Graphics How-Tos

Construct a Color Wheel in Photoshop

The color wheel is a simple yet powerful tool for understanding how colors work and how colors relate to each other. It can also be a gorgeous graphic you can use in print and Web design projects.

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!

Get Rid of Red Eye

In this one-minute video, you'll learn how to remove red eye from any photo using a hidden tool in Adobe Photoshop.

Photography How-to: Learning to See in Black and White

Everything from portraits to landscapes can be more powerful when they're black-and-white photos. Once you know how to recognize tonal contrast, texture, shapes, and patterns, your monotone images will be anything but monotonous.

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.

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.

Photoshop How-To: Fill a Face Full of Words

Using one photo and three layers of text, you can create a powerful image in Adobe Photoshop.

Turn a Red Car to Gold in Photoshop

It's fun and useful to change the color of one object in a photo. While you can do it easily enough in Photoshop, the Hue/Saturation technique most people try usually doesn't work well. Instead, use my foolproof method.

Striking Starbursts Make Your Work Stand Out

Why settle for Illustrator's default starburst shapes when a few tweaks create something unique that will really grab attention? Here are two ways to go beyond the ordinary.

Photoshop How-to: Ship in a Bottle

Even if you were all thumbs in shop class, you can make a glass bottle; place a ship inside it; float it in water; and top it off with a cork. The magic is made possible by Adobe Photoshop.

Build Shapes Quickly in Adobe Illustrator

With Illustrator's Shape Builder, you can rapidly construct objects, such as a dimensional bowl, from simple overlapping shapes.

InDesign How-To: Designing with Data

Unlike "jumbo shrimp", the phrase "data-driven design" is not an oxymoron. Combining the organization and structure of a spreadsheet or database with the typographic and layout power of InDesign can generate great-looking informational design in a handful of simple steps.

Easy, Efficient Image Effects with Lightroom Presets

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom presets can give you all kinds of images effects, from subtle to surreal, with one click. Learn how to make your own and where to download free presets online.

Uncover the Hidden Powers of InDesign's Effects Panel

Knowing your way around the Effects panel is the first step in mastering InDesign's transparency effects.

Photoshop How-to: Give a Horse Wings

Pegasus (a horse with wings) may be a mythical animal, but you can bring it to life in Photoshop.

So You Think You Know Photoshop?

The new features in Photoshop CS5 have obscure--but handy--uses you probably haven't explored. Get the most out of your investment: Learn how to unearth these hidden gems.

Photoshop How-To: Merge Two Images for a Custom Collage

Few projects have the budget for custom photography. Yet if you use too much stock photography, you may look like everyone else. The solution: Combine photos into something unique using Photoshop.

For Better Photos, Learn How to Recognize Good Light

Understanding the power of light is more important than a fancy camera or expert Photoshop skills. Learn the best times of day to photograph and why the way the light hits your subject matters more than the subject itself.