Freelance Projects, Design and Programming Tutorials
In this tutorial you will learn how to create all-purpose water drop using the Clipping Mask and gradient fills. Water drops created in this way can be placed on any texture, both vector and raster, and the texture under the drop will look enlarged – just like a real drop of water. Creating the drop only takes a few minutes but adds a level of detail to your illustration that looks great.
Continue reading “Quick Tip: How to Create an All Purpose Water Drop using Adobe Illustrator”
Art wallpaper is an image designed with the specific dimensions to fit ones screen. They are also known as desktop pictures or desktop backgrounds. Whether you use a static wallpaper or shuffle it over a specified period of time, a good art wallpaper is one of the most effective ways to improve the appearance of your computer desktop. Your choice of wallpaper can really reflect your mood.
A beautiful, elegant and artistic wallpaper can also be a great source of inspiration. They can challenge your imagination and provide a fresh perspective. You can also create your own art wallpaper, and then give it as a freebie, which is a great way to promote your work.
In this article we will share some tips and tutorials to design a perfect vector art wallpaper. We will also talk about the benefits of promoting your vector work with artistic wallpaper giveaways, enrich your visual mind with some inspiration, and provide links to free vector art wallpapers.
Continue reading “Promoting Your Work with Vector Art Wallpaper Giveaways”
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 perspective drawing, dimensional button creation, and silk screened promotional material. Grab your quick dose of colorful vector inspiration, downloadable freebies, interesting articles, and more. September was another vector month with loads of quality material to peruse.
In this week’s Audio Premium content, Björgvin Benediktsson analyzes the Top 5 Radio Hits of 2010, looking for the ingredients that make a track go to the top of the charts. Learn from Björgvin’s insights as he goes through the top half of the AOL Radio Blog’s 10 Best Songs for 2010 (to date).
To learn more about what you get as part of Audio Premium, read this. To take a peek inside this tutorial, hit the jump!
What are the elements of a Number 1 hit song? What are the songwriters and artists using that can propel them to the top of the charts again and again? What can you learn from simplifying your songs and following tried and tested techniques used by modern songwriters? In the following Premium tutorial I hope to shed some light on the production, songwriting and essence of what constitutes a hit record and how you can go about creating one of your own.
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You may have heard about Envato’s Chicago meetup in August. Aetuts’ Adam Everett Miller has put a video together featuring the faces of different Envato personalities. Unfortunately I wasn’t at the meetup, but enjoy seeing the faces from behind some of our other sites.
Adam says:
I had great intentions to put together a thorough recap of our recent Envato Chicago Meetup, but alas… real life takes a lot of time. Instead of just forgetting the idea all together, I figured you’d at least like to see a short montage I put together during our group meetings. It was a treat to meet all the other editors, site managers, and Envato staff that could make the trip. I hope this video will be fun to watch just for putting faces to those responsible for your favorite sites…. enjoy!
Boom to the dance floor! Don’t lie to me. You like crumping and locking with the rest of them. Don’t tell me you don’t like swaying on the dance floor of an underground hip hop club, grinding to the steady BOOM BOOM beat of a nice and thick hip-hop mix?
Even if you’re not that into that kind of music, there is something to be said about the incredibly tight and thick rhythm section of a traditional hip hop mix. Even though, like with any other genre, each song is different there are some similar characteristics and guidelines to follow for a mix that can physically move you with its overabundance of low sound waves.
The typical foundation of a hip hop mix is the steady boom of a 808 kick. This is usually doubled, or layered with one more different kick drums to get more punch out the bass drum foundation. The 808 layered kick, alongside the thick bass line, whose notes usually mimic the 808 beat, is what creates the thick foundation of a hip-hop mix. This is how hip-hop mixers make their mixes sound so full and thick in the bass department. By filling up the lower side of the EQ spectrum with wide 808 booms and bass we have a raving hip hop club dance floor.
Although snares are very important in supplying the back beat of every mix, snares are usually not so loud in a hip-hop mix. Sometimes the softer back beat of the snare is accented with very loud hand clap samples instead of using snare sounds, but this is more inherent to rap and R’n’B mixes than hip-hop.
Hip hop mixes can be quite busy, with lots of little elements in place filling up the sonic spectrum. We can have various percussion instruments and sounds going off at one time or another and the hi-hat is crucial to supplying a steady 8th or 16th note pattern.
Hi-hats – Like with a traditional drum kit, the hi-hat is panned to one side. However, sometimes double tracking or delay tricks are used to make the hi-hat sound fill out the mix.
You can use very simple (and short!) automatic double tracking delays and pan them to one side to get a fuller and steadier hi-hat. The delays are also laid off a little in the mix, allowing the source to be more prominent than the delayed sound.
Think of it like a simplified reverb that’s panned to one side. Instead of using reverb and making the hi-hat fill out the entire picture, we use a short delay instead and place it at an exact place in the mix.
Percussion – Depending on how much percussion a specific mix has, we have to fit them in both the stereo and frequency spectrum. Obviously, some percussion instruments have a lower sound and others are more dominant in higher frequencies. A conga drum for example, has a deep sound, especially in the lower mids whereas a shaker has a more predominant high frequency information.
We must separate out these elements and place them where they belong. A recorded shaker might have low frequency information that isn’t inherent in its sound but it might add extra information to the mix.
Therefore we can safely filter out most of the low frequencies from the shaker. In contrast, our conga might only be playing deep tones. And even though a conga has some attack in the high frequencies we can EQ some of them out if there are other higher pitched percussion instrument that are already supplying the same information.
Even though there are many more elements to a traditional hip hop mix, making sure you get the powerful and steady beat both full and bassy is crucial to a mix’s success.
Just imagine a hip hop club that only had mixes that had weak low ends and a thin foundation with not enough low frequency. It just wouldn’t sound the same. People wouldn’t be able to dance to that. They are used to feeling the low end of the mix not only with their ears, but with their body as well.
Back in September, Envato held our first ever meetup in Chicago. During that time, the Envato staff got to get to know each other face-to-face for the first time. It was awesome to get to know the people that we have worked with so closely in person. Aetuts Editor, Adam Miller put together a fun video montage of some of our work sessions. Hopefully, this short video will help you put a face to some of the people responsible for managing some of your favorite Envato sites.
A good portfolio is an essential tool that all serious designers should posses, but what makes up a good portfolio? Simplicity, mixed with a creative and unique environment can help you show off your work to clients in a fun and interesting way. In this article I will show you some amazing design-related portfolios that present artwork in original, entertaining, and appealing ways. I will then provide some resources that will help you in your pursuit of the perfect portfolio.
Every serious designer needs to have a portfolio to showcase their talents for perspective employers. If you want to take it a step higher and create a portfolio that looks good and is user friendly then you should definitely check out the roundup we have below. These 15 portfolios feature various designs that range from extremely simplistic and empty to flash based and vibrant. Each one of the portfolios featured has an excellent design that is user friendly and displays all the information needed. Potential clients do not wish to spend a bunch of time sifting through tabs trying to find your work and credentials, they want simplicity, and then a unique aesthetic will only boost your chances. So check these portfolios out and see why they work, after that you can take a look at some tutorials and templates to help you build a portfolio that works for you.
This portfolio features a simple grayscale color scheme that works extremely well with the 3D flash
incorporated navigation system. The viewer can scroll through all of this designers past work with ease. All of the designers contact info as well as his own design style is easily
accessible for any prospective employer to view. A unique navigation system top of a simple UI makes for a great portfolio.
What I really enjoyed about this designer’s portfolio is the opening page, which featured a small quote that defines this person’s portfolio. With that there are specific words, which you can see are highlighted that lead the user to different parts of the portfolio. This creative introduction ties the user into your message as a designer with your work. The colorful design definitely adds to the ambiance of the portfolio, and gives the viewer some more of the designer’s art to look at.
This design studio’s portfolio has a very minimal design that gives prospective employers all the information they need in a short concise way. Five separate tabs on a single page site are surrounded by a very clean and elegant aesthetic that provides for a very simple user experience.
This is probably the most common type of designer portfolio out there. A title page that leads into a list of illustrations created by the designer, which can be viewed once at a time. With that being said this is still one of the better adaptations of this popular design scheme. The colors give off a very nice mood, which is in character with the portfolio identity. The designers info can be easily found, all his credentials are listed, as well as his design capabilities. A perspective employer will find all they were looking for from this page.
This is one of the better portfolios out there. We first get a very vibrant and colorful pixel art shot at the very top of this long one page portfolio. We then scroll further down to see an informative profile on the company and their services. A price chart definitely helps those who are looking to hire decide if you are right for them. A little more scrolling gets you to the companies past web designs and at the very end we have a contact form, which wraps up a very complete and comprehensive portfolio.
Being completely original in your portfolio design definitely helps set you apart from every other person in your field. This is prime example of a portfolio that puts a unique spin on their product. A company that deals with videos made a Youtube friendly portfolio that easily displays their work in a simple manner. Showing their past
clientele at the top of the page also helps their cause for getting hired. Twitter and news feeds keep the viewers up to date with the company and its work so that is also a plus to this great portfolio.
Portfolios that get their point across in a interesting manner can be really key in landing agency’s and designers clients. This design agency brings forth a very funny and amusing approach in showing viewers what they do. The flash based website showcases some entertaining dancing from the employees at the agency that then ties into their messages to the viewer that they create Fancy, Sexy, Cool, Websites. This loop is definitely fun to watch and will get anyone interested in checking out the rest of the site.
The home page for this portfolio is a great and simple way to get your services across. With a loop of your artwork going on as the background and a simple easy to read price list in front of that anyone who is looking to hire you will quickly know if you are the right designer for the job. Firmly stating your price point will save you a bunch of time, and showing your work right away shows your skill set right at the gate. This is a great portfolio formula for designers, something to look into for all.
Sometimes design portfolios that are heavy on flash are quite a pain for people because of the long load times. Clients with short attention spans can get bored and just move on to the next page. But they definitely pay off if you lay one out correctly because they bring a whole new dimension to the table. This portfolio is a great example of flash that works, containing three simple tabs on the home page as well as well as an all important social media tab at the bottom. Each tab opens up to show more categories that the viewer can look through with ease. And with all of that the designer keeps new work flowing through the background, which is another plus.
Portfolios don’t always need to be elaborate and flash based to be considered good. This one is a portfolio that gets the designers work across quickly and in a very sleek matter. A nice horizontal scrolling window at the start of the portfolio holds all of the designer’s past work and below that is all the personal info compacted all on one simple page.
Branding of a company or business is very important to remember when creating a portfolio and this one definitely remembered that little bit of information and ended up creating a very good page. Mutant Labs stuck to its brand and created a great themed one page portfolio, little things like calling its past work "Specimens" and its employees "Anatomy" really ties into their brand. This is all around a great portfolio because of its sense of their brand as well as the overall design and aesthetic of the page.
This portfolio is a prime example of how one page portfolios can really get their point across in a simple manner. You automatically start off viewing the work of the designer in a small slideshow, and below that is a very cool moving illustration that was also created by the designer. Showing off all that work so quickly definitely gives an employer a look into your style and your level of talent.
Sticking to the theme of simple one-page portfolios we come to this one that puts an interesting twist on it. We start off by viewing a simple one-page introduction on the artist that sadly doesn’t feature too much work, but it does give all of the other info needed. If you would like to view more this site directs you to a blogesque portfolio that breaks down into 6 separate tabs ranging for different design styles to contact info. This mix of portfolio styles is a unique showcase of a designer’s talents, definitely another one to look at for those in need of a portfolio design.
This portfolio is the epitome of simplicity, no flashy design needed to get your work out to clients. All that they will need is on the side of the page and it is easily
accessible. Not much else is needed to show clients your work and experience.
The last portfolio we are featuring has a great color scheme that just ties together all the info about the design studio featured on their page. You might not get all you need from just their front page but once you start digging you will see everything you need such as price, and past work in a very clean setting.
If you’d rather buy a pre-made portfolio instead of creating one yourself then check out these amazing portfolios from Theme Forest. There are thousands more great ones to check out, so head on over there if you are in need.
If you’d rather buy a pre-made portfolio instead of creating one yourself then check out these amazing portfolio’s from Theme Forest. There are thousands more great ones to check out, so head on over there if you are in need.
Hi folks, it seems I am writing my last Netsetter post today, as we’ve unfortunately decided to wind this blog up.
We recently tried taking it from solo-Collis blog into multi-author magazine style blog, and while we’ve had some success, it’s been clear from launch onwards that this blog isn’t as useful to the world as some of our other blogs. Utility is something that I think is always evident in the traffic a blog gets. And while there’s been some traffic here, nothing like we’ve had from some of other sites.
Recently I gave a talk at the Problogger meet where I discussed how some blog niches just seem to catch fire like they are giant oil wells of audience demand, while others are like putting a flame to a bucket of water. Well theNetsetter has had fairly small demand, so we’re going to wind it up and use the resources and money to double down on AppStorm and WorkAwesome, both of which have been experiencing some great growth lately.
So as of today, we’re moving our old posts into the WorkAwesome archives, and theNetsetter is no more. Thanks to everyone who has tuned into the site, supported it and linked to it!
I’m sorry to see theNetsetter go, but I’m sure in the long run it’ll mean we get to make more awesome blogs on topics which more people really want to see us blog about. 
In the meantime, to all my fellow entrepreneurs, keep netsetting!
Collis
If you haven’t come across it before, AppStorm is another site in the Envato network dedicated to Mac, iPhone, and Web applications. I’m really excited to let you know that David Appleyard from AppStorm is about to publish a book entitled iPhone App Entrepreneur. I was fortunate enough to preview a pre-publication copy of his work, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in creating a successful iPhone application business. It will provide you with many helpful insights into spotting a great market opportunity, getting the most from the App Store, making smart decisions about development, crafting a stunning interface, and promoting your app successfully.
David has conducted a series of interviews with some phenomenally successful iPhone developers that have kindly shared their expertise, and also completed a fascinating survey of over 1,000 iPhone users and developers. The survey insights alone are well worth reading this book!
Read on to find out more, and discover how you can sign up in advance for a voucher that will give you 25% off the purchase price when it goes on sale.
We are currently working on a Joomla project and we need some simple tweaks to the site before we launch it. The test site is http://www.emerchantsolution.com here is what we currently need.
. All of the internal pages to be formatted with images from the industry, same fonts and size for all pages. We are looking for someone to clean it up.
. We need a few mods plugged in such as a SEO URL friendly mod, some of the SEO mods to help create quick tags and links and the language translator.
Hello Friends,
I urgently seek an expert in PHP / MySQL and you also need to be highly skilled in most other general areas of website development, looking for top-notch efficiency and well organised.
I need some minor adjustments on my site.
Please do not bid if you are not fully experienced or are not available immediately for the rest of today and possibly tomorrow.
Full details inside.
Thanks for listening, I look forward to your bids
Deborah
Need a few writers to write perfect articles I assign on all different topics. You will only get paid if its accepted. Pays $5 or more. It takes 2-3 days for an approval. If not approved I will tell you why. Must have perfect grammar, use commas properly, no run on sentences, good intro, good conclusion, interesting and makes sense. Has to be perfect so time is not wasted. Thanks!
I need a piece of software that will allow me to input information into five fields. Then it will allow me to return random values from all five fields at once and also individually.
I’m looking for a script that can flag ads on b/a/c/k/p/a/g/e/./c/o/m using different ip addresses.
The process should allow me to input proxy list and links to all ads to be flagged.
Need immediately.