Designer's World

How To Give Your Photos a Vintage Polaroid Effect

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 09:46:00 +0000

Follow this step by step guide to giving your photos a cool vintage Polaroid style effect in Photoshop. We’ll adjust the colours of the image with adjustment layers then use Photoshop brushes to distress the photograph for an aged appearance.

The vintage effect we’ll be creating transforms your photos with faded colour casts, aged marks and a distressed Polaroid style border to frame the shot. Subtle additions of noise and various overlays all help to achieve that old-time look.

Open up your chosen image in Photoshop. Here I’ve picked out a nice Summer shot of a group of friends on the beach from ThinkStock. Make small Levels adjustments to increase the contrast slightly.

Add a Curves adjustment layer and change the drop down menu to select the Red channel. Begin manipulating the curves line into a slight inverted S-bend to begin adjusting the colours.

Change the drop down to the Green channel and make similar adjustments to the tones controlled by this channel.

Adjust the Blue channel so the colours are clipped at the bottom and top areas of the graph. The result should be a retro looking mix of yellow and red.

Select the Gradient Tool and set up an orange to yellow radial gradient. Drag this gradient across the canvas and set this layer to Soft Light at 50%.

Paint in a couple of red brush marks around the edge of the photo and change the blending mode to Screen at 40% to create some subtle light leaks.

Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer at the top of the layer stack and finely tune the saturation level to tone down the impact of the colours.

Fill a new layer with white, then go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise with the settings of 35%, Uniform, Monochromatic. Set this layer to Soft Light at 50%.

Paint a white highlight near the centre of the image using a large soft brush. Set this layer to Soft Light at around 90%.

Use a couple of brush stroke Photoshop brushes to paint in a distressed border around the edge of the picture to create an old Polaroid style frame.

When using Photoshop brushes, alter the angle by adjusting the target shaped icon in order to paint the border in each direction around the edge of the canvas.

A handwritten note on the photo stating the year helps tap into the vintage theme. Here I’m using the cool Faraco Hand font.

A subtle Drop Shadow effect adds a soft highlight on the bottom edge of the text to give the impression that the writing has been pressed into the photograph by the nib of the pen.

Finish off the vintage photo effect with some distressed marks and signs of age using these awesome Subtle Grunge brushes.

Instagram your images using Photoshop

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 09:41:00 +0000

Instagram reinvented the photo sharing on our social media structure. It's a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your pictures to friends and family. And what I like the most about Instagram, are the various schemes that offers you to filter your pictures with your own little touch.

STEP 1

Open your image in Photoshop and double-click on the background layer to make into a layer and named it Nashville.

For this tutorial, I've used an image from Patrick Smith from Patrick Smith Photography. You can check more of this work on his Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography.

STEP 2

Create a new layer and fill it with the color (Red: 247 , Green: 217 , Blue: 173) and leave the opacity to 100% and your blending options to "Multiply".

STEP 3

Click back on the "Nashville" layer and click Image > Adjustments > Curves. First go into the green channel and put the output to 37 and then go to the blue channel and put the output to 133.

STEP 4

After click Image > Adjustments > Levels, change the gamma (the middle) to 1.36 and the input to 236.

STEP 5

Now let's play the contrast by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness / Contrast. Put the brightness to 6 and contrast to 51. Don't forget to uncheck "Use Legacy" if it is checked.

STEP 6

Give another curves to the image by again going to Image > Adjustments > Curves. But this time go to the green channel and put the input to 13 and in the blue channel, put the input to 88.

STEP 7

To give more depth let's change again the contrast by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness / Contrast. Simply enter the brightness to -6 and contrast to 33.

STEP 8

Give another one last curves touch by going to Image > Adjustments > Curves. Go to the red channel and put the output to 4 and in the blue channel, put the output to 14. Lastly merge all the layers to visible.

FINAL WORDS

That's it! This is how we create the "Nashville" filter from Instagram in Photoshop. At this point, the rest is up to your creativity to experiment different concepts to finish this image.

You can also use the same technique for your own images and also create an action in Photoshop. By creating an action, you'll just have to play the action instead of redoing all the steps!

Bourne Ultimatum Color and Motion Blur Effect With Photoshop

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 14:57:00 +0000

To create the motion blur, we’ll be using Photoshop’s classic Motion Blur filter, and we’ll be finishing off the effect with a couple of layer masks to bring back just a hint of the flesh tones from the original image, as well as to remove the blur effect from the main subject.Written by Steve Patterson. In this Photoshop Effects tutorial, we’re going to look at how to recreate the same color and motion blur effect used in the movie poster for the biggest action movie of the 2007 summer, the Bourne Ultimatum. We’ll be using Photoshop’s Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to colorize the image using a color I’ve sampled directly from the poster itself.

To complete this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll need a photo of Matt Damon walking towards you looking a little upset about something and carrying a gun. If you don’t happen to have a photo like that (and hopefully you don’t), any photo of someone walking towards you on the street will do.

Here’s the image I’ll be using for this Photoshop Effects:

The original image.

And here’s the same image after applying the “Bourne Ultimatum” color and motion blur effect to it:

The final result.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Duplicate The Background Layer

As is often the case with many of our Photoshop tutorials (and also a good habit to get into), the first thing we want to do in creating this effect is duplicate our Background layer. Photoshop’s Layers palette is currently showing us that we have only one layer, the "Background" layer, which contains our original image:

The Layers palette showing the original image on the Background layer.

Let’s duplicate the layer using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac). When I look in my Layers palette now, I can see that Photoshop has copied my Background layer and has named the copy “Layer 1″. The copy is also above the original Background layer:

Press “Ctrl+J” (Win) / “Command+J” (Mac) to duplicate the Background layer.

Step 2: Set The Color You Want To Colorize The Image With As Your Foreground Color

We’re going to use a “Hue/Saturation” adjustment layer to colorize the image in a moment, but to make things easier, let’s choose the color we’re going to use first by setting it as our Foreground color. This way, we won’t have to fumble around with any sliders in the Hue/Saturation dialog box trying to find the color we want. To do that, click on the Foreground color swatch in the Tools palette:

Click on the Foreground color swatch near the bottom of the Tools palette.

When you click on it, Photoshop’s Color Picker will appear. You’re of course free to use whichever color you want for your effect. I’ve gone ahead and sampled a color directly from the movie poster, so if you want to use the same color I’ll be using, look on the bottom right side of the Color Picker for the RGB options and enter 48 for the R value (which stands for Red), 94 for the G value (Green), and 116 for the B value (Blue):

Use the Color Picker to choose the color you want to colorize the image with.

Click OK when you’re done to exit out of the dialog box.

Step 3: Colorize The Image With A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer

Now that we’ve selected the color we’re going to use to colorize the image, this next step is going to be easy. Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Click on the “New Adjustment Layer” icon.

Then choose Hue/Saturation from the list that appears:

Choose “Hue/Saturation” from the list.

This will bring up Photoshop’s Hue/Saturation dialog box. Since we’ve already chosen the color we want to colorize the image with, all we need to do here is select the Colorize option in the bottom right corner of the dialog box:

Check the “Colorize” option.

As soon as you check the option, Photoshop goes ahead and colorizes the image using our chosen Foreground color:

Photoshop colorizes the image with our chosen Foreground color.

Click OK to exit out of the Hue/Saturation dialog box.

Step 4: Select Your Brush Tool

In the movie poster for the “Bourne Ultimatum”, the entire image is colorized except for Matt Damon’s face and hands, which have some of his original flesh tone showing through, and we can do the same thing with our image very easily. First, we need the Brush Tool, so either select it from the Tools palette or press B on your keyboard:

Select the Brush Tool.

Step 5: Set Your Foreground Color To Black

In order to bring back some of the color from the original image, we’re going to use our brush to paint with black on the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer’s layer mask. Anywhere we paint with black is going to hide the effects of the adjustment layer and bring back our original color. In order to paint with black, we need black as our Foreground color, and we can get that easily by pressing D on the keyboard, which resets Photoshop’s Foreground and Background colors, making black our new Foreground color (white becomes the Background color). We can see this if we look at the Foreground and Background color swatches in the Tools palette:

Reset the Foreground color to black by pressing “D” on your keyboard.

Step 6: Lower The Opacity Of The Brush To About 30%

We only want to bring back a subtle amount of color, so we need to lower the opacity of our brush before we begin painting. To do that, with the Brush Tool selected, go up to the Opacity option in the Options Bar at the top of the screen and lower the opacity of the brush to around 30%:

Lower the opacity of your brush to around 30%.

This way we’ll only be bringing back 30% of the original color rather than the full amount.

Step 7: Select The Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer’s Layer Mask

As I mentioned, we’re going to paint with black on the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer’s layer mask, rather than on the image itself, so let’s select the layer mask by clicking on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette:

Select the layer mask by clicking on its thumbnail in the Layers palette.

You’ll know that the layer mask is selected because it will have a white highlight border around the thumbnail, as we can see in the image above.

Step 8: Paint On The Image To Bring Back Some Of The Skin Tone

We have our Brush Tool with our Foreground color set to black, we’ve lowered the opacity of the brush to 30%, and we’ve selected the layer mask for the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer in the Layers palette. All we need to do now is paint over any areas where we want to bring back some of the color from the original image. I want to bring back some color in the skin tones of both people in my image, so I’m going to paint over their faces and hands to bring back some skin color. To resize my brush as needed, I’ll use the left and right bracket keys on my keyboard. The left bracket key makes the brush smaller and the right bracket key makes it larger. Here’ I’m painting over the guy’s face and you can see that his skin tone is showing through:

Paint with black to reveal some of the original skin tone.

If you accidentally paint over an area you didn’t mean to paint over, simply press X on your keyboard to switch your Foreground color to white and paint over the mistake, then press X again to switch back to black and continue painting.

The image after bringing back some of the skin tones.

At this point, we’re done colorizing our image. Next, we’re going to add the motion blur effect.

Step 9: Apply The Motion Blur Filter To The Background Copy Layer (“Layer 1″)

We’re going to add our motion blur effect to the image, and we’ll use Photoshop’s classic and appropriately named “Motion Blur” filter to do it. We want to apply the motion blur to the copy of the Background layer that we created back at the beginning of this tutorial, so click on “Layer 1″ in the Layers palette to select it. You’ll know it’s selected because it will appear highlighted in blue:

Click on “Layer 1″ in the Layers palette to select it.

Now that we have the correct layer selected, let’s go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Blur, and then choose Motion Blur. This will bring up the Motion Blur filter’s dialog box. Set your Angle to around -40°. Then drag the slider at the bottom to adjust the Distance of the motion blur. The value you set this to is going to depend a lot on the size of your image. I’m using a small image for this tutorial, and for me, a value of about 35 pixels gives me roughly the same effect used in the Bourne Ultimatum movie poster:

Set the “Angle” to -40°, then adjust the blur distance with the slider at the bottom.

If you’re using a large, high resolution image, you’ll want to set your Distance value higher. Use my image below as a guide for the blur distance you’re aiming for:

The image after applying the Motion Blur filter.

Step 10: Add A Layer Mask To The Motion Blur Layer

What I’m going to do next is allow the two people in the image to show through the motion blur effect, and I’m going to once again use a layer mask for that. With "Layer 1" still selected, I’m going to click on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Click the “Layer Mask” icon.

This adds a layer mask to our motion blurred layer, and it also adds a layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette. I can tell from the white highlight border around the thumbnail that the layer mask is already selected for me:

The Layers palette now showing the layer mask thumbnail on “Layer 1″.

I can now use this layer mask to hide the motion blur from in front of the two people in my image, which I’ll do next.

Step 11: Paint With Black On The Layer Mask To Hide The Motion Blur

With black still as my Foreground color and the layer mask on "Layer 1" selected, I’m going to use my Brush Tool again to paint over the areas in the image where I want to hide the motion blur, which in my case is in front of the two people. I want to use a soft-edged brush for this, so I’m going to hold down my Shift key and press the left bracket key on my keyboard a few times, which will give me a nice soft edge for my brush. Before I begin painting, I’m going to go back up to the Options Bar and set the opacity of my brush back up to 100%:

Set the opacity of the Brush Tool back to a full 100% in the Options Bar.

Once again, I’m going to resize my brush as needed using the left and right bracket keys, and I’m simply going to paint with black over the two people in my image, allowing them to show through the motion blur. As I approach the edges of the people, I’m going to keep my brush just inside the edge to give me a nice blend between the people and the motion blur around them. If I make a mistake and accidentally paint over an area I didn’t mean to, I can simply press X on my keyboard to switch my Foreground color to white, just as I did when painting on the Hue/Saturation layer mask, and paint over the mistake. Then I’d press X again to switch back to black and continue painting away the motion blur:

Paint with black over areas to hide the motion blur.

I’m going to continue painting over the guy until I’ve removed all of the motion blur in front of him, leaving a nice effect around the edges:

The image after painting away the motion blur effect in front of the guy.

And here’s my image after painting away the motion blur effect in front of the woman behind him as well:

Both people are now showing through the motion blur.

Step 12: Add A New Layer At The Top Of The Layers Palette

At this point, our effect is pretty much complete. We’ve colorized the image, brought back some of the original skin tone, added our motion blur, and then painted away the motion blur in front of the two people. Let’s finish things off by adding a little grunge to the image. First, click on the Hue/Saturation layer in the Layers palette to select it so we can add a new blank layer above it. Then click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Select the Hue/Saturation layer in the Layers palette, then click on the “New Layer” icon.

Photoshop will add a new blank layer at the top of the Layers palette, and will name it “Layer 2″:

A new blank layer is added to the top of the Layers palette.

Step 13: Fill The New Layer With White

We need to fill this new layer with white, and since white is currently our Background color, we can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Backspace (Win) / Command+Delete (Mac), which tells Photoshop to fill the layer with the Background color. The image will now appear completely filled with white.

I won’t bother showing a screenshot, since a white image on a white background wouldn’t look very interesting.

Step 14: Apply Photoshop’s “Add Noise” Filter To The Layer

Go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Noise, and then choose Add Noise. This brings up the “Add Noise” filter’s dialog box. I’m going to use the slider to set my Amount value to around 100% or so, giving me quite a bit of noise. You may want to set yours even higher if you’re using a high resolution image. Also, make sure that the Gaussian and Monochromatic options are both selected at the bottom of the dialog box:

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise to bring up the Add Noise dialog box.

Click OK when you’re done to exit out of the dialog box. Your image will now be filled with noise:

The image after filling the top layer with noise.

Step 15: Change The Blend Mode Of The Noise Layer To “Color Burn”

Our image is filled completely with noise, which isn’t what we want. Let’s blend the noise in with the image by first changing the blend mode of the noise layer. Go up to the blend mode options in the top left corner of the Layers palette, click on the down-pointing arrow to the right of the word “Normal” and change the blend mode to Color Burn:

Change the blend mode of the noise layer to “Color Burn”.

Step 16: Lower The Opacity Of The Noise Layer To 10% Or Less

The noise is now blending in with the image but it’s much too intense. To fix that and complete our effect, go over to the Opacity option in the top right of the Layers palette (directly beside the blend mode option) and lower the opacity of the layer all the way down to 10% or less. I’m going to set mine to 8%, leaving the noise barely visible but enough to add a little “dirt” to the image:

Lower the opacity of the noise layer to 10% or less so the noise is just barely visible.

Once you’ve blended in your noise with the image, you’re done!

Here, for comparison, is my original image once again:

The original image once again.

And here is the final “Bourne Ultimatum movie poster” color and motion blur effect:

The final effect.

ACHIEVE BRILLIANT LIGHTING EFFECTS IN PHOTOSHOP

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 14:45:00 +0000

Lighting effects can make or break any digital artwork. When done properly, lighting can add visual impact, draw the viewer’s eye, convey depth and emotion, and tie together all the elements of the piece for a quality finished result. However, achieving brilliant lighting is not always an easy task, particularly for newer digital artists. Perfecting contrast, color variation, sharpness and depth will help make your digital art more enticing.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn the essential process of achieving brilliant lighting effects in Photoshop. Using default brushes, blending options and a few stock images, you’ll learn step by step a variety of techniques that you can use in your own digital artworks to achieve professional results.

This is tutorial is jam packed with tips, shortcuts and techniques, and each detail is explained to allow beginning users to follow along. But even if you’re an advanced user, you’ll be inspired and take away some useful new ideas for your artwork. Let’s get started!

Tools Required

Adobe Photoshop CS2 (or higher)

Final Image Preview

Step 1 – The Background:

Start by creating a new canvas, sized 1970×1320 pixels. Then, grab this custom background that I made (click the image for the full size):

Next, we’re going to combine this with another background, so click the image below or visit the following link and download this background:http://jakezdaniel.deviantart.com/art/Texture-3B-108044404

Next, reduce the ‘Fill’ option of this second background to 79% (see screenshot below):

Step 2 – The Foreground:

Now, we need our foreground subject image. We’re going to use this little rocker boy. You can use the following image that I used: http://tonya-tjphotography.deviantart.com/art/Rocker-6-86012281 or you can use any of your own images that you desire. One thing you’ll notice about this image is the hair, which will be a bit difficult to extract. Software such as Vertus Fluid Mask can easily extract these images, but for this tutorial, I will be extracting it manually using the pen tool and I will apply some cutting techniques.

Using your pen tool, slowly trace around the subject, then go to the “Paths” tab and then right click the path you made, make selection, and then you have your foreground subject. If you’re a bit unfamiliar with extraction techniques, read this article on Types of Extraction in Photoshop.

Notice that there are still some white edges left in the hair, so again you can use the pen tool to cut it off. You could manually try to remove only the white area, but I found it quicker and more effective to give him a haircut. And for finishing I used a soft brushed eraser and Layer>Matting>Defringe (width 1) and resized it to fit the document.

Now we will make some shadow for the boy, which will help create depth for our image. For the shadow I used a soft brush, 200px using black color to brush the perspective shadow (see below screenshot or use your judgment). Then, go to Filter>Gaussian Blur>30px to give it a more natural feel. Reduce the opacity if necessary, erase some overlapping black parts caused by the gausian blurr, and you should have a result like mine:

Now, we need to make the boy seem less ‘pasted’ onto our background. To do this, we’ll burn the edges of the boy a little bit, using the burn tool with the settings of 100px, Range: midtones, Exposure: 50 and then go to Layer>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast. Check the use layer clipping mask and apply the following settings:

Add some crack to the walls to have more details and add visual impact. You can use a stock image, or the following brush: Download.

Step 3 – Adding Abstract Elements:

I used a rendered C4d. There are packs of C4D renders all over the internet, deviantART is a great place to start.

Resize it and use desaturate (CTRL-SHIFT-U) to make it pure grayscale. Next, move it into your desired position, for this image, I wanted to make it seem as though it was the boy’s wings.

Next, erase some areas that you don’t want in your image. It should match the foreground subject and the shadowing we created already, in order to allow the perspective to remain. You can use the selection of your foreground subject to remove areas and make it seem like the render is wrapped around the subject.

Duplicate the C4d layer, then bring back the duplicated one to the bottom of the layer’s boy. By doing this, you can add a backup of unwanted erased parts, and you can make the render feel more solid.

Next, we use the same C4D render, desaturating it and resizing it. Slowly we can add more elements, varying the size to achieve our desired effect. Erase any unwanted areas, and try to build your render around the boy.

Step 4:

In making the light effects, I only used default tools in Photoshop. Using the pen tool for illustration, you can draw some paths and stroke them. Create a new layer, then set your brush to white, 7px, soft (hardness set to 0%). Next, draw paths along the subject where you want light to appear. While the pentool is active, right click on the surface, choose stroke path, and check the ‘simulate pressure’ option.

Open the blending options, and apply the following settings to your layer.

Duplicate the line layer twice, and then blur the duplicated one. Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur at 10px. Duplicate it again, and make a new group and then set the blending option to linear dodge (see below screenshot). Linear dodge is one of the most powerful layer modes in achieving quality lighting effects.

Next, make a new layer and then fill it with black and set the blending options to linear dodge. Grab the brush tool, and brush a little bit of red in his shoulder and use this command CTRL+F three times (to blur it again). This will enhance the glow effect from the lighting.

Repeat this process and try to make some brush adjusments make it bigger or smaller. Try making it 10px,5px,3px, whatever you want. Try to put some it to the bottom layer of the boy. Here’s how it looks after my illustrations and repeating the process of previous grouped layers. Just experiment use soft eraser to fade it some parts nicely. I used motion blur to achieve some movement in the piece. Overall, I had 7 groups for the lighting effects.

Step 5 – Extra Effects:

Add some small particles, like it’s splashing away from the boy. In this step, I used a nebula stock. There are many available through http://resurgere.deviantart.com/ orhttp://hameed.deviantart.com/gallery/?3949421#Stock:

Place it on canvas and change the blending option to Linear Dodge, then desaturate it to make it black and white. This will add some extra contrast to our image, apart from just the red. Now that it is desaturated, you can duplicate and place it anywhere you want, just play around to see what gives a good result. I suggest putting some of it behind the boy, to create a nice illusion and enhance the depth. Erase any unwanted parts using a soft eraser.

Step 6 – Smoke:

I added some smoke, for the original work I used a stock image of smoke. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the same image I used, but I will still show you the erased parts of the smoke. There’s plenty of free stock images of smoke (check http://sxc.hu for example) and see what works for you. If you want the same image that I used, it is available below:

Simply paste this smoke image into the document, move it over the boy and set the blending mode to ‘Screen’ or ‘Linear Dodge’ depending on your desired result. You can adjust your layer order to achieve the appearance of the smoke behind or in front of the lighting effects.

Step 7 – More Effects:

Next, we can add awesome lighting effects to dramatically increase the visual impact of the piece. First create a new layer (CTRL-SHIFT-N) . Fill it with black and change
the blending option to ‘Linear Dodge’. Grab the rectangular marquee tool, and use your gradient tool (from white to transparent), then erase the sides a little to make it softer.

Step 8 – Final Lighting Adjustments:

We are almost done. Now we will add some more red lights to incorporate the extra color into the piece. We’ll be using a soft brush, paint bucket and blending options here. Create a new layer, fill it with black, change the blending option to ‘Linear Dodge’. Use the brush, and then refer to the screenshot below:

We’re essentially done now, but we should make some adjustments to achieve better depth and sharpness. Create a new layer, and ‘Apply Image’ (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E). Next, go to Filter->Sharpen->Sharpen. Then, apply a curves layer by going to Layer->New Adjustment Layer->Curves. Apply the following settings:

After applying the curves, add a layer mask (Layer->New Layer Mask) and erase some of the curves layer (particularly around the head of the boy. Reduce the opacity to 42%, and then you can add your own gradient maps and adjustments if you so choose. Here’s my result after adjustments:

Conclusion

You can add any more effects you want, but for now I’m satisfied with the result, and hopefully you are too. Remember to keep experimenting, as small changes can have incredibly different results and you never know what may end up looking incredible. Hopefully you learned something from this tutorial, and thanks for reading!

Add Reflections to Sunglasses in Photoshop

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 14:04:00 +0000

In this Photoshop Effects tutorial, we’re going learn how to add reflections, or at least, different reflections, to sunglasses. This is a popular Photoshop effect and opens up a world of creative and artistic possibilities depending on who is wearing the sunglasses and who or what you have them looking at.

Here’s the image I’ll be using for this tutorial:

The original image.

If we look closely, we can see that there already is a faint reflection in her sunglasses, and it looks like she’s standing on the side of a road if I’m not mistaken. To me, she could just as easily be standing on a tropical beach, so we’re going to give her more mirror-like reflective lenses and have her looking towards the water instead by using this photo:

A photo of a tropical beach.

as the reflection in her sunglasses:

The final result.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Select One Of The Lenses

We need to work on one lens at a time, so let’s begin with the lens on the left (our left, her right). To complete the work on the other lens, all we’ll need to do is repeat the same steps we’re about to do. First, we need to select the lens, so select around the outside of it using the selection tool of your choice (Lasso Tool, Pen Tool, etc.):

Select around the outside of the lens on the left using the Photoshop selection tool of your choice.

Step 2: Create A New Blank Layer

With the lens selected, click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette to add a new blank layer above the original Background layer, which is the layer that contains our original image:

Add a new layer by clicking on the “New Layer” icon.

Photoshop adds a new layer above the Background layer and automatically names it “Layer 1″. Double-click directly on the layer’s name in the Layers palette and rename it to “left lens” to make it easier for us to keep track of what we’re doing (it’s always a good idea to name your layers):

A new layer is added above the Background layer. Rename the layer “left lens”.

Step 3: Fill The Selection With Black On The New Layer

With the “left lens” layer selected (the currently selected layer is highlighted in blue in the Layers palette), press the letter D on your keyboard to reset your Foreground and Background colors if necessary so black becomes your Foreground color (white becomes your Background color), then use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Backspace (Win) /Option+Delete (Mac) to fill the selection we made with black:

The left lens now appears filled with solid black.

Press Ctrl+D (Win) / Command+D (Mac) when you’re done to deselect the selection.

It looks like we’ve filled the left lens with black, but since we’re using layers and we’ve filled the selection on a layer above the Background layer, our original image isn’t affected at all. The black filled selection area and the original photo are completely separate from each other.

Step 4: Drag The Second Image Into The Document

At this point, we need to bring in the image we’re going to be using as the reflection in the sunglasses, so open your second image in Photoshop if it’s not open already and have both images displaying in their own separate document windows on the screen (you can cycle through the various screen modes for each document by pressing the letter F on your keyboard). Press V to quickly select Photoshop’s Move Tool, then simply click anywhere inside the second image and drag it into the sunglasses document:

Use the Move Tool to drag the second image into the main sunglasses document.

If we look in our Layers palette, we can see that the second image has been added on a new layer above the “left lens” layer. Double-click on the layer’s name and rename it to “left reflection”:

The second image has been added on a new layer at the top of the Layers palette. Rename the new layer “left reflection”.

Step 5: Create A Clipping Mask

Currently, the image on the "left reflection" layer is blocking much of the sunglasses image from view. What we want is for it to appear only inside the left lens, and we can do that easily by using the "left lens" layer as a clipping mask for the “left reflection” layer above it. What this means is, the only area of the tropical beach photo that will remain visible is the area sitting above the black-filled area on the layer below it. Any areas of the tropical beach photo that are sitting above any transparent areas on the "left lens" layer below it will be hidden from view.

To create the clipping mask, with the "left reflection" layer selected in the Layers palette, go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen and choose Create Clipping Mask, or use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Ctrl+G (Win) /Option+Command+G (Mac). Either way turns the “left lens” layer into a clipping mask for the “left reflection” layer above it, and the tropical beach photo (or whatever photo you happen to be using) is now sitting nicely inside the left lens:

The tropical beach photo now appears inside the left lens.

If we look in our Layers palette, we can see that the "left reflection" layer now appears indented to the right, with a small arrow pointed down towards the "left lens" layer below it, which indicates that the "left reflection" layer is now being clipped by the "left lens" layer:

Photoshop’s Layers palette showing the “left reflection” layer being clipped by the “left lens” layer below it.

Step 6: Resize And Reposition The Image With Free Transform

Now that our reflection image is inside the left lens, let’s resize it and reposition it. We can do both of those things at once using Photoshop’s Free Transform command, so press Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) to bring up the Free Transform box and handles around the second image. Even though we can only see the part of the image that’s inside the lens, Photoshop places the Free Transform box and handles around the actual dimensions of the image. If you can’t see some of the handles because they’re outside of the viewable area inside the document window, press F on your keyboard to switch your view mode to Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar, which will allow you to see all of the Free Transform handles (press F a couple more times when you’re done with Free Transform if you want to switch back to the document window view mode). Then simply drag any of the corner handles inward to resize the image. Hold down Shift as you’re dragging to constrain the proportions of the image, and hold down Altas you drag if you want Photoshop to resize the image from its center:

Resize the image by dragging any of the corner handles. Hold “Shift” to constrain the image proportions and “Alt” (Win) / “Option” (Mac) to resize the image from its center.

If you need to rotate the image, move your mouse outside any of the corner handles. You’ll see your mouse cursor change to a curved line with a small arrow on each end. Simply click and drag with your mouse to rotate the image.

To move the image, click anywhere inside the Free Transform box and move the image around with your mouse. Just don’t click on the small target icon in the center, otherwise you’ll move the target icon, not the image. PressEnter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you’re done to accept the transformation. Here’s my image after moving and resizing my tropical beach photo inside the lens:

The image serving as the reflection has now been moved and resized.

Step 7: Add An “Inner Shadow” Layer Style

Let’s add a bit of a shadow to the reflected image so it looks like it’s part of the lens and not just sitting on top of it. Click back on the “left lens” layer in the Layers palette to select it, then click on the Layer Styles icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Click on the “left lens” layer to select it, then click on the “Layer Styles” icon.

Select Inner Shadow from the list of Layer Styles that appears:

Select “Inner Shadow” from the list.

This brings up Photoshop’s Layer Style” dialog box set to the Inner Shadow options in the middle column. I want my shadow to appear mainly in the top right corner of the lens so I’m going to set my Angle to 65°. You may want to set yours to a different angle. Set the Distance option to 1 px and lower the Size option down to about 3 px:

Change the Inner Shadow options circled in red above.

Here’s my lens after applying the Inner Shadow:

The left lens now has a subtle shadow appearing from the top right corner.

Step 8: Apply The “Spherize” Filter

Right now, the image we’re using for our reflection is completely flat, but most lenses have a slight curve to them, so let’s add that slight curve to our reflection image. Click on the “left reflection” layer in the Layers palette to select it. Then hold down Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) and click directly on the thumbnail for the “left lens” layer in the Layers palette:

Select the “left reflection” layer, then “Ctrl-click” (Win) / “Command+click” (Mac) directly on the “left lens” thumbnail in the Layers palette.

This will load a selection around the lens back into the document:

A selection around the left lens now appears back in the document.

We’re going to be applying the Spherize filter to the “left reflection” layer, and by loading this selection first, this allows us to apply the filter only to the area inside the selection, rather than applying it to the entire layer.

Now that we’ve loaded the selection, go up to the Filter option at the top of the screen, choose Distort, and then choose Spherize. When the Spherize filter dialog box appears, select Horizontal Only for the Mode option at the bottom, then use the slider to raise the Amount to around 25-30%. I’m going to raise mine to 30% since her lenses seem to have quite a bit of curve to them:

Photoshop’s Spherize filter dialog box.

Click OK when you’re done to apply the filter and exit out of the dialog box. Press Ctrl+D (Win) / Command+D(Mac) when you’re done to deselect the selection. Here’s my image after applying the Spherize filter to the image inside the left lens. The difference is subtle, but it’s usually the small things that make the difference between something that looks realistic and something that doesn’t:

The image after applying the Spherize filter to the photo inside the left lens.

Step 9: Duplicate The “Left Reflection” Layer

With the "left reflection" layer still selected, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) to duplicate the layer. A copy of the layer, which Photoshop names “left reflection copy”, appears above it in the Layers palette. Click on the new layer’s name and rename it to “multiply” (you’ll see why in a moment):

Duplicate the “left reflection” layer and rename it “multiply”.

Step 10: Set The New “Multiply” Layer To Be Clipped By The “Left Lens” Layer

When we duplicated the “left reflection” layer, Photoshop created a copy of it for us but left us with a small problem. The original “left reflection” layer is being clipped by the “left lens” layer below it, but the copy we just created is not being clipped, which means it’s not being confined to the inside of the lens and is currently just sitting there on top of the original image. All we need to do to fix that is do the same thing we did with the original “left reflection” layer. Either go up to the Layer menu and choose Create Clipping Mask or use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Ctrl+G (Win) / Option+Command+G (Mac) to clip the "multiply" layer to the “left lens” layer so the only part remaining visible is the area inside the lens. We can now see in the Layers palette that both the original "lens reflection" layer and the "multiply" layer are being clipped by the "left lens" layer below them:

The Layers palette showing the “left reflection” and “multiply” layers being clipped by the “left lens” layer below them.

Step 11: Change The Layer Blend Mode To “Multiply”

The reason we renamed the new layer to “multiply” is because we’re going to change it’s layer blend mode toMultiply, which is going to enable us to darken the image inside the lens so it’s not so bright. To do that, simply go up to the blend mode option in the top left corner of the Layers palette, click on the down-pointing arrow to the right of the word “Normal” and select “Multiply” from the list:

Change the blend mode of the top layer to “Multiply”.

As soon as you change the blend mode, the image inside the lens appears much darker:

The image inside the lens now appears darker after changing the blend mode.

If you find the image inside the lens now appears too dark, simply go up to the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers palette and lower the opacity of the “multiply” layer until you’ve brightened the image back up to the point where you’re happy with the results. Or, if you want to make the image even darker, click on the “left reflection” layer to select it and lower it’s opacity value. By lowering the opacity of the “left reflection” layer, you begin to mix in some of the solid black from the “left lens” layer below it (which is why we filled our lens selection with black earlier in the tutorial). Here I’ve lowered the opacity of the “left reflection” layer to 80% to mix in just a hint of the black from the “left lens” layer:

Lower the opacity of the “multiply” layer to brighten the reflected image back up, or lower the opacity of the “left reflection” layer to darken it even further.

My reflected image now appears even darker, giving the lens a tinted look to it:

The reflected image inside the lens is slightly darker, giving the lens a tinted appearance.

It’s entirely a judgment call on your part how dark to make the reflection, if you even want to darken it at all.

Step 12: Select The Gradient Tool With A White-To-Transparent Gradient

To finish off our work on the left lens and give it a bit more of a three dimensional, curved appearance, let’s add a highlight to it, as if the sun is reflecting off of it. I’m going to add it in the top right corner of the lens. To do that, we need the Gradient Tool, so select it from the Tools palette or press G to select it with the keyboard shortcut:

Select the Gradient Tool.

We want to add a white-to-transparent gradient, so press the letter X on your keyboard to swap your Foreground and Background colors, making white your Foreground color. Then with the Gradient Tool selected, right-click(Win) / Control-click (Mac) anywhere inside the document to bring up the Gradient Picker and select the gradient second from the left, top row:

Choose the white-to-transparent gradient from the Gradient Picker.

Step 13: Load A Selection Once Again Around The Lens

Hold down your Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key and click directly on the thumbnail for the “left lens” layer in the Layers palette to once again load a selection around the lens:

“Ctrl-click” (Win) / “Command-click” (Mac) directly on the “left lens” thumbnail to again load a selection around the lens in the document.

Step 14: Add A New Layer At The Top Of The Layers Palette

Make sure the top layer (the "multiply" layer) is currently selected in the Layers palette, then click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette to add a new blank layer above all the others. Rename the new layer “highlight”:

Add a new blank layer at the top of the Layers palette and rename it “highlight”.

Step 15: Drag Out A White-To-Transparent Gradient On The “Highlight” Layer

To add the highlight, I’m simply going to drag out a white-to-transparent gradient on the “highlight” layer, starting from the top right corner of the lens and extending downward diagonally towards the center:

Dragging out a gradient from the top right corner of the right lens down towards the center.

Release the mouse button and Photoshop draws the white-to-transparent gradient, adding the highlight to the lens. Since we had a selection around the lens, the gradient is confined to the area inside the lens. Press Ctrl+D (Win) /Command+D (Mac) to deselect the selection. Here’s my image after adding my highlight in the top right corner of the lens:

The highlight added to the left lens.

Step 16: Repeat The Same Steps For The Other Lens

We’ve completed work on the left lens. Now we just need to add the reflection to the right lens, and to do that, we simply repeat all the steps we’ve just done for the other lens:

Select the right lens
Add a new layer and name it “right lens”
Fill the selection with black
Drag the second image into the sunglasses document and rename its layer “right reflection”
Create a clipping mask to clip the “right reflection” layer to the “right lens” layer below it
Use Free Transform to resize and reposition the image inside the lens
Add an “Inner Shadow” layer style to the "right lens" layer
Apply the "Spherize" filter to the "right reflection" layer
Duplicate the “right reflection” layer and rename it “multiply”
Change the blend mode of the duplicate layer to “Multiply”
Lower the opacity of the new “multiply” layer to brighten the image back up or lower the opacity of the “right reflection” layer to make it even darker.
Add a highlight in the top right corner of the right lens with the Gradient Tool and a white-to-transparent gradient

Keep in mind as you’re repositioning the image in the right lens with the Free Transform command that the reflection in the right lens should be coming from a slightly different angle than the reflection in the left lens, so to make things look more realistic, adjust the position of the right reflection so it appears a bit off center from the left one. Once you’ve repeated all the steps for the right lens, you’re done!

Here, for comparison, is my original image once again with the original reflection in the sunglasses:

The original image once again.

And here, after repeating all the steps for the right lens, is my final result. When repeating the steps for the right lens, I only lowered the opacity of the “right reflection” layer to 90% rather than the 80% I lowered the “left reflection” layer to, and the reason for it is that her face seems to be tilted away slightly from the direction of the sun so I made the reflection in the lens closest to the sun appear slightly brighter, again just to add a touch more realism:

The final result.

And there we have it! That’s how to add reflections to sunglasses with Photoshop!

How to Make a Necklace in Corel Draw

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 17:43:00 +0000

This tutorial basically revolves around the complete procedure involved in creating a necklace and earrings in corel from the beginning.

If you're a beginner in Corel Draw, you will likely want to create different types of vector designs such as logos, drawings, jewelery, etc

So if you just want to see a new method of designing jewelry like achain, necklace, earrings or just started exploring Corel Draw, you will probably learn something in this tutorial.

Here you will make the a pearl necklace by using tools such as shape, bezier, interactive blend, fill, and some other features.

Making the basic chain

Step 1

Use the Bezier tool to create a “V” shape

Step 2

By making use of the shape tool (short cut key F10), select the whole shape

While selecting it should look like this

Once selection is done, it should look like this.

Step 3

Click on the convert line to curve option on the top bar.

Furthermore select pick tool, and then again select the shape tool. Click on one of the nodes in the line to give shape as follows:

The shape should now look like this

Step 4

Now do the same with the left side of the “V” shape.

It should finally look like this

Making the Pearls

Step 1

Draw a small circle

Step 2

Select “Fill > Fountain fill. Choose type as radial to give a realistic look to the pearl.

Change the color in the “From” option to any color of your choice. Please note to always keep the “To” color as white.

It should now look like this:

with black outline

Step 3

Change the outline color of the circle by first selecting the circle and then right click on the color you want your outline to be.

In this case I have changed the outline color to darker shade of pink, which gives a real-like look.

Outline color changed

Arranging the Pearls Around the Chain

In order to arrange the pearls around the chain we created earlier.

We will need to make use of the“Interactive Blend tool”

But first create another copy of the pearl by selecting the pearl and dragging and then drop the pearl after right clicking which gives following result:

Step 2

Now click on the “Interactive Blend Tool”, which can be found on the left sidebar.

Step 3

After selecting the blend tool, click on the first pearl and then drag it to the second pearl.

Once dragged on the second pearl, it should look as follows:

Step 4

Select “Effects > blend” or use the shortcut key “Alt + c +b” to activate the blend option.

A toolbar on the right side will show up:

Step 5

Click "path > new path"

Step 6

Clicking "Path > New path", should give a curved arrow, by using that arrow click on the chain and tick the “blend along full path”and click “apply”

After clicking apply button, it should look like this:

Step 7

As you can see there are spaces between the pearls and we need a chain full of pearls, we need to add number of pearls.

By default it is “20” I’ve changed it to “37”, you can change the number according to the requirement.

Making More Pearl Chains

Now one chain of pearls is made but we need two more chains. To do so, click the “pick tool”and select the chain of pearls.

Step 2

Drag the chain and right click just below the first chain which should now look like this:

Step 3

As you can see that the copied object looks one over other and to fix this, click the “shape tool” (shortcut key F10) and arrange it by manipulating the nodes.

Step 4

Third thread of pearls can be made by repeating the same process

Final version of the pearl chain

Making the Necklace Pendant

Draw a square by keeping the “Ctrl”key pressed. Doing this ensures that it will be a perfect square.

Step 2

Select the square and change the angle of rotation to 45. (Angle of rotation can be changed as shown below)

Step 4

Now we need to make multiple copies of the same design. To do this keep the shift key pressed and make a copy of the design inside it.

Step 3

We now have to arrange the pearls around this rotated square, so we need to use the “Interactive Blend Tool” again. Refer points and instructions in "Arranging the Pearls Around the Chain" above to see how to use interactive blend tool.

After blending the shape should look as follows:

Step 5

Keep making copies until it looks something like this:

Step 6

Click on the smallest copy of design (i.e. smallest in the middle of the square) and select “Fill > Fountain Fill”

Type = “square” and change the color to the same color which you used to outline the pearl.

By doing this it would result in something like this.

Getting the Necklace Together

Select the whole design and press “Ctrl + G” to group all the items. Alternatively you can group items by going to “Arrange > Group” from the top bar.

By grouping items you can move them easily and you don’t have to select every item while moving them.

Now place the pendant above the pearl chain as follows:

Step 2

Arrange the grouped pendants as follows to give a final touch to the necklace.

Pearl necklace and earrings

Step 3

Earrings can be made in the same way by copying one of the pendants and then creating smaller copies of the pendant and arranging them one over another.

How to Make a Diamond Shape in Corel Draw
This easy to follow tutorial shows a step by step method to make a diamond from scratch supported by lots of images so one can design jewelry or suchlike.

How to Create a Business Card in Photoshop CS6

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 17:42:00 +0000

Photoshop Products

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Classroom in a Book

Amazon Price: $29.99
List Price: $54.99

Introduction

So you’ve just started your own business and want to add that final touch to make your business more professional. If you’re wanting to make a snazzy business card to present to your future clients or customers, but find the pre-made templates that many sites or designers offer to be boring, well look no further! If you have a design in mind, but don’t know how to format the file for printing, then continue reading.

The following tutorial is for Photoshop CS6, but will work with previous versions of Photoshop (granted you know your way around the program a little). If you don’t have Photoshop, you can purchase it at Adobe.com or from Amazon.com from the links to the side. The only downside to this is that Photoshop can be rather expensive; hundreds of dollars for the regular edition, with the student and teacher edition still being around $300. This is if you purchase the newest version, older versions of the program can probably be found on Amazon.com for cheaper.

Of course, you can always download a trial version of the newest edition from Adobe’s website.

Here’s the link for Photoshop CS6: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop

Just know that the trial version will only work for 30 days, after which it will be inactive and require a serial key to be purchased to continue using.

Anyways, after you have legally acquired a copy of Photoshop, continue to the tutorial below. Enjoy and please leave a comment! :)

Tutorial

First click File.

Then select New.

For Name type in a name for your business card. I simply put “Business Card”. Then make sure the dimensions and resolution are as shown. Set the height and width to Inches from the drop-down menu and make sure the resolution is set toPixels/In. For color mode, select CMYK and 8 bit from the drop-down menus. If everything looks correct then click OK.

To the left of the canvas and above the canvas should be rulers. (“Canvas” refers to the white area that is your business card area where text and graphics will go).

If there are no rulers present you can either press Ctrl + R on your keyboard or click View from the main toolbar at the top and click Rulers from the list. You must have rulers on for the next part.

Next click on the ruler at the top and hold down. Then drag down onto the white canvas.

Align the blue line until it is .25 Inches (or 3 notches down if you are in centimeter mode) from the top of the canvas. If you accidentally let go of the blue line, you can click and hold on the line to reposition it. Simply wait for a symbol that looks like <||>. To make vertical blue lines click on the ruler to the left and drag. The blue lines will be referred to as “guidelines” and they represent the area of the canvas in which you can work with, but I’ll get to that later.

*Note: You can right-click on the ruler to bring up a menu where you can select how you want the ruler to measure: ie Inches, centimeters, pixels, etc.

Click and drag the rulers on the top and left until you have guidelines like the picture above. All of the guidelines should be positioned at .25 inches from each edge of the canvas (it doesn’t have to be perfect). The guidelines create a smaller rectangle inside the canvas that denotes the area in which it is “safe” to place text and other important graphics such as logo and any design elements you feel are required to be on your business card. The reason we must use these guidelines is because almost all of the printers that are used to cut business cards do not cut perfectly every time. That means that a small margin from each edge of the card must exist so that the very small amount the blade moves around will still cut outside the area of importance.

Now that you’re done making the guidelines, you can start designing your business card. The above picture shows the icon that must be clicked to create a new layer. If you are unsure if you are clicking the correct icon, simply hover your mouse over the icon and wait for the description to pop up. It should say something like “create a new layer”.

*Note: You can also select Layer from the main menu and then select New and then click Layer from the side menu that appears. Or you can always press Ctrl + Shift + N on your keyboard.

When the new layer is created you will see it on the right side in the layers window. This new layer is where you will create your background. Now, this is not a tutorial on how to design a business card, as all business card designs should be unique. So to speed things up I went ahead and created a simple business card design which you will see in the below picture.

Notice all of the layers on the right. Whenever you select the text tool from the toolbar on the left side of Photoshop, it will automatically create a new layer in the layers window upon entering text onto the canvas. This is very convenient as it makes it very simple to move the texts around the canvas for repositioning and resizing.

When you are done creating your business card design, ensure that all important texts and graphics are inside of the guidelines as shown in the above picture. One thing I should note is that I created a black and blue gradient background for this fake business card design. It is highly recommended that you do not create something like this for your business card as it is a waste of ink (for those printing at home) and it looks unprofessional and too complicated. The only reason I did it for this tutorial is to show that the background SHOULD extend beyond the guidelines. We do this so that if the printer cuts just a little outside the guideline then there is still background there to be shown instead of having a small sliver of white space present, as that would look EXTREMELY unprofessional.

Now that you are done designing the card, it is time to save the file. Click File on the main menu and then select Save As. Designate a location to save the file and then type a name for the file. Ensure that the Format drop-down option is set toPhotoshop (*.PSD, *.PDD) and then click OK. A PSD file is Photoshop’s default file format and allows you to reopen the file in Photoshop with all layers present so that any needed future adjustments can be made.

You will also want to save your design in a file type that places will accept for printing. So repeat the previous step by going to File, Save As but then this time open the drop-down menu that says Format and choose one. The most widely accepted format will most likely be JPEG. So select that format and then clickSave.

*I should also note that I have only had business cards printed at Staples as I found them to be the cheapest for my needs, and there are plenty of Staples in my area. Staples can do printing online or at the store. They accept JPEG, JPG, PNG, and some other file types. If you want a complete list you can call them or try visiting their site.

Anyways, moving on…

After clicking Save another window will pop up named JPEG Options. The only thing that should be changed if needed is the quality. Ensure that the quality is dragged to the maximum of 12 and then click OK.

Conclusion

The above picture is the final JPEG version of my business card.

And that’s it! It’s pretty simple to design a business card in Photoshop. So now that you have a final product, simply go on to Google or whichever search engine and look for a place to get them printed. Some places may need to have the card resized to accommodate for their printer’s cutting area, so keep a PSD file of the design handy in case you have to move things around.

Other Thoughts

For those of you who wish to print your business card from home, check out the amazon links below for different types of business card paper. Thanks again for reading and please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom!

Avery Two-Side Printable Clean Edge Business Cards for Inkjet Printers, Matte, White, Pack of 200 (08871)

Amazon Price: $4.90
List Price: $17.99

What is a Stickman

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 17:34:00 +0000

This is a simple stick figure drawing - I draw my stickmen with eyes and hair - just a little extra detail.

A stickman is a simple human related design. It is one of the first things a child might learn to draw - a stick picture of a man, or woman.

The stick part of the description comes from the basic nature of the drawing - a line for an arm, a circle for a head. The man part comes from the usual representation of a human figure.

Since the start of the internet the stickman has evolved, not just in its creative aspect, but in the sheer number of them being created and published.

Often the effect will be humorous - either in the simplicity of the representation or a simple cartoon idea.

In an age where people desire images - a simple stick drawing is the easiest way to create and publish something of your own. Given that we publish anything these days, even those stick figure doodles and drawings get uploaded and shared.

Here's an article about stick men, their history, famous proponents, their use and purpose in media. It's not a Wiki, so bear with me if I don't have hundreds of boring references.

It's about stickmen... OK?

The first cave man finds art isn't always appreciated

The First Stick Man

The very first stick drawings were made by ancient cavemen or possibly quite young cavemen.

These guys didn't have fancy felt tips and paper - just bones, blood and fur - and a cave of course.

History doesn't tell us if the original cave woman was annoyed to find that her useless husband had been drawing all over the walls. "Oh yeah, so you drew an antelope. How about catching one - you waste of time artist".

The caveman felt this urge inside him to draw. To record the scenes around him. These cave pictures have lasted a lot longer than the internet and are a powerful connection with our ancestors.

Drawing stuff. It has been around a very long time.

Hey, look what I did!

Children Stick Designers

The love of drawing is felt by a lot of people. Mostly children because as we realise we will not be a great artist, we tend to put the pens away and do other things.

Human nature or society demands that we excel at our pursuits and profit from them, so our hobby activities are discouraged. This is probably some natural evolutionary thing - if you can't eat from drawing, why bother?

Children love drawing. They do not suffer adult self doubt about their abilities - they just do it. Pretty much everyone can draw a stick man and that is the perfect place to start.

They draw their parents, maybe a pet, the house, some grass and a tree - and there is the perfect stick picture.

As a tip for parents. Join in. Encourage. Have fun with them and share it. If you actually can draw a bit... do NOT draw a brilliant cat that the child can't possibly do - keep it simple and share and teach.

Children's pictures are the purest, most beautiful forms of art - and they grace any office or workplace with their innocence and charm.

When work is getting you down - pick up a pen...

Sticking With It

As we grow we put away the pens. Ashamed of our lack of talent, and aware of the Great Masters of Art and Design - we move on to work, ambition, learning.

When we finally land that career path and spend every waking minute worrying about work, bills, life - sometimes we will doodle absent mindedly on a page. The senseless caricatures will be screwed up and put in the recycle bin.

It's still drawing.

You created something.

Somewhere in your head, the left side of your brain is bored with everyday stuff and it wants to draw and express something.

Drawing some simple design for five minutes is a superb way of relaxing. Take time out, a sheet of paper from the printer,a pen and just draw. The beauty of the stickman is that anyone can draw one.

Just having fun with the idea...

Stickmen on the Internet

The stick figure has come of age on the net.

The simple design is used to explain ideas, market product, illustrate articles and to have fun.

A stickman immediately says "I'm not too serious". Some may turn away from the flippancy but the internet has plenty of areas for fun, relaxation and humor.

There are cartoon sites full of stick designs and art outlets with hundreds of stick people doing fun things. There are videos and games. It might be a meme except I'm not sure what that is.

It says anarchy, freedom and a don't care attitude towards the art police - the ones who decree that you must be able to draw 'properly' to be able to join in.

This is me, this is my stickman, and I'm proud of him.

And you thought they were just silly doodles? This is a movement.

One of my current favorites - it's fun, easy and a great way to relax

Art is in the eye of the beholder and the wallet of the sponsor

Stick Artists

At present I only know of two that I would say have achieved real recognition.

J S Lowry and Keith Haring.

Then research is not my strong point so there may be more, and please tell me about them in the comments.

J S Lowry painted stick figures, matchstick men they were called, and is a recognised 'proper' artist.

Keith Haring did design work using the stick figure in his own way.

Both these guys were popular.

Art comes in many forms - from the picture quality painting of the Masters - to a simple line on the page. If it is pleasing to view or occasionally thought provoking or just fun - in my book... it's art.

You know, I didn't know I liked art at school, It was all boring stuff. Maybe school makes it boring - I don't know. These days, more and more, I find myself looking at something that someone has created and thinking "Yeah... that works for me, nice".

Not a great art critic type comment but who cares?

Art belongs to the people. If you like it, that's good enough.

My version of a Keith Haring original stick drawing

So...What is a Stick Man?

A stick man is an artistic expression of freedom.

He can be as simple or complex as you can create.

He says "You drew me and I am grateful for that. I exist because of you".

Once you have brought a stickman into being you can share him with the rest of the world.

"Hey world. Look at this".

A stickman is the art of the people. He represents all of us little stick figures as we go about our lives, and sometimes take time out to draw...

A stickman.

Thanks for reading.

Even the simple stickman can make a point in a picture on an internet page.

A Beginner's Guide to 3D Art and DAZ Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 17:29:00 +0000

This tutorial was written using DAZ Studio 3, but many of the tool bars and options remain the same across multiple versions of the program.

Source: DAZ 3D

Obtaining the software:

There are a number of 3D rendering programs on the market. Some of them specialize in character models (Like Poser and DAZ Studio) and some that specialize in landscapes (Like Bryce and Carrara). You can use which ever you are comfortable with, but for the purposes of this guide, I will focus on DAZ Studio. There are two versions of this program; an advanced program that you can purchase (like Poser) and a free version which can be downloaded from their website: www.daz3d.com

At the risk of sounding like a DAZ Studio advertiser; you can often check back at their site for free downloads that work with the program.

Left: Content toolbar. Center: Active scene window. Right: XYZ movement toolbar

Using DAZ Studio:

Click on the DAZ Studio icon on your desktop or in your start menu to launch the program. The first time you run the program it will ask you to register. Click on the option to register online and it will give you a free registration code for you to enter. If you receive any other pop up messages, like ones asking if a default camera is okay to use, just hit accept.

Once you’re through that, you should see an empty viewing window with two toolbars on either side. As a general rule, the toolbar on your left is for the content you have installed and the toolbar on your right is for toggling movement and sizing options for a model you have added to the scene.

Feel free to browse through your models in the left hand menu. The content is broken down into categories like “Figures”, “Props” and “Poses”: these three being the most commonly used. Under figures you will find most of the character models you download like DAZ’s Victoria and Michael series, as well as their installed clothing. Under props you will find some of the smaller accessories for outfits and environments and under poses you will find pre-set stances that you can put your character or environment into depending on what you have installed.

No one can tell you what will make a good render. How you wish to arrange a scene is entirely up to you. For my example I will put the basic Victoria model into a forest in the shadow dancer outfit. The forest and the basic Victoria model were included with DAZ Studio and the shadow dancer outfit I downloaded free from DAZ’s website. (What is available will likely change over time). Once you find a figure in the left hand menu, double click it to load it into the scene, then use the controls on the right hand menu to adjust where it is in the scene and how big it is. With people models, and some animal and environmental models, you can also adjust where the arms, legs, neck and every other joint bend. Essentially, just click on a part of the model and a new set of movement options will appear in the right hand menu.

From the menu at the top of the screen, you can find your options for rendering, loading lights and primitives and saving your most recent renders.

Note that there are two ways to select the models in the scene. You can click directly on the model in the viewing window and a grey box will outline the part you have selected, or you can click on the “Scene” tab on the left hand menu. This shows you a list of all the items currently loaded into the scene. Click on one to select it then use the parameters tab on the right hand side to adjust it.

Once you have arranged your scene, take note of where the camera is. What you’re viewing in the window is what the render will basically look like, so you want to adjust the camera to get the best possible angle. The controls for the camera can be found in the upper left portion of the viewing window.

You might also consider adding a new light source. By default, the light source is the camera, but if you want it to look like the sun is overhead, rather than wherever the camera is pointing, then you will want to add one of these. On the menu at the top, go to “Create” and “New Distant Light” or “New Spotlight”. Point light is much smaller and won’t cover the entire scene as well as the other two. (A good use for the point light is candles or simulated magic). The light you insert into the scene will be automatically selected and you can use the parameters on the right hand side to move and rotate the light until it is coming from the desired angle.

Once you are satisfied with all of these options, click on “Render” from the top menu. Depending on how powerful your computer is, a render could take anywhere from a minute to ten minutes. The basic scene I created won’t take long to render because it doesn’t involve anything too fancy. But, the more you load into the scene, the longer it will take to render. Things like shadows and reflections will also slow down render time. Once the render is complete go to file > Save Last Render and then you can save the image you just rendered to a folder where you can then share it and edit it like you would any other two dimensional picture.

Left: Surfaces tab where you can change mats and adjust colors. Right: Parameters tab where you can activate light source shadows.

Advanced Tools You Should Know About:

The basic scene we composed above looks nice, but is missing a certain element that will really make it pop. For me, this is because of the lighting. A light source will create the proper illumination, but what will really make it look good is realistic shadows. To create these, click on your light source again. Remember, this can be done from the viewing window, or by clicking on the “scene” tab from the left hand menu (in case you can’t find the light source in the viewing window). Scroll down on the right hand menu until you reach the bottom of the parameter options. You should see an option that says “Shadow Type”. Select “Deep Shadow Map” from the drop down menu. This will increase the time it takes to render your image, but the results are very drastic. It will create all the necessary shadows from your characters and environment making everything bolder and more realistic.

The other tool you should know about is a tab in the left hand content menu. It’s called “Surfaces”. If you don’t see this tab then click on the “View” menu on the top, then “Tabs” and check off “Surfaces”. (If any tabs are missing they can be turned on in this view menu.) This tab controls what image or ‘mat’ is laid out over the 3D models in the scene. So, for example, I could exchange the skin texture of the Victoria model, for a picture of a stone surface, the result of which makes Victoria look like a stone statue. This is a really neat ability because it also lets you turn parts of props invisible, to make it look more to your liking, and lets you change the look of existing models to make them look different. Any image you have on your computer can be used as a texture for a 3D model, but depending on the picture, it may be distorted and may show the lines where it begins and ends. The best images to use are repeating textures. For my final render I changed the texture on Victoria’s shirt.

The surfaces tab also controls things like reflections and bump mapping, so it is a tool that all DAZ Studio users should learn about and play around with.

Also, from the edit menu there is an option called “Backdrop” this will let you bring in images on your computer to be used as a background for your figures. For example, if you wanted to put Victoria in a picture you took of the Grand Canyon, you could do that here. Your picture will not become 3D, but any model can be manipulated to appear as if they are in the flat picture.

A final (basic) render.

Conclusion:

DAZ Studio is a detailed and often complex program to use. While this article, and the tutorials on DAZ’s website, can help, they barely scratch the surface. Because of this, a great deal of your knowledge will come from trial and error. It’s a fun program to play around with, so don’t be afraid to try new things. But, if you do get stuck, there is also a rich community of experienced users who are more than willing to help you with any problems you might have.

A Few Extra Tips:

-By visiting the DAZ website often, or subscribing to their newsletter, you can keep up to date with which models are available for free and which ones aren’t. Other websites, such as www.renderosity.com also provide free models.

-DAZ’s website forums are a great resource when you can’t figure out part of the program.

Warning:

-Depending on which models you download, and which websites you visit, you will likely encounter nudity. If you are under 18, or are considering this program for someone else, then you should be aware of this.

How to Make a Diamond Shape in Corel Draw

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 16:27:00 +0000

Some designers always want to design each and every part of their design on their own, well there can be many reasons for this, they may like to take full credit of their creation and it may give satisfaction that their design is their own and not a thing in their design is "borrowed" from someone else or copy/pasted.

Corel Draw is an amazing software which helps designers to create designs, cartoons, jewelry and so much on their own. The possibilities are endless.

This tutorial shows a method to make a diamond from scratch. So that can be used in a jewelry design or suchlike.

You just have to make this diamond once, and after that you can mirror or use other techniques to arrange it in a necklace or earring design that you are creating.

Making a Diamond in Corel

Open Corel Draw.

Draw a circle and pull the grid lines from the top and right side. To activate the guidelines click “View> Guidelines” in the menu bar or press Alt + v + i which is the shortcut key for same.

Step 1

Now we need to make some more guidelines but this time as a multiply sign. First of all select the “Pick Tool” and then Press shift and select both the guidelines which we created by clicking. The Shift key as many of the Corel users know, allows us to select more than one object/item at a time.

Once both are selected the color of the guidelines will change like this:

Press control key, which will show the rotate option and a tiny circle. Bring the tiny circle in the middle of the circle

Step 2

Clicking on the arc like arrow, while pressing the left mouse button to rotate the guidelines until it gets right and i.e. It looks like a multiply sign that is balanced from all the sides and divides the circle perfectly.

adjusting the diagonal line by means of the node points

Step 3

Now use the Bezier tool to draw a triangle as shown below. Then select the "Shape Tool" from left panel and click the triangle and then select it. Click on the "convert line to curve" option from the top menu.

Adjust the diagonal line so it becomes a curve and fits the circle edges.

Step 4

After the curve slice of circle is created it should look like this (colored in blue for you to see the difference)

Now we will mirror this curve in the remaining 3 parts of the circle.

Once all sides are mirrored it should look like this.

You dont have to color the half circles if you want, its just to make things clear, and if you are making it for the first time, you may want to color it with blue or any other color and once mirroring is done, you can replace the color with white.

Quick Tip

Selecting two guide lines and making that rotate button may prove to be a pain in the head if you haven’t tried it before. The best way, is to keep the shift key pressed and select both the lines one by one. (Now the main part) Keep control key pressed now and click on the selected guidelines. Most of the time, you will find that the selected guidelines will be deselected by mistake. So watch out for that!

Step 5

Now click on the rectangle tool from the side menu, and draw a square by pressing control key. Make sure that intersecting point of the guides and the lines as a reference as shown in the figure to draw the square inside the circle. As shown below.

Step 6

Now click in the middle of the square to get the rotate option and then right click where you want to place the rotated copy of the first square. It should look like this:

You may be thinking why so many guidelines? And when are we going to make some drawing? Hang on.. just a little more.. You will know why.

Step 7

OK guys now we need more guidelines and we will select the two guidelines as a plus or multiply sign as mentioned in above steps and then place them in between the guidelines as below.

Now the new guidelines will pass through the intersection points of the two squares.

Follow the same process and make a pair of guidelines and rotate the lines as follows:

use of guidelines in corel

Step 8

Now we have all the guidelines we need. Since these guidelines are very crucial if you want to create a diamond in Corel Draw.

Click on the Bezier tool and we have to take guidelines as reference and create shapes by using Bezier tool as shown beside. This shape is highlighted in red so you can spot the progress.

Keep doing the same until it looks like this

Step 9

Once the shapes are created use the pick tool to select the full circle. Click Fill > Fountain Fill > Linear

Select a mixture of grey and white and adjust as follows (you can always play around with colors)

You can see after the above step the diamond has a greyish white color.

Also click on the square that is on back side and press "Ctrl + Page Up" to bring the square forward.

Now we need to make some more shapes inside the square by making use of the Bezier tool. As illustrated here in red.

Step 10

Now mirror the shape and paste it as below:

By using the mirror technique fill all these squares as illustrated:

It should finally look like this

Step 11

Now create another shape by means of bezier tool as illustrated below. The shape is colored in yellow so you can identify the changes.

Once the shape is created all you have to do is use the "mirror" technique and paste it in all empty spaces.

Step 12

After this step we wont need the guidelines anymore and we can turn it off by Clicking View > Guidelines. This is our rough final diamond design.

Select the full diagram again and color it as shown in step 9.

Step 13

Select all parts that are colored in green by pressing shift and clicking on each of these.

Keep shift pressed and make a smaller copy of these parts inside and right click to place the copied parts in place.

Do the same thing for a second time but this time the copies are very small.

Keep shift pressed and make a smaller copy of these parts inside and right click to place the copied parts in place.

Step 14

For the final time, select all the contents and on the side bar select " Fill > Texture Fill > Styles > Eclipse 2 Colors.

Change the "Bottom" Color as shown in the image of the dialogue box to a darkish shade of gray color instead of black.

This setting will give life to the diamond.

Color settings in Corel

white diamond (unfinished)

Final Steps in Making Diamond

We are almost there. Finally select the diamond and go to the color panel and right click on the white color which will change the border of the diamond from black to white.

white diamond

Alternative color styles

You can try out some different coloring style for the diamond to give it a bit more realistic look.

I found Fill > Texture Fill > Styles > Eclipse 2 colors , and change color to black instead of gray.

Black diamond

So just keep playing around with colors to give a more realistic look.

This diamond can now be used in a necklace, I may make a tutorial on making a necklace using this diamond in near future.. so stay tuned!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and don’t hesitate to ask If you have any questions, I am always happy to help.

How to make a facebook like button not scroll on your web site with CSS.

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:41:00 +0000

This photo was provided by Nick Molinaro @ MiamiWebz.com

Source: Taken from Miamiwebz.com

So you want to keep your facebook like button fixed in one spot on your page?

There are many ways to skin a cat and do this in CSS. I am showing you my take on it.

Step 1. Go to the facebook like button page to get your code

Your code should look something like this:

<div class="likeButton"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%

2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2FMiami-FL%2FMiamiwebzcom%23%21%

2Fpages%2FMiami-FL%2FMiamiwebzcom%

2F173211482688856&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=true&amp;width=4

5&amp;action=like&amp;font=lucida+grande&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;hei

ght=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; 

overflow:hidden; width:45px; height:65px;" 

allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>

Step 2. Create a CSS class called likeButton.

The code should look like this: 


.likeButton {
 position: fixed;
 right: 0px;
 height: 0;
 top: 300px;
 
}

That is all it takes to create a fixed position element such as a like button or anything else using CSS.

Do You Need iPhone or Mobile Zen Cart Ecommerce Templates?

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:40:00 +0000

Source: Mobile Zen Cart Template

Hello again. I was wondering if there is in the Internet ocean some e-commerce templates for iPhone or just for mobile users. Yes, there are some of them, but a selection is very poor, especially for Zen Cart software. Only osCommerce meets most often. But where is Zen Cart templates for iPhone? I found only one!!! Among all the Zen Cart templates from 12leaves.com there is one the best, I think, premiumMobile Zen Cart Template. The template has awesome appearance and uses dropdown windows that perfectly makes all the thing better and allows to get some sections in the fastest way.

I tried their live demo and all works pretty good. Top menu is quite big and readable on the iPhone viewing. Additional breadcrumbs section is added under the main navigation bar that makes surfing more usable. All the default features of Zen Cart seems to keep untouched for the template as I can see the "New Products for.." and so on sections under that home page banner. Among all the mobile template, I can say that this template is the most suitable for mobile devices as going through the store is as easiest as usual full site Zen Cart ecommerce template.

Just try their live demo of the Template.
Waiting other their selection of mobile/iPhone Zen Cart templates for phone. As I read in their blog, they want to add a slideshow to home page of the template and shopping cart dropdown box. I believe it will be the best mobile template with essential features.

Responsive Zen Cart Templates

Another way to get your template adapted for all the devices we have in our life is to develop a responsive Zen Cart Template. This approach is becoming popular for now and I believe the feature definitely with this technology. I am going to take a glance to this in my next article.

Web Designing for an Interactive Website

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:38:00 +0000

Web Designing

Interactive Websites

As the increasing number of website users on hand held devices, it is becoming tougher for the world leaders of web designers to put a master piece in front of everyone. Websites until now were just a math of a screen of desktop or laptop, but situation has changed now.

Nowadays, above and beyond being multi device compatible, website should be fast, well-organized and interactive. At the same time, they are supposed to be quick and clear in making their point with a user-friendly and informative content. This all can be made possible by a good software development company which now has started a web development work.

Let's see the detailed necessities of an interactive website:

Must be functional: The functionality of a website is of supreme importance. A non-functional websites lacks in the ability to attract people and if somehow it gets succeeded in that then the traffic it will get would be only one time visitors. By providing its professional website development services, a good web designing company can organize a website, make it functional and last make its appearance impactful.

Dynamic: To influence users, a website should be dynamic. A good dynamic website is the one which contains a perfect home page including all the links to other pages and to the point information of whole website.

Simple navigation: A website without an easy navigation always fails to get visitors. Every individual visiting the website should be able to handle and navigate easily, hassle free, and without pressurizing their minds. Simply don’t make it complicated.

Informational and communicative: Here is the most important part of a website, the information. Unlike all other websites which just waste time of user, your website should provide accurate information and user should feel like it was worth spending time on your website. In addition, you should make an interactive platform for user by adding social network links of your pages like Facebook, twitter etc. This straight forward helps your user to be in touch with you. Also, they always get updated to any changes and news of your company.

These countenances will not only make your website interactive but will also give you an advantage over the huge online world of websites. For creating such magnum opus you are required to go online and find the finest.

Does your website look good on a mobile device like iphone or android? Probably not.

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:37:00 +0000

For those people who own their own websites, and that is probably about 85% of the world population, they will be surprised to find that their their web sites do not look good on a mobile device such as iphone, blackberry, android, etc.

Now, 50% of the world is surfing the web on their mobile devices, which obviously is exactly even with the usage that the internet gets on desktop and laptop conputers. Why is that? Most people are no longer on their desktop computers the entire day and the internet has become a staple in our every day lives, so more and more people are surfing the internet while on the go whether commuting to work on a bus or train, walking, and yes, some people even surf the web while they exercise.

For those of you who have websites, you need be make sure it looks good on your own mobile device as well as the mobile device of your friends and family. if it does not, you could be losing website visitors.

Most web design firms design your web site on a 21 inch computer monitor, so let's call that the "21 inch web site". However, since all mobile devices take up no more than 2 1/2 inches, those 21 inch websites look smooshed, crushed, and downright ugly.

You need a version of your website that looks good on a mobile device and most web design firms are clueless or just lazy when it comes down to making your website mobile. It is a different kind of web design and one that most web designers need to learn.

I now have been converting my web design clients' websites to mobile versions and there are ways to make that happen, which I have in another hub.

The problem is that most websites have a lot of pictures and graphic files that load very quickly on a regular desktop or laptop computer, but take forever to load on a mobile device. To make it look good on a mobile device, make sure your mobile web site does not have a lot of photos. If it does, you need to determine with photos and graphic imahes can stay and which ones can be eliminated.

You never know when someone will visit your website on their mobile device and if your website is for your business, you want to make sure that it gets the visitor to stay rather than leave because they cannot read the text.

My desktop computer Wordpress blog on a mobile device

My Wordpress blog on a mobile device - So much cleaner

How to create a vignette effect with CSS

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:35:00 +0000

Vignette Effect

Miami Webz

Source: Chris Coyer

What the heck is a vignette effect?

There are a few definitions for what exactly a vignette is. In this example, I will define what a vignette is based on the results of the code example.

In this example our vignette effect will take an image and add a shadow to the inside of it around all four corners. This vignette effect is commonly used by photographers for portraits and wedding pics. Use it as you please.

How to use CSS to apply the vignette effect without using photo shop or a hood lens.

Wrap a <div> around an <img> tag and make sure to add a class to your <div class="vignette"> Your html code should look something like this:

<div class="vignette">
        <img src="love.jpg" alt="people kissing">
</div>

Now add a little CSS in the html or in a separate file like this:

.vignette {
        -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0px 0px 85px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
        -moz-box-shadow:    inset 0px 0px 85px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
        box-shadow:         inset 0px 0px 85px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);

        line-height: 0;         /* ensure no space between bottom */

        display: inline-block;  /* don't go wider than image */
}
.vignette img {
        position: relative;
        z-index: -1;            /* position beneath */
}

Now you have the code to create a vignette effect without using a special camera lens or applying the effect in photo shop.

CSS3 Drop Shadow

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:23:00 +0000

Drop Shadow

In the past the only way you could create a drop shadow on a web page was to do it graphically and then add that graphic to the site. This technique served its purpose but now there is a much easier way to add that drop shadow and no graphic is needed, it is all done with code!

Start out with basic HTML

<html>

<head> <title> CSS3 Drop Shadows </title>

</head>

<body>

<div><p>The shadow element will add a drop shadow to whatever it is applied to.</p>

<p>There are four numbers next to the shadow element.  The first is the color, the second controls the width of the right shadow, the third controls the width of the bottom shadow and the final number controls the spread of the shadow.  A small number will make the shadow darker and tight, a higher number will make the shadow feather out more and be softer in color.</p>  </div>

</body>

</html>

Code Explanation

I am not going to go into a lot of detail about the basic code I posted. Anyone experienced in HTML and CSS already know what to put for the basic structure.

For beginners I will tell you that you need a set, that means opening and closing html, head and body tags and add some fake copy inside the body tags so you can actually see the styles work.

So now we are going to add embedded styles to our basic code structure that was just posted.

Adding CSS

<html>

<head> <title> CSS3 Drop Shadows </title>

<style type="text/css">

body {

background-color:#945b45;

}

.shadow {

width:400px;

height:200px;

background:#fff;

padding:10px;

display:block;

margin-right:auto;

margin-left:auto;

}

</style>

</head>

<body>

<div><p>The shadow element will add a drop shadow to whatever it is applied to.</p>

<p>There are four numbers next to the shadow element.  The first is the color, the second controls the width of the right shadow, the third controls the width of the bottom shadow and the final number controls the spread of the shadow.  A small number will make the shadow darker and tight, a higher number will make the shadow feather out more and be softer in color.</p>  </div>

</body>

</html>

Code Explanation

Inside the head tags we addedstyle tags to hold our CSS.
We added a basic body style with a background.
Then we added the .shadowselector with some style elements. This is where we will have the good stuff.
To create the box that we will add the shadow to we have defined the width and height abackground color for just the box, and a little padding so the text doesn't go right up to the edges.
Next I want the box centered on the page, just looks better. So we addeddisplay, along with the left and right margins.
Then close the style tag.

That is our basic CSS information. You could write this code and view it to see a brownish background, a white box in the middle with some copy in it. Nothing fancy but wait there's more!

The Shadow Code

1

2

3

box-shadow: #000 5px 5px 50px;

-moz-box-shadow: #000 5px 5px 50px;

-webkit-box-shadow: #000 5px 5px 50px;

Shadow Code Explanation

Under the .shadow selector we already created add a box shadow as well as the moz-box-shadow and the webkit-box-shadow to accomodate several browsers. This is the code that creates the actual shadow.

So what do the numbers mean?

The first number #000 says our shadow is black.
The second number 5px shows the x coordinate or the how far the right shadow extends out.
The third number 5px shows the y coordinate or how far the bottoom shadow extends out.
The last number 50px shows the spread of the shadow.

Check out the final code below. Test it out and see your new drop shadow!

Final Code

<html>

<head> <title> CSS3 Drop Shadows </title>

<style type="text/css">

body {

background-color:#945b45;

}

.shadow {

width:400px;

height:200px;

background:#fff;

padding:10px;

display:block;

margin-left:auto;

margin-right:auto;

box-shadow: #000 5px 5px 50px;

-moz-box-shadow: #000 5px 5px 50px;

-webkit-box-shadow: #000 5px 5px 50px;

}

</style>

</head>

<body>

<div class="shadow"><p>The shadow element will add a drop shadow to whatever it is applied to.</p>

<p>There are four numbers next to the shadow element.  The first is the color, the second controls the width of the right shadow, the third controls the width of the bottom shadow and the final number controls the spread of the shadow.  A small number will make the shadow darker and tight, a higher number will make the shadow feather out more and be softer in color.</p>  </div>

</body>

</html>

Browser Support

Notice browsers are still getting up to speed with this drop shadow code. Google Chrome shows it without a problem. Safari and Firefox will show it as long as you add the lines that start out -moz-box and -webkit- to the code. Internet Explorer will not show the shadow, however it just ignores it so this code will not disturb the rest of the design and functionality of the site.

Don't use a free eBay template!

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:19:00 +0000

So, you're almost certainly been told you would like an eBay template, and that bit isn't a lie. An eBay template is really a great, cheap method to improve your eBay sales dramatically (usually by 40% - 50 %). So, you went directly to Google or an additional research engine, typed in eBay template and even though "GREAT", whenever you saw there have been a few offered for free. Right here is why you're wrong, and shouldn't use a no cost eBay template…

Every eBay templates you find for cost-free are going to be of quite poor quality. Like some thing in life, you practically get what you pay for. This matters even additional from the globe of a designer, no dependable designer undersells himself, becoming creative and have great design skills requires a lot of work. Here are a few causes why you shouldn't use a cost-free ebay template.

1. Very poor quality, the chances are that any template been out there for free of charge isn't really high quality. The designer was possibly producing a single to sell, turns out it wasn't any good, and decided to release it for free to enhance some traffic.
2. Often totally free templates have hidden links within the footer; this applies for all free of charge net templates, not only ebay templates. You are able to not even know they're there without the need of looking at the code - that you simply most likely don't realize since in case you did you'd be creating your own templates.
3. If you settle on having a free ebay template, you aren't going to receive any aid on it. This alone ought to be worth its weight in gold. What should you somehow mess your code up and ALL of the ebay listings are affected. Do you extremely want to be the a single who has to go via and edit them manually? Didn't think so…
4. Generally speaking, a no cost ebay template won't be coded properly. The designer will have taken and often taken shortcut by damaging designers. The use of tables rather than CSS. They do this for more than a single reason: It saves bandwidth on their site, mainly because all the code is hosted by you and the simple fact that it takes close to 5% with the time to code a type in tables rather than XHTML / CSS. You are able to not have a clue what any in the last paragraph meant, let's put it this way: Badly coded templates in tables will break whenever you insert any additional images / videos, whereas CSS templates won't restrict you.
5. Too many to list…

So, how a lot is often a premium eBay template that's of an great design going to cost me? The answer is really a whole lot much less than what you'd expect. You'll be able to choose up a premium ebay template for under £10 actually you are able to even get them for £5. "Sounds great, in which do I sign up?"

Just give me a minute to explain an additional option; you'll need to read this. Have you ever gone to purchase an merchandise on eBay from a big seller and witnessed they have a template with custom sidebars, custom headers and there whole image just reflects professionalism? That is what is a known as a custom template. That is by far the best option - even though it does cost a modest more. You are able to select up a custom ebay template for as smaller as £50 though…

So now you know your options, what are you going to perform about it

20 Simple Methods to Improve Your Web Designing Skills | Expert Advise

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 14:50:00 +0000

Source: Img Credit

In any profession, the person who puts in time keeping up to date with the current tools and trends of their area of expertise are usually the ones who have a leading edge in their fields. There is always room for improvement in all areas of life. When a person reaches a point that they figure that they do not need to learn anything new, and then they begin to stagnate and wither. Always strive to learn more.

Being a web designer is a very important job, as he has many things to take into account regarding his job. A web designer must have firstly the talent and the imagination to create original and authentic designs, in order to be appreciated and paid. But talent is not enough, though, as he has to practice his skills before designing anything, especially something that requires a high level of knowledge and ability.

This article is focused on ways that if implemented properly may assist the Web Designer in keeping their skills current for today’s market. Listed below are some items that many have found useful in keeping their skill sets current.

First of all, he should totally consider his overall ability regarding the programs he uses for creating the designs. As such a program is very complex and it has lots of functions that he has to know, he must ensure that he knows a great part of them. A web designer is able to do everything from his own instinct and imagination for the design in question, in order to make it authentic for the requester.

1. Investigate what is current in Web Design

What a designer should do about improving his actual skills is studying the newest patterns for the layouts of the web sites, as they vary at a great deal nowadays. A designer should know when he should use a vintage style, a classical or a professional one for creating the design and the best way for this is inspiring and exercising, using some tutorials if needed.

There are many good resources on the Internet that can assist the designer in obtaining the information to assist them in this area. Use the search engines to find this information and glean from them. There are many to choose from. You might want to consider doing something new by changing your formats or using new templates. The choices are limitless.

Here is some UI Design Pattern Website to Learn from:

2. Keep an Eagle eye out for the finer details

The details of a layout are very important, also, because some insignificant details might be the most important ones, in the end. Why? Because a nice detail, which will be greatly positioned, will make the layout look better and both the requester and the designer will be very satisfied about that. No matter it is about shadows, gradients, textures, backgrounds or anything else, the attention that should be paid for creating the design should be really great for a nice result.

In your quest for additional knowledge in designs and templates, you might consider keeping a sharp eye out for details that others might overlook. Take under consideration the formats, colors, shapes being used. Ask yourself, is this appealing to me? Does this grab my attention? Chances are that if it appeals to you, then it will most likely appeal to your audience.

3. Utilizing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) methods

The designer should learn and practice as much as possible about SEO techniques and uses. Practice, practice and practice more until you master the uses of this tool. Knowing how to use this tool can work greatly to assure that the designer’s web page will get the viewing (traffic) it was designed for.

4. Find out what the competition is doing design wise currently

The trends are always changing and people might change their preferences for some of them. It might be about a vintage look, with some interesting vintage styles and effects of the text or of the image, or it might be about a professional look, with modern buttons, icons and a nice font. But no matter what it is about, the designer should always know what is new regarding the trends and what people really want. The best way for accomplishing the criteria is improving the current techniques of the designer: keeping up practicing will bring him great results of his work.

It never hurts to keep an eye on what your competition is currently doing in designs and other areas. Some trends may spark you imagination in other areas.

5. Do your homework on your knowledge of Typography.

There is no website without text and also no layout which does not contain it. But there are hundreds and thousands of text styles and effects applied for the text, in order to make it original and appropriate for that layout. A designer should always consult and study some of them, in order to make sure that he will not create something somehow similar with an existing design, but he will create a great and new style of the text, combining many effects that will fit with the layout and the requirements of the requester. The fonts, the sizes and the vocabulary will be very helpful for designing the text and they are also the most important. The rest of the problem is only about imagination and creativity.

Processing text is a major part of creating a web site. The designer would be wise to keep their skills in using the software applications that produce this text to a high skill level. Always look for a tool that will do the job more efficiently.

6. Tips on practicing with color and images

Along with the text processing you need images and color to bring the web site together. Try a variety of colors and images for your next project.

Knowing all the colors and everything regarding them should be very important for the designer. As he might know, the combinations are endless and also very unique for every person that works and gives his best in order to obtain a good result. But for that, he should practice a lot with them and he should also study the theories about colors and their significance. In this way, a great result will be assured without any doubt. Do not be afraid to experiment with variations of color and images. You can always change what does not appeal to you.

7. It would be to the designer’s advantage to know something about JavaScript

But a web designer should also have some advanced knowledge about Java Script (HTML and CSS). As this is considered a “web language”, he should definitely know at least the basics of Java Script and its uses, as the requesters will appreciate those designers who have general skills. Java is a programming language that can be most beneficial to designers. They should strive to get a good grasp of its concepts. They should also familiarize themselves with one or more JavaScript libraries. There are some great publications on this subject on the Internet. Use your search engine to browse what is available.

8. We can all work on our communication skills

As every job requires communication between the worker and the client, Wars have been started due to the lack of proper communications and misunderstandings. As the designer you have the knowledge of what it takes to produce a quality piece of work (web site), but in most cases your client might not. The designer must take the initiative in assisting the client as to what it is the client really needs and what the designer can produce realistically. The designer should communicate with the client regarding his preferences regarding the layout and the design he wants. In this way, the probability of making mistakes is lower and there is a higher chance of achieving better results. It is very important to be done with the projects on time and deliver it. The requester will be more than satisfied with a designer who is able to deliver a good result earlier and there will be even more referrals and happy clients.

9. Consider doing some tutoring in your area of expertise

Tutorials are the only way for obtaining knowledge and better results. The number of tutorials which can be found on the Internet is great and all of them provide clear instructions of obtaining some very nice results. Practicing and combining new styles will make the final result better an authentic. One way to stay sharp at what you do is to tutor others, which gives you the benefit of your knowledge and experience and reinforces you at the same time. This is called a win-win situation.

10. When you make a mistake, learn from it and move on

Notice that I said when not if you make a mistake. As humans we will all make mistakes doing one thing or another. Some make more than others. The important thing is to learn from the experience and move. Also be prepared to take some criticism at some point. This can be a good thing if it is presented in the right manner (constructive) and taken in the spirit in which it was given.

So there is no point in feeling disappointed, uncreative or anything else. The only way to achieve better results is learning from the mistakes and improving the actual skills in order to obtain better results. A positive view of the things is more helpful than a person could ever imagine.

11. Find out more about the technical aspects of design work

It is important to learn some of the technical aspects of design work which can assist you in resolving some design issues and questions. Like Math represents the base of the technology. So, in order to become more skillful, the basics of technical math should be in the vocabulary of the designer. There are many ways of using it, from interesting geometric shapes from some other and similar things, which request general knowledge of math. So knowing it is very useful for the designer.

12. Do preliminary drawings and sketches before actually starting your project

The sketches of a layout might be helpful for the designer. They do not require a great amount of time and they can be done everywhere. Whenever the designer has some inspiration, he will be able to sketch it and create it later. In this way, no idea will be forgotten and the results will be, also, much better, imaginative and creative. It is always useful to put your ideas to pen and paper so that you can get a feel for what it is that you are trying to produce as a result.

13. Take a break from working every now and then

When you feel the need, take a break from what you are doing for a while to clear your thinking. When you are more relaxed and refreshed your mind works better and you have a clearer picture of what you are trying to accomplish.

14. Share certain aspects of your projects with others to get their opinions

As it was said earlier communication has a very important role in people’s life. by sharing some aspects of the project(s) that you are working on will help to give you another person’s input concerning maybe something that had been a question in your mind. You may also learn a few new ways of doing things that are universal to designing that you might not have considered before. Requesting advice from other web designers might be a very helpful thing, as there are more experienced ones who are able to give appropriate and good advice regarding everything: styles, trends, patterns, text and so on.

15. Paying close attention to the order of your design

The designer should pay close attention to the design they are creating to insure that the look is no too busy (cluttered) and an “eye sore.” Fine-tune your design until you are satisfied that you have a marketable product.

16. Periodically refresh yourself with the design basics

We never become so advanced that a trip down memory lane to (basics) will not assist us in our work. Creating a design that is simple and it does not request having many graphics might be even appealing and better for the requester. So using more white space in the design will be better than adding many graphics which will make it look unpleasant. The basics of designing should be helpful for good results, so reading and practicing them again might be useful. By refreshing your outlook with the basics again it is amazing what you remember.

17. Make sure that you are very familiar with all the components of design work

Be sure that you know what a design Grid is and how to use one. There is a lot of information on the Internet describing this subject. Use your search engines.

18. Buy a New Book

There are many books and conferences that are specially created for web designer. This is a good way for people to learn new things and new tricks for a better result, so attending or reading a book should be really nice for the designer. He will be also able to meet and receive advice from more experienced designer. In this way, improving the current skills is just guaranteed.

19. Consider attending some social events, like conferences to network

Social events like conferences and exhibits are great places to network with other designers, clients and persons with similar interest.

20. Convert your designs and other data,

What would be really helpful for ensuring that the work will be saved and not lost? Converting from PSF files to CSS or HTML will be useful and help the designer correct any mistake that was made.

There is nothing more frustrating than depending on someone to do something important for you that you could have done for yourself had you taken the time and had the knowledge. If you do not know how to do these important steps then I recommend that you learn. You will be happier in the long run

CONCLUSION

A designer who really wants to improve his skills and become a better one would always look for new information, tutorials and he will ask for advice. As being a web designer has many opportunities, being a good and skillful one is much appreciated and it will make the clients happy about the results they obtained.

I hope that the tips presented in this article are of some benefit to the reader. By applying these steps to your way of doing business, you should see some very positive results.

The Importance of a Responsive Mobile Website For Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:19:00 +0000

WEBSITE DESIGN SURREY

Source: Extreme Studios

What is a responsive website design?

Responsive website design is simply a site that has been built to satisfy all levels of online use. A responsive website will adapt from a standard desktop pc or laptop and automatically shrink to ‘fit’ a tablet or smartphone’s limited screen size. If your website is not built to be responsive, mobile users will not have an optimum user experience and will probably click away from website.

Is responsive really that important?

You be the judge, here’s some stats (from 2013) –

50% of mobile phone users, use mobile as their primary Internet source
72% of tablet owners purchase online from their tablets each week
More than 2 billion new mobile devices were shipped in 2013
57% of users say they will not recommend a poorly designed site

Why go responsive?

A well designed responsive website will remain ‘future proof’ – any new advances in device technology will be adopted and reacted to by the website. Responsive should mean an adaptable, sleek and good looking website – and we all want that.

The last statistic above is an important one for businesses. 57% of users will not recommend… we get that. You can also be pretty sure they themselves will not be purchasing from the site or business in question.

Definition

Responsive designis all about giving the user the optimum experience whilst on your website. A happy user converts to a happy customer a lot easier than an unhappy user.

Extreme Studios: Recommended Web Design Agency

Source: Website Design Surrey

True Fact

So, 50% of all mobile users use their smartphone as a primary internet source. That’s surely too great an audience to not cater for? Yes, currently mobile users can see your site, but honestly, how does your site currently look on a mobile?

How to know if your website is responsive

Can you navigate easily?

Is the copy clear enough to read?
Is everything squashed?

Having fun yet? We’re guessing not. And neither will your customers.

Is your website responsive?

If the answer is no, you really need to consider if a redesign is required. Or, phrased differently, can your business do without mobile device based customers?

Web Design Like a Pro

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:16:00 +0000

Source: www.pintayadesign.com

Here at Pintaya Design Co. we proudly recommend Wordpress as a content management system for our clients. Wordpress is used by almost 20% of the top ten million websites on the web and is the most popular blogging system in use on the web. We love it's approachable user interface that allows businesses of every size and skill level to develop their online presence easily and afford-ably. Gone are the days of prohibitively expensive fully custom coded websites as Wordpress and content management platforms like it, offer pre-made templates which can be customized by design professionals to convey a tech-savvy and professional image to your customers.

That being said, navigating the web design and web development world all by yourself can be a challenge and it's easy to get lost in the decision making and come out with a scrambled and hectic website that doesn't represent the vision you originally had for your company. So here are some tips to help you stay on track.

1. Don't assume an expensive theme is the best theme. Rather than selecting a theme based on how aesthetically pleasing the theme preview is or by how well a theme has been marketed, try assessing the theme for the features it offers instead. Like any other purchase make sure you do your research before committing to any one template. You'll want to take a number of things into consideration. For example:

Are you going to customize the your web design with your own code? If so, consider a simpler template that will allow you to add in your customization with out too much hassle. A simpler design will mean you need to wade through less code in order to implement yours.
What features on a website will best highlight your business? If you're selling goods online you'll need a theme that can easily be developed into an eCommerce site. Or perhaps you need a place to display strong visuals of your portfolio, in which case you should consider a slider and a theme that has a gallery page template built into it. One less thing for you to worry about!

2. After you've selected your theme there are a few tips you may want to consider to keep the design of your site optimal:

The fewer fonts the better! Your best bet when navigating typography is to choose one font that looks clear, professional and accurately conveys the atmosphere you're looking for. Then, instead of deviating from this font by introducing other fonts in your titles, subtitles, posts, etc. use a variant of your original font choice. Varying the weight, color, and style of one font type can be an effective strategy for balancing the entire design of your site.
COLORING. I have written this word in capitals for good reason. As a designer, I believe the color palette may be one of the most important choices you make when mapping out your site design. The color palette you adopt for your web design makes an immediate impression on your audience and will inevitably make them feel welcome and at peace on your landing page (exactly how you want them to feel) or off-put and uncomfortable in which case they will quickly bounce away (bad). If you're not well versed in the art of color selection or you're unsure which colors will make for the best backdrop to your business consult an artistic friend, a professional or a friendly, artistic, professional!

3. Tread Softly! And by that I mean, a subtle, professional, clean and minimalist web design is far easier to pull off than an eclectic, loud, dynamic, busy one. The latter CAN be pulled off tastefully but if you're putting together a DIY site and you're unsure about the nature of the industry be measured in your design decisions. Go for neutral tones, tall, well-spaced fonts. It will be a much less stressful process to build a balanced, plainer website and inject personality tastefully afterwards than it will be if you go hog-wild from the get go and get lost in your over-excited, unfocused, messy design.

So there you have it! Some design tips to help you navigate your web design process. We hope you found our guidance useful. If you read through this hoping to be enlightened and instead came away confused please feel free to give us a call and we'd be happy to help you work through your design dilemmas. We encourage business owners in their DIY web projects and we'd be happy to help you feel gratified at the end of the process.

Why A Web Design For Your Business Is Necessary For Success

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:15:00 +0000

Web Design For Businesses

If you're a business owner, you will know that it is vital to stay on top of every aspect of your business. You want to maximise your profits and make sure you dominate your competitors. With 2,405,518,376people active on the internet, and millions and millions of users in each continent, it is, without a doubt to create a strong online presence for your business. If your business doesn't have an online presence, your business will always be one step behind and your revenue will always be less than your competitor who does have a website for their business. A website for your business increases your business' exposure, generates leads, and drives up sales dramatically. Web designs are not expensive at Elite Web Design; in fact, you can find high quality, cheap web designs starting from just $395 at Elite Web Design - a leading web design business in Australia. Whereas at other web design companies, you will find yourself paying about 5x more for the exact same quality.

The Most Important Reason Why A Web Design For Your Business Is Mandatory

Majority of small business owners think that a website for any business is just used to enter a few lines about their business and a picture and that's about it. That is why many business owners find that their website does not benefit their business in any way. It is important to know, that majority of the public look up your business on the internet before they use your service or purchase your goods. That's why it is so important to have a professional looking web design because the web design for your business could determine whether you receive the call from a potential customer/client or your competitor receives the call from your potential customer/client simply because they have a better and more professional looking web design.

Having a good looking, professional web design for your business is going to be no use if you don't receive traffic. That is why Elite Web Design offers cheap SEO services. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving your website's visibility and rankings on major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. For example, you're in the electrician industry, and on Google, you search for "electrician Melbourne". People in Melbourne that are in need of an electrician will search for them on Google - "electrician Melbourne" receives 1,900 exact searches per month. No one goes past the first page of results on search engines, that is why we can help rank your website to the first page of search engines so you can generate massive amounts of traffic to your website - then convert the traffic into enquiries/sales easily since it is extremely targeted traffic..

What Web Design has Done for Businesses on the Internet

Many businesses that have created a strong, online presence for their businesses have reported massive increases in profits. It's important to choose an experienced web design business as you can waste a lot of money in businesses that guarantee you outcomes that don't get achieved. We DON'T guarantee first page results on major search engines, as they do not provide us with their ranking algorithm; but from past results for our clients, it's evident that we do have a formula and method that just simply, works. Our web designs are of the highest standards in the industry and we have the lowest prices.

Elite Web Design specialises in web design, cheap web design, web development,e-Commerce solutions, cheap SEO services and logo design.

Give us a call at 0415 451 018 to enquire about our high quality, cheap web design services or give us an email at contact@elitewebdesign.com.au

Visit us at http://www.elitewebdesign.com.au for more information!

How To Start A Web Design Company - Learn Joomla With No Coding or HTML

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:14:00 +0000

Learn Web Design

Joomla! 3 Beginner's Guide

Amazon Price: $44.99
List Price: $49.99

Starting your own web design company seems to be a business that will always be in demand. There are people seeking web designers every second of the day to help set up a quality website, fix a bad website or update and existing one.

I want to point out that this field is very competitive and challenging to become successful in. Starting your own online home based businesscan be stressful but has it's rewards.

What I have realized is that many don't fully understand the difference between a web designer and a web developer. So what is it you really want to learn? Let me first make term clear.

What is Web Site Design?

Web site design normally relates to the design and client side of a website. A Web designer designs the layout and functionality of a website. Web design relates to chosen appropriate themes, updates, look and usability of the website. A web designer’s work may overlap into web development.

The good news is you no longer have to learn coding or html to learn web design. There is a CMS content management system called Joomla many are learning without a degree in computer science to be a success.

What is Web Site Development?

Web site development involves making a web site ready for the internet or intranet (private use). This entails security considerations, coding for the client and server side.

I'm sure there is so much more I can add but I just wanted you to know there is a difference between the two. Like any business starting a web design business will take time and training just to name a few.

No Time to Learn Coding and HTML? Learn Joomla

Anyone that can use a computer can learn Joomla. Joomla is a CMS that works with modules in a push button scenario. Once you understand the dynamics of using the Joomla system you will be free to build a website within the hour unlike those that code. Coding is becoming unnecessary to becoming a successful web designer. But no longer can necessary with Joomla.You:

build your own website.
build websites for profit.
build eCommerce websites.
update website and pages for a profit.
have access to unlimited extensions and themes.

What Is Needed To Start A Web Site Design Business?

training
money
staff
equipment
clients
office
website

7 Tips To Starting Your Own Web Site Design Business

Starting your own web design business is a great business to began. It will take time and dedication to become successful. Many people enter this field with the hopes to become wealthy and have the freedom of working on their own.

You can start you own web design company with a re-sellers program. Your company will never know someone else is doing the work, plus you can make money while your learning by doing. Here is the information for the web designers re sellers program.http://www.Tamininc.com/. Look at the top right side for the word "re-seller".

This is very reasonable if you are very determined. You will have to be mindful of the pitfalls that can stop your business in its track.

Hire someone to sell your services for you. You can drum up business and take care of clients and be successful in both jobs.
Do a few jobs for free to get references and build portfolio.
Tell everyone what you do.
Get yourself an accountant when your business grows. Being an accountant takes time and you hopefully won't have any later.
Hire a web developer if that is not your area.
Have someone business savvy on your team.
Have unstoppable desire to succeed.

As you can see starting your own web design business will be trying if you plan to be a one (wo)man team. Starting any business on your own can be stressful and not only will you be away from one boss but you would have traded the one for many and you must satisfy them all.

Finally....

You may be thinking that you have been in the web design business for years working for others already and now is the time to start your own business. If you are ready and feel unstoppable, than you should move forward.

If anything about what I wrote above startles you you should rethink this, because those without the drive and fortitude needed to make this business a success fail within the first year.

There is a web designer re-seller program offered for web designer to start their own business online. I suggest you become a part of it so that you can learn and get around the learning curve with a coach.

You can start your own business online with an experienced company there to guide you every step of the way. This is only a suggestion. I saw the program and thought if I was thinking about going into my own home based business and could get a coach to help me every step of the way why wouldn't I do it to assure my success?

Good luck on your new web site design business.

Web Design Examples: The Importance Of Looking At Latest Trends

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:12:00 +0000

I will now enrich your life by sharing with you about the importance of looking at the good web design examples and making them as your inspirations in the future. Primarily websites that are beautiful, simple, creative, unique and elegant builds trust to the website visitors.

So here are the examples of the latest and hottest web design trends:

A.) Hypertext Markup Language - Version 5

The latest (fifth) version of HTML. This is the newest and advanced version of the markup language for presenting and structuring content for the web pages or website. These are some of the examples of the newly added tags:

A.1: <audio> - It defines audio or sound content.
A.2: <video> - It shows video or movie content.
A.3: <track> - It specifies text tracks for <audio> and <video>
A.4: <article> - Defines an article.
And more...

B.) Responsive Web Design Layouts

Adaptive or responsive web design is a web design way aimed at forging websites to cater optimal displaying experience - reading at ease and navigating with a minimal scrolling, resizing and panning across a different type of devices, from desktop to laptop, tablet and mobile or smart phones. So why engage with a responsive website? Because nowadays many people already are browsing websites using their smart phones and believe me, mobile traffic is incredibly increasing fast. People nowadays also check their emails on mobile device first. People use fast devices. These are some of the tools you can use in building adaptive web sites:

B.1: Bootstrap - Built by designers on Twitter. It is designed to make prototyping easy and relatively free of pain.
B.2: Adobe Edge Inspect - Inspect and preview web pages on different types of devices (tablet, mobile phones).
B.3: Boilerplate - It helps you build adaptable, robust and absolutely fast websites.

C.) Minimal Web Design

Making things clean and simple is the main purpose of a minimalist design. The purpose of this is to get the attention of the visitor to your web content. Do not distract your website visitors if you really want to make them focused.

To reiterate, looking at some of the good web design examples on the internet plays a very large part in the developing and designing process of a website. These are just of the few examples that are highly valuable to the success of a website. The purpose of having a good website with great marketing is to get visitors to your website and convert them into sales or whatever else it is you want your website to convert them into.

Less Is More

Create jQuery Mobile App – Dreamweaver CS6

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:10:00 +0000

Update : Aug 29 2012

Open Dreamweaver CS6

1. New>Page from Sample>Mobile Starters>jQuery Mobile with theme(Local)>save index.html

2. Root Site/Folder

Update jQuery

http://jquery.com/

(*Using custom files and folders

You can choose to create custom CSS and JS files for your application.

Make sure that your files are named jquery.mobile.js, jquery.mobile.css, and jquery.js*)

3. Edit size & Multiscreen Preview and content

4. Add theme (option)

Go to Window>jQuery Mobile Swatches>Get more themes

Drag the color in the form

Download and how to add in Dreamweaver CS6

5. Go to Site>Phone Gap Build Service

Phone Gap Build Service -Android

Scan QR Code to your Android device

Phone Gap Build Setting - Android SDK

6.More tools : Fluid Grid Layout

You can also customize your own theme & CSS or use the responsive theme

More info : http://jquerymobile.com/demos/1.1.1/docs/about/getting-started.html

Fluid Grid Layout

Media Queries : Customize the appearance of your site for different screen resolutions

*(Insert>Media Queries)

Multiscreen preview

jQuery Mobile Tools

jQuery Code Hints

Dreamweaver CC: The Missing Manual

Amazon Price: $27.99
List Price: $54.99

MAKE TEXT TO LOGO INSTANTLY

noreply@blogger.com (Sumesh kk) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:08:00 +0000

FREE ART FOR NON ARTISTS

ONLINE LOGO CREATOR LINK

Make a Logo Online
This is so easy to use that it does not even need any instructions. The script will work with almost any device or computer connected to the internet because the processing is done on the server side using PHP.

CREATE COOL TEXT IN SECONDS

EVEN MEGAUPLOAD DID NOT HAVE THIS

WHO IS THIS INFAMOUS CHARACTER?

HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU MAKE COMIC ART?

The owner of the website provides free online tools for logo creation is also interested in instant comic art. If you want to produce a comic it is necessary to have some artistic ability but just how long is it going to take you to draw something similar to what you see below. The production above only took a few minutes and it is the beginning of a theme on WebStatsArt site.

Do you think that people who have these abilities will be able to monetize their work on the internet? I think it is very difficult and once you start producing interesting works of art (even cartoon art) you might notice that everyone else starts using your material. It is very hard to make a living as an artist and probably even worse on the internet. Some talented artists no longer bother to try and monetize their works and you can find quite a few of them on Tumblr. At least on Tumblr you stand a chance of being recognized as the originator of a piece of art or an interesting MEME if you are lucky enough to find those who start to like your cartoons, images and photographs.

WHERE CAN I FIND A FREE LOGO DESIGNER

Admittedly this is not the most spectacular logo maker on the internet but it is most definitely free, even free from advertising. The page loads fast and if you desperately need to create some unique text without having to open a word processor or art program then go ahead and use it.

INSTANT ARTISTIC CREATIONS POSSIBLE IN MINUTES

It only took me a few minutes to make the video below. That is because I used stock videos and music to do it. Yes! I am someone who has actually paid for content because I believe that it is not correct to take something awesome from someone else and not give them credit for it. Unfortunately the internet does not work that way right now and people who were against SOPA are most likely those who do not want to pay for anything. I am pretty sure that there a millions of photographers, cartoonists and artists (and even writers) who are fed up with the inability of large websites and social networks who do not care about protecting their works. In fact these websites (everyone knows them) turn a blind eye to the fact that milllions of original works are stolen, only to be monetized somewhere else.

WHY WE MUST PAY FOR ART WORKS - BUY STOCK VIDEO FOR A START

ART GALLERIES- A THING OF THE PAST

ARTISTS GET READY TO BE POORER

Now that we are in the digital age it is apparent that art theft is all too easy for anyone. Art theft is also encouraged by many. Those who opposed SOPA and PIPA (most of them adolescents led by Google, Reddit , Wikipedia gang) were really sending a message to the world that we should not have any sort of rules or regulations to protect artists and it is very sad that it has come to this. What it means is that people are being encouraging not to pay for quality. Some artists cannot produce good quality if they are not going to rewarded property, so we have a catch 22 situation.