The moment you decide to run an online store selling your favorite stuff, you are immediately thrown with dozens of questions and obstacles. For starters, you’ll need to decide between clean inventory/excess stock, then comes the resource for products. Ultimately, when it comes to open an e-commerce site, the biggest decision is – Which platform should I use?                   The software you’ve decided upon will be the foundation of your entire e-commerce site and will not likely be changed in the future, therefore it’s...

Want to spruce up your desktop and at the same time impress your friends? Why not create a vector landscape wallpaper? In this simple tutorial, you will learn how to create an eye-appealing wallpaper quickly and effectively. Let's get to it!                   Final Image Preview   Below is the final image we will be working towards.     Step 1 To begin your wallpaper, create a new document in Illustrator (Command + N). I have a wide screen monitor and so I enjoy 1680 pixels by 1050 pixels. Since you're creating this in vector,...

Below is a tutorial I’ve written for a cartoon character created in Adobe Ilustrator using a Wacom Tablet. This is an alternative method from my other cartoon tutorial in Adobe Illustrator. I bought a Wacom Tablet a while ago, but was never really sold on it. I guess I’m just used to drawing with the mouse.         As usual, I always start with a sketch placed in Illustrator.     Next, I want to set my brush that I’m going to use. I open the brush palette. Go to Window > Brushes to open it. When your palette is open, double click on one of the...

Most of us probably got our internet connection somewhere 10 years back. It was also around that time we seen the sudden boom on Internet, thanks to Marc Andreessen and Netscape Communicator. Now that we are almost at the end of 2008, we thought it’s pretty interesting to look back at how some of the trend setters and the most trafficked websites were like 10 years back. Here are some of the top-tier brands of the tech industries and their websites have stayed on the Internet for more than a decade. Let’s take a look at how these websites look like 10 years ago, comparing with that...

Adobe Photoshop has always been one of the greatest (if not the best) software when it comes to manipulating and editing image. It all started off in 1987 with a Mac application call Display, created by Thomas Knoll. With almost two decades worth of changes and improvements, you almost can’t imagine how the first version of Photoshop would look like by looking at the Photoshop you have on your desktop. In this post, we attempt to bring you back in time to look at how the very first Photoshop look like, then we scan through each evolution of Photoshop to the latest Adobe Photoshop CS4 in market...

It all began in Plaza Hotel, New York City on the 10th of November 1983. Two Microsoft founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates officially announced their corporation’s first and next-generation graphical user interface operating system – Microsoft Windows. Despite the criticism on stability and constantly being compared to their rivals Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows is still the most widely used operating systems in the world. In this article, we’ll bring you back to 1985 where the very first official Microsoft Windows 1.0 was announced, and then we take a trip down memory lane...

Today I'll show you the example of Angela                     This is Angela from the Pizza Connection   1. The sketch As a first step, you need a template. For this, a simple sketch is sufficient, it must really be a work of art. Just try your idea as best you can, get down on paper. Then you are photographing from the sketch, or a scanner, and placing them into an empty they Illustrator document.     My first sketch of Angela.     1.1.  Place the sketch in the background Name the level at which you...

Below is a tutorial I’ve written for a cartoon character created in Adobe Illustrator. I start with placing a scanned pencil sketch in Illustrator. Go to File > Place and choose the sketch file. I usually use 72 dpi grayscale scans.                 Next, I use the pen tool to trace over my scan. I like to use a color stroked line because it is easier to see. I also close all my paths, so each piece is an individual complete shape.       I remove the sketch once I’m finished tracing.       After I finish tracing,...

Below is a tutorial I’ve written for a cartoon character created in Adobe Photoshop. This is an alternative method from my other cartoon tutorial in Adobe Illustrator.               I start by opening a scanned pen and ink illustration. I cheated and drew mine in Illustrator because I suck with inking. Anyway, you’ll want to scan your illustration at at least 300 dpi for print. Also after opening your sketch in Photoshop. You may want to adjust the brightness and contrast or the curves to get your blacks black and your whites white. Both of these are...

Below is a tutorial I’ve written for a cartoon character created in Adobe Illustrator. This is an alternative method from my other cartoon tutorial.               I start with placing a scanned pencil sketch in Illustrator. Go to File > Place and choose the sketch file. I usually use 72 dpi grayscale scans.       Next, I use the pen tool to trace over my scan. I like to use a color stroked line because it is easier to see. I also close all my paths, so each piece is an individual complete shape.       I remove the sketch...

                            Back onto the monster character series; Part two covered the creation of the Dumb Blue Sucker Monster, now we'll take a look at the Angry Orange Monster! Once again, hopefully these will be easy enough to follow by Illustrator beginners, with mostly the basic tools and shapes being used.         Launch Adobe Illustrator, and create an oval with the Circle Tool.       Draw a simple arm by using the Rounded Rectangle Tool, use the cursor keys to give large rounded...

                        Part one of the mini-series covered the creation of the Flying Bat Ghost, now we'll take a look at the Dumb Blue Sucker Monster! Again, using mostly the basic tools and shapes making the tutorial suitable for beginners to Illustrator.           Launch up Adobe Illustrator, select the Rounded Rectangle Tool and draw a shape as shown. Use the cursor keys to adjust the roundness of the corners to give almost circular ends.       We don't need the bottom half, so create...

Download the ‘Frankenspoon’ PDF, grab yourself a Scalpel, some double sided tape, a spare 20 minutes and have some fun!                   Download Frankenspoon PDF