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 creating magazine layouts, illustrative vector type, and drawing vector water, among others. Grab your quick dose of colorful vector inspiration, downloadable freebies, interesting articles, and more. October was another vector month with loads of quality material to dig into.
Vector Tutorials
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Design a multi-page mag feature
Jo Gulliver shows us how to take a seven page article and complete an artistic editorial layout. You’ll learn the process of building a grid, creating a template, through to the finishing details. You’ll learn great tips and a professional layout workflow in this InDesign tutorial.
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3D type with a street art edge
After sketching your letters, use Google SketchUp Pro to add 3D volume, then export the results over to Illustrator to color, and make final adjustments in Photoshop – great workflow. In this tutorial Aske shows us how useful 3D apps can be to add perspective and volume to our illustrative lettering.
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Explore illustrative typography
Steven Bonner shows us how to create beautiful pictorial type. He walks us through his process, from sketching through to Illustrator and Photoshop. The final piece has a surreal airbrushed quality and is quietly stunning.
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Illustrator Tutorial: Draw Realistic Liquids in Vector Art
In this tutorial, you’ll learn numerous Illustrator techniques to create vector liquid, by playing around with Illustrator’s Mesh tool, Warp tool and layer blending properties. Jing Zhang shows us how to create convincing vector liquid.
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Create a Simple Mechanic Character in Illustrator
Learn how to create a simple vector mechanic character. He’s built with simple shapes and linework. The character has a touch of shading and is super cute. If you’re a beginner character designer and Illustrator, then this is a great tutorial to get started with.
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Mini Cooper Illustration Tutorial
Follow this Illustrator and Photoshop workflow to create this little car. Each step of shape creation, coloring, and effect application is covered in this detailed tutorial.
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Vector Tutorial: Creating a quality control button set and keyboard
The placement of highlights and shadows in this GUI tutorial is awesome. You often see this kind of work in Photoshop, but rarely are there tutorials written that cover a vector workflow in Illustrator. Learn how to develop a fancy keyboard along with a nice volume/track control button interface.
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Painted Type in Illustrator
Dave Cross shows us how to apply a combination of effects and strokes to produce creative type treatments while keeping the type editable in Adobe Illustrator. This is a cool result that combines multiple editable strokes and effects.
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Using the The Bristle Brush in Adobe Illustrator CS5
The Bristle Brush is a fantastic new tool that allows you to mimic the look and feel of traditional media such as watercolors or paint. In this case Rufus Deuchler shows us how to create smoke using this new Adobe Illustrator CS5 tool.
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Blending with Pantone or spot colors using Phantasm CS
Veerle show us how to get rid of the grayness that appear in the centre cross-over colors of a blend that goes from one spot color to the next. She uses the Duotone Live Effect, which is part of the Phantasm CS plug-in application in this quick technical tip. It allows for control of how colors blend.
Vector Inspiration, Articles, and Resources
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Inspiration: Designers Who Started Their Own Clothing Line
Ever wanted to start your own clothing line? This article by Jeff Finley shows numerous images from a handful of artists that have taken their clothing lines well past the hobby phase and run professional clothing lines. There work is as inspiring as their accomplishments.
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Weekly Vector Inspiration #94
Ryan Putnam of Vectips puts together yet another hodgepodge of some of the best vector illustrations and designs on the web. He has a great eye for awesome vector work. If you’re looking for inspiration, then check out this roundup, with artwork on vector monsters, simple superheroes, graffiti lettering and more.
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iPad is only the beginning
For those of you with a print design, mobile design, or web design background, the iPad offers some combination of all three for designers. This articles discusses quite a few of the breakthroughs that publishers have made on the iPad, it discusses their struggle to find new gestures and effective navigation, and then points to new possibilities on the horizon, as well as new tablets and other devices coming.
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The Ultimate Illustrator Toolbox
This is a huge list of Illustrator websites, resources like free vector graphics, free Illustrator brushes, educational material, and more. Take the resources here and put together your own personal Illustrator toolbox.
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BNSF Annual Report
This annual report is beautifully done. It brings to light the technological advancements that BNSF has achieved in the industry of the company. The 3D infogrpahcs stand out as distinctive graphic elements, while showing how the companies technology functions and is used.
(FREE!) Downloads
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30 Free Fonts For Creative Projects
Webdesignerwall.com is known for putting together high quality posts. Picking the right font is important when working on your creative projects, and this collection of fonts is worth bookmarking for use in your future projects.
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11 Fresh High-Quality Free Fonts
It can take quite some time to pick out good quality free resources. Here are more high quality free fonts to grab and add to your personal arsenal.
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Font Collection: 10 Free Humanist Sans Serif Fonts
Free fonts are really something you can’t get enough of. This free font collection includes some of the most attractive free humanist sans serif fonts you can find. These are beautifully layed out to quickly compare those you may want to use.
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PS Tools Vector Icons
This is a collection of 71 free Adobe Photoshop CS5 tools, as icons in vector format. These can be added as elements in your vector illustrations or if you need to mock up a Photoshop interface layout in Illustrator.
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Hornbill Vector Animal Illustration
Well rendered animals can be very attractive, this free hornbill vector illustration is super colorful and full of life. This freebie could add a touch of vitality to your work.