Category Archives: Tutorial

CSS3 Transitions: Slow fade glow effect

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With the tides of internet coding changing, CSS3, HTML5 and jQuery are drastically changing the view of the web. With the ability to produce CSS3 animations, flash integration is becoming less popular as speed and compatibility are what everyone is looking for.

As an ongoing project for this blog, I’ve been learning some of these new techniques and coding tricks. Below is a code snippet for one of the new CSS3 transition upgrades. What this code will do is cause a soft glow to transition in and out when a link is hovered. This code can be adapted in your .css file to apply to other items as well like DIVs or li items. If you noticed on this blog it’s been integrated into the container boxes for my blog content.

For supporting browsers, you should see a slow fade in & out when hovered, if you do not see it then you should try to upgrade your browser… and if you’re still using IE, you should just slap yourself. Silly IE, the internet is for next gen browsers. Good luck with IE9.

a {
	-webkit-transition: -webkit-box-shadow 1s ease-in;
	-moz-transition: -moz-box-shadow 1s ease-in;
	-o-transition: -o-box-shadow 1s ease-in;
	padding:20px 40px;
	position:relative;
}

a:hover {
	-webkit-box-shadow:0 0 10px #444444; 
	-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 10px #444444; 
	-o-box-shadow: 0 0 10px #444444;

There are tons of great resources on the web for learning these new standards and techniques. A couple I used for inspiration for this post and tip are:

If you’ve got any tips you’d like to share, please leave a comment. Now have some fun coding, and if you REALLY want to see just how powerful these new CSS3/HTML5 features are then just check out the Spiderman Animation made entirely in CSS3.

Tutorial: 5 simple steps to give your images some punch

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ducks_header
Working in the graphics design/publishing field I come across at least 10 photos a day that could use some drastic help. Washed out, overdeveloped, under exposed; These are all things that we’ve all had to deal with with our photos. Well, Here’s some simple processes you can follow to punch up those colors and get your images back to looking the way they should, GREAT! Inspired by the new little ducklings that have recently hatched in our back yard, we snapped some shots on a point and shoot Canon. As you can see from the original image, it’s good… but i thought it could be better. The following steps to enhance your photos shouldn’t take you any more than 5 minutes, and once you learn the procedure you’ll be editing your photos in no time!

ducks_2

Click through to see the full tutorial. Continue reading →

Twitter Cheat Sheet

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twitter_cheatsheet_header
Today at Churm Media, I was tasked with making a twitter help guide so that our editorial/marketing teams could help spread the word about our brands (@OCMETRO, @OCFamily, @IEFamily). That’s when i realized that if you’re not an internet savvy, hip user then you probably don’t really get the “jump right in and learn how to swim” aspect of twitter. Thus… the twitter cheat sheet. You may even notice a little shout out to a couple tweople (Twitter + people); @Tutorial9, @CameronOlivier, @Sethetter & @Vectips.

Click through to download the full size cheat sheet. PDF Available below image.
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Portfolio: Follow the yellow brick [tutorial] road

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gelbutton_bird_header
My dear love for tutorial doage (yes, that’s now a word) keeps my skills sharp and my knowledge of all things graphic design high. I generally browse through the tutorials pages looking for something to catch my eye that gives me a sense of “how can i incorporate that into one of my Magazine layouts.” On this particular day i was looking through Photoshop Lady’s website to see what new and exciting things the graphic design community had come up with this week. Low and behold, there it was. A Gel Button effect in photoshop to rival MANY gel button tutorials on the “market”. And trust me, i’ve done many of them. Most of them good, and get you to the goal you’re set out for, but this one had so much glamour that i knew i’d have to see how it was accomplished. So, not to bore you with the details or to try and explain the steps i’ll just give you a link so you can test for yourself. All in all, once i got a subject for the ‘logo’, this tutorial took me about 5-10 minutes, then add another 5 for personal tweaks and adjustments.

So without further ado, here’s my rendition of the tutorial (via 3nhanced)…. after the jump [click image for full size].
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Tutorial: Using Black & White points in Photoshop to clear up an underexposed picture

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Tutorial - Photoshop Levels trick - Black and White point photo enhancementsAt my current day to day job I use this technique religiously. It’s fast, easy and extremely effective when trying to achieve better quality photos for print and online. In the following Adobe Photoshop tutorial I’ll walk you though a quick (less than a minute once you learn the steps) process on how to brighten up those dull, dark photos you’ve been sent from your clients… or in my case, taken with your poor digital camera.

The following tutorial was done in Adobe Photoshop CS3, but 80% of the process can be used on just about any program with a “Levels” function (such as the freeware, open source image editing software, GIMP) while the last 20% can be done all the way back to Photoshop CS1 (this is the black overlay feature achieved by holding the ‘option’ or ‘alt’ key in levels).

» TIP: IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO MAKE DUPLICATES OF YOUR LAYERS IN CASE YOU NEED TO GO BACK IF YOU MAKE A FATAL MISTAKE.

Tutorial - Photoshop Levels trick - Black and White point photo enhancements

Step 1:

Open the file you wish to adjust and open the Levels adjustment window » SHORTCUT: COMMAND+L (pc users: CTRL+L). This will bring up your image’s histogram and the palette where this tutorial will focus. Locate the white point slider as seen above.

Tutorial - Photoshop Levels trick - Black and White point photo enhancements

Step 2:

One of the best features of this tutorial is built right in to Photoshop CS1+. While on the white point slider, press and hold OPTION (pc users: ALT) and begin scrubbing the bar left and right. This will give you a black overlay over your image. If you’re using an older version of Photoshop or a different program you can skip to step 4.

» NOTE: THIS FEATURE WILL ONLY WORK IF YOUR IMAGE IS IN RGB MODE.

» TIP: USING ADJUSTMENT LAYERS IS A GREAT WAY TO INSURE THAT YOU DON’T RUIN YOUR ORIGINAL FILES. THIS IS CALLED “WORKING NON-DESTRUCTIVELY”. IT WILL ALLOW YOU TO KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL FILES INTACT FOR FUTURE PROJECTS, OR TO RETURN TO A PREVIOUS STATE IF YOUR ADJUSTMENT LAYERS AREN’T WORKING FOR YOUR DESIGN ANYMORE.

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Submit: How to create a CD cover.

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Abduzeedo has added an awesome post about a fun, creative way to create a CD cover. After i read this post i got addicted, neglected work, and did about 6 of these things… 3 of which actually came to fruition.

Here’s the steps….

Do you know when saw that new band cd and thought: “how in the world did they think of that”? Well, someone out there figured out the equation, and man, it’s really fun.

And what equation is that? Simple:

1. Click HERE. The random article title will be your band’s name.
2. Click HERE. The last 4 words of the last quote will form the name of your album.
3. Click HERE. The third picture, whatever it is, will be your cd cover.

Done! Now you got the formula to make some funny, yet great albums. I’ve actually made about 6 last night, and my favorite, by far, is this one.

So. following these easy steps, Here’s what i came up with.
PLEASE feel free to follow these steps and submit your own. it’s addicting, and fun! see what kinds of covers YOU can come up with!

CD Cover - City Upon A HillCD Cover - Moor ParkCD Cover - Sophomore Jinx

Tutorial: Grassy Text… Urban!

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I’m sure by now you’ve all seen this tutorial, but for those of you who haven’t PSDTUTS has an AMAZING, easy to follow process for getting a very organic crop of grass around your text! If i have some free time, because this one looks like it might take a little longer than the previous “Bling it out!” tutorial, i’ll try to organicize my ninethreestudio logo for all of the world to see. or maybe just the ninethree iconic bird in the sense of time.

PSDTUTS – Create a Spectacular Grass Text Effect in Photoshop. Also seen on SwissMiss.

Tutorial: Flaming meteor text

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Yet another great tutorial by the talent at PSDTUTS. Brush manipulation, typography, visual design, layer blending modes, this tutorial has it all. A great place to start for beginners… now i know that might seem a little scary, but the best and only way to learn is through immersion, right? I say you just load up this tutorial and jump both feet forward and don’t look back!

How many steps do you imagine it would take to get tot his final product? i’m not going to lie. i thought at LEAST 25. Well, PSDTUTS did it in 16 steps. Now of course a step counts as a whole portion, but still. that’s pretty effing amazing if you want my opinion, and since you’re on my blog, i’d say so. haha.

For me, the tutorial really grabs hold at around step 8 up until the conclusion. The process of adding the flame and the particles with the brush manipulations are brilliant. Grab your stylus and start making pretty things, because really, we’re designers… that’s what we do!

Create a Spectacular Flaming Meteor Effect on Text
In Text Effects by Fabio

Take typography one step further by having text falling from the sky in a burning inferno. Yes, this is the text-on-fire tutorial to end all tutorials. It uses a little Illustrator for the text and a lot of Photoshop to burn up the screen!

In previous tutorials you’ve seen two smoke effects that I’ve created, but let’s face it, you can’t have smoke without a fire somewhere. So in this tutorial I will show you how to create a fire effect similar to when a spaceship or comet enters the earth’s atmosphere. The image we’ll be creating is inspired by a Nike Ad I saw some time ago. I’m not sure what the URL is, if anyone knows it, please link us up in the comments.

It’s always a good idea to keep your eyes open for inspiration for effects and designs no matter what you are doing. Graphics are everywhere and you can learn a lot by looking at what other people do. Now on to the tutorial!

Follow the Trackback to PSDTUTS for the full 16 step tutorial.

Tutorial: Depth rainbow into your photos

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Sometimes your photos just need that something to push them over the edge, why not a grungy finish with a line-depth, colored rainbow? Well, problem solved!! PSDTUTS has a great tutorial on their site right now showing exactly how to manipulate your brushes, adjust your blending modes, tweak your adjustment layers and add that grunge style look to your plain, simple photos.

Being a HUGE fan of photoshop and it’s brush options. i’ve decided to post this link for everyone. Take the 20 minutes to do the tutorial, and if you’re in a crunch for time. at least skip to the section about the brush options. It’s MORE than worth any designer’s time, especially if you’re a photoshop junkie like myself!

Mix Cool Retro Curves Into Your Photographs
In Effects by Fabio

I’m a huge fan of James White’s work. I love the way he plays with geometric elements and colors. It gives a retro feeling to the design, but at the same time he uses a modern approach. In an interview, he mentioned that he uses a Flash script to generate the vector shapes. Then he does the rest of the job in Illustrator and Photoshop.

Well, inspired by James’s designs, I decided to figure out my own way of creating that type of effect in Photoshop. In this tutorial, I show you how to mix cool retro geometric shapes into your photos

Follow the Trackback Link to get to the full tutorial, with pictures and easy to follow instructions.

60 Photography Links You Can’t Live Without

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CameraPorn has compiled a list of 60 of the best photography links that you can’t live without. I know. Redundancy to the title, but there’s no other way to describe it. They’ve also got a bunch of other really great resources on their site… i smell blogroll!!

read more | digg story

9 steps to design bliss

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During my recent web scouring i came across a great 9 step program. Yes, you guessed it, they cut out 3 of the 12 steps to help me break my addictions! who needs to “admit they have a problem” when designing is just a solution TO a problem! ha! Ok, but really. these 9 steps are for helping designers get out of that designers block that we all dread so much!

Here are a few things you can do when you recognize that you’re in a lull:
1. Take a deep breath, relax and ENJOY it. That’s right – you’ve (probably) earned it, so take a moment to stop and smell the roses. After weeks of being “slammed” it’s good to take a break. Realize you’re slow, ratchet down a gear, let the stress you’ve built up flow out of your body. Assume a more relaxed state of mind and let your “batteries” recharge. Ok, 5 minutes of that should do it. Now move quickly onto number 2.

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Tutorial: Bling it out!

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Ready to put out your next rap album cover Mad Money Millionaires? Need to add a little Zazzzz to your webpage? Well look no further! This great tutorial will show you exactly how to get the desired “bling” effect you’ve been waiting for. With this easy to follow, easy to replicate tutorial all you have to do is follow along… a monkey could do it. Well, you know, if that monkey has a wacom tablet and a stylus.

Click through to see the entire Bling Tutorial.

This tutorial will show you step by step on how to create a “Badass Bling Effect” using layer styles in Photoshop. Once you create the layer style, you can easily “blingify” any layer. There is also a video tutorial as well.

Here’s my shotty attempt at it. Don’t let the poor quality fool you, i assure you i am a good designer. HAHA. This was a quick, step by step, learn the tutorial, image… it came out ok, probably should have worked with a larger DPI though. Live and Learn!

I found all these images off quick google searches, so the quality was pretty poor. And i only had about 15-20 minutes before work to get this up finished and posted. But, enough excuses! TO THE BAT CAVE!