“The idea behind this illustration was to create a war between reality and line art. I tried to make this one simple, but at the same time to make it look good.”

This is one of the coolest tutorials I’ve seen in a while. It’s for the more advanced Photoshop user, but I guess you can learn a lot from it even if you’re already a Photoshop nerd like me

Check it out here.

“Success in the design industry relies on many different factors. There’s much more to it than just being able to make a pretty visual. Communication, self-promotion, technique and execution of the actual creative process are just a few of the many factors that come into play. With success depending on so many elements it’s easy to lose track of the big picture. To keep you on top of your game we asked four established designers and illustrators to share their most valuable advice.”

This article by designfeedr.com lists 28 great advices from some of the top designers in the industry. If you want to be one of the best designers, or just a better one, this is a must read.

“Using vibrant colors is the best way to make an image stand out, although getting the right balance is not always easy. Here we learn how to use lots of vibrant color to create a slightly abstract photo manipulation using pencils and fruit. We will learn how to use the pen tool effectively and also some freehand brushing which looks good.”

Nice Photoshop tutorial by PSDlearning.com which I just found this morning. They also have a lot of other interesting tutorials as well.

“This tutorial consists of creating a digital illustration in Photoshop of a box of matches. We’ll be creating the matchbox cover design, the striker on the matchbox from a pattern, and placing the cardboard texture on the box. We’ll also create the matches and align everything into a 3D perspective.”

A really impressive tutorial from PSDtuts.com on how to create a realistic matchbox in Photoshop from scratch. View the tutorial here.

“In the beginning, there was not light on the web. It was awfully crowded with dancing marquees, tedious frames, unbearable midis and annoying spinning @’s. It was the dark ages of the web. Then refreshing empty spaces, vibrant, high contrast colors, lovely gradients, big text, original gloss shine effect, diagonal lines and of course reflected logos came on our rescue. Everything was shiny and with that great brandnu smell. The Web 2.0 look was born.”

As a followup on yesterdays trend article I wanted to share this other article published by snap2objects.com
This article dissects the looks of the Web 2.0 trend and then posts examples on design that are braking out of the box and bringing something new to the table. Click here to read the article.

“So what’s hot now? Pencil sketches, handwritten notes, card stocks, watercolor effects, collage art, script fonts, grungy and splatter ink backgrounds (glossy gradients are not “in” this year). Another trend to be on the lookout for are the vintage and retro styles which I’ve posted earlier this year. Here is a list of 82 sites picked from Best Web Gallery that show the current design trends.”

webdesignerwall.com has put together a list of design trends that stick out this year and might give us a clue what to expect later this year. Personally I like the way things are going, the mix of grunge, clean and hand-drawn style is really interesting.

What do you think about the 2008 design trends?

“Designed to provide you with a streamlined workflow, these presets for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom were designed by Photoshop Guru Jack Davis to help you get the most out of Lightroom. Organized and setup in a traditional workflow, these presets will help you quickly set the correct white balance, choose a tone curve, adjust vibrance, HSL, convert to black and white and add a vignette.”

If you aren’t using Lightroom to manage and edit your photos, you are missing out!
Personally I couldn’t live without Lightroom, and all the presets available just make this app a brilliant tool to manage and edit your photos. With that said, here are some excellent Lightroom resources:

Download a 30 day trial of Lightroom 2.0 at Adobe.com

- 85 presets to simplify and speed up your Lightroom
- Tips, videos and presets at LightroomKillerTips.com
- Great selection of presets at LightroomPresets.com
- Lightroom presets and videos at Seim Effects
- Huge selection of presets at Inside-Lightroom.com
- Lightroom Video Tutorials by Michael Tapes

What is a preset? (In case you didn’t know)
Presets allow you to add pre-defined effects and settings to images with a single click, or even apply them to hundreds of images (batch edit). This is priceless when it comes to the photographers creative workflow. Also this type of workflow is non destructive to the photo, meaning that you can make edits, and reset them to original at any time. Your changes are stored as a separate file, and are not locked to an image until you export a new file with those settings applied.

“We could have gone on making these for ever, but I felt that we had most of the icons that you will find useful made so decided to leave the set at 128 Icons, they are only available in 48×48px. These free icons are exactly that, free! You can use them anywhere”

Wefunction.com has released a pack of 128 slick, clean and glossy icons. We never say no to free stuff, so head over there and grab the icon pack. Really nice work guys, thanks!

“In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use Fireworks CS3 and Illustrator CS3 together. You’ll create some illustrative vector elements to add to the final composition. You’ll also mix in photos and light effects. Learn how to use a cool paper background and tips to improve your workflow.”

In case you haven’t visited Vectortuts.com yet, I suggest you check them out. They got some great vector tutorials!

“Ornamental web design is often comprised of swirling, curling, or flower shaped elements. This style is influenced from decorative art pieces and architectural accents from centuries ago. Using ornamental style is a great way to give your site a classic look. Here is a list of Photoshop brushes that should help you out with your next ornamental design.”

I’m a big fan of brushes and vectors, and when I saw this collection at designreviver.com I just had to post it.

Click here to view the collection.