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8 Jun
Opacity + Photoshop Blend Modes = Pattern Magic
How to, Photoshop, Tutorials
36

Forget the clone stamp, paint bucket and pattern presets. When it comes to creating patterns, the ability to duplicate a layer is one of Photoshop’s greatest features.
Semitransparent shapes can be very useful when creating repeated geometric “textures” of color and form.
They’re easy to create, fun to play with and best of all, they can be uniquely yours.
In searching for interesting patterns, designers sometimes pass over basic shapes in favor of more complex geometrics. But simpler is often better.
The trick is to pay attention more to how shapes interact than to how a shape looks on its own. Read more
5 Apr
How to Make a Screencast for Your Website
How to, Technology, Tutorials
30

Having a video on your website can vastly improve your conversion rate. Whether the goal is for users to sign up for your web application or simply to get users to contact you via a web form, a video improves the likelihood of this happening.
You need only go to the home page of any new Internet-based startup, and you’ll see an embedded video with a very large call to action beckoning you to play its two- or three-minute video introduction.
Videos that demonstrate web applications or web-based services are often called screencasts because they usually capture events on the company’s website. These screencasts can sum up in just two minutes what might otherwise take up many pages to explain, so they make for powerful additions to websites.
Is it easy to make a screencast? How much does it cost, and what tools are required? Let’s answer these questions. Read more
16 Feb
How To Create A Vintage Camera in Photoshop
How to, Photoshop, Tutorials
13

In this Photoshop tutorial, we’ll reproduce a fairly old camera: a Halina Super 35X.
We’ll use various tools and techniques to create a vintage camera from scratch, from the basic Marquee Tools (to create simple shapes) to the Brush Tool (for highlights and shadows).
The tutorial has 23 steps, and it targets users with average Photoshop knowledge.
It was created by Callum Chapman from Circle Box Creative exclusively for Webdesigner Depot readers.
Feel free to share links to your own results in the comments section below… Enjoy! Read more
16 Oct
Preparing and Planning for a Redesign
Tutorials, Usability, Web Design
64

So many businesses out there set up a website and then think, “There, that’s done with” and never bother to re-evaluate their website’s design or position in the marketplace.
But looking at a website as a static, unchanging bit of advertising will put you at a disadvantage sooner or later.
Trends in website design change over the years (and even months). What looked cutting edge in 2006 is going to look incredibly dated in 2009.
Even things that were popular in 2008 are starting to look dated (glossy, Web 2.0-ish designs being one case-in-point).
In this article we’ll review some of the most important aspects of site redesign, so you can use the information below as a guide for your next redesign. Read more
17 Sep
300+ Resources to Help You Become a WordPress Expert
Plugins, Tutorials, WordPress
123

WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms available today. And for good reason.
It’s powerful enough to be a complete CMS, has every feature or function a blogger could dream of (either built in or available via plugins or custom functions), and it’s free and open source.
While WordPress is incredibly powerful and easy to use on its most basic levels, it can also get pretty complicated, pretty quickly.
Below are more than 300 resources to help you master WordPress no matter what your skill level is.
Everything from premium and free themes to plugins to WP hacks and everything in between is included. If it’s possible with WordPress, it’s likely you’ll find it below. Read more
18 Jun
Create a Realistic Candy Bar in Illustrator
Illustrations, Illustrator, Tutorials
51

Realistic renderings can be done easily in Adobe Illustrator.
With vector shapes, the objects can be preserved and edited infinitely which is a great advantage over raster objects.
A few simple tweaks from the Effects menu and an understanding of basic object rendering can create a bold and stunning finish.
In this tutorial, created exclusively for WDD by Wendy Ding, she’ll be guiding you step by step through the stages required to create a realistic candy bar using Illustrator. Read more
14 May
Create a 3D Text Scene Using Photoshop
3D, Photoshop, Tutorials
108

In this tutorial we’ll create a realistic 3D text scene using Photoshop with a little help from Illustrator for the 3D text.
You need to have medium to advanced knowledge of Photoshop in order to complete this tutorial.
To get started, go ahead and download all the images used from the Sxh.hu website. All images are free to download and here are the links: 1, 2, 3, 4
Let’s get started and create a truly awesome 3D effect in just a few short steps. Try it out and feel free to post links to your own variations, we’d love to see what you come up with.
Read more
24 Apr
How to Take Excellent Portrait Photos
Design, Photography, Tutorials
31

Simply put, a portrait is a representation of a person.They usually focus on a person’s face, mood and expression.
Traditionally portraits were sculptures or paintings however, in modern times, a photograph is the most recognized way of taking a portrait.
In most cases, the subject looks straight at the camera in order to engage the viewer.
In this article, we’ll be giving you simple techniques to help you take portraits and also self portraits, to make the very best of your photos.
At the end of the article, you’ll find a showcase of great portraits and self portraits that you can use for inspiration. Read more
2 Apr
How to Make a Photoshop Montage
Design, Photoshop, Tutorials
36

Anyone can cobble together a few photos and textures and create a humdrum montage.
To elevate yours beyond this it takes a few simple tricks using Photoshop’s awesome array of tools.
Do it right and the style has got dozens of applications from static navigation or graphics, through to animated banners and interactive collages.
I’ve picked a musical theme, as the style works really well for band graphics or music based sites.
This tutorial explains how to create a great Photoshop montage in 19 steps, so let’s get started and have fun with it. Read more
6 Mar
20 Beautiful Photoshop Montage Tutorials
Photoshop, Tutorials
56

Photomontage is a technique widely used by graphic designers and consists of cutting and joining multiple photographs in order to create a unique image, using graphic applications such as Photoshop.
The idea here is to create the illusion that all of the photo elements are parts of the same photo.
In this article, we’ll look at 20 beautiful Photoshop montage tutorials that teach you step by step how to create these amazing photo composites.
Follow these tutorials and mix them up. The possibilities are endless and the results can really stretch anyone’s imagination. Read more
20 Feb
Breaking Apart – Photoshop Tutorial
Design, Photoshop, Tutorials
38

In this tutorial we are going to learn how to create a breaking apart effect using some simple, but effective, techniques in Photoshop.
One of the greatest tools in Photoshop which is often overlooked is layer masks and when used correctly, they can blend images together seamlessly, giving that professional touch.
We are going to combine the masks with brushes to compliment the original source image with subtle elements.
Once you have completed this tutorial you can experiment with your own findings and combine the techniques used to create a unique and inspiring work. Read more
12 Feb
Photoshop Tutorial Inspired By Quantum Of Solace
Photoshop, Tutorials
10

A few weeks ago I went to the movies to see the new James Bond movie: Quantum of Solace. The movie was nice, even though I’m not a really big fan of the series, however one thing that really caught my eye was the opening credits. I really liked the effects and the style.
The studio that did that animation was MK12 and I love the way they mixed sand and some sort of vector elements, it reminded me a bit of Apple’s Viva la Vida ad.
In this tutorial, I will show you how I created the image inspired by the James Bond movie, in Photoshop.
Here’s a preview of the final image: Read more
28 Jan
Create A Glowing Extreme Wallpaper in Photoshop
Effects, Photoshop, Tutorials, Wallpapers
51

In this tutorial, we’ll create a complex glowing wallpaper using Photoshop.
We’ll be using custom brushes, several blending modes, lightning techniques, and blurs.
The tutorial was created using free resources, so you can easily recreate it by following step-by-step. To make it easy for everyone, we have included the PSD source file at the very end of the tutorial which should be great to use for quick reference.
Go ahead and try it out and post your examples in the comments area.
Here’s a preview of the final image…. Read more
12 Jan
30 Popular Photoshop Tutorials of 2008
Photoshop, Tutorials
37

It seems that just over the last year the quality of Photoshop tutorials have really improved. There have always been a plethora of Photoshop tutorial sites out there, but much of their content was sub par and not very educating.
Today, however, there are plenty of high quality Photoshop tutorials floating around the web. Below you will find a list of some of my favorite picks for 2008.
Many of these are some of the more popular Photoshop tutorials for the past year, but I tried to include some goodies that were a little lesser known as well. Read more
2 Jan
How To Create A Vibrant Image Using Photoshop
Design, Photoshop, Tutorials
60

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to add more energy and dynamism to a photo. The effects can be extended and used on a multitude of photos to create a feeling of motion and vibrancy to a static image.
The tutorial was created and written by renowned artist Mike Harrison (a.k.a. destill) and this is his first tutorial for a blog. His work has been featured in Computer Arts and Advanced Photoshop magazines.
OK, enough of an introduction, and on with the tutorial… Read more
24 Dec
Create An Amazing Illustration Using Scraps
Photoshop, Tutorials, Webdesign
22

In this tutorial I will walk you through a few steps that will show you how I managed to create this illustration. I would like to give all the credit for this to Chris Haines. He is a very talented designer from Australia and one of the depthCore artists.
When I saw his illustration named Skin I was really curious to imagine how he achieved the result so I took my own style, used some free stock and the result is actually really interesting. Now that I managed to finish the work I thought I will share this with you. Read more
25 Nov
Photoshop Droplets and ImageMagick: Tools for batch image processing
Photoshop, Tutorials
8
You have a picture of a stuffed penguin. It’s not just any stuffed penguin, though. It’s the latest and greatest in stuffed penguin technology, the hot item that everyone will want under their Christmas trees this year. You’ll make a fortune with this penguin, if only you can start selling it online in time for the holidays. “But wait!”, you say. “I can’t just put this picture on the Internet looking like that! It’s too big! It needs a border! It needs a drop shadow! What shall I ever do?”
OK, maybe not. Your penguin won’t lead to fame and fortune, and you can easily edit your image with Photoshop. So let’s change the scenario a bit: your client has a picture of a stuffed penguin, and a picture of a stuffed owl, and a stuffed gopher, and a stuffed wallaby, and a stuffed flamingo… You get the idea; hundreds of pictures from their Stuffed Animals from Around the World catalog.
Before you can load all of the pictures into your client’s fancy new e-commerce site, you need thumbnails with simple borders and drop shadows for each and every image. Simple, yes, but tedious. And you’ll get to do it all over again when they release next year’s line of stuffed animals. Read more
21 Nov
Peeling a Hand in Photoshop
Photoshop, Tutorials
57
Today we’re going to demonstrate how to peel a hand in Photoshop. You can use this technique to peel other objects of course. This is the final image preview..
Read more