DTG December 2010

includes : * My Holiday message: A Special Thanks to YOU * Geek Gifts Guide * Photoshop: Adding Frames and Borders * Photoshop: Floating Clothes with Photoshop * Illustrator: Drawing Art tools * Graphic Design: The Right Logo * Tutorial: Lightroom 3 Editing Essentials * Tutorial: Photoshop CS5 Types and Shapes * Business: The Business of being an Artist * Think Bursts: Unpack your Winnings * Is Your Innovation Lying Dead in the Road? * Mailbag: Tracking Stolen Art * Mailbag: Graphic design car wrap * Mailbag: Signs Of The Times for sale * Cool stuff: Zen Artist for iPad * Apps: 3D Terrain Modeling for iOS * Hardware: Go Clip-it USB * Geek Gifts: Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred * DTP: Imposition Wizard * Make cool 3D Product Shots * Technology: Touchscreens for Macs * Web Design UPdate * And that’s a wrap for 2010

  1. Holiday message: A Special Thanks to YOU
  2. Geek Gifts Guide
  3. Photoshop: Adding Frames and Borders
  4. Photoshop: Floating Clothes with Photoshop
  5. Illustrator: Drawing Art tools
  6. Graphic Design: The Right Logo
  7. Tutorial: Lightroom 3 Editing Essentials
  8. Tutorial: Photoshop CS5 Types and Shapes
  9. Business: The Business of being an Artist
  10. Think Bursts: Unpack your WinningsN
  11. Is Your Innovation Lying Dead in the Road?
  12. Mailbag: Tracking Stolen Art
  13. Mailbag: Graphic design car wrap
  14. Mailbag: Signs Of The Times for sale
  15. Cool stuff: Zen Artist for iPad
  16. Apps: 3D Terrain Modeling for iOS
  17. Hardware: Go Clip-it USB
  18. Geek Gifts: Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred
  19. DTP: Imposition Wizard
  20. Make cool 3D Product Shots
  21. Technology: Touchscreens for Macs
  22. Web Design UPdate
  23. And that’s a wrap for 2010

Holiday message: A Special Thanks to YOU

I’ve posted my holiday message to you all at the web site this year, rather than in this edition of DTG. This is because I wanted to specifically highlight those who have contributed and supported your Design Center through the 2010 year! Here’s recognition and a link to those of you who make it happen.

Two go beyond : it’s not about the money.
      My message this year includes two outstanding stock photo providers who came to my rescue. I was working on a project for our local nonprofit Children’s Museum and was hurting for some landscapes representing the four seasons. Both Ingram and Dreamstime stepped up to the plate to help us obtaining high resolution shots to blow up to 4 x 8 foot posters. Being about the money is one thing. But sharing at a time of need is quite another —

’tis the season Holiday message: A Special Thanks to YOU

Geek Gifts Guide

We’re over-run with technology this year, and you’re probably realizing that your tech-savvy, geeky gift recipients don’t want socks! So it’s a good thing Karen Thomas has shared her ‘geek gift guide’ along with a few of our own for this year’s totally cool, tech savvy gifts … even for yourself! Geek Gifts Guide

Photoshop: Adding Frames and Borders

One of the frequent questions in Photoshop 911 emergency room is how to add borders and frames to images. So, here’s a detailed step-by-step tutorial for photoshop beginners on how to add borders and frames to images. Includes photo pointers and detailed instructions thanks to Olga Bogatyrenko of Chasing Moments Photoshop: Adding Frames and Borders

Photoshop: Floating Clothes with Photoshop

Here’s another good tutorial from Princess Libra, for a very popular technique in clothing marketing — the “invisible” person … remove the human model from the clothes — an excellent way to learn the Clone Stamp tool, and adding a virtual drop shadow Photoshop: Floating Clothes with Photoshop

Illustrator: Drawing Art tools

This is an easy beginners’ tutorial featuring numerous techniques in Adobe Illustrator — drawing art supplies — a pencil, triangle ruler and paint brush using illustrator vector tools… by Ainsley Bevis of Bloom Design Illustrator: Drawing Art tools

Graphic Design: The Right Logo

Colleen Ryan of Logobee Inc., passes along this important essay for all designers, particularly those entering the field, and beginning to design logos. It could also be important for business owners who think they do or do not need a logo. Graphic Design: The Right Logo

Tutorial: Lightroom 3 Editing Essentials

Scott Kelby shows you how to develop your photos in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, including setting white balance, seeing befores and afters, and applying changes made to one photo to other photos. Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of New Riders Tutorial: Lightroom 3 Editing Essentials

Tutorial: Photoshop CS5 Types and Shapes

Create an Ad Using Adobe — Using just the basic Photoshop software, Rafael Concepcion shows how you can manipulate the shapes and text in your designs to produce pleasing and compelling results. Learn these techniques and incorporate them into your Photoshop toolbox. Tutorial: Photoshop CS5 Types and Shapes

Business: The Business of being an Artist

Daniel Grant offers a comprehensive guide to making a living through art. This new edition has been updated to include sections on how to market and sell art in a weak economy and how to succeed in the business of marketing online, including tips on creating a successful Web site and blog. Business: The Business of being an Artist

Think Bursts: Unpack your WinningsN

Our friends out at Thinkstock have a unique promotion going on and you could win up to $10,000 — plus if you attempt to answer the questions in their “ThinkBursts” you will instantly receive Thinkstock image pack promo codes worth 30% off their stock library. It’s fun, and a unique way to introduce you to the ThinkStock services!Think Bursts: Unpack your WinningsN

Is Your Innovation Lying Dead in the Road?

David Croslin, author of Innovate the Future: A Radical New Approach to IT Innovation, knows a thing or two about armadillos. He also knows why roulette-style betting on innovation isn’t satisfying the needs of your customers or your business. Is Your Innovation Lying Dead in the Road?

Mailbag: Tracking Stolen Art

More than four years after 26 pieces of Caddo Indian pottery were stolen from Southern Arkansas University there is still no trace of the rare bottles, pots, or bowls. But now there is a new tool that could allow the art community — and the public — to help solve the case.Mailbag: Tracking Stolen Art

Mailbag: Graphic design car wrap

Murray Swift ran acroll our article on William Morris and sent in this wonderful piece of news:
      To introduce our students to the graphic designers role in the car wrap process we decided to wrap our Director’s car with an 18th Century William Morris design. Our students were involved in the process from design through to the application. The whole process lasted 8 days and judging by the many comments and reaction from other road users the exercise has been very worthwhile to the college and its students.

Thank you Murray! That is a fantastic piece … folks, don’t miss this Youtube video: Mailbag: Graphic design car wrap

Mailbag: Signs Of The Times for sale

MD from a sign shop near Chicago wrote to alert us he’s selling his collection of “Signs Of The Times” magazines from 1915 to the mid-twenties. While I wasn’t interested, perhaps one of our readers might be. If so, just contact me and I’ll put you and MD together! Mailbag: Signs Of The Times for sale

Cool stuff: Zen Artist for iPad

Many are calling Zen Artist “the most beautiful brush paint tool in the world.” It features 12 Zen Textures like months of a year, 4 Zen BGM like seasons, 3 Zen Sound Effects, 60 Zen Colors for 4 seasons, Support for Google Image Search and Photo Library and much more. Cool stuff: Zen Artist for iPad

Apps: 3D Terrain Modeling for iOS

Independent programmer Andrew Garrison has created Touch Island 1.0 for iOS, his 3D modeling and rendering app that enables the user to create a photo-realistic island surrounded by ocean. Sculpting mountains, valleys, and lakes is accomplished with a single finger. Apps: 3D Terrain Modeling for iOS

Hardware: Go Clip-it USB

The folks at Verbatim have married portable storage and award-winning design with its all-new Store ‘n’ Go Clip-it USB drive, an innovative solution that lets consumers seamlessly combine their digital and hardcopy files. Hardware: Go Clip-it USB

Geek Gifts: Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred

Kids today are just as likely to be interested in electronics as they are in soccer. So what’s a parent to do with a kid who’d rather solder than run laps? How can parents really keep geeky kids entertained, without spending yet another afternoon in front of the glowing rectangle of a TV or computer monitor? Geek Gifts: Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred

DTP: Imposition Wizard

Imposition Wizard is a professional level, standalone imposition software for Mac OS X. Version 1.8 features 2-up preview mode, reads bleed and trim data from source files, allows to rotate sheets and define their default parameters. DTP: Imposition Wizard

Make cool 3D Product Shots

Box Shot 3D is a powerful utility that renders 3D shapes using provided images. Box Shot 3D allows you to render software boxes, book covers, magazines, CD, DVD and Blu-Ray boxes, cans, bottles, mugs, bags and much more — with no 3D-knowledge Make cool 3D Product Shots

Technology: Touchscreens for Macs

It’s about time we got custom built touchscreen systems for the Apple 27 inch Cinema display. These new ones from Troll feature an analog resistive touchscreen overlay and high resolution USB controller and can be ordered as either a Troll factory integrated internal touchscreen or externally mounted, user installable “SlipCOVER” system. Technology: Touchscreens for Macs

Web Design UPdate

More interesting tidbits from the web, with some sage advice about online advertising. This issue includes:
* How to Avoid Online Advertising’s $1 Billion Mistake
* 3 Ways Google’s New Shortener Might Affect SEO & Search
* 4 Game-Changing Trends in Web App Design
* 5 Website Changes That Will Hurt Your SEO
* 6 Reasons Why We Love Internet Trolls
* 8 Ways to Reduce Your Site’s Bounce Rate Web Design UPdate

And that’s a wrap for 2010

We have so much to be thankful of — and everyone is sharing that sentiment during this season. But please — let that sentiment linger and go with you all through the year. Do no harm in the coming year … do only good things.

To my great surprise, we got NO entries into our “BEST” survey this year. Obviously we didn’t promote it strongly enough, or people were just to busy to send in their entries. We’ve listed a few of our own above, and the January issue will highlight others. So, we’re continuing the survey until the 20th of December. Go to :
* https://graphic-design.com/wp-content/uploads/graphic-design.com/registration.html

December is brought to you by the letter “D”
* http://ow.ly/3jsf1

Happy Holidays Promotion — I’ve posted the latest “DTG Holiday Ornament” in the Publishers’ Warehouse Holidays page. Enjoy, and if you’re still looking for a good holiday promotion for your own design practice, you are welcome to switch out the logos and insert your own. To your health!

Yes, the Loading Dock is open at “holiday” — help your self to all the gifts we’ve posted there and have a great season. Don’t forget to send in your contributions!

Have a great month, and stay in touch.

Thanks for reading…

      Fred Showker
          Editor / Publisher, DT&G Magazine

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Thought for December:
      Goodness is the only investment that never fails.
            — Henry David Thoreau

What you missed: Last month:

Graphic Design & Publishing Center

Don’t forget … we encourage you to share your discoveries about favorite or famous graphic designers and illustrators with other readers. Just contact me, and/or join the forums