texts: Adobe Illustrator: Auto-Mirroring Bézier Handles

texts:
In the background (black) is an auto-traced outline of a raster image.
In the foreground (red) I'm trying to replicate that kind of helix/hourglass style Bézier curve. How can I get the second handle to automatically mirror the manual adjustments I'm making to the first handle? I've seen it done before, but can't seem to do it myself.


texts: What font is used for this "Vanity Draws Blood" text?

texts:
Really want to know what font this is:

I've tried using whatfontis.com and myfonts.com. The closest I have found is these two:

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/megamistudios/semiautonomous-subunit-clade/
http://www.whatfontis.com/Chapeaux-Noirs-NF-nicksfonts.font?text=vanitydrwsblo


texts: How to get font to align on the ascender line instead of the baseline?

texts:
I'm trying to get a font, SambhotaUnicode, to align on the ascender line, so that text reads evenly across the heads of the letters at different sizes. Another font, TibetanMachineUnicode, actually does this just fine. However I'm not sure why or where to start digging to update SambhotaUnicode to match the latter's beavhour. Using fontforge's tools to do a diff it does say there are different truetype instructions.

SambhotaUnicode (left, incorrect) vs. TibetanMachineUnicode (right, correct):

For context, I'm using LaTeX, and there are other limitations in it arround wrapping long blocks of text in boxes, hence it seems like adjusting the font might be the simplest and seemingly the most correct way to fix it.


texts: Illustrator pattern with blend mode shows dark lines

texts:
How can I get rid of these dark lines in my pattern?

They only appear when I apply some sort of blend mode to my objects. These particular objects have multiply blend mode applied to them and the dark lines appear where the pattern "connects" in a grid.

I don't want to get rid of the blend mode, I need it for the desired look, but it's definitely the thing that causes the lines. Any advice?

The swatch looks like this. It seems like an overlap to me too, but I created the box as a 6x6 square and duplicated objects by moving them by exactly 6 inches. Also in the Pattern tool I set 6 inches as the size of the tile. What's interesting is that when the Pattern tool shows me the preview of how the pattern will look, there is no overlap. Even when I set 9x9 preview so there are many repeats. It only shows later when the pattern is applied to a shape.


texts: Convert a line drawing from raster to vector

texts:
I have a raster image, basically a scanned drawing of the outlines (and some detail) of various objects, and I wish to convert these lines to vectors, using either Illustrator or Inkscape.

My present solution is to have the raster image as a background layer, and in a new layer above it I use the pen to follow the lines as close as possible.
Later I tweak these lines to fit the raster image better. That has worked fine for simple drawings. However for some of my extremely complex drawings, this is very tedious to do.

Is there any tool or filter of some sort that is capable of recognizing the lines in line drawings and creating vector paths from them?


texts: CS6 When holding shift to maintain perfect form, shape won't subtract from?

texts:
Trying to create a vector 'ring' in Photoshop CS6. (I know there are better tools for the job and ways of doing this, but I'd like to know if there's an answer for this problem in particular.
If I create a circle shape, then change it to subtract mode I can draw another selection to be deleted from my original circle. However, if I hold shift to make my new selection a perfect circle, it creates a new shape layer (which is a perfect circle). How can I stop it from doing this?
Bonus question: - I'm sure there's a way, but can't remember how. What is the best way to subtract one shape from another without rasterizing first?


texts: Creating a brush with smooth falloffs in Photoshop CS4?

texts: How do you set up a brush that has a falloff like the brush stroke on the left?:


texts: Somehow I manage to turn the outer BG to white (from the original dark gray). I have tried changing the preview mode (Pixel & Overprint) and to change it through the preferences menu, but it didn't work. How can I fix it?


texts: Merge two layers with transparent BG in Photoshop

texts:
I have two layers in Photoshop. Layer one has Soft Light blend mode and 50 % opacity, and layer two has normal blend mode and 100% opacity.

When I merge these two layers, color of the picture on layer one changes.

Before

After

I added the background after the merge to see the result more clearly.

How can I merge these layers without any change in Photoshop?

Thank you


texts: Drag to resize canvas size in GIMP the way I do it in MSPaint?

texts:
Any time I prefer Microsoft Paint over GIMP it's because in Paint you can simply and swiftly drag the canvas borders to enlarge it or crop it. I cannot understand why this feature is lacking in other editors.

Is it maybe somehow hidden? Can I do it in gimp?


texts:
The title pretty much sums it up, are there any good batch type tools that provide high level of compression such as zopfli when creating optimized images and underlying paginated formats (TIFF, PDF)?

Are there tools (imagemagick, graphicmagik) that use zopfli compression as part of their stack?

Thanks!
-D


texts: illustrator: pathfinder minus front, cut-out is crude, not precise enough

texts:
CS5.

Trying to cut out text from a shape behind it. I select the text, then Object > Expand..., then select it along with the rectangle shape behind it and do Pathfinder > Minus front. The cut-out shape comes looking wrong.

In Pathfinder Options, I have the precision set to 0.001 pt (although it doesn't seem to change anything), the other options don't make a difference either. I've only had this problem with this particular rounded typeface. Any ideas how I can get it to cut directly along the outlined path?


texts: How to select direct layer in Illustrator?

texts: I am creating a Halloween drawing and I am creating a pumpkin right now. I have a main layer with background and inside a pumpkin layer and inside a many pumpkin layers, now I want to select only that layer which I am pointing at. I know shortcut from Adobe Xd program which is: CMD + Left Click and it ignores parent/children dependiences. Can I do this in Illustrator too ?


texts: How to make a Pattern brush that doesn't distort the pattern shape?

texts:
we have a LASER-CUT machine, and we need to build a template for strass & Diamond.
I use Adobe Illustrator CS6, and I've tried to let the object follow the path of template using Pattern Brush.

But it seems useless to me, because I want:

No Convergency in any place of path.
No Distortion in the red circles.
Fixed Spacing between each shape in Pattern, that I can change it when needed.
A way that let me to edit the shape (like editing the radius of Red-Circles) and that change would be applied automatically to all patterns that uses this shape.

This image shows the issue and a mockup of the solution I want:


texts: How to prevent font blurring when scaling an image down

texts:
I'm creating a logo for a Youtube channel and it's a text logo. Youtube suggests you upload the logo at 800x800, so that's what I've been designing at in GIMP and it looks fine:

However, the actual channel logo (as seen at the bottom of the video) is 98x98. Obviously, Youtube scales it down as needed and I figured I would scale the image down just to see what it would look like when displayed at 98x98. And this is where the issue begins. I designed the logo to utilize a Light variant of the Quicksand font (AEVES), which contrasts with the thicker font below it (TECH).

The issue is in that. When I scale down the image to 98x98, the letters start becoming somewhat fuzzy (someone described them as looking like they're wearing a wool sweater):

Does this second image (at 98x98) look acceptable? Or, if not, how can I get the text to scale down to 98x98 without becoming fuzzy?


texts: How to hide objects outside artboards in Illustrator?

texts:
Is it possible to hide the objects that are outside of the artboard?

As you can see in the picture below, the polygons are shown outside of the artboard.

I want to hide everything that is outside of the artboard.


texts: How to import a CSV list of names into Illustrator artwork?

texts:
I print decals. A lot of them. Especially this time of year (summer sports, back-to-school, etc.)

It'd make my job a lot easier if I could import a CSV list of names into two predefined artboards, one for production, and one for a proof.

Is this possible? ActionScript maybe?


texts: How would I reduce the texture visible on old photos in Adobe Photoshop

texts: Many old photos have an annoying bubble-like texture. I have tested some methods of noise reduction in the filter menu but the result was not good. What effective methods could be used for reducing this texture?


texts: Fill a vector path in Photoshop CS5 without pixelated edges

texts:
I've created a smooth path around an image that I'd like to vectorize. Now I'd like to fill that path to make it a solid with smooth edges.

I created a new layer
I selected the path and the new layer
I clicked on "fill path with foreground color" at the bottom of the path window

The path is filled, but the lines are jaggy. What am I missing in order to make the edges smooth and crisp - i.e. vectorized?


texts: How can attribute Creative Common Attribution font to make an album cover?

texts:
I want to ask something since I'm not a real designer or anything. I made a music album cover and how can I attribute a font in this case, since the album cover doesn't have a description...
the font is "curvilingus" by Tup Wander


texts: I would like to know what font this is, or the name of a similar font.


texts:
I have a strange problem in Photoshop. I had this background image that I had downloaded from a website to try and recreate something like it. After I downloaded it and opened it up it all looked fine. Then the other day when I wanted to start working on my project Photoshop was showing the image in very low quality where it added noise and pixelated the image.

I tried creating a new document and made a standard radial gradient, but noticed that the same thing happened. It added a lot of noise to the edges of the image (Almost like the Dissolve blending mode would) and the newly created image appears at a very low quality.

I'm not sure what to do. I've tried opening up the file at work, and there is nothing to see there. (Same version of Photoshop CS5).

Here is an image of the gradient I tried to create:


texts: Illustrator: how to get this halftone effect?

texts: I recently came across this picture and would like to replicate the effect. I have tried Illustrator's halftone effects, but the dots are too tidily arranged and I prefer it to be random sizes and positions.


texts: How to overlay intersection with original object in Inkscape?

texts:
Say I'd like to produce the following diagram in Inkscape.

How were I to proceed? I can create three overlapping circles and I can create intersection objects from them but the problem is to align the intersection objects with the original circles. When I copy the three circles and paste them again, they turn up anywhere on the page and not in their original spot. It's very hard and in fact practically impossible to exactly realign the four intersection objects because even the slightest mismatch will create something like color fringing.

Edit: This is what I actually need and what I got so far with manual placement:

To be honest, the upper right intersection element is only darker than the other two because somehow I didn't get it to be bright. Maybe it's because of the gradients in the circles or maybe just because I don't have a very good mental model of what the overlays do.


texts: How can I convert a single PDF into a multiple-page PDF in InDesign?

texts:
My company creates large blueprint-type files that our customers can print at home on standard letter size paper and then assemble into the whole.

We currently do this by creating a file in Illustrator, exporting it as a TIFF, and then using ImageMagick on the command line to crop the large image into smaller pieces along a grid we've designed into the file. These smaller TIFF files are then assembled into a PDF in InDesign, one image per page. Customers can then print the PDF and reassemble it using the markers we provide as part of the file.

We now need to begin delivering PDFs with layers preserved, which means we can no longer use the TIFF/ImageMagick approach. These new PDF files will have to be exported directly from InDesign, already separated into the multiple pages we need.

I found this process described in this article from 2007 but this technique seems to longer be possible, as the Adobe PDF print driver is no longer available on OS X. This is unfortunate, as this article describes exactly what we need.

We're using Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) with the latest Adobe Creative Cloud suite.


texts: How to create a Photoshop and illustrator Smart Object

texts: i was download psd flat vector design, and i open it, the layer is smart object, double click on thumbnail, and switch over automatically open in adobe illustrator as vector witch have many layer. My question is how to make the smart object that can open automatically in adobe illustrator like that. i try to make it but i can't. i make shape layer and convert it to smart object and double click on it just open new tab in Photoshop.


texts: Data Merge 7 barcodes on 1 page 4000 times

texts:
I have to place 7 different barcodes on to 1 page but then they run 4000 times sequentially.

I tried to use scripts such as ImagesToCSV, but the images don't link when merged.

Other option is to MultiPageImport script for individual artwork then interleave and N-UP the artwork to 1 page but takes forever to do just 10.

Anyone can help me please?


texts: Imported image is much larger than it in the original Photoshop file

texts:
My inDesign document has the exact same dimensions as my layered Photoshop one. In Photoshop, I hid all layers except background and imported that, as a Photoshop file, into inDesign. No problem here. But then, still in Photoshop, I hid everything except a small image, I cropped the Photoshop doc to fit that image size, and imported the result, as a PNG image, into inDesign. Problem: the dimension of the image, which should obviously be smaller than the whole document, is now much larger.

Why does inDesign change its size? It didn't happen when I imported the whole PSD background.


texts: What is the purpose of this adjustment? Why should I use it over just converting to grayscale?


texts: Liquify Filter on Smart Object - Mesh not loading after a while

texts:
I'm working in Photoshop CC 2017 and I use the liquify filter on smart objects frequently. Between saves the liquify filter mesh stops working for some reason. I have tried to replace the smart object with the previously saved version, but the same thing happens.

It also seems that if I drag layers from a file where the liquify filter has stopped working into another file, it makes the "working" file's liquify stop working as well. Super annoying!

I have tried to save the mesh and then reload it when the liquify filter has stopped working, but it doesn't load anything.

Has this happened to anyone else and does anyone know what to do about it?


texts: Photoshop text bounding box width and height

texts: How to get the width and height of text bounding box in Photoshop using ExtendScript


texts: Fix vertical spacing or reset default text style

texts:
I am creating a new SVG document and when I add some text, it's messed up.
It uses a 55.99999809 pt font and a 5.29 mm paragraph spacing and I have no idea where these settings come from.

I understand that there have been some changes from 0.91 to 0.92 which will break line or paragraph spacing when opening old files. However, I'm creating new documents in 0.92 only.
I've tried to find the default settings in preferences. I looked in Tools/Text, but could not find it there. I could not find a related setting in the document properties.
How do I reset Inkscape so that it produces normal 12 pt text with normal spacing for new documents?


texts: Save multiple objects from vector file to separate files using Inkscape/OS/Freeware

texts:
I have a downloaded vector file (AI format).  The file contains simple vector images of various dog breeds.  I've loaded the file in inkscape,ungrouped them and would like a way to save out each dog vector as a separate file.  Is there a way to automate this with Inkscape or some other OS/Freeware tool?  Otherwise I'll have to select each and Save as.   Any help is most appreciated!

UPDATE Thanks to JSBueno for the advice on editing the actual SVG file.  I didn't realize that SVG was just an XML file.  I should be able to easily walk through the file and export out each dog as a separate file.  This, by the way, will be way faster than doing it through the interface which was the goal of this post.  Thanks to all for the advice.


texts: How can I load a video in the ram for smooth scrubbing in Photoshop? While scrubbing manually a green bar shows up at the top of the timeline. When I scrub very slowly, everything is loaded into the ram. But there should be a command for this right?


texts: What techniques can be used to create a proper hierarchy of design elements?

texts:
This question is similar to this one and this one, but still different enough to merit it's own Q&A, imho.
As a beginning designer, and up to this day, I have always struggled with a very basic thing in my designs: the feeling that everything is important. This is especially true for flyers, posters, websites and other designs with lots of text.
This is especially true for very basic or non-existent design briefs, where the client/friend/family member expects you to do all the work since 'you're the designer'. Since everything is important, everything needs to be as big and/or colorful as possible, resulting in a crowded, bloated design, where it's really unclear what is actually important.
So, on to the question:

How can a designer create a relationship between equally important content within a design without the design appearing overly cluttered and unorganized?
How can multiple object/items be given "weight" but not overpower each other?

Note: uncluttered is not the same as minimalist or simple. I'm not looking for a way to leave any information off, but rather to decide between what should be seen first, and what should only become apparent on closer inspection.
Note 2: answers with practical examples of posters, flyers, design are much appreciated.


texts: Text field in Illustrator looks slightly rotated while rotation is on 0°

texts:
I'm experiencing a strange problem in Illustrator. Some text is 'sagging' for no reason in a text field. I had this happen before and in old cases it turned out I accidentally slightly rotated a text field. But now the rotation is on 0, and the text is still somehow sagging.

You can see it on the words at the right side of the text fields:

Why is this happening and how can I fix this?


texts: Should the browser interface size be taken in to account when designing web apps?

texts:
As the table below suggests, should you take into account the size of the browser itself when designing web apps? For example, should my artboard size be 1331x548 instead of 1366x768?

http://www.websitedimensions.com/


texts: How to add transparent padding of fixed number of pixels to an element?

texts: I do not want initial image to change size, I simply want to add transparent padding around what I already have.


texts: Is having a skills bar chart on a resume a good idea?

texts:
I was looking at the resume in this question, and I noticed the skills bar chart. I've seen this on several designers' resumes and was wondering if it is a new fad, if it's something that I should consider adding to my resume/website, etc.

Wouldn't this get you less clients if you forget or didn't have the room to add every single piece of software that you know and your skill level of said software? I can understand adding fundamental software like Photoshop and Illustrator, but what about all the little programs that I don't use very often, but I still know how to use? If I were to list all those, the resume would be like 3 pages long.

Is this a useful graphic to add?


texts:
My company uses the Univers font as its official typeface and I'm looking for a good Web-safe alternative. The options are limited, but typefaces are really my weak point and I can't tell which ones are more like it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univers

To me Arial looks like my best bet, but there may be subtle differences I'm not seeing. However, using a Web-Font is not an option. I am looking for the most similar base font.

These are the only options:

Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
"Arial Black", Gadget, sans-serif
"Comic Sans MS", cursive, sans-serif
Impact, Charcoal, sans-serif
"Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", sans-serif
Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif
"Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif
Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif


texts: How to clear the "Recent" tab on the "New Document" screen in Photoshop CC 2017?


texts: Aware of a font made from uniform straight lines?

texts:
I’ve searched for awhile and haven‘t found anything.  What I'm looking for is letters and numbers (specifically 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, A, E, N, T, R) that can be “drawn” using a hammer and straight 1/2" chisel.  Here is a rudimentary example:

The cross hatches where the lines intersect are not important.

I attempted to make myself but all I could manage was the E. Even other straight letters like the N and A were beyond my skills.

I figured it would be out there somewhere, but so far no luck.


texts: How do I draw a rectangle of a specific size?  I need to draw one that is 1072 pixels wide and 620 pixels tall.


texts: How to create the letter 'A' without the central bar and apply a gradient overlay in Photoshop

texts:
I want to know how the A in this logo can be created in Photoshop and how the effects are applied. I found the font and other things.

I am not able to create the character A without the central bar in Photoshop.

How can I create the character 'A', and apply a gradient overlay, just like the one in the picture?


texts: How to maintain a grayscale image (1 channel) output in a cmyk layered file that contains a color layer?

texts:
Thanks in advance for your help!

I have been asked to fix a customer supplied ad targeted for CMYK newsprint. It is a .psd doc.

The printer has asked that the file be supplied with the background image, which is separating as rich black, be created in 100% K as it is offsetting, and will offer better registration, etc.

This would not be a problem except there is a two color build yellow logo mark and type on the file.

When I bring in the background image as a grayscale file and flatten the file, the grayscale background image reverts to separating into cmyk again!

Is there a trick in photoshop to maintain the one channel K background and still have the color logo and type on an upper layer separate as such?

Thanks!
Lisa


texts: Convert line drawing into a shape with Illustrator

texts: I have a simple bike outline and I am trying to figure out the best way to convert it into a shape. I would like the frame of the bike to be one piece or shape because currently, the frame is transparent as the spokes of the bike show through the bike frame itself which isn't what I want. That's why I thought making the frame one shape would help with that. Any suggestions welcome.


texts: What font does Benz & Bmerz auto shop use for their logo?

texts:
What font name is the text: "Benz & Bmerz"?

I got this image from a website / a business card companythat I work for. The guy who made the logo is out of business. But I know for a fact that this text is not a custom font, I've seen it before and I just cannot find the name of the font.

The website that the font is shown on: http://benzandbmerz.com/

and I have tried to all these:
WhatTheFont!
Identifont
What Font is
Fontspring Matcherator

Do you know what font this is? Please lemme know, thanks


texts: How to warp an image to take shape of truncated pie (controlled by some input parameters)?

texts:
I am new to Photoshop/Illustrator. I would like to warp an image like the attached truncated pie.

Assuming this truncated pie is part of a circle, then outer radius of curvature should be 15 units and inner radius of curvature should be 5 units, and angle of pie should be 60 degrees.

More specifically I want to use the unit as centimeter such that once this warped image is done, I can print it and the results are as per specification (i.e. outer radius is 15 cm and inner radius is 5 cm and angle is 60 degrees).

I have edited the attached image on photopea.com but there is no control of parameters there.


texts: InDesign: How do I automatically style body text differently depending on the prior paragraph style?

texts:
in indesign, I have a paragraph style line number

and another style body text

when a paragraph of style body text is preceded by a paragraph of style line number, I would like to style that body text paragraph differently (like 0 space before)

How can I do that?


texts: Changing All Fills and Strokes to 1 Spot Colour - Action

texts:
I'm recording an Action in Illustrator for my Plate Making process. I'm new to Actions but so far so good. The action is quite simple. I'm supplied a 1 colour file. The file is opened and the first step is to select all, create outlines, scale a vertical % and then lastly - change everything to 1 colour black.
I'm stuck on the 1 colour black part. How do I get this to occur. I can't do select same fill/stroke/fill&stroke because different things have different values. I just need to be able to have the action finish by grabbing the whole artwork and changing the colour from whatever it is now to Spot Black. Both Fill and Strokes need to be automatically changed to have Spot Black as their colour without messing with their original values eg: stroke weight, colour % etc.
Any tips or help would be much appreciated.


texts:
what I try to achieve is a succession of circles smaller in smaller from one position to another.

I first draw a big circle (right on the picture) and duplicate it, translate it to the left and resize it smaller, then I repeat the action manually. But I want it to be automatic. However in Illustrator if you use the "repeat" command (CTRL+D) only the last action is considered (resizing here).

Is there a way to automate that ? :


texts: I need to create a really large print of 4Mx2.5M. I've never designed such a large print and I need help in setting the right DPI for this. I am really clueless of how this is supposed to go. If I'm not wrong, this needs to be split for few different documents, right? What DPI should I set?


texts: Is there a general rule of thumb for figuring out what margins should be based on paper size? I am starting a project that is 8" x 8" square, all text.


texts:
I have very little experience with image manipulation. This is probably a very simple procedure, but I have no idea how to do it.

I have an image that I want to use, and it's perfect for my intentions except for the color. How do I change the color (hue) of this image without touching anything else like the size or transparent background?


texts: Illustrator CS6 How to get my text box to scale upwards when a new line is added?

texts:
I am using a point type text box (one that scales horizontally and vertically) but when I add a new line it expands the text box downwards. Is there was a way to get it to jump up when a new line is added keeping the bottom of the box at the same level?

Also, if there is a method of making the text box horizontally fixed but vertically relative that would be appreciated (I can't find this in the forums either).


texts: Indicate that text is a proper noun (such as a product name)

texts:
How do I indicate that certain words are a product name (in cases where it's not obvious)?

"Delightful apple cake" is excellent.
Delightful apple cake is excellent.
Delightful apple cake is excellent.
Or, perhaps, a different font, font size, ...

Or maybe just leave it like the rest of the text?

EDIT

Though a general solution to be applied wherever the need arises would be preferable, I am mainly interested in the case of paragraph text on a webpage describing the product. The product name might appear more than once on it.


texts:
I have this image that have been damaged by JPG, and would very much like to restore it, as if it had never been compressed with JPG.

Can someone help me with this? I assume I need to fill with similar colours to get the sharp edges back?


texts:
I am very new to Graphic Design and I am trying to create a curved line on Pixlr.

I click on the Draw Tool, I click on the line but the only option is to draw a straight line.

How can I create a curved line, like that of a rainbow, in Pixlr?


texts: Why does color disappear completely from my graphic once I export it as .svg

texts:
I`m still a beginner on GravitDesigner but created several vector icons already. One strange thing happened already several times: I create a new icon with different shapes and compound paths with different color fills.

Once I export it as an .svg and use it within another document such as a presentation, all the color has disappeared.

When I open the file in GravitDesigner again, I see that GravitDesigner has created endless different layers (rectangles, groups, rectangle again, compound paths...) and nested the color filled paths within it.

The color appears back once I delete the unneccesary layers but disappears in the .svg as soon as I export the file again.

Any idea how I can avoid that?
Thank you!


texts: Best practices for a file of icons in Illustrator that can export perfectly to both PNG and SVG?

texts:
I'm using Adobe Illustrator to maintain a set of icons for a desktop application. Whenever I update them, I need to export them both to SVG and to a minimum-resolution PNG that matches the pixel preview that Illustrator shows me. (Our minimum is typically either 16px or 12px high, so the View > Pixel Preview feature has been a huge help.) The goal is to gradually transition to a more scalable UI.

Artboards seem to be the approach Adobe is promoting, especially now that slices can't be easily saved as SVG. So this is what I'm currently doing:

Maintain a grid of artboards (mostly 16x16 and 12x12 px) with 32px separating each one's top-left corner from the four adjacent top-left corners. Give each artboard a unique name such as add_user_mouseover .
Tick "Align to pixel grid" for any objects that won't get distorted by it. Use pixel-preview very frequently.
File > Export, ico.png, use artboards, 72ppi art-optimized
File > Save a Copy, ico.svg, use artboards
Move the resulting files into appropriate subfolders (manually or via a BATch file).

Having to save twice isn't a big deal. It is annoying, though, that I have to provide a name such as "ico", so the resulting files are named ico_add_user_mouseover.png , ico_add_user_mouseover.svg , etc. My workaround for now is a Windows BATch file that removes four characters:

REM If Illustrator adds unwanted prefixes, this can remove them.
REM Only works if the initial Name part is three characters long.

ren "???_*.png" "////*.png"
ren "???_*.svg" "////*.svg"

pause

Is there a way to avoid the prefix in the first place? Or is my current workflow the best I can expect, without resorting to a script such as MultiExporter ?

Clean SVGs: I'm using broad layers such as "background" and "box", so I'd rather not have one layer per icon, though I'm willing to if that is the best practice. However, I wouldn't want to base too much on layers since they seem to make the SVGs less compatible. So far, reading and testing has led me to believe I should do this:

Avoid strokes: convert to paths, so you can use fill instead.
Avoid font text: convert to paths. (Keep the original text in a hidden layer?) Or, strictly use "web fonts"?
Avoid special Illustrator formatting such as transforms.

That's all I've been able to do 100% consistently. How many of the following are also helpful?

Avoid using symbols. (Or at least, using black ones and recoloring them gives me ugly, overly-dark renderings. So does having a black object covered completely by an opaque light object. Grr.)
Avoid layers? I.e. merge down to one layer, maybe even one path?
Ideally, fill with nothing, or with opaque black only. Avoid any other fills if you want to be able to easily recolor using CSS.
Optionally, tweak various settings in the save dialog to make the SVGs more web-friendly ( SVG optimization practices when drawing in Illustrator , Export SVG for the web with Illustrator CC  )

Layers (extra credit): I've been using copy/paste to create separately-named icons for "_mouseover" and "_disabled" states, but in some all-SVG future I wonder if this could be accomplished by hiding/showing layers in a single SVG. Probably pie-in-the-sky, right?

TIP: Illustrator's "global colors" feature is great here for simplifying any tweaking of colors across the whole file, such as the gray and two blues shown here.

Sprite sheets (extra credit): I currently do not need to create sprite sheets and likely won't ever have to, but a solution that's compatible with that might help others who come here. Maybe separating the artboards' top-left corners by 100px instead would be more flexible and human-friendly?


texts: Krita - any color space settings/profiles that allow me to have this as Chunk data in the output PNG file?

texts:
I analysed the chunk data of a PNG image(unknown source):

In Krita, is there the possibility to export a PNG with these types of chunk information directly in the export process? (gAMA, file gamma value + sRGB, perceptual)


texts: Can I insert Android and iOS logos to sponsor an App on my website? Or is it considered copyright infringement?


texts:
Is there a way to create a gradient map effect in illustrator?
I tried different bledning modes but I cant get it to look the the photoshop version.
Thanks in advance for the help.


texts:
Give a layer with some brush drawings, I want to use the lasso tool to select some parts of my drawing. However, I want the selection to only contain visible pixels. As it is now, the lasso tool's selection will contain the entire selection, regardless of there being transparent or visible pixels. Is this possible?

Look at this drawing: I have two layers. One is the background and another is the black circle.

Now I want to use the lasso tool to select this particular section of the circle:

But, as you can see, there are transparent pixels selected. What I want is something like this:

In other words, I want the selection area to only make use of pixels that are visible... Using the lasso tool.

Since you insist on asking me why I want to achieve this, it is because I have a drawing I want to shade using gradients on specific parts. For example, I want to shade half of the left leg of this character:

So I use the lasso tool. But if I apply the gradient, it will also fill the area outside her leg.

I am aware that I could make a mask of her body so that the gradient will not overflow outside her leg. However, given my workflow, it would be a lot more efficient and easy if I could just configure the lasso tool to only grab visible pixels. This is the reason I want to achieve this: for efficiency/commodity.

Photoshop CC 2014, Mac OSX.


texts: What is the word for the imaginary line (or box) between the margin and body text of a printed page?

texts:
And are there special names for each of the four sides? If so, what are they?
I may wish to ask my typesetter to indicate the imaginary line between the margins and the body text with a red outline.


texts: How to separate the colors of an image as if they were channels

texts:
Sample input

Sample output ("Yellow channel")

Sample use case (Color exchanging)

This should not be RGB/CMYK-related but color-related. I want to generate a color channel of the specific color I select, and that color channel should consider the lights and shadows of that color only.
This answer is very helpful with CMYK colors, but it's difficult to reproduce with other colors, however, I think that's the way to follow, but with more intelligence and generalism (Replicable with any color).

NOTE: Solution can be on Photoshop, Website (If free), GIMP, or even the Linux Command Line.


texts: How to keep only the visible parts of the every object/path of a SVG image? Like "flatten" all the SVG

texts:
I've an SVG image with many objects, ones over anothers. What I need is a final SVG, with the same visual result, but in a way that I could change the opacity of any object without revealing the hidden parts of the other objects, revealing just the "hole" behind.

I've done this diagram to illustrate my question:

I've done the example above by hand with Inkscape, selecting every square and duplicating it as many times as the number of differences (ctrl + -) I've need to apply to "cut" the underlying objects. This method is very hard to apply with a larger amount of objects.

Any software (Adobe Illustrator, command line tool...) or method that solves this problem will be welcome.


texts:
I have created a plat map for my job. Problem is, I have multiple layers for advertisements, a map, my rulers, & borders.
I have been trying to print this map for 2 days & it will NOT print any layers besides my advertisment layer.
I have tried to change every print setting I possibly can & have been trying to scour the internet looking for a solution.
So what I am getting is a sheet full of ads from businesses, but nothing else that I have put on this map.
Im going crazy, please help!!!


texts: I want to print CMYK digital label artwork onto a bottle that is concave vertically and convex laterally, is this possible and how?


texts: Is there a way to resize a vector such that one of its dimensions is equal to a desired size in Inkscape?

texts:
I'm trying to create a circuit schematic using Inkscape. I've created several vector images of components and am trying to connect them up into a circuit. These are two of them, for instance:

I'm having trouble getting their endpoints to be a consistent size so that I can connect them with a black rectangle of the same width. I've tried using grids, but to no success. Is there a way to, say, automatically resize an object (while preserving aspect ratio) such that a specified dimension equals a desired value (in this case the specified dimension is the width of one of the connection points)? Or, is there a better way to do this?


texts: I'm working with 4 artboards in .ai, 4 diecut shapes on each board need to line up with the others

texts:
I am working on retail packaging. Picture something along the lines of a iphone screen protector package that opens like a book.

A) Front of package has a diecut shaped window on the front.
B) On the other opposite side of the front flap contains a second diecut shape window.  Both have different yx locations.

C) Inside the package has a duplexed card that gets inserted into the package. The product sticks to each side and shows through the two diecut windows.

How do I make sure the insert cards line up perfectly to the front / inner front windows.

I will update if I can think of a better way to explain this.


texts: Are there fonts whose licence allows me to edit them and then resell the edited version?

texts:
I am looking for a way to start from a base font and create another font from it, that I could eventually resell. The edits would be rather heavy but the shape could remain.

I would like to know if simple roman fonts with upper and lowercase characters exist in the public domain, or with a licence that would allow me to modify and potentially resell (I would assume that there are right owners that have passed away long ago for their work to be in the public domain, and that their fonts could have been digitized by people with the goal of giving it for free...?)

I have looked on archive.org and also at this question that links to this website (great first step, but it seems a bit outdated and many links are dead), and I am wondering if there are other resources that can be used to find such fonts.

I would assume it could be useful for many people, from design students to font designers that are interested in collaborating on creative projects that share the same base.


texts: Join paths to make one single line drawing so I can gradient the stroke

texts:
I have made a drawing with the pen tool.  Most of the paths are unclosed.  I would like to put a gradient stroke on the paths.

I don't seem to be able to join all of the paths together, which I assume is the first problem to solve.  See below for my drawing.

I believe if the strokes are all separate then at best I will gradient each stroke individually which will not give me the effect I am looking for.

I think it may also have changed because I used the shape builder to fill it originally.  So perhaps that has made a difference?

I'm using Illustrator CS5.  I have tried using Unite, Join, etc via the pathfinder.

I don't want to merge it into one shape, i want it to stay as a line drawing as the shape will never have a fill.  My intention is to put a gradient over the entire line drawing so it looks like it is shimmering.

Here is an example of what I would like to achieve (made in Photoshop).


texts: Finding all TexFrame and TextPath objects in an InDesign document via scripting

texts:
I'm looking for a fast way to extract all the TextFrame and TextPath objects in a document via scripting.

I have a working implementation that works also for inline elements but it's really slow since it traverses all the objects recursively.

On a file with ~2000 elements (of them only 700 are TextFrames), this script takes 132 seconds to execute, which is a bit too much for a 2-year old i7 MBP.

This is the current implementation:

#include "undercorejs.js"

var allItems = [];

function recursiveSearchForTextObjects(elements) {
    for (var j = 0; j < elements.length; j++) {
        var child = elements[j];

        if(child instanceof TextFrame || child instanceof TextPath){
            if(_.indexOf(allItems, child) < 0){ // No dupes
                allItems.push(child);
            }
        }

        if(typeof child.allPageItems != "undefined"){
            recursiveSearchForTextObjects(child.allPageItems);
        }

        if(typeof child.textPaths != "undefined"){
            recursiveSearchForTextObjects(child.textPaths);
        }

        if(typeof child.groups != "undefined"){
            recursiveSearchForTextObjects(child.groups);
        }
    }
}

var doc = app.activeDocument;
recursiveSearchForTextObjects(doc.allPageItems);

Is there a better way of extracting all the TextFrame/TextPath objects including the inline elements?


texts: iPhone 5s, 6, 6 Plus design confusions around dimensions, resolutions and densities

texts:
I have to design an iOS app in iPhone 5S, 6 and 6 Plus in Adobe Illustrator. Can anyone help me with the ever confusing PPIs and retina/retina HD displays and dimensions of these?

For example, I first design for iPhone 5S which is retina display with 1136x640-pixel resolution. I use 72 ppi in Illustrator. Now since it's retina display, these pixel dimensions make it @2x, right?

Since now it's illustrator, I can directly export my artboard toother pixel resolutions/PPI to make the same design I created for 5S for 6 and 6 Plus. But, adding 36 PPI to 72 PPI thus making it 108 PPI doesn't actually give me the dimensions of iPhone 6 Plus.

I am thoroughly confused in this.

Can anyone help me with all of this with keeping in mind the following please:

I have to design for iPhone 5S, 6 and 6 Plus with Adobe Illustrator.
I then have to give the assets at @2x and @3x to the developers

Also, one more thing please. Retina assets have to be exactly twice as big as non-retina images and Retina HD thrice as big. But what about retina assets with different pixel dimensions? For example, iPhone 5S is retina and so is iPhone 6. But they have different dimensions, so what will be done with the assets in this case?


texts: Scaling rounded rectangles in Illustrator

texts: How do I stop this from happening when scaling rectangles with rounded corners in Adobe Illustrator?


texts: What is the best way to make arrows in circular shape?

texts:
I need to make (actually re-creating) a diagram for a repeating process consisting of 5 steps.

Here's how it might look with two arrows:

I need to do basically the same thing with 5 arrows, different colors, and the arrowheads not sticking out... essentially a donut shape.

The arrows also contain text, but that's not a big deal since I can flatten each arrow if the solution involves handling them as separate objects.

I've already tried making the arrows in a straight line and making an art brush, but AI gives me an error saying "The selected artwork contains an element that cannot be made into an art brush." ??? I removed the text just to make sure that wasn't it, but the error still happened.

I also tried making a donut from 2 circles, making compound path, and using the knife to divide into sections... made a nightmare mess out of that. It's nearly impossible to cut a straight line that isn't exactly horizontal, perpendicular, or the exact in between of those.

It looks so simple! Am I just being obtuse? :p


texts: Problem with cutting angles using white objects

texts:
So I am very new to Illustrator, as in I started using the program 4 days ago.
I've been creating a logo for a business card (for a class project), and Im running into some problems that I don't know how to google.

Here is a small album of my issue
http://imgur.com/a/Gbab3#0

The first picture is my logo (still a rough), the second is to show the paths, and layers, third picture is the problem itself, and last is my progress so far.
So, my problem arose when, as you can see in the fourth picture, I wanted to cut off the edges on lines to get a smooth angle on both the bottom of the R and on the lens of the "camera." (The top circle part I think I can solve pretty easy as it was done the most recently).

I didn't and still don't know how to solve that problem other than hiding it with a white object, but now that has come back to bite me because everything is grouped so I am unable to get rid of those "artifacts" while keeping the smooth angle.

Any help you can provide would be awesome!


texts:
I teach a very basic Intro to Graphic Design course using the Adobe Suite. In the section on photo retouching we talk about the clone stamp, healing brush, spot heal, and content-aware fill tools. In the past I've talked about the strengths and weaknesses of each one, but the problem I'm running into is that the spot heal and content-aware tools have gotten too good--good enough that I'm having trouble creating exercises that force my students to use the other, more manual tools.

Any suggestions? Has anyone done a project recently where only the clone stamp would do the job? Or should I give up and just accept that these are the modern tools and that knowing them is probably enough for an intro class? Extra points for an exercise that lets me sidestep the ethical considerations of photo retouching (we talk about it, just not at this time).

Thanks.


texts: Illustrator: applying gradient to multiple objects not working

texts: I created a logo by converting my text to outlines. Grouped them together using the pathfinder - unite feature.  I'd like to apply a single gradient to the group, but for some reason I can't. Nothing happens when I drag over the gradient tool over the group. What could be the problem?


texts: Why can't I change the position & size values of a certain path to exact values?

texts:
I am trying to join two paths for a logo, but the paths are not aligning correctly, so I want to change the position and size to exact values so that they can match. This works well for all my paths in this project except for one:

If I want to edit the value it jumps right back to a close approximation of that desired value.
Same goes with changing the nodes itself: If I try to align one node from path A to match with node from path B, no problem occurs, but if I try to then get the second node beside the first node from path A to the equal height, the whole path jumps down.

I also made a video to see it in action: https://youtu.be/24Unf86jaLo

I guess it has something to do with the rasterization of that project, but can't get the hang on it.

Regards,
Nico


texts: Need Help With Tweaking a Script for Photoshop Batch Exporting Sections of an Image

texts:
Resolved: Thanks for the help, everyone! The script by Sergey Kritskiy works to export storyboards with sequential file-name.

I just found a script by TunaMaxx the other day and thought it was super helpful to export my storyboards.

Right now it exports the entire first column, then 2nd column then 3rd and 4th column. I end up with my boards labeled in the wrong order of "1, 5, 9, 13" then "2, 6, 10, 14" and so on. (images below)

I was wondering if it's possible to somehow have it export it by rows, so my boards are saved/titled as "1, 2, 3 ,4..,etc?"
It seems like not a big deal, but when I'm exporting 200+ boards, it's a hassle to go back and re-organize all of this. (Without the script, I resort to creating guide lines and using slice tool.)

I included screenshots below of what I'm looking for in photoshop and what it looks like after the export.

Below is the JPEG I'm working with. Each frame is 2000px wide by 1090px tall. The x offset is 200px and the y offset is 100px.

The photo below shows what happen when I try to export


texts: How to repeat the last run script in Illustrator?

texts: If I run a script, is there a way to run it again without doing File|Scripts|My_script?


texts: How can I change the color of this black icon to orange, as shown in this image?

texts: How can I change this black icon to the same shades and colors as this orange / gold icon?


texts: Is there a script that splits a text layer into a separate layer per line?

texts:
Does anyone know of any scrips that splits text layers into separate lines?

I have one right now, but when it splits the layers it goes way too far down. Here's the code for the script that doesn't work if anyone can fix it or wants it:

doc = app.activeDocument;
layer = doc.activeLayer;

var text = layer.textItem.contents;
var textArray = text.split("\r");

var pos = layer.textItem.position;
var leading = 0;
if (layer.textItem.useAutoLeading){
        leading = layer.textItem.size/100*Math.round(layer.textItem.autoLeadingAmount)

}
else{
    leading = Number(layer.textItem.leading)
}

layer.textItem.contents=textArray[0]
layer.name = textArray[0]
for (var k=1; k<textArray.length;k++){
    tmp = layer.duplicate();
    tmp.textItem.position = [pos[0], pos[1]+(Number(leading)*k)] //I think this is whats causing the text to go crazy
    tmp.textItem.contents = textArray[k];
}


texts: What font is used in these wooden trail signs?

texts:
I originally thought the standard was Helvetica, but looking at these examples we see the font is narrower and the 'R' doesn't look like Helvetica.

Also, these signs are typically routed -- so the router will give a rounded profile to sharp corners.

Does anyone know what font is used here, or anything that comes close?


texts: Photoshop Color Management: Proof with Xerox Versalink C500 different from CMYK production printer?

texts:
I'm having a hard time getting accurate colors between calibration on my monitor; a Xerox C500 i'm using to proof, and the end result when sent to our production printer. I'm not sure exactly where my issue is:

Photoshop:

Color Settings: North America Prepress 2
RGB: Adobe RGB 1998
CMYK: US Web Coated SWPO v2
Gray: Dot Gain 20%
Spot: Dot Gain 20%
Color Management: Preserve Embedded Profiles, Ask on mismatches
Advanced: Blend text colors using gamma: 1.45
Monitor is calibrated (X-Rite)

Proofing Printer (Xerox C500):

Using latest Xerox postscript driver
Have the printer ICC profile installed (Should i use printer profile or monitor profile?)
When printing: "Allow printer to manage colors"

Problems:

The screen differs quite a bit from my proof on the C500, especially when dealing with blues that come up much more purple.
If i send the same proof to our print shop, i get even more magenta and more purple when intended to have blue.
Its also an issue printing people, as they appear more red then skin toned.

I understand there will be slight variation between my monitor, the printer, and our print shop, but these are way off to the point where i just have to manually back out magenta to get it look acceptable. I'm confused to where my problem actually lies?

Additional Information

If i increase brightness +40 and back off the M channel i get skin tones that look somewhat natural when printed, but they look yellow/green on screen, and much brighter on screen versus printed.
As a test, I created a new document used my Pantone color bridge to set some swatches to known CMYK values and printed. The printed colors come out accurate, leading me to believe it may be a problem with the entire set of images i'm working with?
Assigning the ICC profile to the document does little to get it to render accurately


texts:
I have a group of icons which I would like to display in an organised grid. I would like to align them so that each icon is centred inside the square and evenly spaced.
Currently, I'm using Arrange > Make Grid and I'm getting the output on the right of the image below. What I would like to achieve is on the left. Is this possible within Sketch?


texts: How they do to create like these characters

texts:
I am asking if someone know any tutorial or tools that help me design characters like this in the following image (see the men in the header?):

and thank you so much.


texts: How to make Gimp brush size pressure sensitive?

texts:
I've just downloaded Gimp and am trying to figure out how to change the brush dynamics so that the brush thickness changes relative to the pressure I apply to the stylus.  There seems to be a way to do this by using 'Basic Simple' dynamics, but I am unable to change any of the settings listed here.  I read another post saying that I could have to duplicate the brush to be able to change those settings, but I cannot figure out any way to do that.

How can I make the width of my brush pressure sensitive?


texts: Removing background not getting fully transparent image in Illustrator

texts:
As a beginner I am having hard time and sorry for this basic question.
I have bought some vector from ShutterStock and while removing the background layer, I get some black gradient in the edges of the sparkles!

For easier understanding, please see the image below.

How do I get a fully transparent image of the shining frame. [I have the layered vector file of the image]


texts: Extra emphasis on boldface, sans-serif font, with constraints on colour

texts:
I am writing a pdf report. I have the following list.

The problem I have is the underline to add extra emphasis. It seems out of fashion to underline for emphasis, though I admit there's not much more to it than that.

However, I'm struggling to devise a better alternative. (The following are just my opinions; if I'm merely imagining the deficiencies, I'm happy to be corrected.)

Boldface with italics lacks sufficient emphasis:

Using the same orange colour as the numbers (and which is also used for all headings) appears too 'bright':

(Using a darker orange is better -- and the colour is present in charts within the report -- but makes the list inconsistent with others.)

Alternatively, I could drop the numbers in the list (they're not strictly necessary). However, I feel that this is less clear (and it's hard to defend the use of the indent).

Dropping the boldface in ... income would be a last resort, as the effect of highlighting that text is more important than the additional emphases which are currently underlined. I cannot change the typeface (unless there's a very similar typeface).

How should one emphasize these parts of the text? Are there other methods to emphasize boldface in sans serif typefaces?

The palette I'd like to be restricted to is:

\definecolor{Orange}{HTML}{F68B33}
\definecolor{DarkOrange}{HTML}{D4582A}
\definecolor{OrangeBackground}{RGB}{254,240,222}  % for boxes
\definecolor{Color1}{RGB}{255,224,127}
\definecolor{Color2}{RGB}{255,195,90}
\definecolor{Color3}{RGB}{246,139,51}
\definecolor{Color4}{RGB}{212,88,42}
\definecolor{Color5}{RGB}{160,34,38}
\definecolor{Color6}{RGB}{98,18,20}
\definecolor{theGrey}{HTML}{6A737B}
\definecolor{AuthorPage}{RGB}{160,34,38}
\definecolor{AuthorGrey}{RGB}{174,174,174}


texts: Best background for visibility when doing CAD?

texts:
Is there any scientific evidence that a particular background is the best for doing 2D design work, for architectural and mechanical plans? The main options are:

(1) Black - many drawing programs default to this; since unused pixels will be off, there will be no "bleed" from neighboring pixels; so there is an argument that this will be the sharpest and most highly defined background

(2) White - imitates the look of paper; might bleed color; potentially creates better contrast for some colors.

(3) Pale Yellow - supposedly this type of background creates an optically neutral field that is the least distracting to the eye; both white and black can be used as design colors

So, above I have listed some of the common considerations but it is not clear which factors might be dominant, or maybe it there is no "best" color. Is there any hard scientific evidence that identifies a particular background color as superior to the others?


texts: Vector mask adjustment layer in Photoshop

texts:
I'm working on a calendar.  I have a grid of rectangle shapes that outline the days.  I'm trying to make a different adjustment layer for each day applied to a background.  It's basically working fine.  But once I create the adjustment layer, the region it applies to is fixed -- because I used the shape as a selection.  I'd like to be able to create a layer with a vector shape on it that has an adjustment associated with it that I can move around.

Here is what I'm doing now:

Select the rectangle shape (day) I want.
Go to paths palette and convert to selection.
Go back to layers palette, select the background layer, create new adjustment layer, and do the adjustment.

What would be cool is if I decide I want to move that day box around, I still could.

Edit

What I would like to have is a vector defined region where an adjustment layer applies. For instance, suppose I have an image on one layer. I have an empty rectangle on another layer. I want to apply an adjustment ONLY where the vector is. This is because I want to have ANOTHER rectangle with a DIFFERENT adjustment. Suppose one rectangle enhances reds and the other greens, I would like to be able to move them around.


texts: Is there anyway to make it softer? Everything else in the shot is crisp, but you can see the pixels of the inner glow pretty easily.


texts: Level of transparency based on similarity between images GIMP

texts:
this is my first post here!

I am working on a fish project - sand goby, that is semi transparent,
see the extent of the fish transparency on different kind of background:

I have several images like this:

I would like to use the surrounding white background (to the left of the fish for example) to somehow proportionaly change the level of transparency of pixels within goby fish - where the fish is brighter there should be higher level of transparency, as a value of alpha channel for that pixel.
So if I use the fish png as overlay on other color background the fish would get colored proportionaly in transparent areas

I was researching a bit, and found this
How do I create a transparent image that is the diff of two images in gimp?

but that results in selecting the portions that are different from background, whereas I want the level of transparency -alpha channel in the whole region based on similarity with given background, so I could place the png on different background and get similar outcome as in above images of gobies having different coloration on different backgrounds.

Kind of like having a glass object, and trying to place it on different substrates...

Is this even possible in GIMP, what kind of tools would you suggest?
I know some coding in openCV, PIL, but not to such extent.

Final goal would be to use the png as a texture for blender 3d model of sand goby.

Any help is highly welcome!


texts: Determine distance between two layers in Photoshop

texts:
I have a Photoshop document with several small layers replicated in a vertical stack, each a fixed distance apart. I want to add another copy to the bottom of the stack, the same distance as the other ones, but I want it to be exact, not just eyeballed.

Is there a way I can determine the distance between two layers so I can place the new one the same distance below the last one?


texts: Is CMYK mode not ideal for designs with blending mode?

texts:
I just notice it now as I am new to Illustrator.

When I am in RGB mode, blending transparency seems to be easier as mode such as Screen, Multiply or Overlay looks good naturally.

If I switch the document mode to CMYK then the image is getting messed up.

I'd like to know, if CMYK is not ideal for blending options?


texts: My English is pretty basic, please don't mind. Wondering how to make the liquify wave and distort color effect in Photoshop? I'd tried using distort>shear/wave/zigzag, but still can't make it similar like the photo below.


texts: Photoshop automation converting contiguous non-transparent "islands" into separate slices

texts:
I'm trying to convert something that looks like this into a bunch of slices, where each slice might overlap with another, but should contain each island of non-transparent pixels. The long continuous strokes don't have to be converted, but most of the "spots" should be.

So effectively, I'm trying to automatically slice it to look some thing like this (excuse the rough manual slicing):

I'm still somewhat new to Photoshop scripting, and I am also not sure if this is something that has existing scripting or other Photoshop functionality already available? Or, how would you do it?

(Full story, a step I can easily do once I have structured data of the image slices... This will then be exported to Unity in a game! I suppose slices aren't the only way - just something that can easily demarcate xy location and size of each island on the global image.)


texts: Is there software for comparing fonts side-by-side?

texts: Is there an application (or website) that allows you to select multiple fonts from a list and displays Lorem ipsum side-by-side for test purposes?


texts: Photoshop or Illustrator for Icon Design

texts: Photoshop and Illustrator compared, both expose nearly the same possibilities to create icons except that Illustrator uses a vector based system. In which situations is which product more reasonable and when should I prefer Illustrator over Photoshop or vice versa?


texts: illustrator: white pixels in rounded path border

texts:
i am using adobe illustrator cc 2017 and getting strange white pixels at my rounded path borders:

when i export the file for web or open the saved pdf in any browsers these pixels are not shown.
how can i prevent this and where does it comes from?

EDIT: I think this is a issue with my illustrator installation, these transparent (not white) pixels appear at every rounded paths, doesnt matter which file i open.


texts:
There is this type of graphic art that involves using only parts of the picture to trick me as if I am seeing the whole picture.

For example, you might include a few stripes and an eye, all placed where they should anatomically be, as a means of conveying a tiger.

Examples


texts: Adobe Illustrator - how to prevent the "Eraser Tool" from changing the target brushes' size?

texts:
I am running Adobe Illustrator 2014, Release 2014.0.0 18.0.0 (x64).

I'm using a custom brush with these settings:

Whenever I draw a (pressure sensitive) line using my Wacom Intuos Pen & Touch and then erase a part of that line using the Eraser Tool (SHIFT + E), the remaining parts of that line will become way thicker, almost as if I never used pressure senitivity drawing that line and just drew it using the same brush and my mouse.

Here is an example of the line before and after using the eraser tool on it:

How do I set it up so it does not change the thickness when I remove parts of the line using the Eraser?


texts: I need advice on how to position key elements in a layout

texts:
I'm designing a video game display page. The page which has many items and I'm finding it really difficult to decide on a layout that makes logical sense. Can you provide me with any advice in terms layout and item placement? What works? Best practices?

I'm looking for a way to logically separate the items and create some contrast, while keeping the design attractive.

The purpose of the website is to rent video games online. The purpose of this particular page is to display a single game. Besides the primary function of the page, the desired outcome is for the user to sign-up for the service.

In importance:

Boxshot, title, action menu (buttons and maybe an add to encourage signing up)
Basic info (platform, genre, rating)

I'm not sure what to rank the following items, but they're inter-changeable:

Synopsis, other details, screen shots, video, reviews, question and answers, similar games.


texts: The selection and use of typefaces for the non-designer

texts:
I am looking for a short, concise resource that will help me better choose and use typefaces.

I think the ideal resource would have a thoughtfully chosen list of about a dozen of the most important typefaces. Along with this, it would include basic instructions on how to use these typefaces.


texts: In Photoshop, is there a way to warp an irregular image selected area, but with controllable number of sides (let's say 8), by these boundary lines instead of a general rectangle around the selection (with help of Illustrator if necessary)?


texts: Photoshop: What is the difference between "Replace contents" and "Relink to file"?

texts:
When right-clicking a linked (smart) object in the Layers palette, there are two options that seem to do the same thing:

Replace contents
Relink to file

What is the difference between these two functions?

How can I use a low-res placeholder and replace it correctly with a high-res image while retaining its dimonsions in the final photoshop file?


texts: How do I work with a logo that has what seems like too many colors?

texts:
The company I'm designing a site for has an logo that I must work with. All of my ideas for standard color palettes and layouts are challenged by this logo.. Most [good looking] logos I've worked with and seen have one, two, maybe three colors. This one has six. They look okay within the context of the logo, but I'm having a difficult time translating any of them into the rest of the design. The only thing that's been promising is use of mostly neutral colors, but this leaves the site looking a tad bit boring, in my opinion.

Does anyone have any tips for this sort of situation?

Edit: Thanks for the answers, guys. I'm not comfortable posting the actual logo, but I threw this together to give a better idea of what I'm working with as far as colors and their corresponding dominance-

I probably made the color combination sound worse than it actually is because I've been over-thinking this. My most recent design iteration came out pretty well, but it does incorporate DA01's one-color suggestion which I'll have to run by the client. That opens up a lot of options.


texts: Exporting clipping mask from Illustrator to use in PowerPoint

texts:
I have used a clipping mask in Illustrator on a vector object. When I export as EMF and import in to PowerPoint the mask got released.

Is there any way to export from Illustrator and retain the clipping mask to use in PowerPoint?


texts: Specify new length for a line in LibreCad

texts:
I created a line in LibreCad. The line is 1" long.
I would like to make this line 1.5" long.
How can I enter new length for this line?
Constraint - I know of the lengthen tool, but I do not want to do the measuring then math to figure out how long it needs to be.


texts: How can I reuse an embedded raster image multiple times in Inkscape?

texts:
I have an svg image made in Inkscape with about five raster images embedded in it. Each of these images is used many times (up to 72). Each of these images is small (<1MB), but judging from the file size (>80MB), the images are not reused but embedded over and over again.
Can Inkscape somehow minimize it and have each unique raster embedded only once?


texts: Editing photo dimensions in large batches

texts:
If I had the time, I would go through each and every photo to make sure that the dimensions and quality are pixel perfect. However, I'm in a time crunch, and need to make the couple hundred photos that are 4320 x 3240 into 950x630.

now I could-
1. Upload them into WordPress, uses native image reducing components and J query go from there.
2. Go through each and every photo, reduce file size, and proportion and bring it to Yahoo's PNG processing script.

However, maybe I'm missing a choice or alternative workflow that would allow for processing all of these photos in a clear manner without losing quality or perspectives. Any workflow suggestions?


texts:
I've noticed that many posters, advertisements, etc -- as well as many fonts -- use the lowercase letter "a" as shown in "figure 1". However, I've always hand-written it as what it looks like in "figure 2". Over the last few weeks, I've noticed that I almost never seen the second version in application. It doesn't seem to be a serif/sans issue, as I've seen plenty of sans serif fonts that use a variation of the first "a".

Is there a reason for this? Why are there two very-different versions of the same letter? Is there a reason why the first one is much more prevalent in fonts and graphic-applications?


texts:
I have a program that generates thousands of vector points (just coordinates), the format is not fixed, but it could be something like this:

(2.4785|77.01)
(78.8|9.88)
(45.33|0.2)

I am able to format/convert this coordinates any way necessary.

My question is: How can I import these coordinate data into Illustrator as vector points, so I can work with them properly (give them a stroke, scale them etc.).

The result could be something like this, but this is pixel data. I want something similar to that, only as a vector.

Edit: Each coordinate should result in one dot/circle being rendered in Illustrator, so maybe each coordinate should be made into a line with identical beginning and end in illustrator?

It is a little hard to see in the screenshot, but the lines actually consist of many individual dots which are not always touching.

I generated the dot coordinates with a little java code, if anyone is interested in it, just PM me.

Solution: Jackson Hyde suggested SVG as a possible format in his answer, which turns out to work perfectly. I just generate this SVG file and then import it into Illustrator. There I can select all points and add a stroke and do some other fancy stuff.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd">

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
     xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:ev="http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events"
     version="1.1" baseProfile="full"
     width="20px" height="20px">

<line x1="15.23" y1="2.25" x2="15.23" y2="2.25" />
<line x1="8.1234" y1="7.85" x2="8.1234" y2="7.85" />
[...]

</svg>


texts: Inkscape: why do coordinates in GUI and XML differ?

texts:
In the drawing below I have e.g., a rectangle.

In the GUI, Inkscape says the rectangle is at Y position 0, but in the XML for that element it says 873. Why is that and how do I get the "real" number?

Background: When exporting the image (scripted), I want to add 10 pixels border on all four sides. I thought I could just look for the largest / smallest coordinates in XML and add the 10 pixels for border, but I end up exporting an all white background instead of the image. Working with the XML comes natural here because I get other (meta) information from that.

I can query the image origin with inkscape -X and inkscape -Y and the image dimensions with inkscape -H and inkscape -W. That also gets me the numbers from the GUI. Exporting with these values works. However, that requires forking a new Inkscape process 4 times per image, and hence slows the whole export down. (Lots of images on old hardware.)

This is Inkscape 0.91 on Linux, in case that matters.


texts: Developing a graphic that highlights differences in time between items, task and sub task times

texts:
I'd like to make a visualization that shows the differences in total timelines and variability to complete a task. In total, there are 20 of these items, each with a different total and step times. They all have some variability to them. The "items" are not related to each other, but the "steps" happen sequentially.

Item (20 in total):
Item 1: step 1 (1-3 years), step 2 (1-2 years), step 3 (3-6 years): total: 5-11 years

So far, my thoughts are to do a row bar chart organized from shorter to longer as the following conceptual design. However, this design doesn't show the variability in time for each step or total time.

Which visual aid would you recommend I use to illustrate:

Difference in time between each item
Variability to complete each item and step


texts: How do I create Visio style connectable shapes with text in Inkscape?

texts:
I'd like to use Inkscape to create architecture diagrams like this one:

The connector tool that Inkscape has seem to work okay, from what I see.

What I'm still struggling with is an easy way to add connectable shapes with their own border, background color and possibly shadow that shrink or expand based on their text content.

Also, I'd like to anchor the text content to the middle of the shape.

Is this something that can be done reasonably well in Inkscape or should I use other, more specialized tools for diagrams like this?


texts: Can I use a photo I took that contains real products in my designs for commercial use?

texts:
I have a client that wants a picture of store shelves filled with candy and pop. I would personally take the photo and the photo would be printed without edits and used as the front of a counter for a corporate event at a hotel. The event would go on for 3 days.

If I go to a store and get permission to take the photo, can I legally use that photo for a graphic?

This photo will contain logos of real products.
I will not be selling the photo.
I am located in the United States.


texts: Copying/Duplicating Multiple Layers in GIMP and Inserting Them

texts:
Author of this question. Wasn't registered when I made the question, so I can't mark it as answered or comment on it anymore despite using the same email address. jsbueno's answer on that question was extremely helpful, though.

This is in a similar vein to the last question. I want to select multiple layers and physically copy the layer (not the contents of the layer or the flattened result of the layer) and then insert them elsewhere.

Here's an example of what I want using a different application (Krita), to help visualize:

First, I select the layers...

Then, I copy/duplicate them. Notice how the layers are simply inserted above their current position (aka, below Layer 8). This would be ideal for me.

I can't use layer groups for this, because GIMP treats a layer group as the resultant image of its layers rather than individual layers. This conflicts with certain filters/effects, specifically animation.


texts:
I thought there is only PNG8 and png32, but photoshop has option for PNG24, and fireworks has all 3 options. Which is better for web world?

Also when I export PNG24 with alpha transparency in fireworks, it always adds background color, but in photoshop, it exports with alpha .


texts: How to apply a stroke only to the selected nodes in Inkscape?

texts:
I have this shape.
I want the stroke (outline) to be around only the inner circle cutout, not the whole thing. If I go to the Fill and Stroke tab(Shift+Ctrl+F) and try to apply the stroke paint, it will do it for the whole shape, not the part that I need.
I've tried selecting the individual nodes and applying the stroke to them — won't work.
I can make it work with two different objects, the shape and circle with outline, but I don't want to do that.
Anybody knows how to do this?


texts:
what would you think is the best way to create a gradient effect like this:

Thanks

EDIT: Here is where I have started, I create a gradient within a thin stripe, and then duplicate and move the gradient slightly. but its very time consuming and It's not as smooth.


texts: Are Microsoft Emojis available as a library of SVG/images?

texts:
I am a fan of Microsoft's Emoji design, and would like to use them on my site without worrying about different devices/OS's using their own emoji set. This means using actual Emojis is not an option, and I will instead have to use images.

Does anyone know if they are available as a library of images? SVG sprite sheets would be ideal. My searches have come up empty.


texts: How do I fix the pen tool from jumping from its anchor in Illustrator?

texts:
In Illustrator, for whatever reason, when I try and draw a straight line with the pen tool it jumps from where it is anchored.

It seems as though it's even on the same pixel, but it's not anchored in the same place.

When I do other angles it works fine (mostly). Align to Pixel Grid is unchecked.


texts:
I am currently trying to recreate the "drop shadow" appearance effect as a vector. As suggested by this tutorial, I tried supplementing the benefits of stroke-gradients. While it did work with other objects of my project the following trees are giving me some troubles:

Especially at the ends of the branches artefacts are visible:

When further analysing the mesh illustrator is using for the shadows the problem becomes clear:

the lines of the mesh weirdly follow a circle pattern which isn't much of a surprise given that I made the stroke have round corners, however they kind of seem to be overzealous doing that, actually breaking with the flow those lines should have.

I have also tried changing corner- and cap-properties of the stroke, however to no avail.

Editing the mesh itself also proves to be difficult, up to impossible, since illustrator slows to a crawl whenever I expand the appearance (probably because of the many vector points the mesh creates). Does anybody here maybe know a different approach to creating a vectorised shadow which would be viable for the more complex form of these trees? Or maybe some solution as to how I may avoid the weird mesh behaviour?


texts:
I have followed this video from Lynda http://www.lynda.com/articles/dekes-techniques-drawing-a-perfect-spiral-in-illustrator to try and make a perfect spiral for a logo I am working on. I've done each step but when it comes to the part where I actually bring the bottom lines to join with top ones Illustrator keeps jumping so the lines wont meet. I've looked at the incremental settings incase that was the cause but that is set at the very lowest (0.01 pixels). I've tried turning on and off the "snap to point" option but that doesn't make any difference.

This is as close as I can get and if I move it again it just jumps to the other side....


texts: How to edit multiple layers using the marquee tool?

texts:
I have 3 layers that I edited with blending options (one with R checked off, one with G checked off, one with B checked off, as I'm trying to create a glitch effect).

However, I can't merge these layers, as it would ruin the effects. I did some research and found that it is impossible to merge layers that have blending options without ruining its effects. This is a problem as I want to make a selection in my layers using the marquee tool, use Ctrl+T to free transform it, and move it elsewhere.

Is it possible to do this to multiple layers at once?

I'm trying to recreate Something like this:


texts: How do I make my logo smaller without being blurry?

texts: I'd like to make this logo small enough to use on a Facebook profile photo which is 160 × 160 px. Will I have to redesign it to 160 × 160px?


texts:
I am working on a handwritten cursive font (latin character set) using FontForge, and wish to have glyph variants for a few characters (s, p, ...) at the end of a word, so that there is no spurious joining line for the next character in this situation.

I am very new to this, and I must say I’m stunned by the apparent complexity of doing what I want. I have found a few tutorials that seem to provides some hints (example), but it doesn’t seem that straightforward, and mainly indicates how to do substitution depending on the previous/next chars, but not depending on the character position within the word.

So I have a few questions:

It seems the features I need requires to generate an OpenType font, not TrueType. Am I right?
It seems that this may not be supported by all applications, actually. Or maybe it is, but for Arabic and not Latin, it is not quite clear. Can I assume most common applications (web browsers on most platforms, most graphic-design apps, basic word processors, ...) will actually use my glyph variants appropriately, and not just advanced desktop publishing software like InDesign?
How do you do that with FontForge? I have already created my glyph variants as unmapped glyphs (with Unicode value −1) and named them something like s.fina, p.fina, etc... What do I need to do next to indicate they must be used at the end of a word, instead of the normal glyphs?


texts: Uploaded pdfs are blurry on LinkedIn profile page

texts: On my LinkedIn profile page (under the Summary), uploaded pdfs look blurry. Individually, when selected, the quality is fine. Files are created in InDesign CS5 using Adobe preset "High Quality Print", following recommendation by Adobe. LinkedIn tech support says the issue is that the pdfs are not of high quality but is not specific on what individual settings should be when creating pdfs. Posts on LinkedIn help section note that others have had the same problem, but there are no corresponding answers. Can anyone help? Thank you.


texts: Can a client use my designs on products I do not provide?

texts: I've developed several designs for military units over the past few years for one particular store on a military installation which is a not for profit entity.  Most of the designs were developed for collector coins and t-shirts which involve military units.  My company used to provide many items for this client.  Now my client has found services cheaper.  I noticed the designs used on the t-shirts, cups, mugs, etc... are the designs I've developed and created.  Since we were providing a retail item for this client, they were only charged hourly for the labor involved in developing artwork for that specific item.  I did not think it would be fair or reasonable to sell the rights to the artwork at that point.  I have no written contract with this client.  After noticing the logos on most of the clients retail items in their store, I've asked for a sit down meeting.  What kind of advise can you give me relating to the written contract?


texts: How to create a halftone pattern on a transparent png image?

texts: I tried searching for a tutorial but I couldn't find a way to create a halftone pattern on a png file with a transparent background. I am looking for the output file to be a transparent file as well.


texts: How can I delete part of a ring in photoshop cs6?

texts: I want to delete parts of a ring but I want to do it precisely (with photoshop CS6),  example in pictures: (How can I do this easily?)


texts: Is it better to save AI pages as pdf and then export them as jpg files for input into master indesign document? (Lots of photos, minimal text)


texts: How do you use a non-alpha channel selection with basic paint tools?

texts:
Get your selection > Save to channel > Set channel as selection

How do you use things like pen, paintbrush, fill, exc. at this point?

When I go to use them they are in my edit history but I don't see it making changes to the picture.


texts: export from Illustrator to PDF - text not selectable

texts:
We need to export a 2-page file from Illustrator CS6 to PDF.

The issue is that when a user opens this PDF file (Adobe Acrobat Reader DC) they can't select any of the text (Selection tool for text and images).

We can't discover what we are doing wrong.

Can you help us?


texts: How can I change Photoshop's Extrusion Depth unit of measurement?

texts:
I have created the following image, by heading to 'Windows > 3D > Extrusion > Create' within Photoshop:

I would now like to reduce its Extrusion Depth, using Millimeters as the unit of measurement.  At present, the Extrusion Depth is set at 224 as per the below screenshot:

I can only assume this is a Pixel Measurement.  Is this the case and if so, is there a way to change its Unit of Measurement?


texts:
How can I draw sugar with a pencil to get a realistic look?

I tried it like this (it's not ready yet):

Is it better to use stripes/dots or is there a better way?


texts: I am trying to plot a parametric curve thanks to the the render extension. The curve is called a "trochoid". The thing I don't understand is why the curve is not "perfect", did I do something wrong in the parameters ?


texts: I am creating a large book in InDesign. Part of the book is composed of PDF ads that have been provided to me. Every time I place these PDF ads in InDesign they're blurry. I have tried saving them as JPGs and PNGs. But I am getting a similar product. I have tried adjusting the display settings in both preferences and view. I have tried printing the document to see if maybe it printed okay, but each time the file is extremely blurry. Why is this happening?


texts: How to set a background color to a text layer in Gimp so that the background automatically resizes as you type and the text changes size?

texts:
I want to add some text to an image in Gimp with the Text Tool, such that the background of the text layer (a rectangle) is of a fixed color instead of the default transparent background to make the text more readable.
I can get it to work by duplicating the layer and using bucket then merging layers, or by removing alpha and color mapping, but those methods are cumbersome, and if I want to edit the text further, I have to start from scratch.
Is there a better method where I can just type and have the background the color that I want it and still be able to edit the text freely, i.e. without rasterizing the text first, and have the background of my chosen color automatically resize to the text?
I saw this question: Can I change the default Gimp transparent background to white? but I don't see how to change the fill type of a text layer, which gets automatically created when I start using the Text Tool.
Tested in Gimp 2.10.18.


texts: Looking for a free program where I can move a selection in multiple layers at the same time

texts: Is there a free software that can do this? So far I have looked at paint.net and GIMP, both of which unfortunately do not support this feature. All help is appreciated!


texts: Why should I ever use Unicode’s special characters for Roman numerals?

texts:
This is to answer a question which arose in the comments on this question on the Unicode characters for Roman numerals:

  Why is this necessary or preferred over the usual way of typing ai, ai-ai, ai-ai-ai, vee-ai, etc.?

To start from the beginning, in Unicode’s Number Forms block, there exist code points for Roman Numerals that are at first glance very similar in appearance to standard capital latin letters or combinations thereof (U+2160 – U+217F). For example, U+2165 (Roman Numeral Six) looks very much like VI (Latin Capital Letter V and Latin Capital Letter I).

Thus, the question arises why one should not use the latter to represent those digits and, e.g., type Louis VII instead of Louis Ⅶ. Obviously, using no special characters avoids compatibility issues with fonts that do not support them. But even if I know that the text will be rendered with a font that does support these characters, why should I bother using them?


texts:
I'm trying to rotate a color in a photo of a house with quite a bit of shading to white (actually, a slight gray would be better).
For example, in this photo taken from a website:

How would I change the color of the blue shutters and Adirondack chairs to white, to match the window trim?
I can easily make the shutters and chairs to pretty much any other color using Color Rotate.  For example, I can make them red by setting to source to ~215-255 and destination to ~0-17.
.
I have attempted to adjust the gray mode, but not yet gotten it to work.


texts:
I am totally new to inkscape and can't figure it out how to solve this problem and I could not find help anywhere.

I need to split this SVG image which is only one path into regions as drawn.

How can I do this?

Edit: I want that each part outlined with black to be separated into another path because curently everything is a single path.


texts: Related to this question, how can I set up or select no calligraphic brush? Thanks all


texts: How can I test the responsiveness of my non-hosted website on my phone?

texts:
I wonder if there is a similar tool to Skala Preview (it is for live preview of photoshop work on your iPhone via Wifi) to test my web design (index.html and its assets folder) onto mobile phones (iPhone, Android and WinPhone). I need to check that viewport, mediaqueries and other design questions are working as expected...

I already use Resizer but it is not to test directly on mobile devices, I don't want an emulator. I have tried Dropbox and Drive, but that last one doesn't work on mobiles and both are so tricky of use. I am not a developer and I don't understand the most of those strange languages beyond HTML and CSS... But I can't believe there's no an easy way to do what I am asking for. It shouldn't be so difficult!

Thank you in advance :)


texts: In Fireworks CS5, How to hide all fills/strokes and show only paths (wire view)?

texts: I have a complex vector graphic with overlapped shapes and I've been looking for a View mode that allows me to see only the paths. I guess it's called wire view or path view, but I can't find that option.


texts: How to axis-align concatenated images with ImageMagick's montage command?

texts:
I have this image:

And I want to tile the image so that the result looks like this:

I need this to be performed for a time-sequence of images, and there are a lot of them, so I want to script the procedure. I have tried convert +append and montage but I can't seem to get the result.

The command

montage -tile 2x -geometry 800x800 lent-scaled.png  lent-scaled.png  lent-scaled.png  result.png

results with:

Is it possible to have this kind of axis-aligned tiling with ImageMagick at all? I didn't find any such hints in the Montage documentation.


texts: Is there a way that I can place a watermark on the right bottom of multiple images, no matter what dimension the images are?

texts:
Is there any way that I can place a watermark on the right bottom of multiple images, no matter what dimension the images are? I have tried using Photoshop Scripts > image processor, but it works only for images of same dimension. I want to put watermark on multiple images of different dimensions. This is the output i got.

For the first image the watermark got placed correctly, but for the second image watermark got distracted. As you can clearly see the dimensions are different. Please suggest me some solution.

thanks in advance :)


texts: How do you convert a scan/jpeg biro sketch into an SVG file without losing detail?

texts:
The picture attachment is a SVG file which I uploaded in PNG format.

The detail of the SVG is really good and my vinyl plotter is able to sketch it.

I would like to know how one converts a sketch such as the picture into an SVG file.


texts: What's the meaning of two horizontal or vertical rectangles in the layers panel? Like in the screenshot below.


texts: Easy way to create text with rectangle around it in Illustrator?

texts: I know I can create rectangle and put inside a text but is it any easy way to get text with rectangle around it?


texts: Is there a way to make Adobe Illustrator's artboard with specific color?

texts:
Is there a way to make Adobe Illustrator's artboard with specific color whenever open new document with out making a path?
I have been searching the entire illustrator settings for this, but didn't found what I'm looking for.
Thank you :)


texts:
I'm creating an iOS app and have a couple custom icons for my navigation bar.  The first one is a plus sign and that came out pretty well.  I also have a refresh icon and it's not as sharp as the plus sign.  Obviously having a circular shape and having to do anti-aliasing play into this somewhat but I feel like the refresh icon should be way sharper than it is.

I'm not an expert in Photoshop or graphic design so I'm looking for tips on how to get the refresh icon to be a little clearer and crisper.  Here's how I went about creating it:

1)  Started with background elements in Photoshop
2)  Found refresh icon I liked that had royalty free licensing.
3)  Took icon that was in .png format and imported it into Photoshop.
4)  Did color replace of icon from original gray to current white using the color replace tool.
5)  Saved out the white refresh icon to .png file.
6)  When back to my other Photoshop document (with background, etc) and did a 'File' -> 'Place' and placed the white refresh .png into the document.  Did not resize at all.
7)  Added identical stroke effect to refresh icon as the plus sign icon.

I know there's got to be a better way to do this to get a better result.  Do I just have to bite the bullet and go to Illustrator and try to draw my own?  I don't have a vector representation of that icon I found - only Photoshop and .png.

Any tips would be much appreciated.  Attached is the screenshot of the navigation bar with both icons.


texts: How to subtract one vector from another in Sketch?

texts: The mic is a series of strokes, and the circle is a drawn circle in sketch. I am trying to make the mic symbol transparent with the rest of the circle filled in. How do I do that?


texts: How to import a picture file to an existing psd in Photoshop CS5?

texts:
I need to import other picture file to an existing psd in Photoshop frequently. However,  I do only know one complicated way to do this:

Open the file with Photoshop.
Windows->Float All in Windows
With Move select the imported file and drag it to the psd file with mouse.

This method require floating all in windows. Are there any other better method to import picture file in Photoshop CS5?

Thanks.


texts: which logo you think is better for my new graphic design studio called D106?

texts:
These are the logo options for a new graphic design/advertising agency . I have came up with two options.

The first one implies communication, approachability, the second one is a bit more design related and ''block''.

Both options are meant to be very dynamic identities where the applications, colors and usage of the logo will vary although because of the nature of each option these application have two different directions.

I am looking for an opinion on which one would be better. I am divided between the two of them.


texts:
I am doing some freelance work for a client and she has asked me to illustrate a map visualising Africa and Europe.

She is including the illustration into a book she is writing in the hopes of eventually publishing it.

Is it okay if i base my illustration on open source maps or do i need to purchase stock images instead?

Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks!


texts: How to make photoshop pencil tool 8x8 pixel square

texts: I was making some pixel art and at some point I doubled the image size so now in order to continue to make my nice squares I want the pixel tool to be an 8x8 pixel square tip. Is it possible?


texts: How can I create a shape in Illustrator which follows a path in descending order size?

texts: I want to create something similar to the first image, but the angle of the star should be same.


texts: What is the name of this kind of character illustration?

texts: I have seen lots of UI designer nowadays including this kind of illustration i want to know the name of this style so that i can also learn and try this in my designs.


texts: adobe illustrator to pdf gives strokes around path

texts:
I exported my AI project to pdf and saw some weird white transparent lines between shape

left is from ai right one is from pdf (look closely at hearth shape)


texts:
Wikipedia defines counter then gives examples.
Then it proceeds to give examples of open counter without having given any definition of it:

In typography, a counter or aperture is the area of typeface anatomy that is entirely or partially enclosed by a letter form or a symbol (the counter-space/the hole of). Letters containing closed counters include A, B, D, O, P, Q, R, a, b, d, e, g, o, p, and q. Letters containing open counters include c, f, h, i, s etc.

So, what is the proper definition of open counter?
To illustrate, could you give a handful examples of characters that contain no open counters?
Is it synonymous with aperture? Fonts and Encodings, O’Reilly 2007 says on page 4:

The counter, which is the inner part of a letter, for example, the space inside an 'o' and 'O', a 'D', etc. The counter of an 'e' is commonly called an eye. When the letter is open at one end, as is the case with 'n' we speak instead of an aperture.

I have drawn my interpretation of open counter in green below, is it correct?


texts: Background colours are off on sketch cloud's prototype

texts:
when trying to use the prototype option on sketch cloud my background, which is white, suddenly becomes black. This happens for all my screens. How can I fix this?
(This black that you see in the picture is meant to be white)
Thanks,