Archive for the 'Illustrator' Category

Opacity Mask Basics: Illustrator

March 27, 2007 | Posted in Illustrator | 56 Comments »

Hi all, I just got back from 4 days away from home, so here is something to chew on while I get back into the swing of things. If you have ever downloaded (or not) one of my free sets of buttons or webpage elements, you might notice that I use a lot of opacity masks in my Illustrator files. I do this for a number of reasons, some of which may be obvious, but I would like to clarify a little better on how to use these (opacity masks), and why.

Illustrator Opacity Mask Basics
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The Power (and ease) of Patterns in Illustrator

March 23, 2007 | Posted in Illustrator | 73 Comments »

In my last post I gave away some seamless vector patterns, and one in this post. Many of you have questioned how to put these to use, and the answer is: Lots of ways. I’m going to illuminate a few different ways to take a seamless vector pattern and put it to use. And believe me, these are not the only ways. Hopefully you can take these tips and find some unique uses for your own personal designs.

The Power (and ease) of Patterns in Illustrator
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DESIGN: Using Typography to create Texture

March 20, 2007 | Posted in Illustrator | 20 Comments »

It’s often a challenge to really play with typography as a design element itself. It’s no secret that type plays a significant role in a lot of the design world, both print, web, and beyond. But typography itself is a nice easy way to experiment with your design to see what you can come up with, given the circumstances allow for it. I have to sometimes force myself to do this, but it’s a really nice way to add a little extra if done right. Typography, especially scaled way up, can be a powerful addition to your design, and even a texture layer at times. I will use the font Sidewalk from a previous post as an example.

DESIGN: Type as Texture
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How to Make Vector Grunge

March 15, 2007 | Posted in Illustrator | 40 Comments »

After my “50 Free Vector Grunge Corners” post, I got a lot of responses asking how to make vector grunge. Well, I’m going to show you exactly how, and trust me, anyone can do it. It’s not as hard as you might think, thanks to InkScape (free).

How to Make Vector Grunge
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Pathfinder: Explained

March 10, 2007 | Posted in Illustrator | 33 Comments »

If you aren’t familiar with Illustrator’s extremely handy “Pathfinder” palette, you might sit down for a few moments to play with it, because it is a true time saver, and an excellent tool for manipulating paths. First, of all let me say that “Pathfinder” is a horrible name for this palette. It doesn’t actually “find” paths. It makes it easy to combine paths, divide objects, subtract shapes, etc.

Illustrator's Pathfinder Explained 1
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