Suztv

Freebie After Effects Hologram Preset

2012-01-12T12:24:00.000-05:00

Just finished this preset/pre-comp and felt the need to share the love. Download at will and please let your friends know! Send them the link to this blog. :)

Download Hologram

Free Download 3D Text - Well, almost...

2012-01-08T15:27:00.001-05:00

Ok kids - I saw something similar to this on a few blog posts and tutorial how to's etc.

However the trick to the "3D" in this is more about trompe l'oeil than anything else. It isn't true 3d - it is just correctly positioned layers with shading that makes your eye think there is a 3rd dimension. To edit the text - just type on the layer etc. Nothing to it really and it really isn't that special. Obviously if you use larger or smaller text you will have to increase or decrease the layer styles accordingly.

As usual you may use these for personal and commercial endeavors - BUT, do NOT redistribute without express written permission.

Suztv 3D Text: Download

Torn Metal Photoshop styles

2011-12-17T02:28:00.000-05:00

Just created these. Enjoy the pack.

Download here:
TornMetal by Suztv

Free Greeble Photoshop styles you want, mmm?

2011-11-27T13:15:00.001-05:00

These just about killed me. Seriously. I had to go through a lot of discovery processes before finding something that actually looked correct in Photoshop and as a style. I will tell you that there aren't nearly enough tech shapes out there - at least rectangular or square. Plenty of circles tho. I did find a process in ZBrush that let me create the greeble texture. But that was at 1AM this morning and after discovering it I found that my eyes would not stay open so I had to continue that this morning.

Anyway - I hope you ca get some use outta these. Obviously they look best against a dark background (like space - go figure) but use as you see fit. Same stipulation as always - use for personal or commercial projects (t-shirts, bags, totes, a poster, you sig or website) but you are NOT allowed to redistribute in any way shape or form.

Download Greeble Styles here: Greeble by Suztv

Free Gold Photoshop Styles

2011-11-26T00:48:00.001-05:00

I have to admit - this is cheezy. I was watching GoldRush on Discovery and thought that the nuggets were especially pretty. I was inspired to make a "Gold" style for Photoshop. After messing around in ZBrush for the texture and then in photoshop - I came up with three styles. Great for text, shapes etc. Whatever gold stuff you wanna use it for.

Of course - same license applies, use them for personal and commercial projects. Not for redistrubution - just link your friends here. I'm certainly not going to quit this anytime soon. I'm having way too much fun.

Click here to download the file: Gold Styles by suztv

Free Ice Photos

2011-11-25T19:34:00.001-05:00

Not that I'm trying to detract from my own posts but I wanted to share some resources (i.e. images) of ice that I've found on my favorite two free stock sites.

Now free doesn't mean you can redistribute as-is, it means you can use in your designs, creations etc. However some of the images may have further restrictions - so please respect the photographer and ask if they require that stipulation.

Icicles - Lots of them, from all sorts of angles and in all sorts of weather. I've chosen three to show here but peruse around, there are so many more.

by revelator

Click here to download: Icicles by revelator

by Lazy_lobster

Click here to download: Icicles by Lazy lobster

wendeehawn

Click here to download: Icicles by wendeehawn

Frost - This icey feature seems to be everywhere and in every form possible. Below are three pics that I think you can get the most mileage out of but don't stop there. Please look around, it's nipping at your heels and nose. Can't you feel it?

Ice 3 Uploaded by brokenarts

Click here to download: Ice 3

Winter wonderland by stadje

Click here to download: Winter Wonderland

Frost by Irish_Eyes

Click here to download: Frost

Snow - Snow mounds, globs, flakes you name it - and it exists. Below I've listed two different images that I thought were really cool.

Snow Texture by penywise

Click here to download: Snow Texture

Winter 08 Uploaded by scataudo

Click here to download: Winter 08

Ice - In all it's forms ice is a cross between magical and somewhat scary force of nature. Below are several images that should freeze you in your tracks. Lol.

Ice Crystals 1 by bjearwicke www.garrisonphoto.org/sxc

Click here to download: Ice Crystals

Ice by Kconners

Close up of Ice Feathers by Horde

Icewall by kconners

Click here to download: Ice

Click here to download: Ice Feathers

Click here to download: Icewall

Ice Styles - FREEBIE!!!

2011-11-25T18:08:00.001-05:00

Ok since everyone is hot about ice - I've created two ice styles for peeps to download and use with Photoshop. They are translucent and look very cold. For all your winterscapes - have fun and enjoy!

You can use for personal and commercial projects, but do not redistribute without permission. Thanks!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Icicles

2011-11-25T16:31:00.001-05:00

I published some Icicle stock on Turbosquid recently. Something I've been working on and really never had a place for it. At first I was going to publish a UI kit that included these (I still might do so), but got a tepid response from forums that I go to.

But the icicles seem like they are what people want more than anything.

Right now you can purchase the icicle 3D files for 3DS Max on here for $15: Buy Now

or the image pack for $10: Buy Now

FurBrushes Video example

2011-11-25T13:59:00.001-05:00

I created a quick example video showing how easy it is to create anything fuzzy, furry or otherwise. This is a real quick video (only 15min) showing actual time involved in making a Santa Hat.

If you think you can use the brush - please download the sample pack here: FurBrushSamplePack

Purchase the full set here for $5: Buy Now

Suztv - Best Of the Web

2011-11-25T08:37:00.001-05:00

Okay peeps. I' am going to attempt to give you a weekly "Best of the Web".

This is my interpretation of links, items and other stuff I get during the week. It will be a mish-mash of digital painting, motion design, 3D, design and other stuff not generally talked about in one blog post. I'll try to limit the findings to 10 but who knows how long that will last. Please take a look, peruse and have your brain go ape-shit like mine because I don't limit the amount of stuff that goes in. It's a little odd at times, you begin to see correlations from one genre to another.

Anyway below is my top ten from the past week or so. Enjoy!

Design Juices • by TaraHornor

30 Fantastic Fantasy Illustrative Digital Art Forest Scenes

Brilliant illustrators know how to capture the magic of imagination or an exaggeration of reality to really appeal to the creativity in us all, landscapes of woods and forests allow lots of room for an artistic touch.

Design Shack

10 Ways Photoshop Actions Can Improve Your Workflow

7 Photoshop actions are an extremely easy way to automate all of the mundane daily tasks that have made their way into your design workflow. Whether you’re in web or print design, odds are there are a few repetitive...

Best Design Options

74 Skin Texture Photoshop Brushes Plus Tutorials

Having smooth and flawless skin has become an obsession for many people. With modern medical technologies and procedures, this has become easier to achieve. However, you could still get smooth and flawless skin without undergoing some expensive medical procedures--using Photoshop. This time around, we pool together the best skin texture Photoshop brushes that you can use for skin retouching.

Photoshop, Illustrator, Web Graphics Tutorials | tu-torial.com

HDR Panorama Planet

PreviewThe “Polar Panorama Effect” takes a panoramic (or landscape) photo and uses the Polar Coordinates filter of Photoshop CS or The Gimp to create a circular image that seems to wrap the panorama around a planet. Click here to see the rest of the tutorial!

Design Shack

Mastering User Attention With Feng-Gui

4 Today we’re going to discuss the importance of intentionally directing user attention to the portions of the page merit it most. We’ll discuss how people are prone to read a page and how we can bend that tendency to our own will. We’ll also take a look at an awesome product that will enable you to get ...

3d video tutorials • by admin

Zbrush Tutorial – Planar Line Techniques

yo thought I’d do a tut on this method of doing tension lines/ligaments and doing compression folds. Incoming search this monthzbrush planar (1)

PSD-dude.com - PSDDUDE tutorials and resources

Over 50 Sand Textures Free Download

3 Textures and patterns are great resources for Photoshop and I like to use them a lot in my designs. That is why I constantly search for new and interesting textures. This collection gathers some of the most beautiful sand textures available for free on the internet.

BittBox • by Dustin Schmieding

Free Texture Tuesday: Fur and Feathers

3 These 5 hi-res fur and feather textures come from scanning the materials used for creating fly fishing lures. Scanning these at high resolution really brings out some unique detail and surface quality that can’t be seen otherwise.

greyscalegorilla/blog • by The Gorilla

How To Model, Texture, and Light A Gumball Machine

3 In this tutorial I show you how to model, texture and light a simple gum-ball machine using primitive shapes and deformers. I also set up a dynamics system to fill the machine with gum balls and light the machine using HDRI and the Sky Sampler.

Photoshop Lady • by admin

Facebook Templates for Your Inspiration

You will find here useful and different because of their styles and purposes 15 Premium Facebook Templates that will be of a great help for your web site creation, being able to offer you ready images and creative godsends. (View This Tutorial)

Folds and Wrinkles Photoshop Brush set

2011-11-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah - you know and I know that creating fabric folds and wrinkles for any project can be the most time-consuming task. Whether it be for a concept design, in-game character outfit (Second Life, WOW, ZWINKY) or for a design that includes fabric this task sometimes can eat away at the valuable hours of your day.

Well no more of that. I've created a very unique set of brushes that should, at the very least, ease your pain. Folds and Wrinkles is a set of brushes that will enable you to create lovely draped fabric, wrinkled vests and subdutaneous folds of flesh on whatever your working on. These are NOT image stamp brushes - they are dynamic and meant to be used with a pressure sensitive tablet.

Here is a sample of the brushes if you are a little gunshy about purchasing - the sample includes 2 of the brushes: FOLDS AND WRINKLES SAMPLER

You can purchase the entire set of 27 brushes by clicking on the link below:

Folds and Wrinkles Photoshop Brushes: Buy Now

Here are the example images for the brush set - most of the brushes are dynamic but I have includes some photo-stamp brushes for use in your designs as well. Please feel free to use them on personal AND commercial projects. However - you may not redistribute them without express written permission.

I'm so excited!

2011-11-02T10:25:00.000-04:00

The other day while perusing the internet (something I do frequently - go figure), I decided to take a look at how my brushes on Brusheezy were doing. I was impressed and somewhat satisfied with most of the numbers (3k, 5k, 10k) until I looked at the total downloads of my firebrush set.

Wow! Holy cow, just WOW! Over 70k!!! That was just flat out cool as hell to me.

Originally I had created the set because I noticed that although there were "fire" brushes - none of them were dynamic and pretty much were useless to those of us trying to "paint" a scene and I wanted to sell them and possibly make a few dollars here and there (the asking price was $3.00). However that plan changed when I found out that someone had ripped the brushes and were offering them for free on a virus/trojan laden site. Soooo - I decided that I would offer the set for free. Not just because the brushes were ripped, I wanted to circumvent anyone from downloading them and then getting their system infected by a virus and then associating my work with that problem. Also it was the right thing to do.

I would absolutely love it if those brushes were downloaded over 100k - possibly by next year? That would be awesomesauce! So peeps if you know an artist that works in Photoshop or if you are an artist and have friends in the industry - please pass along this link.

Suztv Firebrushes for Photoshop

Artists Tools Cross-Hatch Photoshop brushes

2011-08-20T13:24:00.000-04:00

Here is a collection of CrossHatch brushes that you can use when you need to create a sketchy look or to add texture to a digital painting. Below I have provided Brush Stroke samples of the different crosshatch brushes. Also there is a sampler of the brushes - the full set you can purchase for just $5.

Click here to purchase the full set: Buy Now

Click here to download the sample pack of brushes: Artists Tools Sampler Pack

Artists Tools Brush Examples - click on image to see full size..

Nonpariel Photoshop styles

2011-02-27T21:01:00.000-05:00

So judging from the results and hits - everyone loves chocolate. But I have an even better style set for you. Nonpareils! You know those little dots on chocolate or mint kisses? These won't add pounds like real sweets. Pure digital decadence for your upcoming confectionery designs. Please comment and link back if you love them...

Download Nonpareils by clicking here: Nonpareils by suztv

FN6AVRG3WCDY

Yummy Chocolate Styles

2011-02-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

I've wanted to make these for a while and you know I actually had these done at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately my computer had other things in mind (like having the power supply die on me). Sorry I missed the Valentine's Day publish date - it is totally heart breaking. So really y'all will have to tuck this away and use it later on. That is unless you are a true chocoholic and create chocolate fantasy designs all of the time..
The texture for this was made in ZBrush - I luv ZBrush and it's ability to bend mesh like clay. Please comment if you like these or if you use them in your designs. I would love to see the fabulous creations based on these or any of the items I give out.

Download Chocolate Styles here: Chocolate Styles by Suztv

Scales, Snakes and Lizards - Scaley Styles

2011-02-26T12:54:00.000-05:00

Here's a pack of deliciously creepy scales that you can use for just about any Dragon, Snake or Lizard design that you need to create. These were created in CS4 so I'm not sure if they work in Photoshop versions before that. Anyway - download and enjoy. Please comment and let me know if you like them!

Click here to download: Scales Photoshop Style by Suztv

Photoshop Totally HOT Car Paint Styles

2010-12-30T12:14:00.000-05:00

Today I saw a tutorial on how to make car paint materials for 3DS Max and thought "Gee - why should 3D artists have all the fun?"

So I went and made some really cool Car Paint styles that all of you can use in your designs etc. There are 17 different styles in this pack and they look smokin! Very glossy, very iridescent rainbow-y kinda paint effect. I think they will work well for just about any car site or futuristic interface. The sky's the limit.

Have fun with them and please share your creations. I would love to see what people make from them. They are free to use both commercially and personal use - however, if you want to share the love LINK to here and do not under any circumstances redistribute without my express permission (otherwise I'll send the Photoshop gremlins to get you).

You may download them here: CarPaint Styles by Suztv

Tornado preset for Particular 2 in After Effects

2010-12-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

This is something that I've been working on over the past year or so (just on and off, between projects etc). I've seen a few other tutorials and presets on twisters but really nothing out there that is easily modifiable or accessible by others. Well I'm sharing this and I hope that most of you get some use out of it. Obviously you'll have to tweak the files to suit your needs and probably add on some effects to make it more realistic but its better than starting from nothing. The file is in both CS4 and CS5 After Effects and uses Particular 2.0

Please feel free to link back if you use the preset/pre-comp in a project of yours. I would love to see it.

You can get the files by clicking here: Tornado CS4 - or - Tornado CS5

Leather Styles and Brushes

2010-12-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I've created a fantastic bunch of styles and brushes - this time Leather is the theme. I think I was inspired by the movie "True Grit" that is out right now. Obviously I love the old version with John Wayne but the remake should be pretty good. In any case I created these so that you can create a really worn and leathery feel to your type, object or if you want you can use the brushes and make backgrounds or use the for your texturing needs in 3D etc. Let me know if you like them or if you can - please post a comment with a link to your creations that you make. These styles and brushes were made in CS5 - so I have no idea if they work in previous versions of Photoshop. Click here to download those styles and brushes: Leather Styles by Suztv

Photoshop Style-a-thon

2010-12-19T17:31:00.000-05:00

Ok for the past two months I've been on some kind of a Photoshop-Addiction-to-styles-kick. If you follow me on Twitter, Deviant Art, Brusheezy, Facebook etc you'd know this. However I've been rather remiss on updating that information here. SO - that's what you're getting now. I've created so many styles that it's a little hard to keep track but here it goes.

Planetary Styles -

I think that I came up with these as a result of watching the Discovery Channel too much. Something that I like to do is try to accomplish styles or elements that aren't often done but are needed. I'm sure other graphic designers have done this or have similar styles but I really haven't seen them made available. In this pack there are a few cool ones, my favorite being the Moon and Mars Styles. I cannot take credit for all of the textures though - some of them are from wikipedia (which I modified in Photoshop so that they would tile seamlessly) and others are from this kick-ass site: http://planetpixelemporium.com/earth.html. I've only used the smaller versions of the texture maps for the planet so if you need larger image maps of the planets this site has them. If you want to download the Planetary Styles - click here: Planetary Styles by Suztv

Fancy Candy Styles -

One of the reasons I came up with this style is that although you can find a plethora of "candy" or "glossy" styles for Photoshop - NOT one of them has the type of texture that you see on a candy cane or the fancy ribbon candy. This is what makes it LOOK like candy in my opinion - otherwise it could be glass, plastic or gel. I have the entire set of the Fancy Candy Styles available on Deviant art and Brusheezy and you can download and use for personal or commercial projects. As with all of my creation I just ask that if you want to share that you pass on the link and do not redistribute the items. If you want to download Fancy Candy Styles - click here: Fancy Candy Styles by Suztv

Ashes and Coals -

This style was created because I've been spending a lot of time in front of the fireplace and I have needed this type of effect several times in the past. Well, while stoking the coals it dawned on me that I could create a style for Photoshop by doing a few minor things and voila! Ashes and Coals was created. I think the styles themselves are pretty well done and should suit most of your backyard barbecue flyer needs or if you need some Yuletide log website graphics these might just be what Santa ordered. Of course they are free and you may use them for private OR commercial projects. Download here: Ashes and Coals Styles by Suztv

Broken Glass -

Doing broken glass was more of an endeavor into experimentation than anything. It wasn't like I sat down in front of the computer and said "Hey I want to make broken glass photoshop styles today." Nope - didn't happen like that at all. What really did occur was that I was perusing Morguefile.com and found some broken glass images that I thought were cool and then wondered if I could create a style that everyone could use that emulated that look. Well I did and there it is. I think the style is pretty good for not having too many revisions - trust me usually I revise and revise again most of the styles that I publish. So it's a bit of a miracle if one gets done without being re-worked. If you think you like it and want to use it please go ahead and download the style here: Broken Glass by Suztv

TireTread -

This style was something born of pure frustration. Mainly because I've been asked to create tire tread and textures etc. There are plenty of "Tire" pictures out there, and plenty of brushes - that you have to pay for or can't use commercially. Which sucks, I mean jeesh - most designers are just trying to get the job done without paying through the nose for stock or a brush or whatevs. I made this to fill the gap and establish some sort of element or asset that designers could use for those odd projects that called for Tire Tread. You can download the Tire Tread here: Tire Tread by Suztv

Bread -

The bread style came about much the same way Tire Tread did - not enough resources available to designers that have the interior of bread or sliced bread looking texture. So I made this style. Hopefully I'll continue the bread styles and complete it out with different types - right now its just one style that looks sort of like homemade sourdough or white bread. Download here: Bread PS Style by Suztv

Fried Egg -

I think I was hungry when I initially started in on this one. It took me about 4 hours to figure out how to accomplish the style without using a texture - that's right, there is NO texture associated with this style. Which I think is sorta cool. I think it could be fun to use on menu's or for other graphics (not sure what right now it's more of a novelty than anything). Anyway, I was planning on making a "Bacon" style but I thought that might be a little much - I might change my mind though. Download the Fried Egg Style by Suztv

Sandstone -

This style was created much like broken glass style - just perusing the internet. I saw some images that reminded me of Sandstone and wanted to make it so that you could apply that look to backgrounds, text and objects with a click or two. I used textures from Morguefile.com to create the tiling texture and I incorporated some lovely gradients and coloring - all of this adds up to a Sandstone emulation that looks like it belongs in a Sundries shoppe. Download SandStone PS Style by Suztv

Coral -

Have you ever wanted/needed your text to look like coral? Or have you ever needed Coral elements in your composition? Yes? Well then you might want to try these out. I was inspired by the SandStone styles so much that Coral was created shortly thereafter. I think it looks remarkably like coral that you find washed up on beaches and in Sundries shoppes. There are a few different coloration's that come with the style - however feel free and color it up using the color overlay or gradient overlay - either one looks great! Download Coral Photoshop Style by Suztv

STEAMPUNK -

I think I've wanted to do this one for a while. For some reason though I didn't - and not because I didn't know how, I just got caught up with other things and it always took a back seat to other projects. Well a truly boring day solved that little problem. I used some textures from Morguefile.com and modified them as well as using ZBrush for some of this. What you have in the pack are copper/brass looking heated metal styles that look good on thick or heavy fonts at least 100 pixels in height. I think there are a lot of uses for this style and being that it is on a very popular topic I expect it to be a favorite for quite some time. Download Steampunk Photoshop Styles by Suztv

Quilted -

After creating all of these styles I was sorta just thinking about what else should be made but hasn't been done yet. It dawned on me that there is a definite need for "quilted" or embossed diamond styles. Yes - I've actually tried to modify someone elses texture and use it in my comps or designs but they never really looked quite right to me. So after about 2-3 hours of messing with tiling textures and messing with the glossyness of the style and the curves associated with the gloss and contour I came up with these. I don't know why but in this pack there are so many colors - I guess I was inspired? I think that at times I overdo it but at least there are more to choose from. Download Quilted Photoshop Styles by Suztv

Carved Gemstone -

Have you ever wanted a carved jade or sun-stone element for your designs? Or how about Turquoise? Actually I have needed this look several times. I took the knowledge that I have from doing bump-maps for 3D textures in 3DS Max and other programs and I applied it to the styles. I think it turned out really fabulous. I mean the glossiness, the delicate nature and the intricate carved design all make it seem that those really are made of Jade, Sun-stone and Turquoise (to name a few). Download Carved Gemstone Photoshop Styles by Suztv

I think that just about covers it - I still have more styles to publish (they are mostly done but I want to add on to them or refine them a bit) and here's a list of what is next:

Scales - Lizard, snake, crocodile and dragon
Chocolate confections
Sugar - White, Refined, Decorators, Turbine and brown
Honey

If you have a style or a Photoshop Brush that you need/want and cannot create - by all means contact me. I am open to suggestions.

Complacency

2010-09-16T11:07:00.000-04:00

Complacency

Not a word that you should use to describe yourself - but are you? Are you complacent? Flash has had a good run - and while it's true that Flash isn't going away anytime soon - it still has it's uses. But for online content - especially banners and intro pages for websites, video is going to take hold like never before. I expect that because a few of the main carriers for mobile phones will be switching to 4G and because broadband saturation will be reaching untold numbers, this will free content in a way that has never been possible. Imagine producing a online media campaign that would rival in looks that a major motion picture has in effects. What this means for you is that you need to build up your skill-base and get to a point that you can compete and excel.

Now you may say that you think Flash is still usable and that there's no reason to learn a new program or go deeper into the programs that you know; but honestly if you don't start to learn some of the basics of Video Editing and Motion Graphics you might very well find that you'll be left choking on the dust of those who do know After Effects, Premier, Final Cut etc.

If you're satisfied just doing what is necessary to get by and you feel that your knowledge of Photoshop and Flash can get you by - then by all means just keep on doing what you do. Don't be surprised though if you aren't promoted, you aren't chosen for juicy projects, and you constantly are just doing "grunt" work. You might start wondering why the new guy who just got hired 3 months ago got a promotion above you and seems to be involved in several initiatives. The answer is simple - they know programs that you don't and are able to produce more engaging content because of it. It's fine to concept - but if you can't execute and do not know what is possible then how can you compete?

If you want to be involved in the latest innovations and the best creative then I suggest you take heed and start to actively learn the tools you will need to go further in the web/internet/mobile space. A good start would be AfterEffects - this is probably the most widely used Motion Graphics and Compositing tool out there. Not only that but starting now and using it even for minor personal projects will let you get a good foothold on how you can incorporate it into your process. For editing video: Premiere and Final Cut are the two programs that will help you get to where you need to be. Video editing isn't any harder than creating a complex Flash piece and because you understand the fundamentals of animation using After Effects and an editing program probably will not be that hard and you could start doing it today.

Aside from learning new programs (new to you anyway), there is one program you use probably everyday that will increase your capabilities across the board, Photoshop. Photoshop isn't just for static images - you can create motion graphic pieces, re-size videos, bring in 3D elements, edit video and more. There are so many tutorials on this and Adobe has published several videos, online learning tools etc., that the mere fact some designers weren't aware of it - makes me sick.

Why not experiment and get going on this tried and true program that has had these capabilities since CS3. What? You didn't know? My question for you is - why not? How come you didn't know? Were you asleep for 3 years?

I'm not saying that Flash should be abandoned alltogether - but that as a new media designer you should take a step forward and integrate some of the possibilities of using video WITH interactivity.

If you need advice or tutorials the internet is swamped with literally thousands of tutorials - Vimeo and YouTube and good places to start, but almost any search engine will produce hundreds of website locations with tutorials and downloads that will keep you in the know (most of them are for free). Beyond that - my suggestion is much like Nike's motto - just do it.

Here's a few sites to get you started in learning motion graphics, video editing and compositing:

www.videocopilot.net
www.greyscalegorilla.com
www.layersmagazine.com
http://ae.tutsplus.com/tutorials/motion-graphics/
www.creativecow.com
http://www.themotionexchange.com/
http://www.motionworks.com.au/

Free Forest Textures and Pics

2010-09-12T18:52:00.000-04:00

A smattering of Trees, leaves, ferns and roots for you to use as reference or as part of your design. Feel free to use in private or commercial work. 8MP or better. I only ask that you do not redistribute alone or in other collections. Thanks!

Forest Pics

Free for Designers, Artists and all pixel mavens..

2010-09-09T10:05:00.000-04:00

I often spend hours scouring the internet for free items that I can use for work or for my personal projects and in talking to a few of my fellow designers I realized that perhaps not everyone knows about these great places on the Internet that you can download items for free or for cheap.

First let's talk stock photos - everybody uses them and everybody needs them right? Yeah! Absolutely, but often the cost of getting photos is well out of the range of the client especially if it's for a Church or your Sister-in-law... ahem. Anyway here's a list of Free Stock Houses and Very Cheap Stock houses.

FREE:

The Stock Exchange - perhaps one of the end-all-be-all places for free stock photos. I have found a plethora of photography that I've used in ads, banners, print pieces etc. Just be sure that you read the rights and agreements. Most of the images are free to use in whatever you create although depending on the Photographer - you might need to ask permission..

http://www.sxc.hu/

MorgueFile - This I bumped into a few years ago, I'm not even sure what led me to the site. All I know is that it has TONS of photos that you can download at will. I cannot tell you how many times this has saved my bacon or helped me create that special look just when I needed it.

Again there are limitations on the way you use the photos (pretty much you can use them for personal, school and commercial but you cannot redistribute the images unless you change it quite a bit), but it is free and free is good! They accept donations - so if you have a few extra dollars please donate to keep this site afloat.

http://www.morguefile.com/

CG Textures - This site is absolutely awesome. Granted there is a limit as to how many images you can download if you have the "Free" account, but still they're giving away gorgeous texture photos and images for free. The best part of this site is that most of the images are very utilitarian and are for use as reference or as textures or even as scenes. Need a dirty old building? It's there... Need a lion? It's there too. Check them out when you get a chance.

http://www.cgtextures.com/

TextureKing - Speaking of Textures, you just gotta check out TextureKing. A great site that has so many textures of different elements. Like CG Textures these are more utilitarian than anything and really meant for 3D or compositing... But wait - isn't what what most designers do? Composite images together... yeah, I thought so.

http://www.textureking.com

Deviant Art - well now, for those of you who aren't Deviants... I have to ask why not? Deviant Art has been around for a hell of a long time in terms of Internet Age and if you just peruse through the Stock Photos section you could get what you need for whatever you're working on. I have found some really great resources this way. Often it's hard to find gorey pics, or certain elements - even on the higher end stock sites. Deviant Art has them! Although it's important to read each of the EULA's for the different people providing the art. Some are free others aren't unless you only plan on using the art for non-commercial purposes. Please make sure you read those agreements! Check it out here:

http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/stockart/

NEARLY FREE:

Dreamstime - I love Dreamstime, not only do they provide an excellent service but the library is absolutely enormous. Its a great asset to have if you need just the right image but you are strapped for cash. What I like about using them is that you needent worry about model releases or rights - those are part of the deal. Unlike the Freebie sites this one has the documentation to go with the photos so you are clear on what you can use... no matter what.

http://www.dreamstime.com/

IStockphoto - Getty Images little brother (or sister), like Dreamstime they offer thousands of images (and vector items) at a very low cost. This site has been around for a while and if you weren't aware of them you must have been locked in a closet somewhere. Istock also offers low-cost stock footage as well as audio and flash items. Great place to procure lots of great images for your site, ad or whatever you're making.

http://www.istockphoto.com/

Theme Forest - While these guys aren't my favorite, I have to admit the entire network has become very appealing. Whether you're looking for an image, a PSD brush or if you need an After Effects project file - this is the site for you. The prices aren't horrible so almost anyone can afford the cost.

http://themeforest.net/

Photoshop Stuff. Now I'm talking the crap that you don't normally find on a stock site (brushes, scripts, actions, styles, gradients, shapes etc) . I wonder why sometimes - although some sites are starting to catch on (Envato marketplace, Deviant Art etc). But the bigger sites still have yet to offer Photoshop resources for artists... Perhaps that's because there are SOOOO many free items there's no point? IDK, but onto the list of goodies:

The Exchange - originally this site was started by some undergrad at MIT. I went there just about everyday in the early 2000's, eventually the site got so popular that Adobe bought him out and it now is part of the Adobe site. You can find just about anything you want/need for any of the Adobe Products but Photoshop probably takes the lions share as far as breadth and content. One caveat is that several entrepreneurs have taken to listing their items on the site, not a bad thing necessarily but it does make for a lengthy search if you just wanted a free PSD brush of fingerprints and then have to wade through several pages of crap to get there. Well we all know NOTHING is absolutely free.. or is it?

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange

Brusheezy - AWESOME SITE! A absolute must as far as a designer's resource and bookmark library. Almost every brush eventually ends up here... At least the free ones do. I suggest that if you haven't visited the site, get up off of your bum (so to speak) and do so. They do have a sister site called vecteezy that contains several hundreds (perhaps thousands) of vectors, so do please check them both out.

http://www.brusheezy.com/

Ok... now it's getting crazy for me so I'm going to JUST list all of the exciting and wonderful sites dedicated to JUST Photoshop...

http://www.pbrushes.com
http://qbrushes.net
http://www.photoshoproadmap.com
http://getbrushes.com
http://fbrushes.com
http://www.psbrush.com
http://www.blendfu.com
http://inobscuro.com
http://www.obsidiandawn.com/
http://celestial-star.net
http://myphotoshopbrushes.com
http://www.chezplumeau.com
http://shizoo.frozen-media.de
http://www.brushfed.com
http://www.valhalla-vania.net
http://www.hybrid-genesis.com
http://fractured-sanity.org
http://aethereality.net
http://www.artflower.de
http://missm.paperlilies.com

Blogs... Oh yeah the blogs. There are so many great blogs to go to that contain freebies, downloads, links etc. That you could literally spend hours, days, weeks just jumping from link to link to link and grabbing all the free stuff. (Too bad money isn't given out like this. If I had a nickel for all the free stuff I've gotten - well I'd have about $1,000.)

http://www.bittbox.com/
http://medialoot.com/
http://sixrevisions.com/
http://www.smashinghub.com/
http://www.crazyleafdesign.com/blog/
http://www.room122.com/
http://www.dezinerfolio.com/
http://www.psdbox.com/
http://webdesignledger.com/
http://designm.ag/
http://blogfullbliss.com/
http://lordofdesign.com/
http://photoshop-pack.com/
http://colorburned.com/freebies
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/

I could go on and on and on. But I think for now this should keep you busy and relatively well stocked (get it? Stocked... lol). Anyway, I'll post another article on Free Vector sites, 3D and stock footage. Yeah - I know, you can't wait at all can you?

Truffles - 3D Models on TurboSquid

2010-09-07T11:51:00.000-04:00

3D models of Truffles in Dark, Milk and White Chocolate. With chocolate drizzles - all of which are mesh objects and can be deleted or re-arranged. Also - no bitmaps were used... the materials in this scene are all shaders and do not need external files. Original files were created in ZBrush.

You can purchase the models here:

https://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/555296

My Letter to Freelancer.com

2010-08-01T09:59:00.000-04:00

Because my AC went out and the fact that recently two very big car repairs had to happen - I've had to take on the quest to find a freelance gig.

I checked several freelance sites. I have to say folks - it sux rocks out there. Not only do these sites want to charge a fee or percentage of the take - but the f***ers often want to charge the worker or designer a yearly fee just to bid on jobs.

Bad enough right? No - not yet.

Upon checking these sites and others like them - several of the postings were from the same companies (on different sites) with link backs to one primary source. Freelancer.com.

Freelancer.com used to be known as GetAFreelancer.com - I used to go there to laugh at the postings. Most of which were beyond compare when it came to pricing or rates and the amount of work wanting to be done as well as impossible deadlines.

Here's the kicker - they haven't changed anything except the backend code and the UI - it's still the same fly by night operations posting jobs that are bid on by people who either work at a digital sweatshop or who live in an impoverished country and have ripped software and take on these penny jobs because WOAH! - $30 to them is like $3000 to us. Does that really make it right? I mean some of the projects cannot be done without years of training and a great amount of skill - are they serious in that those peoples skills aren't worth as much as those in the U.S.?

Here are some screen caps of "some" of the listings under After Effects:

In any case - I suggest that any designer, programmer etc., worth their salt avoid this site at all costs. Total rip off for both the designer or worker and the person posting the job. There are no guarantees and there are certainly issues with the way it's run.

So I wrote a letter to them:

Dear Sirs, Madame’s:

After being away from your site for a number of years I recently had the opportunity to try it out again.

So I logged in hoping for the best. What I found was really quite pathetic and very depressing. I’m not sure what type of screening process you have but I’ve noticed quite a few postings that are merely advertisements for “get rich quick” schemes. Then a majority of the other postings require amazing amounts of skill and professionalism for projects that normally would cost thousands (even at a cut-throat rate) for under $200.

I know what your argument will be – free market will determine what the pricing is etc. While that’s fine and perhaps true - often the people bidding on these jobs for such a low amount are not only people who live in impoverished countries or work for digital sweatshops but they use illegal software etc. Don’t even try to convince me that someone who does a full motion graphics title sequence using After Effects, Trapcode Suite, Red Giant plug-ins etc., for $40 can afford Adobe Creative Master Suite or any of the plug-ins. But that is not my point here – my point is that the quality of your listings and the quality of the bidders are sub-par. I wouldn’t mind doing some pro-bono work or even doing some sub-scale work (below industry average) but most of the listings are just awful and simply not achievable.

To give you some insight – I’ve been a designer for over 13 years and I know and have worked in just about every facet of the arena. I know how long it should take a person to accomplish a task and given the amount of schooling and preparation that most of the individuals go though – the $2 hour thing just isn’t going to cut it. And people out there who think that it’s only fair that countries like India, Ukraine etc. be able to work on these projects too – think about this, their skills and outputs are just as valuable as anyone else’s and I feel that even though they NEED the money – taking advantage of their skills without fully compensating them is reprehensible – if not bigoted. THEY deserve as much as anyone else for the same amount of work. I know some businesses won’t like it – but there should be standards. I’m not looking to rip anyone off – but if the highest amount or limit posted for any one job doesn’t cover fuel costs on a car for a day going to the market and back… There’s something wrong.

In any case – I would like to suggest that you possibly have a “U.S. Only” and an “International” site - at least then the bidding between people would be “fair” or to some extent near what you would expect for market value.

Until I see a change – I cannot recommend this site to any of my fellow designers, right now Criagslist (although seedy) is a damn site better, at least they don’t want you to edit 400 videos for $200 (which is freaking ridiculous).

Sincerely,

etc