Tips and Tricks: Illustrator Tutorial for Newbies
Ever wanted to learn to use Adobe Illustrator? Now’s your chance! Teach Yourself Adobe Illustrator For Free is an article featuring 8 resources that will help you learn Illustrator or refine your Illustrator skills. Head on over, pick a resource, learn and have fun!
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Dash of Inspiration: Working with Color
A Dash of Inspiration, A Cup of Creativity by Doreen 
To some, choosing and blending colors is as natural an act as breathing, others find choosing the right color, hue or tone for a creation a real struggle; yet this is an area of card design that not only can be the difference between creating a ‘best seller’ or creating a card deemed unmarketable; but good color instinct is also essential to the balance of your design and it’s appropriateness to both the recipient, and the occasion.
So did you know there are ‘color families’ and meanings ‘feelings’ identified with each? Look at these examples:
These pinks are elegant, serious, sophisticated – good choice might be for weddings, romantic occasions, and women over 50.
Whereas, these pinks are casual, happy, girly – good choice for cheerful occasions and girls under thirty.
What about the difference between saturation, value tones, tints, values, hue, shades and chroma? Do you know how each of those can change the mood of your design and how people perceive it?
Choosing the perfect color or palette for a card design takes:
- An understanding of Color Theory; color families, feelings each evokes, etc.
- Intentional thought about WHO the recipient of the card will be: age range, gender, relation
- Deliberate choices which are appropriate for the occasion.
Here is a really terrific 3-part series with visuals and great explanations – and it’s FREE online and just packed full making it a great reference tool for the designer. Many thanks to Cameron Chapman at Smashing Magazine for making this series available online and sharing his knowledge with all of us designers. Whether refreshing your knowledge or learning from scratch, these are must reads for the greeting card designer.
Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color
Color Theory For Designers, Part 2: Understanding Concepts And Terminology
Color Theory For Designers, Part 3: Creating Your Own Color Palettes
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Check out our old blog posts for more on Color Theory and to get some great tips on where to find Color Palettes.
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This is the last day to get your June Dash of Inspiration Design Challenge entry into the hopper! Good Luck!
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So until next week … Learn … Create … Inspire!
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Wanted: New Cards – Fourth of July, For Kids
Every week, we showcase a GCU category that has few or no cards. We’d like you to create at least one card for this category using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock) or your own graphic designs.
Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers – cards submitted for underused categories are much more likely to be approved provided they follow the Submission Guidelines. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Good luck!
Today’s category with 3 cards is:
Holidays – Fourth of July – For Kids
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Tips and Tricks: Color Blogs
Stumped for new color schemes for your designs? Looking to update your designer’s toolbox when it comes to colors? Check out Design Inspiration: 10 Must See Color Blogs to find new sources for your color palettes. Have fun!
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Tips and Tricks: Typography Tutorials
Creative Blog has a list of 90 free Typography Tutorials including some for Illustrator, some of which artists may find handy. Learn new skills including cool text effects and create some super trendy typography cards – get the look everybody wants to buy!
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Font Frenzy: Bundle of 50 Fonts $29
The Hungry JPEG is offering a font super bundle – 50 fonts for just $29. A lot of these are trendy, include commercial licenses and extras including illustrations and textures. We’ve purchased from this business before and they are reputable. See examples below, get full details at the site and have fun!
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A Dash of Inspiration, A Cup of Creativity by Doreen
I ran across this great list of tips from some Digital Artist Pros and thought it inspiring and worth passing on. As a digital artist and photographer who makes a living at my craft, I never stop learning. I’m in a state of continuous growth – improving my technique, learning new skills, extending myself to reach for something new and different of which I’ve never attempted before.
From Art Station Magazine – these professional artists offer some great words to live by for any artist, but they speak directly to the digital artist of today.
15 Steps to Being a Better Digital Artist
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I happen to love the freedom of combining multiple photographs, and sometimes graphic elements, together into one image. There is no end to where my imagination will take me and the only limit is whether or not I can develop the necessary skill-set/technique to pull off what my mind conjures. When that wall raises itself, I simply go learn and perfect what I don’t know – until I can apply it flawlessly to my work.
For me, this is the challenge and thrill of being an artist.
Perhaps you’ll find something new to explore in these tutorial links:
30 Best Adobe Photoshop Video Tutorials
25 Amazing Blend Tutorials in Adobe Illustrator on Tuts+
Graphic Software Tutorials – Paint Shop Pro, In Design, Photoshop and Illustrator all represented in this list of tutorials.
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This is the last week to get your June Dash of Inspiration Design Challenge entry into the hopper!
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So until next week … Learn … Create … Inspire!
New digital design by Doreen Erhardt©2015
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Wanted: New Cards – Congratulations, Adoption
Every week, we showcase a GCU category that has few or no cards. We’d like you to create at least one card for this category using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock) or your own graphic designs.
Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers – cards submitted for underused categories are much more likely to be approved provided they follow the Submission Guidelines. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Good luck!
Today’s category with 6 cards is:
Congratulations – Adoption
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Tips and Tricks: Free Retro/Vintage Photos
Get 10 lovely retro/vintage photos free for personal or commercial use to use as textures and backgrounds for your design work. JPG format, high quality. Don’t forget to bookmark for your Notes to Reviewer! See a thumbnail sample below and have fun!
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Tips and Tricks: Photo Tutorial
How to Scan, Stitch and Edit Large Photographs is a helpful Photoshop tutorial for those who work with pictures and need to do some restoration and cleaning up to make them suitable for use in GCU designs. This could also apply to larger pieces of art that have to be scanned in multiple stages.
GCU Community 