News/Articles
Adobe Illustrator pressure sensitive brushes don’t work with my Wacom Tablet anymore!
Question I recently had to update my drivers for my old Wacom tablet due to a system upgrade. I was very disappointed to find out that my pressure sensitive brushes don’t work any more in Adobe Illustrator CS5. I can draw with them, but they aren’t pressure sensitive. Is there any way to fix this? Answer I…
What graphic formats should I use for web and print?
Question I have an image I want to print on a brochure and put on a website. What is the best file type for each? Answer Printing — For any print job, the best file format is EPS. The next best would be a high resolution tiff — 300 dpi at the actual size it…
Cute Girl Art: Illustration
I got a new client recently. They were searching the internet and found my existing illustrations I had done for Girl Scouts and wanted something similar. I sketched it first, then refined. Then I digitally inked her in Illustrator and colored her in Photoshop. This way all her lines are vector – so if the…
Tame the E-mail Treadmill!
I bet your email inbox is full all the time. I bet you have a sense of relief when it’s empty and dread checking it because you are just going to get flooded with more. I bet you wish you had less email. I process on average 100 emails a day – which is probably…
WordPress: Display Images in Sidebar
Question I was looking for an image link plugin for widgets when I found your post on linking images, but I need advice on how to link images in widgets(using the html for the image). I found a title link plugin, but the only image link plugin I could find warns that it is out of…
Adobe Illustrator: How can I create item that won’t print?
Question I often have projects where I create the graphics in Illustrator and then I convert my fonts to outline for the press. So, I was thinking I would just put the name of the font on my file in the pasteboard area so I can see it and remember what font I used. But,…
Skip the trip to the bank: Send your checks electronically
Lots of banks have added a new service to send your checks to them electronically. This can save time and gas money. I suspect you can also lose a little weight by not driving by the fast food establishment before breakfast each time too. But, even if your bank doesn’t have a formal “Remote Check…
Web Design Tips for Print Designers
Many print designers are being asked to create for the web, whether they have experience in this area or not. One of the biggest challenges I see for print designers is considering the fluid nature of web design. In print design, you can control every aspect, such as the size, fonts, leading, images, borders, etc….
What is bleed? My printer asked for it.
Question What is bleed? My printer asked for it when I gave them my brochure file. Answer When you send your brochure to the printer, they print it on much larger pieces of paper than the finished size of your brochure. They do this for a variety of reasons: Printing several brochures at the same…
Does your Magic Trackpad have a mind of it’s own?
My Apple Trackpad is going crazy. My Apple Trackpad is possessed. My Apple Trackpad is pissing me off. My Apple Trackpad is clicking on things by itself. My Apple Trackpad is skipping around without me touching it. My Apple Trackpad has phantom clicks. If you have found yourself saying one of the things above you…