Take Your Designs To The Next Level With Adobe Illustrator CS4
Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard vector drawing tool, and is used for a wide variety of print and web publication uses. Adobe Illustrator training is one of the trifecta of useful skills to put onto your resume as a web developer, along with experience with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Flash. Getting the basics down on any one of the three of those skills is a useful graphic design seminar setting.
We're going to cover Illustrator in this article, future articles may cover Photoshop and Flash. We're covering Illustrator because it's somewhat the 'forgotten step child' when it comes to working within the web developer's daily routine, which is a shame, because it has a lot to offer.
The most useful tool in Illustrator for most web developers is Live Trace, which is a tool that will import an existing bitmap or raster image and convert it to a vector format. You can specify how sensitive the transformation is, and whether to use solid fills or gradient fills on the conversion. There are two benefits to converting a raster image to a vector one. The first is scalability; you have a lot more flexibility in manipulating a vector image without it getting compression artifacts or pixilated. The second is that vector formats are generally easier to animate for Flash and Shockwave.
Most Adobe Illustrator training will focus on the drawing tools in Illustrator; while there are limited drawing tools in Photoshop, once you've grown accustomed to the flexibility Illustrator has to offer, there's no going back. You can create effects using Bezier curve tools, adjust stroke and fill independently, and have the full range of alignment and adjustment tools imaginable. You have access to the InDesign font engine, and the same color matching palette that Photoshop has.
One of the more interesting tools within Illustrator is the Pathfinder tool set, which allows you to merge shapes, or subtract a foreground shape to make compound artifacts. For example, the usual tutorial shows you how to create a logo from multiple parts by aligning them, then subtracting the attachment points on the front shape and subtracting it from the back shape, creating a 'star callout'. This is the tip of the iceberg, and when combined with the drawing tools that Illustrator has, allows you to do things quickly that would be very time consuming or labor intensive in Photoshop.
There are other tips and tricks with Adobe Illustrator that are worth getting training on. First, it outputs to both PDF and exports to Flash, which are the two most common interchange formats on the web. While it's not the optimum choice for it, it can export AutoCAD format files, and quite a few vector formats, as well as being able to export to the web standard raster formats of GIF, JPEG and PNG.
{owner} {imageurl}
Digital Photography Basics Tutorial Explains How To Take Perfect Photographs
Cameras on the market today are priced to fit every ones budget and the point and click ease with which you can now take photos guarantees everyone can now enjoy this wonderful art. Digital technology allows people to either develop their photos on their own, using photo editing computer software programs, or print their photos directly from their cameras or memory cards. You can even distribute your photos to family and friends through email or photo sharing web sites.
Yet for some people digital photography is more than point and shoot; many people consider photography a form of art and believe that taking a photograph requires planning, patience, and effort.
The following are a few tips for taking perfect pictures:
1. To eliminate shadows when taking photos outdoors on bright sunny days it’s a good idea to you're your cameras flash feature. The flash will eliminate shadows that might appear if the sun is at an angle.
2. Pick a backdrop that will showcase your subjects; if possible pick something that won't distract the viewer’s eye from them. Generally a subtle backdrop that is not too distracting is best.
3. To avoid having strangers in your photos pay attention to what is going on around you. Try to take the photo when there are no distractions.
4. Tell your subjects what you are looking for prior to taking the photo. Giving directions will help you get the shot you want the first time. This is especially important if you are taking photographs of an important event such as a graduation or wedding. To ensure you create lasting memories, instruct people to smile, ask them to fix their hair if it's unruly, etc.
5. When taking outdoors shots place your back to the sun. This will put the spotlight where it belongs, on the subjects themselves.
6. Candid, informal photographs are best. These are more exciting to look at than staged, posed shots. Take photos of your friends and family when they are at ease and just having a great time.
Macromedia Flash 5.0 Macromedia FLASH 4.0 Tutorial CD
 | US $3.99 End Date: Monday Sep-13-2010 3:32:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $3.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
{owner} {imageurl}
How do I take a character I made in Photoshop CS2 and make it into a 3D moving image?
I am new to the world of 3D art, but have a few programs at my disposal that I am trying to learn (by myself), like Maya 8.5, Lightwave 9, Mudbox 1.0 and Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0. I am just learning about these programs and would love direction to free tutorials about such. Back to my main question though, I created a robot character in Photoshop and would like to make it into a full 3D image that I could use in Flash 8, or other programs.
Macromedia Flash 5.0 Macromedia FLASH 4.0 Tutorial CD
| US $3.99 End Date: Monday Sep-13-2010 3:32:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $3.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
{owner} {imageurl}
How long would it take to make a South Park animation in Flash?
People at our school (we are around 14-15 years old) want to make our own little South Park animation series that lasts around 5-10 minutes. What are some good tutorials and how long would it take? We have all the characters designed already.
Macromedia Flash 5.0 Macromedia FLASH 4.0 Tutorial CD
| US $3.99 End Date: Monday Sep-13-2010 3:32:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $3.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
{owner} {imageurl}