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Animating Text Along A Path In After Effects – AE Basix

Have you seen those animated adverts, where the text seamlessly moves along path? In this tutorial we are going to learn how to create a sequence that involves text animating along a custom path using the first margin text property. A custom path is a vector path that is drawn freehand using the pen tool in After Effects.

Tutorial

Step 1

Create a new composition

The first thing we are going to do is create a composition; this is the canvas you will create your animation on. To manually create a composition, you need to do the following.

Choose New Composition.

New composition window.

This will open the composition dialog box. The options on the basic tab will allow you to set up the preset,
width, height, aspect ratio, frames per second, start code and duration for your animated sequence.

With the dialog box open apply the following settings:

Preset: PAL D1 / DV

Width and height: 720 X 576

Aspect Ratio: D1/ DV PAL 1.09

Resolution: Full

Start Timecode: 0.00.00.00

Duration: 0.00.030.00

Depending on your output, you may want to set up the first 4 settings at other standard settings, for example for Northern American broadcast media or for the Web.

So now our sequence will run for 30 seconds.

Step 2

Changing background color of the composition.

To change the background color you need to do the following:

Choose Background color.

This will open the color picker dialog box.

The color picker dialog box.

Click OK to choose a color for your background. With your cursor move around within the color space to pick a color, when you have chosen your color click ok to accept this.

 

Step 3

Creating text for the animation.

Using the text tool type out a word on the stage.

Choose the font and size using the character palette.

The character palette.

Step 4

Creating the path for the animation

With the text layer selected, select the pen tool draw a path for the text to follow.

 

Make sure that
Rotobezier check box in the tool palette, is selected, this allows you to draw a smooth path.

 

Twirl down the text option to reveal the path options.

Select Mask 1 for the path, this is the path you have just created. Now the text is automatically
linked to that path.

Step 5

Animating text the path

With the play back at the start of the time line, create a keyframe for the first margin property.

For this property set the stopwatch and drag the word to the beginning of the path by dragging the slider value for the first margin property.

Drag the play back head further down the timeline set a keyframe for the last margin property, drag the slider value for the for the first margin property so that the so the text moves to the end
of the path.

 

Move the play back head to the start of the animation and scrub through the timeline. You should now
see your animated text animating along a path.

I’ve added some extra graphics and text in addition to the animated text.

Hope you have found this tutorial useful.

Additional Resources








How To Make Blinding Paparazzi Flashes

Have you ever see the masses of photographers at red carpet events and the hundreds of flashes going off when a star walks by? In this tutorial you can find out out to make bright Paparazzi Flashes in After Effects for use in a logo reveal. I will show you how to the flash element and use a particle system to create the appearance of flashes.

Tutorial

Step 1

Create a new comp at your desired resolution. I’m making mine 1920×1080 at 25 fps.

Step 2

Create a Black Solid and make sure its comp size, name it Particles.

Step 3

Go to Effect, Trapcode, Particular and add it to the black solid.

Step 4

Change the Emitter Type to Box and then change the emitter size to your comp resolution; mine is 1920×1080. Set your Emitter Size Z to 0.

Step 5

Set all the velocity numbers to 0

Step 6

In the Particle drop-down menu, set the Life to 0.1.

Step 7

You should have a comp that looks like this.

Step 8

Create another Black Solid and name it Flare.

Step 9

Go to Effect, Videocopilot, Optical Flares and put it on the Flare solid you just made.

Step 10

Click on Options and delete all the layers under Global Perameters.

Step 11

Then click on Lens Objects on the left side of the screen and add two glow layers and two shimmer layers. Set the brightness and scale of the first glow to 125 and 14. The second glow layer to 125, 17. The first shimmer layer to 728, 12 and the second shimmer layer to 159, 39.

Step 12

Then change the global colour to R: 132 G: 184 B: 243 or HTML: 84B8F3.

Step 13

Click OK and you should end up with something like this.

Step 14

Pre Compose the Flare solid and check Move All Atribures, name it Sprite.

Step 15

In the Sprite comp, center the flare to the middle of the comp by dragging the target.

Step 16

Go to Composition, Composition Settings and resize your comp to 2500×1406 or what ever your computer can handle.

Step 17

Then go to Layer, Solid Settings and click Make Comp Size.

Step 18

Then alter the Brightness and Scale in the Optical Flares Effect menu so the glow does NOT touch the edges of the comp. I set it to 60 brightness and 50 scale. You may want to add a circular mask just to be safe.

Step 19

Also, set the Render Mode to On Transparent.

Step 20

Now, go back to your main comp and ALT click on the 8bpc till it reaches 32bpc. This reduces that horrible banding you get with gradients. Note this may slow down RAM preview time so I recomend setting it to 32bpc when you are redy to do your final render.

Step 21

In the Particular Menu, go to the Particle drop-down menu and change the Particle Type to Sprite. Then open the Texture drop-down menu and set the Layer to the Sprite comp.

Step 22

You may get this warning saying that the layer is too big, just click ok.

Step 23

Now, turn off the Sprite layer as we do not need to see it. If you can only see tiny dots insted of flashes, increase the scale of the particle to your desired size. It should look something like this.

Step 24

In the Particle drop-down menu, go to Opacity over Life and select this ramp.

Step 25

Thats your basic flashes done. Now to make it into a logo reveal import our desired logo, text or image into the comp and position it in the center.

Step 26

Animate the Paricles/sec to 3000 on the first frame then 100 at one second. You can press F9 to smooth out the keyframes.

Step 27

Then select your Logo and animate the scale so it is a bit larger on the first frame then one second in it is back at 100% scale.

Step 28

And there you go. I have added a bit of a glow to the logo for good measure. I hope you enjoyed this tutoral.

Additional Aetuts+ Resources








Introducing the Tuts+ Marketplace – Making Premium Accessible to Everyone

We’ve just launched the Tuts+ Marketplace, where Premium quality tutorials – both from our Tuts+ Premium program and from unaffiliated authors – are available to purchase individually. Our Tuts+ Premium program will still stay exactly the same – you’ll get all the same things, for the same price. But now, non-members will be able to purchase selected Premium tutorials on a one-off basis, without a Premium membership.

Hey! Look for this link!

So far we’ve added nearly half our Premium tutorials to the Tuts+ Marketplace, and will be adding more over time. To find out if a Premium tutorial is available for sale on the Tuts+ Marketplace, look for this link:

Item Link

Q + A More Information

Here are answers to some of your likely questions about the Tuts+ Marketplace. Please read through these, and if you have any more questions they may be answered in the special edition podcast Introducing the Tuts+ Marketplace (with me and Sean Hodge as a special guests :) hehe). If not, leave a comment!

QWhat does this mean for Premium members?

That it’s a lot easier to see the value you’re getting as part of Premium. With files on the marketplace priced between $3 and $7, your Premium subscription gives you access to thousands of dollars worth of files for $9 a month. Premium will still work exactly the same and cost the same – so you’ve got nothing to worry about! The marketplace is more for people who aren’t Premium members, and for those who want access to user-submitted tutorials that aren’t available as part of Premium – or anywhere else.

QWhat will be sold on the Tuts+ Marketplace?

We’ve seeded the site with our Tuts+ Premium tutorials, but anyone can submit a tutorial for sale on the Tuts+ Marketplace. If it’s ‘Premium’ quality, it will be accepted. Eventually, the marketplace will be filled with tutorials you can’t find anywhere else.

QWho benefits from the Tuts+ Marketplace?

If you only have time to go through 1 or 2 Premium tutorials a month, or only want to pay for the Premium tutorials you need, the Tuts+ Marketplace is perfect for you. You can purchase tutorials on a one off basis, and files are priced between $3 – $7.

As the marketplace grows, authors will come in from elsewhere to sell their tutorials. There will be high-quality tutorials on the Tuts+ Marketplace that you can’t get anywhere else, so if you love learning from great tutorials, you should keep tabs on the Tuts+ Marketplace.

If you go through lots of Premium tutorials, the Tuts+ Premium subscription is better value for you. The option that’s right for you will depend on your needs.

QWhat categories does the marketplace cover?

We currently host the following categories, and will be expanding our selection over time:

Forums Have your say!

Because the Tuts+ Marketplace is built on our Envato Marketplaces app, we have dedicated Forums. Head on over, sign up for the marketplaces, and tell us what you think of the Tuts+ Marketplace.








The Missing Manual: Time Saving Tips Nobody Wrote Down – AE Basix

One of the keys to mastering After Effects transcends the addictive process of adding your spark, the glamour, and making everything sexy. As fun as that is, the reality is that we often have the clock ticking against us, whether it’s our client nervously watching the hours rack up, or that family time we’re neglecting yet again. Everyone seems to agree there aren’t enough hours in the day, so why not earn a few easy ones back?

Tutorial

I’d like to think that most of these tips are obvious and that much of the professional world already applies them. However, I never found these in any of my instruction, so I’d like to share this workflow of mine that consistently helps me make better videos and cut my hours in half—by eliminating my most major mistakes.

Quick Summary:

  • Start with the audio
  • Plan it all on paper
  • Start your video as basic as possible so you can address major storytelling issues while it’s still easy.

Simple. For some reason it took me forever to “get” this, and why the seemingly boring process is so vital.

1) Audio first

Unless you’re in a market like digital signage, your video needs a soundtrack. And there are plenty of important reasons to start here before anything else.

  • Inspiration: the soundtrack of a song conveys many obvious and subtle emotions. Choosing the right soundtrack drives your viewer’s emotions and validates the video in a way nothing else can. Listen to your soundtrack with your eyes closed and you’ll see possibilities for your video that are uniquely yours and fit it far better than just following tutorials.
  • Essential: You want your major transitions to line up with set changes in the song. Because all music conforms to very consistent patterns: 4 beats per measure, 4 measures per set, we are very restricted about how much we can edit it later. Time your effects around beats in the song, not the other way around.
  • Practical: If you have a duration limit (like 15 or 30 seconds), you may need to do a little editing so the track has a decent start, middle, and finish. You want to do this before you have dozens of effects timed to the old music edit.

The bottom line is that video effects are very easy to move around. Audio is far more difficult to ‘nudge’.

Example

Here is an energetic music track where the main instruments suddenly stop and a guitar slides down.
I felt like I was being dropped from mid-air here, so in my video I use a falling transition to
emphasize it. It‘s my favorite part of the video.

2) Storyboard: use a pad of paper!

Even if you’re a terrible drawer like me, you’ll still benefit a lot by doing your test run on paper first. Your brain has better things to do than remember every little detail you’ve conjured up, and the process just takes me three or four minutes (and often saves me hours).

  • Inspiration: Seeing your idea on paper gives you perspective, because you can find problems in symmetry, balance, or there not really being enough room for all that text, etc. Layout often makes sense in my head but just doesn’t work in a 16×9 frame. Staring at it lets you think outside the box, and frees up your brain to think of new approaches.
  • Essential: You can double-check timing. If you have a duration limit, will this all really fit in time? “Watch” your slides while listening to the audio track to see that you can comfortably read all of the text, and process all of the information at a good pace. Do this 2 or 3 times and you should have a good sense as to whether it will work like you think.
  • Practical: You’ll greatly accelerate your editing. With the big picture in place, you can more structurally lay out your compositions so they make sense. And rather than de-railing to remember what you planned next, you can glance at your storyboard to stay right on track and in your zone. This’ll save you more time than you probably expect.

I once spent 4 or 5 hours finishing the details on a great 30-second ad. But I didn’t storyboard, and when I hit the 24 second mark, I had only shown half the client’s talking points and hadn’t even gotten to their logo yet. Oops! Most of it had to be thrown out.

3) Make a “Mock Video”

Again in the spirit of ensuring that your timing will work, now create the entire video as basic as you can. Get any important elements in place but avoid adding anything that will tax your CPU or clutter your timeline for now.

First handle: Optionally add: Not yet:
Text Basic backgrounds Effects
Photos Basic transitions Blending modes
Layout Camera motion Color correction
Timing down to a ‘T’ Basic movement Anything not vital to your story

Here are two mock-ups I made for my videos. They are really dull, yes, and that’s good, for reasons I’ll explain in a minute.

Example: a very basic mockup

A more complex example: showing a mockup with 3D movement

For now you’re trying to avoid any details that aren’t critical to the storytelling. If you work on little details like glows and pretty effects early in, several bad things happen:

You make it very difficult to edit major things later
  • Layout: It’s very hard to click and drag a specific layer in a complicated scene. Instead you highlight a color correction adjustment or a big foreground layer by mistake. Gah…
  • Efficiency: lots of effects will seriously tax your CPU, making it a real chore to make any broad layout changes later
  • Timing: Imagine: some text flies in and you have a puff of smoke emanating from its landing place. That’s several layers of smoke, all keyframed to start in sequence just after the text lands. What happens if you need that text to land a half-second sooner? Instead of one key-frame to move, you could have a dozen. What if you need to move it back some? You’ve got to grab all those keyframes again. What if you forget a keyframe? Or several? You’ve got to track them down. What about all the layers that come after it, do they need to shift too? Gah…!
Waste

And the most dreadful: you could spend time working on scenes you might decide to cut completely. It’s happened to me a lot.

Watch your “mock” video again and again. Be sure you love it. Because this is the time when you can most easily play with and perfect it.

4) Have fun!

Your hard work pays off and the fun begins. Go through your video and add smoke effects, gradients, blending modes, textures, and everything else you’ve been eager to add. You’ll find yourself zooming through this faster than usual too, since you can fully focus on aesthetics and not question your storytelling again and again. Good luck!








33 Books To Reference On Your VFX and Mograph Journey

    How many books are in your library? I have some of the top rated books for our industry for you guys to pick and choose from depending on your interests! Whether you are into motion graphics or matchmoving… there is something here for everyone!

    • Matchmoving: The Invisible Art of Camera Tracking by Tim Dobbert

      If you are looking for a great book to get your started in matchmoving as well as something you can keep with you for a long time on shoots to come, Tim Dobbert’s book has basically everything there is to know when it comes to everything from setting up shots to solving cameras.

      View Book

    • The After Effects Illusionist: All the Effects in One Complete Guide by Chad Perkins

      This book is kind of like Chad Perkins’ Lynda.com training DVD After Effects Effects, but in book form. The book goes through each and every effect included with After Effects CS4 and teaches you how to use it, and how you could possibly apply it into a real world situation.

      View Book

    • The Visual Effects Arsenal: VFX Solutions for the Independent Filmmaker by Bill Byrne

      Bill Byrne takes years of visual effects experience to show you how to make some of the hottest effects used in cinema, from color correction to chopping arms off! The provided disk also comes with all the project files so that you can follow along in your application!

      View Book

    • After Effects Expressions by Marcus Geduld

      Expressions are kind of scary, I’ll admit… thank god there is a book out there that can teach you everything you need to know about expressions in After Effects. Marcus’ book is 448 pages chock full of expressionny goodness complete with a disk with project files so you can examine the expressions for yourself!

      View Book

    • Filming the Fantastic: A Guide to Visual Effects Cinematography by Mark Sawicki

      This book deals on the simple idea of eliminating the phrase “we’ll fix it in post.” Why waste time fixing it later, when you can do it right the first time? Learn techniques on doing in camera special effects and cinematography to create plates that you can later composite together for better video!

      View Book

    • Adobe After Effects CS5 Visual Effects and Compositing Studio Techniques by Mark Christiansen

      Mark Christiansen has been writing this book for years, each time updated with the newest version of After Effects. It has become one of the must have books for an After Effects artist to have, because there is always something new to learn from him. This version is to be released October 2nd 2010

      View Book

    • The DV Rebel’s Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap by Stu Maschwitz

      A favorite book for anyone who has ever made a super low budget to no budget film is The DV Rebel’s Guide. Stu, the creator of tools like Magic Bullet Looks, wrote this book to help those that have a hard time penny pinching to get a amazing film out of little to no money.

      View Book

    • Greenscreen Made Easy: Keying and Compositing Techniques for Indie Filmmakers by Jeremy Hanke & Michele Yamazaki

      Editor of Microfilmmaker.com Jeremy Hanke and Toolfarm’s own Michele Yamazaki have this amazing handbook for people working in green screen. It goes through everything from plugins, to making homemade greenscreen, to what apps to use, and tips and tricks for getting good mattes when you are compositing.

      View Book

    • After Effects Apprentice, Second Edition by Chris and Trish Meyer

      Chris and Trish Meyer are undoubtedly legends in the After Effects world. Their book, the After Effects Apprentice takes you through all you need to know if you are getting started in our app of choice, complete with a disk with video tutorials and project files!

      View Book

    • Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, 5th Edition, Fifth Edition: Essential and Advanced Techniques by Chris Meyer and Trish Meyer

      Now in it’s 5th Edition to reflect CS5, this massive 768 page book deals in all you need to know for making motion graphics. Subjects include mastering 3D space, all the 3D effects in CS5, working with Photoshop, keying, mattes, roto, basically anything you need to know if you are going to be working on motion graphics.

      View Book

    • Adobe After Effects CS5 Classroom in a Book by Adobe Creative Team

      If you have been in college you have probably been required to get this book to learn After Effects. It is made by the Adobe Creative Team as a collective effort and serves as the jumpstart for learning, using, and understanding After Effects.

      View Book

    • After Effects CS4 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickPro Guide by Antony Bolante

      This book from Antony Bolante is a great book for people of all walks of life, whether it be graphic, web, or video production how they can use After Effects CS4 in their workflow to enrich their projects and integrate their other applications.

      View Book

    • After Effects for Flash / Flash for After Effects: Dynamic Animation and Video with Adobe After Effects CS4 and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional by Richard Harrington and Marcus Geduld

      If you are a Flash user and have never messed with After Effects, this is the book for you. Learn how you can use both apps harmoniously to create some amazing motion graphics, and integrate these two applications together in your workflow.

      View Book

    • Flash + After Effects, Second Edition: Add Broadcast Features to Your Flash Designs by Chris Jackson

      This book is more for learning how you can use After Effects in your Flash animations to make better and more compelling work in Flash. If you have the Suite and have both programs, if you are only limiting yourself to Flash, you are really missing out.

      View Book

    • After Effects and Photoshop: Animation and Production Effects for DV and Film, Second Edition by Jeff Foster

      This is another book trying to unify the Creative Suite’s apps, Photoshop and After Effects to create a better, faster workflow when it comes to dealing with graphics, visual effects or filmmaking.

      View Book

    • Adobe After Effects CS5 Digital Classroom by AGI Creative Team

      In 16 lessons, this book will teach you thoroughly how to use After Effects what effects do what, and how you can use the program to make your video woes much easier. This book is due out November 8th 2010.

      View Book

    • The Video Collection Revealed: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Soundbooth and Encore CS5 by Debra Keller

      I love these books that preach about how to use your apps together for better workflow. Too often we get hung up on trying to do everything in one application. This book teaches you about Premiere, After Effects, Soundbooth and Encore and shows you a great workflow for using them together in your production pipeline.

      View Book

    • Compositing Visual Effects: Essentials for the Aspiring Artist by Steve Wright

      This was published back in 2007, but all the same techniques still hold true. This book is a great stepping stone for beginning visual effects artists that want to learn and understand how visual effects shots are made and composited together.

      View Book

    • The Green Screen Handbook: Real-World Production Techniques by Jeff Foster

      This is an amazing resource for those working heavily in the green screen world of video. Jeff Foster explains everything from setting up your green screen to matchmoving a virtual set! This 384 page monster is sure to be one that you put in your backpack every shoot.

      View Book

    • The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) by Ron Brinkmann

      This is a great book going through 17 case studies on hit Hollywood films like The Golden Compass, Sin City, Lord of the Rings, and Revenge of the Sith, just to name a few. Take an in depth look at how shots from these movies were put together to create such realistic imagery.

      View Book

    • Professional Digital Compositing: Essential Tools and Techniques by Lee Lanier

      No matter what application you are using, this book will apply to it. Color Theory, stereoscopy and CG integration are just a few of the things covered in this book. Whether you are a Motion, Shake or After Effects user, you will learn a lot from this book.

      View Book

    • The VES Handbook of Visual Effects: Industry Standard VFX Practices and Procedures by Jeffrey A. Okun and Susan Zwerman

      Just like the title says, you will learn some of the best practices and procedures from some of the huge names in the visual effects industry. Co-authored by members of the Visual Effects Society, you get many different perspectives and ideas on how to do things in the visual effects world.

      View Book

    • The Visual Effects Producer: Understanding the Art and Business of VFX by Charles L. Finance and Susan Zwerman

      Instead of focusing on the art of visual effects itself, this book focuses on the business of being a producer instead. Learn how to manage clients, crew and vendors, along with planning out scheduling, budgeting, and all the other woes that come along with being a producer.

      View Book

    • VFX Artistry: A Visual Tour of How the Studios Create Their Magic by Spencer Drate and Judith Salavetz

      If you have ever wanted a look into how studios like Digital Kitchen, Prologue and Trollback create their amazing pieces of art, look no further. This book showcases how certain videos were produced, what went into them, and what was needed!

      View Book

    • Digital Compositing for Film and Video, Third Edition by Steve Wright

      This book is great for the compositor faced with challenges like badly shot footage, mismatched lighting and the like. Now in it’s third edition, this book contains new chapters on stereoscopy and CGI integration of elements.

      View Book

    • Motion Graphic Design: Applied History and Aesthetics by Jon S. Krasner

      if you have ever wanted to delve deep… I mean, REALLY deep into motion design, investigating the theory, history and whatnot of how it has come to be an artform, this is by far the best book for you.

      View Book

    • How to Cheat in Motion by Patrick Sheffield

      In this non-app-specfic book Patrick shows you how to do some nifty, easy, and dirty little tricks that the pros use with little or no effort at all to enhance the look of your projects!

      View Book

    • The Art and Technique of Matchmoving: Solutions for the VFX Artist by Erica Hornung

      Whether or not you want to learn it, matchmoving is going to end up being a tool in every artist’s arsenal. Erica’s new book, gets you up to speed on the newest technology, theory, and practices when it comes to matchmoving.

      View Book

      • Coming Soon…

    • How to Cheat in After Effects by Chad Perkins

      Chad Perkins’ brand new book is full of a bunch of quick tips that save you a ton of time and basically works as a cheat sheet for hundreds of tasks inside of After Effects. This book is due out October 4th 2010

      View Book

    • BBC VFX: The History of the BBC Visual Effects Department 1954-2003 by Mat Irvine and Mike Tucker

      This is a great book that showcases the last 50 years of visual effects used on the BBC. There has been some amazing shows, movies, and other programming that is unforgettable. This book spotlights all those and shows you what went into them. This book will be available January 1st 2011!

      View Book

    • Motion Graphics with Adobe Creative Suite 5 Studio Techniques by Richard Harrington and Ian Robinson

      Yet another book showcasing how you can use different applications from the Creative Suite in your workflow, this book by Richard Harrington and Ian Robinson shows you how to use Illustrator, Photoshop and of course After Effects to create spectacular motion graphics. Pick up this book October 3rd 2010!

      View Book

    • Creative Motion Graphic Titling for Film, Video, and the Web by Yael Braha and Bill Byrne

      We, as motion artists get asked a lot to create title sequences… what better of a place to find inspiration than a book dedicated to teaching that!? This book features tutorials and interviews on how and who created some of the most inspiring titles sequences in the most famous blockbuster movies! This book will be out October 1st 2010!

      View Book

    • Design Essentials for the Motion Media Artist: A Practical Guide to Principles & Techniques by Angie Taylor

      Aspiring motion artists be on the lookout! This book is a crash course on the designer’s side of looking at creating motion graphics. Learn to think like a designer, analyze color palettes and typography… make educated decisions when it comes to the way you want things to look! This book will get you up to speed on it. Book drops October 29th 2010.

      View Book

      • If you enjoyed this post, please give it a vote on Digg or a stumble to say thanks!









Play An Intense Game Of Human Pong

If you’re good at playing sport games on your computer but suck at sports in real life, this tutorial is just for you. You’ll learn how to combine 3D animation with live footage through 2d and 3d tracking. It’s time to bring back some life to the all time classic tennis game…. “PONG”!

Tutorial

Download Tutorial .flv

File size 280MB

Additional Aetuts+ Resources








Using Multiple Styles of Gradients in Vector Illustration and Vector Art










In this article, I will show you a variety of illustrations made from vector that contain gradients. I’ll explain why these elements work well and share with you some links to great tutorials. We’ll also read what the artists say about the pieces, which tools they use, and what advice they give to those wishing to venture into vector art using gradients.

Continue reading “Using Multiple Styles of Gradients in Vector Illustration and Vector Art”

20 Free and Useful Adobe Illustrator Scripts










You have a unique opportunity to expand the functionality of Adobe Illustrator. There is nothing easier than using scripts, just select the object and run the script you need! The scripts presented in this post will save you plenty of time and will make your work more pleasant and efficient. Believe me, it is worth your attention. All the scripts have been tested in Illustrator CS3 and CS4.

Continue reading “20 Free and Useful Adobe Illustrator Scripts”

How to Make an A5 Print Ready Leaflet InDesign CS5










In this tutorial you will learn how to design a A5 four page leaflet, which can also be saved as a template for future designs. Using some of the new type setting features in InDesign CS5, you will make an appealing design that’s perfect for print.

Continue reading “How to Make an A5 Print Ready Leaflet InDesign CS5”

How to Make a Cheeky Squirrel using Corel DRAW X3










This tutorial will provide you with an overview of the basic tools and ways of creating images in Corel DRAW. Using a hand drawn sketch as the basis of the illustration, you will create objects using some special tools and learn different ways to work with color.

Continue reading “How to Make a Cheeky Squirrel using Corel DRAW X3”

Creating Psychedelic Character Art Using Adobe Illustrator – Vector Premium Tutorial










We have another great Vector Premium tutorial available exclusively for Premium members today. If you want to learn how to make a psychedelic comic style character and background with Adobe Illustrator, then we have an awesome tutorial for you.

Continue reading “Creating Psychedelic Character Art Using Adobe Illustrator – Vector Premium Tutorial”

How to Create a Dynamic 3D Puzzle Effect in Adobe Illustrator










In the following tutorial you will learn how to create a nice looking puzzle effect. Using 3D Extrude, Bevel and Map Art options you will learn how to hand craft the individual pieces of the puzzle and arrange it into a dynamic layout.

Continue reading “How to Create a Dynamic 3D Puzzle Effect in Adobe Illustrator”

Best of the Vector Web – August 2010










As you know, each month, we search the web for the best vector-related content and showcase it here for you all to enjoy. This month, we found some really great tutorials on vector character design, creating charts in Illustrator, and vector skulls among others. We’ve also expanded this month’s offering. We have the regular articles and freebies sections, with some high quality fonts front-lining this month, and we’ve added sections on inspiration and quick tip tutorials. August was another vector loving month, so let’s check it out.

Continue reading “Best of the Vector Web – August 2010”