Hot Stuff
Weekly Contest
FREE AKVIS Sketch!
CreativePro.com Podcast
Don't miss it! Updated every Monday.
FREE Mags for Creative Pros!
Creativity, Website Magazine, and more!
Subscribe to Illustration How-Tos Illustration How-Tos
Draw Paths with Photoshop's Pen Tool
How-Tos: Written by Colin Smith on October 8, 2009
It might seem odd to find vector-drawing tools in a pixel-pushing program like Photoshop, but once you understand it, you'll turn to it often. Use the Pen tool to draw clean, controllable shapes and paths; to cut out something from a photograph's background; and to create shapes that upscale without distortion.
Combine Illustrator Patterns with Photoshop Masks for Instant Visual Appeal
How-Tos: Written by Chad Neuman on September 28, 2009
With this technique, you can create eye-catching imagery without fancy plug-ins or big stock photo budgets.
Illustrator How-to: Distribute Art Around a Path
How-Tos: Written by Mordy Golding on September 24, 2009
When you want to align objects to something other than a straight path -- for example, 12 stars in a circular pattern -- you have to go back to Illustrator's beginning.
Clipping Drop Shadows in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
How-Tos: Written by Mordy Golding on June 22, 2009
Learn how to create an object with both a transparent fill and a drop shadow in three major software programs.
Mobile Design How-to: Use a Vector iPhone Skin
How-Tos: Written by Mordy Golding on April 16, 2009
When you're designing for the iPhone, making something look good on a screen is the easy part. The hard part is interacting with that design. What happens when you click on a button? How about a slider? Here's how to create a functional mockup without writing a single line of code.
Create Starbursts in Photoshop
How-Tos: Written by Colin Smith on February 2, 2009
Give Photoshop's sometimes-overused lens flare filter a rest and add a glint with this technique instead.
Get Creative with Vector Speech and Thought Bubbles
How-Tos: Written by Chad Neuman on January 26, 2009
It doesn't take long to create speech or thought bubbles in Adobe Illustrator. Bonus: As you have fun, you'll learn more about the Pathfinder palette, Shape tools, Warp tools, and the Pen tool.
Photoshop Graffiti
How-Tos: Written by Chad Neuman on October 20, 2008
Use layer blending modes and some masking to add realistic graffiti to a brick wall.
Create Photorealistic Reflections and Shadows
How-Tos: Written by Bert Monroy on October 13, 2008
Celebrated digital painter Bert Monroy shares tips on creating realistic reflections and shadows in Photoshop.
Tug and Twirl Text in Illustrator
How-Tos: Written by Chad Neuman on September 29, 2008
The sky’s the limit when you convert Illustrator text to outlines. It’s so easy to change each letter’s size, position, and color, and even push and pull letters into fantastic new shapes.
Create a Searchlight in Photoshop
How-Tos: Written by Colin Smith on September 3, 2008
Whip up a Hollywood-style spotlight effect with realistic-looking beams of light in Photoshop CS3.
Make Vector Splashes
How-Tos: Written by Chad Neuman on August 13, 2008
Get all Jackson Pollock and make a splash -- literally. Then use Illustrator's easy Live Trace feature to bring your art into the digital world.
Transform a Busy Photo into a Strong Silhouette
How-Tos: Written by Chad Neuman on July 30, 2008
When you want a clean, strong image for a print or Web project, use Illustrator to turn a photo into a striking silhouette.
How to Break into T-Shirt Design
How-Tos: Written by Sean Ashcroft on July 27, 2008
T-shirt design is huge, and thanks to online stores like Threadless, you don't have to open a brick-and-mortar storefront or even build your own Web site to see success.
Illustrator How-to: This Technique is a Real Knockout
How-Tos: Written by Mordy Golding on April 14, 2008
Thanks to the Knockout Group checkbox in the Transparency panel, you can accomplish the seemingly impossible in Illustrator.
Illustrator How-to: Why the Appearance Panel Rocks
How-Tos: Written by Patrick Devine on March 7, 2008
Although the Appearance panel has been around since Illustrator 9, many people don't realize how helpful it really is. This tutorial gets you up to speed.
Turn Color Photos into Duotones in Photoshop
How-Tos: Written by Chad Neuman on March 4, 2008
You can transform one photograph into a wide variety of duotones to use in print or on the Web.
Add Strokes to Placed Images in Illustrator
How-Tos: Written by Mordy Golding on January 21, 2008
Because placed images in Illustrators aren't vector shapes, you have to know these insider tricks if you want to apply a stroke, or keyline, around the images.
Round Corners Quickly in Illustrator
How-Tos: Written by Mordy Golding on December 7, 2007
With this how-to, a free corner style library, and a free Action, you can round one, two, three, or four corners in no time.
Make Illustrator Behave!
How-Tos: Written by Mordy Golding on November 5, 2007
Yesterday, you resized an Illustrator text frame and the text reflowed, staying the same size. Today, you enlarged an Illustrator text frame and the text grew right along with it. How do you force Illustrator to act the way you want it to?