Adobe Illustrator tutorial: How to paint using the Gradient Mesh tool
Illustrator's Gradient Mesh is a grid-based painting technique that enables advanced colouring of vector objects with smooth and malleable colour transitions.
Tutorials
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Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop tutorial: Create striking photo and vector mash-ups
Neil Duerden shows how to jazz up straightforward model shots with help from stock photography, Photoshop and Illustrator.
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Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop tutorial: Create retro poster art
The retro aesthetic of the 1950s and 1960s is currently back in vogue and it’s set to be a great trend for 2010. It’s not hard to see why retro design is so enduringly popular: the bold, blocky colours, simple imagery and vivid typography make this a striking era of design.
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After Effects tutorial: Master particles in After Effects
Shatter and Card Dance are two of After Effects CS4’s most underrated particle effects. Both were created by Brain Maffitt’s Atomic Power Corporation, before being bought by Adobe to include in After Effects.
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Photoshop tutorial: Create dynamic lighting
Dynamic lighting isn’t new – far from it. The 16th-century Baroque art movement saw artists such as Giovanni Baglione use chiaroscuro (Italian for light and dark) to add a sense of depth, atmosphere, and emotion to their work. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how the same lighting principles can be applied to your photo manipulations.
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Photoshop tutorial: Transform lolly sticks into textures
Are you inspired by the mundane? The seemingly normal everyday things you come across? If not you should be, because what may appear to be nothing, can be turned into something unique.
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Photoshop tutorial: Create a children's book illustration
Learn how to give a soft edge to composited images with help from Photoshop
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Photoshop tutorial: Design striking stencil art for posters
Digital artist Ian Keltie reveals how to composite elements in Photoshop to create a striking, stencilled art poster with an industrial edge.
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Printing tutorial: Design for vinyl wall stickers
Ben the Illustrator shows how to prepare artwork for making trendy wall decals
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Photoshop tutorial: Master 3D type effects
Nik Ainley of Shiny Binary shows you how to add the wow factor to 3D text using Photoshop’s art tools.
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Photoshop tutorial: Create dynamic backdrop lighting
Take your lighting effects to the next level, creating a deep, rich background for this fantastic rising sumo wrestler image.
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Life & Style tutorial: Design self-promotional postcards
Character-maestro Andrew Groves shows you how to use Illustrator to create your own promotional postcards.
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Photoshop tutorial: Design a custom Twitter page
In order to get noticed for both your tweets and your style, you'll want to create your own custom background. Here we'll show you how to create one that looks as good as your creative work.
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Photoshop tutorial: Turn sketches into fantastic digital paintings
Digital artist David Cousens reveals how to develop a sci-fi art sketch in Adobe Photoshop using the airbrush and a few nifty tricks.
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Photoshop tutorial: Master skin tones
Use light and shade to bring a Photoshop drawing to life.
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Life & Style tutorial: How screen-printing works
Take a peek behind a screen printers doors to see how this hip way of producing prints and t-shirts works, and how a stunning artwork was created.
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Life & Style tutorial: Create realistic glass surfaces
Create this wine glass from scratch using Illustrator’s transparency and translucency settings, with tips from James Arnott.
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Photoshop tutorial: Create vintage poster art using Photoshop and Daz Studio
Roll up, roll up for Mark Mayers’ step-by-step guide to using 3D elements for vintage poster effects with Photoshop and the free Daz Studio tool.
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Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop tutorial: Create mile-high type art
Use Fabio Sasso’s tips to perfect your Photoshop texturing skills and create this image of an abandoned princess.
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Photoshop tutorial: Blend a surreal mix of retro and modern art styles
Create a surreal composition combining imagery inspired by the 1940s with an Egyptian landscape for a scene that’s straight out of Indiana Jones.