Crystals (3D, Object)

Hi there :)
This is an After Effects CS4 / CS5 project with pre-rendered 3D. I hope you like it!

About the project

  • HD Resolution – 1280×720 / 30 fps / 25 sec
  • No plug-ins required
  • Render time – about 18 min on Intel I7
  • Audio – The music is not included. You can get it HERE “Happy Snowflake” by scottwills. If you purchase the music just replace it in the project and you will get the same sound as in the preview.

Easy adjustments:

  • You can easily adjust the colors of the crystals and the background. There are different masks for the crystals, ground, flying debris.
  • There are seven placeholders where you can put your custom content.
  • You can adjust or turn off the Depth Of Field

Check out some of my other projects




Download Crystals (3D, Object)

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect

This Photoshop tutorial explains how to make a simple gold text effect by using some layer styles, namely the Gradient Overlay layer style!

Final Image Preview

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect

Note: Original tutorial published on Photoshopstar.com was old and needed a few updates. Tutorial was rewritten and now published.

Resources

Step 1: Setting the Stage

Let’s start by making a new document in Photoshop. I created a new document sized 500 x 500 pixels with all the default settings, RGB, 72 DPI, etc.

After creating your document, set the Foreground color to #393943 and the Background color to #100e19, then fill the Background with a Radial Gradient.

Duplicate the Background layer (Ctrl+J).

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 1

Double click the “Background copy” layer to apply a Pattern Overlay layer style. Change the Blend Mode to Multiply, the Opacity to 70%, and the Scale to 25%. Use the starnetblog_tileable_metal_texture8.jpg image from the 9 tileable metal textures pack, (it is also the second pattern in the .pat file), as the Pattern.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 2

You can play around with the values, for example, other good layer modes to use in this case are Soft Light, Vivid Light, and Color Dodge. You can as well choose different patterns, but you might need to adjust the Scale value if you do so.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 3

Get out the Rectangular Marquee Tool. Click the Add to Selection icon in the Options bar at the top, and set the Style to Fixed Size, then type 50% in both the Width and Height boxes. Drag your selection onto the canvas then into the bottom right corner of your canvas, do the same but in the top left corner.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 4

Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it “Dark Squares”, and fill the selections with the Background color (#100e19). Go to Select -> Deselect (or press Ctrl + D) to get rid of the selections.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 5

Lower the Opacity for this layer to 25%.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 6

Use a large soft brush to erase away the center (middle area) of the squares, so you get something like this:

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 7

Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it “Light Squares”. Repeate the previous steps to create two more selections in the empty corners, and this time use the Foreground color (#393943) to fill the selections.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 8

Create another new layer on top of all layers and call it “Grunge Brush”. Use the brushes from the Grungy Brush package to add a bit of grunge at the bottom of the document, using the Foreground color (#393943) as the brush color.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 9

Change the layer’s Blend Mode to Multiply and lower the Opacity to something around 40%.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 10

Step 2: Setting Up your Text

This is the easy part. Get out the Horizontal Type Tool (T) and write your text in whatever color you want. The font used is Impact, and the size is 80px. You can use any other font you like, bolder fonts give a better result.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 11

Double click the text layer to apply the following Layer Styles:

– Drop Shadow: Change the Opacity to 85%, the Distance to 2, and the Size to 15.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 12

– Inner Shadow: Change the Blend Mode to Color Dodge, the color to #a98e0f, the Opacity to 50%, the Distance to 1, and the Size to 0.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 13

– Inner Glow: Change the Blend Mode to Linear Dodge, the Opacity to 55%, the color to #fae48f, the Size to 3, and the Range to 70%.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 14

– Gradient Overlay: Check the Reverse box, and change the Scale to 55%.

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 15

Click the Gradient box to create the gradient using the colors #fae48f, #ffc230 and #9f7f00. Position the color stops as shown below:

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 16

This is how your text should look like after applying the Layer Styles:

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect 17

The last thing we’re going to do is adding some sparkles! So create a new layer on top of all layers, set the Foreground color to white, and use a sparkles brush to create some sparkles around your text.

Final Image

And that’s it! This is what your text should look like:

Creating Simple Gold Text Effect

Design & Build a Small Business App: Custom Detail Views

Welcome to the last of a three part series of tutorials where I show you how to design an iPhone App for small business clients from scratch. In this final lesson, I will teach you how to create and theme a custom detail view describing a company’s services. Tutorial Overview In this section, I will […]

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Gadzooks! Zooka’s wireless speaker bar is a hit on Kickstarter

Last week I heard about a new Bluetooth wireless speaker for iOS devices that sounded pretty interesting, but since it was “just” a Kickstarter campaign and we get a lot of product pitches for speakers in production, I completely forgot about it. That was until today, when I found out that the Zooka Wireless Speaker Bar has completely blown by its funding goal of $25,000 with 25 days left to go.

The Zooka looks like a pretty cool product, although in my opinion the jury will be out until we have a chance to actually try one. Zooka works with any iOS device, but is most striking when it is attached to an iPad. The device has a speaker at each end of a silicone tube that can be used as an iPad grip, and it features internal rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries for up to 8 hours of amped-up sound.

There are plans to make Zookas in a variety of colors — orange, fluorescent green, dark blue, brown, tan, and black — and high-level backers even get the opportunity to get a limited edition glow-in-the-dark version.

Check out the video below for a demonstration of this unique take on a Bluetooth tablet speaker.

Gadzooks! Zooka’s wireless speaker bar is a hit on Kickstarter originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple, Proview meet in Shanghai court

It’s a battle of David and Goliath as near-bankrupt Proview International fights world-leader Apple over rights to the iPad trademark in China. The two companies met in a Shanghai court on Wednesday to argue why each one should retain ownership of the highly coveted iPad name. According to reports from the New York Times, Reuters and the AP, the court session lasted four hours and was filled with heated comments from both sides.

Proview’s lawyer Xie Xianghui asserted that “Apple has no right to sell iPads under that name.” Apple’s lawyer retorted with a scathing assessment of Proview, “Proview has no product, no markets, no customers and no suppliers. It has nothing.” Apple also pointed out that it sells a lot of products in China and a ban on iPad sales would “not only hurt Apple sales but it would also hurt China’s national interest.”

The local district judge’s day ended without a ruling. There was also no indication on how long this case may take. Estimates from lawyers suggest a decision is weeks or possibly even months away.

Apple, Proview meet in Shanghai court originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iFrogz’ Boost speaker out now

Even a couple of months after the fact, I have to say that iFrogz’ Boost speaker was one of the most interesting things I saw at CES this year. It’s a little box speaker that works, more or less, like magic. There are no wires or hookups necessary. All you do is set the Boost speaker down, put your iPhone right on top of it as seen above, and then the speaker somehow amplifies your iPhone. It’s not super loud, but it’s more than enough for just a desk speaker, or maybe something small in the bedroom.

As far as I can tell, it simply works by “listening in” to whatever is coming out of your iPhone’s speaker with a really close-up microphone, and then just amplifying that audio as best it can (the device is powered with a few batteries, so that would make sense, if it’s making more sound on its own). What’s most surprising about all of this, however, is how exact the unit must be — I moved the iPhone around quite a bit on the unit, and it really only works if the iPhone is sitting in exactly the right place, which means that mic, if that’s indeed what’s happening, must be very finely tuned.

At any rate, the Boost is an interesting device — there are quite a few speakers out there, but I haven’t seen anything like this, that doesn’t require any wires or hookups at all (aside from the old school megaphone style amplifiers, I mean). The Boost is available for $39.99, and if you have a place to use it, it might be worth picking up.

iFrogz’ Boost speaker out now originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple initiates hiring drive in Israel

Apple has posted listings around the Internet for a Technical Recruiter based in Israel, signifying that the company is kicking off a hiring drive in that country. The main goal of the individual in that position will be to get involved in “identifying, engaging and securing world-class candidates for Apple in Israel,” and presumably growing the company’s operations there. The position asks for quite a bit of recruiting experience, particularly in the engineering, hardware, and semiconductor industries, and will also need to deal with “hiring ramps of 20+ vacancies,” which again means there’s probably a significant team headed to Israel.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Apple trying to move into Israel, and CEO Tim Cook has said in the past that as well as Apple is doing here in the US and overseas in Europe, the biggest potential for growth is in developing tech nations like Israel and other countries in the Middle East. A move like this shows that Apple is not only taking advantage of its cash pile and status as a company right now, but also looking ahead to grow even bigger in the future.

Apple initiates hiring drive in Israel originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily Update for February 22, 2012

It’s the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You’ll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what’s happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today’s Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Daily Update for February 22, 2012 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft joins Apple in FRAND patent fight with Motorola Mobility

Legal battles can sometimes make strange bedfellows. Microsoft announced today that they’ve filed an antitrust suit against Motorola Mobility in the European Union charging that the company (which is being purchased by Google) is abusing the standard-essential patents that it owns. Apple also filed a complaint a few days ago on the same topic — that Motorola Mobility is attempting to illegally block sales of others company’s products by leveraging patents that should be offered with Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Descriminatory (FRAND) licensing.

Standard-essential patents are patents held by companies like Motorola Mobility that become part of industry standards like Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n, for example) and the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC standard. Since they’re part of industry standards, companies are obligated to use the patented intellectual property in creating their products. If the patent owner attempts to coerce companies to either stop using technology that is part of a standard or to pay exorbitant licensing fees, lawsuits like those filed by Apple and Microsoft are the result.

Dave Heiner, vice-president and deputy general counsel for Microsoft’s Corporate Standards and Antitrust Group, was quoted as saying that “Motorola has broken its promise. Motorola is on a path to use standard essential patents to kill video on the Web, and Google as its new owner doesn’t seem to be willing to change course.”

Florian Mueller, patent expert at FOSS Patents, believes that Microsoft joining Apple with a lawsuit against Motorola Mobility will improve the odds that the European Commission will investigate Motorola’s alleged abuses of FRAND patents in Europe.

Microsoft joins Apple in FRAND patent fight with Motorola Mobility originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW TV Live at 5pm ET: Mountain Lion Edition!

Once again it’s Understudy Wednesday on TUAW TV Live, meaning you get a bonus dose of TUAW Talkcast host Kelly, and co-host (or partner in crime, depending who you ask) Doc Rock.

Since Apple didn’t have the decency to consult the TUAW TV Live schedule, they released Mountain Lion the day after last week’s show so this we’ll be talking about that and any other news and hardware or demos that Kelly and Doc come up with before the show starts.

Below, you’ll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you’re driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you’re stuck in traffic, please don’t — keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It’s a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat.

We’ll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you’re seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you’ll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

No Flash? Check out the YouTube channel or podcast listed above or click here.

TUAW TV Live at 5pm ET: Mountain Lion Edition! originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buzz Contacts for iPhone offers fast access to contacts

Buzz Contacts from Savvy Apps (US$0.99) is a fast way to reach contacts from your iPhone. Organize them into groups for one-tap access to phone calls, text messages, email or FaceTime sessions. The UI is about as clean and tidy as one can get and conveniences like pre-written text messages are quite helpful. Here’s my look at Buzz Contacts for iPhone.

UI

The no-frills, utilitarian look of Buzz Contacts is appropriate for a handy utility. Once you’ve set up some groups (more on that later), they’re laid out on a 4 x 4 grid. Each contact is listed by name and an icon depicts the action associated with each button (phone, text, email or FaceTime). If a group contains more than four members, a swipe to the right reveals the next grid of four while a swipe to the left produces a list view.

A toolbar pops up from the bottom of the screen allowing for group actions, so you can send an email or a text, for example, to everyone at once. The large buttons are hard to miss, so the risk of unintended taps is nominal.

Use

It’s easy to create a group. I made one called “Family” which includes my wife, mother, father and two sisters. To begin, swipe to the right and tap “New Group.” Next, tap the title to customize it and then tap the icon in the upper right.

A list of your contacts appears. Tap the one you’d like to add and chose the method of contact. Keep adding contacts in this fashion until “Page One” is filled, meaning you’ve added four contacts. You can re-arrage the order in this screen as well.

Make as many groups as you like, swiping to the right to toggle between groups. From there, you simply launch the app and tap the appropriate block to initiate just the type of communication you want: FaceTime with your sister, iPhone call to your co-worker, text message to your son or daughter. It’s speedy and a time-saver.

Buzz Contacts also lets you call those not in a group from the dialer. To use the dialer, swipe to the right again and tap Dialer. A keypad appears. Start tapping a number and Buzz guesses which one you’re after. Give it a tap and you’re off.

There are a few thoughtful niceties in the app. Tapping a contact set up as an email or FaceTime session asks you to confirm your intention before placing the call, so you won’t place accidental phone calls. Also, there’s a list of pre-written text messages to choose from, like “Running Late. See you soon.” and “On my way.” Combine that with a group text message to send a lengthy message to the whole gang with little effort.

I love useful utilities and Buzz Contacts is one. Since I pretty much only call the people in my family group, I’ve replaced the phone app in my iPhone’s Dock with Buzz Contacts. It’s definitely worth a try at $0.99.

Buzz Contacts for iPhone offers fast access to contacts originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MakeGo turns your iPhone into a vehicle toy

MakeGo is quite an idea. It’s an iPhone app, available for $1.99 right now, that turns the touchscreen of an iPhone (or iPod touch) into a vehicle-style toy, where you can play around and generate sounds for toys like a racecar, ice cream truck, or even a riverboat. But the genius of this one isn’t what’s in the iPhone, it’s what’s outside of it. The idea is that you build a vehicle case for the iPhone out of whatever you want, be that Legos or wood or just paper, and then your custom-built case, along with the iPhone running the app, becomes a very professional, interactive toy.

Now, there are a few issues here, the first one being that when I played with vehicle toys as a kid, they almost inevitably ended up crashing in horrible ways, so I don’t know how comfortable I’d feel giving any child an iPhone 4S to throw around. But lots of kids have access to old iPhones or iPod touches at this point, and this seems like a really ingenious way to inspire creativity and come up with a really great DIY toy. It’s also super cheap, given that you already have the iOS device, because touchscreens for toys can send prices up through the roof.

And finally, it’s a great example of just how much the iPhone and iPod touch have changed all sorts of industries. When powerful, touchscreen-based devices are this prevalent and this ubiquitous, why not use them to inspire some really interesting imagination play?

[via Wonderland]

MakeGo turns your iPhone into a vehicle toy originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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