Best Of Web And Design In October 2013

• October 31st, 2013
• News

This months monthly round-up features a great collection of Halloween themed  design tutorial some truly remarkable Photoshop and illustrator tutorials to get your teeth sunk into. We have also featured within the round-up some web and design articles, which we recommend reading.

Photoshop Tutorials

4 Ways to Create Long Shadow Effects in Photoshop

Part of the recent, “flat design” trend, long shadow effects are a popular but not necessarily new phenomenon. The trend’s strongest impact seems to be on interface design elements and icons but it is being increasingly used as part of web designs, as well. In this tutorial, we will show you 4 ways that you can create long shadow effects in Photoshop using several different tools.

How To Create 80s Style Retro Futuristic Neon Artwork

Follow this step by step tutorial to see how I put together the Electric Overdrive artwork with various texturing and lighting effects in Photoshop.

Master Photoshop layer effects

You’ll learn to hone your skills with the layers palette and useful tips in applying masking, Blending Modes and Hue/Saturation. You’ll also learn how layers react with one another when overlayed in certain ways, and how selective colour can be added to enhance the overall design.

How to Create Spooky Halloween Typography in Photoshop

You’ll learn to hone your skills with the layers palette and useful tips in applying masking, Blending Modes and Hue/Saturation. You’ll also learn how layers react with one another when overlayed in certain ways, and how selective colour can be added to enhance the overall design.

Illustrator Tutorials

How to Create Realistic Vector Leaves in Illustrator

We’re really lucky to be working in an industry like the web industry. Nowadays, we have so many new tips and techniques and ways of working all of the time. We’re also really lucky that we’re in an age where, as these new technologies are introduced, our browsers can (for the most part) be pretty quick to catch up, so we get to put these new technologies into our designs (and gasp, even into client work!) more than ever before.

Create a 3D Paper Bird With Geometric Shapes in Adobe Illustrator

In this tutorial, you are going to create a vector illustration of a paper bird by drawing and modifying geometric shapes in Adobe Illustrator. We’ll be working from a sketch to create a 3D looking paper bird and utilizing gradients to create depth.

Using Meshes to Create a Detailed Skull With Adobe Illustrator

Can you imagine Halloween without skulls? Me neither. In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to create a skull in Adobe Illustrator, using gradient meshes. And once you are done, Miss Chat*Z will show you how to transform the scary skull into decorative Day of the Dead icon in a later tutorial. So get your Mesh Tool at the ready, let’s get creating!

How To Create a Low Poly Art Mountain Illustration

Low poly art would usually be made with 3D applications such as Cinema 4D to build three dimensional models, but we can create similar styles in two dimensions directly in Illustrator. Follow this tutorial to create a cool low poly mountain illustration using vector paths. We’ll add gradients to simulate a 3D effect then take the design into Photoshop to polish it up with cool textures.

Web and Design articles

CSS3, Web Fonts and Icons

We’re really lucky to be working in an industry like the web industry. Nowadays, we have so many new tips and techniques and ways of working all of the time. We’re also really lucky that we’re in an age where, as these new technologies are introduced, our browsers can (for the most part) be pretty quick to catch up, so we get to put these new technologies into our designs (and gasp, even into client work!) more than ever before.

7 Reasons Why You Should Track Your Freelancing Income Daily

Can you even answer that question? Many freelancers cannot. They look at their income from time to time, but unless they’ve actually received a check that day they can’t answer the question without digging into their accounting records.

Lessons Learned From Leading New Web Professionals

Over the course of my career, I have had the opportunity to lead various Web design and development teams, including a number of professionals fresh out of school. Along the way, I’ve made my share of mistakes and learned some valuable lessons.

Great Plans For Your Design Career? What Happened?

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. You tell yourself you’re going to turn over a new leaf and start a new habit that will help you elevate your career as a designer somehow. Maybe you want to start doing more interesting personal projects, or refining your marketing tactics to reach out to more and better clients.

Interview Questions and Exercises About CSS

If you’re in the position of needing to interview someone about their skill and knowledge about CSS, it can be a little hard to think of things to ask on-the-fly. I thought I’d think up and round up some ideas for reference.