<a href="http://hillmancurtis.com">Hillman Curtis</a> has passed away.<br /><br />The project that wowed the 2012 SOTA Catalyst Award judges: <a href="http://nikoskourtis.com/typograph/narrated">Typograph</a>, Niko Skourtis's undergraduate thesis.<br /><br />We can't attend this year but man we wish we could. Just an awesome speaker lineup. <a href="http://www.gravityfreedesign.com">GravityFree</a>.<br /><br />Public voting is open for the <a href="http://vimeo.com/awards">Vimeo Awards</a>... the best original videos online.<br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=Pt_7viKxtpM:QQXN6jF1MsE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=Pt_7viKxtpM:QQXN6jF1MsE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=Pt_7viKxtpM:QQXN6jF1MsE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=Pt_7viKxtpM:QQXN6jF1MsE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/Pt_7viKxtpM" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/web-sites/air-jordan-2012.html"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/1/3/2/231179_72_0_ODE1NjkyMzQ2NDk4NzQ2NzMx.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>The groundbreaking Air Jordan 2012 Flight System has two innersleeves and three midsoles for the custom fit and cushioning required of quick/explosive play. The AJ2012 campaign flies consumers into the world of basketball’s first fully customizable shoe. The immersive experience is built around a sophisticated, parallax-scrolling, HTML5 design and a framework that utilizes the shoe’s components to elegantly demonstrate performance. It's a seamless experience across mobile and tablet devices. <br /><br /> The target audience of 14- to 24-year-old males required an engaging experience that could be accessed anywhere, but the complexity of the shoe made it difficult to explain to the consumer. This innovative site tells the entire product story with a few scrolls or swipes allowing visitors to dive quickly into different configurations. <br /><br /> Breathtaking and advanced, the animated experience transitions between vehicle graphics and the shoe, which assembles in 3-D space, accompanied by feature-specific callouts, designer interviews and poster downloads. Parallax movement through each section mirrors Fly Over, Fly Around or Fly Through performance themes and, ultimately, visitors can opt to buy the footwear, share on Facebook or tweet to win their favorite shoe set-up. <br /><br /> • The site was in development for five months and roughly 30 people were involved from start to finish. <br /><br /> • In the middle of December the creative team discovered that they couldn’t use any of the Jordan athletes in the campaign: no Melo, CP or DWade. Since concepts were built around the three athletes they had to be reworked in record time to hit the February 25 launch date. <br /><br /> • The entire animation on the site was done with code; recreating the 3-D animations in HTML5 required thousands of images. <br /><br /> • This site led the overall campaign for the AJ2012 which included dynamic banners and interactive takeovers of major websites, social media to support the shoe’s various launches and initiatives through a Twitter hashtag campaign and Facebook integration, a tablet app and custom video content featured at the NBA All-Star Weekend. <br /><br /> • This site has been tweeted and retweeted continually and received roughly one million visitors since its launch.<br />Credits: <a href="http://blastradius.com">blastradius.com </a> | <a href="http://www.weareacademy.com">www.weareacademy.com </a> | <a href="http://goldtoothcreative.com">goldtoothcreative.com </a><br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=x4nxw1yN0NA:oHHa6JWnfmk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=x4nxw1yN0NA:oHHa6JWnfmk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=x4nxw1yN0NA:oHHa6JWnfmk:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=x4nxw1yN0NA:oHHa6JWnfmk:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/x4nxw1yN0NA" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/havertys-speed-date.html"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/9/2/2/229377_71_0_LTE2NTYyNTk5NC0xNTIwNTkwMzUw.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>Ad agency Bernstein-Rein (Kansas City, Missouri) just finished <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Nxqt8bU6jM" target="_blank">this TV spot</a> for Southeast furniture retailer Havertys that puts the spotlight squarely on its customers. In the spot, radically different for the category, a young woman goes on a speed date accompanied by her furniture. While most furniture retailers scream about sales, Havertys focuses on what furniture means to their customers: A chair in a living room is more than a chair; it’s a reflection of creativity and individuality. <br />Credits: <a href="http://www.bernstein-rein.com">www.bernstein-rein.com </a> | <a href="http://www.havertys.com">www.havertys.com </a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/havertys-speed-date.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/9/2/2/229376_71_0_LTE2NTYyNTk5NC0xMDkxNzc0Mjk5.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/havertys-speed-date.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/9/2/2/229375_71_0_LTE2NTYyNTk5NC0xNzI2MTIzODIy.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/havertys-speed-date.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/9/2/2/229374_71_0_LTE2NTYyNTk5NC00MDU3ODc2Mjk.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=kaS8957F3wI:lGXWVwUtY4Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=kaS8957F3wI:lGXWVwUtY4Y:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=kaS8957F3wI:lGXWVwUtY4Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=kaS8957F3wI:lGXWVwUtY4Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/kaS8957F3wI" width="1" />

by Rebecca Bedrossian<br /><br />Ernie Schenck's latest column has lessons that expand out beyond the borders of advertising. Titled "The Regretted History", it starts from a point we can all relate to: <br /><br /><em>If only I had taken that job. If only I hadn't pushed back so hard. If only I hadn't gone to Los Angeles. If only my partner hadn't asked me to join her new agency, the one that went under after two years. And, of course, the if of all ifs: If only I could go back, I'd do things differently. I'd make things right. If only I could.</em><br /><br />Regret is a powerful emotion. Hindsight is 20/20. But as Ernie notes, we can't change the past.<br /><br /><em>...Even though we can't undo the choices we make as we grope and shamble our way through Adland, we can stop regretting them and start learning from them.</em><br /><br />Thanks for the reminder Ernie.<br /><br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=6EbDYkkiGzY:Bol_QJmQ5bs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=6EbDYkkiGzY:Bol_QJmQ5bs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=6EbDYkkiGzY:Bol_QJmQ5bs:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=6EbDYkkiGzY:Bol_QJmQ5bs:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/6EbDYkkiGzY" width="1" />

Nathan Shedroff, "<a href="http://aiga.org/a-commitment-to-designs-future">A Commitment to Design's Future</a>."<br /><br />Homelessness. From a dog's perspective. "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9OqZpu9SRog">Magpie's Story</a>" by Carmichael Lynch, Futuristic Films and BWN Music for the Animal Humane Society's Law of the Paw campaign.<br /><br /><a href="http://goo.gl/TPS7m">FontShop Plugin</a>. Try FontShop Fonts in Photoshop (say that five times fast).<br /><br />Have you seen the <a href="http://caesarlima.blogspot.com/2012/04/t-mobile-alter-ego-advertising-campaign.html">dainty-pink-dress-garbed-TMobile-girl</a> lately? She looks, uh, different.<br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=wtl7VPPtAgk:XNa_LscQn1o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=wtl7VPPtAgk:XNa_LscQn1o:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=wtl7VPPtAgk:XNa_LscQn1o:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=wtl7VPPtAgk:XNa_LscQn1o:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/wtl7VPPtAgk" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.naturevalleytrailview.com"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/8/2/2/228695_72_0_LTUzOTcxMzk0MS0xNzAyODI5MDkz.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>Inspired by Google Street View, and stitched together with images from a 360-degree camera’s eleven lenses overlaid with in-depth information, this is the first application (developed by Your Majesty and InTheMo Interactive) of this type for the national parks.<br />Credits: <a href="http://www.mccannny.com">www.mccannny.com </a><br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=gfITtoMLe64:UXgAd_2am1g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=gfITtoMLe64:UXgAd_2am1g:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=gfITtoMLe64:UXgAd_2am1g:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=gfITtoMLe64:UXgAd_2am1g:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/gfITtoMLe64" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/chevys-fresh-mex-rebrand.html"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/7/7/2/277040_71_0_LTEyNDE4MjA3MTE5NzcxNDExMTg.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>Twenty-five years ago Chevys set the standard for fresh border cantina cuisine; years later and after changes in ownership, the brand had lost its fresh look and feel. The new management decided it was time to reinject fun back into the chain. San Francisco agency Hub Strategy, with consulting group Results Thru Strategy, revitalized the brand with a complete overhaul, rediscovering the restaurant’s irreverent voice and core creative. <br /><br /> Asked to look at all kinds of places in the restaurants where customers could be engaged through design and writing, the team applied a recharged voice to food drink menu design, in-store banners and posters, the website and Facebook page, server uniforms and even the little rings around the napkins. (They even rewrote and redesigned the mandated “Employees must wash hands” signs in the restrooms. And it’s all pretty darn funny. The redesign is made up of hand-placed woodblock type and custom illustration, all framed in an aged look with a color palette inspired by Mexican border cantinas. The new design elements launched in Sacramento pilot stores in January.<br />Credits: <a href="http://www.hubstrategy.com">www.hubstrategy.com </a> | <a href="http://www.chevys.com">www.chevys.com </a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/chevys-fresh-mex-rebrand.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/7/7/2/277041_71_0_LTEyNDE4MjA3MTE4NDg4NjQ2MzQ.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/chevys-fresh-mex-rebrand.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/7/7/2/277043_71_0_MTQ2Njg1OTY2ODQ4NTM0OTQzOA.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/chevys-fresh-mex-rebrand.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/7/7/2/277042_71_0_MTQ2Njg1OTY2ODEyMzY3NzMwNjQ.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=l-iHaUzXQkw:JyaKHEdVLjU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=l-iHaUzXQkw:JyaKHEdVLjU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=l-iHaUzXQkw:JyaKHEdVLjU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=l-iHaUzXQkw:JyaKHEdVLjU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/l-iHaUzXQkw" width="1" />

by Ernie Schenck<br /><br />Even though we can't undo the choices we make as we grope and shamble our way through Adland, we can stop regretting them and start learning from them. <br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=6EbDYkkiGzY:OP9Ovjbqi5I:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=6EbDYkkiGzY:OP9Ovjbqi5I:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=6EbDYkkiGzY:OP9Ovjbqi5I:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=6EbDYkkiGzY:OP9Ovjbqi5I:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/6EbDYkkiGzY" width="1" />

Forrester Research's Sarah Rotman Epps says <a href="http://allthingsd.com/20120417/wearable-devices-how-geeky-glasses-and-wristbands-will-move-mainstream/">wearable devices</a> will hit mainstream in three years. <br /><br />Alyson Kuhn interviews Michael Bierut on his <a href="http://feltandwire.com/2012/04/17/michael-bierut-on-rebranding-mohawk/">rebranding of Mohawk Paper</a>. <br /><br />Is an ad sexist when it objectifies a guy (and a kitten)? "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0hq4bBnYIM&feature=youtu.be">Sauza Tequila: Make it with a Fireman</a>." By EURO RSCG/Chicago and Supply & Demand Integrated.<br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=2ZiPuIZRy00:D4WgbUgesI0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=2ZiPuIZRy00:D4WgbUgesI0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=2ZiPuIZRy00:D4WgbUgesI0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=2ZiPuIZRy00:D4WgbUgesI0:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/2ZiPuIZRy00" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.myownbike.de"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/8/2/2/228692_72_0_LTkxODM5MjkxNi0xMDIxMzEyODI3.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>This shopping platform, for a German manufacturer of handcrafted, high-quality single-speed and fixed-gear bikes, has character and a pointed focus on the product.<br />Credits: <a href="http://www.dietaikonauten.com">www.dietaikonauten.com </a><br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=FCqrwhEbqRU:k3a9khXCEnw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=FCqrwhEbqRU:k3a9khXCEnw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=FCqrwhEbqRU:k3a9khXCEnw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=FCqrwhEbqRU:k3a9khXCEnw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/FCqrwhEbqRU" width="1" />

Our experts reveal what CS6 has to offer, what it'll cost and when it'll be out.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1ea3c9c1/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Adobe+Creative+Suite+6+%28CS6%29%3A+expert+previews+and+step-by-step+guides&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352924%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Adobe+Creative+Suite+6+%28CS6%29%3A+expert+previews+and+step-by-step+guides&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352924%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114249/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c1/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114249/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c1/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132733114249/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c1/a2t.img" width="1" />

Adobe's Premiere Pro CS6 has a new interface, with enhanced multicam support, faster editing, Warp Stabilizer and more.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1ea3c9c9/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+Premiere+Pro+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352765%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+Premiere+Pro+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352765%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114248/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c9/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114248/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c9/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132733114248/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c9/a2t.img" width="1" />

Adobe's After Effects CS6 has new camera tracking, along with more effects and enhanced work-flow<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1ea3c9c8/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Expert+preview%3A++Adobe+After+Effects+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352766%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Expert+preview%3A++Adobe+After+Effects+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352766%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114247/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c8/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114247/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c8/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132733114247/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c8/a2t.img" width="1" />

Discover how Dreamweaver CS6 can help you design responsive sites that work across desktop, tablet and mobile.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1ea3c9c7/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+Dreamweaver+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352767%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+Dreamweaver+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352767%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114246/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c7/kg/316/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114246/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c7/kg/316/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132733114246/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c7/kg/316/a2t.img" width="1" />

Adobe's new Flash CS6 reinvents itself again with new features aimed at app developers<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1ea3c9c6/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+Flash+Professional+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352768%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+Flash+Professional+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352768%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114245/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c6/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114245/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c6/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132733114245/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c6/a2t.img" width="1" />

InDesign CS6 doesn't look as different as Illustrator CS6 or Photoshop CS6, but there's much that's new.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1ea3c9c5/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+InDesign+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352922%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+InDesign+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352922%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114244/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c5/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114244/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c5/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132733114244/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c5/a2t.img" width="1" />

Illustrator CS6 handles complex artworks much better, and offers pattern and gradient upgrades.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1ea3c9c4/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+Illustrator+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352923%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Expert+preview%3A+Adobe+Illustrator+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352923%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114243/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c4/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132733114243/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c4/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132733114243/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1ea3c9c4/a2t.img" width="1" />

The D&AD has announced the winners of its coveted Yellow Pencils for 2012. Check out our showcase of the winning visual and motion work.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1e9327a9/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=D%26AD+Awards+2012%3A+Yellow+Pencil+winners+announced&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352593%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=D%26AD+Awards+2012%3A+Yellow+Pencil+winners+announced&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352593%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132309440013/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1e9327a9/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132309440013/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1e9327a9/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132309440013/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1e9327a9/a2t.img" width="1" />

an exhibition comprised of stands from leading illustration and photography agencies visited by art buyers and commissioners from ad agencies, brands, broadcasters and publishers.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1e8aea3c/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=New+illustration+talent+spotted+at+Le+Book+Connections+London&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352352%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=New+illustration+talent+spotted+at+Le+Book+Connections+London&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352352%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132309400209/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1e8aea3c/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/132309400209/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1e8aea3c/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/132309400209/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1e8aea3c/a2t.img" width="1" />

Jigsaw says its giving "us a free UK exclusive so secretive we dare not speak its name in public', but Adobe's already announced that CS6 will be launched on Monday.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1e93a5da/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Jigsaw+to+host+Adobe+Creative+Suite+6+%28CS6%29+event+next+Thursday&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcadvisor.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352367%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Jigsaw+to+host+Adobe+Creative+Suite+6+%28CS6%29+event+next+Thursday&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcadvisor.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3352367%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cclOyD1-7dTLXnQaQ0wOVqLSqik/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cclOyD1-7dTLXnQaQ0wOVqLSqik/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cclOyD1-7dTLXnQaQ0wOVqLSqik/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cclOyD1-7dTLXnQaQ0wOVqLSqik/1/di" /></a></p><p class="intro">I’ve been using <a href="http://www.photoshop.com/">Adobe Photoshop</a> on a near daily basis, since 2006 and over this time I’ve learned quite a number of <a href="http://sixrevisions.com/photoshop/21-advanced-photoshop-tips-tricks-and-tutorials-roundup/" title="Photoshop Tips and Tricks">tips & tricks</a>. I’ve <a href="http://aisleone.net/photoshoptimize/">optimized Photoshop for performance</a>, learned all the essential <a href="http://devcheatsheet.com/tag/adobe-photoshop/" title="Cheatsheets for Photoshop">shortcut keys and tools</a>, and have recently found out what I consider the ‘ultimate web design workspace’.</p> <h4>What is a workspace?</h4> <blockquote><p>“By saving the current size and position of panels as a named workspace, you can restore that workspace even if you move or close a panel. The names of saved workspaces appear in the workspace switcher in the Application bar of Photoshop.”</p></blockquote> <p>For more information on <a href="http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/WS9403857B-903B-4bd5-95D4-D6B4F21C24BB.html" title="Workspaces">workspaces</a>, see here.</p> <h4>The Ultimate Web Design Workspace</h4> <p>In this post, I outline how I have personally set up my web design workspace and why I have found it to be the most productive layout for producing web work since I’ve started using Photoshop. Take note that I am using a 27″ monitor at 2560×1440 resolution though this layout should work on monitors 17″ and up.</p> <p>You can <a href="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/TheUltimate-WebDesign-Workspace.zip" title="Ultimate Workspace">download the workspace</a> here. Instructions for installation can be found in the link above.</p> <div><a href="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Ultimate-Photoshop-WebDesign-Workspace.jpg" rel="prettyphoto"><img alt="Ultimate Photoshop Web Design Workspace" class="size-full" height="360" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Ultimate-Photoshop-WebDesign-Workspace-640x360.jpg" title="Ultimate Photoshop Web Design Workspace" width="640" /></a></div> <h4>1. Document Set-Up</h4> <p>This is where the magic happens, the blank canvas. I usually start with the <a href="http://960.gs/" title="960">960 GS</a> and set the width at 1400 pixels. The main Photoshop tools are still on the left (by default) with the canvas in the middle and the other windows on the right of the screen.</p> <h4>2. Layer Comps</h4> <p>If you’re not using <a href="http://www.myinkblog.com/using-layer-comps-for-web-design-in-photoshop/" title="LayerComps">Layer Comps</a> already and you’re working as a designer, you’re mind is about to be blown. This isn’t the place to give a tutorial on them but having them in your workflow is pretty much essential, as it saves hours of time. Layer Comps are also very handy for putting together a <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/08/25/what-is-the-best-way-to-present-a-website-to-a-client/" title="Presenting Websites">presentations</a> via the ‘Export Layer Comps’ script.</p> <h4>3. History & Snapshots</h4> <p>The History window allows you to go back in time based on every change you make. I usually have my history settings set at the default of 20, but often take ‘<a href="http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-7491a.html" title="Photoshop Snapshots">Snapshots</a>‘ so I can easily come back to previous states with a simple click. Take note that snapshots do not save with the PSD.</p> <h4>4. FontShop & Extensis Web Font Plugins</h4> <p><a href="http://www.fontshop.com/plugin/"><img alt="Fontshop Plugin Overview" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-9544" height="544" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fontshop-plugin-overview.png" title="fontshop-plugin-overview" width="525" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.fontshop.com/plugin/">FontShop</a> & <a href="http://webink.extensis.com/en/webfontplugin/" title="Extensis">Extensis</a> allow you to view and use <a href="http://www.alistapart.com/topics/design/web-fonts/" title="Web Fonts">web fonts</a> right within Photoshop. I only click this icon when needed as it often can slow PS down. Also, take note for Extensis you will need the Suitcase Fusion font management software, which is available for 30 day trial.</p> <h4>5. Folders & Layers</h4> <p>A large Layers window allows for easy scanning and <a href="http://photoshopetiquette.com/#internal" title="Internal Organisation">organisation</a> which boosts productivity while designing. I break down each ‘page’ down into 4 general folders; Header, Content, Footer & Background.</p> <p>I also have ‘Auto Select’ set as ‘Layer’ and the ‘Show Transform Controls’ checked on. See the very top left toolbar in the screenshot to toggle these to your liking.</p> <h4>6. Swatch Palette</h4> <p>The Swatch palette ensures that the colors you use are consistent through the document. Simply add colors to the Swatches palette and then when needed, highlight your text or layer and change the color.</p> <h4>7. Styles Window</h4> <p>Similar to the Swatch window, the Styles window allows you to easily change colors and add effects to elements throughout your document. Handy for buttons, forms, rectangles, navigation, etc.</p> <h4>8. Character</h4> <p>The Character window allows you to easily change the most common text settings on the fly such as the font, size, leading, tracking and color. Pretty much essential for web layout.</p> <h4>9. Paths / Channels</h4> <p>I break up the Character and Paragraph windows with <a href="http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/18/mastering-photoshop-with-paths/" title="Paths">Paths</a> & Channels as a personal preference so the type tools don’t seem so cluttered. The Paths window allows you to easily create paths, shapes & selections and <a href="http://www.sketchpad.net/channels1.htm">Channels</a> is mainly used for photo editing.</p> <h4>10. Paragraph</h4> <p>The Paragraph window controls the justification of text, as well as margins, spacing, hyphenation (set this as off by default) and roman hanging punctuation.</p> <p>So there you have it, the ultimate Photoshop web design workspace. What do you think? <strong>Do you have any Photoshop workspaces to share? Please do!</strong></p> <h3>More Photoshop Tips & Tricks:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com//2010/09/21/photoshop-dreamweaver-tips/" rel="bookmark" title="Tuesday, September 21, 2010">Tips For Working with Photoshop & Dreamweaver</a></li> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com//2010/10/12/photoshop-illustrator-tips/" rel="bookmark" title="Tuesday, October 12, 2010">Tips For Working with Photoshop & Illustrator</a></li> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com//2010/09/13/photoshop-indesign-tips/" rel="bookmark" title="Monday, September 13, 2010">Tips For Working with Photoshop & InDesign</a></li> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com//2010/12/29/adobe-cs-review/" rel="bookmark" title="Wednesday, December 29, 2010">Speed up Photoshop Projects using Adobe CS Review</a></li> </ul> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=fltmneFwMfA:i7KtasMPH-w:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/hfzqJgIU6M2RApTudLF9vILGrio/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/hfzqJgIU6M2RApTudLF9vILGrio/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/hfzqJgIU6M2RApTudLF9vILGrio/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/hfzqJgIU6M2RApTudLF9vILGrio/1/di" /></a></p><p>With my <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/02/29/just™-rebranding/" title="JUST™ Rebranding!">recent rebrand</a> and <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/03/21/just-launched/" title="JUST™ Launched">website update</a>, came a few nifty features and one of them is the ‘hidden’ drop down menu in the top right corner of the website.</p> <p>On each reload, there is a new slogan that is displayed, such as:</p> <ul> <li>JUST™ Amazing</li> <li>JUST™ Be Happy</li> <li>JUST™ Did It</li> <li>JUST™ Drop That Bass</li> <li>JUST™ Believe</li> </ul> <p>There are already a good handful being rotated up there, but I thought it would be great to have JUST™ Creative readers be able to have their own one up there. So be creative, and leave your “JUST™ ____” idea in the comments below, and you could win some awesome gear as outlined below. Please keep submissions between 1 and 5 words and enter as many times as you would like!</p> <h3>Win Free Design Swag! (Competition Now Closed)</h3> <p><a href="http://typographyshop.com/make-the-logo-smaller-large-mens-t-shirt.html"><img alt="Make The Logo Smaller" class="size-full wp-image-9510 alignnone" height="375" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Make-Logo-Smaller.jpg" title="Make-Logo-Smaller" width="540" /></a></p> <p>Patrick King, of the awesome <a href="http://typographyshop.com" title="Typography Shop">Typography Shop</a> has put up some cool graphic design & typography related prizes such as the ‘<a href="http://typographyshop.com/make-the-logo-smaller-large-mens-t-shirt.html">Make The Logo Smaller</a>‘ t-shirt & mug featured above. I’ll be selecting the best 3 submissions and winners can choose any in-stock t-shirt or mug from the shop.</p> <p>The competition is open to all countries, but mugs can not be shipped out of the USA. Winners will be emailed & <del>also announced on this post, on April 17</del>. Winners announced below.</p> <p>Good luck and I look forward to your entries!</p> <h3>Congratulations Winners!</h3> <p>After looking through every entry, I narrowed down the list to 200 that I will be using on the site, however these you will have to see over time. Below you can find the winners and the close runners up. Congratulations, I will be in contact with you shortly.</p> <h4>Winners</h4> <ul> <li>JUST™ Leave Your Mark (Miguel)</li> <li>JUST™ A Spoon Full of Sugar (Michelle Stevens)</li> <li>JUST™ Put Another Shrimp on the Barbie (Rosleigh)</li> </ul> <h4>Runners Up</h4> <ul> <li>JUST™ The Tip of the Iceberg (Meg)</li> <li>JUST™ Ignore IE (Andrew Grehl)</li> <li>JUST™ Us (Danny)</li> <li>JUST™ Make It Pop (Minksy)</li> </ul> <p>Thank you everyone for your entries, they were really creative!</p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=heSJe3vreQ8:0ejYCtnl6Tc:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/7c35EcVZP2g4nbFp8kZFk691ve8/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/7c35EcVZP2g4nbFp8kZFk691ve8/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/7c35EcVZP2g4nbFp8kZFk691ve8/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/7c35EcVZP2g4nbFp8kZFk691ve8/1/di" /></a></p><p><em>This is a guest article contributed by <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/104914829730501706316/posts?rel=author">Vail Joy</a>.</em></p> <p><img alt="HTML5" height="405" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/html5.gif" title="HTML5" width="540" /></p> <p class="intro">As Opera evangelist Bruce Lawson puts it, “<a href="http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2010/09/23/html5-the-facts-and-the-myths/" title="HTML5">Everyone’s talking about HTML5</a>”. It’s perhaps the most hyped technology since people started putting rounded corners & gradients on everything. In fact, a lot of what people call HTML5 is actually just old-fashioned DHTML or AJAX. Mixed in with all the information is a lot of misinformation.</p> <p>HTML5 is simply a new set of standards, semantics and rules for coding website markup that can take advantage of several new “native” browser features such as offline storage, multi-media playback and a small level of interaction. Much of what we see on HTML5 websites that is really cool or innovative isn’t the actual markup, but a combination of CSS3 and jQuery, both themselves new and exciting standards evolving right alongside HTML5.</p> <p>As designers, we tend not to fuss about with code and semantics and JavaScript this or that, but whether your expertise is in identity and print design or includes a little of web design, expanding your comfort zone to include the fundamentals of these new technologies is necessary to stay competitive and sharp in our crowded industry.</p> <p>For now, let’s dispel some myths about HTML5 to pique your interest. There are several HTML5 resources at the bottom for those of you who want to learn more.</p> <h3><strong>Myth #1: HTML5 was invented because Apple stopped supporting Flash .</strong></h3> <p>Apple seems to get blamed for everything, but while HTML5 has some amazing solutions for mobile, it was not created to meet the demands of the iPhone.  In fact, Opera and Mozilla got together back in 2004 to try to solve the problem of a messy web, defining seven principles for good design. Their goal was simple – propose these principles to <a href="http://www.w3.org/2004/04/webapps-cdf-ws/papers/opera.html">W3C</a> as a roadmap for a sleeker, faster, better HTML standard. The principles covered aspects such as backwards compatibility, error handling, practicality, open development and avoiding device-specific profiling. It wasn’t until 2006 that the proposal was accepted, and in three short years a new spec was drafted, closed and made ready for use.</p> <h3><strong>Myth #2: HTML5 won’t be ready till 2022.</strong></h3> <p>I’m not even sure how this myth began circulating, but the working draft was closed – meaning nothing more can be added or significantly changed – in 2009. Because it has been driven by Opera and Mozilla from the start, it may even reach W3C’s Candidate Recognition this year, as almost the <a href="http://developers.whatwg.org/">entire spec</a> is supported by both browsers. Even still, you can use HTML5 right now and rest assured it will degrade gracefully and work in older browsers with the inclusion of some lightweight JavaScript, all the way down to complex Canvas implementations. All current browsers support HTML5. What you need to be careful of isn’t the markup, it is the CSS. Even with pre-made CSS resets intended to help out older browsers, design built around CSS3 can fall apart in older browsers unless you take care of the details.</p> <h3><strong>Myth #3:  HTML5 requires CSS3.</strong></h3> <p>It makes the most sense to use semantic class names and CSS3 declarations when building something with HTML5, but it isn’t a requirement. HTML5 is just markup, so it gets along just fine with CSS2 styling, but what it does require is complete styling for all presentational elements of your design. In other words, the HTML5 spec <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/html5-diff/#changed-attributes">removes attributes and tags</a> that control the look or style of any element, and is no longer tolerant of inline styling. The browser is now the supreme governor of how your site is rendered and what rules you need to abide by when creating layout with your markup. For example, in HTML5 you need a “display:block” declaration for each HTML5 element for them to be understood properly in IE8 and earlier. In short, HTML5 needs styling to look good, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be CSS3.</p> <h3><strong>Myth #4: HTML5 ruins accessibility.</strong></h3> <p>On the contrary, HTML5 is built around <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/01/25/designing-websites-for-the-blind/" title="Accessibility & Integrity">accessibility</a>. While drafting the spec, utmost care was taken to ensure each element works with WIA ARIA landmark roles.  These roles are specialized attributes added to your tags that allow accessibility devices such as screen readers to better interpret the site’s flow and content better. Converting a site to HTML5 may ruin the accessibility if these roles aren’t understood and implemented properly, but that won’t be the fault of the markup! See <a href="http://justcreative.com/2011/01/26/an-introduction-to-font-accessibility/" title="An Introduction to Font Accessibility">font accessibility</a>.</p> <h3><strong>Myth #5: HTML5 will kill Flash.</strong></h3> <p><img alt="HTML5 Gloves" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-9418" height="274" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/html5-gloves.gif" title="HTML5 Gloves" width="540" /></p> <p>The fact is that Flash is still used by several million websites and developers world-wide. The misconception was born, once again, from the high profile fallout between Adobe and Apple and the rapid adoption of HTML5 audio and video for application and mobile development as a result. However, though HTML5 is great for low volume video playback, full HTML5 support requires two or three times the encoding chores of Flash support and still lacks many critical features currently available in plug-in based technologies. Currently, sites like Vimeo and YouTube use HTML5 technology largely for technology’s sake, and will not be moving away from Flash too rapidly. Developer Viki Hoo points out several other reasons why Flash will be around awhile in her compelling argument <a href="http://speckyboy.com/2012/01/19/what-else-does-html5-need-to-defeat-flash-part-1/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>But let’s get back to Flash with regards to web design. In that context, we are likely to see a rapid switch from Flash to HTML5 in the coming years. HTML5 is easier to learn and use, even for those of use without a high level of JavaScript mastery. It doesn’t require a 3rd Party plugin to work, loads faster and is extremely mobile friendly. <strong>So it isn’t that HTML5 will kill Flash, it’s that it will dominate the mobile design and development market.</strong></p> <h3><strong>Myth #6: If I add the new HTML5 doctype to my site, it is now HTML5.</strong></h3> <p>It will be HTML5 as far as the browser is concerned, but HTML5 is more than a doctype. It is a full set of best practices, semantics and layout elements such as <header>, <nav>,<section>,<article> and <footer> that will make your website truly take advantage of the new capabilities of the browser and validate as HTML5. Naturally, adopting the new doctype is a step in the right direction to adopt HTML5, but it is important to learn what really makes an HTML5 website HTML5 before buying into an app, theme or platform that claims it is built with HTML5. Adobe’s new Muse app is a perfect example of this myth in action. You must also take into consideration the number of elements and attributes that have been depreciated in HTML5 and review your existing markup to ensure the best chance of compatibility.</p> <h3><strong>Myth # 7: I’ll get more chicks/jobs/cash/respect if I use HTML5.</strong></h3> <p>Mastering HTML5 probably won’t get you voted the sexiest man or woman alive; although it <a href="http://html5doctor.com/block-level-links-in-html-5/">seems to have worked for Bruce Lawson</a>. It is also not enough to get your foot in the door at a lucrative digital agency. In the end, your design skills and attention to detail are what will make you successful. With that said, learning about and adopting new technologies quickly does take passion and perseverance, which are both admirable traits. Your peers will probably respect you more if you use your knowledge to help them, or <a href="http://hakim.se/">can achieve something new and great.</a></p> <div class="supertagline"> Designers <em>should</em> care about HTML5, but mastering it should be driven by a love of the principles it was based on and not an ideal of fame and riches. </div> <p>For those who want to get their feet wet with HTML5 but don’t have much coding chops, you may like to check out <a href="http://www.wix.com/html5/now-on-wix?utm_campaign=se_gb_HTML_justcreativedesign.com/" title="Wix">Wix</a>, who recently launched “the first full-featured HTML5 website builder” on the web. It’s basically a tool that helps you create completely custom websites without mucking about with styles, scripts and markup – unless you want to.</p> <h4><strong>Recommended HTML5 Resources:</strong></h4> <ul> <li><a href="http://developers.whatwg.org/introduction.html">HTML5 Spec at WHATWG</a></li> <li><a href="http://vimeo.com/5810449">Opera’s Bruce Lawson on HTML5</a></li> <li><a href="http://html5doctor.com/why-designers-should-care-about-html5/">Why designers should care about HTML5</a></li> <li><a href="http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/everything-you-need-to-know-about-html5-video-and-audio/">Everything You Need to Know About HTML5 Audio and Video</a></li> <li><a href="http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/html-5-canvas-the-basics/">HTML5 Canvas: The Basics (Opera Developer Community)</a></li> <li><a href="http://html5please.us/">HTML5 Please</a> helps you out with recommendations for polyfills and implementation so you can decide if and how to put each of these features to use.</li> <li><a href="http://caniuse.com/">Can I Use</a> provides extensive browser compatibility and support information for CSS3, HTML5 and more.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Do you have any HTML5 tips or resources to share?</strong></p> <hr class="thin" /> <p><em><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/104914829730501706316/posts?rel=author">+Vail Joy</a> is a professional writer, designer and developer with a vibrant background in music business, photography and social media. When she is not contributing her expertise to blogs and e-zines, she is building <a href="http://www.wix.com/html5/now-on-wix?utm_campaign=se_gb_HTML_justcreativedesign.com/" title="HTML Websites">HTML websites</a> and slaying dragons for Obox Design.</em></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Cm9pT9mO5ek:-N08qAGaWe8:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pb0_8vDVYto0FXC_qMuN9YEadvg/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pb0_8vDVYto0FXC_qMuN9YEadvg/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pb0_8vDVYto0FXC_qMuN9YEadvg/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pb0_8vDVYto0FXC_qMuN9YEadvg/1/di" /></a></p><p class="intro">After a soft launch on <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/justcreative/status/182195367276847104" title="Twitter">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/justcreative/posts/176922372426119">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/103500063550994023248/posts/RMeSFRaXHki">Google+</a> yesterday, I am now ready to share with you the <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/02/29/just%e2%84%a2-rebranding/" title="JUST™ Rebranding!">new JUST™ Creative</a> responsive web site.</p> <p><img alt="Just Launched" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-9365" height="453" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/just-launched.gif" title="Just Launched" width="640" /><br /> Feel free to explore and let me know your thoughts. Below is a quick outline of some of the features found throughout the site.</p> <h4>Website Info & Features</h4> <ul> <li>Built using <a href="http://wordpress.com" title="Wordpress">WordPress</a> and the <a href="http://getskeleton.com/">Skeleton Boilerplate</a></li> <li>Web fonts (<a href="https://typekit.com/fonts/proxima-nova" title="Proxima Nova">Proxima Nova</a> and <a href="https://typekit.com/fonts/droid-serif" title="Droid Serif">Droid Serif</a>) served by Typekit</li> <li>Hosting by <a href="http://mediatemple.com" title="Media Temple">Media Temple</a></li> <li>Responsive design with 5 viewport sizes (resize your browser to see this in action). Features Retina Display optimised images.</li> <li>Custom designed by myself in Photoshop & Illustrator, using the <a href="http://960.gs/" title="960 Grid System">960 Grid System</a></li> <li>Developed by <a href="http://danrose.me/" title="Dan Rose">Dan Rose</a> with HTML5 and CSS3 (<a href="https://github.com/craigwaterman/Hoodie" title="Hoodie">Hoodie Framework</a>). Portfolio functionality from Reaction (<a href="https://twitter.com/makedesign" title="Make Design">Brandon Jones</a>), developed in part by <a href="http://craigwaterman.com" title="Craig Waterman">Craig Waterman</a>.</li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/portfolio/" title="Graphic Design Portfolio">Filterable gallery portfolio</a> with multiple layouts (see icons on right of portfolio page)</li> <li>Logo rollover over effects on main navigation</li> <li>Dynamic drop down photo which reveals my bio (in sidebar on article pages)</li> <li>Dynamic ‘To Top’ button to easily get to the top of the page, displayed when needed</li> <li>jQuery vertical accordion menu for the mobile drop down menu navigation</li> <li>jQuery / CSS article sidebar for easy navigating</li> <li>jQuery transition slide effects</li> <li><a href="http://blog.jonphillips.ca/2012/01/17/ads-and-responsive-web-design/" title="Responsive Ads">Responsive ads</a> so they are displayed on all view ports</li> <li>Hidden pull down menu to view recent work and more (Find it?)</li> <li>Threaded comments on new posts</li> <li>Highlighted author comments</li> <li>Hidden track backs / backlinks that you can reveal</li> <li><a href="http://www.google.com/cse/" title="Google Search">Google Custom Site Search</a> for accurate and quick searching</li> <li><a href="http://www.no-margin-for-errors.com/projects/prettyphoto-jquery-lightbox-clone/">prettyPhoto</a> integration for showing photos in a Lightbox</li> <li>Large footer that can you can hide or show depending on your preference</li> </ul> <h4>Still To Do</h4> <ul> <li>Add a dynamic slider on the home page (will also work with touch gestures)</li> <li>Add more portfolio items</li> <li>Fix speed problems across the server. (Having troubles with this, as I believe it is related to memory / apache - something I am not well versed in).</li> <li>Fix bugs as they are found</li> </ul> <h4>Bugs / Suggestions / Feedback</h4> <p>If you find anything that looks out of place, or have a suggestion please do let me know. Please note your browser and it’s version when sending, thank you!</p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9rBqoBH7Yycn4lYRuu2mCz-u7qA/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9rBqoBH7Yycn4lYRuu2mCz-u7qA/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9rBqoBH7Yycn4lYRuu2mCz-u7qA/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9rBqoBH7Yycn4lYRuu2mCz-u7qA/1/di" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://thedeependdesign.com/podcast/logo-design-process-jacob-cass/" title="Logo Design Process Podcast"><img alt="Deeply Graphic Podcast" class="size-full wp-image-8754 border" height="350" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/podcast.jpeg" title="podcast" width="500" /></a></p> <p>A few words from <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/wesmcdowell" title="Wes McDowell">Wes McDowell</a> about a recent Podcast I did with Deep End Design…</p> <p>-</p> <p>Last week I had the pleasure of being able to sit down with Just Creative’s Jacob Cass and talk logo design. Sure, we happen to be on opposite ends of the country, but through the magic of Skype, we made it work.</p> <p>I am a co-host of “The Deeply Graphic DesignCast,” a podcast for graphic & web designers, and the idea of talking shop with Jacob was just too good to pass up. So I asked if he would like to join us for our next episode, and he graciously agreed. The result is a pretty compelling listen.</p> <p>Jacob’s episode, which is all about the logo design process is now live and available for free download on iTunes. He gives a lot of great insights into his process, as well as client relations and how he prices his jobs. If you are a fan of Jacob’s work, then you won’t want to miss it!</p> <p><strong><a href="http://thedeependdesign.com/podcast/logo-design-process-jacob-cass/" title="Logo Design Process Podcast">Listen To It Here</a>.</strong></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9qLTQInQsxG__D6cN0_igcG9EBI/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9qLTQInQsxG__D6cN0_igcG9EBI/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9qLTQInQsxG__D6cN0_igcG9EBI/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9qLTQInQsxG__D6cN0_igcG9EBI/1/di" /></a></p><p><img alt="Twitter Milage" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8718" height="350" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Twitter-Milage.jpg" title="Twitter-Milage" width="500" /></p> <p><em>This is a guest article contributed by </em><em>Brad Shorr.</em></p> <p><em>-<br /> </em></p> <p>Smart marketers squeeze every possible benefit out of their digital content. But even top-notch companies overlook opportunities to repurpose Twitter content, which is unfortunate because Twitter is generally regarded as a somewhat frivolous medium. It doesn’t have to be, if you think outside the box. So for the purposes of this post, let’s think outside the tweet and take a quick look at five ways to get a lot more value out those 140 little characters.</p> <h2>1. Use Tweets As Testimonials</h2> <p><img alt="Twitter Testimonials" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/twitter-testimonials.png" title="twitter-testimonials" width="500" /></p> <p>From time to time, people may give you unsolicited praise on Twitter. If you <em>monitor</em> your brand, you can catch these tweets and “favorite” them so they will be handy whenever and wherever you need credibility-building testimonials. <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/justcreative/favorites">@justcreative</a> is a good example of someone who uses this favoriting method. Among the many places to display testimonial tweets:</p> <ul> <li>Website home page</li> <li>Interior site pages connected to the tweet’s content</li> <li>PDF literature</li> <li>A custom Facebook tab</li> <li>Email signatures</li> </ul> <p>You’re only limited by your imagination — and since this blog’s community includes a lot of designers, my guess is you’ll come up with better ideas than these in a matter of minutes. See <a href="http://justcreative.com/2009/08/18/funny-inspirational-tweets/" title="Funny and Inspiration Tweets">some of your favorite favorited tweets here</a>.</p> <p>Finally, if you don’t have unsolicited Twitter praise — <em>solicit</em> some! There’s nothing wrong with asking your Twitter community for feedback, help, or an occasional plug. I’m sure you’d be quick to do it for others if you liked them and believed in what they do.</p> <h2>2. Put Tweets In Presentations / Sales Material</h2> <p><img alt="Tweet Quote" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8714" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/tweet-quote.png" title="tweet-quote" width="500" /></p> <p>As part of their content strategy, most companies tweet about the benefits of their products and services. They may also post astute comments on important industry developments and issues. If you favorite these tweets and organize them, you can later display them in Keynotes/PowerPoints, webinars, PDF literature, and on relevant site pages. The advantages of displaying this information in the form of tweet images:</p> <ul> <li>Tweets are visually engaging and spark interest.</li> <li>Displaying tweets is still a bit of a novelty, which makes your presentation stand out.</li> <li>Tweets provide a subtle element of credibility, since many will regard them as published and therefore authoritative data points.</li> </ul> <p>A big benefit of doing this, by the way, is that it will improve the quality of your tweets. We tend to be more thoughtful about what we say if we know it may be used “in print” later on.</p> <h2>3. Use Tweets for Internal Knowledge Building</h2> <p><img alt="Twitter Content" height="332" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/twitter.jpg" title="twitter" width="500" /></p> <p>If a expert I’m following on Twitter says something insightful on say, <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2009/06/30/seo-tips/" title="SEO">SEO</a>, I’ll shoot a link to that tweet over to our Director of SEO. This sort of thing can help keep everyone on the team being — and <em>feeling</em> — up to date and in the know. Sharing knowledge via tweets can be accomplished in a more organized fashion, by favoriting tweets by topic and emailing a digest of the links to the appropriate person. This technique works very well when a lot of team members are not on Twitter very much or at all. Because of that, circulating a digest of your own tweets also can be helpful; your team as well as your Twitter community should see your own great Twitter content.</p> <p>This is how I try to communicate information from Twitter. These are a couple tweets about social media I grabbed that are tremendously useful:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/merylkevans/status/170178390001852417" target="_blank">What Others Like and Dislike about Your Tweets</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/RobynMcMaster/status/170174726197624832" target="_blank">Women Value Reciprocity More than Men</a></li> </ul> <p>Sure, I could just as easily link to the articles rather than the tweets, but I think it helps for people to <strong>see the source and sometimes, the commentary</strong>.</p> <h2>4. Feed Tweets Into Your Website</h2> <p><img alt="Twitter Widget" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8715" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/widget.png" title="widget" width="500" /></p> <p>You may have seen business sites that display a real-time feed of five or 10 of their tweets, <a href="http://twitter.com/about/resources/widgets" title="Twitter Widget">usually done via a widget</a>. This is a great idea in terms of sparking interest, as we’ve already talked about. However, if you want to do this, be careful about what you tweet. For example, if your live feed displays a lot of random, silly tweets, it could confuse visitors and turn off potential customers.</p> <p>What some people do to get around this is create a separate Twitter page that is exclusively for tweeting information around a particular product or service or department. For instance, a company could feed its customer service Twitter page tweets into its site’s customer service landing page. I like this idea a lot in terms of content relevance, but managing multiple Twitter accounts does have its complexities, so proceed carefully. Another possible way would be to use #hastags, but this <a href="http://www.torbenrick.eu/blog/social-media/twitter-hashtag-campaign-backfires-by-unhappy-customers/">could backfire too</a>.</p> <h2>5. Feed Tweets Selectively Into Other Social Networks</h2> <p><img alt="Twitter Import into Facebook" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8716" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/twitter-import.png" title="twitter-import" width="500" /></p> <p>I’ve written elsewhere about the dangers of <a href="http://effectivemarketer.com/2012/01/31/the-danger-of-automatic-feeds-in-social-media/" target="_blank">overfeeding your social media accounts</a>. However, selective and strategic feeds can relieve some of the content-production burden and strengthen your reputation across all of your social platforms.</p> <p>The “secret” of smart feeding is understanding the nature of your communities on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and whatever other networks you are active on. For example, I know a couple of things about my LinkedIn connections; first, a lot of them are not social media-savvy, and second, they are interested in high-level information. Knowing this, any tweets I feed to LinkedIn will be non-technical and relevant to business owners, leaders and managers. On the other hand, our agency’s Facebook page draws a lot of people who are interested in “how-to” marketing tips, so any tweets I feed to it will be on the technical side.</p> <p>Probably the biggest takeaway from all of this is to <strong>be a strategic tweeter</strong>. There are many ways to repurpose Twitter content, but you won’t be able to take advantage of them if all you’re doing is haphazardly dashing off tweets.</p> <h3><strong>More Twitter related articles:</strong></h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-guide-for-everything-twitter/">Ultimate Twitter Guide</a></li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/2009/04/26/jacob-our-top-twit/">Twitter Interview & Tips with Jacob Cass</a></li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/2009/11/09/twitter-design-lists/" title="Twitter Design Lists">10 Twitter Design Lists to Follow</a></li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/2011/02/23/simple-engagement/" title="Simple Engagement">The Power of Simple Engagement on Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/2008/10/20/designers-to-follow-on-twitter/" title="Designers on Twitter">List of Designers, Creatives & Geeks on Twitter</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>How do you re-purpose your Tweets?</strong></p> <p><em><a href="https://plus.google.com/102318046680468697385?rel=author" target="_blank"></a></em></p> <p>-<br /> <em><a href="https://plus.google.com/102318046680468697385?rel=author" target="_blank">Brad Shorr</a> is Director of Content and Social Media for Straight North, a leading <a href="http://www.straightnorth.com/search-engine-optimization" target="_blank">Chicago SEO firm</a> working with clients in very tough B2B niches such as <a href="http://www.bluepay.com/processing-services/solutions/payment-gateway" target="_blank">credit card payment gateways</a>. He has been an active blogger and social media participant since 2005, and writes frequently on content strategy, SEO copywriting and social media topics.</em><em> Photos by: Shutterstock and <a href=" <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cs9PffEkNZcG9AflaA9p-SGYzfs/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cs9PffEkNZcG9AflaA9p-SGYzfs/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cs9PffEkNZcG9AflaA9p-SGYzfs/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cs9PffEkNZcG9AflaA9p-SGYzfs/1/di" /></a></p><p>In the <del>next few weeks</del> (<a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/03/21/just-launched/" title="JUST™ Launched">The site is now live!</a>) I will be launching my brand new responsive website, along with a new domain, business name, <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/01/07/a-new-profile-picture-an-upcoming-re-brand/">profile picture</a>, brand and logo.</p> <p>My old business name ‘Just Creative Design’ will be replaced by ‘JUST CREATIVE’ and the domain name will also change to http://justcreative.com which I bought off a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting" title="Domain Squatter">domain squatter</a> a few months back.</p> <p>In fact, you are already on the new domain name!</p> <h3>Erasing The Pencil</h3> <p><img alt="JCD Logo" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8695" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/jcd-logo.gif" title="jcd-logo" width="500" /></p> <p>It is sad to announce that I will be dropping my <a href="http://justcreative.com/2008/04/24/logo-design-process-of-just-creative-design/">award winning</a> & often plagiarised JCD pencil logo. (Did you ever see the J,C,D or pencil in the logo?) It’s a real shame to leave it behind, but it’s time to move on to brighter pastures.</p> <p>I felt I needed a new look, one that was more more modern, professional, clean, streamlined and with <em>personality</em>. With this said, today I wanted to give a sneak peak into the new brand look coming for JUST CREATIVE.</p> <h3>JUST™ Created</h3> <p><img alt="JUST CREATIVE Logo" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8696" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/JUST-CREATIVE-LOGO.gif" title="JUST-CREATIVE-LOGO" width="500" /></p> <p>You can see the new logo above, and below in context on my new ‘Luxe’ business cards, courtesy of <a href="http://moo.com/share/x59skg/">Moo</a> (10% off link). You will also notice my new email address which is jacob[AT]justcreative[DOT]com.</p> <p><img alt="Just Creative Business Card" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8697" height="300" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/justcreative-business-card.jpg" title="justcreative-business-card" width="400" /></p> <p>Below is an <a href="http://dribbble.com/justcreative/projects/32001-JUST-Creative" title="Just Creative">earlier teaser</a> poster based on the new look and the familiar Keep Calm poster series. You can <a href="http://bit.ly/justcreateandcarryon" title="Just Create Poster">download the A3 sized poster for free here</a> if interested.</p> <p><img alt="Just Create and Carry On" height="706" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/just-create-and-carry-on.jpg" title="just-create-and-carry-on" width="500" /></p> <p>More surprises to come with the website launch so stay tuned. <strong>Feedback always welcome!</strong></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0dxwICkDaP0uX1XAddMe7GL3dwE/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0dxwICkDaP0uX1XAddMe7GL3dwE/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0dxwICkDaP0uX1XAddMe7GL3dwE/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0dxwICkDaP0uX1XAddMe7GL3dwE/1/di" /></a></p><p>I often share my new work via <a href="http://twitter.com/justcreative">Twitter</a> but often forget to share on my blog so I thought I’d share some of my recently launched website designs. Each site has been developed by <a href="http://ammirati.com">Ammirati</a> unless otherwise noted. You can click on the images below to view each live site.</p> <h3>Ammirati</h3> <p>This is the website of the agency I work at in New York and I was responsible for comping out the mobile views. Check out the site and while your there, re-size your browser. Great team effort from the guys at Ammirati; a hat tip goes out to David Roach, Patrick Drury & John Vitelli for bringing the responsiveness to life.</p> <p>Next month I’ll be launching a responsive version of my site, with a <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/01/07/a-new-profile-picture-an-upcoming-re-brand/" title="Upcoming Rebrand">brand new look</a> so stay tuned for that.</p> <p><a href="http://ammirati.com" target="_blank" title="Ammirati"><img alt="Ammirati Responsive" class="alignnone wp-image-8665 border size-full" height="372" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ammirati-responsive.jpg" title="Ammirati Responsive" width="500" /></a></p> <h3>FXDD Masters Live</h3> <p>FXDD Masters Live is a conference held in different locations around the USA, teaching others about foreign currency exchange.</p> <p><a href="http://fxddmasterslive.com/" target="_blank" title="FXDD Masters Live"><img alt="MastersLive" class="alignnone wp-image-8666 border" height="494" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/fxdd-masterslive.jpg" title="MastersLive" width="500" /></a></p> <h3>Flywheel</h3> <p>I posted about this <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2012/01/31/flywheel-takes-off/" title="Flywheel">last month</a>, but here it is again… <a href="http://flywheelsports.com/" title="Flywheel">Flywheel; The ultimate stadium cycling experience</a>. Development done by Flywheel.</p> <p><a href="http://flywheelsports.com" target="_blank" title="Flywheel"><img alt="Flywheel" class="alignnone border" height="342" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/FlywheelHome-500x342.jpg" title="Flywheel" width="500" /></a></p> <h3>Streetfighter</h3> <p>This is the website for the game ‘Streetfighter x Tekken’ where users can pre-order the game for the PS3 or XBox. I was involved with the pre-order & gem grid pages only.</p> <p><a href="http://www.streetfighter.com/us/sfxtk/order/special-edition"><img alt="Streetfigher" class="alignnone wp-image-8680 border" height="693" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/streetfighter.jpg" title="streetfighter" width="375" /></a></p> <h3>Upcoming Work</h3> <p>I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great people & brands (Jerry Seinfeld, Vitamin Water, OMEGA, Sweet’N Low to name a few) over the past 7 months at Ammirati and I look forward to sharing those projects once launched. Some soon, some quite far off.</p> <p><strong>Comments are always welcome.</strong></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/sCta4wC_j5sNT4Jl5bSk4_TlaIQ/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/sCta4wC_j5sNT4Jl5bSk4_TlaIQ/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/sCta4wC_j5sNT4Jl5bSk4_TlaIQ/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/sCta4wC_j5sNT4Jl5bSk4_TlaIQ/1/di" /></a></p><p><img alt="Scope Creep" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8648" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/scope-creep.jpg" title="scope-creep" width="500" /></p> <p>Scope Creep. No it’s not that guy that’s been sitting in the corner of the cafe staring at you. In fact, if you don’t know how to deal with scope creep, it could be much worse.</p> <p>Scope creep, put simply, refers to uncontrolled changes in a client’s project scope. For example, a typical scenario could be when you’ve finished your design project to the original specifications and then the client emails you with a dozen different new changes and ideas. That is scope creep. The scope of the project may get bigger, but the budget may not.</p> <p>The problem is that clients may not know what they want the finished product to look like until the design project is nearly over, so they make last minute changes and then you’re loaded with an extra day’s work, but not an extra day’s pay.</p> <p>If you didn’t prepare for this with a contract up front, and the client is constantly changing their specifications, politely warn them that you <strong>limit your revisions to a certain number</strong>, so they are aware that whilst you are willing to be flexible, any additional changes will meet an additional charge. After all, you may have to work on multiple projects at one time and more time spent on one project cuts in to the time you will spend on another.</p> <h3><strong>So how can you deal with scope creep in the future?</strong></h3> <p><a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/contract" title="Contract">Make a contract</a>. Before starting any project you should always sign a contract with the client, where you lay out your terms. It doesn’t need to be too long or detailed but you do need to outline your working conditions. This should include limits within the project scope and anything outside that will be subject to extra charges.</p> <p>You could sign a <strong>completion document </strong>with the client, which states that the project is complete and that any further work will be charged at an hourly rate. Although <a href="http://www.alistapart.com/articles/pricing-strategy-for-creatives/" title="pricing design work">hourly rates are not always the best</a>, scope creep at an hourly rate could benefit both you and your customer in terms of over all time and money spent.</p> <p><a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/clients/4-ways-to-kill-scope-creep/" title="Kill Scope Creep">Four other ways to kill scope creep</a> are to say:</p> <ol> <li>Glad to help, here’s a new estimate.</li> <li>I can’t make that deadline.</li> <li>I can, but…</li> <li>No.</li> </ol> <p><strong>How do you deal with scope creep?</strong></p> <p><strong>-</strong></p> <p><em><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-76943263/stock-photo-mr-angel-with-white-wings-creepy-character-portrait.html?src=20eed69b24e5753d6dc8a8ad55ecf63e-1-24" rel="" title="Angel photo">Angel photo</a> & <a href="http://www.twago.com/expert/Freelance/Freelance">g</a><a href="http://www.twago.com/expert/Freelance/Freelance">raphic design freelancers</a> </em><em>from <a href="http://shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>. </em><strong><br /> </strong></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xMcDOAKmj_0cEcw6wKKfWsLMOIg/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xMcDOAKmj_0cEcw6wKKfWsLMOIg/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xMcDOAKmj_0cEcw6wKKfWsLMOIg/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xMcDOAKmj_0cEcw6wKKfWsLMOIg/1/di" /></a></p><p><a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/"><em><img alt="Delicious" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8593" height="367" src="http://justcreativedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Delicious.jpg" title="Delicious" width="500" /></em></a></p> <p><em>This is a guest article contributed by Rebecca*.</em></p> <p>-</p> <p><a href="http://delicious.com">Delicious</a> is a popular social bookmarking site which you can use for saving your favorite website links. The process is termed as bookmarking. This will enable you to share your bookmarks among others as well as allow you to browse bookmarks of other users’. Tagging and search tools help you in browsing as well as organizing topics of interest. It enables you to both create multiple tags and tag sites with manifold keywords.</p> <p>Every tag produces a page with all website links associated to it. You can share each of these pages with others simply by providing them the URL, such as <a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/" title="Delicious">Jacob’s bookmarks</a> here. With bookmarks being hosted on Web instead of on your desktop, you can access these anywhere provided you have access to internet. There are a couple of reasons for using delicious. Here is a list of few creative ways for using delicious bookmarks.</p> <h3>1. Organize Things You Want To Do</h3> <p>Your list may be endless like places you desire to visit, restaurants to try, ideas for several projects you desire to complete or begin books you wish to read and things you desire to accomplish. Sorting out your list at one place will help you to accomplish your goals. The social bookmarking site makes it easy to access your lists wherever and whenever you need them.</p> <h3>2. Bookmark Your Social Networking Profiles</h3> <p>Following the explosion of social networking sites, it is indeed simple for creating profiles on several that you often have the tendency of forgetting of returning and visiting them. As a result bookmarking each of your social networking sites at delicious will undoubtedly help you in keeping track of all the sites as well as easily sharing them provided you so desire. To add to it, registering your social networks at delicious will also offer <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2009/06/30/seo-tips/" title="SEO Tips">SEO</a> benefits as delicious operates as backlinks for all your profiles.</p> <h3>3. Organize Portfolios of Inspiration</h3> <p>You can use delicious for organizing art, articles and photographs on the web as well as create diverse categories for varied types of works. The bookmarking process to <a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/inspiration" title="Inspiration">share inspiration</a> among others is hassle free. Instead of sending people to numerous sites for viewing content, you can send them on one page, where every link is listed at one place.</p> <h3>4. Use RSS to Bookmark your Guest Articles</h3> <p>You can also use the delicious RSS feeds for creating customized portfolios. You can use it as your own writing portfolio by separating guest posts from that of article directory entries via exercising the feeds for your bookmarks tagged with articles and guest post.</p> <h3>5. Organize Your Backlinks</h3> <p>Delicious can be used for keeping track of backlinks for your website. In this social bookmarking site, you can tag the backlinks by type, topic or quality for keeping track of varied categories.</p> <h3>6. Bookmark Articles To Read Later</h3> <p>One of the most obvious reasons for using delicious is for organizing contents you encounter daily for future use. It is indeed a tough job for reading each great blog post which is shared with you via other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The best solution is to bookmark these for later so each time you are searching for some information on a topic; you will have a wonderful and systematic compilation of most preferred pages and articles to choose from.</p> <p>Delicious is an outstanding mean for archiving information from the internet, discovering useful and new sites and tracking hot topics. Its collective intelligence constantly adds & reviews, as well as filters new information. The community enables you in finding some of the finest resources on the internet devoid of having to struggle through all the junk. This social bookmarking site also offers you centralized management system to systematize information from the net.</p> <p><strong>Do you have any other creative ways to use bookmarks? What other bookmarking services do you use & recommend?</strong></p> <p>-</p> <p><em>*Rebecca is a blogger by profession, besides this she is fond of <a href="http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/3d-games-10-selling-prices-reviews-rating/" title="3D Games">3D Games</a>.</em></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com">Just Creative Design</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <br /><b>Related Articles:</b> <ul class="st-related-posts"> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/03/12/what-is-the-best-social-media-marketing-website/" title="What is the best social media website? Digg, SU, Delicious, Reddit … or? (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)">What is the best social media website? Digg, SU, Delicious, Reddit … or?</a> (43)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/08/08/what-blog-posts-bring-in-the-most-readers/" title="What blog posts bring in the most readers? (Friday, August 8, 2008)">What blog posts bring in the most readers?</a> (40)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2011/07/22/using-social-artistry-for-inspiration/" title="Using Social Artistry for Inspiration (Friday, July 22, 2011)">Using Social Artistry for Inspiration</a> (101)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/10/27/the-power-of-being-an-active-twitter-member/" title="The Power Of Being An Active Twitter Member (Monday, October 27, 2008)">The Power Of Being An Active Twitter Member</a> (28)</li> </ul> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW119.t_trans.opener.jpg" rel="lightbox[35093]"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35098" height="348" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW119.t_trans.opener.jpg" title="TDW119.t_trans.opener" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Transformers week draws to a close with this video training from Dan DeEntremont. Master key animation skills in this Transformer-style tutorial as you rig a robot to animate its transformation from train to humanoid</p> <p>To celebrate <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/07/digital-tutors-releases-new-transforming-robot-tutorials/">Digital-Tutors’ new Transformation training</a>, we thought we’d make an event of it and post online all things Transformery!</p> <p>We’ve already posted up two making-of Transformers articles:<br /> <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/07/the-making-of-transformers/">The making of Transformers</a><br /> <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/08/the-making-of-transformers-2/">The making of Transformers 2</a></p> <p>And you can also read a making-of article on the cult Transformers-style advert for Citroën - <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/13/the-embassy-the-art-of-robotics/">The Embassy: The art of Robotics</a></p> <p>To complete the Transformers roundup, here’s the train-transforming video tutorial we’ve been talking about.</p> <h3>Rig your own Transformer in LightWave</h3> <p>This article demonstrates the workflow for creating a transforming robot, similar to the designs in the live-action Transformers movies.</p> <p>The films’ director, Michael Bay, is well known for taking the level of special and visual effects over the top in his films. These Transformers are not the simple ones everyone has seen in the cartoon show, but a gigantic mass of moving metal that somehow manages to form a human-like (or sometimes animal-like) robot. The transforming train that you’ll rig and animate has about 300 moving parts.</p> <p>There are three videos available to show in detail the techniques described here. The first two videos focus on setting up the upper arms of the robot: you can take the principles you learn and apply them to the remaining parts of the figure. The first video will focus on rigging the upper arms. In this section, you will also be setting up the rig in a way that helps to cut the animation time nearly in half, using the useful Follower modifier. Bones will be used for moving the parts instead of separate layers.</p> <p>In Video 2, we will continue with the animation of the rigged upper arms. Here, I will demonstrate how to bring each piece to its destination position without causing geometry to intersect. I will also demonstrate a number of key techniques to help the movement of the different sections to be more realistic.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35099" style="width: 590px;"><p class="wp-caption-text">Discover how you can rig this robot to animate its transformation from train to humanoid</p></div> <p>Video 3 has a completely rigged transforming train. This video focuses on animating the transformation from a train to a robot, ending in a cool pose. A proxy version of the train will be used in this video. IK/FK Blending will also be implemented to allow smoothness in the transformation. If you get stuck at any point, the CD includes completed scene files you can study.</p> <p><em>Click Next to begin the train-transforming video tutorial</em></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d821264/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Video+tutorial%3A+Rig+your+own+Transformer+in+LightWave&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Fvideo-tutorial-rig-your-own-transformer-in-lightwave%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dvideo-tutorial-rig-your-own-transformer-in-lightwave" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Video+tutorial%3A+Rig+your+own+Transformer+in+LightWave&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Fvideo-tutorial-rig-your-own-transformer-in-lightwave%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dvideo-tutorial-rig-your-own-transformer-in-lightwave" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200441230/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d821264/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200441230/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d821264/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200441230/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d821264/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/VscwAZ8sOVc" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/ftr.jpg" rel="lightbox[35136]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35137" height="243" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/ftr.jpg" title="ftr" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Find out how this atmospheric, painterly animated short was created using Maya, Photoshop and After Effects. Watch the film here too</p> <p>For the Remainder depicts the last moments of a house cat who bids farewell to its home before leaving to perish. The short was a graduation project created by Omer Ben David while studying at the <a href="http://www.bezalel.ac.il/en/">Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design</a> in Jerusalem, Israel. Ben David first began working on the plot in November last year. </p> <p>“I was dwelling on a concept of a cat that leaves his house and searches for his final resting place for some time before then,” he says. “I pondered on that notion since hearing the rumour that old cats sometime leave their home to die somewhere else unseen by their beloved ones or enemies. I felt that this essence of a story is very poetic and thus should be treated as a song rather than a narrative.”</p> <h4>First impressions</h4> <p>After developing the main plot, the director carefully considered the importance of the film’s characters and what role each would play. </p> <p>“From the beginning, the story was about a cat and a house,” Ben David explains. “The cat’s owner was also a main character but I wasn’t sure if he would be performing or his presence just suggested. The spider came somewhat in the middle of the storyboarding stage, when I was searching for a death motif to allow the cat to deal with.”</p> <p>“I was greatly inspired by sketches and calligraphy, and some colour blocking when searching for the look of the characters. I figured the house, as a character, should be mostly colour blocked while the cat should be wired so they were in contrast.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/ftr1.jpg" rel="lightbox[35136]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35138" height="243" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/ftr1.jpg" title="ftr1" width="580" /></a></p> <h4>Creating perfect brush strokes</h4> <p>The film’s unique style was inspired by a number of sources. “I was very moved by a series of paintings by <a href="http://lukpazera.blogspot.com/">Lukasz Pazera</a> called <a href="http://postcardsfromthezone.com/">Postcards from the Zone</a> and his brilliant <a href="http://lukpazera.blogspot.com/2011/06/dog-of-zone-animation-sample.html">Dog of Zone</a>, which I figured would be awesome animated,” Ben David says.</p> <p>While researching, the director also watched Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. “I thought it to be the exact poem-like atmosphere I was searching for both visually and musically. I love the ambiance and slow rhythm,” he says. “I was also greatly inspired by color block paintings such as <a href="http://www.gerhardmozsi.com/">Gerhard Mozsi’s</a>, and the dreamy feel and pace in animated films such as Tekkonkinkreet or Ghost in the Shell which I adore.”</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35159" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/remainder_infl.jpg" rel="lightbox[35136]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35159" height="389" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/remainder_infl.jpg" title="remainder_infl" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">One of the film’s main influences was a series of paintings by Lukasz Pazera called Postcards from the Zone. You can see similarities in tone and style between them and For the Remainder</p></div> <p>Ben David’s extensive research and inspirations helped him to develop the unique painterly style of the film. In order to achieve this in 3D, he turned to the powerful tools of Maya. </p> <p>“This software was vital to production,” he explains. “It was an inherent rendering method that got the look for my characters and objects, combined with the overlapping textures on the sets. Photoshop was of course crucial for painting the textures, but Maya allowed me to rig and control almost everything I needed.”</p> <p>The film’s style, however, also presented some technical challenges. “The whole sketchiness and painterly look was the biggest technical issue,” says Ben David. “I did a lot of research about NPR (non photo realistic) rendering before developing the technique for creating it, and it was pretty much an experiment throughout the entire process. I didn’t have a clear point of reference on a technical level on how to achieve this look, and so I did a lot of testing until I reached a certain point where I knew that the composited render would satisfy me.”</p> <p>Despite extensive research and testing, Ben David managed to complete the film within a fairly short time period. “It took me around nine months to finish the short,” he says. “I did some touch-ups, on and off, for a few months afterwards as I was not completely happy with some renders and I’ve worked some more on mastering the soundtrack with <a href="http://onili.com/">Onili</a>. I’m very pleased with the final result. Both on the aesthetics and the feel of it.”</p> <p></p> <h3>Like this film?</h3> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/category/showcase/shorts/">Check out the selection of other awesome animations on our shorts page</a></p> <p><em>Make sure you visit next week for more Friday Animation Fun!</em></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d81a18a/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Friday+Animation+Fun%3A+For+the+Remainder&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Ffriday-animation-fun-for-the-remainder%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dfriday-animation-fun-for-the-remainder" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Friday+Animation+Fun%3A+For+the+Remainder&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Ffriday-animation-fun-for-the-remainder%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dfriday-animation-fun-for-the-remainder" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200396320/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d81a18a/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200396320/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d81a18a/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200396320/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d81a18a/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/W9nf4RJbbCw" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_desert_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="Disney's John Carter movie still" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35150" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_desert_cinesite.jpg" title="Disney's John Carter movie still - opener" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Cinesite has completed 831 VFX shots and converted 87 minutes of film into stereoscopic 3D for Disney’s John Carter, which hit cinemas last week</p> <p>The 3D work in John Carter - Andrew Stanton’s first live-action feature film, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs ‘Mars’ series of novels - was split between three leading London FX houses: Cinesite, Double Negative and The Moving Picture Company. </p> <p>Cinesite, renowned for its photoreal environment work, was responsible for creating and populating the majority of environments for John Carter. The team of 310-strong completed 831 visual effects shots, which included creating and populating the majority of environments for the film. They also converted 87 minutes of the film into stereo 3D.</p> <p>Cinesite’s VFX supervisor Sue Rowe spent several months on set in the UK and Utah. Due to the scale of the project, Rowe divided the work between four other VFX supervisors.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35151" style="width: 590px;"></p> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_wireframe_helium_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter VFX shots" class="size-full wp-image-35151" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_wireframe_helium_cinesite.jpg" title="johncarter_wireframe_helium_cinesite" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Helium is shown from different angles throughout the film, and is used as the backdrop for the final battle sequence</p></div> <p>Christian Irles supervised work on Princess Dejah’s city, Helium. The city presented a challenge as it had to match the art department concept stills. While this was easy enough to do in matte painting, it was very time-consuming and render heavy to get actual full 3D renders. Projections were created for the terrain and these were worked up in matte painting to achieve the level of detail required. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35152" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_helium_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter Helium city" class="size-full wp-image-35152" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_helium_cinesite.jpg" title="John Carter Helium city" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Cinesite created a matte painting of the outside of the city of Helium and, using projections, built up the terrain using high-res stills taken on location in Utah</p></div> <p>The shots presented the city as a whole with both Helium Major and Helium Minor visible, resulting in a huge amount of texture maps and shaders. Render time was very high for these shots and all layers, such as crowds, terrain, etc were rendered separately. </p> <p>Helium stats:</p> <ul> <li>346 models in the city structure</li> <li>74 individual props created</li> </ul> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35153" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Zodanga_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35153" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Zodanga_cinesite.jpg" title="Zodanga_cinesite" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The mobile city of Zodanga crawls like a myriapod across the surface of Mars: giving the city a sense of scale and animating the digital legs was challenging</p></div> <p>Jonathan Neill supervised Cinesite’s work on the mobile city of Zodanga, a mile-long rusty metal tanker that crawls like a myriapod across the surface of Mars. The city was heavily textured using a combination of Photoshop, Mari and Mudbox in tandem with bespoke shaders and lighting development, to give an industrial look and feel.</p> <p>A handful of sets were built which were locations within the city, but these needed considerable extension work to make the depth and scale of the city believable. Cinesite modelled thousands of pieces of geometry for the city buildings, and created hundreds of CG props to dress the sets.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35154" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_city_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter VFX. Interior of city" class="size-full wp-image-35154" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_city_cinesite.jpg" title="John Carter VFX. Interior of city" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Cinesite filled the city with warships and troops, before dressing it with hundreds of CG props</p></div> <p>With 674 legs, the mobile city was technically challenging to animate: Timed animation caches were used to ensure the digital legs moved in a random fashion. “Variations in movement and secondary animation such as cogs and cabling were used to create interest in the leg movement,” says Cinesite.</p> <p>Zodanga City Model stats: </p> <ul> <li>291 structural element models</li> <li>Up to 20,000 objects in a single shot</li> <li>1-2 billion polygons, dependent on camera position and detail required</li> <li>242 CG props created to populate the city</li> </ul> <p>Zodanga City Legs stats:</p> <ul> <li>674 legs </li> <li>44 claws</li> </ul> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35155" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_airship_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter" class="size-full wp-image-35155" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_airship_cinesite.jpg" title="johncarter_airship_cinesite" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The texturing and detailing of the giant airships had to be spot on since they feature in many close up shots</p></div> <p>Ben Shepherd oversaw the huge aerial battle between Zodanga and Helium. His team created each side’s airships which use solar wings to travel on light, as well as explosions, fire, people and set extensions.</p> <p>The giant airships needed to be finely detailed for close-up shots. A challenge for look development was that they were required to be more like a 19th-Century sailing ship, than the type of spaceship which a modern-day audience might expect. </p> <p>For Sab’s flagship corsair, a partial set was created for the bridge/cockpit and one deck of a single ship. This was scanned and photographed for reference and recreated. The remaining areas were created as full CG models. </p> <p>Dejah’s ship and the flagship Helium ship, the Xavarian, were created in 3D also. Each ship had a full set of wings which were sized and laid out specifically for each ship. These were controlled by pulleys and ratchet-type controls to give a sailing look. Each of the wings was covered in hundreds of individual solar tiles which needed to be able to be controlled in animation. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35156" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Thern-Sanctuary_Final-Comp.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter movie" class="size-full wp-image-35156" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Thern-Sanctuary_Final-Comp.jpg" title="John Carter movie" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The entire Thern effect system was designed and built from scratch using a combination of Maya, Houdini and custom software developed in house</p></div> <p>Simon Stanley-Clamp directed work on the Thern sanctuary, a huge underground cave that forms around Carter and Dejah as self-illuminating blue branches as the characters walk through it. </p> <p>The entire Thern effect system was designed and built from scratch using a combination of Maya, Houdini and custom software developed in house. Based on the principles of nanotechnology, the system provided a semi-automated way to ‘grow’ Thern into any environment and geometry. It took a full year of development time to evolve and bring to the big screen.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35157" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Thern-Sanctuary_3_Final-comp.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35157" height="247" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Thern-Sanctuary_3_Final-comp.jpg" title="Thern-Sanctuary_3_Final-comp" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">These ‘growing Thern’ shots were some of the most complex VFX shots Cinesite undertook, and can be seen to great effect in 3D</p></div> <p>In the sequence, as the tunnel itself ends, the main Thern Sanctuary room is seen to build itself, opening out within the Thern matrix of the pyramid interior. This shot required extensive Thern simulation and growing effects, blending multiple elements together in Nuke to build the shot up.</p> <p><em>John Carter is in cinemas now. We’ve not seen the film yet, and reviews so far seem to be fairly mixed, so if you do go, let us know what you think of it via the comments box below, or on Facebook or Twitter </em></p> <h3>The making of John Carter</h3> <p>This article focuses on Cinesite’s contribution to the film, but the 3D work was split between three leading London FX houses: Cinesite, Double Negative and The Moving Picture Company. </p> <p>Read the making-of John Carter article in issue 155 of 3D World magazine, where Renee Dunlop takes us behind the scenes of all three VFX facilities.</p> <p><strong>Issue 155 of 3D World goes on sale on 27th March</strong></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d801946/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Disney%E2%80%99s+John+Carter%3A+The+VFX+of+Cinesite&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Fdisneys-john-carter-the-vfx-of-cinesite%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Ddisneys-john-carter-the-vfx-of-cinesite" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Disney%E2%80%99s+John+Carter%3A+The+VFX+of+Cinesite&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Fdisneys-john-carter-the-vfx-of-cinesite%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Ddisneys-john-carter-the-vfx-of-cinesite" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200459259/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d801946/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200459259/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d801946/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200459259/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d801946/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/SAa9hvj4MmU" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin17_998034v28.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35134" height="247" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin17_998034v28.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin17_998034v28" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Weta Digital embarked on a new quest with The Adventures of Tintin, complete with crashing waves, pirate battles and an extremely stylish wardrobe. Renee Dunlop takes us behind the scenes</p> <p>As the Blu-ray of The Adventures of Tintin goes on sale, we thought we’d share this article from <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/01/07/3d-world-152-create-fire-water-and-more/">issue 152 of 3D World magazine</a>. </p> <p>If you haven’t watched the film already, we suggest you do - The Adventures of Tintin looks like a mix of live-action and CG, which adds up to something unique on screen. It’s possible that The Adventures of Tintin missed out at the Oscars this year because of this very thing, which is a real shame as we think the film has some of the best CG we’ve ever seen. </p> <h3>Weta’s Adventures of Tintin</h3> <p>Weta Digital is delving into a new world – that of the journalist. Enter Tintin, a popular post-World War One comic strip hero who travels about with his dog, Snowy, cracking cases with a little help from his friends. Created in 1929 by the artist and writer best known as Hergé, the stellar artists of Weta, led by director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson, have brought the story to 3D animated life on the big screen. </p> <p>It took some of Weta’s best to tackle the wide array of arduous effects required to complete the film. Keith Miller, one of five VFX supervisors, was among those appointed to the task. He was in charge of roughly 340 shots.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35113" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.opener_ships1.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35113" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.opener_ships1.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.opener_ships1" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">An epic sea battle required Weta Digital’s team to simulate stormy ocean waves</p></div> <p>For Miller, the big challenge was the pirate battle. “It’s such a dynamic sequence,” he says. “There are nearly 60 pirates running about, two ships that are sailing in 60-metre seas complete with lightning storms, rain, hurricane winds, fire, explosions – you name it, it’s all there.” The most difficult challenge was the water, with 60-metre waves interacting with the ships that needed to compositionally match the representations provided by the pre-viz team.</p> <p>Miller’s team approached the work from a few different angles. “First, we updated our FFT [fast Fourier transform] library, a system of generating waves using measurements collected in oceanic research,” says Miller. They also completely rewrote their library using a more up-to-date spectrum that provided the ability to incorporate the ideas of the depth of the ocean and the fetch, or the distance that wind stays at a constant velocity. “We added those new variables into the system and we were able to generate much more realistic wave scenarios for the high wind systems,” he adds. </p> <p>Weta’s FX team did quite a bit of work approximating the surface velocity from the newly generated ocean surfaces and applied those to Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) particle simulations, much of which was used for the white water simulation, breaking waves that rode on top of the ocean surface. These were pushed through Weta’s in-house 3D effects solution, Synapse, a node-based system that’s a container for solvers. In some cases, Naiad data was also incorporated into Synapse for the initial bounded simulation elements.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35116" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.pirate1.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35116" height="245" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.pirate1.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.pirate1" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The battle sequence combines water, fire, wind and lightning, and featured as many as 60 pirates in combat</p></div> <p>In addition to reworking the FFT system, senior water TD Chris Horvath updated Weta’s shading model for raytraced water, using an improved model for participating media for underwater light extinction and scattering. He also made improvements to the procedural texture foam system. </p> <h4>Creating the hands</h4> <p>While Miller and his team battled with the pirate ships, Weta’s digital creature supervisor Simon Clutterbuck focused on some of the smallest of details through his modelling department. “We build the animation puppets, the deformation rigs, we do all the cloth and hair simulations, muscle dynamics, flesh dynamics – anything that has to do with the monster or character,” he says. “We interact with all the departments in the studio to produce stuff for them to use, like the puppets or the baked light, and we work closely with shots and animation.” </p> <p>The creature department work includes providing all the puppets for the animators. “Our animation puppet isn’t the thing that gets cached and ends up in the shot,” says Clutterbuck. “The animation puppets are kind of an interactive, almost real-time version of the character. They don’t have to see amazing hand deformations to pose the hand correctly, so they’re just posing [and] animating this thing that’s much lower resolution.” Clutterbuck’s Creature Department provides the animators with approximations of clothes and low-res hands and bodies that allow for faster animation. “Then the animation data is cached off of that puppet and plugged into a high-resolution creature rig, which gets cached and given to lighting,” he says. “This way there’s no requirement for interactivity in our actual deformation models.” </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35111" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.new_013025261.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35111" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.new_013025261.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.new_013025261" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A single complex rig was used as the basis for all characters’ hands</p></div> <p>It’s hardly all low-res work, though. “There’s a big focus on faces and hands in the show, so a good deal of time was focused on building a detailed hand rig,” says Clutterbuck. “We had all these incredibly close shots of Tintin’s hands. It’s a treasure hunt, so there are all these clues that lead to the treasure, and there are lots of shots where he’s inspecting things. The shots are incredibly long, so you’ll have minutes focused on their face or hands. The stability of the cloth solve, the fidelity of the hands [and] the deformation all had to be very high. It was pretty unforgiving.”</p> <p>Weta Digital’s workflow uses a generic model called Gen Man as a baseline for building humanoid characters. This starting point is used for reference, scanning and motion capturing, tailoring clothes, and even cross-referencing MRI data. Clutterbuck explains: “We produced a whole bunch of life casts in all different poses that were used to build support moulds, 36 in all, that went into the MRI machine, so the character could put his hand into a similar pose and hold it there. Then we could derive the meshes of his joints from the MRIs.” The result was a series of high-resolution joint meshes of his actual skeleton in the selected poses. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35110" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.new_00402825.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="The story requires characters to grip and manipulate objects" class="size-full wp-image-35110" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.new_00402825.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.new_00402825" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The story is a treasure hunt, so there are lots of shots where the characters have to pick things up and be able to manipulate them</p></div> <p>“The metacarpals in the wrist do all these crazy rolling motions – it’s really complex,” Clutterbuck says. “We couldn’t build that complexity into the animation puppets because it would have been prohibitive to animate with, but we also needed the correct degrees of freedom in the wrist and joints to give us the right deformations of the hand.” It took nearly five months to get the hands working the way they wanted.</p> <p>“The hand rig looks pretty amazing,” says Clutterbuck. “The hand model propagates out into the show, procedurally warped into new shapes, so we built one hand rig and it was fitted to all the characters’ hands. We have a process that was developed on Avatar to transfer the rig and deformation data onto other models.” </p> <p>Weta Digital’s model supervisor Marco Revelant was responsible for all the assets created in the model department and was involved with grooming and developing the fur system from the user side for the dog, Snowy. However, it was the clothing that both Clutterbuck and Revelant found the most challenging. The multiple layers and the way the different fabrics fell and moved presented a daunting task. </p> <h4>Folding the clothes</h4> <p>Weta Digital set up a Tintin-specific costume department that helped define the design of the clothing, offering insight into how the fabric would drape and move over a character. “The problem is,” says Revelant, “when you do digital clothing and give it to a modeller, the modeller will try to put in features like wrinkles and folds, but won’t necessarily take into account the quantity of fabric.”</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35114" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.other1_04800542SS_dist.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35114" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.other1_04800542SS_dist.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.other1_04800542SS_dist" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Care was taken with getting clothing folds to animate correctly</p></div> <p>To manage this issue, the Creature Department worked closely with modelling, providing tools that helped drape the character as they were modelling so that they could see how the fabric was behaving, rather than waiting until the Creature Department ran their simulations. Weta used NCloth in Maya, but spent a huge amount of time up-front shooting parameters and getting the topology in the models and construction correct, especially in cross-sections such as sleeves. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35124" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin8_020003215SS.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35124" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin8_020003215SS.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin8_020003215SS" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">There are eight principal characters, and several have multiple costumes. In all, there were 551 individual costumes to build for the film</p></div> <p>Several characters had multiple layers of clothing, requiring layers of geometry to simulate friction. There were eight principal characters, and several – including Tintin, Captain Haddock and Sakharine – have multiple costumes. In all, there were 551 individual costumes to build for the film. “Take the Captain,” Clutterbuck says. “He had a big woollen jacket, a woollen jumper, trousers, and socks and shoes.” Again, proper reference was key. Weta filmed a man running on a treadmill wearing a tailored suit they provided, and gathered reference on how cloth breaks across the seams, collecting data on details such as the effects of double versus single stitching. </p> <p>Weta first tried just solving the visible clothing, but found that it didn’t quite look correct. “We ended up going for full coupled solutions where everything was solved,” says Clutterbuck. “Tintin might enter with his trench coat on, then take it off and toss it onto the back of a chair, and continue the scene wearing the rest of his costume,” says Clutterbuck. “We had to handle this level of complexity where we had all these variations of costume elements and they had to solve coupled. We hadn’t really done anything that complicated before in terms of clothes.” </p> <p>Coupling affects even supporting characters such as Silk, who dresses in a formal jacket, a waistcoat and a shirt. “We didn’t solve the shirt, then put the waistcoat on, then the jacket,” says Clutterbuck. “We solved everything at the same time, so the solutions were all fully coupled. All the costume elements are plugged into one solver. Since they’re all plugged in, they all interact.”</p> <p>Weta defers everything to its render wall. The costumes were assembled as a master file that contained a costume description. During the baked simulation step that file would assemble the costume, plug it into all the solvers, bring it in, attach it to the character, then do the simulation. The result was a final sim and a series of files generated to show what Weta calls pre-files, which are pre-simulation. The individual costume assets are iterated in parallel as an ensemble of costume elements. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35130" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin14_03802770SS.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35130" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin14_03802770SS.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin14_03802770SS" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text"> “There’s a big focus on faces and hands in the show, so a good deal of time was focused on building a detailed hand rig,” says Clutterbuck</p></div> <p>The costumes took several minutes a frame to simulate, but there was no interactivity requirement because that’s all happening on the render wall and animation was working with real-time puppet versions. “So we have these two parts of every character, with the puppet which goes to animation and the creature deformation model that’s the thing the animation curves get plugged into that simulates on the wall,” says Clutterbuck. </p> <p>Weta’s flexible pipeline paid off, according to Miller. “I know a lot of facilities tend to lock down their technology, branch it off and continue developing it outside of current shows, but that’s very different from how Weta works,” he says. “It’s got pros and cons for sure, but it’s one of those things that helps us to stay at the leading edge of technology. We’re constantly throwing in new technology and updating and developing new aspects, and trying to get it pushed into production all the way through the course of the show.” </p> <h4>Setting the scene </h4> <p>The entire Tintin project was done in-house at Weta Digital, including the artwork for the environment and character studies. The translation of the environments from 2D to 3D was left to Weta’s modelling department under modelling supervisor Marco Revelant’s guidance. An internal art department was assembled to research information about the time when the film takes place. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35133" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin16_08900835.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35133" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin16_08900835.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin16_08900835" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">“Every element that was drawn in the book, we tried to find the respective real element from that period that could have been the inspiration for the Hergé drawing," explains Revelant. "Everything was checked against real period data.” </p></div> <p>“One important thing is [creator] Hergé was very careful in depicting a kind of reality that was around the 1940s,” explains Revelant. “Every element that was drawn in the book, we tried to find the respective real element from that period that could have been the inspiration for the Hergé drawing. Everything was checked against real period data.” </p> <h4>Creating the hair </h4> <p>Weta was working on Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Tintin at the same time. While the requirements for hair on Tintin weren’t anything near what they were for Apes, some of the aspects translated over. Tintin required wind effects, wet hair and a lot of development to get the hair to work coupled with the clothes. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35125" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin9_030016v405.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35125" height="246" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin9_030016v405.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin9_030016v405" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Character hair in The Adventures of Tintin has to interact with objects and the environment</p></div> <p>With the hat on, the Captain has a groom, styled so his hair doesn’t stick through the hat. When the hat is off, the hair is groomed appropriately. Sometimes the Captain put his hat on or took it off, so transitional shots with appropriate grooms were needed. The Captain’s hair ended up having a very dense particle set on the hair and collision objects with the hat, and his hair would spring up a bit during the transition. </p> <p><a href="http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/design/3dworld-magazine-back-issues/3d-world-feb-12/">Buy issue 152 of 3D World magazine to read the full article</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Tintin-Two-Disc-Blu-ray-Digital/dp/B0034G4P4Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1331150699&sr=8-3">Buy the Blu-ray of The Adventures of Tintin via Amazon</a></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d77d052/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Weta+Digital+on+the+making+of+The+Adventures+of+Tintin&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F15%2Fweta-digital-on-the-making-of-the-adventures-of-tintin%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dweta-digital-on-the-making-of-the-adventures-of-tintin" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Weta+Digital+on+the+making+of+The+Adventures+of+Tintin&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F15%2Fweta-digital-on-the-making-of-the-adventures-of-tintin%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dweta-digital-on-the-making-of-the-adventures-of-tintin" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200327135/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d77d052/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200327135/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d77d052/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200327135/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d77d052/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/D4s7vJZZjr8" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/19.jpg" rel="lightbox[35032]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35091" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/19.jpg" title="19" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Find out how this ultra photorealistic film was pieced together using 3ds Max and V-Ray. Watch the animated short here too</p> <p><span id="more-35032"></span></p> <p>The Accuracy of Time is a depiction of part of the process of building a watch, more specifically the ceramic crown. Created by art director Javi Martinez, the short was made as a case study for his upcoming <a href="http://lightrendergroup.com/">CGI training roadshow TAOT2012</a>.</p> <p>The idea was to replicate a real advertisement and the entire production process behind it. The film will be used as part of the roadshow training to highlight some of specific challenges currently facing digital artists.</p> <p>The project was created using a 3ds Max and V-Ray pipeline. “The decision to use this software was simply to make a technical demonstration of the many capabilities offered by the two working together,” explains Martinez. </p> <h4>3ds Max and V-Ray: an ideal combo</h4> <p>“3ds Max allowed us to develop the short very easily using the new MASSFX to perform physical dynamics and the ceramic particles and at the same time offered great performance in the modelling and animation of objects and cameras. The reason we chose V-Ray was the quality of representation of light, versatility, simplicity to recreate materials and the optimisation of production times.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/14.jpg" rel="lightbox[35032]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35092" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/14.jpg" title="14" width="580" /></a></p> <h4>More-than-reasonable render times</h4> <p>Rather amazingly, The Accuracy of Time was created using only one workstation! It just goes to show what can be achieved if you’ve got the right amount of dedication: “The short includes the processing of raw materials [to create the watch], the material injection to obtain the piece itself, then it passes through the baking stage and ends with the exposure of the product with elegance and quality,” says Martinez. “But the whole film was in fact a very simple macro CG production playing with a basic geometric model, a virtual light and virtual camera. Given that the piece was produced using a single workstation, the render times were very manageable, ranging from five to 35 minutes per frame.”</p> <h4>Playing with the look</h4> <p>It wasn’t all plain sailing, however. Due to the style and close-up nature of the short, Martinez had to work out solutions in order to achieve the correct look. “The animation treatment and lens blurs were resolved by ZD channels and working on it in post,” Martinex explains. “The animation of the camera lens can easily change the meaning of a sequence so experimenting with this technique was very attractive to me.”</p> <p>Overall, the short took Martinez approximately just under a year to complete from start to finish. “The 10-month production time was an amazing experience,” Martinez says. “But it led to a lot of sacrifice and [it was a] joy to finally get my work out to reach the community of artists in an industry which is so difficult and exquisite.”</p> <h4>Watch the new animation short:</h4> </p> <p></p> <h4>Want more animated shorts of the same calibre?</h4> <p>If you liked this film, check out a selection of other awesome animations on our <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/category/showcase/shorts/">Shorts page</a></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d6f8c5d/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=New+animation+short%3A+The+Accuracy+of+Time&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F14%2Fnew-animation-short-the-accuracy-of-time%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dnew-animation-short-the-accuracy-of-time" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=New+animation+short%3A+The+Accuracy+of+Time&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F14%2Fnew-animation-short-the-accuracy-of-time%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dnew-animation-short-the-accuracy-of-time" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200299806/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d6f8c5d/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200299806/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d6f8c5d/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200299806/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d6f8c5d/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/HB_RZPTmu4k" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW94.t_trade.ad_seq3.jpg" rel="lightbox[35067]"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-35088" height="348" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW94.t_trade.ad_seq3.jpg" title="TDW94.t_trade.ad_seq3" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Do you remember the original Transformers-style Citroën C4 spot? Five years ago it became a worldwide cult hit and we asked The Embassy’s CG team to reveal some of the ad’s technical secrets. Catch up as Transformers week continues…</p> <p>To celebrate <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/07/digital-tutors-releases-new-transforming-robot-tutorials/">Digital-Tutors’ new Transformation training</a>, we thought we’d make an event of it and post online all things Transformery!</p> <p>We’ve already posted up two making of Transformers articles:<br /> <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/07/the-making-of-transformers/">The making of Transformers</a><br /> <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/08/the-making-of-transformers-2/">The making of Transformers 2</a></p> <p>We plan to post up a <strong>train-transforming walkthrough tutorial</strong> this week too, so remember to check back.</p> <h3>Here’s the Embassy’s making of the Citroën ‘Runner’ spot</h3> <h4>ABOUT THE ORIGINAL AD</h4> <p>Created for the launch of Citroën’s C4 range, The Embassy Visual Effects’s original 2004 ad, ‘Alive with Technology’, opens with a hand-held camera shot of a car that transforms into a robot, performs an?impromptu series of dance moves and then reverts back to vehicular form.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35068" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW94.t_trade.orig_ad.jpg" rel="lightbox[35067]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35068" height="320" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW94.t_trade.orig_ad.jpg" title="TDW94.t_trade.orig_ad" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Embassy Visual Effects’s original 2004 ad, ‘Alive with Technology’, opens with a hand-held camera shot of a car that transforms into a robot, performs an?impromptu series of dance moves and then reverts back to vehicular form</p></div> <p>As well as making other VFX teams green with envy, the spot proved to have unexpected longevity. A full two years on, it was regularly appearing on TV, picking up fresh awards, and inspiring numerous spoofs and tributes, including a memorable parody replacing the C4 with a rather less glamorous Citroën 2CV and a viral for Danish bacon. The Mill even got a shot at producing a follow-up, before The Embassy itself jumped back on board for a third in the series.</p> <p>“It’s hard to say what it was about that original ad that hit people,” says studio president Winston Helgason. “Technically we did a good job, but something else struck a chord with them. While the ad has that geek factor, it’s just really fun to watch.”</p> <p>Television audiences got their first taste of vehicular dancefloor magic back in 2004. A?relative newcomer to the field of CG, Vancouver-based VFX studio The Embassy Visual Effects had already turned heads with its viral short film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1zGLx6H3f4&feature=related">Tetra Vaal</a> and some impressively photoreal ads for the likes of Nike.</p> <p>But it was the Citroën ‘Alive with Technology’ ad that really put the studio on the map – and a spring in the step of CG?based car ads. Fusing perfectly believable virtual visuals, directorial flair, and some seriously cool dance moves, The Embassy created what is now regarded as a?genuine classic.</p> <h3>Watch the Citroën ‘Alive with Technology’ spot</h3> <p></p> <p>Now the studio is back on board for the third spot in what is becoming an increasingly long-running campaign, and has been working hard to push the concept of a car that transforms into a robot to even greater heights.</p> <p>In contrast to the original spot, for which director Neill Blomkamp utilised a virtual camera and 3D environment constructed from photographs, the new ad’s director, Trevor Cawood, chose to undertake a live shoot in South Africa – a location chosen principally for its favourable lighting conditions. A new transforming CG vehicle was then integrated into the plates with the help of elements rebuilt in?3D to aid the creation of shadows and reflections.</p> <p>“The brief was pretty open,” says The Embassy president Winston Helgason. “The idea was to have the robot running, but other than that, it was simply ‘make it look cool’. The client did come back and ask if we could find something else for the robot to do, though, so we came up with the rail slide [which the bot performs along the restraining barrier by the side of the road].”</p> <p>Here, the studio’s 3D and compositing staff reveal just how their cybernetic star was rigged and animated to perform such a stunt. They also explore some of the shading and lighting techniques used to generate the photorealistic renders of the modified car necessary to composite it seamlessly into the background plate.</p> <p>Helgason reveals that the studio’s preferred tool for this kind of work is LightWave 3D’s own renderer, its raytracing proving particularly well suited to hard surface lighting. Dropping HDRI set data into the program and adding additional lights, the studio is able to get a scene fully lit in a matter of minutes. But ultimately, he says that the real secret of photorealism in the Citroën ads is simply attention to detail.</p> <p>“The most important thing is to understand how lighting really works, and then learn to match the way it reacts to metallic surfaces,” he says. “That, and then adding loads of extra model detail is what makes the results so effective.”</p> <h3>Watch the Citroën ‘Runner’ spot</h3> <p></p> <p><em>Click Next to read about how ILM had to rip apart the original robot design</em></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d689117/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=The+Embassy%3A+The+art+of+robotics&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F13%2Fthe-embassy-the-art-of-robotics%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dthe-embassy-the-art-of-robotics" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=The+Embassy%3A+The+art+of+robotics&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F13%2Fthe-embassy-the-art-of-robotics%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dthe-embassy-the-art-of-robotics" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200298402/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d689117/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200298402/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d689117/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200298402/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d689117/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/z_DGLpUWdbI" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.hero_.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone's new toon shader" class="alignright size-full wp-image-35062" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.hero_.jpg" title="iClone's new toon shader" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Real-time 3D animation tool, iClone, has everything you need to set up your directorial ?debut. But is it too limited, asks Paul Champion?</p> <p>PRICE?: $200.? Upgrade from $120. ??Other editions: Standard, $80??<br /> PLATFORM?: Windows??<br /> MAIN FEATURES: <ul> <li>Real-time animation?</li> <li>In-screen motion editing and puppeteering?</li> <li>Advanced timeline editing with transition curve?</li> <li>Animate in real-time with motion-capture device??</li> </ul> <p>DEVELOPER: <a href="http://www.reallusion.com">Reallusion</a></p> <p>Converting your finished story idea into a pre-viz or polished animation often presents some daunting challenges, and selecting the right software applications to use can be a key factor in the time (and cost) spent completing it. </p> <p>iClone5 Pro offers a happy medium between high-end applications that have seemingly endless options to tweak, and frustratingly feeble, user-unfriendly low-end software. The latest version of iClone has new animation tools, is still a breeze to use and remains competitively priced.?</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35063" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.assets.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone5" class="size-full wp-image-35063" height="463" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.assets.jpg" title="iClone5" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Now you can create your own version of Pixar’s The Incredibles, in a park and on a merry-go-round!</p></div> <p>If you’re unfamiliar with iClone, it’s primarily a template-based hassle-free solution for real-time animation with plenty of bells and whistles. In terms of workflow, you’re limited to working with the rudimentary content supplied with the application, unless you’re prepared to buy additional assets via Reallusion’s Content Marketplace (which always seems to have some sort of deal on offer). </p> <p>Getting your own assets into iClone5 Pro is quick and easy, but it requires Reallusion’s 3DXchange4, which converts files from applications such as ZBrush, Photoshop, Blender, Poser, Daz Studio, Vue and Maya, and costs $80 for the Standard version. You’ll need 3DXchange4 Pro ($120) to use assets in FBX, 3DS, OBJ and SKP formats. ?</p> <p>Pre-viz users or anyone presenting a concept pitch to clients should find that the content provided is more than adequate for demonstration, where the actual look of assets is less relevant. End users, who will no doubt grow tired of the limited content provided, will be disappointed that they have to shell out for 3DXchange to import more material.?<br /> With the assets in place, it’s time to animate, and there are many new tools to help you with this.??</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35064" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.market.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone5" class="size-full wp-image-35064" height="402" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.market.jpg" title="iClone5" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Whether it’s sexy girls, gym kits or vampires you’re after, the marketplace has plenty of assets for you to buy</p></div> <h4>New features</h4> <p>?<br /> Direct Puppet lets you record your actor’s animation in real time, and if necessary lock body parts to locations. MixMoves enables seamless blending between motions. Body Motion Puppeteering enables the user to control the animation speed and direction. ?</p> <p>Simple floor contact is taken care of with Human IK Motion Editing for Actors, and allows props (which can now be animated in real time) to be held onto realistically. The Timeline has been updated so that animation curves can be varied in playback by adding curve adjustments such as Ease In and Ease Out. For physics animation there are Rigid and Soft Body options for simulation, and other uses such as game prototyping.?</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35065" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.effects.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone5" class="size-full wp-image-35065" height="464" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.effects.jpg" title="iClone5" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Effects can help to enhance your movies, but they are limited to a maximum of five within a project</p></div> <p>The premium new animation tool being touted for use with iClone5 Pro is the Mocap Device plug-in. With this you can act out your animations in real-time – the recorded mocap data is then applied to actors. </p> <p>At $140, this is a lot cheaper than buying your own professional mocap studio, although it requires you to have an Xbox 360 with Kinect. It’s also only compatible with the Pro edition. </p> <p>The plug-in is a significant add-on that falls outside the remit of this review. Judging by forum responses, however, it’s a successful product and great for anyone who wants to physically generate their own movement.</p> <p>?Other notable tools and settings, with which Reallusion is catching up with market competitors rather than introducing groundbreaking innovations, include Ambient Occlusion, which improves the quality of visual output with barely any impact on render times; post-FX tools for colour and blur, which are easy to apply; and cartoon rendering, which can be achieved with just a few clicks and some minor texture corrections. ?</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35066" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.rigid_.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone5" class="size-full wp-image-35066" height="371" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.rigid_.jpg" title="iClone5" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Rigid body simulations can pep up high-speed chases. In iClone5 Pro they are easy to deploy</p></div> <p>There’s still plenty of room for improvement in the renderer. The options are minimal and simplistic – which is part of the general charm of iClone, but it doesn’t always do justice to the end result. Multiple cameras and Picture-In-Picture features offer greater control between shots. Much-requested duplication settings enable you to instance objects with ease, and adjustable pivots, snapping and aligning tools are now possible for objects.?</p> <p>More resource-hungry improvements include higher poly counts for actors, with notable increases to head meshes, which enable more natural deformations. In practice this works far better than before, and since faces are areas that most viewers’ eyes are naturally drawn to, it’s a clearly visible improvement. However, it can still be difficult and time-consuming to tweak. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35062" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.hero_.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone's new toon shader" class="size-full wp-image-35062" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.hero_.jpg" title="iClone's new toon shader" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The new Toon Shader is found in the Atmosphere section of the Stage tab, and can be adjusted for your project needs</p></div> <p>Cartoon character facial controls have been advanced to include exaggeration. Height Map Terrains now allow bigger landscapes, but they are limited to just five. Smart iProps have been updated for game-like interaction.</p> <p>?During testing, these new tools all worked admirably, yet iClone crashed a number of times for no apparent reason. When pushed to reasonable extremes for any shot – such as 20 actors set up with different parameters and animations applied – iClone responded well. But other times it would crash with, for example, a fairly empty scene during terrain set-up. Ordinarily, this would only be a minor annoyance, but since there’s no autosave option in the program, it becomes more ?of a frustration. </p> <p>?Hardware-wise, iClone doesn’t require an overly demanding system. Rather misleadingly, it’s listed as being 32-bit and 64-bit Windows compatible, but it’s not actually a native 64-bit release, so it won’t take advantage of any extra memory installed over 32-bit limitations. It’s rumoured that a 64-bit update will be released, although this was unconfirmed as we went to press.?</p> <p>Overall, iClone5 Pro remains an easy-to-use application, and it can be a real time-saver for pre-viz work and presentations. The learning curve isn’t too steep, and setting up shots is intuitive. For existing iClone users, it should be a no-brainer to upgrade because content from previous versions is compatible, the upgrade price is good, and the new tools (and mocap plug-in, if you choose to buy it) will enhance its usability. New users will need to assess whether they have the funds for additional content and a copy of 3DXchange. </p> <h3>VERDICT</h3> <h4>PROS</h4> <ul> <li>Simple for novices without previous animation experience?</li> <li>Easily modifiable preset models?</li> <li>Ready-made animation categories?</li> <li>Intuitive editing?</li> <li>Options for advanced animators</li> </ul> <h4>??CONS</h4> <ul> <li>Facial profiles are difficult to tweak?</li> <li>Additional content incurs extra costs</li> <li>Rendering options still limited?</li> <li>Not a true 64-bit application??</li> </ul> <p><strong>A speedy solution for pre-viz but hampered by limited content options, basic render settings, and lack of true 64-bit support</strong></p> <h4>About the author</h4> <p>?Paul Champion is the demonstrator for undergraduate and postgraduate 3D and VFX courses at the National Centre for Computer Animation, Bournemouth</p> <h3><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/02/06/win-a-copy-of-reallusions-iclone5-pro/">Win a copy of Reallusion’s iClone5 Pro</a></h3> <p>Enter our <a href="http://http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/02/06/win-a-copy-of-reallusions-iclone5-pro/">iClone5 Pro prize draw</a> for your chance to win one of four packages featuring Reallusion’s real-time animation suite, <strong>worth $1,352 in total</strong></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d5d1225/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Software+review%3A+iClone5+Pro&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F12%2Fsoftware-review-iclone5-pro%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dsoftware-review-iclone5-pro" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Software+review%3A+iClone5+Pro&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F12%2Fsoftware-review-iclone5-pro%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dsoftware-review-iclone5-pro" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129168239143/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d5d1225/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129168239143/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d5d1225/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129168239143/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d5d1225/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/FfSl8XDXlLw" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Mass_effect_3_trailer.jpg" rel="lightbox[35052]"><img alt="Mass Effect 3 trailer" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35053" height="325" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Mass_effect_3_trailer.jpg" title="Mass Effect 3 trailer" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Remember the phenomenal CG trailer that Bioware released a few weeks ago? Don’t worry if you missed it: as Mass Effect 3 goes on sale in the UK, we take a look at Bioware’s cinematic for the final installment of the massively popular RPG</p> <p>We’re so lucky that big budget games can’t be released without an accompanying cinematic teaser to go alongside the standard gameplay trailer, as the animations produced are truly stunning. </p> <p>Bioware’s Mass Effect 3 trailer is a fine example - the teaser features children, aliens and devastating lasers. The cinematic action really gets your adrenaline pumping. </p> <p>One YouTube user commented that if the video keeps going like it does, [the character you play] Shepard has only got about 30-35 minutes to take back Earth, tops, before it’s completely annihilated!</p> <h3>Watch Bioware’s Mass Effect 3 trailer online</h3> <p></p> <h3>Want to learn how Bioware created the cinematic?</h3> <p>So do we, that’s why we’ve asked Bioware to contribute a ‘making of’ article for 3D World magazine. So look out for that in the next issue!</p> <h3>Want more like this?</h4> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/09/platige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video/">Watch Platige Image’s Witcher 2 trailer and making of video</a></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d4c5888/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Bioware%E2%80%99s+Mass+Effect+3%3A+Take+Earth+Back+trailer&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Fbiowares-mass-effect-3-take-earth-back-trailer%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dbiowares-mass-effect-3-take-earth-back-trailer" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Bioware%E2%80%99s+Mass+Effect+3%3A+Take+Earth+Back+trailer&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Fbiowares-mass-effect-3-take-earth-back-trailer%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dbiowares-mass-effect-3-take-earth-back-trailer" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698767040/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4c5888/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698767040/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4c5888/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698767040/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4c5888/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/NvLT8p93M8g" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Scene-2.jpg" rel="lightbox[35045]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35047" height="244" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Scene-2.jpg" title="Scene-2" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Find out how this new short about a fascinating sensory condition was created using a combination of Maya, After Effects and Photoshop. Watch the film here too</p> <p>Synaesthesia tells the life experience of a synaesthete; a person with a condition where two or more of the five senses that are normally experienced separately are involuntarily and automatically joined together. Synaesthetes can experience sounds, tastes, smells, shapes, or touches in almost any combination. Synaesthesia features a character as a small boy, an adult worker and a retired man, who can see and feel shapes and depicts his different reactions to the phenomenon.</p> <p>The short was a final year project created by four students - Tien Hee, Kasumi Saito, Leo Chida and Nikko Hull - of <a href="http://www.massey.ac.nz">Massey University</a>, New Zealand. The quartet had to think of an idea to suit the brief of the school, which had a self-driven component as well as a pre-defined part. “This was basically to pick a topic and find a need or something that needs changing etc,” says Hull. “We chose Synaesthesia.”</p> <h4>Things shaped up nicely</h4> <p>In order to tackle such a complicated condition, the team spent a lot of time researching Synaesthesia and how it was going to affect their characters and set designs. “We decided during the research stage what we were going to do,” says Chida. “Each character was associated with a shape as were the environments. These were contrasting, for example, the first scene the kid was a circle, round and innocent and the environment was a triangle, sharp, scary and alert.”</p> <p>The team also used many sources of inspiration to achieve the look and style they were after. “For the environments, I looked at lots of animations, <a href="http://www.studio4c.co.jp/english/">Studio 4°C</a>, <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2825043">Team Cerf</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831888/">Tekkonkintreet</a> etc and mixed them all together to get the end result,” says Saito. “It was hard to simplify the forms to get it right. We ended up mixing all of these with our own ideas to get the style we came up with.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Scene-1.jpg" rel="lightbox[35045]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35046" height="247" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Scene-1.jpg" title="Scene-1" width="580" /></a></p> <h4>Added Layers</h4> <p>With set and character designs completed, the team began creating the film’s assets in Maya and UV layout tool, <a href="http://www.uvlayout.com/">Headus</a>. “This software is pretty awesome, I was really happy with how Headus sped things up,” says Chida. They also adopted a rendering technique which helped with production times.</p> <p>“The process was quite simple, which also helped in a way,” says Hull. “Each layer was kind of easy, it was just a matter of putting it all together in After Effects. We found the technique demonstrated (kind of) on <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/">Deviant Art</a>, I can’t remember the specific artist, but then we tried to figure it out in Maya and it worked quite well. But we didn’t choose that because of its ease, we chose it because of the style.”</p> <p>The scenes were separated to make the whole process more manageable. “The old man walking down the hall is a good example,” says Hull. “We had the walls, which were all on different render layers. The background and walls were a single layer and frame. Then anything which was moving, so the phone and the character, were on their own layers and were the only sequences. There also had to be a sequence for the shadows so they could cast on the walls. Then we had diffuse, shadows, highlight, AO and particle layers. This all went into After Effects with some lights and colour correction.”</p> <p>After two semesters worth of work, the student team completed the film and are pleased with the final result considering their prior experience in animation. “Up until the end, you have no idea what it’s going to turn out like,” says Chida. “But it was so rewarding finding out that all the effort wasn’t wasted and the film actually looked OK. I mean, some was wasted but we’re learning so it’s all good. Our degree consisted of lots of general design and even fine art so we’ve only really had about a year of animation training (in total). With this in mind, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.”</p> <p></p> <p>Like this film? <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/category/showcase/shorts/">Check out the selection of other awesome animations in our shorts section</a></p> <p><em>Make sure you visit next week for more Friday Animation Fun!</em></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d4bec67/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Friday+Animation+Fun%3A+Synaesthesia&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Ffriday-animation-fun-synaesthesia%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dfriday-animation-fun-synaesthesia" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Friday+Animation+Fun%3A+Synaesthesia&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Ffriday-animation-fun-synaesthesia%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dfriday-animation-fun-synaesthesia" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698680485/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4bec67/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698680485/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4bec67/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698680485/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4bec67/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/_jN_z2Gm7AM" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/witcher2_09032012.jpg" rel="lightbox[35048]"><img alt="Witcher 2" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35049" height="317" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/witcher2_09032012.jpg" title="Witcher 2" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Watch the jaw-dropping animation in the trailer for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Then catch Platige Image’s ‘making of’ video too… </p> <p>In January, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and CD Projekt RED released the epic and impactful CG intro trailer for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, produced by the award-winning animation studio, Platige Image. </p> <p>We were simply blown away when we watched this four-minute cinematic online at the start of the year. Directed by Tomek Bagi?ski and produced by Platige Image, this trailer is packed with stunning animation and effects. Watch it below.</p> <p>Now Platige Image has produced a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the trailer, from the early renders and mocap sessions to the final clip. You can also watch this three-minute video below.</p> <h4>Behind the scenes of Witcher 2</h4> <p>“The idea of the script came from CD Projekt couple years ago, right after the premiere of ‘The Witcher’. It was so called ‘soft’ version and we used it as basis for the work. In spite of vast changes we made, the project went on hold for almost two years until it was brought back to life in Xbox 360 version.”</p> <p>“As it turned out these two years gave both parties necessary perspective. Once we started working on the script again we were able to create new, better and richer version very fast.”</p> <p>“What was left from the original is the ship and main characters. All the rest has been changed. For example in the first version a hornet’s nest was used in the attack. The ship was turned into chaos - all crew started running around. They looked like a group of crazy or electrocuted people. Well… we got rid of this ‘dance’ but left the chaos and add a lot of steroids. It helped,” says director Tomek Bagi?ski.</p> <p>“It was one of the most demanding projects in Platige Image history. The script set up very high standards. As for such a short movie there were a lot of main, detailed characters, difficult face close-ups, very dynamic action full of special effects: cloth and particles simulation and hard slowmotion shots.”</p> <p>“The ship also became one of the main characters. First our graphic artists created a fantastic scenery and most of all great, very detailed sailing ship. Then the particles simulation team went rough with it. They created a vast interaction system covering the whole construction with milions of ice crystals and they smashed the whole thing,” adds CG Supervisor Maciek Jackiewicz.</p> <p>The team of 40 graphic designers and animators was involved in the project for couple moths.</p> <p>The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is due on on Xbox 360 on 17 April. The Windows version is shipping now.</p> <h3>Watch the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings trailer:</h3> <p></p> <h3> Watch the making-of video for the cinematic:</h3> <p></p> <p><a href="http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/the_witcher_2_cinematic">Read a longer interview with CG supervisor Maciej Jackiewicz on CGSociety</a></p> <h4>If you liked this, look out for our ‘making of’ Mass Effect 3 cinematic, due in the next issue of 3D World</h4> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d4b9af0/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Platige+Image%E2%80%99s+Witcher+2+trailer+and+making+of+video&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Fplatige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dplatige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Platige+Image%E2%80%99s+Witcher+2+trailer+and+making+of+video&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Fplatige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dplatige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698762514/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4b9af0/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698762514/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4b9af0/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698762514/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4b9af0/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/b7YwnVrsgeA" width="1" />

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><p>—</p> <p><strong>This blog (Digital Image Magazine) is for sale.</strong> $1000. The sale will include all 180+ posts (most of which are evergreen, pillar content) along with the domain name. </p> <p>email: bob at bobnolin.com</p> <div class="shr-publisher-2680"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2680&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/digital-image-is-on-hiatus/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Digital Image is on hiatus">Digital Image is on hiatus</a> <small>Please enjoy old content in the meantime. ...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-digital-painting-with-photoshop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Digital Painting with Photoshop">Tutorial: Digital Painting with Photoshop</a> <small>CGArena.com has published my new tutorial about how to paint...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-tips-standing-out-in-the-digital-crowd-part-one/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Marketing Tips: Standing Out in the Digital Crowd - Part One">Marketing Tips: Standing Out in the Digital Crowd - Part One</a> <small>Uncovering the hidden market for digital photographers: high-end portraiture....</small></li> </ol></p>

<p><strong>—</strong></p> <p><strong>This blog (Digital Image Magazine) is for sale.</strong> $1200 or best offer. The sale will include all 180+ posts (most of which are evergreen, pillar content) along with the domain name.</p> <p>email: [email protected]</p> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2668&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/digital-image-is-on-hiatus/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Digital Image is on hiatus">Digital Image is on hiatus</a> <small>Please enjoy old content in the meantime. ...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-standing-out-in-the-digital-crowd-part-two/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Marketing: Standing Out in the Digital Crowd - Part Two">Marketing: Standing Out in the Digital Crowd - Part Two</a> <small>Part Two of a series: How to compete with MWACs,...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-digital-painting-with-photoshop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Digital Painting with Photoshop">Tutorial: Digital Painting with Photoshop</a> <small>CGArena.com has published my new tutorial about how to paint...</small></li> </ol></p>

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2625" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="Friends Stick Together, by Bob Nolin. Painted with Photoshop CS5. " class="size-full wp-image-2625" height="361" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/06/hiatus.jpg" title="hiatus" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Friends Stick Together, by Bob Nolin. Painted with Photoshop CS5. </p></div> <h5>Digital Image Magazine is on hiatus for an indefinite time. In the meantime, please make use of the more than 180 articles (tutorials, reviews, inspirations, etc.) here for you. </h5> <div class="shr-publisher-2624"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2624&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/digital-image-magazine-is-for-sale/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Digital Image Magazine is for sale">Digital Image Magazine is for sale</a> <small>— This blog (Digital Image Magazine) is for sale. $1000....</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/a-collection-of-helpful-websites-for-digital-artists/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: A Collection of Helpful Websites for Digital Artists">A Collection of Helpful Websites for Digital Artists</a> <small>Here's a hand-picked list of great websites devoted to creating...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/resources-online-training-for-digital-painting/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Resources: Online Training for Digital Painting">Resources: Online Training for Digital Painting</a> <small>Learn digital art in the comfort of your own home!...</small></li> </ol></p>

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2605" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.andreasrocha.com"><img alt="Beacon, by Andreas Rocha" class="size-full wp-image-2605" height="251" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Beacon.jpg" title="Beacon" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Beacon, by Andreas Rocha</p></div> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143545720X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=digiimagmaga-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=143545720X">Secrets of Corel Painter Experts: Tips, Techniques, and Insights for Users of All Abilities</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=digiimagmaga-20&l=as2&o=1&a=143545720X&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by Daryl Wise and Linda Hellfritsch, is a new title from Course Technology PTR. It is printed in their familiar 7×9″ horizontal format. This makes it a bit hard to read, holding it in your lap, but it works very well lying open on a desk. The spine design allows the book to lie flat quite easily, without damaging the book. This is a dense, 314-page, color-filled book, with lots of great paintings to look at and be inspired by. Inspiration, in fact, is what this book is all about.</p> <p><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2607" style="width: 586px;"><img alt="A New York Minute, by Richard Swiatlowski" class="size-full wp-image-2607" height="384" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/A-NEW-YORK-MINUTE-06.jpg" title="A-NEW-YORK-MINUTE-06" width="576" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A New York Minute, by Richard Swiatlowski</p></div><span id="more-2597"></span></p> <p>The book highlights the work of 17 artists currently using Painter as part of their workflow. The range of styles is quite diverse, which is one of the book’s strengths. The majority of the works here are paintings created from scratch. Only a few artists here use Painter to modify photographs. Mostly what is presented here are what I would call illustrations or fine art paintings. The artists, for the most part, are new, to me at least. It’s nice to see some new blood. The stable of Corel Masters is getting rather tired at this point. </p> <p><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2608" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="The Moon, by Song Yang" class="size-full wp-image-2608" height="862" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/the-moon.jpg" title="the-moon" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The Moon, by Song Yang</p></div> <p>Each chapter includes information about the artist (software and hardware used, education, clients, and awards), a short interview section, a gallery of work, and a Technique section. This is where you’ll find one or two tutorials by each artist. These vary in level of detail. For instance, Chet Phillips’ tutorial is just that: a low-level, what-settings-to-use sort of tutorial (it’s great, too, by the way); most of the tutorials are more high-level. You’ll gain an understanding of the artist’s approach and workflow. For the most part, these are not follow-along projects. </p> <p>For this sort of book, that’s perfect. As the title indicates, there are some “secrets” here: you’ll pick up quite a few clever tricks and new ideas browsing through each chapter. It’s fascinating to see how many different ways a single program can be used. Of course, nearly all of the artists here use Photoshop and other programs, in addition to Painter. This is the way it is in the world of professional art: no one program does it all. </p> <p>The printing quality is first-rate. There is a DVD attached which pretty much contains nothing more than the same works shown in the printed book. These images look better in the book than in the tiny JPGs on the DVD. Be warned-the back of the book states that the DVD contains video tutorials, desktop wallpaper, and Painter movies. I found only two artists who had additional content. Still, the book itself is very worthwhile. You’ll be happy to have it on hand next time you need some inspiration and new ideas. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2609" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Page from Anomaly graphic novel, by Brian Haberlin" class="size-full wp-image-2609" height="392" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/page-from-anomaly-graphic-novel.jpg" title="page-from-anomaly-graphic-novel" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Page from Anomaly graphic novel, by Brian Haberlin</p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2610" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Together, by Pete Revonkorpi" class="size-full wp-image-2610" height="490" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Together.jpg" title="Together" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Together, by Pete Revonkorpi</p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2614" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Anno 1404 - Harbour, by Torsten Wolber" class="size-full wp-image-2614" height="785" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Anno1404_Harbour-01.jpg" title="Anno1404_Harbour-01" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Anno 1404 - Harbour, by Torsten Wolber</p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2615" style="width: 537px;"><img alt="William Shakespaw, by Chet Phillips" class="size-full wp-image-2615" height="897" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/William-Shakespaw.jpg" title="William-Shakespaw" width="527" /><p class="wp-caption-text">William Shakespaw, by Chet Phillips</p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2616" style="width: 510px;"><img alt="Tupac, by Mike Thompson" class="size-full wp-image-2616" height="476" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Tupac.jpg" title="Tupac" width="500" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Tupac, by Mike Thompson</p></div> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143545720X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=digiimagmaga-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=143545720X">Secrets of Corel Painter Experts: Tips, Techniques, and Insights for Users of All Abilities</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=digiimagmaga-20&l=as2&o=1&a=143545720X&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by Daryl Wise and Linda Hellfritsch.</p> <div class="shr-publisher-2597"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2597&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/review-advanced-painter-techniques-by-don-seegmiller/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Review: Advanced Painter Techniques by Don Seegmiller">Review: Advanced Painter Techniques by Don Seegmiller</a> <small>An in-depth review of a new book from Don Seegmiller,...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/bob-nolin/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Review: Digital Collage and Painting, by Susan Ruddick Bloom">Review: Digital Collage and Painting, by Susan Ruddick Bloom</a> <small>An indepth review of Digital Collage and Painting, by Susan...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/book-review-karen-sperlings-painting-for-photographers/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Book Review: Karen Sperling’s Painting for Photographers">Book Review: Karen Sperling’s Painting for Photographers</a> <small>Karen Sperling has a wonderful new book out for anyone...</small></li> </ol></p>

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2586" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="This week, we'll see how to take last week's image (left) and turn it into the image on the right. " class="size-full wp-image-2586" height="377" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/before-after-header.jpg" title="before-after-header" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">This week, we'll see how to take last week's image (left) and turn it into the image on the right. </p></div> <p>Before we begin Part 3, let’s do a quick review. In Part 1, we chose a photo of a model and an environment for her to “live” in. We added a third piece (a new floor) to complete the initial photo composition. In Part 2, we used the ornate stained glass window to create its own mask, thus “removing” the panes of glass. Now we can add a new background image, to serve as the view out the window. Today, in Part 3, we will add 17 layers to adjust the coloring and lighting, to change the image from Part 2 into something exciting and colorful.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_2584" style="width: 233px;"><img alt="To help us stay sane, we'll put the layers into groups, since there are 17 total layers. " class="size-full wp-image-2584" height="184" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/all-groups.jpg" title="all-groups" width="223" /><p class="wp-caption-text">To help us stay sane, we'll put the layers into groups, since there are 17 total layers. </p></div>Before you run screaming out of the room at the very thought of 17 layers, let me assure you it’s not as bad as you might think. Photoshop’s groups act like folders, which help us to organize the layers. Groups can really save your sanity. Here you can see the 17 layers arranged into four groups. The layers are arranged into groups according to the major object being modified. So, for example, the topmost group is the figure group, and it contains the layers which modify our lady in waiting. Here’s what is in the Figures group.</p> <p><span id="more-2583"></span><br /> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2587" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="Clicking on the side-pointing arrow opens up the group. Here are the layers which make up the Figures group. " class="size-full wp-image-2587" height="534" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/figure-group-layers.jpg" title="figure-group-layers" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Clicking on the side-pointing arrow opens up the group. Here are the layers which make up the Figures group. </p></div> <p>The very top layer is set to blending mode hard light. This is a blank layer, and the blending mode allows us to paint on her hair and brighten it up a lot. We also can shape the hair a bit, and add some queenly length.</p> <p>Notice that the figure itself is on a transparent layer. We can use this transparency to clip (mask) layers above the figure. That’s what those right-angle symbols mean: a clipping mask is turned on. You can have more than one layer clipped by the bottom layer, as here (we have two layers being clipped by the queen figure). This means that we can only paint inside the area taken up by the pixel in the Original image layer (the queen). We can add a rim light (a glowing edge) by painting with an airbrush all around the upper edges of the figure, on a blank layer (see layer “rim light”). Turn on blending mode Linear Dodge (add) to punch up the glow. Don’t worry about painting “outside the lines:” the clipping mask won’t let you. Clipping masks are very helpful, and a big time saver. Once you see how they work, you’ll use them all the time. </p> <p>The layer I lazily left named “Levels 3″ also uses the queen image layer as a clipping mask. Here, I’ve added a levels adjustment layer with a layer mask. The clipping mask restricts the levels adjustment to just the queen, and nothing else. The layers mask allows me to lighten, with the paint brush, the darkening created by the levels adjustment, in selected areas. This is a technique I’ve explained in detail in past tutorials, so I won’t spend any more time on it here.</p> <p>The bottom-most layer in the Figure group is a simple blank layer, with dark, soft-edged shadows painted behind the queen. She overlaps the shadows, because her layer is above the layer with the shadows. Next we have the Floor group. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2588" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="Here is the Floor group, opened up. " class="size-full wp-image-2588" height="476" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/floor-layers-group.jpg" title="floor-layers-group" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Here is the Floor group, opened up. </p></div> <p>Here again, the floor object is on a transparent layer, so we can use it with clipping masks. This group is fairly straightforward: we just add three adjustment layers with clipping turned on. The adjustments modify the color, saturation, and hue. To turn it on, by the way, go Layer > Add Clipping Mask. </p> <p>Next comes the much more complicated group, the Wall and Windows. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2589" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="There's quite a bit going on here in the Walls and Windows group. " class="size-full wp-image-2589" height="556" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/walls-windows-group.jpg" title="walls-windows-group" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">There's quite a bit going on here in the Walls and Windows group. </p></div> <p>The layer we created last week sits on the bottom of the stack in this group. Notice the layer mask we made, making the panes disappear. In this group, we are going to modify the walls and the windows only, not the view out the window. That we’ll save for last. Just as in the Floor group, we use three adjustment layers. The key here, though, is a blank layer set to Overlay blend mode. Paint on this layer to alter colors, brighten them, etc., without covering over the original pixels. It’s like painting with…stained glass! Kind of appropriate, I guess!</p> <p>Notice that here, too, we’re using the clipping masks. In this case, that means we don’t have to worry about affecting anything that’s transparent in the bottom layer. We can’t get paint on the panes, in other words, because they are made transparent by the layer mask we created in Part Two. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2585" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="The bottommost group is the Background group. This is only what is visible outside the window. " class="size-full wp-image-2585" height="423" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/background-group.jpg" title="background-group" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The bottommost group is the Background group. This is only what is visible outside the window. </p></div> <p>The fourth and last group contains the layers for the view outside the window. As such, they come last, so that everything else lies on top of the “view.” The only areas that show through are where we’ve created the layer mask in Part Two. The bottom-most layer in this group is an image I chose for the “view out the window.” I’ve also painted on this layer with an intense blue, which shows through nicely in the top windows. I’ve added a vibrance adjustment layer and a blank layer with yellow paint for the clouds. This yellow is supposed to look reflected in the room, on the walls. So as you work, you’ll be shifting up and down through the groups. It’s not a strictly linear process as I have shown here. </p> <p>Photomanipulation, in fact, is a process of play and experimentation. Here we’ve had a look at the final result. But it took hours to come up with these 17 layers. Luckily, groups came to the rescue, and made staying organized a breeze. I hope you found this walkthrough helpful. The final step, for me, is to flatten the image and paint it in Painter and/or Photoshop. Here’s a close-up of the final result of the painting. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2594" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Painting close-up. Painting by Bob Nolin, with thanks to Elandria on Deviant Art for the use of her stock photograph. " class="size-full wp-image-2594" height="1074" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/painting-cu.jpg" title="painting-cu" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Painting close-up. Painting by Bob Nolin, with thanks to Elandria on Deviant Art for the use of her stock photograph. </p></div> <div class="shr-publisher-2583"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2583&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-one/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part One">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part One</a> <small>The thinking process behind creating a photomanip is this week's...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 2">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 2</a> <small>In Part Two, we learn how to create a complex...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-preparing-a-beach-photo-for-painting-in-corel-painter/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Preparing a Beach Photo for Painting in Corel Painter">Tutorial: Preparing a Beach Photo for Painting in Corel Painter</a> <small>Learn how to use Photoshop to correct exposure problems in...</small></li> </ol></p>

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2571" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="In Part 2, we'll create the mask on the right from the image itself. This will allow us to have a new view out the window. " class="size-full wp-image-2571" height="382" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/step-one-plus-mask.jpg" title="step-one-plus-mask" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">In Part 2, we'll create the mask on the right from the image itself. This will allow us to have a new view out the window. </p></div> <p>In Part Two, we’ll remove the window panes, so to speak, to give our lady in waiting a new view. Once the panes are removed, we can insert a new layer underneath, using any landscape or scene we choose.</p> <p>In order to remove the current pixels making up the window in our scene (<a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog.featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-one/">begun in Part 1 </a>), we need to select all the panes. At first, the Select Color Range tool looks like a good choice, but it leaves too much unselected. Ditto with the Magic Wand and the Quick Selection tools. In this case, the view outside the window is very pale: almost white. Using the Curves adjustment tool (see below) we can push the panes to nearly pure white, and darken the cames (the leading between the panes) at the same time. Once we’ve done that, Select Color Range works like a champ. Note the area (circled in red) where the bright sunlight “blew out” the cames in a few areas. We’ll have to correct that next.</p> <p><span id="more-2570"></span><br /> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2574" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="A curve adjustment increases the light areas and darkens the dark areas, which is just what we want. Now the Select Color Range will work much better. " class="size-full wp-image-2574" height="279" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/curves-adj.jpg" title="curves-adj" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A curve adjustment increases the light areas and darkens the dark areas, which is just what we want. Now the Select Color Range will work much better. </p></div></p> <p>Here’s the process:</p> <p><img alt="layers" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2578" height="300" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/layers1-234x300.jpg" title="layers" width="234" /></p> <p>1. Take the original photo and rename the layer it’s on to Layer 0, or “original photo”. </p> <p>2. Duplicate this layer, and name it “working layer”</p> <p>3. Apply a Curves adjustment to make the window panes nearly white, and the cames (leading) solid black. </p> <p>4. Use Select Color Range to select the white panes. </p> <p>5. Use Quick Mask (tap the q key) to make sure only the panes are selected. Then exit Quick Mask (toggle with q). </p> <p>6. Invert the Selection: go Select > Invert. </p> <p>7. Make the Original photo layer active. Click once on the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette. This will create a layer mask that has the window panes masked out.</p> <p>8. To fill in the gaps in the cames (circled in red, above), pick a hard-edged brush, and make it the same size as the cames (about 8 pixels, in this case). Choose solid black as the foreground color. Tap once with the brush, hold down the shift key, and then tap again on the other side of the “broken” came. Photoshop draws a perfectly straight hard-edged 8 pixel-wide line, replacing the missing black areas. Next, use the eraser tool to remove little bits of windowpane which are still hanging around. This goes pretty quickly. Once you’re done making the cames perfect and the panes completely empty, you’re ready to add a new background layer for our lady to look at. </p> <p>9. Lastly, delete the “working layer.” Add back in the image of Elandria from Part One. Paste a new image as your bottom layer, for a new view outside. Here’s what we have at this point. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2580" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Try different landscape images till you find one that suits your vision. " class="size-full wp-image-2580" height="586" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/end-of-step-two.jpg" title="end-of-step-two" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Try different landscape images till you find one that suits your vision. </p></div> <hr /> <p>Next week, we’ll look at how modify this image to really make it glow, using layer adjustments and painting. Thanks for reading! </p> <div class="shr-publisher-2570"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2570&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-3/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 3">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 3</a> <small>In our last installment, the photo manipulation is finished. Learn...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-one/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part One">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part One</a> <small>The thinking process behind creating a photomanip is this week's...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-preparing-a-beach-photo-for-painting-in-corel-painter/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Preparing a Beach Photo for Painting in Corel Painter">Tutorial: Preparing a Beach Photo for Painting in Corel Painter</a> <small>Learn how to use Photoshop to correct exposure problems in...</small></li> </ol></p>

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2551" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://elandria.deviantart.com/"><img alt="One of the Nature's Lore series by Elandria. Click on photo to see more by Elandria. " class="size-full wp-image-2551" height="1091" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/natures_lore_38_by_elandria-d3fy9is.jpg" title="natures_lore_38_by_elandria-d3fy9is" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">One of the Nature's Lore series by Elandria. Click on photo to see more by Elandria. </p></div> <p>Today I came upon the photo above, by Deviant Art stock artist <a href="http://elandria.deviantart.com/">Elandria</a>, and decided I just had to create a photomanipulation with it. For this tutorial, I’m going to emphasize the thought process, more than the actual Photoshopping. I have no idea where I’m going with this photo. So let’s get started!</p> <p> <span id="more-2550"></span></p> <p>First, I’ll separate the image of the woman in the blue dress from the background. The background, in this case, is nearly one color, so I’ll start with the magic wand to select the majority of the background quickly. Make sure “contiguous” is checked on. I used a tolerance setting of 30, which works well, but one of her hand disappears, since it is flesh toned and so is the background (this is why a lime green background-a green screen- is used for this sort of work). Once the selection is made, hit the Q key for Quick Mask. You can make the Quick Mask any color you like; mine is green. </p> <p><div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_2553" style="width: 260px;"><img alt="In Quick Mask mode, you can see where the Magic Wand got a little too aggressive. Paint over the missing fingers with white to recover them. " class="size-full wp-image-2553" height="302" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/missing-fingers.jpg" title="missing-fingers" width="250" /><p class="wp-caption-text">In Quick Mask mode, you can see where the Magic Wand got a little too aggressive. Paint over the missing fingers with white to recover them. </p></div> Zoom in and clean up the edge of the mask. Paint with white to recover areas; paint with black to mask out unwanted areas. </p> <p>Once the edge is all cleaned up, tap the Q key again. This returns you to select mode, and you’ll see the “marching ants” defining the selection edge. At this point, we’ve selected the background. Go Select > Inverse to select the figure. Now, let’s find a setting for our figure.</p> <p>For this, I turn to my ever-growing collection of stock photos. I keep these on my hard drive, and add to the collection whenever I see a stock photo (on Deviant Art, Morguefile, sxc.hu, etc.) that catches my eye. The images are organized into a large library of folders (Maps, Globes, Clocks, Rocks, Seascapes, Landscapes, etc.). Keeping organized really helps when it’s time to look for an image, as we’re doing right now. I have several promising folders for this image. Since she’s in Medieval garb, I’ll look in my Castles folder, and maybe the Cathedrals folder. She seems to be looking out a window, at least in my mind, so I look in the Windows folder, and find this image: </p> <p><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2559" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://xNickixstockx.deviantart.com"><img alt="This will become the main setting for the final photomanipulation. The pink area shows where I'll be adding a new floor. Stock used with permission by xNickixstockx on Deviant Art. " class="size-full wp-image-2559" height="885" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Castle_Window___Battle_Abbey_by_xNickixstockx-small.jpg" title="Castle_Window___Battle_Abbey_by_xNickixstockx-small" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">This will become the main setting for the final photomanipulation. The pink area shows where I'll be adding a new floor. Stock used with permission by xNickixstockx on Deviant Art. </p></div> <p>I go back to the selected image of Elandria, and go Cmd+C (or Cntl+C on Windows) to copy. Then I paste it into the window image. I resize the figure a bit using Edit > Transform > Scale. After moving her around a bit, I decide that she needs a higher floor to stand on. I will grab a floor from another image on my hard drive. After adding the floor, I’ll crop the bottom of the window image. First, let’s find a new floor. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_2560" style="width: 260px;"><a href="http://mirandarose-stock.deviantart.com"><img alt="This image, by stock artist MirandaRose-stock on Deviant Art, shows a nice floor under a lit window. It's a good match for our renovation project. " class="size-full wp-image-2560" height="287" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/new-flooring.jpg" title="new-flooring" width="250" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">This image, by stock artist MirandaRose-stock on Deviant Art, shows a nice floor under a lit window. It's a good match for our renovation project. </p></div> <p>This is a good example of how you need to adapt images to suit your purposes sometimes. This flooring looks good, but it’s not the right polygonal shape (see the pink shape, above). What I’ll do is copy it to another layer, and then flip it horizontally. Then I’ll move the copy until left and right halves make a shape similar to the pink polygon. </p> <p>Next I copy and paste this new flooring into the main image of the castle window (see below). After pasting, it appears in the middle of the image, as you see here. The arrows show where I’ll be moving it. It doesn’t match the original shape exactly. But I kind of like the way it comes forward to a point, so I’ll go with that. For fine tuning, I’ll use the Edit > Transform > Warp tool. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_2562" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="The new floor matches pretty closely, though it comes forward to a point, unlike the pink shape I made earlier. " class="size-full wp-image-2562" height="454" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/new-floor-right-left.jpg" title="new-floor-right-left" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The new floor matches pretty closely, though it comes forward to a point, unlike the pink shape I made earlier. </p></div> <p>Here’s the new floor, ready to lower into place. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2564" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="I may need to use the Warp transform a bit, but this flooring should pop right into place. Good enough for government work, as they say. " class="size-full wp-image-2564" height="885" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/new-floor-ready-to-install.jpg" title="new-floor-ready-to-install" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">I may need to use the Warp transform a bit, but this flooring should pop right into place. Good enough for government work, as they say. </p></div> <p>Now I copy the image of Elandria into the setting (below). This concludes Step One. Next week, we’ll give Elandria something to look at out the window! </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2567" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Step One, complete. Next we'll change the window view, and some other neat stuff. " class="size-full wp-image-2567" height="762" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/step-one-complete.jpg" title="step-one-complete" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Step One, complete. Next we'll change the window view, and some other neat stuff. </p></div> <div class="shr-publisher-2550"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2550&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-3/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 3">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 3</a> <small>In our last installment, the photo manipulation is finished. Learn...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 2">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 2</a> <small>In Part Two, we learn how to create a complex...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/create-fantasy-painting-with-photoshop-and-painter/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Create a Fantasy Painting with Photoshop and Corel Painter">Tutorial: Create a Fantasy Painting with Photoshop and Corel Painter</a> <small>Learn how to assemble a fantasy image using stock images,...</small></li> </ol></p>

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2534" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="Five Chicks Named Moe, by Bob Nolin. Painted with Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet." class="size-full wp-image-2534" height="274" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Five-chicks_final.jpg" title="Five-chicks_final" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Five Chicks Named Moe, by Bob Nolin. Painted with Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet.</p></div> <p>The painting above, “Five Chicks Named Moe,” took about three weeks to complete, working on it a few hours a day on average. I would guess that’s about 45 hours of work. I followed a fairly complex working method, and I’d like to share it with you today. This isn’t really a tutorial, but more of a “making of.” I won’t talk much about the actual painting. Instead, I’ll lay out the steps I took. You may find this method has some advantages for your own work.</p> <p>In a nutshell, I take a stock photo (<a href="http://www.fotolia.com/id/6674607">this one</a>, from Fotolia, in this case), create a black and white “underpainting” (a grisaille), and then paint on top of that until the grisaille is completely covered over. This is different from my previous hand-painted Photoshop works, in that I’m using a grayscale layer that becomes part of the final image. Previously, I’d use a line drawing layer for reference, and then delete it at the end. With this new method, I’m attempting to follow the Old Masters’ way of working, with a monochrome underpainting.</p> <p><em>Grisaille</em> (pronounced “griz-eye”) is a French word meaning “gray tones.” The advantage of starting with a monochrome underpainting is it allows the painter to establish the forms and values first, and then develop the color on top of that. More info available <a href="http://grisaille.com/">here</a>.<span id="more-2525"></span></p> <h4>Step One - Topaz Adjust to add detail</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2528" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.topazlabs.com/303.html"><img alt="Original stock photo on left. Topaz Adjust (Mild Detail preset) on right. " class="size-full wp-image-2528" height="388" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Chick-2-orig-vs-TA.jpg" title="Chick-2-orig-vs-TA" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Original stock photo on left. Topaz Adjust (Mild Detail preset) on right. </p></div> <p>I use<a href="http://www.topazlabs.com/303.html"> Topaz Adjust</a> whenever I need to add some punch to a photo. After trying out several of the presets that come with Adjust, I went with the Mild Detail setting. The original photo is very high key, with very little variation in tone. It’s all bright. So the first step is to bring out detail that has been washed out by the bright, even lighting. My goal is to achieve a dark, chiaroscuro look, as though the chicks were painted by a Dutch master of the 16th century. As you can see above, Adjust brings out each individual feather, but the Mild setting doesn’t overdo it. </p> <p>Before we go any further, let me show you where we’re going. Here’s what the layer palette is going to look like once we get through the next several steps. The layer with the chicks is in the middle of the stack. The background is below the birds, and the adjustment layers are above them.</p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2536" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Here's our goal: layers that create the look we're after. " class="size-full wp-image-2536" height="856" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/layers.jpg" title="layers" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Here's our goal: layers that create the look we're after. </p></div> <h4>Step Two - Create the dark background</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2527" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="A simple dark-to-very-dark gradient makes up the background. It will be painted over to add texture and variety." class="size-full wp-image-2527" height="273" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/backgrd-grad.jpg" title="backgrd-grad" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A simple dark-to-very-dark gradient makes up the background. It will be painted over to add texture and variety.</p></div> <p>The bottom-most layer in the stack is the Dark Gradient background. This is just a start, and we’ll paint over it later to make it look hand-painted, and not machine made. </p> <h4>Step Three - Give the chicks a table to stand on</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2538" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="There are two wood layers, with the upper one set to Overlay mode. The upper one is blurry, and this helps to eliminate the photographic detail of the wood photo. " class="size-full wp-image-2538" height="272" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/wood-layers.jpg" title="wood-layers" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">There are two wood layers, with the upper one set to Overlay mode. The upper one is blurry, and this helps to eliminate the photographic detail of the wood photo. </p></div> <p>The wood tabletop is actually a photograph of an old drawing board. I used the Perspective adjustment tool to make the board look like it’s lying down (it was shot head on). Next I copy one layer, and blur it, set the blending mode to Overlay, and turn down the Opacity until the detail is softened but not eliminated altogether. Then I add a layer mask with a soft edge between black and white. This makes the far end of the table get darker. The layer mask allows the dark gradient to show through. </p> <h4>Step Four - Add shadows under the chicks </h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2537" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Soft, blurry shadows are cast by the chicks' bodies, while small, hard-edged shadows are cast by their feet. " class="size-full wp-image-2537" height="274" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/shadows-added.jpg" title="shadows-added" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Soft, blurry shadows are cast by the chicks' bodies, while small, hard-edged shadows are cast by their feet. </p></div> <p>Add two new, blank layers. The lower of these layers will contain the blurry shadows cast by the bodies of the chicks. The upper layer will show the shadows cast by their feet. Use a large, soft airbrush at low opacity for the lower layer. For the feet, use a much smaller brush, at higher opacity. Paint right on the edges of their feet. Aren’t layers great? </p> <h4>Step Five - Add the adjustment layers </h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2526" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="The new Exposure Adjustment Layer, along with a layer mask, gives the chicks volume and directional lighting. " class="size-full wp-image-2526" height="272" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/adj-layers-added.jpg" title="adj-layers-added" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The new Exposure Adjustment Layer, along with a layer mask, gives the chicks volume and directional lighting. </p></div> <p>Now that the stage is set and the actors are in place, we’re ready to adjust the lighting. This is done with adjustment layers. As you can see in the Layers screenshot shown earlier, there are the usual Curves, Levels, and Hue/Sat adjustment layers. These make subtle adjustments. The star performer here, though, is the new Exposure adjustment level combined with a layer mask. Set the exposure setting so that the chicks are under-exposed (i.e., darkened). You will make them look like they are completely in shadow. Then you’ll reveal the light by painting on the layer mask. It’s like magic! </p> <h4>Step Six - Collapse all the layers and create the grisaille</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2535" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="The Black&White adjustment is used to create a grayscale image, or grisaille. " class="size-full wp-image-2535" height="271" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/grissaile.jpg" title="grissaile" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The Black&White adjustment is used to create a grayscale image, or grisaille. </p></div> <p>Save your work to this point; flatten the image, and save with a different name. Now we have our painting base. You could just use this as your starting point. If you like to work with the cloning tools in Painter, you could clone this file and begin to paint. But my goal is to try to emulate the Old Masters, so I go Image > Adjustments > Black & White, use the Auto setting, which creates my grayscale underpainting. </p> <h4>Step Seven - Add “glazes” of color </h4> <p><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2532" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Two layers here: the Color layer on top of the Grisaille layer" class="size-full wp-image-2532" height="275" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/color-layer-added.jpg" title="color-layer-added" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Two layers here: the Color layer on top of the Grisaille layer</p></div> <p>In traditional painting, thin glazes of color are applied on top of the underpainting. We can do something similar in Photoshop and/or Painter. Insert a new layer above the Grisaille layer, and change the blending mode from Default to Color. (In Painter, choose Colorize.) Now when you paint, you can’t cover over the greyscale; you can only “tint” it with color. This is similar to the hand-tinting of photographs which photographers used to do before the advent of color film. (See <a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-colorizing-vintage-photos-with-corel-painter/">this article</a> and <a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-turn-a-civil-war-era-photo-into-a-painting//">this article</a> for two tutorials.) The Color blending mode allows you to paint as though you were laying in transparent washes of watercolor or acrylic, or oil glazes. The values of the grayscale interact with and alter the colors, as you will see. This hand-colored base is now ready for us to paint with opaque colors, in the next step.</p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2529" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="This close-up shows what the Color layer on top of the Grisaille layer looks like. " class="size-full wp-image-2529" height="739" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/chick2-color-on-gris.jpg" title="chick2-color-on-gris" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">This close-up shows what the Color layer on top of the Grisaille layer looks like. </p></div> <h4>Step Eight - Opaque painting</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2530" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="Many hours and brushstrokes later, here's the final painted chick. " class="size-full wp-image-2530" height="740" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/chick2-final.jpg" title="chick2-final" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Many hours and brushstrokes later, here's the final painted chick. </p></div> <p>To begin the next phase, insert a new blank layer as the top layer. Leave the blending mode and opacity as is (Default and 100%). Now here’s where the work really begins! All that has come before is really just preparation for the actual painting. No, I’m not kidding! The first seven steps should take an afternoon, give or take. It’s not very time-consuming; it’s just a lot to explain, a lot of details. </p> <p>While painting, refer to the first file you created (the flattened, full-color one). I use the eye-dropper to sample colors from this base file, and then adjust them as needed. To cover the grisaille lines and tones completely, the paint will need to be quite opaque. However, I use many glazes of low-opacity color, which build up and eventually cover the greyscale image. </p> <p>So that’s basically it. I hope you find this method helpful. At the very least, I’ve laid out one method of painting in the classical mode of the Old Masters. It’s been a fun experiment! I invite your comments and questions below, in the comments box. Thanks for reading!</p> <div class="shr-publisher-2525"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2525&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-the-making-of-viking-chieftain-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain, Part 2">Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain, Part 2</a> <small>In Part 2, we complete the corrections to the exposure,...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-the-making-of-viking-chieftain/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain">Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain</a> <small>Put away that Dodge and Burn tool! Learn some non-destructive...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-the-making-of-viking-chieftain-part-3/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain, Part 3">Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain, Part 3</a> <small>In the third and last installment, we look at how...</small></li> </ol></p>

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2514" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="The custom header I created for my Fine Art America website. " class="size-full wp-image-2514" height="91" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/artofbn.jpg" title="artofbn" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The custom header I created for my Fine Art America website. </p></div> <p>Back around the end of February, <a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-artist-websites-on-fine-art-america/">I wrote about</a> my experiences getting started with Fine Art America. Two months have gone by, so it’s time for the update I promised in Part One. Certain negative aspects have been corrected, so that’s good news. There remain some things I’d like to see changed, but overall I would highly recommend FAA to artists looking for an online presence, especially if they need a print-on-demand (POD) provider.</p> <p>For $30 a year, FAA gives you unlimited gallery space on their main site, as well as a distinct website that has no FAA branding. Customers can order framed prints through either venue. However, when customers order through your personal website, the customer sees only that you have a professional ecommerce site, allowing them to order prints, framed and unframed, prints on canvas, and greeting cards.</p> <p> From a marketing standpoint, this is more impressive than a customized Zazzle or Redbubble gallery, since it appears to be a stand-alone business site. Even better is the ease with which you can create your professional-looking site using FAA’s tools. Customization on other POD sites is difficult, to say the least, and often requires a solid understanding of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). FAA, on the other hand, is very easy to use. I created the customized header (above) in Photoshop, which really helps the site look unique. </p> <p>Sean Broihier, the owner of FAA, seems to be very focused on the needs of his artist customers, as well as the buying public who visit FAA. Knowing that customers will want to take a close look at artwork before buying, Broihier created a high-resolution zoom tool. This helps increase buyer confidence. The only other place I’ve seen this sort of thing is on a stock photo site. Other POD sites don’t seem to realize the importance of such a tool. </p> <p>Broihier provides artists with a neat slideshow widget, which you can see over on the right here on my blog. When I add artwork to my gallery, the slideshow automatically picks it up. The slideshow’s movement attract the visitor’s attention, and shows off my work at the same time. I think it’s really useful. </p> <p>FAA also automatically provides buyers with color swatches based on the main colors in a piece of artwork. Again, I can’t think of a similar site that does that. Along with visitor counts, there are visitor comments. These help build buyer confidence. </p> <p><span id="more-2513"></span></p> <p>When you upload artwork, it appears automatically in the huge gallery on FAA, as well as on your own website. No need to do dual maintenance of two sites.</p> <p>The buying experience is very professional. I ordered an unframed and a framed print from FAA, in order to check out the printing and framing quality, as well as delivery time and packaging. My order arrived in about ten days, and was packed very securely in a big box. The framed print looked just great. The colors seemed to be an exact match, and the framing quality was excellent. I used to work in a frame shop, and I’ve framed dozens of my own pieces, so I know what to look for. I couldn’t have done a better job myself. The back was covered nicely with kraft paper, and wired ready to hang. </p> <p>I should step back and mention that the online process for ordering a frame is intelligently designed. You pick a frame color and you’re presented with all frames that match that color. You can then order a mat, and the viewer shows what your work will look like in that frame with that mat. The color of the displayed mat didn’t seem to match the color I picked, always, so that may be a little bug. </p> <p>As an artist, you determine the minimum and maximum print sizes available for ordering. The site lets you know what the biggest size printable is for your given file, so that’s helpful. Other sites don’t address this sort of thing well, if at all.</p> <p>Buyers can choose from a range of papers. If you know that your work will not look good on the default matte archival paper, you can’t stop buyers from ordering it, unfortunately. You can, however, add a note in the piece description, recommending the proper paper. The unframed print I ordered was printed on the matte paper, which is the cheapest available. The dark blacks didn’t look as dark as they should have, due to the paper. The Somerset paper I used in the framed print showed accurate and rich colors, though it was a bit more expensive. </p> <p>Normally, an unframed print comes rolled in a tube. Since I was also ordering a framed print, FAA used a large flat box, and packed the unframed print flat in the box, which was a pleasant surprise. I was quite pleased with my purchasing experience on FAA, and feel confident that my customers will be getting a quality product when they order. FAA also has an unconditional guarantee. </p> <p>Back in <a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-artist-websites-on-fine-art-america/">Part One</a> of this review, I mentioned that you can’t pick your own domain name for your FAA website. What I failed to explain is how easy it is to work around that. If you own your own domain name (such as <a href="http://www.bobnolin.com">www.bobnolin.com</a>, you can tell your domain registrar (the company that you pay each year to maintain your URL) to “point” to your FAA site. If you roll your mouse over the slideshow on the right, you’ll notice, down at the bottom of your browser, that it says “www.bobnolin.com.” When you click on it, it takes you to the FAA site, which is really www.bob-nolin.artistwebsites.com. Here’s how you make that happen: </p> <p><img alt="1&1-control-panel" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2519" height="504" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/11-control-panel.jpg" title="1&1-control-panel" width="499" /><br /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>You select “Forward Your Domain” and then tell it where to forward to. Each registrar has a way to do this, I believe. It is free, too. Also, I tell it what title I want to appear up top in the visitor’s browser (”The Art of Bob Nolin”). Choosing “Frame Redirect” causes the URL to say “www.bobnolin.com”, which keeps the visitor from getting confused by seeing www.bob-nolin.artistwebsites.com. I’ve had some questions about how I did this, so forgive me if I got too techie there!</p> <p>As I mentioned in Part One, the FAA website was not working very well when I was trying to sign up. Sean Broihier assures me this was due to heavy maintenance to the search engine, and that the server should be up all the time now. In two months, I’ve never again experienced a problem. So that’s a relief. Also, FAA employs several full-time customer service people, which was another issue in Part One. </p> <p>I need to wrap up here, but I do want to mention the community on FAA. My works are frequently commented on by other FAA’ers, and they’re all very nice and supportive. There are groups and an online forum, you can create a blog, an email newsletter, and so forth. These things all add to the feeling of a community, and they’re free. The $30 fee is only if you want to use the POD service and/or have your own website. From what I’ve seen so far, this was $30 well-spent. If you have questions I didn’t answer here, please leave a comment below. Also, I’d love to hear about your own experience with FAA.</p> <p>Thanks for reading! </p> <div class="shr-publisher-2513"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2513&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-a-review-of-fine-art-america/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Marketing: A Review of Fine Art America">Marketing: A Review of Fine Art America</a> <small>Fine Art America is an online art marketplace offering an...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-artist-websites-on-fine-art-america/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Marketing: Artist Websites on Fine Art America">Marketing: Artist Websites on Fine Art America</a> <small>A look at Fine Art America's artist website option. Come...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-7-places-to-sell-your-work-online/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Marketing: 7 Places to Sell Your Work Online">Marketing: 7 Places to Sell Your Work Online</a> <small>Learn how to get your digital works printed and into...</small></li> </ol></p>

<!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetTop --><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2504" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/"><img alt="Learn how to use Photoshop to paint photorealistic wildlife, with this new tutorial on CG Arena. " class="size-full wp-image-2504" height="378" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/article-shot.jpg" title="article-shot" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Learn how to use Photoshop to paint photorealistic wildlife, with this new tutorial on CG Arena. </p></div> <p>The computer graphics website CG Arena (<a href="http://www.cgarena.com">www.cgarena.com</a>) publishes a free online magazine every other month. The new issue, just out today, includes <a href="http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/">a 7-page tutorial</a> I wrote about painting a highly-realistic bald eagle portrait using Photoshop. This tutorial is about twice the length of the ones I publish here on Digital Image Magazine, so there’s lots of detail and screen captures to explain the process. The tutorial is called “The Making of Sentinel.” You can download the free magazine and read the tutorial, along with lots of other great content, <a href="http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/">here</a>. Here’s a close-up look at the finished painting. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2508" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="Sentinel (detail), by Bob Nolin. Digital painting created in Photoshop. Based on photograph by Joshua Sexton. Used with permission. " class="size-full wp-image-2508" height="421" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/Sentinel-dim-cu.jpg" title="Sentinel-dim-cu" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Sentinel (detail), by Bob Nolin. Digital painting created in Photoshop. Based on photograph by Joshua Sexton. Used with permission. </p></div> <div class="shr-publisher-2503"></div><!-- Start Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><div class="shareaholic-like-buttonset" style="float: none; height: 30px;"><a class="shareaholic-fblike"></a><a class="shareaholic-fbsend"></a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 100%;"></div><!-- End Shareaholic LikeButtonSetBottom --><img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2503&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/beginning-digital-painting-with-photoshop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Beginning Digital Painting with Photoshop">Beginning Digital Painting with Photoshop</a> <small>Want to learn how to paint with Photoshop? Here's a...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/resources-online-training-for-digital-painting/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Resources: Online Training for Digital Painting">Resources: Online Training for Digital Painting</a> <small>Learn digital art in the comfort of your own home!...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/book-review-digital-painting-in-photoshop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Book Review: Digital Painting in Photoshop">Book Review: Digital Painting in Photoshop</a> <small>A review of Susan Ruddick Bloom's new book, Digital Painting...</small></li> </ol></p>

<img alt="Adobe Creative Suite 6 launch propels design, Web, and video apps onto center stage" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2012/04/cs6-designwebprem-279223.jpg" /> Adobe updates and consolidates its print and Web oriented software into a single large bundle and augments its video package with brand new apps.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=2b03cc4d414f0e66b2d147c0be91d464&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=2b03cc4d414f0e66b2d147c0be91d464&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="Adobe launches Creative Suite 6 alongside new Creative Cloud subscription service" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2012/02/creativecloudicon-273359.jpg" /> Adobe debuts its cloud strategy with high-profile Creative Suite 6 in the starring role.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=a6e19078f6f4d0e554a008fddd23407d&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=a6e19078f6f4d0e554a008fddd23407d&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="Adobe offers Creative Suite, Creative Cloud for students and teachers" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2012/04/cs6_ps_boxshot_11in-279209-279255.jpeg" /> Adobe integrates CS6 and the Creative Cloud into the educational market with new offerings and prices.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=c985532d98b145e6120618dfbe677556&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=c985532d98b145e6120618dfbe677556&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="Adobe Creative Suite 6 and Creative Cloud: What you need to know" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2012/02/creativecloudicon-273359.jpg" /> Adobe's massive creative software package has been updated and and along with it Adobe has launched a brand new cloud service. Here's a summary of all the action.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=4dcc01c21c8f59c3050f7658ec1cd750&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=4dcc01c21c8f59c3050f7658ec1cd750&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="Weekly Wrap: Flashback, free Snow Leopard, Instagram alternatives" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/news/graphics/138665-generic_mobile_original.jpg" /> The days are getting longer, and the weather's getting warmer. You're forgiven if you forgot to refresh Macworld.com as obsessively as often. Luckily, the Weekly Wrap, our collection of the best Macworld stories from the week gone by, is here to help you catch up on what you missed.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=e6e399a87dcc48b46872a1f8e3981067&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=e6e399a87dcc48b46872a1f8e3981067&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="Are Boy Scouts prepared for the iPad?" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2011/12/generic_ios_whitebg-264607.jpg" /> The Northern Star Council Boy Scouts of America believes a bring-your-own-device approach and a cloud-based virtual private network service are the right tools to explore iPads in the enterprise.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=e900ed4bc77b2f54402cb97843ff973a&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=e900ed4bc77b2f54402cb97843ff973a&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="The Macalope Weekly: Beleaguered Microsoft" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/news/graphics/143988-macalope-peek-thumbnail_original.jpg" /> Is it time to break out the b-word on Microsoft? Why not?!<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=b59d9a6068709881bc60294a1b6e9089&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=b59d9a6068709881bc60294a1b6e9089&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="Remains of the Day: Release valve" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/news/graphics/141666-generic-icon-internet_original.png" /> An authoritative source casts doubt on Tim Cook's Valve visit, a story suggests Apple still has oh-so-secret plans for its cash, and the very latest in green power for data centers.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=513377d21a4e888aed5e45077e555264&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=513377d21a4e888aed5e45077e555264&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="Join the Diablo III stress test this weekend" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2011/09/diablo3_thumb-255145.png" /> Got any plans this weekend? Saving the world from evil by participating in the Diablo III open beta.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=837aa7f0b7a3fc599a5dc4b2095b732c&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=837aa7f0b7a3fc599a5dc4b2095b732c&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<img alt="2012: The year LTE becomes a standard, not a luxury" src="http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2012/03/thumb_lte-274316.jpg" /> The mobile industry may well remember 2012 as the year when LTE became the dominant wireless technology in the United States.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;" /> <a href="http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=174ea3adc3bf1baa78e7263404a68953&p=1"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=174ea3adc3bf1baa78e7263404a68953&p=1" style="border: 0;" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://tags.bluekai.com/site/5148" style="display: none;" width="0" /><img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://insight.adsrvr.org/track/evnt/?ct=0:tar7qjh&adv=wouzn4v&fmt=3" style="display: none;" width="0" />

<p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="Colsubsidio_Book_Exchange_1.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=Colsubsidio_Book_Exchange_1.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/Colsubsidio_Book_Exchange_1t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="Colsubsidio _Book_Exchange_2.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=Colsubsidio_Book_Exchange_2.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/Colsubsidio_Book_Exchange_2t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="Colsubsidio_Book_Exchange_3.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=Colsubsidio_Book_Exchange_3.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/Colsubsidio_Book_Exchange_3t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <div class="posttextbox"> <p>“Come with a story and leave with another.”</p> <p>Agency: Lowe/SSP3, Bogota, Colombia<br /> Creative Chairman: Jose Miguel Sokoloff<br /> Creative Director: Gustavo Marioni, Carlos Camacho<br /> Art Director: Andres Lancheros, Guillermo Siachoque, Sebastian Pelaez<br /> Copywriter: Mario Lagos</p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/_TeaBTTnDXF9DnL4h8TcW5QchzQ/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/_TeaBTTnDXF9DnL4h8TcW5QchzQ/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/_TeaBTTnDXF9DnL4h8TcW5QchzQ/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/_TeaBTTnDXF9DnL4h8TcW5QchzQ/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=GJpEe-CmiOE:e7NDTNl_Xbc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

<p> <br /> </p> <p>Agency: Cossette Vancouver<br /> Creative Director: Rob Sweetman, Bryan Collins<br /> Art Director: Addie Gillespie, Mia Thomsett<br /> Copywriter: Addie Gillespie, Mia Thomsett<br /> Producer: April Haffenden</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/o6ak_Jtl6EQhWR3v52gztwbtNNM/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/o6ak_Jtl6EQhWR3v52gztwbtNNM/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/o6ak_Jtl6EQhWR3v52gztwbtNNM/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/o6ak_Jtl6EQhWR3v52gztwbtNNM/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=IW7lQVQ_3IM:XoUC-oPD70A:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

<p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="fiat_originalparts_1.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=fiat_originalparts_1.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/fiat_originalparts_1t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="fiat_originalparts_2.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=fiat_originalparts_2.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/fiat_originalparts_2t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="fiat_originalparts_3.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=fiat_originalparts_3.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/fiat_originalparts_3t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <div class="posttextbox"> <p>“Just one non-original part changes the whole story.”</p> <p>Agency: Leo Burnett, Sao Paulo, Brazil<br /> Creative Director: Marcelo Reis</p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/6xaG65eCDNetGKNKom9N5e7bv3k/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/6xaG65eCDNetGKNKom9N5e7bv3k/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/6xaG65eCDNetGKNKom9N5e7bv3k/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/6xaG65eCDNetGKNKom9N5e7bv3k/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=SAM1H6Xq1NM:iEGvLMBaeI4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

<p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="colgate_plax_eyecover.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=colgate_plax_eyecover.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/colgate_plax_eyecovert.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <div class="posttextbox"> <p>Agency: Y&R, South Africa<br /> Chief Creative Director: Graham Lang<br /> Executive Creative Director: Rui Alves<br /> Copywriter: Nkanyezi Masango<br /> Art Director: Ntobeko Ximba<br /> Account Director: Shannon Weber<br /> Photographer: Bryan Traylor</p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/YTS7jipNNwTHjfLgvevW4zkfiWo/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/YTS7jipNNwTHjfLgvevW4zkfiWo/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/YTS7jipNNwTHjfLgvevW4zkfiWo/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/YTS7jipNNwTHjfLgvevW4zkfiWo/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=I0ivDvtGq80:WGKEg9fo4mI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

<p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="pedigree_bus_bag.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=pedigree_bus_bag.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/pedigree_bus_bagt.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <div class="posttextbox"> <p>For the month of March, dog walkers won’t have to worry if they forget to bring poop bags to Trinity Bellwoods Park, in Toronto, Ontario, thanks to Mars Canada Inc.’s latest PEDIGREE® bus shelter campaign. To help promote PEDIGREE® Chicken & Rice+ Dry Food with prebiotics, Proximity BBDO in Toronto developed the first-ever bus shelter ad that also dispenses poop bags. The idea was simple: When it comes to healthy digestion, the proof is in the poop. People walking their dog can grab a bag and put it to use. Most importantly, they can also give some thought to the quality of their dog’s “back end performance” while doing so.</p> <p>Headline in photo: Help keep your dog regular.</p> <p>Agency: BBDO, Toronto, Canada<br /> Creative Directors: Gagne/Dave Stevenson<br /> Art Director: Rebecca Dunnet<br /> Writer: Shiran Teitelbaum</p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NbdbFKELypohdKXuL-4Mv9Wyzq8/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NbdbFKELypohdKXuL-4Mv9Wyzq8/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NbdbFKELypohdKXuL-4Mv9Wyzq8/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NbdbFKELypohdKXuL-4Mv9Wyzq8/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=6vuKzvAPSV0:tQAk36kZyb4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

<p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="planet_kids_invite.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=planet_kids_invite.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/planet_kids_invitet.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <div class="posttextbox"> <p>Brief: Planet Kids, Bangalore’s leading playschool chain wanted an invite to announce their Annual Day celebrations. This invite would be given to students and their parents. The objective was to create excitement around the event and get their kids buzzing. Oh, and of course the invite had to be cost-effective.</p> <p>Solution: So we decided to create something out-of-the-ordinary, something that would engage their students and get them to transfer the buzz onto their parents. And voila, the ‘hand puppet’ invite was born out of a mere sheet of A4 sized paper. We then went on to create five unique characters so as to encourage greater curiosity, creativity and playfulness among our tiny TG.</p> <p>Agency: Happy, Bangalore, India<br /> Executive Creative Director: Kartik Iyer<br /> Chief Creative Officer: Praveen Das<br /> Creative Director: Carl Savio<br /> Illustrator: Nalisha Chouraria<br /> Art Director: Shatrughan R<br /> Copywriter: Megha Ramesh</p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/tefVF5C72KF-RVgivZSL9KS2Bp0/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/tefVF5C72KF-RVgivZSL9KS2Bp0/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/tefVF5C72KF-RVgivZSL9KS2Bp0/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/tefVF5C72KF-RVgivZSL9KS2Bp0/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=3HoxfVutKj4:f0fmIxfSZ3I:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

<p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="Cia_Athletica_1.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=Cia_Athletica_1.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/Cia_Athletica_1t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="Cia_Athletica_2.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=Cia_Athletica_2.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/Cia_Athletica_2t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="Cia_Athletica_3.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=Cia_Athletica_3.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/Cia_Athletica_3t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <div class="posttextbox"> <p>“No more fat excuses”</p> <p>Agency: DDB, Brasil<br /> Client: Cia Athletica<br /> Title of Ad: No more fat excuses<br /> Creative Diretors: Sergio Valente, Marco Versolato, Gustavo Victorino, Moacyr Netto.<br /> Copywriter: Rafael Zoehler<br /> Art Director: André Vervloet<br /> Illustrator: Gustavo Victorino</p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/QDTGJN9BWw_FU_2JIE9JUAoVNnI/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/QDTGJN9BWw_FU_2JIE9JUAoVNnI/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/QDTGJN9BWw_FU_2JIE9JUAoVNnI/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/QDTGJN9BWw_FU_2JIE9JUAoVNnI/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=uesrhKKjPsE:b_Zc3VPxOrE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

<p> <br /> </p> <p>This advert for the Guardian’s open journalism, screened for the first time on 29 February 2012, imagines how we might cover the story of the three little pigs in print and online. Follow the story from the paper’s front page headline, through a social media discussion and finally to an unexpected conclusion. Some of the best work I have seen in a long time.</p> <p>Agency: BBH, London, UK</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/C7tcXxEcnz8eBxMi4_fV-XGSYFw/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/C7tcXxEcnz8eBxMi4_fV-XGSYFw/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/C7tcXxEcnz8eBxMi4_fV-XGSYFw/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/C7tcXxEcnz8eBxMi4_fV-XGSYFw/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=7GWb966C-WI:ngkdd5txp74:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

<p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="spit_extra_strong_1.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=spit_extra_strong_1.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/spit_extra_strong_1t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="spit_extra_strong_2.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=spit_extra_strong_2.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/spit_extra_strong_2t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <form action="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php" method="get" name="ad_form"> <input id="ad" name="ad" type="hidden" value="spit_extra_strong_3.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/SINGLE_AD_PAGE.php?ad=spit_extra_strong_3.jpg"><img src="http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/spit_extra_strong_3t.jpg" width="350" /></a></form> <p></p> <div class="posttextbox"> <p>Spit is an international brand that provides professionnal fixing solutions. The campaign highlights the robustness of Spit products through 3 strong and funny visuals that express the brand competitive advantage.</p> <p>“SPIT, extra strong fixings.”</p> <p>Agency: Euro RSCG 360, France<br /> Creative Director: Hugues Pinguet, Stéphane Morel<br /> Art Director: Quentin Delachaux<br /> Copywriter: Stéphane Le Frapper</p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/EcT_1OAh9ssGCwYuRG_m49rVQBE/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/EcT_1OAh9ssGCwYuRG_m49rVQBE/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/EcT_1OAh9ssGCwYuRG_m49rVQBE/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/EcT_1OAh9ssGCwYuRG_m49rVQBE/1/di" /></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:wF9xT3WuBAs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:wF9xT3WuBAs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?a=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Advertising/designGoodness?i=tlyINDOCgqw:Z6X2qXikFZc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div>

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<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>It is necessary to first point out that by <strong>NO MEANS</strong> is minimalism a trend! In actuality, it is a design style that emerges to prominent use in accordance when society’s common desire shifts towards excessive wants. If that is the case, what could this guy be talking about?</p> <p>Well, in recent years the web community has been strongly gravitating toward minimalism as the go-to design approach. Recently some newly popular styles were coming along, the most notable of these being Parallax Design. However, since then, Responsive Web Design came about, seemingly delaying the surfacing of a new prominent design style. The question going to be answered here is whether minimalism was rejuvenated by Responsive Web Design, or not?</p> <p><span id="more-68085"></span></p> <p>Before going into this question, it is important to briefly see how Responsive Web Design sprouted up and where minimalism <strong>as a trend</strong> was initially heading.</p> <h2>Responsive Web Design’s Beginning</h2> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-68251" height="427" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Responsive-Design-Add-Life-Minimalism-Responsives-Start-570x427.jpg" title="Responsive Design Add Life Minimalism - Responsive's Start" width="570" /><br /> <em><a href=" <p>Ever since the iPhone was first introduced, it put an immense pressure on any web designer or developer without mobile experience to gain some, and quick, before they end up out of a job.</p> <p>Then in 2010, CSS got media queries introduced and everything changed. Later in the same year, Ethan Marcotte wrote an <a href="http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/">article for A List Apart</a>, essentially coining the phrase <strong>Responsive Web Design</strong>. This of course later lead to his <a href="http://www.abookapart.com/products/responsive-web-design">eBook of the same name</a>, which is a great read by the way, being released in 2011. This then led to many different articles, tutorials, and frameworks that made the learning curve quite easy. By the time the community was able to truly grasp what was all rapidly happening, Responsive Web Design had already taken off like a rocket.</p> <h2>Where Minimalism as a Trend Was</h2> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-68259" height="378" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Responsive-Design-Add-Life-Minimalism-Where-Minimalism-Was-570x378.jpg" title="Responsive Design Add Life Minimalism - Where Minimalism Was" width="570" /><br /> <em><a href=" <p>Remember when minimalism first appeared during its most recent stint of dominance? A good estimate would be about 2008, or 2009 I suppose. For those that don’t (and all of those that do) remember can agree that it came at a much-needed time. Before, the web was in a true state of complete over-saturation because of the widespread use of grunge. As far as the eye can see into the deep cyber blue ocean that is the web, the majority of what was being seen was grunge. In the delightful places where grunge wasn’t present, it was all about overly aesthetically appealing designs that added no extra value to the end-user. Some sites like this still remain today, you’ve probably seen one or two this week.</p> <p>Then out of nowhere the clean, direct, and detail oriented design style of minimalism started to gain prominence. The web would do a 180 degree shift of sorts to the exact opposite of where it just was. Where unnecessary graphical pleasures ruled, the necessity focused design approach took its place.</p> <p>However in 2010, minimalism as a trend was at a crossroads so to speak. The dominance of the web being seen could easily be gone, or something could happen to revitalize it.</p> <h2>The Connection</h2> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-68295" height="380" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Responsive-Design-Add-Life-Minimalism-Connection-570x380.jpg" title="Responsive Design Add Life Minimalism - Connection" width="570" /><br /> <em><a href=" <p>Lets put things into perspective. Minimalism grew to become the go-to design style somewhere around 2008 and 2009, pretty good estimation. Responsive Web Design was first introduced with the addition of media queries to CSS and Ethan Marcotte’s first article on the topic published on A List Apart, both occurring in the year 2010. Now by 2010 minimalism’s reach grew to span the vast majority of sites on the web and this of course led to somewhat of a stale feeling for those that tend to reject complacency. Which would probably be the entire community of web professionals.</p> <p>Minimalism grew to be too big for its own good in 2010, and Responsive Web Design came out around 2010. Right now both these design approaches have the web in their fictional palms, connection?</p> <h2>How Did This Come To Be</h2> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-68299" height="381" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Responsive-Design-Add-Life-Minimalism-How-Came-To-Be-570x381.jpg" title="Responsive Design Add Life Minimalism - How Came To Be" width="570" /><br /> <em><a href=" <p>Some people may be wondering right now about how this connection came to be. Well, that is exactly what we’re going to be looking at right now.</p> <h4>They Compliment Each Other Well</h4> <p>As earlier mentioned, minimalism is a very detail oriented design approach that tends to shun aesthetic additions just for the sake of making things look better. Every aspect has an intended purpose that aids the end user’s experience, and that is what’s most important.</p> <p>Responsive Web Design is all about being able to have the full experience of a website, but the trick is it has to be able to seamlessly do this on any device and screen size. To do this, the design of the website must be focused around making sure the desired message is clear and easily understandable. Which means all the extra, and unnecessary, aspects may need to be saved for use somewhere else.</p> <h4>They Both Put an Emphasis on Content</h4> <p>The main goal of each can easily be described by calling it one and the same. Minimalism’s main goal is to bring as much attention to the actual content as possible, and then using aesthetic touches to increase its appeal. In Responsive Web Design, the content is king. This is because as the site changes in size, the content becomes a more important factor to the visitor. Of course it is the original reason why anyone would visit, but on smaller devices the content is the only thing that should matter.</p> <h4>Easy Adaptability</h4> <p>Minimalism is a very pleasant visual experience for viewers, and this same pleasure can be found on any device and screen size without any excess effort. This one reason probably does the best job at putting rationality behind why Responsive Web Design clings to it so well. They are both about adapting to their environments, without losing quality or their identity, and both do this quite well.</p> <h4>Minimalism was Popular at the Right Time</h4> <p>It wouldn’t make sense to start using a new advancement in web technology with a new design approach, that is if the already popular one is a perfect match, would it? Of course not, so that is why most tutorials found today on Responsive Web Design will be done with websites using a minimalist design approach.</p> <h2>In Closing</h2> <p>The connection between these two respective design approaches is quite clearly understandable after taking a little look. Both share the same goal and intended purposes with what they want for the websites they are applied to, so of course they would get along. They also do a good job of helping each others trend shelf life, without actually being trends in essence. However while both these approaches are useful and quality design approaches, no trend lasts forever — no matter what the circumstances.</p> <h4>Any Thoughts You’d Like To Add To Better Explain How Responsive Web Design Can be Added to Minimalism’s Current Popularity Streak?</h4> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=G5wMFC65kwE:hIRG1wCxNlk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=G5wMFC65kwE:hIRG1wCxNlk:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=G5wMFC65kwE:hIRG1wCxNlk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=G5wMFC65kwE:hIRG1wCxNlk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/G5wMFC65kwE" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>Make Money Online! As easy as it sounds, <em>making money online</em> has proven to be a daunting task for many. Oh, I am not even considering the A-listers of the Internet industry. I am talking about the average Joe who struggles day and night to squeeze out a few extra dollars out of the complex world of the Internet. It is not easy, but then there would have been no fun if it was anyways. A major chunk of the Internet is involved in some sort of design. People are creating logos, designing websites, magazine covers and whatnot in order to be a somewhat-known designer. Today, I will try to dig out the most famous (and easy-as-you-master-them) ways to <strong>make money online by designing</strong>. Basically, we will see how being smart is the <em>mantra of making money online</em>.</p> <p><span id="more-67286"></span></p> <p><strong>NOTE:</strong> Make sure that you bookmark all the links in this article. You won’t get the real meaning of what I want to convey unless you go through the suggested links. Be patient and stick around.</p> <h2>1. Infographics Designer</h2> <p>The design industry has lately grow fond of Infographics. There was a time when including the word alone in an article title meant the article would be a hit. Though such days have passed by, everyone sees the value of quality Infographics. Infographics provide loads of useful information in a graphically attractive format which is easy to consume for an average human brain.</p> <blockquote><p>Develop Interactive Infographics, not just Infographics!</p></blockquote> <p>Bookmark the below links for further reading. The loads of information will defiantly take you somewhere:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/interactive-infographics-future/" target="_blank">Is Interactive Infographics Next? Why?</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/simple-tips-market-infographics/" target="_blank">6 Simple Tips On How To Market Your Infographics</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/25-best-infographics-of-2011-that-are-still-relevant-today/" target="_blank">25 Best Infographics of 2011 That Are Still Relevant Today</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/infographics-tips-resources/" target="_blank">Designing Quality Infographics: Tips, Resources and Inspiration</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/beautiful-infographics/" target="_blank">30 Beautiful Infographics For Your Inspiration</a></li> </ul> <h2>2. Accepting Donations</h2> <p>Please don’t bombard me with your I-cannot-take-donations type comments. If you cannot take donations then move on. For those who can, please keep reading. The idea of donations won’t work unless you are giving back to the community. And, if you are actually giving back something to the community then rest assured that people will donate money to you. All that you have to do is generously ask for donations. Yeah, it works!</p> <blockquote><p>Any money is good money, right?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://giving.jhu.edu/" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67547" height="300" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/donation.jpg" title="donation" width="570" /></a></p> <p>Bookmark the below link to get more out of this <em>money making guide</em>:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/remarkably-designed-donation-pages/" target="_blank">38 Remarkably Designed Donation Pages Which Will Soften Your Heart</a></li> </ul> <div> <h2>3. Write for Blogs</h2> <p>Well, once I wrote a post about <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/reasons-why-web-designers-should-blog/" target="_blank">why every web designer must blog</a>. The article received a mixed response, but at the end of the day most of the designers agreed that the parallel habit of blogging has its own advantages. Henceforth, web designers can earn a lot by launching their own blogs or by writing for other blogs. It is matter of time and patience before the world recognizes you.</p> <blockquote><p>Today’s cement and brick age faces the same challenge as was faced by the stone age – extinction due to fast paced technology.</p></blockquote> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67548" height="300" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/blog.jpg" title="blog" width="570" /></p> <p>Now, here are the customary links that you must bookmark:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/grow-as-a-designer-by-building-network/" target="_blank">How To Grow As A Designer By Building Your Own Network</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/find-ideas-under-ten-minutes/" target="_blank">How To Find Ideas To Write About In 10 Minutes</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/write-ebook-people-will-read/" target="_blank">How To Write An eBook That People Will Actually Read</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/questions-before-becoming-blogger/" target="_blank">Questions To Ask Yourself Before Becoming A Blogger</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/blogging-industry-downturn/" target="_blank">Is The Blogging Industry In A Downturn?</a></li> </ul> </div> <h2>4. Logo Design</h2> <p>Let me start with <em>make money online by designing logos</em> as this one is personally very close to me. I remember how I pushed a cousin of mine into the world of Internet while he was in high school. No idea how, but he landed in the world of Logo Design and today he is making loads of money just by designing logos on a regular basis. As pompous as it sounds, logo design is a career in itself with people doing it full time just because of the money that can be made.</p> <blockquote><p>Keep yourself updated with whatever is happening around the world of design and learn Photoshop, please!</p></blockquote> <p>At 1WD, we have loads of information for logo designers. Here are few links to get you started:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/awesome-rules-designing-perfect-logo/" target="_blank">7 Awesome Design Rules For Perfect Logo</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/best-written-explained-logo-design-tutorials/" target="_blank">30 Best Written and Explained Logo Design Tutorials</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/50-creative-type-based-logo-designs/" target="_blank">50 Creative Type-Based Logo Designs for Inspiration</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/creative-logos-hidden-thought/" target="_blank">50+ Creative Logo Designs with Hidden Though</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/difference-between-timeless-classic-logo-design/" target="_blank">The Difference Between Timeless and Classic Logo Design</a></li> </ul> <h2>5. Stock Graphic Sales</h2> <p>Yes! They do work. With tons of websites that sell stock graphics, it looks like the niche might be saturated, but that isn’t the case yet. The reason is very simple. The kind of stuff available on these websites isn’t always the best quality. See, I am not denying the fact that such websites have over-the-top graphics, but not every graphic is over-the-top. Right? That is where designers like you can pitch in. Fill in the void and rule the world of stock graphic sales. I know people who are earning their living just by selling stock graphics on various websites.</p> <blockquote><p>Stock graphic is for real designers only. It is about creating vector files, icons and illustrations etc. If you don’t know Photoshop then better learn it!</p></blockquote> <p>Also, remember that stock graphic design is not very exciting. You will have to be innovative and patient if you want to <em>make money online by selling stock graphics</em>. This world has lot of competition and they will simply rip you apart if you don’t try hard enough. Be tough and stick around.</p> <p>Here is something for each one of you. If you miss these then you ain’t getting rich:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/market-sell-digital-goods-the-right-way/" target="_blank">Market and Sell your Digital Goods the Right Way</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/50-fresh-and-high-quality-adobe-photoshop-tutorials/" target="_blank">50 High Quality Adobe Photoshop Tutorials</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/40-free-gimp-brushes/" target="_blank">40+ Amazing Free Brushes for GIMP</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/photoshop-webdesigner-toolbox/" target="_blank">Photoshop Designer Toolbox: All the Resources You’ll Ever Need</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/100-design-elements-resources/" target="_blank">Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: 100+ Links of Design Elements and Resources</a></li> </ul> <h2>6. Stock Photo Sales</h2> <p>Now, for those of you who sit behind a camera first and then behind Photoshop. The Internet is dying to buy your photographs and I can assure you a business out of this provided that you are good at whatever you do. Launch your own <em>Photo Selling Website</em> or publish photographs on other marketplaces listed below. In any case you are bound to grow. Soon, you will be earning money from your passion - Photography!</p> <blockquote><p>Remember, you ain’t a photographer if you need Photoshop to make your photographs look good. Get Real!</p></blockquote> <p>Before we move on, let me list down articles that you must bookmark for further reading:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/breathtaking-photo-manipulation/" target="_blank">90 Breathtaking Photo Manipulation With Amazing Creativity</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/ten-steps-to-create-photography-portfolio/" target="_blank">10 Easy Steps On How To Create A Good Photography Portfolio</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/eight-photography-effects/" target="_blank">8 Effects Every Photographer Should Know About</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/photographers-portfolio/" target="_blank">50 Most Outstanding Photographers’ Portfolio for Inspiration</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/silhouette-photography/" target="_blank">60 Beautiful and Stunning Examples of Silhouette Photography on Deviantart</a></li> </ul> <h2>7. Template/Theme Sales</h2> <p>Well, isn’t this the most obvious of them all. If you are a designer and you aren’t selling themes then you surely are missing out on a huge chunk of money. See, I don’t mean that every theme sells and that by selling themes you will be the richest person on this planet, but you surely can earn a lot if you are good at what you do. There are plenty of marketplaces that will help you provide with the best possible exposure for your work. Time to be inspired.</p> <blockquote><p>Stick to one Content Management System and be an expert of the same. Don’t jump back and forth from WordPress and Joomla.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://themeforest.net/?=1stwebdesigner" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67549" height="300" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/themeforest.jpg" title="themeforest" width="570" /></a></p> <p>Now, before we move on, here is the content that you must bookmark:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/creative-ways-use-html5-canvas/" target="_blank">7 Creative Ways To Use HTML5 Canvas</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/joomla-versus-wordpress/" target="_blank">Joomla! 2.5 - Does It Have What It Takes To Beat WordPress?</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/wordpress/barebone-wordpress-themes/" target="_blank">25 Free and Premium Barebone WordPress Themes For Easy Customizing</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/pagelime-web-designer-cms/" target="_blank">PageLine: A CMS Specifically Made For Web Designers</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/wordpress/video-bloggers-themes/" target="_blank">50+ WordPress Themes For Video Bloggers</a></li> </ul> <div class="linkscent-iconblock" style="float: none ! important; width: auto ! important; height: auto ! important; display: block ! important; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;"><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" style="margin: 0pt; float: none ! important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" height="16" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" width="16" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" style="margin: 0pt; float: none ! important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! 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important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" style="margin: 0pt; float: none ! important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" height="16" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" width="16" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" style="margin: 0pt; float: none ! important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" style="margin: 0pt; float: none ! important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" height="16" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" width="16" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" style="margin: 0pt; float: none ! important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" style="margin: 0pt; float: none ! important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" height="16" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" width="16" /><img alt="" class="linkscent-icon" src="chrome://interclue/content/cluecore/skins/default/pixel.gif" style="margin: 0pt; float: none ! important; width: 16px ! important; height: 16px ! important; display: none; overflow: visible ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; line-height: 16px ! important; white-space: nowrap ! important;" /></div> <p></p> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=W3T9Vy4t7mc:oEa0yDLH77E:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=W3T9Vy4t7mc:oEa0yDLH77E:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=W3T9Vy4t7mc:oEa0yDLH77E:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=W3T9Vy4t7mc:oEa0yDLH77E:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/W3T9Vy4t7mc" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>The global economy is becoming more uncertain than ever. Many people are particularly worried about how the threat of a global recession will damage their income potential. As an Internet entrepreneur, you should definitely do the same.</p> <p>Many marketers have said that blogging is recession proof and Internet marketers don’t have to worry about the threats of a global recession. Although there is some truth to this, their advice can be very misleading and dangerous.</p> <p><span id="more-67304"></span></p> <p>The truth is that changing economic environments is likely to impact any business and Internet businesses are no exception. As you build your online business, you are going to need to consider the different ways an economic recession could impact your business and what you can do to mitigate those risks.</p> <h2>How Will a Changing Economy Affect Your Online Business?</h2> <p>A changing economy can create both challenges and opportunities to your online business model. Understanding these changes will help you decide on the most appropriate business model as you move forward.</p> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67409" height="500" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/4931419824_04f318a914.jpg" title="4931419824_04f318a914" width="375" /></p> <p>One of the problems with a recession is that customers are less likely to open up their wallets. This applies whether you are working with businesses or end consumers. It can also affect every type of monetizing strategy you might use.</p> <p>Even many Adsense bloggers felt the sting of the recession in 2008. When you are blogging it can be easy to forget that there are real companies on the other end bidding for the keywords you are promoting on your site. They have to bid less when their budget declines.</p> <p>If you are an affiliate marketer or selling products, you are likely to find that your customers are struggling for cash as well.</p> <p>This sounds discouraging, right? Well the good news is that some of these problems could actually be opportunities in disguise. Many businesses and customers are looking to improve their spending power. As they are struggling along with smaller budgets, they often move away from purchasing goods and services offline.</p> <p>Figuring out how to mitigate your risks and maximize the opportunities of a recession can help you drastically improve the profitability of your online business.</p> <h2>Strategies for Recession Proofing Your Blog</h2> <p>There are a variety of things you can do to protect yourself from an uncertain economy. Here are some things that you may want to consider:</p> <h3><strong>1. Be an Expert</strong></h3> <p><strong></strong>One of the challenges you are going to face in any economy is competing with hundreds of thousands of other Internet entrepreneurs. As companies lay people off or cut their hours, I would expect more people would go online to start running their own business. At first glance, it would appear that it becomes significantly more challenging to make a living as the competition grows. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. Many of the new marketers don’t really understand how the business works. You can still do well in this economy if you show that you are one of the entrepreneurs who really knows what you are doing. Create awesome, authoritative content and show your customers that they should listen to you.</p> <h3><strong>2. Choose Your Business Model and Niche Carefully</strong></h3> <p>Deciding what you are going to do for a business model and niche is going to be one of the biggest decisions you end up making as an Internet entrepreneur. What type of product do you really want to promote?</p> <p>While you are in the Internet profession, you are still promoting products that are often in a different industry. Deciding what kind of industry you want to promote is going to be a huge part of your income. You will likely fare better in a recession if you choose products that do well when the economy is faltering.</p> <p>According to a post Darren Rowse wrote during the beginning of the recession in 2008, some bloggers watched their Adsense revenues drop considerably, while others doubled their income within a couple of months. This is because some industries expand their businesses while others watch it fall.</p> <p>Some types of products that you may promote during a recession may include:</p> <ul> <li>Guides on making money</li> <li>Money management services</li> <li>Insurance</li> <li>Health care and health products</li> <li>New technology dedicated to cutting costs</li> <li>Essentials such as food and clothing</li> </ul> <p>This is only a partial list and there are obviously many factors you need to consider. However, there are some niches that are likely to suffer considerably during a recession. These include many types of luxuries that people aren’t up for spending a ton of money on, such as pricey jewelry and the latest iPhones. This doesn’t mean that people won’t still purchase these products during a recession, but the number of purchases might wane as people start running lower on cash.</p> <h3><strong>3. Create Your Own Solutions</strong></h3> <p>Relying on advertising may not be the best way to go during a recession. Unless you are promoting a niche that isn’t suffering from the recession or is planning on expanding its online marketing program, your customers may end up cutting their advertising budgets. This could seriously put a damper on your income if you are relying on PPC campaigns.</p> <p>Affiliate marketing may be a little more recession proof if you can find products that fit into your niche and are going to create a long-term sustainable income. However, you may find that your revenue streams through affiliate products aren’t as dependable either.</p> <p>Another solution is to think about ways to create additional value for your customers. Instead of relying on someone else’s products or services, you can be the master of your own fate using a simple three-point checklist:</p> <ol> <li>Identify a need no one else is solving.</li> <li>Create a product or service that solves that need.</li> <li>Market the heck out of it online.</li> </ol> <p>Entrepreneurs that work in a field that doesn’t have much competition are likely to do a bit better during a recession. Creating an original solution is one of the best ways to reduce your level of competition.</p> <h3><strong>4. Manage Your Costs</strong></h3> <p>Regardless what steps you take to recession proof your online business model, you may have a hard time maintaining the same income levels you had in a booming economy. You may need to take a number of cost cutting measures so you can afford to stay in business.</p> <h3><strong>5. Diversify</strong></h3> <p>The same principles you would apply in the stock market should apply in Internet marketing. You have no way of knowing how the economy may affect your online business. Therefore, you may want to consider branching out into other business models and generate additional revenue streams.</p> <p>Consider operating a variety of affiliate sites in different niches. If one of them suffers a substantial loss in income, you are likely to still do well from your other sites.</p> <h3>6. Change Your Attitudes with the Tides of Recession</h3> <p>Creating an Internet business can be challenging in any economy, but it can be much tougher in a recession. Regardless of what measures you take, you are likely to find that the recession is going to create a number of challenges for you. Therefore, you are going to want to make sure that you work hard and have realistic expectations as you grow your Internet-based business.</p> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Nowrb7Fqayw:X_T549aqfe4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Nowrb7Fqayw:X_T549aqfe4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Nowrb7Fqayw:X_T549aqfe4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=Nowrb7Fqayw:X_T549aqfe4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/Nowrb7Fqayw" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>Nearly three and a half years ago in 2008 an idea was born. An idea based on love and passion about design. Couple of mockups, sleepless nights and cups of coffee and a blog was about to come to light. Little by little with hard work and ambition the blog grew bigger and bigger and attracted more and more designers from all over the world. Yes, that’s the story of 1stwebdesigner. Now being the third largest design blog and attracting over 3 million monthly visitors we can truly be proud of the success we gained.<span id="more-54257"></span></p> <p>A couple weeks ago we reached our thousandth post. One thousand, really? Can you imagine a pile of a thousand books, a thousand ideas running through your mind for a thousand nights? We’ve managed to achieve that amount of articles in three years. Ideas come and go, trends and technology change, but there are still some articles that have been, and will, stick around. With this post we’d like to start a new series of articles - 1stwebdesigner’s unique pages. We will gather the very best content from 1stwebdesigner reaching as far as the beginning. The series will cover all the major and popular themes such as web design, tutorials, WordPress, jQuery, freelancing, inspiration and many more. We’ve gone through dozens of pages, reviewed your comments and choices so these series are basically chosen by you, our dear reader.</p> <p>For the first article of the series we’ve chosen an important topic. The beginning web designer’s guide to a successful career. This blog has helped many designers with insightful articles, useful tips and brilliant tutorials. Thus, we decided to compile the best of the best. This article contains all the basics you need to know about web design and also some basic development stuff since knowing that will just make your work a lot easier. The article is divided into sections so you can start from the very beginning and gradually move up. Good luck with the learning and stay tuned for more articles.</p> <h2>Basics</h2> <p>I will have to sadden you if you thought that you’d open Photoshop and start creating stunning websites from the get go. Before diving into the intricate and advanced aspects of web design you need to learn the fundamentals of it. Starting with history and moving up to some basic tips. If you’re absolutely new to web design this is where you should start. This section contains some of our best beginner and explanatory articles on fundamentals and basics of web design. Study the history, get to know the modern trends and learn from examples.</p> <h3>1. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/essential-tips-designers/">11 Essential Tips Every Designer Should Be Aware Of</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/essential-tips-designers/"><img alt="Essential-tips-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/essential-tips-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Almost every profession requires never-ending learning and self educating, but especially it’s important in design field – new software, websites, tools come out every day, it’s your task to keep up, evolve your view and find the best ways to do specific tasks. This article contains some essential things every growing designer and not only should keep in mind.</p> <h3>2. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/20-reasons-your-design-sucks-1/">20 Reasons Why Your Website Design Sucks Part 1</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/20-reasons-your-design-sucks-1/"><img alt="Design-sucks-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/design-sucks-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>No matter how good or bad personal style is, the truth is that everyone has one. However, when design conventions are left out of a project, the result will be a bad or uninteresting design. That is exactly what happens with those terrible clients, when they try to implement their personal style without knowing anything about design conventions. This post will cover 10 common beginner pitfalls in web design and how to avoid them.</p> <h3>3. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/basic-visual-web-design-mistakes/">10 Basic Visual Web Design Mistakes</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/basic-visual-web-design-mistakes/"><img alt="Visual-mistakes-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/visual-mistakes-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>No doubt, all of you has so many experiences of seeing so many web design when surfing in internet. It often happens that you see more bad web design layout than a good one. This article covers 10 basic visual web design mistakes and tips to avoid them.</p> <h3>4. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/ancient-design-practices-to-avoid-1/">Ancient Website Design Practices That Beginners Should Avoid Part 1</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/ancient-design-practices-to-avoid-1/"><img alt="Ancient-practises-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/ancient-practises-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>This article is intended for beginners in the field of web design and development. It talks about old design practices that have died off several years ago, but up to now some are still being used. The goal is to discuss why these practices are bad and to instill in the minds of budding designers and developers that doing the right thing even if it’s hard to do and hard to learn will greatly pay off in the future.</p> <h3>5. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/ancient-design-practices-to-avoid-2/">Ancient Web Design Practices that Beginners Should Avoid Part 2</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/ancient-design-practices-to-avoid-2/"><img alt="Ancient-practises-2-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/ancient-practises-2-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Part one mostly talked about the errors designers and developers make, here in part two you will also have the chance to read about the problem with what “webmasters” or website owners do to sully their names. Also be sure to read the comments because, very often, the gems are hidden there.</p> <h3>6. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/things-people-love-in-design/">Things Web Designers Do That People Love</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/things-people-love-in-design/"><img alt="People-love-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/people-love-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Web designers and web developers often wonder what kind of things they should do so that their audience will love them. This article will talk about those little things that create a big impact on people throughout the internet.</p> <h3>7. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-design-history-from-the-beginning/">Web Design History: From The Beginning</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-design-history-from-the-beginning/"><img alt="History-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/history-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>The history of the internet is short, but so much has changed within that time. It has radically changed how we live our lives. More importantly, the internet has created thousands of jobs that did not exist a decade ago. These include jobs in SEO marketing, online telemarketing, freelance writing, blogging and of course, in web design. In this article you’ll find out how everything evolved and turned out the way it is now.</p> <h3>8. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/elements-of-modern-web-design/">The Elements of Design in Modern Web Design</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/elements-of-modern-web-design/"><img alt="Elements-modern-web-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/elements-modern-web-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>The elements of design are pivotal in creating an eye-catching, harmonious design that speaks to your audience and shouldn’t be overlooked. They are the fundamental elements of design which can be called upon when you reach a tough part of the design process. Becoming familiar with these elements means you have the knowledge to make sound decisions in regards putting a design together.</p> <h3>9. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-design-future-facts-thoughts/">Future of Web Design – Facts and Thoughts</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-design-future-facts-thoughts/"><img alt="Future-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/future-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Web design has changed tremendously in the last few years and it’s still changing. More than changing, web design is evolving and evolution is bounded with complexity. Although the industry is not in danger some web designers are. Sounds contradictory right? Not really. The truth is that the web design industry is healthy and growing, new jobs are being added, more clients are emerging and consequently more agencies and companies related to the business.</p> <h3>10. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/20-reasons-your-design-sucks-2/">20 Reasons Why Your Website Design Sucks Part 2</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/20-reasons-your-design-sucks-2/"><img alt="Design-sucks-2-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/design-sucks-2-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Like the previous article, this one’s focusing on another 10 mistakes that can transform your website design into an unpleasant place to be. However, this time you won’t see extremely bad layouts that make you laugh, instead you’re going next level and will focus on bigger mistakes that good designers make.</p> <h2>Design tutorials</h2> <p>Photoshop still is designer’s tool of the trade number one. You have given it a try but aren’t quite sure about the results and some commands still confuse you? In this section you’ll find some of our most successful and instructive tutorials that will teach you how to be a solid web designer.</p> <h3>1. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/photoshop-web-design-layout-tutorial/">1st Photoshop Web Design Professional Layout Tutorial</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/photoshop-web-design-layout-tutorial/"><img alt="Web-layout-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/web-layout-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating a beautiful, clean and professional business type web design.</p> <h3>2. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/learn-howto-create-clean-layout-photoshop/">Learn How To Create A Clean Layout In Photoshop [Very Detailed]</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/learn-howto-create-clean-layout-photoshop/"><img alt="Clean-layout-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/clean-layout-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>In this Photoshop tutorial you’ll learn how to create a clean looking website layout, you’ll also be using 960s grid system to keep everything aligned. This is very detailed tutorial, so if you have basic knowledge about Photoshop you should be able to easily keep up and let the tutorial guide you through this layout creation process.</p> <h3>3. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/gd-auto-service-landing-page-tutorial/">GD Auto Service: Learn How to Create an Awesome Landing Page in Photoshop</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/gd-auto-service-landing-page-tutorial/"><img alt="Auto-service-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/auto-service-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>In this tutorial tutorial you are going to create an awesome landing page for GD Auto Service as an example. The template will have a cool logo, search bar, navigation, slider gallery, login panel, blog, services, testimonials and footer.</p> <h3>4. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/burnstudio-tutorial-personal-website/">Burnstudio: Create An Amazing Personal Website From Scratch Using Photoshop</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/burnstudio-tutorial-personal-website/"><img alt="Burnstudio-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/burnstudio-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Have you ever had a hard time designing your own personal website? Thinking of what elements, shapes, font styles will suit your design? This tutorial wil guide you in creating a stylish personal website. You will be using mostly shapes, layer styles, and fonts to create a new personal website.</p> <h3>5. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/etiquettes-photoshop-rockstar-designer/">9 Etiquettes And Tips of a Photoshop Rockstar Designer</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/etiquettes-photoshop-rockstar-designer/"><img alt="Etiquettes-rockstar-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/etiquettes-rockstar-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>With the abundance of online resources, tutorials, blogs and articles which keep on excavating the trade of photoshoping, anybody with passion and readiness to work hard can become a pro over time. But what does it take to transition from just a pro, to ‘the best’? Why are there some designers who are always the best? Check out this article to find what it takes to be a rockstar designer.</p> <h3>6. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/stylish-design-agency-layout-tutorial/">1st Ideas: Create a Stylish Design Agency Website [Very Detailed]</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/stylish-design-agency-layout-tutorial/"><img alt="Design-agency-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/design-agency-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>In this tutorial you’re going to be showed how to create a stylish agency website. This tutorial will be quite long, yet don’t be afraid. The techniques and tricks learned will be invaluable. You will be using tools gradients mostly, combination of light and dark colors.</p> <h2>Development tutorials</h2> <p>The title says this is web designer’s guide however as already mentioned in the introduction if you want to be a rockstar web designer you do have to know some basics of this. Knowing how to slice your design into a functional HTML/CSS will just make your work a lot easier. This section is just right for those who already are a bit familiar with the designing process yet are willing to bring their designs to the life. you. Below you’ll find some of our best basic coding tutorials to get you going.</p> <h3>1. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-minimalist-and-typographic-blog-layout-from-scratch/">How to Create a Minimalist and Typographic Blog Layout From Scratch</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-minimalist-and-typographic-blog-layout-from-scratch/"><img alt="Typographic-blog-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/typographic-blog-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Typography is probably one the most important and powerful design element ever, so in this you will learn how to create this minimalist theme scratch including XHTML, CSS and WordPress.</p> <h3>2. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/9-inspirational-website-effects-deconstructed/">9 Inspirational Website Effects Deconstructed</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/9-inspirational-website-effects-deconstructed/"><img alt="Effects-deconstructed-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/effects-deconstructed-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>As you may know, there are lots of great tutorials out there which can definitely help you practice, learn and achieve amazing results. The good thing about having so many tutorials to learn from is precisely that – you have a large variety of sources to choose from. Sometimes though, the tutorials aren’t clear, or difficult to understand or you just can’t apply it in the real world. The purpose of this article is to provide you with resources and insights about how you can learn from your favourite websites, learning and taking advantage from real implemented effects and functionalities.</p> <h3>3. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/css/17-css-html-effects/">17 CSS/HTML Effects with Cross-Browsing Alternatives</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/css/17-css-html-effects/"><img alt="Css-html-effects-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/css-html-effects-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>We surely have a lot of different ways to achieve similar effects and with CSS the hardest part is to make it look good in almost every browser. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time, if you get one good snippet that does what you want (and you understand what is happening) you don’t need to reinvent it every time you need a simple round corner, right? Thus, the point here is to collect some cool CSS effects that you should be using.</p> <h3>4. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/css/blurry-menu-css-tutorial/">How to Create an Awesome Blurry Menu Using CSS</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/css/blurry-menu-css-tutorial/"><img alt="Blurry-menu-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/blurry-menu-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Today you will get a perfect and simple blurry menu effect via CSS. In addition to it, you will get a useful multiple borders effect. To achieve this effect you will need to have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS. You will work with IE filters and text-shadow, but there is no reason to worry if you have never used it, they’re all well and simply explained.</p> <h3>5. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/css/psd-to-html-burnstudio/">Convert Burnstudio from PSD to HTML [Very Detailed]</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/css/psd-to-html-burnstudio/"><img alt="Convert-psd-html-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/convert-psd-html-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>In this article you will learn how to convert Burnstudio Personal Website from PSD to HTML in a detailed step-by-step tutorial. You will learn how to create this layout by using a CSS framework, some CSS styles and JavaScript. When you’ve completed this tutorial you’ll have a valid HTML/CSS, cross browser compatible and dynamic layout.</p> <h2>Inspiration</h2> <p>Inspiration is an inalienable part of every type of art. Web design is not an exception. While working you’ll often find yourself in situations where you’ll want to look how others have resolved this or that problem. Having a lot of inspiration sources will lighten your creative work and help to find your own uniqe style. In this section you’ll find some neat and inspirational articles to keep your creative flame buning. Also be sure to check out our Inspiration section out to find some fantastic things.</p> <h3>1. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-galleries-designer-inspiration/">Web Galleries as a Source of Inspiration for Designers</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-galleries-designer-inspiration/"><img alt="Web-galleries-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/web-galleries-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>There are a number of web galleries that feature inspirational web designs. These web galleries serve a purpose, and that is to update people on new trends and showcase sites that are pushing the boundaries. It is important, as a designer, that you know what the latest trends are and see how other people are pushing the boundaries. In this article, you will find some of the best web galleries that you can reference for inspiration.</p> <h3>2. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/inspiring-videos-designers-developers/">Inspiring Videos For Designers & Developers</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/inspiring-videos-designers-developers/"><img alt="Inspiring-videos-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/inspiring-videos-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Whether you’re a motion designer, front-end developer or economy student – you have to keep up with the times and constantly increase your knowledge and broaden your professional viewpoint. One of the best ways to do that is by watching videos from professionals and experts in your field. Videos don’t have to be strictly instructive. A good and gripping video can inspire you for the rest of the day. In this article you’ll find a compilation of 40 awesome, inspiring and valuable videos varying from entrepreneurship to web design and self-motivation which will help you to develop new skills, gain a bunch of inspiration and simply look at things from a different perspective.</p> <h3>3. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/30-sources-to-get-your-web-design-inspiration/">30 Sources To Get Your Web Design Inspiration</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/30-sources-to-get-your-web-design-inspiration/"><img alt="Sources-inspiration-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/sources-inspiration-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>If You are developing web designs, then you know there is times when you struggle without any ideas. That’s the time when these web sites becomes handy. This post contains a nice list with some of the most known web gallery sites showcasing and listing well design sites into different categories, letting you to promote and demote all designs.</p> <h3>4. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/art-inspiration-for-designers/">Great Art Movements That Inspired Modern Web Designers</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/art-inspiration-for-designers/"><img alt="Art-movements-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/art-movements-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>The first modern designers are, of course, inspired by traditional and classical art. We designers, as a whole, get our ideas of beauty and aesthetics from by viewing paintings, sculptures and artworks from the most powerful art movements in history. Here are among the top art movements in the 20th century that helped shape how we view art and beauty.</p> <h3>5. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/excellent-ways-creatives-find-inspiration/">33 Excellent “OUT OF THE BOX” Ways for Creatives to find Inspiration</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/excellent-ways-creatives-find-inspiration/"><img alt="Out-box-inspiration-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/out-box-inspiration-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Feeling uninspired? Running dry on inspiration is normal. We all get there at some point and none of us feel very comfortable being there. Every one gets tensed when having no inspiration. This article shares some great tips to get back to the creative corner. Some tips may seem funny but seriously give them a try and you will love them.</p> <h2>Resources</h2> <p>Resources and assets are on of the most important things in web design. Learning how to use premade resources and enhancing your workflow is a huge part of being a web designer. Sometimes finding these resources may be quite time-consuming but that’s where blogs like this come to aid. In this section you’ll find almost every resource you’ll need when starting off.</p> <h3>1. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/generators-improve-workflow/">45 Online Generators For Designers And Developers To Do The Job Faster!</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/generators-improve-workflow/"><img alt="Online-generators-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/online-generators-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Online generators can be extremely handy for creating small details or saving time writing code. Whether it’s a striped background, a pattern or an advanced CSS3 text effect, online generators can surely make your workflow go smoother. This post presents 45 of the best and latest online generators for designers and developers. The emphasis has been put on CSS3 generators since CSS3 is quickly becoming the new progressive web standard.</p> <h3>2. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/free-psd-files-dribbble/">50 Superb & Free PSD Files From Dribbble To Learn From The Best</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/free-psd-files-dribbble/"><img alt="Dribbble-psd-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/dribbble-psd-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Either for self-promotion or simply for goodwill and to help others, the truth is that finding free resources and inspiration can be a really easy task. If you are an experienced designer, you know the best way to learn is by just looking and studying other people’s work. PSD files can be a powerful way to learn and fulfill your work expectations. This collection includes some fantastic UI kits, a lot of assets for web and graphic design, as well as a few cool icons. These PSDs are as perfect for learning as they are for your future projects.</p> <h3>3. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/best-websites-download-free-psd-files/">30+ Best Websites to Download Free PSD Files</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/best-websites-download-free-psd-files/"><img alt="Websites-psd-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/websites-psd-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>PSD files are very useful resources for learning purpose because you can see all the layers and also what techniques have been used to create the work. In this article you’ll find almost all possible websites to find free high-quality PSD files.</p> <h3>4. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/photoshop-webdesigner-toolbox/">Photoshop WebDesigner Toolbox: All the Resources You’ll Ever Need</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/photoshop-webdesigner-toolbox/"><img alt="Photoshop-toolbox-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/photoshop-toolbox-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>If you’re using Photoshop daily it’s essential to have an asset library. Having a pre made toolbox or asset library can be extremely handy. While you could spend countless hours making your own resources, usually there’s no need to do that. Nowadays the web is full of pre made high-quality resources. This post contains various resources, sites and tools that can considerably boost your workflow, free up some time on your agenda and simply enhance your projects.</p> <h3>5. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/100-design-elements-resources/">Don’t Reinvent the Wheel – 100+ Links of Design Elements and Resources</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/100-design-elements-resources/"><img alt="Design-elements-resources-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/design-elements-resources-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Have you ever thought that every day, while you are busy doing your work, there are a lot of people doing almost the same thing as you? And they are releasing it. For free. And sometimes we just forget all this stuff and lose a lot of time doing things that just didn’t need to be done. Someone else has done it for us. Why should you start from scratch if you can get some cool things and just make them better? So, this is a post with a lot of links to resources and comments about them.</p> <h3>6. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/wireframing-mockup-prototyping-tools-plan-designs/">18 Wireframing, Mockup And Prototyping Tools To Plan Designs</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/wireframing-mockup-prototyping-tools-plan-designs/"><img alt="Wireframe-tools-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/wireframe-tools-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Many beginners usually forget how important it is to plan your webdesign, sitemaps, draw flowcharts,wireframes before actually starting to design a functional and beautiful design. If paper and pen ain’t for you check out this article and find some useful tools for wireframing, mockuping and prototyping.</p> <h3>7. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/20-css3-html5-frameworks-tools-templates/">20+ Useful CSS3 and HTML5 Frameworks, Tools and Templates</a></h3> <h3></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/20-css3-html5-frameworks-tools-templates/"><img alt="Html5-css3-frameworks-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/html5-css3-frameworks-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Everyone of you has heard about HTML5 and CSS3. And you probably are cognizant with the features these two offer. However, you may be asking yourself – Is is time to change? Should I forget everything I know and dive into this new world? Well, actually you don’t have to. There a lot of tools that make that transition to new and better technologies safer and smoother. Frameworks are really helpful with this. They’ve already been tried, tested and proven. Of course, you can always make them better, but they are a really good starting point. This article will talk a little about frameworks and other tools, like generators and templates.</p> <h3>8. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/tools-browser-compatibility-check/">10 Useful Tools For Cross-Browser Compatibility Check</a></h3> <h3></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/tools-browser-compatibility-check/"><img alt="Compatibility-check-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/compatibility-check-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>Something that makes a website great  is when it is compatible in multiple browsers regardless of version. Technically this is referred to as cross-browser compatibility. This can be a struggle for developers throughout the creation of their websites. If a user cannot view your website properly, he will not blame the operating system or his browser, he will blame the website itself. In this article you will find ten useful tools that you can use for your cross-browser compatibility check.</p> <h2>Going Further</h2> <p>So you’re now cognizant with all the basic stuff and it’s time to go further. How to redesign a website, what’s UX and how, for instance, your typefaces will effect it? This section will take you into the next level and discuss things like responsive web, redesigning, preparing for a project etc.</p> <h3>1. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/redesigning-beauty-vs-function/">Beauty vs. Function: On Redesigning</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/redesigning-beauty-vs-function/"><img alt="Beauty-function-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/beauty-function-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>The thought of producing the best possible design, either from scratch or redesigning something, gives jitters to the heart of many designers. Even professionals in the field can’t quite balance beauty and function. In this article you’ll find things to take into consideration when planning a redesign.</p> <h3>2. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-3-introduction/">A Brief Introduction to Web 3.0</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-3-introduction/"><img alt="Web-3-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/web-3-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>For many, Web 2.0 is characterized mainly by the ability of users to share information quickly with others, which has been developed into the phenomenon that we call social media. From Twitter to Facebook to YouTube and to all sorts of other kinds of communities, Web 2.0 is all about sharing and seeing. Now if you recall or were around during what is now known as Web 1.0, information was put up on a website and that was it–the best way of sharing it was privately through e-mails and such. There was little to no communication and if you wanted information, you had to go to the source for it. Can you imagine such a harsh internet? Now with Web 2.0 on it’s way out, the obvious question is, what in the world is Web 3.0 going to be?</p> <h3>3. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/15-influential-designers/">15 Most Influential People in Web Design</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/15-influential-designers/"><img alt="Influental-people-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/influental-people-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>The web design industry is continuously changing and there are many people who are setting the bar higher every day with their incredible work and contribution to the web design community. Here is a list of just a few of the people who are responsible for changing the meaning of web design with their awesome work and concepts.</p> <h3>4. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/preparing-web-design-project/">Preparing For a Web Design Project</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/preparing-web-design-project/"><img alt="Preparing-project-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/preparing-project-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>There are several stages during the process of a web design project, and every stage is important to achieve a positive end result. In order to proceed to the research phase, you need to gather information and know what the project is about, which technology is required, the target audience, goals, content, etc. Every professional designer or developer work in different ways, however, this article’s goal is to give you good insights about how you can prepare and deal with some practical aspects of a web design project.</p> <h3>5. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/freelance-design/reasonsdesigners-developers-should-learn-to-write/">4 Reasons Why Designers and Developers Should Learn to Write</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/freelance-design/reasonsdesigners-developers-should-learn-to-write/"><img alt="Learn-write-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/learn-write-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>If you are using the internet to gather and share information you really must learn this secret. What is the secret, you ask? The secret is that everyone should learn how to write in order to advance well. The days of people who focus only on one skill is numbered. Slowly, and steadily, a rise of designers, photographers, developers, and anyone who knows what a blog is are starting to write. This will be harsh for people whose desire is to focus only on their trade. People in the online community will soon eradicate specialists, the internet will be filled with Jack-of-all-trades and if you are not one you won’t get noticed. Learn why it’s good to master writing skills and how to do that.</p> <h3>6. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/redesign-process-taking-small-steps-better-website/">Redesign Process: Taking Small Steps for a Better Website</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/redesign-process-taking-small-steps-better-website/"><img alt="Redesign-process-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/redesign-process-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>This is an experimental article, where you will see whole redesigning process behind the scenes and read different way of thinking. In this review you will be leaded through necessary steps needed to get successful redesign.</p> <h3>7. <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/5-step-checklist-for-mobile-website-design/">A 5-Step Checklist for Mobile Website Designs</a></h3> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/5-step-checklist-for-mobile-website-design/"><img alt="Mobile-checklist-beginner-intermediate-guide" border="0" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/unique-post/mobile-checklist-beginner-intermediate-guide.jpg" /></a></p> <p>As the number of people browsing the web from mobile devices increases, the demand for websites that respond to those devices surges. And still there are websites that aren’t equipped with the tools necessary to respond to those changes, whether it be lack of information or just not having the time or money to upgrade. This article will walk you through five fundamental checkpoints to keep in mind in the creation of your mobile website.</p> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Ua-9OLM7Yqk:EK6cazPSMQg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Ua-9OLM7Yqk:EK6cazPSMQg:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Ua-9OLM7Yqk:EK6cazPSMQg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=Ua-9OLM7Yqk:EK6cazPSMQg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/Ua-9OLM7Yqk" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>WordPress is an elegant, well-built content management system built on PHP and MySQL, being available under the GPL License. WordPress is the most popular and the most used CMS on the internet. As of August 2011, it manages more than 22% of all websites. It was launched in 2003 and was the successor of b2/cafelog. Until December 2011, the open-source version of WordPress has been downloaded over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordpress">65 million times.</a><span id="more-67635"></span></p> <h2>How it All Began</h2> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67636" height="350" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/img-12.png" title="wordpress-beginning" width="570" /></p> <p>Development of WordPress as a CMS started back in 2001. It was then just a simple code piece which hadn’t had any facilities for users. By 2001 the work on b2 had stopped, however, after the release  of WordPress, the work on b2/cafelog continued and the CMS is still being updated regularly. WordPress started as a simple and basic blogging system but has evolved to something anyone couldn’t have imagined. WordPress went public as a CMS in 2003 when Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WP, and Mike Little used and configured the b2 CMS and created WordPress. While it was an amazing introduction, no one believed it will revolutionize the industry. WordPress started to spread with the appearance of plugins (in 2004) and the new themes system, a new user role system and a new backend user-interface, all of this happening in 2005. After these radical improvements, WordPress became the most user-friendly content management system ever. The major improvement of 2005, called “Duke”, was followed by another massive update in 2007. This time the developers introduced a lot of small but really needed functions to WordPress. Some of them included: a new UI, autosave, spell check, tagging, custom URLs and widgets. The same year, Matt Mullenweg was given <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/129301-2/the_50_most_important_people_on_the_web.html">the title</a> of “one of the 50 most important people on the web” . The next four years have been only positive for WordPress as a content management system. It got better over-all improvements on parts like widgets, theme installer and new APIs. WordPress was by now, the most used CMS on the internet.</p> <h2>Famous Websites on WordPress</h2> <h3><a href="http://social.ford.com">Ford Social</a></h3> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67724" height="350" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ford-social.png" title="ford-social" width="570" /></p> <h3><a href="http://mashable.com">Mashable</a></h3> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67725" height="350" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mashable.png" title="mashable" width="570" /></p> <h3><a href="http://problogger.net">ProBlogger</a></h3> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67726" height="350" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/problogger.png" title="problogger" width="570" /></p> <h2>Automattic</h2> <p>Automattic is a web development company founded in 2005 by Matt Mullenweg. It is best known for the WordPress.com blogging system. At the moment, Automattic owns many WordPress-related services which are very popular in the market. Some of them are: PollDaddy, BuddyPress, Akismet and others. Automattic has been so successful in the last years, that there have even been <a href="http://wpmu.org/so-when-exactly-are-microsoft-going-to-buy-automattic/">rumors </a>that Automattic will be bought by Microsoft. Automattic is a world-wide company having <a href="http://automattic.com/about/">team members</a> in Asia, Australia, Europe, South and North America.</p> <h2>WordPress.com vs WordPress.org</h2> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67637" height="350" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/img-22.png" title="wordpress" width="570" /></p> <p>WordPress.org is an open source CMS which is available for free download and all kind of possible customization. You are only limited by your imagination when it comes to configuring the self-hosted version of WordPress. WordPress.com is a blog hosting provider owned by Automattic, a company created by Matt Mullenweg. It was opened to beta testers on August 8, 2005 with an invitation-based system, until 21 November 2005 when it opened its “gates” to public. It is powered by the open source version of WordPress and is supported financially by adverts, upgrades and plans. As of March 2012, there are 71 million individual blogs and the Alexa Rank for WordPress.com is set at 18, according to Alexa. In 2011, WordPress.com had to sustain the largest DDoS attack which luckily was neutralized that day. Since August 2007, WordPress.com <a href="http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/why-were-blocked-in-turkey/">was blocked</a>  in Turkey and China. It is also threatened to be blocked in Brazil because the staff didn’t want to censor and delete blogs.</p> <h2>WordPress at the Moment</h2> <p>WordPress is a completely customizable, advanced and easy to understand CMS. It is reported that 22 percent of all new websites and 14.7 percent of the “top 1 million” websites are being managed by WordPress. Add-ons for WordPress are being extremely popular as well. Free WordPress themes from the official depository count over 46 million downloads. There are almost 20.000 pieces and about 300 million downloads of free plugins. At the moment, there are more Premium Themes for WordPress than there are for Joomla! and Drupal together. Many online companies understood the power and spreading of WP, that’s why they have created plugins which would make their service more compatible and easier to use. WordPress is no longer a simple blogging tool. When someone says WordPress, it’s not necessarily the blog concept coming in mind. It is now everything, from a shop to forum and all of these are being built so well, because of this easy but really powerful CMS called WordPress. Now, it is not only about CMS. There is an amazing evolving community behind WP. They are willing to help you on the free WordPress forums, and meet you in one of the hundred <a>WordCamp</a> meetings organized all over the world. Apart from WP.com, WordPress is also used by blog hosting providers such as <a href="http://blog.com">Blog.com</a> and <a href="http://blogetery.com">Blogetery.com</a></p> <h2>Some Premium WordPress Templates</h2> <p><strong><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/dealers-daily-deals-wordpress-theme/1500611?WT.ac=portfolio_thumb&WT.seg_1=portfolio_thumb&WT.z_author=themeskingdom?ref=1stwebdesigner">Dealers Daily Deals</a></strong></p> <p><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/dealers-daily-deals-wordpress-theme/1500611?WT.ac=portfolio_thumb&WT.seg_1=portfolio_thumb&WT.z_author=themeskingdom?ref=1stwebdesigner"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67638" height="300" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG-3.jpg" title="dealers-daily-theme" width="590" /></a></p> <p><strong><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/stomaci-restaurant-cafe-wordpress-theme/2024485?WT.ac=portfolio_thumb&WT.seg_1=portfolio_thumb&WT.z_author=themeskingdom?ref=1stwebdesigner">Stomaci Restaurant Cafe</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/stomaci-restaurant-cafe-wordpress-theme/2024485?WT.ac=portfolio_thumb&WT.seg_1=portfolio_thumb&WT.z_author=themeskingdom ?ref=1stwebdesigner"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67641" height="300" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG-4.jpg" title="stomaci-theme" width="590" /></a><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/stomaci-restaurant-cafe-wordpress-theme/2024485?WT.ac=portfolio_thumb&WT.seg_1=portfolio_thumb&WT.z_author=themeskingdom"><br /> </a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/wp-flexishop-a-versatile-wp-ecommerce-theme/137144?WT.ac=category_thumb&WT.seg_1=category_thumb&WT.z_author=PrimaThemes?ref=1stwebdesigner">WP-Flexi Shop</a></strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/wordpress/the-story-of-wordpress/attachment/img-5-6/" rel="attachment wp-att-67642"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67642" height="300" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG-5.jpg" title="wp-flexishop" width="590" /></a></p> <p><strong><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/newscast-4-in-1-wordpress-magazine-and-blog/91058?WT.ac=category_thumb&WT.seg_1=category_thumb&WT.z_author=Kriesi?ref=1stwebdesigner">News Cast</a></strong></p> <p><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/newscast-4-in-1-wordpress-magazine-and-blog/91058?WT.ac=category_thumb&WT.seg_1=category_thumb&WT.z_author=Kriesi?ref=1stwebdesigner"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67643" height="300" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG-6.jpg" title="newscast-theme" width="590" /></a></p> <p><strong><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/village-an-awesome-fullscreen-wordpress-theme/237812?WT.ac=category_thumb&WT.seg_1=category_thumb&WT.z_author=ThemeProvince?ref=1stwebdesigner">Village Fullscreen</a></strong></p> <p><a href="http://themeforest.net/item/village-an-awesome-fullscreen-wordpress-theme/237812?WT.ac=category_thumb&WT.seg_1=category_thumb&WT.z_author=ThemeProvince?ref=1stwebdesigner"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67644" height="300" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG-7.jpg" title="village-fullscreen" width="590" /></a></p> <h2>WordPress in The Future</h2> <p>After the release of WordPress 3.0, developers reported that the team took a release cycle off from the WP software to focus more on expanding and improving the product. In 2013, WordPress will celebrate its 10th birthday, which sounds amazing. This proves how much work has been put into it and how many people liked it. Because of the incredible success of Automattic and its financial possibilities, I doubt that the open-source version of WordPress will ever become a paid product. In the last few years, WordPress market has evolved so much, that it now has lots of dedicated marketplaces which sell either WP themes only, or the main focus is set on WordPress files. With the correct approach from the developers and community, WP will continue to grow more and more and there aren’t doubts that many more websites will be converted to WordPress pretty soon because of WP’s ease of use. Developers have already told us what we <a href="http://wordpress.org/news/2012/04/wordpress-3-4-beta-1/">should expect</a> in the next versions of WordPress. Some of the options will be: Theme Customizer with Previewe, Flexible Custom Header Sizes and Selecting Custom Header and Background Images from Media Library.</p> <h2>WordPress Prediction</h2> <p>Because of the success of Automattic, and its amazing products, I don’t see anyone buying the open-source version of WordPress or even the company itself. Akismet, WordPress Premium, VIP Support, VideoPress, VaultPress and other successful Automattic products, keep the company active. All these services together bring a nice amount of money, and while no exact numbers are given, we can happily assume that we are talking about millions. The income received by the company is enough to update and work on their products and also have a decent income which won’t make the company look for buyers or even consider buying proposals.</p> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=kxO9eemUWk8:6U5sdLZt-gQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=kxO9eemUWk8:6U5sdLZt-gQ:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=kxO9eemUWk8:6U5sdLZt-gQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=kxO9eemUWk8:6U5sdLZt-gQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/kxO9eemUWk8" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>Do you want an extra set of hands to help maintain your website, but at this point, don’t have a budget to pay someone? Why not put your wife (or husband for all you female web developers out there) to work? I know most of you might be thinking, “Yeah, right… my wife has no idea how to program a website”. My response to that is, why not? With technology where it is today, almost anyone can quickly learn how to make basic updates to a website. My 6 year old nephew can work in WordPress. Plus, it doesn’t have to be that your wife helps you with programming, she might be able to help with some of the simpler tasks. In this article we will talk about the benefits of putting your wife to work on your website, how to teach your wife about building and maintaining a website, and all of the different tasks that would be perfect for your wife to help you with. By the end of this article you are going to be ready to put your wife to work!</p> <p><span id="more-68013"></span></p> <h2>Benefits of Having Your Wife Help with Your Website</h2> <p><img alt="get help with website" class="wp-image-68076 alignnone" height="541" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/wife-help-with-website.jpg" title="Have Your Wife Help with Your Website" width="351" /></p> <p>For website developers who are a team of one, or even two or three, adding another team member can be a HUGE help. Many of you might be thinking that your wife doesn’t know anything about website design and development, but sometimes that might actually be a benefit. Having someone provide a fresh perspective on your website or client work that you’re doing can actually be quite beneficial. As for actually doing work, all of that can be learned. So let’s just say that you do get your wife to help with your website, here are a few of the many benefits that you’ll reap.</p> <ul> <li>Fresh perspective on your website</li> <li>Free or cheap resource</li> <li>She knows your working style</li> <li>Someone to help with the time consuming tasks that you’re overqualified for</li> <li>Female point of view for your female website visitors</li> <li>Another set of hands to help take your website to the next level</li> </ul> <h2>How to Quickly Teach Your Wife to Help with Your Website</h2> <p>With all of the instructional videos and this magic tool called “Google”, teaching your wife new website-related skills is easier than ever before in history. Follow the steps below to get your wife on board as quickly as possible:</p> <ol> <li>Pick one to two tasks for your wife to focus on at first</li> <li>Make sure the tasks you choose are things that you know she can handle, as well as, things that you either spend a lot of time on or that you’ve been putting off, but know that you need to get done</li> <li>Find a few different videos and instructional blog articles for your wife to watch/read in order to get up to speed</li> <li>Spend some time after she’s finished watching the instructional videos to answer any questions that she has</li> <li>Show her how to do the work</li> <li>Let her give it a try</li> <li>Be there to answer questions and support her. Be positive. Be patient.</li> </ol> <p>If you follow these 7 steps you will be surprised just how quickly your wife picks up these new skills. You will be extremely happy that you decided to give this a try. I also guarantee that this will do wonders for your relationship as well. Working together with your wife can be a truly great thing for all couples.</p> <h2>Teach Your Wife to Use WordPress</h2> <p>Now that we’ve reviewed the benefits of having your wife help with your website and we’ve gone over how to get her up to speed as quickly as possible, let’s dig into a few specific tasks that your wife can help with. Are you running WordPress for your website? WordPress is probably the easiest and most intuitive website software out there (at least in my opinion, though I know others might think differently). Not only is it easy to use, but there are a TON of tutorials out there for how to use WordPress. Pick a few areas of your website that she can help with, explain to her what you want done, let her know that she can simply Google anything that she has a question on, and then let her go to town. A few specific WordPress-related tasks that your wife can help with might be:</p> <ul> <li>Finding great, new plugins that you can add to your site</li> <li>Go through your site to ensure each of your pages and blog articles are optimized for SEO</li> <li>Rework your sidebars or forms</li> <li>Update your imagery and media throughout your site</li> </ul> <p>Any of these tasks can be easily taught to your wife. They are things that are important, but are also time consuming. Having your wife help with them will allow her to get some work done on her own, while also helping you to clean up your website a little bit.</p> <h2>Let Your Wife Handle Customer Service</h2> <p>Do you spend a lot of time responding to customer emails, reviewing/approving/responding to blog comments, answering phones, or even writing proposals? These all sound like important tasks, but also tasks that your wife can handle for you. Customer service is an extremely important component to all businesses, but it’s one that a lot of website developers neglect because it’s just not something that they love to do. Let your wife handle the customer service end of your website for a few weeks and see how it goes. I’m thinking your customers will appreciate it as she’s probably a better communicator than you are!</p> <h2>Ask Your Wife to Help Capture Photos for Your Website</h2> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_68077" style="width: 490px;"><img alt="website photography" class="size-full wp-image-68077 " height="320" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/wife-work.jpg" title="Take Pictures for Your Website" width="480" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Take Pictures for your Website</p></div> <p><a href="http://publicphoto.org/people/woman-photographer-on-the-beach-at-sunrise">Image Source</a></p> <p>Does your wife like to take pictures? Imagery is a critical element of all great websites. Unfortunately, unless you have a lot of money to spend on stock photos, or you’re a photographer, getting quality images to use on your website is extremely difficult. Other website owners don’t love it when people take their images and use them on their website. Instead of taking images from others’, buy your wife a camera and let her hit the town to take some pictures. Your website will never look better after she’s done.</p> <h2>Have Your Wife Research Your Competitors</h2> <p>Competitive research is something I know I hate doing. That said, I can remember quite a few times that if I would have taken the time to do a little competitive research I would have made a different decision for my website. Let your wife play detective for you. Put together a list of competitor websites that she can dig into. Explain to her what you want her to look for and let her start doing some research for you. This will save you a TON of time, and also help you beat out your competition.</p> <h2>Teach Your Wife to Write Blog Articles</h2> <p>Maybe your wife isn’t into taking pictures, but she can write better than most authors out there. Let your wife write some content for your website. If you’re a regular reader of 1WD than you know just how important we think having a blog is for website owners. That said, in order to create quality online content, it takes time. Time is something that a lot of us website developers don’t have. Put a list of article topic ideas together and ask your wife to start writing some content. Once she’s finished with an article or two, review them together with her, provide her with some feedback, and let her continue writing. Having someone take care of your blog for you will allow you to focus on the things that you are best at, website design and development.</p> <h2>Let Your Wife Run Your Social Media Accounts</h2> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_68079" style="width: 335px;"><img alt="social media" class="size-full wp-image-68079 " height="299" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/social-media.png" title="Get Your Wife to Manage Your Social Media" width="325" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Get Your Wife to Manage Your Social Media</p></div> <p>Is your wife a social butterfly? Does she have a ton of friends? I know my wife is CONSTANTLY on Facebook. Why not let her take care of your social media accounts for you. Getting back to the Customer Service task above, your wife is probably a much better communicator than you are. Social Media is all about building relationships with people. Explain to her what you’re looking to achieve with your Facebook and Twitter accounts, how to use them for business, and let her start tweeting! I’ll bet you that you attract more new followers, and keep your existing community more engaged, than ever before.</p> <h2>How to Tell Your Wife You Need Her Help</h2> <p>So, now that you know just how much your wife can actually help with, it’s time to figure out the best way to get her on board. This will probably be the most difficult task out of everything we’ve covered today! Here are a few tips for telling your wife you need her help:</p> <ul> <li>Figure out exactly what areas of your website you want your wife to help with as she will want to see that you’ve thought this through and that you truly think she can be a valuable resource for you.</li> <li>Break the news over a nice dinner that you cook for the two of you</li> <li>Explain to her that you have a plan for teaching her what she needs to know</li> <li>Let her know that you look forward to working with her and that you think it would be a nice “bonding” experience</li> <li>Don’t force it on her and definitely give her some time to think about it</li> </ul> <p>I think that many of you will have a very positive experience if you get on board with this strategy. What’s that saying… “behind every great man is a great woman”, or something like that. Our wives are smart, resourceful, and patient. Those three attributes are the reasons why this really can work. So go make it happen, and let us know how it goes. For any of you who already have your wife, or significant other working for you, leave a comment below to let us know how it’s going.</p> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Q-uffR6MDus:4ONVvTXbZwA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Q-uffR6MDus:4ONVvTXbZwA:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=Q-uffR6MDus:4ONVvTXbZwA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=Q-uffR6MDus:4ONVvTXbZwA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/Q-uffR6MDus" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>After only 24 short months, “Pinterest” has become the 3^rd most popular social network under Facebook and Twitter. Not even Oprah or Tom Cruise can compete with those statistics! Pinterest is dominating the social sphere and webmasters are taking advantage of the <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">profit-busting potential</span></strong> it provides.</p> <p>Are you a passionate, pinning, Pinterest patron? (Say that three times fast!) If you haven’t “pinned” your way to the top just yet, you may not be aware of all the juicy secrets Pinterest offers. Let us help you dominate the Pinterest world and squeeze out every bit of possibility it offers.</p> <p><span id="more-67870"></span></p> <p>For those who have never heard of Pinterest (where have you been?), read this article first on how to use Pinterest to <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com//design/use-pinterest-for-traffic/">direct more traffic to your website</a>.</p> <h2><strong>Lifestyle</strong></h2> <p>If you want to be successful on Pinterest, you must understand the premise of the platform. Pinterest is like “eye candy” for users.</p> <blockquote><p>Pinterest is all about <strong>LIFESTYLE</strong>. If you can discover how your products and services can enhance users’ lifestyles you will be a <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Pinterest success story</span>!</p></blockquote> <h2>1. Pinterest Web Pages</h2> <p>Get creative! Find ways to promote your brand without shoving it in people’s faces. As a web designer, create a site or a page on your own website specifically for Pinterest images and design some creative graphics.</p> <p>Zulily created an entire page of “Pinables” and encouraged people to pin them as an incentive to receive credits:</p> <p><a href="http://www.zulily.com/pinables"><img alt="Zulily-Pinables-Cheat-Sheet-Dominating-Pinterest" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67874" height="414" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Zuliliy_Pinables.jpg" title="Zuliliy_Pinables" width="570" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.zulily.com/pinables" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></p> <p><strong>WARNING</strong>: Do not pin images from <em>only</em> your main website. Vary your images to include those your audience would love. <strong>Build a community, not a self-absorbed profile.</strong></p> <p>For example, a restaurant may pin images of the tasty food from its kitchen, but it should not stop there. To add more intrigue it could “pin” breathtaking images of the places from which the food originated such as Italy or France. By displaying related, interesting images, you will gain more followers because when it is time to “pin” your own content, you will have more eyeballs looking at it.</p> <p>Excessive advertising on Facebook and Twitter will turn away your target audience and cause you to lose fans/followers. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The same rules apply to Pinterest</span>.</p> <h2><strong>2. Infographics</strong></h2> <p>Useful infographics spread <strong>virally</strong> on Pinterest. Create an infographic with tips that will help your target audience and pin it for all to see. As of two weeks ago, this infographic published by Angie’s List was “re-pinned” more than 14,000 times:</p> <p><a href="http://www.angieslist.com/articles/do-it-yourself-lego-wall.htm"><img alt="Lego-Wall-Cheat-Sheet-Dominating-Pinterest" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67875" height="827" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Lego_Wall.jpg" title="Lego_Wall" width="570" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.angieslist.com/articles/do-it-yourself-lego-wall.htm" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: This wasn’t just another infographic. It provided <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">instruction that was useful to viewers</span></strong>. The more you can solve a problem with your images, the greater the chance it will land on the “Popular” board.</p> <h2><strong>3. The “Popular” Board</strong></h2> <p>Pinterest has a “Popular” board where all the most popular pins reside. When your pin has reached this board,<strong> it most likely has gone viral</strong>.</p> <p>The easiest way to reach the Popular page is to get featured on the individual category pages. Every time you “pin” an image, it has the potential to reach the top of a category page. Each of your boards is assigned a category. Change a category by editing the board and choosing the correct one from the dropdown menu.</p> <p><img alt="Category-Edit-Cheat-Sheet-Dominating-Pinterest" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-67876" height="495" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Category_Edit.jpg" title="Category_Edit" width="570" /></p> <p>Originally, Pinterest allowed users to publish one pin, per hour, per account to reach the coveted category pages. But since people have been abusing the system and spamming, this rule has changed to one pin allowed every 24 hours. And I don’t expect this to remain since Pinterest is constantly changing its terms to ward off spamming activity. Some pins never even reach the category pages and the experts are still trying to figure out the Pinterest algorithm.</p> <p>To enhance your chance of going viral…</p> <ul> <li>Submit content at the times most people are using Pinterest. Experts suggest posting between 5-7 a.m. EST or 5-7 p.m. EST, when people are waking and starting their day or done with work.</li> <li>Comment on related pins on the “Popular” page to gain some additional visibility. Just be careful not to spam!</li> <li>Pay close attention to the type of content Pinterest features on its “Popular” page. Pin similar content and relate it back to your brand in a creative way.</li> </ul> <h2><strong>4. Connect!</strong></h2> <p>Add a “Pin It” button to your website or blog so users can pin your images to their pinboards.</p> <p>Did you know that you can find out everyone who is pinning content from your website? Use this information to <strong><em>connect</em></strong> with the Pinterest users who are “pinning” your images.</p> <p>Use this url but replace 1stwebdesigner.com with your site’s url.</p> <p><strong>http://pinterest.com/source/1stwebdesigner.com</strong></p> <h2><strong>5. The Potential</strong></h2> <p>If you are a web designer, not only is there potential to spread the word about your own services, but there is also great opportunity for more client work. By creating infographics that instruct, and building your Pinterest board, you are showing potential clients how important graphics and images are for the web. Stress to your clients the importance of “image branding” and you could extend the breadth of your services.</p> <h2><strong>Pin Away!</strong></h2> <p>Remember that Pinterest is not just another avenue to promote your products and services. It’s a site that caters to the brands that can <strong>creatively display via images and videos</strong> how to fit their products and services within users’ ideal lifestyles.</p> <p>Pinterest is still on an “invite only” basis. If you would like an invite, please let us know in the comments below!</p> <p>Join <a href="http://pinterest.com/source/1stwebdesigner.com/" target="_blank">1stWebDesigner on Pinterest</a>!</p> <p><strong>Additional Resources:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.quicksprout.com/2012/02/06/the-marketers-guide-to-pinterest/">The Marketer’s Guide to Pinterest</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.offervault.com/scoop/2012/04/04/how-to-honestly-use-pinterest-to-promote/">How to Honestly Use Pinterest to Promote Your Site</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.seed-factory.com/20-quick-pinterest-tips/">20 Quick Pinterest Tips</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.hubspot.com/how-to-use-pinterest-for-business/">Free Ebook: How to Use Pinterest for Business</a></li> </ul> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=LJk92pRjbqw:rSA2yLwCOSU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=LJk92pRjbqw:rSA2yLwCOSU:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=LJk92pRjbqw:rSA2yLwCOSU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=LJk92pRjbqw:rSA2yLwCOSU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/LJk92pRjbqw" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>Everybody is buzzing all around now, how latest changes Google did affected their search traffic greatly! Chances are if you monitor your own properties on Google Analytics, you will see significant drop in your traffic in March!</p> <p>1WD was seriously affected as well from March 20! Besides Google Panda release, there were 2 rounds of changes Google did, hurting almost every site search traffic:</p> <p>• Panda 3.3 - <a href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com.es/2012/02/search-quality-highlights-40-changes.html">Search quality highlights: 40 changes for February</a><br /> • Panda 3.4 on March 23 - <a href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/search-quality-highlights-50-changes.html">Search quality highlights: 50 changes for March</a></p> <p>So what exactly do these changes mean? Do you need to be worried and what can you do to be prepared and be more likable in Google’s eyes?</p> <p>In this Google SEO guide I will show you the behind the scenes on how 1WD was affected, explain how to monitor your traffic better and how to be more prepared in the future. A lot of websites were hit hard, even high authority websites. We always have been focusing on high quality content here, never used spammy link building techniques and we believe our social presence is very strong as well.<span id="more-68534"></span></p> <p>So what the hell is happening here?</p> <h2><strong>Which sites were affected, which were not?</strong></h2> <p>After asking around, I found out that mostly new websites ~1 year weren’t affected, but a lot of sites which had some very high-ranking keywords, felt a big decrease there.</p> <p>It seems if you have average links, new website and haven’t done spammy SEO promotion, you are doing great. However if you have something to lose as old, stable top keyword rankings, you got hit.</p> <p>I compared several top web design websites on <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/www.alexa.com" target="_blank">Alexa </a>and here are results for the last month March 15 to April 15:</p> <ul> <li><strong>1WD</strong> - 6% drop (it was more like 15% drop in reality for me, which means everybody was hit much harder as Alexa shows)</li> <li><strong>SmashingMagazine</strong> - 6.5% drop</li> <li><strong>Sixrevisions</strong> - 2% drop</li> <li><strong>WebDesignerDepot</strong> - 5% drop</li> <li><strong>Css-Tricks</strong> - 4% raise</li> <li><strong>Designm.ag</strong> - 12% drop</li> <li><strong>TutPlus sites</strong> - 3.7% drop</li> <li><strong>SpeckyBoy</strong> - 4% drop</li> <li><strong>SpyreStudios</strong> - 7% drop</li> <li><strong>Hongkiat</strong> - 9% drop</li> <li><strong>UxBooth</strong> - 5% drop</li> <li><strong>WebDesignerWall</strong> - 3% drop</li> </ul> <p>You can check <a href="http://copyblogger.com" target="_blank">Copyblogger </a>with 15% drop  and <a href="http://quicksprout.com" target="_blank">Quicksprout </a>16% drop in other niches! Crazy right? And those are just Alexa’s inaccurate stats, if I compare with 1WD Analytics, then I believe all of these sites in reality got 10-20% drop in traffic!</p> <p>All of these blogs are very popular and always focus on high quality articles. This really doesn’t make sense and it shows how we need to rethink what we are doing online, what we are writing and how we need to promote our websites.</p> <p>The most visible and buzzed topics about Google changes were:</p> <ul> <li>Big link networks taken down</li> <li>Duplicate page content</li> <li>Over Optimization</li> <li>Too many ads above the <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/best-out-of-the-fold/" target="_blank">fold</a></li> <li>Social signal importance</li> </ul> <h2><strong>What mistakes should you avoid doing? And how to fix them?</strong></h2> <p>Its time to list down the most popular mistakes we all probably have done before, but should avoid now! Interesting that a lot of these mistakes aren’t new, but before all of those techniques were really working. Most mistakes are easily found because they do not look real and Google has raised his eyebrows to search everything unnatural.</p> <h3><strong>1. Obsessing about exact-match anchor text</strong></h3> <p>Everybody who has done link building anywhere has been working to target perfect term for their website. Wherever you could, you try to include your term, for example: web design blog.</p> <p>You can include this term while:</p> <ul> <li>Commenting on other blogs</li> <li>Writing guest posts</li> <li>Getting paid links, advertising</li> <li>Writing your forum comment, Yahoo Answers, Quora, including term in signature</li> <li>Using link building tools, blog networks</li> </ul> <p>Previously this technique was really working even if there were people warning about over working, but there weren’t so many drawbacks. Until now.</p> <p>Such obsessing do not look natural for Google and it’s easy to spot it!</p> <h3><strong>How to fix this mistake?</strong></h3> <p>Do your keyword research again and choose 5-10 terms you would like to rank for and mix them in wherever you can. Change your signatures to be different. Instead of working for one term, when guest posting for example, include related article you have on your blog, not your home address anchor text.</p> <p>While working on your brand awareness be as helpful as possible, don’t just link back to your site, link to others, link to very specific posts if you have, which are related. The same is about comments - if your comment is valuable and you have high quality article written about the same issue, include it, but don’t obsess about always mentioning your brand!</p> <p>Good practice is also to check how others relate to your brand! Usually if they will want to share your website to others, they won’t tell - check out this web design blog. Instead they will tell to check out 1stWebDesigner (it helps to have related keywords in your domain, of course as we have - web designer).</p> <h3><strong>2. Ads Above The Fold</strong></h3> <p>Google has announced that pages with too many ads above the fold are now penalized by <a href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/page-layout-algorithm-improvement.html">Google’s page layout algorithm</a>. Strangely Google itself is not following their praised best practices.</p> <p><img alt="Ads above fold google" border="0" height="366" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ads-above-fold-google.jpg" title="ads-above-fold-google.jpg" width="570" /></p> <p>These news completely make sense in order to ensure the best reading experience, however it’s hard for blogs who want to earn some income to remove those top ads, without loosing money.</p> <p>We are doing bad work on 1WD ourselves, but we are working on removing those ads slowly and once our own Labzip product will be ready, we plan on having just one banner ad on sidebar for better experience.</p> <h3><strong>How to fix this problem?</strong></h3> <p>Easy answer - just remove those ads! Every blog owner knows it’s not so easy to do that, as it removes any income! What you can do instead is to move some of those ads below the first page, put them on the middle or bottom of sidebar or at the end of the blog post.</p> <p>Great solution is responsive websites, where on smaller screens you remove those ads completely or leave just few of them. On <a href="http://tympanus.net/codrops/">Codrops website</a>, you will see ads following to the bottom of page in that way cleaning up above the fold section (scale that site resolution down, to see effect in real life).</p> <p>Very good example is SmashingMagazine website:</p> <p>This is the screenshot from website on 1000px width:</p> <p><img alt="Smashingmag ads" border="0" height="308" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/smashingmag-ads.jpg" title="smashingmag-ads.jpg" width="570" /></p> <p>This is the screenshot with 1024×768 resolution:</p> <p><img alt="Smashingmag 1024 resolution ads" border="0" height="380" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/smashingmag-1024-resolution-ads.jpg" title="smashingmag-1024-resolution-ads.jpg" width="570" /></p> <p>As you can see on the first image, you can see just 2 ads, while in second one there are 8 ads above the fold. Even then though SmashingMag also saw decrease in search traffic. My guess would be that too many people on 1024×768 still see those ads, but the trending is right. A lot more people are using tablet devices and mobile phones to browse internet and they will see little ads there.</p> <p>The same is true about big resolutions, I have Macbook Pro with 1680×1050 resolution, and while browsing SmashingMag on full screen those sidebar ads do not seem to be hurting readability.</p> <p>Suggestion - create a responsive website and remove as many ads as possible on smaller screen sizes. In dream world, people with 1024×768 and less shouldn’t need to see sidebar ads.</p> <p>Summary: going responsive and removing some of the top ads and a lot of links from top could definitely help improve readers experience and also will make Google like you more. Removing clutter from top navigation is top recommended while planning your design.</p> <h3><strong>3. Duplicate page content</strong></h3> <p>This is a very popular technique used by spammers, who just copy other site content and publish it as unique. Don’t do that. Ok, I bet if you are reading this blog you aren’t doing it anyway, but also check your site for bad code, which makes your site content to be duplicated. For example I checked my SeoMoz pro and saw I have a lot of page duplicates, where on WordPress writers use images, but don’t remove default link from them. For my layout it created one more page with that image, which was taken as duplicated content for Google.</p> <p>Be sure you don’t make such silly mistakes, which can hurt your rankings and make experience for your visitors worse.</p> <p>If you want to read more about duplicated content and check if you aren’t making any mistakes visit those links:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.virante.com/seo-tools/duplicate-content">Virante</a> - This tool diagnoses common causes and effects of duplicate content penalties;</li> <li>Check your Google Webmaster tools to improve your site;</li> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/7-ways-to-tame-duplicate-content">7 Ways to Tame Duplicate Content</a> - read this old, but still relevant post from SEOMoz.</li> </ul> <p><img alt="1wd duplicated content" border="0" height="383" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/1wd-duplicated-content.jpg" title="1wd-duplicated-content.jpg" width="570" /></p> <p>Here you can check more common SEO mistakes from official Google Webmaster Central blog, check this video ( created on March 19,2012):</p> <p></p> <h2><strong>What should you do now to improve your search rankings?</strong></h2> <p>Okay, you heard about a lot of mistakes, but what exactly do you need to do now to be friends with Google, to improve your traffic and brand?</p> <p>A lot of fundamentals have never changed, Google’s changes just encourage you to work on best content, real relationships, best user reading experience and be quick to change and improve.</p> <h3><strong>1. Don’t chase the algorithm, create content for users</strong></h3> <p>You might be hearing top SEO advice all the time, people talking how to help you promote your content, get easy way to huge traffic and high-ranking. The truth is even if some of these spammy techniques work, they won’t work in short future. Blackhat SEO guys, make it their job to search for the holes and change all the time, but it’s a hell of the work and they must be very careful. Just very few guys are so smart, so experience that they can really work on gaming the system.</p> <p>I would suggest to work on long-term white hat techniques, which will do a lot of good for you in long run. With online business it’s important to feel safe about it and know that you will earn approx the same or more money each month.</p> <h3><strong>2. Track everything</strong></h3> <p>Use Google Analytics, KissInsights, Kissmetrics, Seomoz Pro, Webmaster Tools to be able to keep up with trends, get information about your visitors and make sure your site follow the best techniques, check if links are working.</p> <h3><strong>3. Be aggressive and quick on changes</strong></h3> <ul> <li>If you are interested on being friends with Google, you need to be friends with your visitors. If all the sites are going mobile and on tablets, you need to create your website to be accessible on those new devices.</li> <li>If everybody is implementing HTML5, CSS3 then use it  so your code becomes cleaner and shorter.</li> <li>If browsers are stopping to support Flash, then you better start focusing on new techniques.</li> <li>Responsive designs help for site to be supported on all those different resolutions, use it!</li> </ul> <h3><strong>4. Social network importance</strong></h3> <p>Google is pushing its social network Google+, Facebook is working together with Bing search engine, Twitter search results appear real-time. The future is in social networks, Google are getting better and better on indexing such information very quickly, they listen to social signals.</p> <p>Actually those are great news because before Twitter, Facebook was completely different traffic sources, now they complement each other by showing up in search results as priority. If you want to work on search engine optimization, work on social networks! We have quite a lot of them, I didn’t mention Pinterest and LinkedIn even yet!</p> <h3><strong>5. Update Your Old Content</strong></h3> <p>This can take a lot of time if you have a lot of articles, pages, like we have on 1WD, but encouraged to do. If you have old posts which rank very good, its worth updating them, checking for broken links, up to date information. You will get huge benefits from that like more social signals, new comments and your posts will be kept ranking very well.</p> <p>If you have written very poor content in past, then consider editing it, don’t delete those posts, but invest in quality.</p> <h3><strong>6. Implement SEO basics and good on-site strategies</strong></h3> <p>The most important thing is to use very simple and clean code, validate HTML and CSS to prevent any crawl errors. If you will keep your code clean, pages will load faster - load speed also affects search rankings!</p> <p>While working on your website design, remember to keep your top navigation simple and short ( something we are not doing!) We were thinking that detailed navigation will help users to browse around, but in fact it’s only creating clutter, as people just want to read the latest, then most popular posts and if they want to find something they use search anyway.</p> <h3><strong>7. Work on good link building techniques</strong></h3> <p>These include writing guest posts, working on real relationships with influencers, with your peers where you can help each other by linking on relevant posts, writing comments and leveraging from those relationships.</p> <p>Actually the same way you need to work on social relationships with goal to get more social signals, the same way you work on link building indirectly just working together with people helping each other. For example, if you would own 1WD, you would connect with similar web design blogs, interact with blog owners, link to their sites - they will return the favor one way or another just because they will consider you friend.</p> <h2><strong>Tools to use for better SEO on your own site:</strong></h2> <h4><strong><a href="http://yoast.com/wordpress/seo/">WordPress SEO by Yoast (free)</a></strong></h4> <p>In past I have always been using All In One SEO, but now transferring to Yoast plugin, because it is very complete, everything in one place, easily explained and once you setup it, you can forget about it, just add what’s required to new posts and enjoy the best SEO practices.</p> <p>If you invest time in researching all of this plugin features, it will be enough for you on-site SEO efforts!</p> <p>Some of the popular features include:</p> <ul> <li>Post titles and meta descriptions</li> <li>Robots Meta configuration</li> <li>Google webmaster tool verification, Bing webmaster tools</li> <li>XML sitemap</li> <li>RSS enhancements</li> <li>Edit your robots.txt</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://yoast.com/wordpress/seo/"><img alt="WordPress SEO Plugin Search Engine Optimization Plugin Yoast" border="0" height="155" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/wordpress-seo-yoast.jpg" title="wordpress-seo-yoast.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h4><strong><a href="http://www.prelovac.com/products/seo-smart-links/">SEO Smart Links (79$ for 3 months)</a></strong></h4> <p>SEO Smart Links - Premium Edition enhances your search engine rankings by automatically inter-linking your posts. In this way you are working on link building magically while writing new posts, which is very useful as each links also counts as vote for search engines. Start with your own site!</p> <p>This is premium plugin created by Vladimir Prelovac, there are some free plugins around like <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/keyword-strategy-internal-links/">this</a>, but I cannot vouch for them.</p> <p>Some of the features:</p> <ul> <li>Enhanced content parsing algorithm</li> <li>Advanced automatic interlinking options</li> <li>Advanced custom keywords options</li> <li>Advanced control over number of created links</li> <li>Support for link redirection/link cloaking</li> </ul> <p></p> <h4><strong><a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/seo-image/">SEO Friendly Images</a> (free)</strong></h4> <p>This plugin will come really handy for your image optimization, also created by Vladimir Prelovac.</p> <p>SEO Friendly Images is a WordPress SEO plugin which automatically updates all images with proper ALT and TITLE attributes for SEO purposes. If your images do not have ALT and TITLE already set, SEO Friendly Images will add them according the options you set. Additionally this makes the post W3C/xHTML valid as well.</p> <p><a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/seo-image/"><img alt="Seo friendly images" border="0" height="189" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/seo-friendly-images.jpg" title="seo-friendly-images.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h4><strong><a href="http://www.commentluv.com/">CommentLuv Premium (free to 67$)</a></strong></h4> <p>Comment section is where you should spend a lot of time as blog owner, if you work on regular content then you must encourage comments. Your visitors are actually helping you to add more good content to the post by leaving valuable comments. But in order for them to do that, you need to encourage them by rewarding your visitors. How about the link back to their recent post?</p> <p>Some of the best features:</p> <ul> <li>10 post incentives - if visitor share post on G+, Twitter or like, he can choose which post to include there</li> <li>Control over do follow, attributes</li> <li>Built in tracking system</li> <li>Beautiful anti spam plugin GASP built-in, to eliminate spam. Actually a lot of options to take care of spammers wanting to just get their links.</li> </ul> <p><br /> If you want to read more benefits of using this plugin, check this awesome <a href="http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/commentluv-premium/">plugin review</a> made by Ana, her blog posts usually get from 20 to 100 comments. Only thing missing in this plugin is beautiful design, but planning to take care of that by manually redesigning it.</p> <h4><strong><a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/">Google WebMaster Tools</a></strong></h4> <p>Must use tool where Google will directly inform and help you know what sections of your site needs to be improved, what problems it may get or is getting.</p> <p><a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/"><img alt="Google webmasters tool" border="0" height="287" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/google-webmasters-tool.jpg" title="google-webmasters-tool.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h4><strong><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/features">SEOMoz Pro (99$ per month)</a></strong></h4> <p>SEOMoz is a proven tool created by SEOMoz experts, their expertise and great blog leaves no doubt they know what they are talking about. I am using their software to get detailed analysis what kind of most common errors and warnings I have on my site, manage keywords, keep eye on search traffic where data is driven from your Google Analytics account ( ah, you should have Google Analytics installed of course).</p> <p>It is quite expensive, but I really feel it is helping me to simplify SEO and social monitoring on my own website. If you take SEO seriously and want to make your life easier, consider getting this tool.</p> <p>Remember they have a big team and they are regularly improving, crawling your site each week, notifying you about issues that might impact your performance.</p> <p><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/features"><img alt="Seomoz pro seo optimization" border="0" height="317" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/seomoz-pro-seo-optimization.jpg" title="seomoz-pro-seo-optimization.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h4><strong><a href="http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/">Xenu Link Sleuth & Screaming Frog SEO Spider</a> (free)</strong></h4> <p>This tool is helpful for checking web sites for broken links, analyze all of the SEO basics, store information locally and then if any problem arise you can check on history to help you diagnose which changes may have affected that problem.</p> <p>Link verification is done on “normal” links, images, frames, plug-ins, backgrounds, local image maps, style sheets, scripts and java applets. You can download this software for Windows, Mac and Ubuntu.</p> <p>Additional features:</p> <ul> <li>Simple, no-frills user-interface</li> <li>Can re-check broken links (useful for temporary network errors)</li> <li>Simple report format, can also be e-mailed</li> <li>Executable file smaller than 1MB</li> <li>Site map</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/"><img alt="Xenu link sleuth checker" border="0" height="264" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/xenu-link-sleuth-checker.jpg" title="xenu-link-sleuth-checker.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h2><strong>Sites to read to check on further Google SEO changes and discoveries:</strong></h2> <p>Here are the blogs, video channels and articles to read to check on what’s happening behind the scenes on Google and to find further proven explanations and solutions for problems you may have.</p> <h4><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp/videos">Google Webmaster Central</a></strong></h4> <p>This is the official YouTube channel for Google Webmaster Central, your one-stop shop for webmaster resources that will help you with your crawling and indexing questions, introduce you to offerings that can enhance and increase traffic to your site, and connect you with your visitors.</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp/videos"><img alt="Google webmaster central youtube" border="0" height="346" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/google-webmaster-central-youtube.jpg" title="google-webmaster-central-youtube.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h4><strong><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog">Seomoz Blog</a></strong></h4> <p>Seomoz product founders happen to own one of the best SEO blogs out there. It is a great community where you can ask questions in Q&A forum, official blog and then user submitted post blog, where you can get even more great advice and practices.</p> <p>Favorite posts on Google topics:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-improve-your-rankings-with-semantic-keyword-research">How to Improve Your Rankings with Semantic Keyword Research</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/whats-better-on-page-seo-or-link-building">What’s Better - On-page SEO or Link-building?</a> - choose the right seo building type for yourself, different types outlined.</li> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/stop-optimizing-and-start-creating-whiteboard-friday">How to Stop Over Optimizing and Start Creating for SEO - Whiteboard Friday</a> - some basic, but very useful tips for your own site shown on whiteboard to help you understand everything easier in visual way.</li> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/show-keyword-position-using-filters-and-advanced-segments">Show Keyword Position Using Filters And Advanced Segments</a> - simple guide showing how set up your own filters and advanced segments for google analytics to let you track very specific results in your traffic.</li> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/authorship-google-plus-link-building">How Authorship (and Google+) Will Change Linkbuilding</a> - read how G+ will change the way you do link building.</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog"><img alt="Seomoz blog" border="0" height="446" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/seomoz-blog.jpg" title="seomoz-blog.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h4><strong><a href="http://searchengineland.com/">SearchEngineLand</a></strong></h4> <p>One more top SEO blog and while doing research on current SEO changes, I found a lot of relevant and up to date articles about this. That’s one big reason to remember checking out this site on regular basis.</p> <p>Some valuable posts you should read there:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://searchengineland.com/too-much-seo-google%E2%80%99s-working-on-an-%E2%80%9Cover-optimization%E2%80%9D-penalty-for-that-115627?fb_ref=sel-home-stbox">Too Much SEO? Google’s Working On An “Over-Optimization” Penalty For That</a> - over optimization, term you will hear a lot more from now on.</li> <li><a href="http://searchengineland.com/21-types-of-social-content-to-boost-your-seo-103625">21 Types Of Social Content To Boost Your SEO</a> - social presence is more important than before, know how to do it successfully.</li> <li><a href="http://searchengineland.com/googles-march-updates-anchor-text-image-search-navigational-search-more-117285">Google’s March Updates: Anchor Text, Image Search, Navigational Search & More</a> - diving deep into Google latest updates.</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://searchengineland.com/"><img alt="Search engine land" border="0" height="283" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/search-engine-land.jpg" title="search-engine-land.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h4><strong><a href="http://myseocommunity.com/blog/">MySEO Community</a></strong></h4> <p>This is an amazing website curating information about SEO, they work seriously on quality, so if you need one stop place about SEO, don’t go further.</p> <p>Here is their own description about their site - MySEOCommunity isn’t a run of the mill online community. Because of the increasing popularity of search engine marketing and social media, there is a lot of content written about these subjects on a daily basis. Unfortunately, trying to manually keep up with the best content that’s being written is next to impossible to do.</p> <p><a href="http://myseocommunity.com/blog/"><img alt="MySEOCommunity blogs read" border="0" height="422" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/MySEOCommunity-blogs-read.jpg" title="MySEOCommunity-blogs-read.jpg" width="570" /></a></p> <h2><strong>Check which links can harm your site rankings:</strong></h2> <p>If you did over optimize before on your site, you should be very worried, so here are some useful articles to read about how to recover from those bad links. Check also which links can be harming your site and remove them.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/link-profile-tool-to-discover-linking-activity">How to Check Which Links Can Harm Your Site’s Rankings</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/6-ways-to-recover-from-bad-links">6 Ways to Recover from Bad Links</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/how-to-check-which-links-can-harm-your-sites-rankings">Link Profile Tool to Discover Paid Links or Other Anomalous Linking Activity</a></li> </ul> <p>Is your site affected by Google algorithm changes and how you are solving them? Would love to hear your stories and solutions.</p> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=E6GPR9S62Z0:sXXXrYsQzAU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=E6GPR9S62Z0:sXXXrYsQzAU:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=E6GPR9S62Z0:sXXXrYsQzAU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=E6GPR9S62Z0:sXXXrYsQzAU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/E6GPR9S62Z0" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p>Are you looking for a good hosted CMS solution for designing your next website? If so, a good option for you to consider might be <span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://breezi.com/">Breezi</a></span></span>.</p> <p>Breezi is a visual CSS Editor and Edit-in-Place CMS meant especially for designers. The Breezi CMS is supplemented by to-the-mark style control and multiple apps that lend great functionality to your website. <span id="more-67149"></span></p> <h2><strong>Major Features</strong></h2> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67154" style="width: 580px;"><a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/breezi-cms-for-designers/attachment/breezi-header/" rel="attachment wp-att-67154"><img alt="Breezi: A CMS Meant for Designers" class="size-full wp-image-67154" height="72" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/breezi-header.png" title="Breezi: A CMS Meant for Designers" width="570" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Breezi: A CMS Meant for Designers</p></div> <ul> <li><strong>Edit-in-Place:</strong><strong> </strong>To begin with, Breezi CMS lets you edit your website simply by clicking on the item that you intend to change. Thus, you can change your layout, styles and content – all by simply clicking on respective regions.</li> <li><strong>Control</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Over</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Style:</strong><strong> </strong>Breezi provides precise control for many design features such as drop shadows, line-heights, opacity, etc. <p><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67160" style="width: 580px;"><img alt="Style Control features in Breezi" class="size-full wp-image-67160" height="466" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/style-control.png" title="Style Control features in Breezi" width="570" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Style Control features in Breezi</p></div></li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Working</strong><strong> </strong><strong>with</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Images:</strong><strong> </strong>Breezi lets you edit and resize your images in a simple drag-and-drop interface. Of course, the standard functionality such as crop and/or zoom is there as well <p><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67156" style="width: 580px;"><img alt="Edit Image Feature in Breezi" class="size-full wp-image-67156" height="498" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/edit-image.png" title="Edit Image Feature in Breezi" width="570" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Edit Image Feature in Breezi</p></div></li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Applications:</strong><strong> </strong>Breezi’s apps are, to a great extent, the equivalent of WP’s widgets. You can add them to your website to provide enhanced features, such as Facebook boxes, live Tweets, forms and so on. Apps can be added via a drag-and-drop interface, and the number of apps is growing at a steady pace. <p><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67151" style="width: 580px;"><img alt="Breezi has several in-house apps to extend its features" class="size-full wp-image-67151" height="467" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/apps.png" title="Breezi has several in-house apps to extend its features" width="570" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Breezi has several in-house apps to extend its features</p></div></li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>WYSIWYG:</strong><strong> </strong>Breezi’s WYSIWYG Editor lets you edit text and other content quite easily. Apart from standard WYSIWYG features, the Editor also lets you adjust factors such as drop-shadow, line-height and letter-spacing. Plus, you also have many website backgrounds at your service! <p><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67152" style="width: 580px;"><img alt="Different Backgrounds in Breezi" class="size-full wp-image-67152" height="476" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/backgrounds.png" title="Different Backgrounds in Breezi" width="570" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Different Backgrounds in Breezi</p></div></li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Map</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Your</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Own</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Domain:</strong><strong> </strong>Even though Breezi is a hosted CMS, and it provides you with a sub-domain for your site, chances are you’d prefer to use your own domain. You can easily point the domain to your website.</li> <li><strong>Fonts</strong><strong> </strong><strong>and</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Forms:</strong><strong> </strong>Breezi offers many fonts from the Google Font Library. Plus, you can use the Breezi Forms app to create as many forms as you like. <p><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67157" style="width: 270px;"><img alt="Breezi supports several fonts from Google Fonts Library" class="size-full wp-image-67157" height="429" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fonts.png" title="Breezi supports several fonts from Google Fonts Library" width="260" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Breezi supports several fonts from Google Fonts Library</p></div></li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Pages</strong><strong> </strong><strong>and</strong><strong> </strong><strong>SEO:</strong><strong> </strong>Breezi allows you to have unlimited number of pages for your website. Of course, you also get to configure SEO settings such as meta keywords and description.</li> <li><strong>External</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Embeds:</strong><strong> </strong>Don’t like the default functionality within Breezi? You can embed code from other services using the Embed app. For instance, you can embed code from services such as MailChimp for newsletters, and/or Google Analytics tracking code for site stats.</li> <li><strong>Support:</strong><strong> </strong>Support is offered via Live Chat, email, video tutorials and Knowledgebase articles.</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Modus Operandi</strong></h2> <p>At present, Breezi has just one pricing plan – $12 per month. Comparing it with other hosted CMSs, the pricing is reasonable, though not super-cheap. There is a 30-day free trial, so you can check things well before deciding to spend money.</p> <p>Currently, Breezi is still in BETA, so there aren’t many themes. However, for a simple website, the available options will suffice. In the screenshot given below, I decided to go with the Minimal theme. As you can see, there are blocks in place for adding images and other widgets.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67158" style="width: 580px;"><img alt="In-context editing in Breezi" class="size-full wp-image-67158" height="341" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/main-editor.png" title="In-context editing in Breezi" width="570" /><p class="wp-caption-text">In-context editing in Breezi</p></div> <p>When it comes to adding Apps, your options include Text/Photo Block, Image Gallery, Video Gallery, FB Fan Page, RSS, Twitter, Scribd, Contact, Embedded HTML, Slideshow, and few others. All in all, you have the required ingredients for a decent website.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67153" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="Major Apps in Breezi" class="size-full wp-image-67153" height="792" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/breezi-apps.png" title="Major Apps in Breezi" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Major Apps in Breezi</p></div> <p>You can also edit the layout or add new pages from within the same toolbar.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67159" style="width: 580px;"><img alt="Managing Pages in Breezi" class="size-full wp-image-67159" height="548" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pages.png" title="Managing Pages in Breezi" width="570" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Managing Pages in Breezi</p></div> <p>The sitewide settings page is rather bland – your domain, administrator’s name and email, and Analytics code (if any) are the only options.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_67155" style="width: 580px;"><img alt="Website Settings in Breezi" class="size-full wp-image-67155" height="646" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/breezi-settings.png" title="Website Settings in Breezi" width="570" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Website Settings in Breezi</p></div> <h2><strong>Verdict</strong></h2> <p>So, is Breezi worth it?</p> <p>Well, at $12 per month, it is a decent deal when it comes to hosted CMSs – the pricing includes the CMS features and addons, as well as web hosting. If you are a designer who’d like to use a hosted CMS for managing and creating websites, Breezi should be definitely considered, though you should also bear in mind the fact that Breezi is still in BETA. Further more, considering the fact that Breezi is still in its infancy and there are many <a href="http://breezi.com/upcoming-features/"><span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">new </span></span><span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">features</span></span></a> yet to be added, it surely looks to be an interesting CMS in near future. In my opinion, Breezi’s popularity can be further enhanced if they offer a free package for their CMS, perhaps with limited number of websites per account – much like <span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://cushycms.com/">CushyCMS</a></span></span> does.</p> <p>However, on the downside, a hosted CMS is not everyone’s cup of tea. Often times, you find them lacking in terms of functionality – there is no PHP to dig into, no grand CSS tricks to perform magic! While such drag-and-drop functionality can make life easy for you if all you need to do is build websites for the average user, and the applications can help you implement even a decent looking blog, at the end of the day, if you need highly advanced features and customization, you’d be better off without Breezi (or any hosted CMS for that matter).</p> <p>Of course, you can try Breezi for free for 30 days to decide whether it is meant for you.</p> <h2><strong>Links: </strong></h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://breezi.com/"><span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Breezi</span></span><span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> Home </span></span><span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Page</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="http://help.breezi.com/"><span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Support</span></span><span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> and</span></span><span style="color: #000080;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> Docs</span></span></a></li> </ul> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=50sIP-8-S-c:eSh4T0qIAFo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=50sIP-8-S-c:eSh4T0qIAFo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=50sIP-8-S-c:eSh4T0qIAFo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=50sIP-8-S-c:eSh4T0qIAFo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/50sIP-8-S-c" width="1" />

<p>This is the link to the original article creator of this site, if this message appears to another site than <a href="http://www.1stwebdesigner.com">1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog - 1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. Topics focus on web design and inspirational articles.</a> it has been stolen, please visit original source then!</p><p><a href="http://www.vectorpack.net/" target="_blank">VectorPack</a> is a design studio that focuses on creating only the best stock vector arts, photoshop brushes, seamless patterns, and a lot more design elements for web designing. Currently they have over 2000 vector art elements at their library.</p> <p>PS Brushes can be bought for as low as $6 per pack and vectors and patterns for as low as $8. But what VectorPack currently offers is the <a href="http://www.vectorpack.net/mdb/" target="_blank">Mega Design Bundle 3</a>, which values $550 but you can have it for only $37!  And for our loyal readers VectorPack offers 5 Mega Design Bundles!</p> <p>Don’t forget to check their <a href="http://www.vectorpack.net/free.html" target="_blank">Free collection of high-quality vectors</a>!</p> <p><span id="more-68604"></span></p> <h2>The Prize</h2> <ul> <li>396 Vector Elements</li> <li>210 Photoshop Brushes</li> <li>66 Abstract Backgrounds</li> <li>162 Web Elements</li> <li>70 Seamless Patterns</li> <li>30 Textures</li> <li>1 WordPress Theme</li> </ul> <h3>396 Vector, 162 Web Elements & 66 Abstract Backgrounds</h3> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-68607" height="226" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/VectorPack-570x226.png" title="VectorPack" width="570" /></p> <h3>210 Photoshop Brushes</h3> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-68608" height="327" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Photoshop-Brushes.png" title="Photoshop Brushes" width="570" /></p> <h3>70 Seamless Patterns</h3> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-68609" height="212" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Seamless-Patterns.png" title="Seamless Patterns" width="570" /></p> <h3>30 Textures</h3> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-68610" height="142" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Textures.png" title="Textures" width="570" /></p> <h3>1 Premium WordPress Theme</h3> <p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-68611" height="497" src="http://cdn1.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/WordPress-Theme.png" title="WordPress Theme" width="570" /></p> <p><a href="http://www.vectorpack.net/wp-themes/wordpress/" target="_blank">See Demo here</a></p> <p>Wait, all of these for free? Yes! 5 of our loyal readers will win this amazing bundle! And for everyone else who wants to get their hands on</p> <h2>How to Join</h2> <ul> <li>Comment on what you think about VectorPack - don’t forget to use your real email address so that we can contact you!</li> <li>Tweet this post and share!</li> <li>Like <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vectorpacknet/208334749177152" target="_blank">VectorPack on Facebook</a> and<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/vectorpacknet" target="_blank"> Follow them on Twitter </a>to be updated whenever a new promo is available!</li> </ul> <p>Winners will be announced exactly a week from now. Winners will be chosen using Random.org.</p> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=at2qhjg5874:Ji7GlVCVvKI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=at2qhjg5874:Ji7GlVCVvKI:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?a=at2qhjg5874:Ji7GlVCVvKI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/1stwebdesigner?i=at2qhjg5874:Ji7GlVCVvKI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~4/at2qhjg5874" width="1" />