texts: Table Created With Convert From Textfile Has Gaps in Vertical Lines

texts:
I did find a solution for the main problem: see the end of this question.

I have a text-file which contains:

┌────┬────┬────┬────┐
│ A♦ │ K♥ │ Q♠ │ J♣ │
└────┴────┴────┴────┘

I convert it with:

convert -interline-spacing 0 -size 250x100 -gravity center -fill black -font Liberation-Mono -density 96 -pointsize 12 caption:"$(<brokenLines.txt)" brokenLines.png

This works reasonably well and produces:

But this has two problems:

There are gaps in the vertical lines.
I would like the diamond and heart to be red.

How would I implement this?

I found a solution for the first and main problem, use:

-interline-spacing -2

instead of:

-interline-spacing 0

Then I get (the above went OK on someone else's system):


texts:
Im trying to find a to stop guides from overlapping when I cut Im using this to do Email Signatures
But I have images That I want to cut and those I dont
Ill attach a screenshot

I want the Phone number Email and adress to be sliced so I can create Indiviual Links
But the Image on the left and right shouldnt be cut
This is what I mean by overlapping guides I want them to End on the left and right sides before touching the other images
Is this possible?


texts: How to duplicate circles increasing their size in Illustrator?

texts:
I want to copy a circle and re-size it at the same time, then do Ctrl+D several times to imitate the behavior and end up having circles with increasing diameter.

I don't want it to scale the new circle by the same fixed %, ending up with a sort of logarithmic growth related to the original circle. What I'd need to do is to have a linear growth, so that the increasing in the radius is linear.

Not sure if I explained it correctly, any doubt let me know!


texts: Best tool or approach to cross reference elements on a illustration

texts:
I'm working on a programming assignment, where I'd like to document related data structures - JSON to be precise.

I use Inkscape and it's diagram connector tool. The result I am getting looks as follows:

The arrows are attached to boxes, which are manually put on top of the text.

Is there a way, to:

have the arrows stick to text itself,
allow the text to be editable,
draw a box around the selected text?

The end goal is to having a maintainable version of the drawing.
As for now, that is the first creation of the illustration, it is Ok to have it done the way it is, but when the text changes (to reflect the development progress) I'd like to do as little manual adjustments as possible.

Any other tips regarding technical documentation of the kind are welcome as well.


texts: Keyboard Shortcut to add a new Artboard in Illustrator

texts:
Is there a single shortcut to create a new artboard in Illustrator?
If not how could I set one up?


texts: How do I transform 2 anchor points at the same time in Illustrator?

texts: Recently, I've seen a video where the guy makes a pyramid by selecting both upper anchor points of a square, and then clicking and dragging with some tool, converging both points to the center. How do I do that? Is it a CC specific tool?


texts:
I'm trying to come up with a new logo for my tireshop, and I'm trying to create a tire in Photoshop. I really like the outline of this one:

How is a circle outline like this created? I know how to create a star with flat corners, but that just don't cut it. How can i make a custom circle outline?


texts: Update Adobe Illustrator CS3 plugin to CS6

texts:
I'm seeking a method to make a script currently compatible with Adobe Illustrator CS3; compatible with Ai CS6. On launch Ai CS6, displays "Error loading plugins". The issue could be the UI, as CS3 and CS6 architectures differ or ADM (Adobe Dialogue Manager) now obsolete in CS6. The CS6 porting guide advises simply opening the script in XCode, but XCode only allows Save/Export as the original .c file.

Please note this is not a request for a developer to write or rewrite any code, just a how-to request.


texts: Alternative to DINPro Bold, Light and Medium for use on web

texts:
I am looking for alternative fonts to use on a web site that are similar to DINPro Bold, Light and Medium.

They don't have to be free fonts, but can be through a service such as TypeKit or Fonts.com.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Line Tool not working in Adobe Photoshop 2021

texts:
In Adobe Photoshop 2021 (October 2020), the Line Tool is no longer a rectangle with a width of x pixels, instead it is now just a line that has to be stroked to be visible. The fill now seems to be superfluous.
Here is the feature summarized in the Adobe release:

Line Tool: You can now use the Stroke option to govern Line Tool line
thickness instead of previously using Weight. With this change, using
the Line tool in Pixel mode has been disabled.

Whether you think this is a good approach, when I create a new line, it is not visible even when you stroke it. How do you make the line show up?


texts: Non-displaying objects in illustrator and photoshop

texts: So I'm trying to set up templates for other designers to use to adhere to design guidelines, and I want to know if there is any way to specify objects in illustrator and photoshop that do not show up when the image is exported or printed. I know it is possible to make non-printing objects in photoshop, however I would like the objects not to show up when using save for web or exporting a pdf/eps also.


texts: How to draw independent line with pencil in Illustrator?

texts:
I drew 2 circles with circle tool, one inside another. Then I switched to pencil tool and drew a line for future callout. But the line damaged previous circleto for continuous path.

How to turn this feature off? I need just to draw line where I want.


texts: How to link objects to each other in Adobe Illustrator?

texts:
I know there is no such feature in AI, but I'm about to find any way to doing so.

In Photoshop, user can "Link" objects to each other by selecting multiple objects and select "Link" through layers panel right click menu or layers panel options drop down.

This feature bounds objects transformation (scale, move, rotate) to each other, even if they in different groups (after linking, a chain icon appears at right-most part of each layer title in layers panel).

I'd though about a script, plugin, effect or procedure to doing the same in AI.

** * It should Link objects to each other, then they can move, rotate and scale with each other, and this feature should hold the link between objects even if they are in different layers, clip masks or groups.**

Below, a Photoshop document displays the purpose of "Link", you can see arm and its shadow linked, while not grouped and shadow preserves its own clipping mask:


texts: Saving from Illustrator to PNG in 300ppi

texts:
I have problem with illustrator. I wanna made T-shirt design for Printify they recommend *.JPG or *PNG with 4500x5700px size.

I don't know how good quality will be if I made image in PS with 300ppi, so I did image in Ai . And here is problem I setup document raster effect settings to 300ppi, my Artboard is 4500x5700, but when I export image via "Save for web" I will get 4500x5700px image but 72ppi (I open it in PS to check it).

When I use Export via as - "Export as..." I got 300ppi but 18750x23750px what is way too big.
When I use Export via - "Export for screens" I sitll got 4500x5700px but 72ppi

I understand that Vector graphic is diffrent than raster one, and rules for both are different too.

Also re-sizing 18750x23750px to 4500x5700 in PS is option too bot for that I don't need Ai, I can create image directly in PS for that.

Please explain and guide me how I can get size I want and ppi i want in Ai after exporting.


texts:
I would like to optimize images for web but in batches. I have set up and use an Action  Action>Awesome Images>Optimized Awesome Images.

The problem lies when I go to a new set of images that I want to optimize and use the Action.
Action>Bodacious Images>Optimized Awesome Images

Ideally, I would like to use the Batch features and set the destination folder from that dialogue box at the initial stage of setting up the process. If I can't do that, I would like to be able to be prompted to where the newly optimized images should land.

Are there any plugins for this? Is there a way to edit Actions once they are built, specifically add a prompt for the destination.


texts: How to Save As Adobe PDF with CMYK Color Format in Illustrator?

texts:
I'm currently working on a calendar design on Adobe Illustrator CC with CMYK color setting. From what I knew from my self-taught experience, we should prepare our files in CMYK format for printing purposes (I always export them as a .JPEG with CMYK colors). But one of my friends said that I should prepare my files with bleed (approx. 3mm on every sides), and saves my files as Adobe PDFs.

So I did like she told me. Saved all my files as Adobe PDF with these formats:
 - General -- Adobe PDF Preset = Press Quality
 - Marks and Bleeds -- (ticks all)

Then I printed them all on a Digital Print Press to a glossy art carton. But I got confused when the results came. All the colors seem off and darken compared to the display on the screen.

So here's my question:

Does saving as Adobe PDF automatically turn the color format to RGB? Because when I saw the .PDF files, the colors look like an RGB format, compared to one that I exported directly as .JPEG with CMYK colors.
How to save as Adobe PDF with CMYK colors? Because I need the Bleed setting, and it's only available in .PDF format.

Thank you in advance, designers.


texts: Overriding linked textframes from a master page

texts:
I'm trying to take a master which have several linked textframes on them, then add text to the first textframe and want it to roll over into the next text frame. To do this, I'm creating a new page, applying the master, then overriding the first text frame. No text is rolling over.

I understand from here that overriding will take the textframe out of the 'chain' of links on the master, so, how do I do this? Must I really re-link everything again?

This is the code I'm using with COM:

page.AppliedMaster.TextFrames["primary"].Override(page);
page.TextFrames["primary].ParentStory.InsertionPoints[-1].Contents = theContent;

where primary is the name of the first text frame at the top of the link.


texts: How do I take a rectangular shape and convert it into a circle?

texts:
I would like to take an image eg:

and convert that as accurately as possible to a circular version?

eg


texts: Is it possible to draw inside another drawing without going out in inkscape?

texts:
Is it possible to draw inside an object without going outside? I want to scribble inside a circle without the drawing going outside of the circle....as for example in Photoshop, we can use clipping mask for that but I don't know about Inkscape. I am using Inkscape because my pc is low end and it doesn't have much memory

This is how it happens

This is how I want it


texts:
I want to fit the artboard to selected art (two text boxes) - the text boxes are larger than the text inside them - how do I fit (shrink) them to wrap tightly around my text?

Illustrator version - CS5


texts: Repetitively place different images mapped to the same bottle?

texts:
I traced and created a 3D bottle, and I have 1,000+ different product images I would like to display/map onto the bottle. All the images I made as symbols and the labels are all the same size and structure (Rectangle) just with different information.

Is there a way that I could map the master image onto the bottle the way I would want, and then be able to generate every other image to the bottle the same way as my master image as like a new variable?

(I've done something similar using a GUI called Variable Importer, but my image was flat, so I was able to use a flat template and then just generate the Text through a CSV File and the GUI. Since this image is curved and needs to fit align with the bottle I'm not sure what approach to take.)


texts: Where can I find images of ancient middle eastern cities and towns?

texts:
Ancient cities and towns get recreated a lot in games but I am hoping to find some images, illustrations, composites to use in a video. I realize they will have to be recreations but I am not looking for current images of dilapidated structures.

Take for instance, Assassin's Creed, a ton of ancient buildings and cities. Is there anywhere to buy anything like that?

Thanks


texts: Convert Photoshop animation to spritesheet

texts:
I have an animation that I have exported to gif, works perfect and all, but it is for a game and therefore I need to create a spritesheet for display. Also, I may be creating other animations for the spritesheet, the current animation is a character running maybe adding jumping, etc.

First off, is there an easy way to export an animation to a spritesheet? Secondly, what about adding other animations, I can do the cut and paste manually but is there an easier way?


texts:
I would like to ask you, which program for technical draw (for non-graphic people) is most suitable? It should be quite easy to understand... it is for my older colleagues at work. :-) Thank you for your advice!
E.


texts: GIMP - Unwanted white borders after applying transparency layer

texts:
I had this image:

Which I applied a transparency background:

However, the result isn't perfect at all, as letters still have white borders. You can see this in the following zoom:

What wrong did I do? Or do I have to do something more to remove those white thin borders?

EDIT: it's not only the text that is a problem as the graph also has white borders:


texts:
Hoping someone can help me here,
We are a supplier of Kids Ride on cars and we are looking to provide personalised Numberplates for our ride on car range.
We had a supplier which made these and they were like a laminated sticker but could be fully customised. I guess we could make a template in excel or photoshop but need to know what type of printer and stickers we would need?
They need to be professional looking and need to be suitable for outdoor use.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.


texts: Snap object to guides in Photoshop CS6 vs CS5

texts:
I just recently upgraded to Photoshop CS6, and so far, I've run into a major issue regarding my workflow. In CS5, I was able to have an image snap to an intersection of guides (in this case, the center of the image); while I can do that in CS6, it doesn't seem to allow me to center an object if the object is not of a certain size.

I can't think of a way to explain this, so, I've attached two pictures--one in CS5 and the other in CS6. I'm in the process of transforming an object in the program in each shot. It is the same file, with no modifications to it. You'll notice in CS5 that the x/y coordinates are (50px, 50px)--the canvas is 100x100 pixels; while in CS6, the x/y coordinates are (50.50px, 50.50px). Even if I manually input (50px, 50px) in CS6, press "Accept", and I transform the object again, the coordinates will have not changed (they still read (50.50px, 50.50px).
Also, you can see that in CS5, the anchor is highlighted in red (as to indicate it is centered on the intersection)--whereas in CS6, this behavior is absent.

Is this how this is supposed to be? It's incredibly frustrating. If I made the object I'm trying to center either a few pixels larger or smaller, it will allow me to perfectly center it. Not sure why that is, but CS5 doesn't make me do that.

CS5

CS6

Here are full-sized screenshots:
Imgur, CS5
Imgur, CS6


texts: Weird grey boxes on PDF export and (huge) quality difference in Apple Preview and Adobe Acrobat

texts:
I've exported tens (if not hundreds) of PDFs with InDesign and I've never experienced this problem. It's pretty weird... The problem is that grey boxes appear around some objects. Next to that, the image quality is very good in Apple Preview, but it's pretty bad in Adobe Acrobat X and Adobe Reader 11.

What happens:

All objects with an outer glow get a grey box around them (these include external images but also squares created in InDesign)
Some images with a transparent background get a grey box around them (not all, seems random). Happens to PNG, AI, PDF.
Image quality is very good in Preview, but bad in Adobe Acrobat X (grained edges). This happens to images, not to text (vector I suppose?)

PDF details:

All images are embedded
All placed items are high quality

I've tried:

Exporting in the standard High Quality settings; both problems occur
Exporting in press quality; both problems occur
Exporting as Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3). This solves the grey box problem, but the quality problem remains. I've read somewhere that PDF 1.3 flattens? Maybe this can explain the grey boxes? Using this option is not really preferable since I would like to use hyperlinks in the document and PDF 1.3 doesn't support that.

I'm using

InDesign CS6 v8.0
Mac OSX 10.8.5
Apple Preview 6.0.1 (765.6)
Adobe Acrobat X (10.1.1)
Adobe Reader 11.0.0

The final document is a professional portfolio which will be send via e-mail so I don't necessarily need 300dpi quality, but chances are people will view them on big monitors so I was thinking at least 200dpi.

UPDATE

I've added a screenshot of an object with a transparent background where you can see the grey box around it. This is zoomed in at 300%.


texts: Inkscape - Moving objects inside clipping group

texts:
I have an image clipped inside a rectangle shape, how can I move the image inside without affecting the rectangle shape?

Maybe it is a simple operation but I already search for hours without a right answer.


texts: What are best practices for creating a duotone?

texts:
Any duotone experts out there? What would be your main tips to create duotones?

Other than using a light and a dark color and mapping them to light and shadows. I'm interested especially in print outputs and not just on screen results.

I either use the duotone mode and curves, or use the channels to create a DCS if I need to make something from scratch. Are there other approaches?


texts: how can I add an overlapped anchor in both overlapped paths automatically

texts:
How I can add an anchor point for each intersected selected paths in illustrator automatically?

I know smart Guide and add anchor point tool can do the job but it will add just one anchor in the front path only. If I use pathfinder outline or the scissors my paths get cut and I have to re-join them again one by one.


texts:
I have a PSD with a web design.
Every time  I tweak the design, I need to manually copy different portions of the image, with different layer visibilities (for transparency) into CSS sprites.

How much can that be automated?


texts: Is it possible to automatically move PS/AI toolbars?

texts:
I work using a 15in MacBook Pro and a 27" Thunderbolt display. I use the two of them as separate screens.

My problem is that it's hard to move my entire program (ie: Photoshop/Illustrator) all at once. I have to move the window, then tool bars, etc..

Is there a shortcut to this that pulls all of the menus over? Also, I'd like to not be forced into fixed toolbars.


texts:
So, I created a project in Illustrator and when I uploaded it on Behance the color appeared way off on my mobile, like the pinks changed to browns.
It's appearing fine on my MacBook screen but in all other devices it's appearing brown, how do I fix this issue ?
I know colors will change a bit on other screens, but this is just too much.
The project contains some mockups, on my screen everything on the project on Behance looks like the way it is supposed too but the mockups are way off.


texts: How to change document color mode in Illustrator?

texts:
I have document with some color. I can't reproduce this color exactly when exporting to web. I was told, that this is because of the bug, by which Illustrator is not changing color mode with menu

and it is required to create new document for this setting take an effect.

If this true, then how to copy all data from old document to the new one, including artboard size and location?


texts:
I have some images like this one:

As you can see, the top and the bottom of the image are darker.
I'd like to normalise the black and white contrast for all the image, in other words, I don't want the top and bottom to be darker, but just as the other part of the image.

Could you please suggest a way to change this?
Thanks!


texts: Tile stitch together hundreds of vector files

texts:
I need to generate large-scale print of audio waveform. I still do not have exact dimensions of final print, but it should be around 5-7 meters long "one-off" print. So far I've been able decode audio-file (using FMOD) and render waveform to vector files (using Cairo) by custom application written in Cinder. I've chosen vector files over bitmap, because I do not want to lose quality. Luckily, Cairo is able to export ESP, SVG, PostScript or PDF format.

Problem is that Cairo is not able to handle huge amount of data, so I had to split waveform in  hundreds of smaller files and now I have to stitch them together somehow and prepare them for print. But stitching them manually is out of question, as I'm having 400 and more files ranging is size from 2 MB to 17 MB (depending of format). I've tried stitching couple of them in Illustrator, but it was problem just with 10 files (my workstation stated to drag really hard).

Is there some feature I'm missing in Illustrator, or is there some tool to stitch them together without opening files?


texts: Does Paul Rand's odd typographic layout style have a name?

texts:
I'm just wondering if anyone has insight in to what governed Rand's typographic layouts.

It seems like they were often instinctual and not based on any grid system. I'm thinking of things like the El Producto ads "I fell like the Champ with an..." and others I've posted below. What would you even call this off kilter typographic style? It always seems very unique to me but I always find my tendency is to line things up nicely.

I've attached an image of what I had arrived at for one of the festivals I was designing for. There are other elements that frame the piece depending on the vehicle it's being used for but these are the basic elements. Feedback is welcomed.


texts: how to rasterize an SVG without anti-aliasing

texts: I've made a map in inkscape and now need to change it to a bitmap or .png. The map will be interpreted by a computer program which will look for exact colors so the edges need to be crisp. when I export a .png with inkscape, use an online file converter or even take a screenshot it is always anti-aliased. help.


texts: How to Customise Photoshop File Naming Using Batch Command?

texts:
I have several thousand photos, which I am re-sizing to six different sizes and then saving all sizes as individual files.

For example, I have a photo with the filename ABC0001 and resize it six times. I am then using the convention ABC0001A, ABC0001B,... ABC0001F. The next photo will be ABC0002A, ABC0002B etc.

I have created an action to resize the pictures, but when I use it on multiple, open, images, it doesn't use the filename of the open picture to save the new images, it uses the filename I specified in the action. So, instead of getting ABC0002A, ABC0003A etc., I just get ABC0001A, repeatedly.

When I try and use the batch command, it doesn't have the naming conventions I want in the drop down menus.

Is there any way to customise either the batch command, or the action, so that the files will be saved with the suffix that I want?

Many thanks in advance for your help!


texts: How can I change a multi-coloured logo into a single colour logo in Photoshop?

texts:
I'd like to convert some client logos into a single light grey colour #BFBFBF.

The logos are in PNG and JPEG formats on a white background.

I know that I can convert the image to greyscale and / or use the channel mixer but it's not giving me the exact colour I need.

Example logo:

Everything the isn't white needs to be #BFBFBF.

How can I change all colours in an image - except the white background - to a single specified colour?


texts: (Adobe Illustrator) Can't change Align Stroke attribute in objects created with Shaper Tool

texts: Is it just buggy me or Adobe isn't thinking it's a necessary privilege?


texts: FontForge scripting “Insert Text Outlines…” dialog

texts:
I'm a Python developer dabbling in font creation for the first time as a side hobby using FontForge 2017-07-31 over XQuartz 2.7.11 on MacOS 10.12.6

My goal is to create a series of novelty font, in which the glyph for each letter of the alphabet will be replaced by the outline of an entire word, eg:

"A as in aye"
"B as in bee"
"C as in cite"
"D as in djinn"
"E as in eye"
...etc...

I have no problem create a handful of glyphs manually in the FontForge UI via following steps (see images below):

in Drawing Tool delete all points from original glyph
use Pen Tool to create a horizontal line
Element > Insert Text Outline...
type in alternate word (eg "AYE") > Insert
repeat for all glyphs

But given the number of words/fonts I want to create, I'd like to automate the "Insert Text Outline..." UI dialogue using FontForge scripting capability. But I don't see any corresponding methods under the scripting docs

Anyone know how I can do this? I'm open to paying for a commercial app if necessary but of course free is preferable

Thanks!

PS: the folks on Meta suggested I use this forum for this question, lemme know if otherwise

EDIT: this project also needs CJK support

EDIT2: adding images clarifying what I'm trying to do

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5


texts:
Long ago I created what is now my profile picture here and many other places. Back then I never saved my .psd files, just images. I am now trying to re-create it in higher resolution and other colors. However, I don't know how I made that radial effect.

I used wind to create the lines in the Y and X directions, so at the moment i have this.

It looks like it might have been radial blur, but it gets way to blurred when i use it. It feels like it some sort of radial effect, but sharper than blur. Any ideas?

Edit 1:
I have tried to use polar coordinates to distort it, while it is similar, you don't get the same burst effect in the center as in the original picture.


texts: Constant text revisions - how to stop the madness?

texts:
I've looked thru the archives and haven't seen this specific issue, so here goes:

I've worked as in-house and freelance graphic designer, and my #1 head-to-the-desk cause is when the client gives me text, I make it pretty, then they constantly change little things in the text. Add a comma here. Change this to that. Bill thinks this sentence needs to end in an exclamation point. They expect me to make these edits on my InDesign file and I worry because I might make a typo or accidentally touch something else.

Additionally, little words added impact the flow of the paragraphs and can dramatically change the layout. Suddenly I have to re-design the page because the word count has now expanded beyond what good design allows.
This addition/revision of text is frequently due to many eyes seeing the drafts DESPITE that they have had their own rounds of review of the copy.

My goal is to get them to hand me UNTOUCHABLE text BEFORE the design gets underway. If something must be changed, I've asked that they change it themselves in the original Word doc, but I've had quite a lot of resistance with that - my feeling is they know this is a crap way of working but they want to be able to blame me, not themselves, for any errors. BTW they completely ignore word count.

So how to handle this? Any way to stop the madness?


texts: How can I resize a layer's content now that I have paths in my image?

texts:
I'm learning how to use Photoshop's pen tool. Now that I have a path in my PSD, I'm having trouble dealing with my unrelated layers. For example, I select a layer on the layer palette, then when I try to resize that layer by hitting CTRL+T, the path gets selected as the thing I want to resize. How do I ignore that path and resize the layer (thereby leaving the path unaffected)? The layer is completely unrelated to the path...

Here's exactly what I did: created a path. After that, I created a new layer and pasted a photo of a horse on that new layer. Now, when I try to resize the photo of the horse (CTRL+T), the path is automatically getting selected. Thanks for your help!


texts: How can I loop and blend footage end/beginning frames in After Effects?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out how to do this for a couple of days now and I feel like it would probably be an easy fix.

I have a clip of a beach setting that I successfully looped with the loopOut() expression, but I'm having issues with the first and last frame not matching up and it's not smoothly blending to the other loop.

Obviously, I need some kind of effect or expression to help with that part, but I'm still very new to After Effects and I'm not quite sure how to go about doing it.

I've looked on the web for tutorials or explanations, but have yet to find anything useful for my problem. All I can find is how to loop an animation, which is pretty easy in itself. I need to loop FOOTAGE, not an animation.

Thanks in advance for any tips!


texts: How to cut a circle from multi layered square artboard?

texts: I have a square artboard in illustrator CS6. There are multiple layers and sub-layers on the board. I want to have a circular artboard and keep the editing capabilities within the circle if possible (not essential). I then want to place my circular artboard (design) on top of another illustrator artboard so that you only see the details within the circle. Can I do this or can I make the information that is outside the circle transparent?


texts: My scanned fine line work to look like broken lines when scanned in Photoshop

texts:
I created a fine arts piece made with 0.03 micron pen and mechanical pencils. I want to showcase the fine lines and tiny dots in my work. However no matter how much I play around with the settings, I can't seem to get my scanned piece to look the same as the real version. The main issue is that the very fine lines look broken, and the small dots merge with each other.

It's done in black ink on white paper.

I scanned the piece as a colour JPEG, in 600 dpi.

In Photoshop, I have tried
- adjusting curves. This makes my background darker but my lines become overly dark and they still look broken.
- adding an unsharpen mask at 93%, radius 2.7 and 1 threshold level
- added 2 unsharpen mask just for kicks
- tried the other sharpen mask settings

I'd be very grateful if you have any advice for me - this problem has left me stuck for a while. Much thanks!


texts: Where is a good place to learn graphic design for beginners?

texts: I want to follow just one course. Google is giving me a lot. Something like codecademy.com which is perfect for programming for beginners. What about for graphic design using photoshop?


texts: Unable to scan properly with details for high resolution stamp

texts:
I am trying to scan a postal stamp which has some really tiny fonts and very neat details. No matter how hard I try I can not able to catch those details and colors in the scanned image. I have tried the highest possible resolution with my HP Scanjet 300 and Cannon LiDE 200

I am on Mac and have scanned with the native scanning software as well as trying to scan with Photoshop. Can't seem to figure out what I am doing wrong. The colors and the details just don't look good in the scanned image. The stamp is on a usual glossy paper.

Any suggestions/pointers would be appreciated.

Thanks.


texts: How to change the color of line and fill for the next object to be drawn in inkscape?

texts:
When I draw a line, it is always black. After having drawn that line I can easily change all properties.
But if I want to draw 101 pink lines I have to change the color of every line drawn either right after drawing or by selecting them later on. When I select the line tool the fill/contour boxes as well as the corresponding dialogue is greyed out.
I want to set the colors and then go and draw everything in that color until I decide to use a different one. Googling seems fruitless, results only deal with changing colors of existing objects.
So, how can I determine the color of object before drawing them?


texts: Why can I create layers, but not layer groups in the indexed color mode in gimp?

texts:
I'm making some pixel art in gimp and I so I figured I should use the indexed color mode since I won't be using very many colors.

About halfway through my project I realized that I wanted to be able to create layer groups because I want to be able to use tools like move, change perspective, and rotate on a group of layers - rather than on just one layer.

Apparently I can't create layer groups indexed mode. I understand that I can just revert to RGB mode, or even just link layers together - and I'll probably do that - but I'm just curious: why can't I create a layer group in indexed mode?

I've looked through the gimp manual and searched for tags here and I can't seem to find an answer.


texts: What is this style of design called? It's not still flat is it?

texts:
I'm trying to think of the name of this style, to me, it's sort of like a flat meets minimal skeuomorphism (like 90% flat, 10% skeuomorphism) but I think there's a proper name for this style, just trying to find out what it is.

This is a button:

This is part of a header:


texts: Inkscape for cartography : automatic fore color of texts for maximum contrast over background

texts:
I have again a series of cities names on a map. I have a solution to fill a background rectangle that can be semi transparent to make the text always visible, great.

What I want to do now is attributing a variable fore color to the text generating the maximum contrast, like the text in the bottom in this image:

What could be the way to automate this process in Inkscape?


texts: How to find a Pantone Color in Illustrator?

texts:
I have a project which needs to be done in Pantone 18-2140 Carbaret color and I have no idea how to find it in illustrator. I went through all color books :(
 I would really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Marta


texts:
I bought 20 EPS line art images from Shutterstock to use in a book. But, all the images are pixelated. I got in touch with Shutterstock and they told me that the images are fine and the problem is on my side.

I also saved the image as AI, PDF, and TIFF, but nothing has changed. I have the View on Display, High Performance and still nothing. I uninstalled the program and reinstalled and still nothing. My project is stalling because of that. Can please anybody help me out? I'm adding one of the images in the Preview program on the Mac and it looks perfect; it's only when it is in ID that looks jagged.

Many, many thanks!!

Preview of one of the EPS images. It looks perfect. Not like this in ID. Here you can see how it looks. I used Blending Mode, Multiply, but even without it, it is still blurry.]1]1


texts: I am trying to offset a path and it is not working.  I believe my problem lies where it says "type".


texts: wrap text around picture on another picture

texts:
I have a small picture on top of a larger photo.

I am trying to wrap text around the small picture.

To keep type on top of the large photo, I need to select "ignore text wrap" which does not allow me to wrap type rung the small photo on top.

How can wrap text around the small photo?

Thanks for your help!


texts: How can I achieve an iridescent/metallic/holographic effect in raster editors?

texts:
I understand this effect can be achieved in 3D rendering programs, but I also believe that it can be achieved through a raster editor like Photoshop. I work in Affinity Photo on iPad, so I’ll need to be able to translate any workflow into there. I’ve tried liquifying brush strokes, and it gets close, but doesn’t quite accomplish what I’m going for. Other threads I’ve researched recommend normal/gradient maps, but that seems like a lot of work for still not quite what I’m trying to do. Whatever it is I need to do seems to be reliant upon color palette and texture. Have been searching forever for an answer!

Two more instances of this effect:

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/APqRFdc

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/vlBoRva


texts: iOS checkboxes and radio buttons default components

texts:
I have a question regarding the default component for checkboxes and radio buttons in iOS.

[Context]

In this flow, the user will have to create a two period charging recurrence (for a service), where he has to select the day (day of month) for the first period and then, for the second period, either a specific day (day of month) or a number of days before the end of the month, for the charge to take place.

The user also has the possibility to define optional service period settings (here is where the checkbox comes in), like the type of the charge (if it's an in arrears or in advance payment) or custom start / end date for periods.

I want to create a screen, on iPad, having both checkboxes and radio buttons, but using the default components from the iOS doesn't really help, because the UI used by Apple, it's the opposite of the "common UI" (checkboxes have the UI of radio buttons and radio buttons are a check icon with no box around it). I've attached this wireframe in order to better understand the context in which these components are displayed.

The issue here is that the users can't really understand which is a radio button and which is a checkbox, which makes it harder for the user to have a first read of the screen and understand what's happening.

Only after they randomly tap on the screen they can figure out the behavior of the list:

Do you have any suggestions on how to apply an alternative of using these components but in a more intuitive way?

LE: this app is used by Android users also (on a company device), this is why the UX should accommodate both OS' in an Apple environment.


texts:
In Illustrator, there is a way to select objects based on shared attributes such as Fill Color or Stroke Color. I've been using this feature often.

However, I am puzzled by the option to select objects based on "Appearance". Whenever I try this feature, all the objects in the Artboard get selected and the Fill and Stroke color indicators show a "?".

What does "Select Same Appearance" do exactly?


texts: Which version has better visual alignment and why?

texts: I added two screenshots below and need direction on which one looks better.


texts: How do I use Save For Web in a Photoshop Automate Batch Action?

texts:
I have recorded an action in which I do the following:

Auto tone
Size 640 width
Save for web
Close without saving

I open a bunch of files and try to automate batch with this action. I say source opened files, destination none.

For many years I did this same thing and it worked. Now I buy the latest version (CS6) and it is broken. It fails to get the filename from the original for each exported file, and exports all images with the filename recorded in the action, overwriting all of them but the last one which is all that is in the folder when it is done. I am used to this exporting all of the images and giving them all the names of the original image. What am I doing wrong? Or is this a bug?


texts: Does a portfolio have to be arranged in chronological order?

texts: I'm doing a web portfolio for my self and using my pieces within its own resume page. I know about the chronological method but haven't used it on my print version. I want to know if it is the recommended standard of arrangement or is it at the artist's discretion?


texts: What's the best full-bleed color printer for frequent graphic design/office use?

texts:
What's the best color printer (any technology) that can do full-bleed printing so that I don't have to print 8.5x11's on bigger paper and then cut?  Affordable ink/toner is important.

UPDATE: If someone has an LED or laser printer that can do borderless (aka full-bleed) printing, please let me know.  In the meantime, I bought a Brother MFC-J6910DW inkjet all-in-one printer.  It's truly amazing so far.  The only issue is it won't do both full duplex (front and back) printing and borderless at the same time.  And it won't do full duplex on paper other than plain paper.  It seems to have the most affordable ink on the inkjet market.


texts: What is the exact role/relationship of photoshop in web design?

texts:
I'm confused about the relationship of Photoshop (and any other image processing software) in web designing. I can see countless tutorials anywhere teaching on how to make web layouts from scratch, and most of them include the whole contents of a real web page. But it stops there. No further instructions are included on how to implement the designs as a real web page/site (aside from those slice-n-dice approach which I know that you treat as a thing of the past.)

I'm sure my question isn't open-ended since I will list more definite questions here.

My assumptions are:

Photoshop is intended to be only used for logos, banners, etc. to be
export exactly to web pages.
Creating web layouts using Photoshop is used only as a mock-up of
the real site (only a guide?)
After finishing constructing it, you should implement the design by
hand-coding them using CSS, HTML, etc.

If all of my assumptions are correct, my most important questions are:

Why are people fond of creating web layouts using Ps if they cannot build it into a real site (I'm referring to those who can't code.)? I can see that their designs are too detailed that it would seem impossible to make it using tools/frameworks like Twitter Bootstrap and JQuery UI (afaik).

PS:(Post Scriptum not the other one)
I am originally a student of programming and have no idea about how you do web graphics design.
Also, I don't want to argue about using Illustrator or Frameworks(phased out by Adobe) instead.


texts: I've programmatically created an SVG. How do I 'crop' it?

texts:
I used Processing to generate this SVG.

As you can see, it's a series of triangles with trapezoids that gradually get smaller. It came out great, except I want to 'crop' the image to look like this.

Ultimately I want to laser cut this drawing. A laser cutter needs an SVG in order to work, so I can't rasterize and crop. How can I join the border shapes to form a complete SVG?

Sorry if this isn't clear, I'm new to graphic design.


texts: Is there a quick way of splitting concentric circles made with the polar grid tool equally?

texts:
I'm in the process of drawing a game board using Illustrator and Photoshop. Each tile on this board should be approx. 1.5cm x 1.5cm, and I have the basic layout done simply using the Polar Grid tool. I was wondering is there a way to quickly draw the rest of the tiles to the correct measurement? Obviously I can't do it within the Polar Grid tool itself, as segmenting it leads to uneven spacing.

EDIT: I've been asked to provide a photo, so here's one:

It's not the best lighting, but hopefully you can see what I'm aiming for.


texts:
For a project I  want to model a outdoor light scene. Therefore I'm looking for an easy way to produce basic 3D objects and simulate sunlight over the day.
Thus program should be able to:

Create simple 3D models
Change the position of the sun
In the best case the program can also return an array of the light
values the different pixels

I have something in mind like this but with an option for dynamic sunlight.


texts:
I am preparing a colored artwork for print. I am trying to align the edges of the objects and currently they are not aligning correctly.

I can see a thin line of the path beneath and the path I would like to align is not snapping to the edges. Here is an image as reference:

I have used the clipping mask and this still leaves the thin line from the grey shape as well.

I would like to know how I can align these shapes correctly?


texts: Organise / Align / Snap multiple objects in a box?

texts:
I am new to Illustrator so wondering if there is anyone who can help me. I have 195 flags of the world, each one a separate object. I would like to place them all in a rectangle in a neat and organised way. I have been placing them individually and nudging, but I think there is a short cut or 'Proper way'! Can anyone offer advice?
Thanks in advance!


texts: How can the height (or width) of an entire table be changed in one motion/keystroke in Indesign?

texts: How can the height (or width) of an entire table be changed in one motion/keystroke in Indesign similarly to they way it works in Quark where the size can be changed by dragging a table point? I don't want to have to select and change the size of each individual row (or column). It seems like there should be an easier way.


texts: Resizing (reducing) in Photoshop cuts into shapes

texts:
I'm not sure how well the title is worded, but I'll explain better here. So I've got a .psd with some shapes (rasterized) and it's 12000x8400 (300dpi). I want to resize it too 800x560 but when I do, part of (or all, depending on the size) the shapes simply get bits cut out of them. Here's what I mean:

You'll notice the two hearts on the right are missing some chunks. Depending on the size I pick, the missing chunks can vary by size, can affect only one or all of the hearts, and can even change location (they could also be missing from the right or from the top). At 800x560 (which is what I want) just the two hearts on the right are affected.

All the hearts and light grey background are different layers and the same thing happens even when selecting all of them and choosing Free Transform to reduce their size. I know I could just merge them, but I can't because I've actually animated them (they go up and back down like in those bubbles you see on Messenger when someone's typing a message). I've tried every resampling method without any luck.

This has happened to me before, but simply zooming to 100% before resizing seemed to do the trick, but not this time, it would seem. Does anyone please have any idea how I can resize the whole thing without merging layers or losing parts of the hearts?

Thank you!


texts: Convert custom icon font to copy and paste-able entities

texts:
Font Awesome has a cheatsheet where they've converted their icons into html entities that you can copy and paste right into Sketch (and other editing programs), that changes the type element to the icon you want (as long as you have the font installed). Demo:
http://recordit.co/Irr9HBpVPX

I'm wondering how to do this with my company's own custom font. We have an internal living style guide that has all of our custom icons as CSS content code (as pseudo element background images), but not as type. I'm wondering how to convert them to type-able content that I could just copy and paste in using our custom font in Sketch.

Any help appreciated – thanks


texts: Lines with arrowheads between centers of circles

texts:
I've been doing things the slow way with this issue, but I am wondering (really hoping!) if there is a faster way. I'm using Adobe Illustrator.

Say I want to draw a line between two circles (behind the circles). Simple, create two layers, and voila:

Now, say I want to add an arrowhead on the line, that just touches the circle. Ok, I move the side of the line that I want the arrowhead on to the edge of the circle and put an arrowhead on it:

Now, someone tells me they want the circle moved. Hmm, all my work is now for nothing and I have to repeat the process, otherwise I get something wonky like this (line is no longer pointing to the center, arg!):

Question: Is there a way to offset the arrowhead, say 10px, from the end of the line so I don't have to move the line in the second step? Or is there a better way of going about this?


texts: CS6 Illustrator: join two differenty sized lines, maintaining individual stroke Weight

texts:
I'm running into an issue trying to join two different size lines together.

I am trying to join them together but when I join them it changes the Stroke Weight of one of the lines instead of just joining them while maintaining their original Stroke Weights.

How do I join two different size lines without it changing the stroke weight?


texts: How to force whole numbers to have one decimal place in Adobe Illustrator?

texts:
I make a lot of graphs using Illustrator for my company. Unfortunately, the graphing tool in Illustrator is very archaic. When adding number labels to graphs, Illustrator automatically removes .0 from numbers. I need all numbers to have the same sig figs. Is there a way to use GREP or any other kind of script to find whole numbers and add a .0 to the end? Or to force all numbers to include one decimal places?
Thank you in advance!
Steven


texts: Is it legal to convert a not-freely-distributable font to "path" and distribute it?

texts:
Suppose, I am creating a logo in a vector graphics editor (for example Inkscape) and I use there the font which cannot be freely distributed (for example Myriad Pro which can be obtained by downloading Adobe Reader).

Then I convert the text, which uses the not-freely-distributable font, to "path" (for example, Inkscape can do it), so all the information about the used font will be lost.

Is it legal to distribute such a logo (the font is no longer embedded in the logo, it was converted to path)?


texts: Create animated gif of an arrow being hand-drawn

texts:
I want to hand-draw an arrow, on either an ipad or the trackpad of a macbook, and generate an animated gif which 'replays' the drawing in real time.

I want the animation to look like an arrow being drawn in black marker pen on a whiteboard - so just a black line with a pea-sized circular brush stroke, and ideally on a transparent background so it can be overlaid on other things on a webpage, though I could live with a white background as a workaround.

Basically, I want the arrow to end up looking like this

Are there any tools, free or paid, which will allow me to generate such an animated gif, and export it?

I had a look at this question but it seems like the OP's requirement is in the opposite direction to mine (generate a drawing animation from an already-completed drawing). So not sure if that accepted answer is applicable for the reverse direction (I don't really understand it to be honest, but if it is, I will learn!) or if I should use that solution from a finished version of the arrow, but this seems a pretty complex workaround.


texts: Dark images from my laser printer. What to do?

texts:
I don't know much about printing but I love Stack Exchange so thought I'd post this here and see what people have to say about it. If there is a better site to ask about this sort of thing, please let me know.

I have a HP LaserJet Pro 200 Color M251nw printer at home. I've been using it for some time but always been slightly bothered by how dark and murky some images look when I print them. This happens consistently with images that have a lot of blackness/shadow in them. The shadows are too shadowy, I guess you could say.

Here's an example. The first picture is a screenshot of an image that I downloaded from the web (a painting by Waterhouse). Note that although the background of the figure is shadowy, you can make out detail.

I placed this image in an InDesign document and printed the document, then took a picture of the page with my phone, which you can see below:

See how dark and murky everything comes out? You can barely distinguish the woman's hair against the background. Note that when I print images that are overall lighter in color it looks great, no problems there. It's only with the dark, shadowy images that everything seems to get lost in black. Also, it doesn't matter what program I use to print the image: InDesign, Acrobat, Word... the image always comes out the same.

Is this just as good as it gets with my particular printer, or are there some settings I should look for to maybe adjust how these images print?

Please note that I know I can use Photoshop to adjust the images to compensate for this issue, which is what I've had to resort to in the past. But aside from the extra hassle, it can affect the printed image in other, undesirable ways. Plus it feels like a step I shouldn't have to take; either the printer should be adjusted to print properly or maybe I need a better printer.


texts: Large web background image - how to split into JPG and PNG part

texts:
On a website I'm working on, the design team wants a large background image. Uncompressed, it is several hundred kilobytes (both in JPG and PNG). Most parts of the background image are blurred, but some parts are very sharp.

Now we're looking for the best way to compress the image so that those blurred parts don't take too much space, while trying to keep away the compression artifacts from the sharp parts.

While thinking about it, I thought it might be good to split the image into two overlapping parts:

The first part is very blurred, so it can be compressed by scaling it down, or by compressing it as a JPG.
The second part is a transparent image on top of the first part. It is sharp, but has not much color information, ideal for a compressed PNG image with only one color channel (or a small number of discrete colors).

The idea is to combine the powers of JPG compression with that of PNG.

Is that a good idea, in theory?

If yes, is there a program or algorithm that can do the image split and the compression with the following goals:

Keep the resulting (superposition) image as close as the original as possible (as it appears to the human eye).
Keep the total image size under a given upper limit.

Some additional thoughts:

The blurred parts in the original image would most likely be totally transparent in the second part of the image split.
If the first part of the image generates a strong artifact at some position in the image, maybe it would be possible to correct that in the second part.


texts:
Hi all,

Love how this look, and was wondering what sort of gradient effects may've been used in the image...

Thanks so much for your help!


texts: How do you convert a regular font such as Gotham into an outline font?

texts:
This is an example of what I mean by outline font:

I would like to make an outlined version of Gotham using Photoshop.


texts: How do I select objects from the Layers Panel in Illustrator?

texts:
I am a bit confused about how Illustrator works. Adobe's Illustrator help site says:

Layers panel
Lets you quickly and precisely select individual or multiple objects. You can select a single object (even if it’s in a group), all objects within a layer, and entire groups."

So why is it that when I select a layer with multiple objects on the artboard or sublayers with the individual path objects from within the Layers Panel, it says No Selection to the left of the Control Panel?
I keep selecting objects in the Layers Panel and then attempting to change them, only to discover that I am messing with the default fill and stroke.
So how do I select objects from the Layers Panel in Illustrator?


texts: How can make visible outline to vector from multiple layers?

texts: 1st half is the object I made in illustrator  and second half is the only stroke of objects and now I want only visible object not the back layers one. Help me please


texts: Creating layers with different sizes from existing PNGS and imported into a PSD

texts:
Working on a legacy .NET web application we have the following issue: graphical themes are made of hundred png files. When it comes to create a new theme (ie. same icons but new set of colors), we take each png file and change its HUE using paint.net. It a very long process with poor results (images are pixelated, transparency is hugly...).

Using Adobe Creative Cloud we are trying to create a master PSD file that will contains all graphical elements. With well-named layers we will export them to individual files. We'll work with shapes and not "pixellated png" so changing color would be easy and clean. Moreover we will be able to change all icons' color in a row.

Icons aren't the same size and most of them doesn't "fit" content: for instance, one icon file is 27x27 with graphical content sized 13x18 at bottom right corner. Photoshop fits the layer to the graphical content: how to force it to a size of 27x27 and keep transparent content around the 13x18 painted area? Size can be 27x27 or 20x20 or 50x10 or ...


texts: Prevent two paragraphs from separating across a page break in Indesign CC

texts:
I know one can use the Keep feature to prevent widows and orphans in Indesign but I have a slightly related issue that seems to defy this workaround. I have two paragraphs as below:

Word (paragraph 1)
Synonyms, meanings (paragraph 2)

Both paragraphs are single line texts with different paragraph styles applied to them.

I need to ensure both paragraphs stick together in case they happen to straddle a page break. Is there any way to ensure this in Indesign?


texts: Illustrator compound path and clipping mask

texts:
I'm having an issue with a compound path and a clipping mask. It's driving me absolutely crazy.

There is a very fine outline which I can't seem to get rid of. I've attached screenshots to better-explain what I mean.

Here's the file in illustrator

I've copied and pasted it into photoshop, and then applied an inner-shadow, which helps demonstrate the issue better. If you look at the "N" the blue strip doesn't look right. It's driving me nuts.

I hope I've explained myself well enough, but if not - happy to answer any quesitons you may have.

Many thanks.


texts: I'm trying to make a composite where the camera is facing the glass but focused on the reflection of the city or what is behind the camera. Are there any ways to make this more realistic?


texts: Games Design & Illustration - Starting Off

texts:
So I primarily have a background in Interface Design and wish to expand my skill set into illustration and game design.

I've recently armed myself with a Bamboo tablet and want to get serious about learning the techniques required to do good design for games.

Could you please recommend a starting point / sites that I could begin with to get the basics under my belt.

I've had a look through google but as any new beginner it all looks overly complicated!

Also with designing games how does one draw each stage of the animation for say a dog walking?  Is there a programme that you can define start and end points and it will provide you each frame of your drawing ?

Thank you for your help Stack.


texts:
In illustrator paintbrush creates extra black spot/patch in a curly path. How can I get rid of this?
I have set the stroke corner limit to zero. Still no result. Please help.


texts: Auto batch replace smart object in multiple files Photoshop Cs6

texts:
Have another question.  I have a project that I'm working.
I have a psd layered template with a smart object.  The goal is to change the image in the document and replace the current smart object with a new image.  However I have hundreds that need to be done so I'm trying to figure out away to do it automatically.

The goal would be for me to select a folder where the files are located and then run it as a "Script" from with in photoshop.  I tried to do it and I couldn't figure out how to get an action correctly.

Can anyone help?


texts: Suggestion on printing with a photo not large enough for Bleeding?

texts:
I come across a problem sometimes when preparing files for printing, there are photos just big enough to put in the final graphic output, but not big enough for the whole bleeding area:

The photo is placed this way so that the main subject is positioned to look nice in the final output. You can see there is a gap between the final output and the bleeding edge.

Would you fill up the gap by extending the photo, or mirroring the photo at the bottom, like this?

I am thinking that the bleeding area will be cropped away eventually, and as soon as there is enough (maybe over half the bleed or a few millimeters?) of the photo, it is okay to leave it blank? (As modern machines are accurate enough for smaller bleed?) Does it depend on the preference of the printer? What is the general approach to this?

Your advise is extremely valuable, as I am not experienced in printing. Thanks!


texts: I am trying to design the windmill blades (the green part) in Solidworks but am having trouble since the radius of curvature for the blades varies at different points. I tried bending it as a sheet metal, but am having a lot of difficulty. Any ideas?


texts:
I've got a problem where I am defining a paragraph style, but when I am applying it, it does everythin as defined except for the font style. It just applies a font style I did not select, however the font family is correct.

What is weird about it is, when I change it manually to the correct style, it works AND it doesn't even show that little "+" for modified paragraph styles.
Secondly there are NO character styles applied at all.
When I apply the right style manually, reapply any other style, it does the same thing. Hence, font family, size and everything works fine, except for the font style.
Hope someone can help out here.
Thank you!


texts: Calculate the color percentage of an image

texts: Is there a way to calculate the percentage of color that an image has? For example and image of a black and white chess board would show 50% black, 50% white. Is there a software program for that or an option in Adobe Photoshop?


texts: Anchoring one text box relative to another text box that expands with text

texts: I am doing a merge in InDesign to create datasheets for products.  The problem is that the quantity of text in each field varies.  I have the text box setup to expand down to fit the text.  With manual spacing, if the field has to expand, it overlays the next field. The question is, how can I anchor the next merge field relative to the previous expanded text box? So in the attached picture, how can I get "Formulation" to move relative to "Description"?


texts:
I am using Inkscape to create .svg vector files. I wanted to convert it to .eps so that I could use it in Latex (unable to use .svg in Latex). Please recommend a free software to convert .svg to .eps.

Update: I did google for the question, but the closest answer I got was this SuperUser question:
Converting between EPS and SVG format

I was hoping for a better answer. I was unable to install GS on my Windows 7 machine. Currently I email images to my friend who converts it on Ubuntu.


texts: Is there a term in design for the logos that mix images/symbols the same way the Coexist logo does?


texts: Photoshop showing background of masked objects imported from Illustrator

texts:
I'm having a new problem I haven't experienced before. After designing a poster in Illustrator, I import it into Photoshop to flatten/downsave. In my original ai file, I have embedded psd files with masked areas. After opening in Photoshop, the masked area shows faintly.

In the past, I've used this image before in the same way without issues. Is there a workaround or way to fix it without going back to the original .psd file and deleting the background instead of masking it?


texts: Cleaning up points on a black and white drawing

texts:
fairly new to Illustrator. Getting frustrated over here trying to get to my end result. I am trying to clean up this image so that there is as little points as possible. I've tried the join tool, merge in the pathfinder, Object->Simplify, changing the pathfinder options to remove redundant points...etc. I may just not be using them correctly.

In the first image, how can I make it so the "outer most" lines are considered the only path?(while having as little anchor points as possible. In the second, how can I do the same (join the paths) and straighten out corner?


texts: How I can create this pattern overlay effect on a photo?

texts:
I would like to know how to edit the photo to get this effect?
If someone knows an action script that does this and you have to pay for it, I don't have a problem, I pay for it.
That's the edited image:

This is the original picture:

Just a pattern overlay isn't. I think.
Just clapping diagonal lines over it is not enough, I think.
The lines look irregular.
Looks like a colored engraving effect combined with a color image?
The lines mix too much with the original image. I find.
Example:


texts: Testing visual lay-out and concept of interfaces on users before really starting development?

texts:
This is essentially about lay-out and visual structure, and using a couple of more or less random people to help thinking ("Random" people can mean someone passing your office, your neighbour, cousin, boyfriend).

Building interfaces is a tricky business. All the wonderful designs in our heads are sparkly and dripping diamonds of course, but when it comes down to it, it is about how the users interact with it that will tell wether it is a success or not.

I know some people use video and eye-tracking in analysing interfaces and user interaction; that is not the level I am talking about. What I am after is simple user testing long before a system is rolled out. Quick and dirty they call it: user testing from very early on. It is mainly a tool to make you think, and ensure you have considered as much as possible.

The benefits are many; some glaring blunders might be sorted early, some of the users input can of course also be ignored. But it is always better to know you are ignoring something, than to not know. It is all about informed, intelligent choices.

One that I have used sometimes is what I call the post-it note game. For structural visual architecture: you give people a bunch of post-its with key words written on them, and ask them to sort them. It is also helpful to get them to sort the post-its on a piece of paper/wall, and pretend that it is the application. It could be functionality, menue-points, keywords. Often, some interesting anomalies crop up, that helps a quick rethink. Sometimes the fact that the guinea pig does not know where or how to categorise and place something, is a useful hint.
Another one is making a very primitive sketch, preferably on a whiteboard. It is important that this is  something that does not looks remotely finished, and a long way from the digital product. Simple, primitive boxes for content, buttons and other elements. Tell the guinea pigs what the application will be all about, give them a list of keywords, and ask them to write in where the various functionality should be visually placed. They should also be free to add things that they feel are missing. Let people fiddle as much as they want with it.

(In my experience, wireframes and mockups are rarely that helpful. It might make the designer feel that she is doing something, but a lot of people do not quite grasp the fact that they are ideas, not products)

My question is: what other methods have you used, that proved helpful? I would be very much interested in tools, methods and experiments that have given interesting and unexpected results, other ways of pestering users way before coding and colour-schemes comes into it.


texts: Intersect (Pathfinder) a picture and shape on Illustrator

texts:
How to subtract a shape from a picture without using Clipping Mask?

I don't want to use Clipping Mask because it lefts a bouding box instead permanent crop.

See: Left image with bounding box (Preview mode) and Right image in (Outline mode)

I should use Intersect from Pathfinder, but it just works on two shapes and I want to do it with a picture and a shape.

Clipping Mask: Object -> Clipping Mask -> Make is the only way?

Edit 1: I could export the clipped image and after import it, but I am searching for a more elegant way.


texts: What is the best icon to represent the shopping cart for an e-commerce store?

texts:
I'm looking for an icon that will clearly identify the "shopping cart" for an apparel store.
A shopping bag? A Cart? Is there any other specific icon?

If we go further, do you think it is better to display an icon? only text (bag / cart?) or both?


texts:
I've done some googling and I'm trying to get a feel for how Dribbble pans out with getting new clients. Has it worked for any of you? Did it result in a certain amount of your total yearly income, or has it been a bust?

I'm trying to see if I should invest my time and money into presenting myself on that site and see if it's likely to yield some gigs.


texts: What font style pairs well with geometric fonts and why?

texts:
It seems to me that geometric fonts pair well with most serif fonts and some humanist sans-serifs since they are of considerable contrast, but I don't have a lot of experience with them.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or further insight?


texts: How do I create rigid links between objects to control distance (creating map in Inkscape)

texts:
I'm creating a map of a camp facility (40 buildings) and have taken distance measurements and compass bearings. Now, I need to create the digital file, and had planned on using triangulation for accuracy. Is there an easy tool for me to use in Inkscape, to create a rigid link between two objects to control/limit their distance?

I can create a line (or rectangle) with exact dimensions, and use this as the measuring device between them. This method will involve a lot of pushing and pulling to rotate the three points into an accurate triangle.

Another option is to draw circles with the intended distance as the radius, then place objects on the intersecting points (old school compass use on paper maps!).

Here is a sample of my notes on the very rudimentary map:

Satellite imagery doesn't help much...too many trees and shadows.

I'm open to using other open source tools.


texts: Can logo designers use free resources or elements from free image websites in their designs?

texts:
Can Graphic Designers use free resources to create their own design (or most of it) instead of creating something from scratch?

What if I can't draw or have troubles to come up with completely new, original designs?

Is it fair to charge a client £300 for a logo design and use free resources to complete a logo? For example, using a free font and imagea from Freepik and assemble it into a logo.


texts: Applying a fill to multiple layers using Option/CMD + Delete in Photoshop CS6

texts: Similar to what can be done in Illustrator is there a way to apply one fill to multiple selected layers with or without the hotkey, Option/CMD + Delete vs. applying the fill to each individually?


texts: Hi, I just love this kind of design and I wanna know if exist specific name for this.


texts: Design critique for 36" x 24" poster announcing coffee shop re-opening

texts:
I am new to the graphic design chat here. Please provide any feedback/critique on the
poster available via these links. One is on a colored background, the other is on a white background. Which is better? Are there glaring design issues here? There are no designers where I work and I could really use some constructive feedback.

This cafe is located in an academic library and is primarily targeted at college students. no other stipulations, really. My idea was to use the color scarlet (the college color) and show larger than life bubbles as a nod to how bubbly life can get when you visit the Scarlet latte cafe.

Here is my attempt.

My design concerns:

One of the responses mentioned that there are too many design elements here (the 3D bubbles, the coffee-stain/textured circles, etc.) I was also concerned that the design lacked a certain cohesiveness.
How is the placement of objects on the poster? I have not used a grid, and honestly don't know how to create one and design on it. I do use guides quite scrupulously in illustrator though. I guess this leads to the question, when designing posters and flyers in the future, how can I do so using grids so the nothing is askew and every thing is aligned well? I am not using InDesign and that might be part of the problem.
Finally, does this look professional?


texts:
Is there any analogue of CSS rule white-space: nowrap in Adobe Indesign?

I know that happens because in Indesign the text can be placed in any arbitrary shape, not only rectangular as it goes in HTML. Typesetting engine is looking for a string that have enough width to fit a word. And if this shape can't fit big word then such a word will be shifted to next text frame, even if a frame does not exist.

The question is how to disable such behavior?


texts:
Does anyone happen to know how to change the list of fonts at the top of your font optioins in Acrobat Text Field Properties?

It has been bugging me for a while. I would like to put different fonts at the top of the list to streamline my work when selecting the fonts I wish to use when preparing forms in Acrobat. Thanks


texts:
I need to save an image from Illustrator at 150 LPI (lines per inch) for a printing vendor. How do I do this?

Bonus Question : Reccomended file format? (JPEG, TIFF, etc)


texts: How to get this text effect? What are the blending settings? Any tutorial?

texts:
Any idea how to achieve this exact text effect?

Does this kind of text effect have a name? I know the moonlight text effect and since I'm new to Photoshop, I do not understand what blending effect settings need to be applied to text.

Detailed instructions on above text effect are highly appreciated.
I would also appreciate if you could direct me to similar text effect tutorials.


texts:
One thing I keep reading, especially in discussions about fonts for the Kindle, is that some fonts were designed for print but that nowadays designing fonts for onscreen use should be a consideration, and diffferent fonts should be used.

Aren't they both exactly the same thing; the decoration of a 2d surface which either reflects (in the case of the kindle) or emits (in the case of a phone screen or monitor) glyphs representing letters, numbers and punctuation?

Is it simply a resolution issue?  Would people not have this issue if the DPI of the device was, say, 100,000 DPI rather than a couple of hundred?


texts: Using text and numbers in a vector image using Photoshop?

texts:
I'm not here to debate if which program is better, I have only one, since Inkscape no longer works on OS X without some tweaking. I am using Photoshop.

I have a vector image I have been working on, it's simple, but it's mine.  Before I start to add more time to this project, I need to ask, is there a way to make letters and numbers into "shapes" using Photoshop? Just like how you can do using Photoshop with the other drawing tools?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
Sorry if my question doesn't meet the reuqirement of this site, but is there a way to create a table of contents in Adobe InCopy CS6 without using InDesign?
I know that InCopy is typically used together with InDesign, but I try to use it on its own, as a more powerful replacement for Word.


texts: Illustrator - set stroke colour of multiple objects as respective fill colours

texts:
I have traced a photo in Illustrator, resulting in a complicated vector image with 20 colours.

I would like to add a stroke to all of the shapes in the image and set the stroke colour to be the same as the fill colour of each individual shape, e.g. shapes filled red will have a red stroke and shape filled blue will have a blue stroke.

Is there an option which does this automatically, or will I have to set the stroke colour of each shape individually?


texts: Illustrator/photoshop: give stroke sharp corners

texts:
Here is what I want. This is the image I got.

and I do outline by first creating the pen outline.. then stroking by brush. this is what i get:

but i want the all edges pointed. For example like this:.
(Here I am doing some edges but I want all)

so i have to do it manually. Is there any easier way to do this ?

PS: I am so noob in designing, I even dont know what to write in the title


texts:
I'm developing a logo from a photograph of some vehicles, am I allowed to use the manufacturers icon they use on the front of the vans we own, in our logo?

Sorry if it's a silly question, but this area of GD is very murky and it's hard to find a solid answer.


texts: Any tips or ideas on how to design this optical art that only uses orthogonal lines?

texts:
I am just experimenting on new techniques and op art was something that always pique my interest. Any idea on where to start or how to even get the lines to aligned like this?

Source: H.P. Lovecraft, l'expo qui rend fou by Swiss design firm Notter + Vigne (http://www.notter-vigne.ch/fre/l_expo_qui_rend_fou)


texts: Where can I find small and limited projects in order to make my first steps toward working professionally as a designer/developer

texts:
I am in UI design, and currently looking for jobs, and realized that photoshop skills, and being able to create your designs yourself was a big plus for potential jobs.

I have some photoshop skills that I learned along the years, but:

No actual degree in graphic design (far from it actually: psychology B.S. and Mechanical Engineering M.S.)
No professional experience as graphical designer
I am conscious that my skills are too low to be decently used in a professional context

So what I would like is a way to find short requests, of the kind "I want a banner for my website, with this, this and this", or "a loading screen for my mobile game", and so on. This would allow me to improve my skills, and also build a portfolio, which is something I am really lacking right now.

Alternatively, since people doing stuff for free could be harmful for actual professional people, would there be a place asking for small requests against small fees? Again, I am more trying to build experience than to build money.

Thanks!


texts: Name for style of text logo where two colours overlap imperfectly?

texts:
I've seen a bunch of these - often with similar colour palettes of red with blue/green/turquoise. There are two overlapping copies of the design in two solid colours, which are almost (but not quite) exactly the same and overlap in a way which is almost (but not quite) consistent.

Does it have a name?

This is the logo of madeByRaygun:


texts: Highlight title in table of contents if we're on its page

texts:
I'm creating this document which has a sidebar table of contents that lists all the headings on the left of every page. I want to highlight (change color/add shading) the heading of the page we're on. For example, if we're on page 1 that has 1. Introduction, its heading in the table of contents will be highlighted in different color. Do you have any idea how to do it?

Thanks!


texts: RGB and CMYK - what to expect when printing

texts:
I've designed some artwork which I originally planned to only print myself (on my home laser printer), and so I worked in RGB. I've since decided to do a print run in CMYK (outsourcing to a 4-colour offset printer). I'll be working in CMYK going forward, but this is going to be the awkward transition project from my old process.

I've been calibrating my RGB files to print as I want on my laser printer, and have them at a point where I'm very happy with the colours as printed. I am aiming to roughly match these printed colours, not the colours I see on screen (which is to say, I'm already prepared for the limitations of intensity that come from reflective colours versus emitted colours).

I also do not need the CMYK print run to exactly colour match the files printed from RGB (and I know this is not possible). I am simply trying to get a similar 'balance' as far as overall hues and contrast.

I've noticed that when I directly convert the RGB files to CYMK, they appear much blacker on my screen (in addition to the dulling of blues, greens and purples I was expecting). I'm concerned that if I try to print the files without any adjustments, the resulting prints will be extremely dark and dull.

What I am curious about is: if I get the CMYK files as they appear on my screen to closely match the RGB files as they appear on my screen, will the CMYK prints match the RGB prints to a similar degree?

As an example, here is one image I am trying to prepare:

Would it be reasonable to expect that the far right image (when printed on a 4-colour offset printer), should turn out reasonably similar overall to the far left image (as printed on a standard home laser printer)? Or is there no correlation?

I will be getting a hard proof of my CMYK prints, but obviously the closer I can get in the first attempt the better.


texts: I heard most of the roll-ups are printed in CMYK. I am wondering if it is possible to print with a Pantone on a Roll-up (canvas)?


texts: Difference between ISO_expand_a1 and ISO_a1 paper size options?

texts:
Im exporting a number for cad pdfs (not graphic design i know, but the paper sizes are still relivant) ive been given a couple of options, either ISO_expand_A1 or ISO_A1 they from the mm length and width they seem the same.

What is it that makes them different ?


texts: How to get images' filesizes as low as possible?

texts: I usually use photoshop's save for web and devices, but it has no options for compressing pngs and I also wonder if there are superior compression algorithms available?


texts: How much effort should I put in to optimizing (cutting up) images for the web?

texts:
I often get designs from our artists which contain large complicated images that can be turned into a background-color, some tiling, and overlaid smaller images. The problem is, doing this often takes quite a while and adds complexity to the html structure. How should I decide wether it is worth doing?

For example, the following is a button / mouseover:

All the buttons in an atlas take up a whopping 232kb*.

I can get this down to 40kb by using a background color and overlaying the following:

top gradient (horizontal)
bottom gradient (vertical)
text
photo
outline
glow for mouse over

But then instead of 1 html element the button would take up several. In addition, I would have to spend several more hours to cut everything out and do the html/css.

So, as a new web developer, are there any guidelines for when to split images up vs just using the whole thing? Based on size/difference, time taken, and additional DOM complexity added?

In this specific case, at least extracting the glow seems like an obvious decision, as it only adds one element and halves the number of images.

*I'm fairly new to web development from non-web programming and may be wrong, but 200+ kb seems massive for just some of the art assets.


texts: How to create a very big photo (like for a billboard)

texts:
So I'm designing a CD cover for my friends band. And I will have to use a photo of them for that cover. How am I supposed to create it so that it won't pixelize if they want to use that for a big advertisement (like a billboard or something simmilar).
Sorry for my english, it's not my native lanugage :)


texts: What is this serif font used in an MIT working papers' book?

texts:
I tried different websites and asked different people, but nothing helped. I am struggling to identify the font in this picture. The publisher of this book is MIT (1998). Precisely, it is MIT working papers in Linguistics.
Could you please help me?


texts: Best compability file project export for .PSD file

texts:
What is the best fully compatibility to export (.PSD) file project from Photoshop for software interchange purposes?

I mean, for example, I can edit the resulted export freely without loosing any feature from photoshop in Inkscape or Krita or other software.

Because I have tested in Inkscape, Krita and Paint.NET, and he text layer can't be edited automatically like in the Photoshop after directly importing.


texts:
I've made a custom brush in Photoshop and I'm trying to use it on a pixel grid that I've set up. However, whenever I try to use it, either with a brush or pencil (I'm relying on the pencil tool for it's non-anti-aliasing), it offsets the brush to the center of the grid points instead of aligning the brush to the grid like so:

Before you dismiss this with "It's not possible to do what you're trying to do...", I have made other brushes just like this one, which deliver the desired effect, namely they stay in the grid instead of just painting to the center grid lines.

I don't know what setting I changed to get this brush to attach to the grid lines, instead of lock in the spaces in between the lines. Anyone know how to change this brush setting so it applies the brush correctly?


texts: Use a specific resolution in illustrator for a given size in inches

texts:
I have a document in Illustrator CS6. When I created the document, I used the size of 72" x 40.5". However when I switch from inches to pixels as the size, it gives me a size in pixels of of 5184 x 2916. My desired resolution would be 1920 x 1080. I know that it must be a ppi of 26.67 if it were to be a raster.

It would be ideal to have it in this resolution while I am designing. This is for a projection, so I want to be working with the projectors resolution, but the dimensions of the screen.

How do I get it to match so I can do 1920 x 1080, but at 72" x 40.5"?


texts: Using Photoshop arrays to multiply a layer around a center point

texts:
I've been researching for hours seeking a decent explanation on Photoshop arrays for 2020+ PS versions. Several tutorials explain the obvious about setting the center point. However, all tutorial's shortkeys and next steps fail somehow.

How can I create a selected number of circles to occupy the outer rim in a perfectly symmetrical way without manually adding each one?

Also is there a way to place the center point perfectly? (like by number or direct center etc)


texts: What are the proportion ratios for a photo album published in print and on tablets?

texts:
We want to do a photo album which we intend to publish in print and also electronically on iPad and Android tablets.

If we want to do a single output (PDF etc.) for all media, which would be the best "average" proportion ratios in order to fill up the screen space as much as it is possible on the most tablets?

Please read the word 'most' above as in 'market share' not as in 'number of tablet models'.

Also, because the most photos come from a dSLR (3:2 ratio) with few text(s) around them, I think that the aspect ratio should be rather closer than farther to 3:2.

Another consideration is the print size/ratio: It shouldn't be an 'odd' one, even if it will be ok for the tablets.

The album will be done in InDesign, if it matters.

Your thoughts?


texts: What is the term for color overlay effect?

texts:
Is there a specific term for this type of color/light effect overlay? If so, what is it?

a user suggest 'gradient mesh' However I am not quiet sure with this as it does not come up in Google accurately.


texts: How to free transform only part of object/path?

texts: I am wondering how to initiate a free transform on a selected sub-group of points in path or an object. See the recording – after selecting the points, free transform tools places a big bounding box around the whole object, but I only want a small bounding box around my few points.


texts: How do I detect an empty text frame with hidden data frame markers?

texts:
I have been using the DeleteEmptyFrames.jsx script from the interwebz and it works in text frames containing nothing, but fails when the frame had a data merge field that contained no data when merging, so it has this hidden chars, like two semicolons, that represent the field marker.

Here is the code of the script:

var myStories = app.activeDocument.stories.everyItem().getElements();
for (i = myStories.length - 1; i >= 0; i--){
    var myTextFrames = myStories[i].textContainers;
    for (j = myTextFrames.length - 1; j >= 0; j--)    {
        if (myTextFrames[j].contents == ""){
            myTextFrames[j].remove();
        }
    }
}

How do I say "the frame contents are non-word characters" so I can remove the frame?


texts: is there any way how can I do this operation in 3ds max?


texts:
This hair should be easy to extract, because of strong contrast, but from some reason it's not for me.
Here is the original

Here is my result using quick selection tool

And here my best using Refine Edge feature

Any help ?
I'm using Photoshop cs5 extended.


texts: How can I define one path for multiple shapes from either side of it in Illustrator?

texts:
New to Illustrator, I have trouble solving this.

I have an image (whose paths you can see below in the image marked in different colors), and I want to create paths for the shapes inside the existing paths, i.e. the white faces. What I need in the end is an SVG which will contain just these inner paths for the white shapes.

I tried grouping different paths, but it seems that Illustrator allows one path to be part of only one group. I tried just selecting them and creating live paint groups but that fails too because I get weird inner shapes formed by the vertices and plus I'm not sure if the end result will be the inner paths I need.

So, how do I approach this?

the svg file - paths in different colors bound the surfaces i want to create paths for

The paths that form the grayed out areas is what I need


texts: Inkscape - break objects apart and reassembling them

texts:
I need a combination of two shapes; i) a hexagonal shape and ii) a country outline. The final product shall look like the image attached.

I have managed to cut and clip the two forms so far that I have the final output. Nevertheless, in order to work with the result, I need to colour the hexagons differently. And there lies the problem; when wanting to select individual hexagons, the layer from which I clipped the shape still occurs and spreads across the border of what I have cut.

Hence, I need a guideline on how to 'combine' these to shapes (sort of intersecting the paths, which does not work).


texts: Are there any Graphic Design e-commerce solutions?

texts:
I'm currently selling my logo design services on a community site, which works very well, and I'm also building a personal site to display my portfolio and find new customers. The community site works very smoothly: client orders, client gets instructions to provide certain information about their logo and then there's a messaging system for delivery of the final product or to make any revisions.

I would like to know if there's a software that works like this platform. I've been trying to recreate all the above by using woocommerce and wordpress but can't find a proper messaging system, and I can't find a way to request more info after a payment is made. I know there are solutions like BaseCamp but that forces a new customer to create an account with basecamp.

What are you guys using to run your online shop?

Thank you.


texts: Text looks fuzzy on the edges in a GIF or an image no matter what size I type them.

texts: Has anyone ever experienced this before me?


texts:
I have finished my artwork in Illustrator. It is a logo for my company. It is a horizontal rectangle. I am ready for exporting it so I can use it as part of the header in my Word template. I have got some questions to the process.

Currently the document is 512 x 512 points. However the logo is a rectangular shape, it is placed in the center. Should I create another document with the exact dimensions of the shape so there are no space on the sides before exporting?

And should I export it as a PDF and use that in the Word template? Or as PNG?

I tried exporting the logo as a 512 x 512 point PDF (with no background) but when I open it in Word it shows with the spaces on the side. So how would I deal with this the correct way?


texts: Autodesk maya 2014 animation loop (graphic editor), doesnt seem to loop the whole animation

texts:
I´m struggling with a assignment, where I need to animate a robot to walk. The animation is done, however now I need to make it loop, so it seems he is walking for a long time. I'm using  the graphic editor, however something seems to be wrong. When I try to set the loop, some of the animation seems to be left out, and the robot begins to walk really awkwardly after the first 33 frames. Here is a video of the robot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3-EZo8tmx0

Not sure whats causing it, do you have a clue? :)

here is the graphic editor with all the keyframes selected:


texts: Which geometric, rounded, Bauhaus style fonts are similar to this sans-serif 'Abeat by Kai'?

texts:
I'm building an iOS 8 app and would really like to use the font A beat by Kai created by Kai Buskirk.

Font sample:

This font is free for personal use but not for commercial use.

I'm wondering how I can buy a license for commercial use on an App in the App Store, or if you can recommend similar fonts that I can use for my apps?


texts: A layer covering all non-transparent areas in Photoshop

texts:
I have a PNG layer which has a drop shadow applied in Photoshop.

I'd like to create another layer of white color which would cover all non-transparent pixels on the canvas (i.e. the original PNG + the shadow).

Is there a way to conveniently do this in CS5(12)?

Here is a screenshot of the original image (on the left) and the best approximation I could get it to (on the right). However, the problem is that the shadow is not solid white as it should be (this is needed for the resulting image to act as a mask in mobile gaming framework).


texts: How to create this inset effect on text?

texts: I'm new to Adobe Illustrator and am having a hard time getting text to have this kind of inset look. I see that the top right of the text edges contains a shadow and the bottom left contains the highlights.


texts: Convert 8bit sRGB to 4bit grayscale with ImageMagick

texts:
I want to print an 8bit sRGB PNG image on an Epson TM-T88v receipt printer. The printer needs a 4bit grayscale PNG file to print it correctly.

As I'm using PHP with ImageMagick, I'm not sure which commands are needed to convert the image.

If I use ImageMagick's "identify" and "convert" on the linux console on the 8bit input image I get following output:

test.png PNG 128x128 128x128+0+0 8-bit sRGB 1.78KB 0.000u 0:00.000

I've tried...

convert test.png -depth 4 -colorspace gray test-4bit.png

which gives me still an 8bit image instead of 4bit

test-4bit.png PNG 128x128 128x128+0+0 8-bit sRGB 2.58KB 0.000u 0:00.000

Any suggestions?


texts: How do you make the pen line thicker in Photoshop CC (2014)?

texts: Trying to make the pen line thicker in Photoshop CC 2014. Is there anyway to do so?


texts: How can I create a black to transparent gradient without banding?

texts:
What I need:

A 3000px by 1340px PNG that vertically graduates from 100% opacity black to 0% opacity black.

My problem:

Banding occurs.

Example:

What I've tried:

Virtually every solution to be found online. I've tried adding noise, blurs, installing actions that are supposed to work but don't, changing the the color and dither settings, converting from 16 bit to 8 bit and NONE of these solutions work for me.

Note: I'm already aware of this question: Is it really impossible to have gradient without banding?

My question:

Would anyone be kind enough to confirm that they can actually create what I've described and tell me how to achieve it?

Even a link to a non-Photoshop solution will work e.g. an online gradient generator, Illustrator, Fireworks.


texts: Changing hardness/size of a brush on a wacom tablet does not work

texts:
My Wacom tablet does not cooperate when I want to change hardness/size of my brush in photoshop.

It works with mouse and shortcuts on keyboard, but when I use alt and click the button on my pen (which is set to be a "right-click") and then I press it onto the tablet surface and go up and down to change these values it just keeps showing eye-dropper tool as if the right-click was not decteded, just alt.(then I press button on my pen to check if the right-click is waroking at all, and it is. The problem seems to be when I press alt and then a button on my pen).

I checked my wacom settings and they are deafault:

tip - one click
button closer to the tip - right-click
second button - double-click

It worked in the past...do you know what else to check to see why is it not working at all or me now?


texts:
The software Revit unfortunately only accepts PNG icons that have a resolution of 96. Now I make all my icons in Illustrator and export them using the 'Export for Screens' function. Unfortunately you can't choose a DPI when exporting, so I have to change the DPI for each individual icon by hand in Photoshop. which is a painful process since every time you change the resolution the dimensions also change, so you have to set them back each time.

I know resolution/DPI on images is nonsense, but I'm looking for a way to somehow automatize this. The idea is it that can be done for multiple images simultaneously. The only thing that needs to change for each image is the image resolution, so no change in dimension.

How can I achieve this?


texts: Illustrator - paint/draw inside the drawing created from brush strokes, not shapes

texts:
I have been struggling with this for last few days and decided to get expert help here. I have drawing like below (original art is more complex) which was created using brush strokes (no built-in shape objects). I am trying to paint/draw inside using brush strokes just like "draw inside" feature of Illustrator. As it works for closed shapes so I thought making sure all lines are connected will suffice, but it didn't.
As a test, when I tried using Shape builder tool to color, it works perfectly as it treats inside square as a closed shape but I don't want fill colors so this wont work, I want to color using my textured brushes.
I have also tried coloring the background in another layer and using this drawing as clipping mask by Object>Compound Path>Make but it didn't help either. I am new to clipping mask so not sure if there is another way.

So the simple question is how can I restrict painting inside the following drawing?

Thanks for help!
Edit: Billy's answer is perfect and I was able to do this quickly as a test. I can paint in multiple shapes like face, body, hair now. Just created a duplicate layer of drawing to keep my lines still there.


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I need to fill the red area with white colour. As you can see the foreground is very very white shade of pure red. Why do I get fully saturated red instead (the left circle)? Only when I go to the extreme and select a pure white, which is actually my goal, I suddenly get some dark grey (the right circle). This is frustrating, pls help. :-)

I also can't figure out why can't I just select a layer, then a bucket, and change the white background to something else? Only when I draw something on that layer, then I can change the colour of this to something else but not the white background.

Thank you.