Best Of The Web And Design In March 2015

• March 30th, 2015
• News

The end of month is here we have continued our monthly tradition by finishing off the month, with all the best design tutorials we have stumbled across through out the month all into one blog post. Theres some good articles featured a roundup gulp, which has really grown in popularity over the past few months, as well as really good article which squashes some of myths around SEO  which is certainly worth a read.

Photoshop

Quick Sketch Text Effect

Use smart objects, layer styles, and some filters to create a simple sketch text effect. Check out the tutorial on design.tutsplus.com.

How To Create Abstract Geometric Photo Collage Art

Since posting this showcase of inspiring artwork combining geometry & photographyback in 2014 I’ve wanted to give this trendy style of art a try myself. I finally sat down with Illustrator & Photoshop and devised a method of transforming a photograph into an abstract collage of geometric shapes. We’ll begin with Illustrator to build up a series of geometric lines, then cut up an image in Photoshop to create an interesting composition. A series of textures and curves adjustments will then help give the design a trendy retro style with plenty of processed colours and grain.

How To Create Anaglyph 3D Images That Really Work!

I originally planned to write this tutorial on how to create a retro 3D effect that mimicked the offset red/blue images that were seen in old 3D movies, comics and posters. But then I thought, rather than just recreate the effect, why not try and produce an anaglyph 3D image that actually works?! So I boggled my mind with the science behind stereoscopy and figured out how to create some really cool 3D images that pop out from your screen. Grab yourself some old school 3D specs and follow this guide to learn how to produce your own anaglyph 3D images in Photoshop.

How to Create Custom Hand and Foot Print Brushes in Adobe Photoshop

Hand and foot prints are a fun way to add a human element to a digital design. They are instantly recognizable, yet every one is completely unique. Hand prints are iconic and often symbolize intimate control. Foot prints tend to be seen as representing guidance or travel. Having a set of brushes for these can open up new opportunities for your design work.

Illustrator

On the Hunt for an Easter Egg Vector? Learn to Make Your Own!

In the following Easter egg vector tutorial you will learn how to create a detailed Easter egg illustration in Adobe Illustrator. In the first steps you will learn how to set up a simple grid and how to save a simple symbol. Taking full advantage of the Snap to Grid feature and using basic vector shape building techniques you will learn how to create your main shapes. Next, you’ll learn how to add a complex 3D Revolve effect. Moving on you’ll add shading and highlights using basic blending techniques and a bunch of simple effects. Finally, you will learn how to add a simple background.

How to Create a Daffodil Text Effect for Spring in Adobe Illustrator

In the following steps you will learn how to create a daffodil text effect in Adobe Illustrator. For starters you will learn how to set up a simple grid and how to create your own art brush. Using this art brush, the Appearance panel, basic tools, and blending and vector shape building techniques, you will learn how to create the first petal.

Carve Your Own Wood Texture!

Everyone needs a solid wood texture, and Vectips is here to help! The steps for this wood texture technique are very similar to the previousBrushed Metal Texture tutorial. It uses the same Graphic Pen effect but stretched a little more. It also uses the Warp Tool and Twirl Tool. Also like the other texture tutorials, this technique is easy and applicable in logos, icons, interfaces or pretty much anything.

How to Vector Your Letterforms

This tutorial will hopefully answer all your questions regarding vectoring letterforms and vectoring nearly anything for that matter. The same process can be utilized for anything you compose within Illustrator. In the case of lettering, the key is to have relatively few anchor points while utilizing proper point placement and a variety of other tricks to perfect those curves, angles, widths, etc.

Web and Design articles

Essential Plugins for Gulp

This post can say is a duplicate of my previous collection “Essential Plugins for Grunt”. The matter is that after many hours of search I didn’t find cool plugins for Gulp which aren’t present for Grunt except for couple of very specific utilities. Just contrary, but I couldn’t ignore a huge number of users of Gulp. I marked all missing plugins because Gulp is able to use them from Grunt, as well as Grunt from Gulp.

HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT WEB DEVELOPER

Once you start looking for a freelance developer to collaborate with, you’ll notice they’re everywhere. Online freelance marketplaces are packed to the brim with skilled candidates. On top of those, you’re bound to find at least one or two (hundred) in the nearest town.

10 SEO Myths that Friggin’ Tick Me Off

I love SEO. I love talking about SEO. Most non-SEO folk you talk to are generally very nice people. They may not understand everything you say, but they often nod their head and smile. The open-minded may even ask you to look at their site.

CSS Animation Trends in Web Design

I love SEO. I love talking about SEO. Most non-SEO folk you talk to are generally very nice people. They may not understand everything you say, but they often nod their head and smile. The open-minded may even ask you to look at their site.

7 SKILLS EVERY WEB DESIGNER MUST MASTER

Web design is as much a science as it is an art form. While half of the job is based on sound coding and design know-how, the other half is based on just having an intuitive sense of what looks good and what doesn’t. Any web designer worth his salt will develop a strong core of fundamentals to make himself stand out from the rest of the pack.