Vandelay Design Blog » Design

Learn Photoshop: All of the Basics for Beginners

Vandelay Website Design — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:31:27 +0000

We frequently publish posts on this blog that feature tutorials for learning how to do various things with Photoshop, but we have rarely focused on just the basics. This post is intended for designers or aspiring designers who either want to get started with Photoshop or have limited experience and are looking to improve.

While there are plenty of great learning resources available online, it’s often difficult for beginners to know where to get started because everything seems to be scattered. With this post you’ll find links to plenty of resources to teach you all the basics and fundamentals of Photoshop.

Most of the resources and tutorials listed in this post will focus on teaching one particular aspect of Photoshop, such as how to use a specific tool. Everything is broken down into sections so you can find exactly what you are looking for.

Intro to Photoshop’s Tools and UI:

The resources in this section will serve as an introduction for those who are new to Photoshop. They will help you to learn your way around the interface and with some of the basics of Photoshop.

Getting Started with Photoshop

Getting Started in Photoshop

Photoshop’s Toolbox

Using Palettes in Photoshop

More resources for learning the tools and UI:

Layers, Layer Styles, Layer Masks and Adjustment Layers:

In order to be able to efficiently and effectively work with Photoshop you will need a solid understanding of layers. The resources in this section provide guides for working with layers in Photoshop, as well as layer styles, layer masks and adjustment layers.

Working with Layers in Photoshop

Photoshop Layers Essential Power Shortcuts

Layer Styles in Photoshop

Saving, Loading and Reusing Layer Styles in Photoshop

Understanding Layer Masks in Photoshop

Getting to Know Clipping Masks and Layer Masks in Photoshop

A Basic Guide to Photoshop CS4 Adjustment Layers

Photoshop 101: Adjustment Layers

More resources for working with layers:

The Pen Tool:

Photoshop’s pen tool can be used for impressive results, but it can be very difficult to use if you don’t understand how it works. The following resources will provide helpful guides to explain the pen tool and how you can use it in your own work.

Photoshop’s Pen Tool: The Comprehensive Guide

Photoshop Pen Tool Guide

Making Selections with the Pen Tool

Become a Master of the Pen Tool in Under 30 Minutes

More resources for the pen tool:

Pen Tool Cheatsheet

Brushes and Other Presets:

Brushes, patterns, shapes, and the other presets are an essential part of Photoshop. Whether you are using the presets that come with the software, downloading those created by other designers, or creating your own, learning the potential of these presets and how to work with them should be a priority.

Beginner’s Guide to Photoshop Brushes

Photoshop’s Brush Tool – Basic Guide

Installing and Managing Brushes and Other Presets

How to Create Your Own Photoshop Brushes

Guide to Patterns in Photoshop

More resources for brushes and presets:

Type Tool:

The type tool is a little more straightforward than some of the others for beginners, but it still helps to have a firm grasp of how the tool works and what you can do with text in Photoshop.

A Comprehensive Introduction to the Type Tool

Tip: How to Change Text Orientation

Photoshop 101: The Type Tool

Transform:

With Photoshop’s transform capabilities you can edit and manipulate objects in a variety of different ways. The links provided below with get you started.

Using Transform in Photoshop

Photoshop 101: How to Use the Free Transform Tool

Photoshop Free Transform Tutorial

Selections:

The are several different ways to make selections in Photoshop, and each technique has certain situations where it works better than others. Here you’ll learn about the basic selection tools and when to use them.

The Selection Tools

A Comprehensive Introduction to Photoshop Selection Techniques

Master Photoshop’s Selection Tools in Under 30 Minutes

The Magnetic Lasso Tool

The Polygonal Lasso Tool

The Lasso Tool

How to Cut an Object in Photoshop Using the Polygonal Lasso Tool

The Elliptical Marquee Tool

The Rectangular Marquee Tool

Five Secrets of the Marquee Tools in Photoshop

More resources for selections:

Clone Stamp Tool:

The clone stamp tool allows you to duplicate, or clone, an area. The resources below will explain how to tool works and how you can use it.

How to Manipulate Images with the Photoshop Clone Stamp Tool

Useful Applications for the Clone Stamp Tool

Blend Modes:

Photoshop’s various blend modes give users a lot of potential to create different results quickly and easily. The links in this section will explain how you can play with the blend modes of your layers and what types of changes it will have.

An Explanation of Photoshop Blend Modes

Photoshop’s Five Essential Blend Modes for Photo Editing

More resources for blend modes:

Filters

Photoshop has a number of different filters that you can use, and each has its own purpose and use. These links will explain some of the different filters, how they work, and when you should use them.

Photoshop’s Filters

Getting to Grips with the Vanishing Point Filter

10 Photoshop Filters You Should Definitely Know

Channels:

Earlier we provided some links to tutorials on selection methods. Channels can also be used to select and extract, as well as to edit photos in other ways.

Digging into Channels as an Extraction Tool

Photoshop 101: Working with Alpha Channels

Smart Objects:

Photoshop smart objects can help you to save time on repetitive tasks, and these links will show you how to use them.

Genius Ways to Use Photoshop Smart Objects

Photoshop Smart Objects, Smart but not Always that Smart

Actions:

Photoshop actions are a great way to automate certain processes and save time. You can create your own actions or use those created by others.

Lights! Camera! Photoshop Actions!

How to Use Adobe Photoshop Actions

More resources for Photoshop actions:

Efficiency and Performance:

If you use Photoshop a lot you will want to make the most of your time with it. The resources here will help you to work smarter with as little wasted time as possible.

Professional Tips for Improving Photoshop’s Performance

20 Photoshop Tips for a Faster Workflow

Create Your Own Custom Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts

Batch Editing and Automated Processing in Photoshop

More resources for efficiency and performance:

Saving Images:

These links will show you how you can save and optimize images that are going to be used on websites, for maximum performance.

Saving Images for the Web

Save for Web, Simply

Optimizing Images for the Web with Photoshop

Working with Colors in Photoshop:

Colors are, of course, an essential part of any design. These resources will explain the basics of working with color in Photoshop.

Photoshop Color: Custom Photoshop Color Swatches and Sets

Photoshop Color Replacement Tool

More resources for working with color:

Design for Print:

Designing for print is different than designing for the web. These links will explain some of the intricacies of designing for print and how it should be handled.

Spot UVs, Proofs, Roll Folds and Other Printing Terminology Explained

Designing for Print – Setting Up Crops and Bleeds

More resources for designing for print:

Working with Graphics Tablets:

Although it is not necessary, you may choose to work with a graphics tablet. These links will explain how to do so and how to decide on the tablet that is right for you.

Using Pen Tablets in Photoshop

How to Choose a Graphics Tablet that Fits Your Needs

Now that you’ve learned the basics of Photoshop, here are some tutorial collections that you may want to check out:

21 Resources Especially for Lovers of Minimalism

Vandelay Website Design — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:52:48 +0000

Minimalism a popular style of design because it keeps things simple and user-friendly. In this post we’ll look at more than 20 websites, blogs and books dedicated to minimalism. Not all of them are related to web design – minimalism can also be applied to other aspects of business and life.

Minimal Design Showcases:

If you want to find great and inspiring examples of minimalist design, these sites will be excellent sources.

Minimal Exhibit

Minimal Sites

Siiimple

MinimalistDesign.org

Minimal Showcase

Mnimal

siteInspire

AisleOne

Minima

Simple Desktops
Simple Desktops is a collection of desktop wallpapers curated by Tom Watson designed to make your computer beautiful without distraction.

Blogs:

The blogs all focus on publishing content related to minimalism.

mnmlist

Minimalissimo

Minimalist Approa.ch

Minimal

Minimalismi

Far Beyond the Stars

MinimalistPath

Books and eBooks:

If you want to read about minimalism in design, business, or every day life, check out these books.

The Laws of Simplicity

The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life

The Art of Being Minimalist

The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essentials in Business and in Life

For more inspiration from minimalist design please see:

10 Keys to Effective Non-Profit Organization Websites

Vandelay Website Design — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:47:21 +0000

Non profit organizations tend to have limited budgets and limited involvement from members for planning, designing and maintaining websites. This often results in a site that doesn’t really achieve everything that it could for the organization and the people involved. In recent years there has been an increasing number of organizations that are doing great things with their websites and truly making them valuable and effective.

In this article we’ll look at the keys to an effective non-profit organization website, while showcasing some examples from specific sites.

1. Clear Description of the Organization’s Mission/Purpose

Many of the visitors that will be arriving at the website will not be familiar with the organization. Upon arriving, they should be able to quickly get an idea of why the organization exists and a basic picture of what they do.

The full mission statement or purpose statement is sometimes part of an About Us page, but first time visitors to the home page should have an idea of why the organization exists without even visiting another page. The About Us page can of course provide more details, but visitors should not need to navigate through the site in order to understand the basic purpose of the organization.

There are a number of different ways to help convey a message of mission or purpose on a home page. In some cases there will be a brief one or two sentence statement that is located in a prominent position. Photos and images can also help to communicate purpose.

2. Concise but Complete Information About the Organization’s Background and Basics

Once new visitors have arrived at the site and quickly determined that mission or purpose of the organization, if it is something that interests them, they may want to find out more details. Providing information about the history of the organization can be a great help for connecting on a deeper level with visitors. You may want to include details about when and why the organization was founded, and by whom. Important dates, milestones, achievements, and evidence of growth and impact should also be included.

3. Clear Idea of the Sites Visitors and the Organization’s Audience

One of the difficult aspects of working with non-profit websites is that they can have several different audiences, and the needs of each will vary. For example, one audience will include members, supporters, and volunteers who are all familiar with the organization and use the website to stay up-to-date.

Another audience includes individuals who are not familiar with the organization and are being introduced to it through the website. These people will generally be looking for information about what the organization does, why it exists, and hopefully how they can get involved.

A third audience may be the people that are being served by the organization. For example, an organization that helps low-income families with housing may have a website that attracts people who are looking for help from the organization. These people would be most interested in the details of the services that are provided and how they can apply or request assistance.

As you can see, a non-profit or charitable organization’s website must meet the needs of several different types of people, and all are equally important. The site must provide the necessary information and visitors will need to be able to easily find what they are looking for.

4. Information for Donors

Most non-profit organizations rely heavily on donations in order to function. A growing number of organizations are accepting donations online, which makes it easy and convenient for donors. Whether an organization is accepting online donations or not, it should provide relevant information for donors. This may include how they can give, what specific programs or purposes they can give to, fundraising goals and progress, details about how the money is used or handled, and information about tax deductions.

5. Information for Volunteers

In addition to monetary gifts, volunteers who are offering their time and services are also critical to most non profits. The website should provide information that tells people how they can get involved, how it will make an impact, and provide them with an opportunity to express their interest in volunteering.

6. Photos of People Who are Impacted

Visitors like to see pictures of people that are being helped through their donations or volunteer efforts. By including photos of the people who are benefiting from the work of the organization, it will provide a much more personal experience for website visitors. In addition to photos, some organizations include stories or testimonials on their site about the impact that is being made. This is a great way to encourage people to get involved because it is easier to see the results and how it is impacting real people, as opposed to simply seeing statistics.

7. Contact Information

Some of the website visitors may wish to get in contact with the organization about volunteering, receiving assistance, employment opportunities, donations, or any number of things. The site should at least provide a contact form or email address, and in most cases a phone number and mailing address should also be included.

8. Design that Fits with the Organization’s Culture

So far we haven’t discussed anything about the design or appearance of the site. Non profit organization websites should feature a design that is consistent with the message and culture of the organization, as it will help to communicate with visitors and to brand the organization. In many cases you can tell a lot about an organization’s culture by the style of design. Take for example church websites. Many churches appeal to young adults through a grunge-style design. You would not expect to see this type of design used by a church that has an older audience.

9. Email Newsletter Signup

Regardless of the type of work that the organization does, it is important to stay in contact with people who are involved and to keep them up-to-date. Many organizations that have been around for a long time are still spending huge amounts of money each year that could be greatly reduced with better use of email newsletters. The website should offer visitors the option of opting in to receive updates from the organization. In some cases it may be just a single newsletter, and in other cases there may need to be multiple mailing lists for various purposes.

10. News and Events Sections

In order to help visitors to stay up-to-date, to make the website more useful, and to add some dynamic content to the site that is changed frequently, it is a good practice to include an event calendar and news items. This way people can check the website to see what is coming up and participation should be improved. News items could be displayed through a blog on the organizations site, or a separate blog could be used for the interaction between the organization and visitors.

To see some examples of well-designed non-profit websites, see these posts from our archives:

One-Page Portfolios: Trends and Showcase

Vandelay Website Design — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:18:04 +0000

One-page portfolios are certainly a popular trend among web and graphic designers. Many designers have created one-page portfolios that use a lot of creativity, but there are also some elements or characteristics that are very common among them.

In this post we’ll look at ten trends of one-page portfolios with examples of each. At the end of the post we’ll include a showcase for your own design inspiration, plus some resources to help you if you’re interested in creating your own one-page portfolio.

Trends of One-Page Portfolios:

1. Focus is on the Work

One-page portfolios tend to keep the work of the designer as the focus of the page. More traditional portfolio sites may include screen shots of some work on the homepage, but generally the work in the portfolio will be displayed on a separate page.

Because one-page portfolios include all of the elements of a portfolio site (the work, biographical information, services information, contact, etc.), the contents of the page are often arranged to emphasize the work from the portfolio.

James Lai Creative
James Lai Creative uses a prominent location on the page to display items from the portfolio. Click on a thumbnail and you’ll see a larger image above.

Bunton
The majority of screen space on the Bunton portfolio is used to display the work.

2. Introduction/Biographical Info

“About” pages are common on portfolio sites, whether it belongs to an individual freelance designer or a design studio. One-page portfolios generally still include this information in a brief welcome or introduction.

Alexandru Cohaniuc
Alex has a large welcome message at the right side of the screen that greets visitors.

3. Navigation Menus

Although they do not have multiple pages, one-page portfolios frequently will contain a navigation menu. Links from the menu will lead to specific sections of the page rather than leading to other pages on the site.

A number of different techniques can be used to make the one-page portfolio easy to navigate. Some navigation menus appear to be just like the menu on any other website, except that when you click you’re not led away from the page, just to another spot on the page. Sticky menus are also sometimes used, and other sites will use a menu in multiple places on the page to avoid forcing the visitor to scroll back to the top.

Two24 Studios
Two24 uses a colorful navigation menu at the top of the page. If you click on the links you will slide to a lower section of the page.

Alamofire
Alamofire uses a sticky navigation menu that always appears at the right side of the browser even when you scroll to the bottom of the page.

4. Smooth Scrolling

The smooth scrolling often works hand-in-hand with navigation menus. When the visitor clicks on a link within a navigation menu they will experience a smooth scroll or slide to another section of the page.

Deluge Studios
Click on any of the links in the navigation menu of Deluge Studios and you will smoothly scroll to the appropriate section of the page.

5. Use of Lightbox for Portfolio Items

Since the portfolio items on a one-page site are right there with everything else, there is usually no room to have large images or screen shots of the work. Lightbox JavaScript effects are commonly used to open up a larger version of the image when clicked over top of the existing page.

The lightbox effect makes it easy to display your work to visitors, and it makes it possible for the visitors to quickly move through the images from one to the next.

Alessandro Cavallo
If you click on any of the thumbnails on Alessandro Cavallo’s site you will see a larger image with a lightbox effect.

6. Big Background Images or Illustrations

One-page portfolios are generally either very tall or wide pages because of the amount of content that is included. Big background images are certainly not unique to one-page portfolios, but these images are often used creatively with the various sections of the site to add some intrigue and visual appeal.

Volll
Volll’s site uses a large, colorful, and creative background image/illustration. As you scroll through the page you’ll see various parts of the image.

Yodaa
Yodaa uses a similar approach with a large background image.

7. Contact Forms

Every portfolio site needs to provide visitors with a way to get in touch with the designer, and of course contact forms are very common. Many one-page portfolios also include a contact form in a specific section of the site.

Edit Studios
Edit Studios includes a full contact form at the bottom of the page.

8. Horizontal Scrolling

Horizontal scrolling is probably more common on portfolio sites than it is on other types of sites, in part because portfolios can take more creative liberties because they are expected to be innovative and creative.

Some one-page portfolios make excellent use of horizontal scrolling to lead the visitor to various sections. In some ways it can be like using different pages, except that the visitor is scrolling or sliding to various sections of the site rather than actually moving from one page to another.

IndoFolio
IndoFolio uses horizontal scrolling with a large, creative background image.

Tyler Fink
Tyler Fink also uses horizontal scrolling on his portfolio.

9. Social Networking Links

Many designers are active on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Links to these profiles are very common on one-page portfolios, and it gives visitors another place to get more familiar with the designer and to get in contact if they choose.

Visual Groove
At the bottom of the page, Visual Groove includes links to various social networking profiles that provide an alternative method for getting in touch.

10. “Back to Top” Links

Because one-page portfolios tend to be very long (or wide), if there is no navigation provided throughout the site the visitor will have to scroll a long way back to get to the top of the page. Many one-page sites include links for going back to the top, and some include other types of navigation throughout the site that will make it easy for visitors to move through the site without the need to go back to the top to access a navigation menu.

Kostandinos
Each section of the Kostandinos portfolio includes a navigation menu so you will have have to use endless scrolling to move through the site. The “Home” link leads to the top of the page.

Showcase of One-Page Portfolios:

Eduardo de La Rocque

Pikaboo

Justin Tsang

Veboo Labs

Jason Reed

Luke Larsen

Ignacio Ricci

Guerilla

Frenzy Labs

Attack of the Web

Mutant Labs

Creative The

This by Them

Puppetbrain

Nora Rose Travis

Project 365

Onvo Media

Kinetic Shadows

Zulsdesign

Andrew Greig

SocialSnack

Orman Clark

Galan

Magouya

Visualbox

Dean Oakley

Carrot Creative

Greg Wallace

Michel Ferreira

Additional Resources:

Here are some useful articles, tutorials, and resources that may be useful to you in your own work.

How to Build Your Own Single Page Portfolio Website
Chris Spooner has an excellent tutorial for designing and coding a one-page portfolio.

How to Design a One-Page Portfolio in Photoshop
This tutorial from DesignM.ag leads you through the process of designing a dark, textured one-page site.

Design an Attractive One-Page Portfolio Site Using Photoshop
Another Photoshop tutorial from DesignM.ag.

10 Expert Tips for Designing a One-Page Portfolio
Design Shack has a useful article with tips and pointers for creating a successful one-page portfolio.

The One Page Graphic Design Portfolio Guide
You the Designer has an article with tips and advice for designers who want to create a one-page portfolio.

Folio Focus
For more portfolio design inspiration see our portfolio gallery, Folio Focus.

One Page Love
A gallery that showcases excellent one-page sites.

Showcase of Floral Typography

Vandelay Website Design — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:20:36 +0000

If you frequently browse through sites like deviantART and the Behance Network you’ve no doubt come across a number of designs that use typography and floral effects. In this post we’ll showcase some excellent works of this kind from various designers. If you would like more inspiration from typography and text effects please see our gallery site TypeInspire.

Ecosystem Wallpaper

Desire for Love

Sell Your Body to the Night

Wyatt

Play

Passion

New Years Eve Party

Flower Power

Small is Beautiful

Anakost

Regina Spektor

Wedding Invitation Design

For more design inspiration please see:

35 Tutorials and Guides for Working With Wacom Tablets

Vandelay Website Design — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:27:55 +0000

Wacom tablets are preferred tools for many graphic designers because they can be much easier than working with a mouse for some types of design. Learning to work effectively with a tablet can be a little tricky, but fortunately there are a number of tutorials that can help. In this post we’ll feature a selection of tutorials that will help with learning how to design specific things, and some that will help you understand the Wacom tablet and to get the most out of it.

Draw a Windy Sunset Illustration

Superb Tutorial of Digital Painting President Obama

Create a Rebellious Skateboarder

How to Design Your Own Custom Hoodie

How to Create a Three Color Wolf Skull in Illustrator

Bioshock Video Game Digital Painting

Detailed Case Study by Olly Howe

How to Draw a Classic Hand Using a Graphics Tablet

Create a Vector Art Twitter Bird Character Icon in Adobe Illustrator

Exotic Fashion

How to Create a Cartoon Character with Expressive Lines

Create a Grisly Zombie Illustration with a Pen Tablet in Illustrator

Photo Retouching

Create a Character Mascot with Adobe Illustrator CS4

Photoshop and Painter Tutorial: Mad Scientist

Hair Painting Tutorial

Spearfish – Photoshop Painting and Shape Techniques

Video Tutorials:

How to Draw Wolverine

How to Draw Realistic Eyes

How to Draw Realistic Eyes – Part 2

How to Draw Realistic Mouth

Photoshop – Extract and Hair Tutorial

How to Draw Realistic Hair

Draw a Skull with a Wacom Tablet

Draw an Old-World Style Tattered Scroll from Scratch

Painting with a Wacom Intuos3 and Photoshop

Working with a Wacom Tablet to Create a Collage in Photoshop CS3

Wacom Tutorial Part 1

Wacom Tutorial Part 2

Wacom Basics:

How to Choose a Graphics Tablet That Fits Your Needs

How to Set Up Your Wacom for Awesome Results

Wacom Settings in Illustrator

Wacom Pen Tablets and Photoshop CS4

What to Expect with a Wacom Cintiq Drawing Tablet (and How to Set up Your Cintiq)

Wacom Pen Tablet Tutorial

For some Photoshop tutorials please see:

65 Resources for Nature-Inspired Design

Vandelay Website Design — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:22:29 +0000

A current trend is web design inspired by nature. I’m sure you’ve seen sites with illustrated backgrounds or headers of a sky or horizon, or maybe a large background picture of something from nature. In this post we’ll feature 65 resources that can help you with your own nature-inspired design. The post includes Photoshop tutorials, Photoshop brushes, textures, and vectors.

For more design resources please see:

Best Photoshop Website Layout Tutorials of 2009

Vandelay Website Design — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:50:52 +0000

As a final post for 2009, let’s take a look back at the best tutorials for creating website layouts in Photoshop. There were a number of great tutorials of this kind throughout the year, many more than in years past, making it a great year for anyone who wants to improve their design skills. Here is a look at 25 of the best.

Create a Company/Business Web Layout Using Photoshop

Create a Watercolor Themed Website in Photoshop

Create a Clean and Effective Product Layout

Awesome Tutorial Portfolio Design

How to Create a Clean and Colorful Web Layout

Design a Beautiful Website from Scratch

Design a Clean Portfolio Site in Photoshop

Create a Business PSD Layout in Less Than 10 Minutes

Create a Green/Eco-Friendly/Environmental Web Layout

How to Create a Sleek and Textured Web Layout in Photoshop

How to Make a Highly-Textured Site Layout in Photoshop

How to Create an Illustrative Web Design in Photoshop

Design a Clean and Fresh Company Website in Photoshop

Create a Clean Modern Web Design in Photoshop

Design an Attractive One-Page Portfolio in Photoshop

Design a Creative WordPress Theme

Create a Photoshop Template for Joomla or Drupal

Create a Game Layout

Chocolate Pro WordPress Style Layout

Create a Web Layout with 3D Elements Using Photoshop

Making the Clean Grunge Blog Design

Design a Stylish Blue Blog Theme in Photoshop

Create a Stylish Business Layout in Photoshop

Company/Business/Software Web Layout

Design an Impressive Web Hosting Layout

For more Photoshop tutorials please see:

The 50 Best Adobe Illustrator Tutorials from 2009

Vandelay Website Design — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:18:23 +0000

Since the year is winding down, we thought it would be helpful to go back and pick out the best Illustrator tutorials that were published in 2009. The year was full of great tutorials, and 50 of the best are featured here. For more Illustrator tutorials please see:

Smoothly Shift Winter Colors While Creating an Icy, Vector Landscape

How to Create a Landscape Wallpaper for Your Desktop

Create a Grisly Zombie Illustration with a Pen Tablet

How to Create a Vector Wacom Tablet in Illustrator

Create a Rolling Stones Inspired Tongue Illustration

Create a Happy Sun Character

Create a Milk Bottle with a Funny Cow Label

Create a Character Mascot with Adobe Illustrator CS4

How to Create a Craft’s Inspired Vector Kid Illustration

How to Create a Photorealistic iMac and Magic Mouse

Blend and Mask Yourself a Great Poster

How to Design a Skate Deck with a Cool Skull Pattern

Bling Bling Text Effect

Perfect Silhouette with Live Trace

3D Lighted Text Effect

Create a Realistic Candy Bar in Illustrator

Create a Cute Panda Bear Face Icon

Quick Tutorial: Gradient Strokes

Illustrator Full Spectrum Spirograph

Realistic Orange

How to Create a Smokin’ Western Type Treatment in Illustrator

How to Create Shiny, Vector Dice in Illustrator

How to Make an Icy Cocktail

How to Create an Energy Saving Bulb in Illustrator

How to Create a Rainy Windo Vector Background

Turn any Font into a Sketch Font

How to Create Seamless Watermark Patterns

Abracadabra, How to Create a Magic Hat Icon

Design and Print Bold Promo Cards in Under 60 Minutes

How to Create an Identity Package in Illustrator

How to Create a Vector Illustration and Prepare it for Micro-Stock Sale

Geometric Flower Effect Logo in Illustrator

Rad Pattern in Illustrator that Makes You Dizzy

Complex Symbols with Pathfinder

Creating Editable Letterpress Styled Text

Illustrator Ring Shape Via Overlapping Crescents Effect

Illustrator Swatches Gradient Background Effect

Illustrator Diamond Flower

How to Draw a Vector Kiwi

Gradient Mesh Flower

Adobe Illustrator Textures

Striping Live Type in Adobe Illustrator

Blend Tool Backgrounds

Design a Cute Hamster Avatar

Easily Create Sticker Text and Graphic Effect in Illustrator

Create a Vector Art Twitter Bird Character in Adobe Illustrator

Everything You Ever Want to Know About Creating Seamless Patterns in Illustrator

How to Create an Awesome Vector Skate Deck Design

Elegant Gradient Ribbon in llustrator

Create an Awesome Space Rocket in Illustrator

For some Photoshop tutorials please see:

50 of the Best Free Icon Sets of 2009

Vandelay Website Design — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:39:24 +0000

A few weeks ago we launched IconFever, a site dedicated to helping designers find the icons they need. Today we’d like to feature some of the best free icons that were made available throughout the year, from a wide variety of designers. These high-quality, free icons can be tremendous resources for designers like you and me.

Quartz Icons

Basic Icons

Flavour Extended

Cute Blogging Icons

Old Bottle Crowns

Grunge Peeling Stickers

Cute Twitters

Happy Birds