The types of lens vary, but their function is to filter light coming through to the camera's sensor to make a picture. The type of lens you use will dramatically affect the overall quality of your image.

Learn about ISO and White Balance in photography

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Other than the shutter speed and the F-stop, the ISO setting of your camera gives you the ability to control the quality of your exposure, but there are two other things that will affect the quality of your shots...the white balance setting and the kind of lens you use.

Find out why understanding F-Stop and Depth of field is crucial for great Photographs

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

After Shutter Speed, the second element that helps a photographer capture a good exposure is the Aperture. The Aperture is a little more complicated than the Shutter Speed. Ray Villalobos continues his series on capturing good exposures with a discussion on Apertures.

Learn to Capture Motion Effects in Photography

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

There are three controls that affect an exposure: Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO. In order to master photography you must learn what each one of these controls does and how to use them to achieve certain special effects. This week, we'll be discussing shutter speed.

Learn to build a horizontal platform game using Adobe Flash

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Ray shows you how to build a fairly complex platform game using Flash and ActionScript with walking, jumping, gravity, friction, ladders, multiple levels, etc.

Where to find the greatest free fonts on the web

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

There are some great free fonts out there, but there's a lot of trash as well. An intern asked me to recommend my favorite font sites and I sent her an email, but I though I could share them here as well.

My review of the Promaster 5750DX Camera Flash system

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

I had to get a couple of extra flashes for an upcoming photo shoot and I couldn't get the Vivitar 285HVs that I love so instead I picked up a couple of Promaster 5750 and I was floored.

A great way to store your Vivitar 285HV Gels

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Get perfectly sized photography color correction gels for a Vivitar 285HV and learn a fairly cheap and convenient way to protect them.

Five skills great photographers must learn

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Understanding how to get a correct exposure is just the tip of the iceberg. To capture great images, you need to learn to master these five skills.

How to make your documents and designs more readable

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Research into the readability of text and personal experience has yielded important information relevant to graphic artists, web designers and bloggers alike. Here are some of the important findings.

The basics of Digital Photography

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Digital photography has become an indispensible tool of graphic design. This lesson shows you the basics of photography. From the inner workings of the tools to tips on how to take good pictures.

Improving photography by bouncing light

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Using reflectors with your photography is a fairly inexpensive way of improving the quality of your photos. The effects can be quite dramatic.

Extreme Motion-Photoshop to Flash Part II

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

If you've finished the first part of my From Photoshop to Flash tutorial, you learned that transparent PNG's are the best way to export files and bring them into Flash. In this tutorial, I'll take some of the special effects you developed in Photoshop and teach you how to achieve the illusion of extreme motion in Flash.

Programming Overview