Welcome to Wordrom, please introduce yourself. Give us a little background bio about yourself, tell us where you’re from.

I am a 24-year-old graphic designer / art director / illustrator from Finland. I have been involved in graphics for almost 8 years and was also selected as the Young Advertisement Designer of the Year for 2007 in Northern Finland. My work has also been featured in several prestigious design websites and magazines.

At the moment I am entering my final year in Oulu University of Applied Sciences Business and Information Management, majoring in Digital Media. I am also currently working as a graphic designer for Finnish advertising agency Työmaa, but I am always ready for interesting freelancer projects.

Your work is pretty unique and full of creativity. Where does your
inspiration come from?

Well I will probably answer this like 96% of every designers and illustrators. Which is that I got my inspiration pretty much everywhere. It could be a nice movie, awesome music, funny people, great client or just a moment in my life. It’s hard to say where it comes from. Some say that we finns got our inspiration from our beautiful nature, which might be one of the sources. But I think it’s life in generally, good and bad things in my life inspirates me.

One of the big sources of inspiration for me is the internet. I browse a lot of great images every day. It can include images from old movies, awesome photography, great designs, funny photos, great typography or awesome corporate identities.

Could you tell us about your process? What does your workflow look like?

If it’s a client work I usually print the brief and start sketching and making fast mocks ups to my sketchbook. Then when I got some kind of idea going on I open my computer and start working on it there. It’s usually a lot of twisting, reforming, transferring, coloring and trying new things. Of course this all will happen under the brief.

For personal artworks I usually got some idea already in my mind. Sometimes I sketch it to the paper or sometimes I start right away with my computer. Usually most of the work is done with computer anyway. Photoshop and illustrator is the main softwares I use to create my illustrations.

What do you consider your major influences to be? What are your favorite sources of inspiration? Do you find yourself browsing any
online design communitIes or websites?

I browse a lot of design blogs and image services like baubauhaus and ffffound. I think it’s great way to get inspiration to look awesome old and new designs around the world.

Do you work in a office? What does your workstation look like? What tools and applications do you mainly use?

Daily I work in an office (which is a ad agency called Työmaa) but in the weekends when I work my freelance stuff I work from home. I have a macbook pro and adobe softwares (photoshop, illustrator, indesign and flash). I try to keep my workplace clean, which I sometimes… totally… fail…

Are you a 9-5 worker or a night-owl? Do you have a normal or peculiar structure to your workday? How does a typical day looks like for you?

I am not sure if you can say I am a 9 to 5 worker because usually I watch and talk about design a lot even though my agency workday is over. I keep thinking ideas what to do and watching design stuff, reading design articles and talking with my fellow designers in my “freetime”. And in this industry you cant always be 9 to 5 worker, because the deadlines.

What’s been your most challenging project so far in your career? What was challenging about it? And how did you overcome those challenges?

Well every project is challenging on it’s own way. Sometimes it could be something really new what I have to figure out (like technically). Sometimes it could be a great idea which needs a lot of works to make it work right (a lot of illustrating in tight schedule). Sometimes it’s challenging because of communication between people in that current project…

Which is your favorite piece of work that you have created so far and why? What was the inspiration and idea behind it?

I don’t really have a favorite. It changes like daily haha. Today it might be a bit newer work called “TFA – The Flight of Apollo”. I like how it turned out, it got a nice moment going on.

What kind of developments do you see in the future, regarding the type of work you do?

I wanna get better.

Thanks again for providing Wordrom with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers?

Thanks a lot for interviewing me! Great site you have going on here, keep it up!

Where can we find you in the cyberspace?

• www.perttumurto.com
• www.twitter.com/perttumurto

If you want to see the full collection of he´s work check it out over at Behance Network.

Photoshop Tutorials

Here we have listed the latest Photoshop tutorials which appeared in the month June. We have selected the guides / articles that we feel are instructive for anyone who is both a beginner or more advanced level.

Paint With Fire

Using some of the most common Photoshop tools (like Smudge, Dodge and Burn) Neville D’souza shows how to create a complicated artwork without relying on third-party plug-ins. This lesson will also give you good practice with Photoshop’s Levels and Adjustment Layers – which can be extremely powerful if used properly – as well as Layer Masks and Blend Modes to create stunning, and yet sometimes quite subtle, effects.

Create a Refreshing Beer Themed Poster Design in Photoshop

When you create a print advertisement, it’s important that all the elements of your composition are geared towards selling a product and promoting a brand. Today, we will demonstrate how to create a refreshing beer-themed poster design in Photoshop.

Combining Custom Brushes for Wild Effects in Photoshop

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create some custom brushes based on scans of different types, and then you’ll instantly put them to use to come up with a wild finished result. You’ll see how simple custom brushes can make all the difference, and you’ll learn some great tips on how to get the best results.

Create a Scene with Retrofuturistic-Inspired Light Effects

In this Photoshop and Illustrator tutorial, we will produce custom patterns, stylish vector shapes, and blend photos together to create a cohesive work of art that will leave you spaced out! I’ll also show you the power of the Gradient Tool for creating great light effects. As a side note, we will only be using Illustrator briefly to import some vector objects into Photoshop.

Create a Beautiful Paint Brush Icon in Photoshop

This tutorial is meant to explain how to design semi-realistic objects achieved through simple procedures. The tutorial mostly uses shape layers, which will help you edit them later on and make your work more flexible and scalable.

Create a Dark Grunge 3D Text Scene in Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial, you are going to learn how to create some 3D text using only Photoshop. The mood we will strive to incorporate in our piece is dark and grungy. We are going to use consistent lighting, layer styles to create shadows for our type, Photoshop filters, and more. We will finish off our scene by adding a dark textured background that seems to fade out as it approaches the edge of the canvas — a popular design technique.

Create an Artistic Scene with 3D Light Bulbs and Type

In this graphic design tutorial, we will combine Photoshop, Cinema 4D, and Illustrator to produce a composition that includes elements such as 3D text, 3D light bulbs (which we will create from scratch using only a reference photo), and florid ornaments. My concept for this scene started from a simple thought: “ideas are all around us.” We are constantly surrounded by ideas wherever we are and everywhere we go — we just have to find them and make the best ones hap

Create a Cosmic-Inspired Dreamy Scene in Photoshop

In today’s tutorial we will demonstrate how to use stock photography, 3d elements, and various techniques to create a cosmic-inspired dreamy scene in Photoshop. Let’s get started!

Design a Coffee Shop Menu Layout from Scratch with Photoshop and InDesign

Hi everyone, this time I’ve got for you a practical tutorial about creating a ready to print booklet menu for an imaginary coffee shop named “Violet Coffee.” In this tutorial you’ll learn to mockup a ready to print background and a couple of additional objects, which will be imported later on in Adobe InDesign to finish the piece. Are you ready?

Use Illustrator and Photoshop to Create a 3D String of Pills

Designers often use both Illustrator and Photoshop to create a scene or graphic. Today we will combine both of these powerful applications to create a 3-dimensional pill and then create a composite image using these elements. Let’s get started!

How To Create The Expendables Winged Skull Poster Art

When I saw the bad-ass poster design for the upcoming movie The Expendables, I just had to open up Photoshop and have a go at recreating it. Follow this step by step guide on how to create the menacing winged skull design for yourself, complete with an overkill of weaponry surrounding a sinister looking skull face.

Create a retro sci-fi movie poster in Photoshop

I’m a great fan of sci-fi art, as WeGraphics friends may have noticed from my works. After played for a while with a type treatment, some paper textures and light effects, I’ve created a nice design that could be used for a movie poster.

And now I gonna show the simple process that is behind this composition. We will deal in particular with blending options and textures customization. This tutorial can be followed by Photoshop newbie without problems.

Cool Text Effect with the Puppet Warp Tool in Photoshop CS5

So in this tutorial I will show you how to create a text effect using a photo of a rope and the Puppet Warp tool. This tutorial will only work with the CS5 version and I believe it won’t take you too much time.

Paint 80′s Airbrush Eeffects

You’ll learn how to improve your brush skills, working with a variety of different brush heads for varying effects and you’ll learn how to get the most out of colouring, masking and layer blending modes.

You’ll also learn the benefit of working with lots of layers in a digital painting, as this allows you to work on elements separately and quickly adjust detail and colouring.

Shiny Lock Icon Design Tutorial

Hello to you all, we hope this following tutorial can be helpful in creating a good Icon design using Adobe Photoshop. The version I’m working with here is CS3. If you follow the following steps you will definitely find your self with the final result:

Illustrator Tutorials

Here we have listed the latest Illustrator tutorials which appeared in the month June. We have selected the guides / articles that we feel are instructive for anyone who is both a beginner or more advanced level.

Creating Complex Style Illustrations: A Process

Learn the process of making a tribal-style illustration using only some fundamental techniques in Adobe Illustrator. This is more of a process overview than a play-by-play tutorial and thus, some basic skills in the program are needed in order to follow along. The main goal here is to show a workflow process, and from there, it’s up to you to add your own style and aesthetical preferences to your piece. I encourage you to let loose and experiment while doing this project!

How To Create a Fun Cartoon Style Poster Design

Follow this step by step guide to creating a fun cartoon style poster design. We’ll combine a quick character doodle with some bold and blocky text, then bring it to life with a muted colour palette and a mix of textures to give the poster an old and retro feel.

How to Make a Flesh Ripping Zombie Type Treatment

This tutorial assumes some familiarity with the basic drawing tools and features found in Adobe Illustrator, because of the creative skills needed to illustrate the character, it has been marked “Advanced”. Intermediate users will find this tutorial challenging but not out of their skill set.

Create a Glowing Neon Sign using the Appearance Palette

This tutorial shows the potential the Appearance Palette in Adobe Illustrator. We’ll be building an elaborate neon sign, utilizing the Appearance Palette to speed up the process and remove the need of drawing complex paths.

Type Illustration Project: Experimental Digital Workflow

In this Adobe Illustrator tutorial, I will walk you through my process of creating an illustrated type artwork. The focus of this tutorial is to demonstrate how it is possible to draft, develop, and refine a whole piece all within a design program like Adobe Illustrator from start to finish. I will show you that working with the tools available in Illustrator allow you to work in an organic way that enables you to realize and problem-solve an entire design. No more pencil on paper or sketching!

Craft an original character in Illustrator

Combining a pinch of imagination, a dash of doodling and the wizardry of Illustrator, Alexis West reveals how to create a character from scratch.

How to Make a Realistic Film Projector Icon

When you’re starting to learn how to create realistic objects in Illustrator you usually take a real life picture for inspiration and begin drawing it. On this tutorial we will offer a better solution for you to practice your skills in Illustrator. Throughout the whole post we will learn how to make a real object with Adobe Illustrator, in this case, we have selected an old film projector, such as the early 20th century. Get ready because it’s time to start, open your Illustrator and let’s go.

My name is James White and I’m a visual artist and designer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I own and run Signalnoise.com which is my online portfolio, blog and inspirational launch pad where I talk about things I create, things I like and cool stuff other people are doing. I also run a weekly Signalnoise Broadcast which is a live Q and A period I do via webcam, it’s a great connection to me readership and like-minded creative folks. Also within the past couple of months I have launched a line of Signalnoise t-shirts which is a growing collection of funny shirts I create and print.

Your work is pretty unique and full of creativity. Where does your inspiration come from?

I get inspiration from a lot of places, so it’s hard to say where it all comes from. I do a lot of searching online for new works and artists, places like Ffffound.com and Abduzeedo.com are a constant stream of new inspiration. But I’m not limited to just the digital realm when it comes to that, I’m inspired by all kinds of genres outside of what I actually do. For example I love Michelangelos “Dying Slave” statue, but have never felt compelled to pick up a chisel. It’s just a matter of staying positive and having fun with what you do. Everything else falls into place.

Could you tell us about your process? What does your workflow look like?

Every project I work on starts with the sketchbook. I’ll draw out some rough thumbnails as I explore the basic concept I have in my head, sometimes upwards of 30 sketches before I land on something I think might work. After that I’ll move to Illustrator and whip up some vector sketches using basic shapes and colors. These will give me a good idea of what direction to go in before I move into Photoshop. I’ll then make the elements I need (if any) in Illustrator then start building the final design in Photoshop where I’ll explore color, texture and effects. I keep my entire process very organic as I go, leaving room for the happy mistake which might change the overall outcome of the piece.

What do you consider your major influences to be? What are your favorite sources of inspiration? Do you find yourself browsing any online design communitIes or websites?

I browse online communities and sites every day. I might not be looking for ideas or styles, but the ambition and portfolio of others is a huge motivator for me to constantly do new things if not just to play a part in the community as a whole. My main influences (if I needed to pick them) would be all things vintage and retro. I love old network IDs from the late 70s, like the NBC peacock or the PBS logo. So simple and rough, yet beautiful. The thing that gets me about those old logos is that they pre-date computer software so they had to make them by hand. So amazing.

Some good points of reference and inspiration are Abduzeedo.com, ISO50.com, Draplin.com and the Canadian Design Resource.

Do you work in a office? What does your workstation look like? What tools and applications do you mainly use?

I currently work out of my home, but tend to grab the laptop and hang out in coffee shops some days. Sometimes I like working by myself in my underwear, other times it’s nice to be around people who are having conversations around me (like right now). I’m not a big gadget guy, nor do I keep up on all the latest hardware and software. I use a MacBook Pro that I bought a year and a half ago, with an 8×6 Wacom tablet. At home I have an Apple Time Capsule for wireless back-up action as well as a little 120 GB portable drive for . . . well, whatever I need it to do. I mostly use Photoshop and Illustrator CS4.

Are you a 9-5 worker or a night-owl? Do you have a normal or peculiar structure to your workday? How does a typical day looks like for you?

I try to keep a 9-5 schedule in place, but sometimes it slips on either end. Sometimes I’ll wake up later and work later. I’ve found a set schedule to be really helpful in keeping a loose structure around my life, so I don’t lose track of what day it is. I like having things in order, where I feel once 5pm rolls around I can leave and hang out with friends, or play videogames, or read comics. But that being said, within that 9-5 I don’t really have a schedule that I set for myself. I’ll reply to emails, update the blog and work on things at various times throughout the day. Whatever works for meeting my deadlines.

What’s been your most challenging project so far in your career? What was challenging about it? And how did you overcome those challenges?

I was hired by MTV to create some digital motion boards for the launch of their new VH1 Latin America brand. It was super fun to work on, but it was the first time had to design sequential boards for motion designers. Not only did I need the boards to make sense, but I needed to lay out the PSDs to deliver intact so they could pull elements to animate. My complex color and element work tends to get really heavy, so trying to create these files so they made sense was a big challenge. Thankfully, I had some great people at VH1 to coach me along the way. They were very patient dealing with this print designer faking it as a motion guy. :)

Which is your favorite piece of work that you have created so far and why? What was the inspiration and idea behind it?

Probably my Network poster is my favorite. The idea relates to the 1974 film of the same name, and it’s the only sarcastic piece of work I have ever done. It basically depicts television as being wonderful with the rainbows and good lookin’ girls, but ultimately tv is used to manipulate and persuade the audience to buy into Glee, or get the new car because it appeared on Jersey Shore or whatever. My poster takes a jab at that idea.

What kind of developments do you see in the future, regarding the type of work you do?

I’m moving more into t-shirt design, and things that are a bit more functional and tangible. I love designing posters, but that form of art limits itself to a gallery or someone’s living room, which is totally fine. But I want to make things that can go outside of those confines which is why the t-shirt was such a nice medium. It’s mobile, functional, and can be very funny when done right. It leads to conversation and the word of mouth is much higher which means higher exposure.

Thanks again for providing Wordrom with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers?

Never stop creating things! Set aside time to realize those crazy ideas you think up, and NEVER say you are too busy to attain your goals.

Where can we find you in the cyberspace?

• My website – www.signalnoise.com
• Twitter – http://twitter.com/Signalnoise
• My Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/signalnoiseart/
• My Behance – http://www.behance.net/signalnoise

Quote from the Project

Our moms never let us have these when we were kids, so we were pretty excited when Cramer-Krasselt gave us a call to do the 2011 ATV lineup for Can-Am. C-K sent us hundreds of actions shots and reference, which we composited, stylized, and retouched to meet product specs. Then we took piles of CG data, stripped it down, sorted through it, and assembled it to be product correct. After texturing, lighting and rendering the vehicles’s, we dropped them into the action shots where we applied further lighting effects to settle them in. For the finishing touches, we added the vector graphics and applied a few overall techniques, and voila: Our childhood dreams come true (and a pretty nice series of ads, too).

www.seventhstreetstudio.com

• Visit Casper Schelde Iversen´s Portfolio
• Visit Casper Schelde Iversen on Behance Network

Quote by Casper Schelde Iversen

Extremesports is about finding locations to practise your sport and about having the mental strength to do it. The goal may be to get better at a certain trick, feeling the rush as you’re in the middle of it or simply the joy of it.

The concept and payoff “seek it” combines the 3. Searching for “spots” around the world to skate and surf, and looking for the courage and confidence within yourself to overcome the challenges you will encounter, to reach a set goal.

Visit Sorin Bechira in the cyberspace!

On his personal webpage www.bechira.com, on X3 Studios webpage www.x3studios.com, on slashTHREE www.slashthree.com, on The KDU www.thekdu.net, on Twitter www.twitter.com, on Behance www.behance.net, on Flickr www.flickr.com, on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com, on CG Society www.bechira.cgsociety.org and on almost every design inspiration blog over the internet. :)

Resolutions:

• 1024x768px
• 1200x900px
• 1280x800px
• 1600x1200px
• 1680x1050px
• 1920x1200px
• iPhone
• iPad

What We´re Making

Before we get started let us take a good look at the final work.

Step 1

Open up Illustrator and create a new document, File > New. Use 1024px x 768px.

Step 2

Select the Pen Tool (P) to create some shapes that looks like the shape below. These shapes will be our main focus.

Step 3

Create some more shapes to keep a difference in our project. Because it is really boring when everything looks the same.

Step 4

Use the Pen Tool (P) to create some more shapes that looks like the shapes below. These shapes will be our ground for the bottle in photoshop.

Step 5

Export everything to photoshop, File > Export. Export the files as PSD files with a dpi of 300.

Step 6

Open up Photoshop and create a new document. 1664px x 2496px with 150 as resolution.

Step 7

Rename the only existing layer to “Ground Layer”. Right+click on the layer and select Blending Options. Add a radial gradient from #E0EAFF to #FFFFFF, with a scale of about 120%.

Step 8

Head over to Shutterstock or SXC to find a bottle that you can use in your project. Open it up in photoshop, use the Move Tool (V) to drag it in our project. Name it “Bottle”.

Step 9

Create a layer mask on the layer. Set foreground to black, start erasing the background and the reflection on the bottle.

Step 10

Next go Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness & Contrast, Brightness: 30 Contrast: 30. Set the Blend mode to Lighten and the opacity 30%. Hold Down Alt and click between the Bottle layer and the new adjustment layer. Now the adjustment layer will only appear on the bottle.

Step 11

We want to bottle to fit in more with the background. So let´s create a color fill, Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color. Use a blue color, we used #49BEFB. Set Blend Mode to overlay and opacity to 30%. And Alt+Click again to make it only appear on the bottle. Group the bottle with the two adjustment layers, Command/Ctrl + G and name it “Bottle”.

Step 12

Open up the bottom shapes in Photoshop. And use the Move Tool (V) to drag them in our project. Select one of the shapes and hit Command + T to transform it. Place it at the bottom of the bottle and name it “Bottom Shape”.

Step 13

Next go in the “Bottle” group and Command + Click on the bottle layers mask. This will create a selection around the bottle. Go back and choose the new shape, press Layer > Layer Mask > Hide Selection so the bottle will appear over the shape. Unlink the layer from the mask by clicking on the link icon between them.

Step 14

Right + Click on the layer and choose Blending Options. Add a light-blue color overlay, we used #B9E2EE.

Step 15

Duplicate the shape, Command + J. Name this new layer “Lower Ring”. Hit Command + T and transform it a bit smaller. Go in the Blending Options and uncheck the color overlay. Instead use add a 1px stroke with a blue color, we used #97D4F6. Set the Fill to 0%, this will only display the blending options and not the shape itself.

Step 16

Drag the other shape in our project. Add the same Blending Options we did in the previous steps. This time use the color #A8D3F0. Name the layer “Upper Ring”. Set Fill to 0%.

Step 17

Select the Ellipse Tool (U) and create a shape over the bottom of the bottle. Name the layer “Front Shape”. Create a layer mask on the layer, select the Brush Tool (B) and erase the areas that cover the rings.

Step 18

Create a new layer below the “Front Shape”, name it shadow. Command + Click on the layer mask “Bottle” to create a selection. Go Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection. Use a brush with 0% hardness and set the foreground to #212B54. Start painting behind the shape so it looks like a shadow.

Step 19

Group all the layers together and name it “Bottom Shapes”.

Step 20

Open up and drag in the smaller shapes in our project and group them together, name the group “Bottle Shapes”. Right click on the layers and select Blending Options, give them a color overlay. We used the colors Red: #D8006F, Blue: #75CBE4 and Black: #242A42.

Step 21

Copy and drag the shapes all over the project. A tip is to holding down ALT and drag a layer to copy it.

Final Touches

We are mostly done but we can still add some final touches. I´ve added some shadows to create a more depth. Have also added a color fill with the color #42E0EE, opacity: 10% and blend mode: overlay.

Conslusion

We are done. There have been a lot small tips about how you combine illustrator files with photoshop. I know that this is not something advanced but the purpose is to start your creativity and to show you how easy it is to combine photoshop with illustrator.

Photoshop Tutorials

Here we have listed the latest Photoshop tutorials which appeared in the month June. We have selected the guides / articles that we feel are instructive for anyone who is both a beginner or more advanced level.

Create Beautiful Abstract Female Art in Photoshop

Sometimes, all it takes to create a stunning piece of art is a stock photo, a bit of creativity, a great idea, and some time. Today, I will demonstrate how to create a piece of art that I created titled, “Beauty of Gold.” Let’s get started!

Create a Vintage Squid Illustration by Combining Photographic and Illustrative Elements

Compositions that combine both photographic and illustrative elements are often popular among graphic designers. Today, we will demonstrate how to combine these elements to create a vintage squid illustration. Let’s get started!

Create an Illustrated, Japanese Style Hand Fan in Photoshop

Before air conditioning and the electric box fan the only means that most people had to cool themselves on a hot day was a hand-held fan. Today, we will demonstrate how to illustrate a realistic, Japanese-style folding fan in Photoshop. Let’s get started!

Use the Mixer Brush in Photoshop CS5 to Turn a Photo Into a Realistic Painting

Before Photoshop CS5, transforming a photo into a realistic-looking painting was quite tricky. Now that CS5 has been released we now have some new tools to help achieve this effect a bit more realistically. In today’s tutorial we will demonstrate how to use Photoshop CS5’s new Mixer Brush tool to transform a photo into a masterpiece in minutes.

MSNBC New Background Design in Photoshop

I was stoked, especially because they wanted to keep a colorful effect but with something new. Then I had this idea of using part of their symbol to create a pattern and apply it over the colorful peacock symbol with a lot of blur and light effects.

Foggy Window Effect in Photoshop

So in this tutorial I will show you how to create a foggy window effect in Photoshop. We will use a stock photo, brushes, and layer styles to create the effect. The whole process is quite simple and it won’t take you more than 30 minutes to achieve the same result.

Photoshop & Illustrator Tutorial: Urban type art

London is hip again, and in this tutorial Holland-based designer Bram Vanhaeren shows you how he created a new piece that draws on all that’s great about the city – taking inspiration from the Olympics, underground club scenes and the city vista from up high.

How To Give Your Photos a Cool Retro Analog Effect

Back in the days of analog photography imperfections were part of the job. Colour washes, light leaks, vignettes and blurs were all common problems that appeared during the processing of your film, particularly from cheap cameras such as the Holga, or simply down to human error. While these problems don’t affect digital cameras, we can recreate the cool effects in Photoshop to give our shots that cool lo-fi retro effect.

Design a Beautiful Cosmic Space Scene in Photoshop

Ever since I saw the recent Star Trek movie I’ve been itching to create a gorgeous sci-fi inspired cosmic space scene. I eventually found the time to do so and created a piece of artwork named ‘First Light’. Follow this step by step walkthrough of its creation in Photoshop, from the making of the planets, to the vibrant nebula and bright lens flares.

How to create a web 2.0 web layout

In this tutorial i will show you how to create a web 2.0 web layout.

Make a Meteoric Composition with Stellar Light Effects

In this tutorial, we will create an out-of-this-world composition of a computer mouse that is streaking down like a meteor. We will focus on creating unique light effects and leveraging layer adjustment techniques for coloring and enhancing our scene. We will use Cinema 4D to create a simple backdrop for our stars, however, the important parts, we’ll do in Photoshop.

Make Illustrious Type Using Airbrushing Techniques

This Illustrator/Photoshop tutorial will walk you through the process of creating some unique type by combining the power of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. We will explore various techniques such as airbrushing, using blending modes, creating ambient lighting with the Gradient Tool, and more. I’m sure you will find some useful tips, tricks, and shortcuts as we go through the process of creating this piece. Let’s get started!

Create an Elegant Photography Web Layout in Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to make a beautiful web page design PSD that is dark-themed and perfect for a web portfolio that is centered around photographs. It’s a pretty simple tutorial that aims to illustrate some great techniques to adapt into your current web design workflow.

Creating a Stylish Blog Design Layout in Photoshop

One of my current projects is a redesign of my personal blog over at ChrisSpooner.com. The aim is to move away from the current fun and cartoony theme and give it a more sophisticated, minimal and stylish design. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to create a blog design walkthrough. This tutorial starts with the Photoshop stage of the blog design process, and shows how the design and layout are created to form an initial concept from which the fully coded blog will be based on.

Create a Ying Yang Inspired Poster in Photoshop

Today we will create a poster inspired by the all-known symbol, Ying and Yang. We will try to create the same balance from the sign in a more elaborate illustration.

Illustrator Tutorials

Here we have listed the latest Illustrator tutorials which appeared in the month June. We have selected the guides / articles that we feel are instructive for anyone who is both a beginner or more advanced level.

How To Create a Trendy Seamless Pattern in Illustrator

The great thing about seamless repeating patterns is that once created, they can be used as a base for all kinds of awesome designs. Skateboard decks, custom apparel, package designs and website backgrounds are just some of the uses for the good old pattern swatch. Follow this tutorial to build a vector based repeating pattern of your own, featuring trendy graphics of skulls, stars, lightning bolts and other cool pop imagery.

Create CS5 Width Profile Brushes in any Version of Adobe Illustrator CS!

Adobe Illustrator CS5 has a new option within the Stroke window known as “Width Profile”. This tutorial shows how you can create brushes and use them in any version of Adobe Illustrator CS. You will also learn how to create, save and use your new brushes!

Make a Grungy Hand-Drawn Festival Poster in Illustrator

This Illustrator design tutorial will discuss how to create a grunge, handdrawn-themed poster with a cassette tape (which we’ll draw) as its central subject. We’ll use the Pencil Tool to make organic vector objects and also patterns in Illustrator. We’ll also use the 3D Extrude & Bevel Effect and take advantage of opacity masks to make certain elements semitransparent.

Gradient rings in Illustrator

m sure you’ve seen them around on the web, those rather complex looking infographics, showing statistics or other data. Some of them have a circular shape and use these cool gradient rings. I’ve received the question more than once from users asking how these are created in Illustrator. Today I’m showing the basis of how this is done, by sharing this very simple and easy to follow Illustrator tip. As always, my method is just one of the few on how to do this. I think it’s worth checking and trying out…

• Sakke Soini´s Portfolio
• Sakke Soini on Twitter
• Sakke Soini on Behance Network