This category includes articles and tutorials on designing in Photoshop, Illustrator and Fireworks. Free icons, textures, PSDs and other similar resources are featured here, as well as showcases of photography, video and wallpapers. This section also hosts our Desktop Wallpaper Calendar series.
Popular tags in this category: Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, Wallpapers, Freebies, Photography, Videos, Textures, Logo Design, Tutorials.
The times when paper was considered to be the primary medium for artistic expression is long gone. Many writers and designers use digital media to improvise and develop their ideas. However, there is something particuliar in this "physical" canvas — something that keeps us getting back to paper when we want to brainstorm ideas in a notebook, doodle around in a sketchbook, collect inspiration in a scrapbook or just draw some sketches for the next project.
In fact, paper is even more powerful than that. It is a very flexible medium. You can use it paper only for giving your ideas and feelings forms, but also as an expressive medium for creative artworks formed out of paper. You can create a sharp-edged paper plane or ship, but also form twisted curves of nature or complicated geometrical shapes. In this weekend's post we present a showcase of paper art; you wil find many beautiful carved, folded, cut out paper objects and realistic 3D paper sculptures, all using paper, cardboxes or even books as materials. Please make sure to follow the links to explore further works of the artists presented below.
You may be interested in the following related posts:
Today, we'll look at what it's like to develop print material in cooperation with a major marketing company for top-name brands and retailers using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. For anyone in the print industry, we'll share methods and resources that you'll hopefully find helpful. For others, this article will shed light on what it's like to work for a design firm. You'll gain in-depth insight not only into the methods of professional print designers but also into the marketing implications of their work.
Though many newcomers to the design industry lean towards Web design, professional print design is still very much a viable alternative. Despite declining print sales of magazines and newspapers, print-based marketing (such as for in-store signage, direct-mail campaigns and free-standing inserts) doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon. If anything, the industry is eager to hire talent from the next generation to bring much-needed fresh ideas and innovation to the table.
Read more...Desktop wallpapers can serve as an excellent source of inspiration. However, if you use some specific wallpaper for a long period of time, it becomes harder to draw inspiration out of it. That’s why we have decided to supply you with smashing wallpapers over 12 months. And to make them a little bit more distinctive from the usual crowd, we’ve decided to embed calendars for the upcoming month. So if you need to look up some date, isn’t it better to show off a nice wallpaper with a nice calendar instead of launching some default time application?
This post features 40 free desktop wallpapers, created by designers across the globe. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free.
Please notice:
So what wallpapers have we received for May 2010?
Read more...Today we are glad to provide our readers with a yet another round-up of high-quality icon sets that perfectly suit this time of year. Below, you will find free sets covering a wide range of subjects, including Easter and food sections. Please read the license agreements carefully before using the icons, and feel free to follow the links: they will certainly come in handy when you're designing a new website or looking for inspiration.
Please notice that we do know that round-ups of icon sets are getting old; but because these round-ups are always useful and handy, we are keeping doing them. Most of the icons featured below are new, some are a bit older. Let us know if you'd like to have more or less similar round-ups in the comments to this post. Thank you!
You can also scan our other icon-related articles:
Desktop wallpapers can serve as an excellent source of inspiration. However, if you use some specific wallpaper for a long period of time, it becomes harder to draw inspiration out of it. That’s why we have decided to supply you with smashing wallpapers over 12 months. And to make them a little bit more distinctive from the usual crowd, we’ve decided to embed calendars for the upcoming month. So if you need to look up some date, isn’t it better to show off a nice wallpaper with a nice calendar instead of launching the default time application?
This post features 80 free desktop wallpapers, created by designers across the globe. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free.
Please notice:
So what wallpapers have we received for April 2010?
Read more...Photoshop's wide array of cloning tools is the cause of many of the absolute best and worst works created with the application. In a skilled and experienced hand, these tools lead to phenomenal results. In the hands of a careless artist, Photoshop cloning can be disastrous to the credibility of the result. This article introduces the several cloning tools available in Photoshop and goes over the proper usage and best practices of each.
The Clone Stamp tool is the oldest and most widely known of the cloning tools. The basic concept is that you duplicate certain portions of an image using a source, destination and brush. To clone out the name on the tombstone above, you would select a source that shares the texture of the area you want to replace. In this case, the area around the words provides an ample source of stone texture from which to clone.
Read more...Today we'd like to publish something completely different for a change. India, the country of mysterious paradoxes; the land where civilizations and times intermix, a mysterious place which attracts people from all over the world. In today's showcase we are presenting a little showcase of this astonishing contrast between wealth and misery, contemporary technologies and ancient historical monuments, plenty of languages, cultures and traditions.
We present people, places, traditions, culture and a broad overview of the incredible beauty of India — something different and inspirational for a change. Please let us know if you are interested in seeing more similar posts on Smashing Magazine in the future in the comments below.
Read more...Since its emergence, the digital photography market has gradually supplanted the traditional one. APN and digital SLR cameras entered our lives, and some people announced the death of silver-based images. This is not all lie, and yet old-fashioned images have been particularly popular in the past few years. All we do seem to do now is try to recreate the atmosphere of those bygone times anyway. Blurry, distorted and over-saturated images are not just a fad anymore. People have became familiar with the style and even consider it a full-fledged photographic genre.
And this is where toy cameras play a role. These devices, made entirely of plastic, including often the lens itself, are not only toys. Sure, they cost next to nothing and have no controls to speak of, but this is what people like about them: they create unpredictable pictures, with equally unpredictable vintage effects. Once you understand this, the rest is a beautiful game. Take them anywhere, anytime, and photograph whatever you like.
Read more...
The University of Notre Dame has been named one of The Chronicle's 'Great Colleges To Work For' in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 – visit http://ND jobs to see why!…
The WordPress Developer will be the technical architect and manager for a growing portfolio of WordPress blogs. The WD will be responsible for general Wordpress back-end…
With a commitment to quality content for the design community.
Smashing Media Made in Germany. 2006-2013. Impressum