Illustration

Scanning Around With Gene: Best in the West Graphics, 1970

When advertising people judge their own, the results are always interesting. The 27th Annual Portfolio of the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles, published in 1970, revealed four trends of the time.

Cutting-Edge Conference for Print and Digital Publishing

Whether you're looking for the latest tips on publishing to tablets and ebooks, want details on the upcoming Adobe Creative Suite 6, or just need tips to optimize your print workflow, PEPCON is the place. The conference takes place in San Francisco on May 14-16.

Create Picture Frames in Photoshop: Part 2

In Part 1 of this tutorial, you learned how to create a picture frame, fill it with a photo, and change the perspective so the framed photo faces right or left. Now discover how to apply all those steps to any photo with one simple click. The secret? Automation courtesy of Photoshop's Actions and Droplets.

Create Picture Frames in Photoshop: Part 1

Using Photoshop, you can create a silver, gold, or wood-grain picture frame, fill it with a photo, and transform both frame and photo so that they're skewed in different perspectives. The realistic results are easier to achieve than you might think!

Download 3D Apps for Free

Digital Art Zone is giving away DAZ Studio 4 Pro, Bryce 7 Pro, Hexagon 2.5, and the 3D Photoshop Bridge from now until February 29, 2012.

Best of the Blogs: Old School and New Skills

Don't have time to keep up with design and photography blogs? Keep calm and read on. In this blog round-up you'll find the most popular fonts of 2011, an amazing type book from 1912, a Herb Lubalin video from the 1980s, and a Photoshop cooking demonstration from 2007. Plus, there are plenty of Photoshop how-tos, digital photography tips, and design ideas.

Scanning Around With Gene: Colorful Produce Crate Labels

For almost 70 years, fruit and vegetable growers used colorful labels to distinguish their brands and show off their point of origin.

Scanning Around With Gene: The Dire Consequences of Careless Bike Riding

Riding a bicycle is not for the faint of heart, at least not according to this safety pamphlet from the 1940s, which highlights the death and destruction possible from simple missteps.

Scanning Around With Gene: A Visit to the Sunshine State

Florida’s climate makes for very "sunny" promotional images. Don some shades and enjoy this vintage tourist literature, 1939 to 1963, from the Sunshine State.

Hand-Lettering Lovers, Rejoice

Lisa Congdon (known for her Collection a Day and her work as an illustrator/artist) is at it again. She's committed to creating and posting an example of hand lettering for every day in 2012.

Scanning Around With Gene: Painting With Air

Before there was software to create illustrations and retouch photos, there was the airbrush, which uses compressed air to create a fine spray of paint. Here’s a 1947 look at airbrush technique from the Paasche Airbrush Company.

Daily Drawings Reach One Thousand

Professional illustrator/designer Chris Piascik has drawn something every weekday for the last four years. The project has brought him personal and professional satisfaction, and soon there'll even be a book compiling all 1,000 of the daily drawings, many of which are heavy on type. Take a look.

Scanning Around With Gene: Winter Wonderland

Of all the seasons, winter is the most dramatic, and through the eyes of children one of the most fun. Here's a 1948 look at the season, courtesy of an educational guide for kids.

Write Captions for Google Search Cartoons

Google is holding a cartoon captioning challenge a la the New Yorker. You can submit your own or just vote for others' captions.

Introduction to Illustrator: Part 2

See how easy it is to customize Adobe Illustrator with tweaks to Preferences and graphic styles. Once you know how to use these and keyboard shortcuts, you're on your way to making the program fit your working style like a glove.

Make Holly and Berries that Shine in Photoshop

Whether you're scrambling to put together a last-minute Christmas card or are a planner who's already thinking about 2012 projects, this Photoshop how-to is just what you need. In it, you'll learn how to create a Yuletide composition of berries and a holly leaf. And to add a bit of sophistication, you'll give the elements a glassy sheen.

Scanning Around With Gene: Clever Things to Make at Home

Some industrious or crafty people choose to make gifts instead of buy them from a store. This DIY mentality is nothing new, as these plans from "Popular Mechanics" issues of 1939 to 1954 show.

Introduction to Illustrator: Part 1

Get back to basics with a tour of Adobe Illustrator's 12 core tools, which you can use to build precise vector graphics.

Scanning Around With Gene: Would You Like Collector Cards With Your Tea?

One of the most popular tea brands in the UK included sets of collector cards in each package, designed to educate children and adults alike. Here’s a look at just some of the more than 10,000 educational cards the company produced over five decades.

2011 Holiday Gift Guide

Flummoxed by what to buy for the creative professional on your gift list? Perhaps one of the items in the 2011 CreativePro.com Holiday Gift Guide will do the trick.