As you know, each month, we round up some of the best Photoshop-related content from around the web. This month, there were some excellent Photoshop tutorials, articles, and freebies to choose from; including some awesome Tron-inspired typography tutorials, beautiful holiday patterns, and some fantastic inspirational and educational articles. So please take a moment to review our favorites from December 2010.
Tutorial Wrap
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Tron Legacy Tutorial
Tron Legacy was probably the most anticipated movie of 2010. The design community has been eagerly awaiting this sequel to a 1980’s classic for a long time. In this tutorial, Abduzeedo demonstrates how to create the Tron Legacy logo using Photoshop, Cinema 4D, and Illustrator.
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Create a Colorful Aged Poster With Special Lighting Effects
This cool tutorial from Tutorial9 demonstrates how to create a cool retro-cosmic poster design using textures and adjustment layers.
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Peak of Dawn – Beginners Manipulation Tutorial
This basic photo manipulation tutorial from Psdbox demonstrates how to use brushes and lighting to add a female model to a beautiful grassy scene.
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Create a Vibrant Conceptual Photo Manipulation in Photoshop
This very unique tutorial from Pixel Tango demonstrates how to create a really cool, vibrant photo manipulation using several elements. The result is something surreal and kind of creepy.
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The Enchanted Forest – Fantasy Photo Manipulation
Creating fantasy photo manipulations can be a lot of fun. This tutorial from Pure Romance88 demonstrates how to take several stock images and combine them to create a bright and glittery scene in Photoshop.
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Create a Dark & Grungy Digital Art Piece in Photoshop
This tutorial from Spoon Graphics demonstrates how to combine a female model with a range of grungy, dark textures and abstract elements to create an eye catching and interesting design.
Free Downloads
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Vintage Wallpaper Textures IV
Vintage wallpaper textures can be a welcome addition to any design. High resolution textures are even better because they can be used for print or web. This set of vintage textures from Lost and Taken is part 4 of a really nice set of textures that you can download and use for free!
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Free Icon Set for Web Developers: Coded
While Psdtuts is no longer focused on web design, we realize that many of our readers are web designers and can use icons in their work. This set of icons for web developers can make a really nice addition to your design arsenal.
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Free Candy Cane Patterns
Christmas is already several days behind us but hey, there’s always next year. This set of Candy Cane Patterns from Echo Enduring can be used as a background or as part of an illustration for your holiday designs next year. Enjoy!
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Christmas Seamless Photoshop And Illustrator Pattern Set 2
Did you download the set of candy cane patterns above and realize that you still need more Christmas-themed patterns for next year? This set of seamless Christmas patterns from Creative Nerds might do the trick.
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Free Vector Repeat Patterns – Christmas Santa Hats
So you downloaded the candy cane patterns and the Christmas patterns listed above and you’re still not satisfied? This set of Christmas Santa Hat patterns from Pattern Head has to satisfy you. If not, you’re out of luck because those are all the ones we’ve got listed this year. Happy holidays!
Articles and Inspiration
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Awesome Illustrations and Sketches by Mike Henry
If you browse through the design community enough, eventually you will be able to tell the difference between a good and great illustrator. Mike Henry is certainly a great illustrator. This round up on Abduzeedo showcases some excellent examples of Mike’s work. Definitely check them out!
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Design Inspiration: Text Art Showcase
When most people think of text, most of them probably don’t have the works featured in this showcase in mind. Here, Vandelay Design showcases some beautiful works of art using text as its main feature. Enjoy!
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20 Excellent Examples of Photo Manipulation
Photo manipulations are always fun to look at. Sometimes, they can be confusing, other times, hilarious, often creepy, photo manipulations are always a hit amongst the design community. This showcase from Web Design Ledger is a lot of fun. Take a look.
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Farming Out Extra Work: Thoughts and Considerations
Have you ever thought about farming out some of the work you don’t have the time or desire to do? This article from Design Shack explains their thoughts on hiring some help for your design business.
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20 Magnificent Dark Fantasy (Landscape) Digital Painting for Your Inspiration
Dark, fantasy digital art is a favorite amongst many designers. This round up from Psd Vault showcases some really nice digital paintings to help keep you inspired. Enjoy!