Designs and Rich-Media by Andesigns

Real World Illustrator

2010-08-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

Real World Illustrator has 10 tips for power users. It's pretty cool.

sending large files

2010-08-08T18:47:00.001-07:00

If you need to send large files and they don't fit in an email send them via SendSpace.

Illustrator and Inkscape

2010-07-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

I've had many people ask me where to get a cheap version of illustrator. I don't know of any legal way around the price. If you buy a suite, you get lots of programs for the price of two of them.

If that is still out of your league, try Inkscape. I've known of several designers who started with that, earned enough money and then bought a suite. And Inkscape is FREE! You can save as an EPS file format and open in Illustrator. This works if you are in school and don't want to live in a lab.

Lorem Ipsum text

2010-07-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

I can never remember the URL for Lorem Ipsum Text so I thought I'd make a link. The URL is http://lipsum.com/. This is useful for place holder text.

Flash User Group

2010-06-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

There are some that would like to get emails from the Flash User Group. To Join the group please go to groups.adobe.com and sign up there. Also sign up at the Yahoo Flash Group for emails on meetings, jobs and more.

The Anatomy of an Alphabet Letter.

2010-05-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

The Anatomy of an Alphabet Letter. Small things make a big difference. This is a really good website on Typography.

Illustration Blog

2010-05-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

JON SCHINDEHETTE, Senior Art Director Dungeons & Dragons® Wizards of the Coast has a Blog called ArtOrder. This is a must read if you are interested in illustrating and want to do stuff for The Wizards of the Coast. Or for anyone, this blog is a great resource. There is also an interesting interview with Jon by Irene Gallo.

He does check out online portfolio sites such as, deviantArt and ConceptArt. He also keeps tabs on Spectrum. So those are good places to get noticed.

I have done illustrations on 2 books as well as for Microsoft XBox support site and I loved it. It's a nice job if you can get it.

Adobe CS5 is out!

2010-04-26T16:03:00.001-07:00

Here is some training on CS5 put out by Layers Magazine. Cool!

Taking line drawing to digital art

2010-03-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Taking line drawing to digital art can be a frustrating process if you are somewhat new to Photoshop. I have found a tutorial that may help in this endeavor.

http://www.studioqube.com/tutorials/painting/index.html

There are also some other fun tutorials where I found this one. 12 Brilliant Design Tutorials.

There is also a tutorial about head drawing for character design.

Creating Forms In Pdf's

2010-02-13T00:30:00.000-08:00

Do you ever get those PDF’s that have lines and need to be filled out? And you can’t just type and fill out the form because there is no fields. Well, if you have Acrobat pro, then you have a solution…. Well, two simple solutions.

The first, is to go to tools> typewriter. This will allow you to type anywhere on the page.

The second is just as easy. Forms> add or edit fields. You may need to resave your pdf. But just hit okay. It may ask you if you want Acrobat to create fields, the answer is yes. Oh please, yes! The beauty is that Acrobat does all the work. You may need to add or delete some of the created fields. Then just save the document. This is a pdf made correctly. Close the document then open it again. Your fields are in blue. Now you can fill out the fields and tab to the next field.

This is just way too easy!

Illustrator

2010-01-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

I have been on a sabbatical from leisure time. I have been knee deep into Illustrator. Here is a good tutorial site for illustrator. They are short tutorials. ndesign-studio.

Adobe User Guides

2009-08-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Adobe User Guides are brought together in one spot at http://www.mybestfiles.com/2008/11/adobe-cs4-user-guides.html. This has a good collection of the user guides by Adobe. Captivate is not among them but it is on Adobe.

I'm sure that All of these user guides are on Adobe but I couldn't find them after 8 hours.

Cheers.

Eccentric Bob Takes a Vacation

2009-07-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Bob really wanted a vacation. I guess I should have listened.

Oldie but a Goodie!

2009-06-28T01:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a tutorial about morphing one thing into another. This turns a man into a sheep. It is from Creative Cow.

Editing Videos of Interest

2009-06-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hi all -

I Thought you might be interested in some of this content;

Secrets of a Top TV Editor

Edit Suite EditQuette

The Vendor Client Relationship

Typography Timeline

2009-05-29T01:41:00.000-07:00

Typography timeline.

The Meaning of Tingo. Another timeline that just has 100 type faces.

Elements in Design.

Compositing Explosions.

2009-05-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

I think I mentioned this before but Detonation Films is a good site for some explosions.

Also a good sound editor that is free is Audacity. This works on both Mac's and PC's. This will allow you to composite layers of sounds together.

3D Designs & Mock-ups

2009-05-09T02:02:00.000-07:00

To create 3D designs and mock-ups you need to create a template. There are templates on the internet that are available for free. Here are some freebees by "ideem.it".

enjoy!

Adobe ACE Exams

2009-04-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

If you are thinking about the Adobe ACE Exams, here is a link that has all the study sheets.

Typography

2009-04-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

There is a site called, "Anatomy of Type." It is a wonderful site for anyone curious about typography.

Here is also a site for vector art work that is available to the public. FreeVectors.net

Another site about Graphic Design is Teach Yourself Graphic Design: A Self-Study Course Outline

I just came across this tutorial about typography. It is a 20 minute intro into typography.

After Effects-- Effects

2009-04-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

If you are curious about After Effects' Fractal Noise Effect. This tutorial by Creative Cow explains it real well.

Another great learning site for After Effects is Video Co-Pilot Basic Training.

Footage for After Effects

2009-03-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for footage for compositing in After Effects. There is one site that has possibilities, Detonation Films. There are also some CG blood that may be useful.

It's always good to know where to get this footage and not to make your own. That could be harsh on the ketchup market.

There are some tutorials for After Effects. One is by Creative Cow. This a really good podcast. There is also one put on by Artbeats. Steve Holmes has done tutorials for Adobe before.

There are some quick tutorials for Photoshop as well. Photoshop Killer Tips is a short and very useful tip for learning Photoshop. There is a new one every day and it lasts only 5 minutes.

Way Cool!

All About Color

2009-03-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of cool sites if you need inspiration for color schemes.

If you want to know more about color theory, check out these sites.

Design Theory and Links

2009-03-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is a handy link about the Gestalt Theory. It is something every designer should know about.

Here is the link that talks about the Golden Mean, Golden Section, and Golden Ratio.

I think I should mention that there are some really fine tutorials out there. Creative Cow does a really nice podcast about several of the programs that designers use. Layers Magazine is another fine source of podcasts. They deal with anything Adobe. And of course, Photoshop TV. This is a great source for anything Photoshop.

There is also a group of tutorials that seem to shoot for the accomplished designer, Psd tuts. They seem to have a lot of stuff and I know that I only touch the surface. They have video as well as written materials.

Feel free to check out these sites that have helped me.

Principals Of Animation

2009-03-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

Principals Of Animation are anticipation, exaggeration, follow through, weight, squash and stretch and smooth movement.

To be an effective animator these concepts should be followed. This even applies to motion graphics.

"The Art of Warners Brothers Cartoons"

2009-02-15T01:38:00.000-08:00

Today, I had plans to see "The Art of Warners Brothers Cartoons" at the Museum of History and Industry. It was really cool. If you love animation than this exhibit is for you.

CS3 Tutorials

2009-02-11T22:07:00.000-08:00

Here is a great resource for CS3 tutorials comes from the makers of Adobe.

I just found on the web a way to take notes that will really help all those people that need to keep learning, even after they are out of school. Check out Cornell Notes.

Sound Effects

2009-01-31T00:34:00.000-08:00

I just found this site for free sound effects. www.grsites.com/sounds.

There is a tutorial site that I just heard about. www.expertvillage.com. There is a movie sound design segment that looks very interesting.

Animation and Dope Sheets (Exposure Sheets)

2009-01-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to mention about Dope Sheets. Basically these are sheets that show what action to what dialogue to camera movements are going on.

The Animation Post is a good area to describe about Dope Sheets.

AIM Centre for animation & interactive media also has the Dope Sheets.

This stuff is defiantly worth a look see.

Next is a screen shot from the Toon Boom Studio Program. It shows the different mouth sounds and movements for making a character talk. This really helped me out when I animated Tiki-Bob. Of course, this character doesn't have eyes. You would want eyes and to make them blink.

Also another good bit of information is my Animation Cheat Sheet. This is a flow chart of information about the making of an animation.

Well that is all for now -- Cheers!

Color Sampling and Stop-Motion

2008-12-13T03:17:00.000-08:00

The color sampling for camcorders and video cameras refers to the 4:2:2 or 4:1:1. You can find out more about color space at DVX User. This site explains it all.

I have some really cool books on Stop Motion Animation and Animation in general. I thought you might be interested in them. They are:

The Art of Stop-Motion Animation
The Animation Book
Stop Motion Craft Skills for Model Animation

Here is also a link for stop motion techniques. StopMotionAnimation.com.

There is also a book about Flash that has helped me with animation.

How To Cheat In Flash

This book talks about using Flash as an animation tool. And it is really cool.

Storyboards and Script Writing

2008-12-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

A really good storyboard is an art form. But stick figures will also work- just so long as it gets your ideas across. There are many good books out there.

One website that really shows this in an entertaining form would be Angry Alien Productions. They break down the movies to their basic story and then they play it in 30 seconds.

Celtx has a script writing software that is free. This is compatible for both Mac and PC. And they also have a video walk-through tour on their website.

Jaws from the Zoo.

2008-11-30T16:27:00.000-08:00

I had some pictures from the Pt. Defiance Zoo. I liked the images and decided to put them into a little quicktime piece I call Jaws at the Zoo.

2008-11-09T02:15:00.000-08:00

Hello,

Lately I've been playing with HDR in Photoshop. Now this is really cool. What it is is you shoot photos at the suggested light levels. Then you shoot the same photo above and below that light level. I would suggest a tripod. I took three side by side pictures in HDR. (High Definition Resolution). That makes this image a HDR Panoramic image.

What HDR does for a photograph is blends three photos together and this gives you the depth in shadows and highlights. It also seems to bring out a truer color. This image was taken at dusk. A very low light situation. Still I have quite a bit of color and depth.

I hope you enjoyed Halloween as much as I did. ;~)))

By the way, below is just a regular panorama.

A helpful CSS site

2008-10-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

I found this helpful CSS site, CSS Library. They have CSS codes and examples.

There is a DVD put out by Rafael Concepcion about Photoshop CS3 and Dreamewaver CS3 Integration that is very good in explaining how to set up a CSS layout from your photoshop image. It's a great starting point.

Adobe's newest release

2008-09-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well I was able to watch the announcement by Adobe about CS4. This doesn't look like just an update. This is a major product launch.

I was going through the Adobe TV and watching some of the improvements. Well they just made what I've been doing the last year into an easy click. I can't wait to get my hands on the whole suite. As usual Adobe has made my job easier and harder.

They have out some bata versions of the software available on-line. Just go to labs.adobe.com. The bata's will expire soon after the shipping date. But it's a great way to see the up and coming software.

Here is a cool tutorial

2008-09-20T03:17:00.000-07:00

I came across this tutorial recently. The making of mystic. This is an advanced Photoshop Tutorial.

Not for the faint of heart. But the effect is really wonderful. I can also see other uses for individual parts from the tutorial. And there are also parts of it that I'm not as familiar with as I should be. It is always nice to find areas that need improving.

HTML information

2008-09-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I just gave an introductory talk to South Sound Adobe User Group about HTML. The website is gpsmmug.org. We were talking about emailing and the code involved. We were also talking about how to include a pre-filled subject line. The code would be as follows:

"mailto:heythere@yourdomainnamehere.com?subject=Stuff"

Also the HTML code to allow text to wrap around an image is ALIGN="left" or "right". There is a CSS style to float left or float right that I had been thinking about instead of Align. When you want to clear the align to start your text to the left then use

Well that takes care of what I couldn't remember off the top of my head.

Baby Boomers

2008-09-04T00:22:00.000-07:00

This is an animation not to be missed. This is an animation about baby boomers. A Walt Handelsman animation. Check it out.

Now Showing-48 Hour Film Festival

2008-09-03T02:19:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! It's finally on line. I joined a group and did the logo animation for Hydrochloric Candy.

The link is ww2.48.tv/bin/index.cfm. Go there and search for Saint Ives. My animation is in the beginning to a cool movie. Enjoy!

about Cool Links

2008-09-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

I just added two Cool Links in my links column.

One is to the SCBWI Western Washington. That is the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I've written a couple of children's books and this is a great group for information and inspiration.

Another on is ASIFA Seattle. The name ASIFA is rooted in its French origins, and stands for:

ASsociation ...AS
Internationale ... I
d'Film ... F
d'Animation ... A
(International Animated Film Association)

I joined this group last month. We played musical light tables to create an animation. You can find out more about ASIFA at this link, asifaseattle.com. And here is the animation.

Curious on Design

2008-08-27T00:29:00.000-07:00

I wanted to open up this blog to any questions on Design and Animation. I do not know everything but I am creative and usually can come up with an answer. So feel free to ask your questions and any thing you are having issues with.

Artist Daryl Jay Frank

2008-08-24T02:50:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce an Artist named Daryl Jay Frank. He just started up a blog of his own.

visit his blog.

Clay Animation

2008-08-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

I have recently come across this web site that talks about clay animation. It is a great resource if you want to try it.

The Stop Motion Animation how to page.

There is also another page that is really good.

The Clay Animation and Stop Motion how to page, News and more Section.

Also a big point to note, Coraline, from Laika Studios is due to come out in February of 2009. They have put up "The Making of Coraline" at the Rotten Tomatoes site. Check out parts 1 to 5. It is really cool. It looks like Henry Selick and Niel Gaiman will be doing justice to this story.

And another guy to look up is Webster Colcord,

Welcome

2008-08-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to the Andesigns multi-media blog. I hope to cover various thoughts on Design and Media. I will probably update it about once a week.

I also love animation and hope to post some of it here.

You can view my web page at www.TeresaAnderson.com

I also did the Illustrations for "The Stifled Piper and Other Strange Characters." This is a book of poems written by Ken Anderson.