Stapler Icon – The making of

Posted 29 March, 2010 in Tutorials

The Stapler Icon above was created using a photo of a stapler.

1. I then cut out the shape in Photoshop.
2. I then used th smart blur filter on it a few times in order to smooth the look.
3. Then using new layers, I created gradients from 50% transparent white to 100% transparent white to highlight the edges.

Sell your Pictures on The Web!

Posted 19 March, 2010 in Other, Tutorials

 With a lot of work, and a lot of time, I have made thousands of dollars selling little icons and clip art on the web.

Make your own web 2.0 icons for FREE!

Posted 7 March, 2010 in Tutorials

Plastic wrap enlarged bitmaps

Posted 20 May, 2009 in Free Graphics, Tutorials, Wallpaper

Enlarging bitmaps is not a good idea, but there are ways to quickly fix them and one of those ways is to use the Photoshop filter, Plastic Wrap. It evens out those jagged edjes very well, and can create a nice effect. Here are some examples of bitmaps enlarged by up to 10 times then given a plastic wrap. (more…)

Vector shapes in Photoshop

Posted 13 May, 2009 in Free Graphics, Tutorials

A quick few samples showing how shapes created in a vector package can be used creatively in Photoshop. This is not a proper tutorial, but samples just for inspiration. (more…)

Flash Plastic Text Effect Tutorial

Posted 26 April, 2009 in Flash, Tutorials

In this tutorial we are going to look at how to cerate a plastic, glossy, glassy look for your text in Flash. I am using Flash CS3 and also using some of the Flash filter effects. (more…)

Flash Curling Paper Tutorial

Posted 26 April, 2009 in Flash, Tutorials

In this tutorial we will be looking at how to create a paper curl in Flash. We will also be adding some texture to the paper using a bitmap. (more…)

Flash Vector Illustration Tutorial

Posted 26 April, 2009 in Flash, Illustrations, Tutorials

This is a tutorial on taking a sketch and creating a flash vector illustration with it. The subject in this case will be the American president, Barack Obama. (more…)

Affiliates for Artists

Posted 9 February, 2008 in Tutorials

I have written before on how to make money with you graphical designs and illustrations, now I have been playing around with affiliates on a couple of my sites.

I sell pop art paintings that I do in my spare time and although the site generates a healthy number of sales, or at least enough to keep my busy, I have found that putting ads and affiliate links on the site has not hurt my pop art sales and at the same time generates a little extra income.

I currently use allposters.com as they can provide for the UK, Europe and USA. Many people who are looking for artwork and designs will come across artist’s and designer’s websites even though they may have just been looking for something to put on the wall, or a gift for someone.

So far I am quite pleased with allposters.com, not due to the sales as it is too early to tell how good it is, but due to the easy of setting it up. Creating an account was simple. After that, you are given a whole host of options, from banners you can place on your site, to search boxes and even a mini store on your website.

I will get back to you on the sales point when I have given it more time.

Super Stripe Blending Tutorial

Posted 3 July, 2007 in Tutorials

Blending two images using stripes can be a rather cool way of blending images. The achieve the above image follow the steps laid out below. This tutorial is for Photoshop.

1. Get two images. I have used Superman and Spiderman.

2. Create a new layer for image 1. In this case, Superman and create a gradient fill from top to bottom, from back to white using the Gradient tool set to Linear Gradient.

3. Filter > Distort > Wave. Set Generators to 999. Wavelength Min and Max to 4. Scale 100%. Type: Square. Repeat Edge Pixels. You should get the following:

4. Now set the Layer Style Blend Mode… Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options. Set Blend Mode to Multiply.

5. Using the Magic Wand Tool with settings Tolerance 1, no Anti-aliased and no Contiguous, select one of the black stripes. This should select all the black stripes.

6. Now Shift+Ctrl+i to invert the selection and press Shift+Ctrl+c to copy the image. This should copy everything other than the black stripes.

7. Now paste it over the Spiderman image!

Finished.

As a bonus feature, you might want to save the stripes mask as it is very useful to have around for other images.