texts: What are some of the benefits of having a Mac vs a Windows PC in a design environment?

texts:
I work in a b2b business and everyone here is on Windows PCs. A co-worker is pushing to move the design department from Windows to Mac. I worked on a Mac about 15 years ago when I worked for an advertising agency, but since then have worked on Windows because the companies I've work for have been all Windows.

What are the advantages as a graphic designer to working on a Mac.

One is having access to Sketch (Mac design program only)

What are some other advantages that I could look at?


texts:
After struggling with a different problem because I had never used Illustrator before, I finally managed to do all the shapes very closely to the originals in the destroyed image:

However, the question there extended for so long in the comments because Illustrator is, in my opinion, a devilishly confusing application (really!), that I totally forgot about the light explosion — that's an awful name, I know — behind/below the shapes. And some more important unrelated issues contributed to my hiatus in this matter as well.

All the four instances of the shape above have different sizes and are in different positions/rotations, and that has been taken care of with Illustrator. Here, my version of a different instance:

But, in general, the light effects are pretty much the same, just varying in size to follow their main shape's dimensions.

If these shapes can actually emit light it would be a bonus, but not necessarily a must. The first, for example, emits light from the bottom which illuminates the surfaces of the character's arm right below it, but because it's a concept art, that light has been made manually and thus it is disproportional, distorted, out of position, with wrong colours...

How could I do that? I'd prefer with Photoshop, but if Illustrator is required again, I'll try


texts: Adobe Illustrator 5: When I move an object right it moves up?

texts:
I have Adobe Illustrator 5 on Mac. Everything was normal before but now some document level transformation settings have changed.

Arrow keys don't work as they should. When I move selected object right it moves up and same different behavior for other keys.

When I write text it's by default 90 degrees.

Any idea which option has messed things up?


texts: How do I achieve a curved line that gets thicker at one end in Sketch

texts:
I'm using Sketch to create a logo and I need to draw a curved line with one end thicker than the other.
I've tried using multiple lines but it looks awful.
This is what I'm trying to achieve:

Any ideas or tips?


texts: How can I create a half-circle patterned background in photoshop?

texts:
Have a look at this website: http://owltastic.com/extras.html - in particular, look at the topmost part of the page. You can see a small background the bottom of which forms half circles. The same effect can be seen below the own in the "work with me" box.

I would like to create a similar background using photoshop.

Can anyone recommend a tutorials or technique that can help me create something similar? I'm very new to Photoshop.


texts: What's the name of this humanist sans-serif font used for the Anthony Chabot Regional Park signage?

texts:
I'm developing an app, and I would like to use this font:

Does anybody know what it is called?


texts:
New to Indesign, I cannot open this font file. AdobeFnt13.lst

Are these standard adobe fonts.

I found this file on github https://github.com/witness/Obtaining-Informed-Consent/blob/master/Media/Document%20fonts/AdobeFnt13.lst and it is simply a listing of fonts.


texts: After opening PSD from the internet images became huge

texts:
After I downloaded a PSD and worked with it for a bit I noticed that trivial JPEG's and PNG's are HUGE...

Is there a setting it toggled or maybe it's a virus?

This is one image

Notice it's huge 876kb!

If I copy and paste it then save I get the same size.

If I exit photoshop. Open it again and then paste the image I get this:

Which is 18kb for the exact same image. Notice that reopening and resaving the original is still broken after a photoshop restart.


texts: how to change the workspace background color without changing the fill color of the objects?

texts:
how can I change the workspace background (artboard) color without changing the fill color of the objects?

I'm new in this program and want to work with a grey color in the workspace (white as default) but when I change it, it change all the whites colors in the scene, it means that when I want something white I can't because it's grey now.


texts:
If I'm given resources by a client, should I look up the licenses of each one of those resources?

Can this affect me in any way legally?


texts: How to blend text to background so it looks burned in paint.net?

texts:
I'm working on artwork for which currently looks like this:

It currently has 3 layers:

The white background which I'll delete later.
The image of the photo.
The text.

Currently the text is just placed on top of the image of the photo and they don't really blend well. I'd like to achieve an effect close to what you see below:

What can I do to blend the text better on the photo image?


texts: Can't find a font with this slanted 'A'?

texts: I'm trying to match this font to recreate a business card, but I can't find it anywhere. I've tried font matching it on a range of websites but it comes out suggesting nothing or the wrong font. Does anyone know which it is?


texts: Why does the Pencil tool make pixels transparent, and show the background color over current pixels?

texts:
I recently had a problem with Photoshop I haven't had before. When I draw with the Pencil Tool on, or next to, an existing pixel, it makes the color the background color. This started yesterday.

Today, when I started working, the same problem still occurs, and now my pixels are all semi-transparent. I don't recall clicking any buttons that I don't usually, and haven't done anything new with the software.

https://youtu.be/Y_fZrhC1m2M

I added a Youtube link to my problem (its awful quality, my computer is trash) but you can see that my pixels are semi-transparent, where you can see the color and the background squares. You can also see how when I draw over lines, the cyan background color starts drawing instead of the reddish color thats selected as the foreground color.


texts: Sizes of images used as Logos on Websites

texts:
This might sound off-topic, but really this is the closest related StackExchange site I could find.

I'm developing a site based on the Porto theme. The documentation is really nice, but this is left out. This is only minorly relevant.

I'm unsure of some things. There's a lot that's bugging me in: Theme->General->Logo, Icons.

What size should the uploaded logo be (I have it in vector format)? Should it be in a higher resolution or should it be in it's native resolution (the resolution in which it's going to be shown)? Should I just upload it in the largest available quality, and let it be downscaled (will this affect performance?)? How should my Apple Retina logo be different?

I have another question regarding site icons - favicons. What resolutions should my apple icons be? In a large resolution or in their native resolution?

What should my Apple iPhone Icon (recommended: 57px X 57px), Apple iPhone Retina Icon (recommended: 114px X 114px), Apple iPad Icon (recommended: 72px X 72px) and Apple iPad Retina Icon (recommended: 144px X 144px) image sizes be? Should I upload images in the recommended format or just upload a higher-quality one and let it get scaled down (will this affect performance)?


texts: Why do pixel dimensions seem different between Photoshop and my OS?

texts:
I'm trying to get the image on the left a size that will fit inside an image mail merge I have created in Microsoft Word. The length for the image "box" in Word seems to be 358px long when I measure it, while the length of the image in Photoshop is over 400px. I'd like to get the 400px down to 358px, but I'm also having some issues with resizing the image.

Anyway, I'm wondering why the image, once added to the mail merge, not only still fit in the Word image box, but it also comes out as less in size than the total length of the box, i.e. Too small?

Bit of a mismatch and I can't seem to fix it :/ Any help most appreciated.


texts: How do so many app menus get that finished textured look?

texts:
I don't know how to describe it but how do you create that nice textured look with css?

Seen in the background:

Also seen a bit on the left hand dark navigation of:

Thanks for your help

Follow up:

1) Is one method (css/or whole image) better suited for mobile?

2) Could you link to a quality source for these small bitmaps?

3) Is the a pure css method of achieving this noise effect?

Last Follow Up:

1a) You mentioned the CSS transformations have a much heavier toll on RAM. Is this a 1 off price to pay when the layout is initially rendered? (assuming no zooming or animation of the div) Or will it continue to to be a drain on system resources as long as it is present?

1b) This is a hard one to answer, in a low ram environment how cautious should I be about adding another div to my project. (assuming no crazy css transformation or excessive box shadowing) Should I think that every div makes an impact? or every 10? or 100?


texts: I made several styles of the same font family. How can I make one that translates it into a series of dots? (Resulting in a (round-)dot trace font)


texts: How can I make this selected object cut the objects in the background?

texts:
So I'm designing transfer decals for a club. The selected portion in white needs to be transparent, but it also needs to cut out the background shapes in order to have a transparent border for the font below the selection. I've tried a "knockout" tutorial but that didn't give me the results I wanted.

Thanks!


texts: What is the font used on the computer in "The Mother of All Demos"?

texts:
Any idea what this font is?

See more of it:
http://archive.org/details/XD300-23_68HighlightsAResearchCntAugHumanIntellect


texts: Illustrator CC: Align to pixel grid is on but to no effect

texts:
Tech specs:
Illustrator CC 19.2.1, Windows 7, HP ZBook 15 w/NVidia graphics. External monitors, mouse etc.

Problem:
I want to use the feature "Align new objects to pixel grid". I create a new document, check the appropriate box "Align new..." and add a rectangle to my document. It is not aligned to pixel grid. The checkbox in Transform panel is not checked. Clicking the flyout menu in Transform panel reveals that the checkbox "Align new objects to..." is indeed checked.

However: using say the pen tool, objects are aligned to pixel grid!

Am I missing something? Are there other steps involved in enabling the above feature? Is it not available for rectangle tool? That would be quite hilariuos.

Ok I found some more info (must have been googling the wrong words):
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2031120

Apparently a rectangle is a "live shape" that does not align to pixel grid automatically. Now that's what I call a great feature.


texts: How to make the network graph more balanced?

texts:
I want to illustrate the network graph of a person. The idea is that the network consists of 3 types of people, therefore there are 3 kinds of color and face. The persona is one of the types, so its circle is largest and in the center. The sizes of the circles represent the importance of that person to the persona. So the first level circles is 50% smaller than the center circle, and the second level is 50% smaller than the first level circles.
Somehow I don't feel the graph is well-proportioned. Maybe the center circle is too large? Would moving the notes further help?
Overall, is there any thing that you feel like can be improved as well?

Here is the SVG file


texts: I have a need to use one layer's contents as a selection for another layers contents. example: select layer 1 which is a circle  - use that circle selection marque to select smaller objects on layer 2 that only fall within the circle selection. Of course, we've been doing this for eons in photoshop. I have the whole astute graphics suite but have not found a tool that does this yet. Any ideas?


texts: Is there a name/formulae for the hue-circle scaling Adobe is using with "Kuler"

texts:
It's not immediately obvious, but when you visit Adobe Color aka "Kuler", you'll notice that the hue of the color-circle is not evenly spaced:

As you can see in the image above, a regular hue spacing of 120° should result in Red, Green and Blue, when starting at 0°. Over at Adobe, there's a much bigger span between yellow and magenta, covering almost 180°. So if we point our "triad" at red, we won't get Green and Blue, but a Yellow and something closer to Teal instead.

That discrepancy is also reflected in the numerical-output. If you switch to the "Triad" mode and choose "HSV" as color-mode, you can easily observe this in the generated hue-values.

Point one "arm" of your triad to red (eg. Hue = 0) and you'll get hues of 59 and 203 for the other arms. So this is not even close to a 120° spacing. It gets more regular when you select a hue of 180, resulting in 316 and 50 for the other arms.

This phenomenon is also visible in the image, the hue-circle seems to be stretched at the orange colors and compressed at Green/Cyan/Blue

Is there a name for the effect that can be observed here? I've looked around for hue scaling but wasn't able to find anything.
Since I was trying to replicate the color-harmonics in code, any mathematical explanation of what is going on here would be highly appreciated too.


texts: Can I Copy an InDesign page along with the master page?

texts:
I am trying to make a calendar, so I have downloaded a simple calendar template (InDesign Markup Document) which has 12 pages for each month

The 12 pages contains just text for each month with all the days on and the master contains the grid that the days go into.

I want to be able to copy everything on the page including the details from the master page and then paste them together into a new document.

No layers are locked but it won't let me select anything from the master page when I am on, let's say, page 1.

Is there a way to copy everything on that page or merge/ "expand" the master to be separate on every page?


texts: Using placed Illustrator file as clipping mask in InDesign

texts:
I'm having an issue working out how to create a clipping mask with placed (not copy and pasted) illustrator artwork.

I have an icon set that I manage in illustrator. I create an artboard per icon and then place individual icons into InDesign via the 'place... > show import options' to select the artboard specific to the icon I want. I have a single layer enabled on the placed artboard which is a simple shape layer, black fill, no outlines, simplified as much as possible (all strokes outlined beforehand in illustrator and 'unionized').

The trouble I am having is applying colour plus blending modes to the icon. My current solution is to enable an inner-glow big enough that it acts in a similar way to a 'colour overlay' layer in Photoshop, but it feels a bit of a hack. Plus, it doesn't allow me to zero the opacity of the artwork if I want to apply a blend mode to the colour overlay for example.

Is there a way to do this? I know I can create an inverse of the desire effect by:

Grouping the placed icon with a filled rectangle set to the desired
    colour/blend mode
Arrange the filled rect behind the placed icon
Setting the icon opacity to 0%
Setting the containing group to 'knockout group'

I would rather not simply copy and paste the artwork from illustrator as the icons are being modified frequently so it's a much smoother workflow to simply update links.

I've tried to set the layer in Illustrator to a clipping mask but couldn't seem to get this working. I feel I must be missing something simple but googling is bringing up nothing specific.

Edit: Since posting I've tried adding an additional step to the 'knockout group' method described above where I have an additional layer in my illustrator source file which includes an inverse version of the icon. I then follow the steps labelled above.

This works, but has the issue that the icons render badly (aliasing) whilst editing in InDesign, and therefore need to be exported to PDF prior to seeing the final effect. This slows down my workflow too much to make it usable.

Also, as requested I've included:

An example of the icons I wish to colourise and blend, laid out on
their source Illustrator artboards.
An example of the inversed icons in illustrator
An example of the two methods I've used in InDesign. The left icon
colourised using 'inner glow' method and the right icon colourised
using 'knockout group' method with a white tint layer set to overlay
blend. You can see the poor rendering/aliasing.


texts: Export objects to separate files in Illustrator

texts:
Is there a way to export objects to separate files in Illustrator?

The output I want is AI or vector files, not raster images.
The objects are not on separate artboards, and I am looking for a solution that does not require them to be. (Putting the objects into separate art boards would take as much time as copying and pasting them into separate documents, which is what I am trying to streamline.)

My use case: I am designing characters in a font, and each font contains upwards of a hundred characters. I need to get each character into a separate file in order to bulk import them into my font program.


texts: I've problem on Bearing of a ligature with next letter typed after it in Unicode font

texts:
I'm new to font developing with FontForge; I'm sorry if I use any technical words incorrectly.

I've created a ligature with two glyphs. When the glyphs are typed separately they maintain the spacing between letters. But the issue occurs where the ligature should be intersecting with next letter: there is no kerning applied in anywhere in the project.

Can anybody explain why is it happening and how can I prevent it??

In the above image you can clearly see if I type "Tk" or "kT" it looks good - the ligatures occur as expected. But when I type "Tik" the Ti allows 'k' to intersect but none of the glyph beyond there, left or right boundary box/Bearing and I did not apply any kerning between them.

I don't want this to happen.

Does anyone here know how to prevent this?

Thanks in advance...


texts: Exporting to PNG w/ Transparency "Screen"

texts:
I'm going a little crazy already,

I was playing with Illustrator's transparency options and came up with an interesting result using the option "Transparency" and "Screen" as in the image:

Now my drama comes, I wanted to export this result as final, that is, without the background, the object of the lines and circles with this stylized "background".

I've tried everything (almost everything), masks, export options and used all Pathfinder options, the result is always the same, the object with the lines returns to the "normal" state.

Help!


texts: How can a novice designer further their culture of typography?

texts:
In my teaching I've encountered a problem that is recurring among new students. They often aren't aware of when fonts were created, if they are overused (Brush Script, Comic Sans MS, Papyrus...) but the fonts are available on the school machines so they are as good as any to a novice. I give them the comment when I see them using a font that I think it's inappropriate obviously (or if I feel other designers would make fun of them, to spare them from seeming unknowledgeable later on...), but I'd like to suggest different ways they can improve their culture of typography.

A few things I've come up with other than giving feedback and communicating my passion for typography:

Subscribing to MyFonts news, which showcases examples of recent type
or looking at the best free fonts of 2014+ from Awwwards to get an idea of what contemporary type looks like.
Providing the link to 100 best typefaces of all time
(http://www.100besttypefaces.com/), from which I especially like that
there is a blurb about history for each font.
Inciting them to collect their own samples from their surroundings and discussing them.


texts:
I created this (partial) logo at least 3 years ago. I'm a programmer, not a designer, so when the site was complete all the image files were handed off to an actual designer. The designer has left the company, and no one can find the image files. They now want to create new materials using the same font, but I have no idea what font I used back then.

Can anyone either

help me identify it,
recommend a similar one?

They're particularly interested in matching the proportion of the font and the lower-case "l", which is somewhat serify, even though it's a sans font.

I've tried whatthefont.com, but it doesn't find anything.


texts: Live Paint work for a responsive website?

texts: Do vector drawings colored in with Illustrator's Live Paint work as expected for use in a responsive website?


texts: The proper way to apply a gradient to a selection in Gimp

texts:
In Gimp 2.10, I have initiated a bank canvas.  I press R to use my rectangle tool to draw a rectangle.  I then press G to apply a gradient over my selection.

Scenario 1

From this point, if I select none, the gradient no longer sits in my rectangle selection, but is applied to the entire image.

Scenario 2

From this point, if I select Add Layer Mask, and then select none, the gradient effect that I used over my shape renames on my layer.

So my question is this...do I have to add a layer mask, whenever I want a gradient effect to take shape of my selection and stay on that layer? If not, what step was I missing?


texts: How can I make Color picker on a Macbook Pro select the proper color?

texts:
I'm using the standard color picker on my Mac to find out which colors are used on websites or images.

When I look in the Chrome developer tools, the css is saying the color should be #f9a034, but when I use the color picker on that same location I get a color #ff9c00.

The color picker is set on Display in sRGB

I have also tried the other color settings in the color picker, but I can't get the right result.

What can I do to fix this?


texts:
I want to make a text that looks as handwritten as possible. I’m using InDesign but I’m happy to try other programs if they can solve my problem.

The text should look like it’s written by a human. I already played around with certain handwriting fonts and spacing, tilt etc but when printed it still looks too accurate, too precise.
Is there a way to make a variable font size, variable tilt and make the whole thing look more ‘sloppy’? I think the thing that would help the most is if the text lines themself wouldn’t be perfect straight lines but uneven and slightly off. (Variable baseline)

Has anybody done this before and know of some tricks?

(Btw: to just write it by hand is not an option)


texts: (Font identification) Univers-like sans-serif

texts:
A few days ago, I went to the Round Tower and happened to see an exhibition called Natural State of Mind. The exhibition itself was rather uninspiring, but the font they used for signs and things was highly intriguing and very pleasant to the eye.
I took a couple of pictures of it, hoping to identify it on WhatTheFont or IdentiFont—but no dice. IdentiFont could do no better than a few versions of Akzidenz, and WhatTheFont suggested four different versions of Univers and one of Zurich. Both of those are fairly close, but clearly not right at all.
Does anyone here know what this font is called?

Defining features

The 90° angle at the end of the legs of lowercase x and uppercase A and R
The only subtly rounded corners
The tapering shape of the spurs on lowercase ɡ, a, b, d, p, q, etc.
The relatively close gap between the end of the ‘sticking-out curve’ and the ‘body’ of lowercase a and ɡ
The square shape of the dot over the i and the comma

Uppercase (bold)

Lowercase (book [?])


texts: Illustrator CC 2018: How to merge two ellipses with curved path

texts:
I have two ellipses of different radius and I want to merge them with two curved paths that connects the ellipses.

1) I have tried shape builder tool as per this question Illustrator: How to merge to circles and rectangle in illustrator from this sketch to make a blob?
by using 2 circles touching the ellipses, but the space between the ellipses is not getting selected. If I intersect the ellipses with 2 circles then the shape builder tool is working.

2) I tried metaball script with the 2 ellipses, but was unsuccessful.

3) I also tried cutting the 2 ellipses into two halves by scissor tools and tried to unite the halves using Pathfinder unite, it did not work out.


texts: Shortcut to change the size of a rectangle in Illustrator?

texts:
Suppose I have a rectangle, and would like to resize both the width and the height by increasing 4mm,
Any idea if I could accomplish that through a shortcut / action / JS script?
I tried to record that directly with an action, yet that does not allow a an increment to the size.

Thank you for your help.


texts: How can I save a design in high resolution?

texts: I have created a logo for a friend's business and they're wanting to get a sign made. The person they have contacted to make the sign is saying they need a bigger version of my design and in high resolution.  I don't know how to make it high resolution or make it bigger, other than just increasing the size in illustrator.


texts:
What is really the smallest possible font size I can use for A1 poster which is not going to be viewed from a great distance (its a genealogy diagram, mostly for studying from up close).

I need to fit some portraits and additional information, but also retain at least a bit of reading comfort.

A1 is a beast, so I think it could be even a quite small font size (like 12-11?) - but I dont want any ill surprise during the printing process, hence my question.


texts: How to I create these lines with shadows?

texts:
I've been trying to create these lines as seen in this picture here but with no luck:

I have found a few posts that are similar like this: How to create this fading shadow effect in photoshop?, and I've tried to follow the answers but this design asks for a very subtle white shadow which I can't seem to achieve.


texts:
I am just wondering if there is a way to easily edit this text.

It appears to be an image??


texts: Why does Helvetica [Neue] look absolutely horrible in Illustrator?

texts:
Helvetica has always looked horrible in Illustrator CS4+ on my Mac, including all OS versions, regardless of size or units. Below are screenshots of Helvetica at 12px, 24px, and 36px.

Is there a way to counteract this? Other fonts look great, but Helvetica (Neue or otherwise) always looks horrible, as if subpixel rendering is off.


texts:
I'm trying to make an isometric version of this

The bulges and the dips aren't too hard themselves, however I'm struggling to find a way of warping the isometric grid lines in the right way

Does anyone have any suggestions?


texts: How to make layer effects following transformations

texts:
I'm creating a shape with a simple radial glow effect.

Now I want to add some perspective, with Cmd-T, then right clic and "perspective".

When I'm done, all layer effects are recalculated and my radial effect has no more perspective. Any other solution than pixelise the layer ?

What i want :

What I get :


texts: I was asked to design a 3 feet x 10 feet banner but I'm not sure what resolution and what not

texts:
I'm making the design in photoshop. I was asked by my employer to design a 3ft x 10 ft banner for an event. It's my first time designing a banner. I was thinking if I could use 3 inches by 10 inches canvas to work on at a 768 resolution(ppi).

Is it still going to look alright after printing as the image is going to stretch 12 times the original working size?


texts: Vertical rhythm/baseline grid in Web Design

texts:
I recently read some articles about the importance of good vertical rhythm/using a baseline grid for good typography in web design.  I decided to try using a baseline grid, like the 960 grid pictured below, as the background image for a web design/WordPress theme I am currently working on.

I am finding it very difficult to get everything lined up properly within the grid. I managed to get everything within the vertical grid at the default text-size(16px), but as I start messing with the size of headings, adding images, etc, items do not always stay aligned properly on the grid.

I would like to know how to improve my typography using vertical rhythm.  Does anybody have any tips or techniques I should use?


texts: How to increase size of all glyphs in FontForge?

texts: I opened a font file in FontForge. I want to enlarge all glyphs by 20%. I tried Element, Transformation, and Transform, but they did not work for me. How can I accomplish this? I am using FontForge 11.21.


texts: Pantone TPX to PMS color conversion with accuracy. Is it possible?

texts:
I have been searching around to find a program that will convert Pantone TPX to PMS so my printer can test some screen printing.  I am not having much luck. I have come to this community to ask if all colors from other Pantone libraries can be converted to PMS.  My two colors that need to be converted to PMS are:

PANTONE 19-0201 TPX Asphalt
PANTONE 15-0146 Green Flash

Online conversion links are appreciated.


texts: How to apply a continuous gradient to a shape with text

texts:
I'm trying to apply a left-to-right gradient to a simple image to an image such as the one below:

I've learned how to apply the gradient to text, but I don't know how to extend it to the bullseye illustration on the right. I've tried many permutations of things, such as grouping the items, expanding them, creating the type outline, using the gradient tool, etc., but none of them seem to work.

How do I do this?


texts: How to blur all text in an image automatically

texts:
Is there a way to blur just the text in any image, automatically?

I have a lots of PNG images with text(s) in them. And I have to blur all of it from all of them.

Is there a way to automate this?


texts: Help hide path outline for the pen tool in B-Spline mode in Inkscape

texts:
I need to be able hide the red path outline for the pen tool in BSpline mode as it starts to overlap the blue line and causes annoyance when you're trying to draw small, accurate paths and don't want to zoom in on them.

If hiding wouldn't be possible, being able to change the color of both the outline (red) and the curve line (blue) would suffice.


texts: How to use Photoshop to convert an image into 6 solid colors?

texts:
I'm attempting to make some simple rubiks cube art like this:

I'd quite like to see what a source image is going to look like before buying a load of rubiks cubes and solving them for hours.

Is there an easy way in photoshop of converting a regular image into 6 different, solid colors? I figure once I have that base of 6 different colors it will be relatively easy to convert them to the 6 colors on a rubiks cube.


texts: Are there any graphic design societies/clubs for experienced designers in the UK?

texts:
One thing I miss about college is the opportunities the societies and clubs offered in terms of work and collaboration with other designers in a passive way.

This is my hobby, not just my job so I was wondering are there any clubs or societies that people would suggest I could join. Of course I am quite aware of online communities and magazines to follow but sometimes it's nice to have good old face to face contact.

Suggestions appreciated. :)


texts: Long Edge/Short Edge printing images back to back

texts:
I am making cards and icons for a board game I developed in PPT. All pieces have two sides to them and for economies of scale all the the pages are filled with different cards or icons. I am having trouble printing the pages back t back so that the images line up.

As an example, shown below I've arranged the pages so that the front of one card is in the upper left hand corner and the back of that card is in the upper left corner. I want them to print back to back. However, when I go to print, the cards do not line up at all. I've tried printing the pages using both the long edge and the short edge function of the printer to no avail. Here's what happens for each:

Here's what the pages look like in PPT

Here's how it prints when selecting the long edge option.

Here's how it prints when selecting the short edge option.


texts: As the title says what is the best way to take an existing sans serif font, such as Helvetica, and add a grunge effect to the text for die cut vinyl?  I know it can be done manually but that tends to take time.


texts: In Sketch, how can I easily collapse pages?

texts: In Sketch, how can I easily collapse pages in the layer list on the left side of the screen?


texts: What software will let me open old Photoshop PSD files?

texts:
I found some old PSD files that I used to work with in Photoshop in the past. I think it was version 6 or CS that I had for my online class on the internet. I still have the software with them but it only works on an old Windows version. I have a new computer with Windows 10.

What open source or a free software do you recommend me to open them? Or can I install the old Photoshop on Windows 10?


texts:
I am painfully aware that nearly all my paintings and drawings seriously lack in terms of proper anatomy. The figures ofen look unnatural, twisted, deformed etc. More advanced colleagues told me I need to work on my anatomy.

But here's the problem: how do I do that?

What can I be doing to help my practical understanding of anatomy and the ability to apply it? Cause I studied some anatomy textbooks and I have an idea of the bones and muscles of the human body, and I can tell the difference between the lats and traps. Still, I cant apply it to have realistic looking figures and heads.

What should I be doing? Drawing skulls and then faces on them? Painting over skulls on faces? Same for figures - should I be drawing bones on photos / well drawn figures? Should I be drawing the pics from anatomy books? Are there any others I should be doing, that I cant even think of right now?

I want to have a practical understanding of anatomy, I even bought some books (like Tom Flints & Peter Stayners anatomy for the artist), but I dont really know how to use them! There are just some cool drawings of people in different poses, but no actual advice on how to practice it and learn it!

edit:

Also, besides advice on what I should be drawing, I would welcome advice on how I should be drawing. I mean the things i should have in mind while studying. Should I be trying to envision the form? Should I try to imagine the muscles beneath the skin while i draw nude figutres? Or maybe I should be trying to simplify the forms? These are just examples of the type of advice I would like to recieve.

Please note, I want to study anatomy in order to be able to draw anatomically correct figures from my imagination later, when Im more advanced. This will probably affect the way I should be studying anatomy. Making an analogy to studying rendering forms and lighting, I was once told: "mindlessly drawing just what you see wont help you improve your rendering skills for imaginative objects. Try to think about why a shadow is placed where it is and why is it shaped so, why os it soft or hard, where the reflected light comes from etc".


texts: where I can find very small and clear icons that I can use in a personal (non-commercial) project?


texts: From where should I start learning about layout & composition?

texts:
I am new to visual design and have already read dozens of articles about color, typography and other related things. But I can't understand how to use the elements and principles to create a professional and amazing looking layout. As
I can't find anything useful which throws a light behind that layout. So, can you give some insight to it? It will be of huge help.


texts: What is the name of the style used in the default Windows 8 lock screen?

texts:
What would call the style used in the Space Needle themed lock screen in Windows 8, and how would you reproduce that style?

I'm in the early stages of learning Windows 8 and preparing to roll it out at the small college where I work. One thing I noticed early is the new Space Needle themed lock screen. Sure, there are other lock screen options, but I have a feeling this screen will be iconic in the same way as the old Windows XP Bliss wallpaper.

What I'd like to do is make an adaption of this image that fits our own locale, but will still be immediately recognizable. I'll start from scratch to avoid copyright issues, but the left half of the new image should look very similar. I'll skip the mountains and use a corn field instead of the water, and I want to replace the Space Needle with a depiction of one of the more recognizable campus buildings. But for this work, it needs to have the same visual style as the original.

Any suggestions?

FWIW, here is the result of my efforts. No corn field and it's lacking some level of detail from the original, but I think it will do the job. My main complaint is that the wrong side of the building is shaded... the side towards the sun is darker.


texts: Assign Profile using a custom color profile from another image

texts:
First, I am still struggling to fully understand color profiles, but I feel like I have most of the basic concepts. I welcome any corrections to any misunderstandings revealed by what I am asking, particularly when I make an assertion about what I understand Photoshop to be doing.

I have a number of TIFF images that were embedded with a custom color profile by the scanner that produced them. Some of the images were subsequently edited & saved in a program without any sort of color management enabled, and the profile from scanning was lost. As a result they are clearly "miscolored" when opening them in Photoshop, which I believe just assumes they are in the working color space sRGB because it doesn't have any better information.

When I open some of the images that were left "untouched" after scanning, Photoshop says the source space is the custom profile. If I paste the pixels of the edited images into one of these untouched images, they look much more correct. Assuming for the moment that the untouched images do in fact have the same profile that the edited images are supposed to have, how can I assign that profile to the edited images? I would like to get the edited images back to their original colors, or as close as I can get to that as is possible. The custom profile from the scanner isn't one of the options in the drop-down, and "Other" is greyed out. I tried to find a way to export the profile from the untouched images so that it can appear as one of the "Other" options, but couldn't figure out a way to do that. If it's relevant, the custom profile is "input-only."

In short: How can I save a custom color profile from an existing image to use in the Assign Profile function? Or alternately, how can I apply the color profile of one image to another image without using Assign Profile? I assume that pasting the pixels into one of the images with the correct profile is an option, but that seems like a hassle and is probably fraught with other issues. Thank you!

Edit: As requested, I have attached images with the sort of custom profiles I'm referring to. For simplicity in the question I just referred to a single profile, but I come across all sorts of different ones all the time. I also am working with TIFFs, but it would not let me upload them so these snippets were converted to JPEGs.

 Custom profile #1- "LRORG"  Custom profile #2- "Cruse/ArgyllCMS Big Cruse"  Custom profile #3- "LRSPEED"


texts: What is this leaf / organic style font used in the Rosa Mística logo?

texts:
Here's a font I happened upon in a logo on Behance:

I've been looking for something similar to add to my collection for a while now, I had the need for one some time ago when designing a logo for a landscape design firm but couldn't really find anything suitable.

I do have a font called "Leave" - sorry, I can't tell you where I got it form, I honestly can't remember - that is similar in style but squarer edges and more rigid. The one used in this logo though is quite stunning, I know at least the accent above the first lower case 'i' must be custom but I'm hoping someone can identify the font itself.

WhatTheFont didn't come up with anything useful. If you know it or something similar that'd be greatly appreciated.


texts: Matting Levin foreground select not working in gimp 2.10

texts:
I'm trying to select a foreground object from a photo to remove the background using gimp 2.10.14.  I am following these steps:

rough outline of object using lasso tool
press enter to enter foreground painting mode
draw over foreground object
enable 'preview' mode, looks good
press 'select' button in floating window

But as soon as I press select the selection just becomes a load of vertical lines, see attached image

Just in case it isn't obvious the green wasn't part of the image!  If I follow the same steps above but use the 'Matting Global' engine, then the selection is correct (although the results are not as good).

The settings I am using are:

EDIT - UPDATE

As per the comment from @user287001, I have attached another photo which is exhibiting the same issue.

The full-size image is located here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1e0zWhsDJ0ot3MdSiUerLJEFajLp3P3_1

A gif showing the steps I am taking is here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-xdV0LWtw-PJsgixFrMlxNcAxRfnVumh  You can see that the selection looks ok in preview mode, but as soon as I press select the selection is completely wrong

I am sure it is me doing something wrong, but if anyone has any pointers that would be great!


texts: Textual ways to represent percentage without numbers?

texts:
I am making an application which reminds users to take breaks at intervals (the user can set the interval). I’d like to give the user an idea of how much time is left until the break, but not give the exact number of minutes. To achieve this, I use a progress bar in the main window to display the amount of time left until taking a break

I'm now looking for a textual way to represent what I'm displaying in the progress bar, because I need to put the same information in a menu in the system tray (where I can only show text)

My thinking so far

Percentage

I could use percentage, but I’d like to find a way where the user sees some graphics instead of numbers

Progress as period characters

I’ve also been thinking of using something like this:

(the percentage in parenthesis would not be displayed)

The problem with this is that to work well it assumes that the font is monospaced, and this is something I cannot control unfortunately.


texts: What's the easiest way to create a disabled greyscale button with a graphics program?

texts:
In a web application that I'm building, I'm going to need several disabled buttons.  I already have the enabled buttons and I want to know what the best and easiest way of creating a disabled version of that button.  For example, when a user clicks the login button, I want to disable the button to show that the click has been registered.

I have paint and paint .net and if I had no other option I could use a friend's photo-shop.

Here's an example of one of the buttons:

Can someone tell me the quickest, easiest way to create a disabled greyscale version of a button like this?


texts: Colors looks different on Mac and Windows PC

texts:
I am using 2 computers - Mac Mini and Windows PC - both of these are connected to one monitor.
Today I did a UI case study on Mac Mini and saved it there. Everything looked normal, but then I sent it to my windows PC and all the colors seem to changed significantly.
Do you know where the issue might be?
I would understand that there might be color difference in different monitors, but since i am using just 1 monitor for both, I have no idea where could be the problem.


texts:
I have kuler installed, was using it just fine, then I just change from the move tool to the crop tool and back again. Now kuler window is just blank.

How can I activate it?

Thanks


texts: Im trying to make a clipping mask from the text in the included image, Ive tried tracing to bitmap but cant get the threshold quite right. Is there something Im missing?


texts: How to increase the perception of depth in a flat logo

texts: I am creating a logo with the arch from Cabo San Lucas. Any suggestions on how to make it look like it has more depth?


texts: FontLab Studio - Line Height on Font Weight Alternative

texts:
I am using FontLab Studio - I have two font files - a normal and a bold alternative. Here are the two fonts side-by-side:

When I export the normal and install it it looks just like i want it to - however bold text seems to be slightly taller - making the line shift down whenever I make it bold - for instance, here are the two side by side in an invisible table:

You can see this more clearly when put into a table and compared to how Calibri behaves:

What am I missing here to make the line height of these two variations the same?

To better show exactly what I mean, see this video:
https://www.screencast.com/t/tDMt9lkwCZx

Here is a comparison of the Font Info:

Regular

Bold


texts:
I'll describe this the best I can.

I have managed to make a data merge in InDesign for some point of sale tickets (we currently use publisher and would love to move to the 21st century but just haven't been able to work out how, plus we are extremely limited with the layout & design we can use with publisher)

As it stands when we enter in our product description via mail marge in publisher the product description automatically adjusts to fit the qty of words in the product description weather that is 4 words or 6 or even more the text adjusts to fit the space. (same with the Sale price)
As you can see with the below examples.
2 word product description

4 word product description

7 word product description

9 word/character description

The question is how do I get this automatic size adjust to work in indesign? without having to resize every product description & sale price. As you can understand doing that for 300 - 500 tickets is just not a viable use of time.

I did come across the below website but this only explains how to get a single word with varying character numbers to adjust. not multi worded
https://colecandoo.com/2012/02/18/square-pegs-now-fit-into-round-holes/

Any insight into if this is even possible or pointing me in the right direction would be awesome.
Or even reducing the amount of manual adjustment per ticket & without having to have multiple documents per product description size.


texts: How do I mimic Hokusai (Japanese Ukiyo-e style of painting)?

texts:
I'm working on a project on Photoshop CC that replaces Mt. Fuji with silhouette of a car in some of the painting of famous Japanese artist Hokusai.

This is his style (and most recognized painting):

I've tried using a watercolor brush to mimic the outline, and used the stamp tool to mimic the white color fill.

This my result:

Aside from general tips on what to use in order to get a better replicate, I have three main problems that I'd like help with:

Outline Color

It seems like Hokusai's brush changes color over time. That is, if you look at the outlines of Mt. Fuji for example, it starts off light blue and ends dark blue, almost black.

I want to get a similar effect with my brush, but the brush settings only have an option for "Brush
Dynamics", which make the color jitter and jump between tints and hues - as opposed to shifting gradually like I want.

Woodblock Print Texture

The painting has some sort of effect to it, that is caused by the original technique (woodblock prints). It's not really graininess but rather something else that I can't put my finger on (maybe wood-like texture?).

Can't manage to replicate this, unless I use the stamp, which leads to poor and limited results.

Thanks a lot!


texts: Adjusting pixel density to compensate for a smaller image

texts:
I'm trying to increase the pixel density of an image so that when I shrink it, the image will keep the same resolution, except the pixels themselves are smaller.

Its current dimensions are 1024x512 and I'd like to scale it down to 64x32

And please don't blow up at me for those dimensions, and yes it's a Minecraft Skin.

I have access to Gimp and Inkscape on both a Windows 10 PC (Slower) and a Windows 7 PC (Faster).


texts: How to choose a color palette for a website

texts:
We're completely color illiterate on our team.  Our internal site has a lot of black and white, but I've heard that too much contrast is bad.  And people don't respond well to the look of our site.

Where can we go for guidance about default colors for text and background?


texts: What the name of the part of the character that holds the counters and the eyes in a stencil typeface?

texts: Is the a name to the shape that connects the outside of a stencil letter to its interior enabling the letter to be cut through and retain its counters.


texts: Photoshop saving for png result unexpected

texts:
I have multiple layers with particular parts of products with Multiply applied and different opacity but when I try to save the image in png with transparency it seems like those layers which I used for Multiply don't work else without transparency result is same as expected.

This is what I am expecting and as it looks in photoshop

Expected Result:

But when I save them transparent a white shadow gets added near product *(I have added a background so that you can easily see the white artifact getting automatically added to the bottom right of image and above middle two boxes)

Unexpected Result:


texts: Some points in my isometric grid are not aligning

texts:
I created this isometric grid, via the SSR method described in this tutorial.

However, when drawing a rectangle, and copy-dragging it the 'rectangles' do not align. When drawing a straight line i see that the grid is not perfect vertically although i followed every step;

1: create grid (1000/1000 pixels, 30 collunms 30 rows)
2: scale the grid vertically (86.602 %)
3: shear 30 degrees
4: rotate -45 degrees
5: make guides

I tried it again and again and i never get a perfect grid. Working on windows 7  // Illustrator CC 2014


texts: Should I split different paragraph styles in different Text boxes? - InDesign

texts:
When I'm creating a document, I always split each section and each paragraph style in an individual text box. Mainly so I'm able to edit each item individually.

However, my question: Is it recommended to combine each into one text box spread over multiple pages, having both headers and body text in the same text  box or split over individual text boxes, like I was already doing?

Thank you!


texts: How can I enable tools and functions auto-hide in illustrator?

texts:
When I cleaned my touch-pad yesterday I accidentally clicked on something.  After that I was still in normal screen. But the left tool-bar and the right function-section was gone, like in full-screen mode.

But it was — not — full-screen.

So, I figured I could hover over the left border of the screen. And the tool-bar came back to view. Likewise the functions on right side. That was actually pretty cool. Because you now have an undisturbed view on the art.

But I was not sure how I did it.

I found that if i chose Window > Workplace > Essentials then the bars came back. Now I want the auto-hiding back. I could not find an explanation on the web as to how to do this.

How do you enter the mode described above?


texts: Where do I get started practicing (or what should I mainly work on) for graphic design in college?

texts: I recently started college and I'm started my digital studio 101 class next semester. I always draw and fairly decent but I have no experience with the Adobe applications, I need help knowing where can I start so I wont be so new to the programs when my class start. I have the Adobe applications downloaded but every time I try to use or try to learn I have no idea where to even start.


texts: How can I apply the exact same filter to multiple photos like this account?

texts: I have multiple photos and I want to be consistent in their appearance like the attached photo. I am new and haven't been able to figure it out yet.


texts: How to export crisp Android icons in Photoshop/Illustrator?

texts:
Both Photoshop (layer shapes) and Illustrator (vectors) are terrible at making crisp Android assets when I save out. Can anyone lend a hand how to make crisp items at multiple sizes without doing it by hand? Here are the methods I've tried:

Using XXXHDPI in Illustrator, Save for Web down to all the other small sizes. (lots of blurred pixels)
Using XXXHDPI in Photoshop, batch effect resizing images (still less blurry)
Using XXXHDPI in Photoshop, manually saving for web with bicubic sharpen selected (best method, but doesn't work in a batch effect).


texts: Can anyone recongize the font from showoff.io

texts:
I like the font (or style of font) used for the logo of the site:
https://showoff.io/.

Is there a place to find such fonts?


texts: How to extend a texture without quality loss in photoshop

texts:
I have this 1754x1240 texture which I use for vintage effect in background images in my iOS app. iPad screen size is quite large 1536x2048 and when I apply this texture directly to an image that size it doesn't look very nice.

I tried downscaling this texture and cloning it all over the image but then in the edges there are abrupt transitions, which doesn't look nice neither. I tried gaussian blurring for the edges but couldn't get it to work. Is there any way to extend a part of this texture (with smooth transitions between repeated parts) so I can apply it to an arbitrary size image? Hope I'm clear.


texts: Need recommendations for finding colors to combine with existing ones

texts:
I have a darkish blue color #3c5c7c. I need a medium blue color to go with it.

I know there are tools like www.colllor.com that can show me shades/tints of a selected color. But what I want is to select another blue color that offers some contrast to #3c5c7c but also "looks" like the two colors go well together.

For example, I found #62A3E4 is one such color. How do I find other (blue) colors? As another example, #0000ff doesn't appear to go well with #3c5c7c, or am I wrong?

What tools are available that allow me to view those blues that go well with #3c5c7c?

I see there's www.colorschemedesigner.com, but it just shows different shades/tints of one color that you enter. When you move the little circles around, the other colors are not blue (they're immediately green or purple). For example, I wouldn't see how I could get #62A3E4 from that website.

How does one explore the blue color space and know which blues "go with" with other blues?


texts: In Illustrator, how do I create a cut between two anchor points?

texts:
Suppose I have a shape that looks like the top, and I want the bottom:

I want to create cuts between the highlighted anchor points. The knife tool would do what I want if I could get it to snap to anchor points, but I can't find a way to do that. Is there a way?

I tried the scissors too, but it always gives me an error saying "Please use the scissors tool on a segment or an anchor point (but not an endpoint) of a path." and I'm not sure what that means.


texts: Illustrator misshapes edges in exported *.svg

texts:
Does anyone know why when I save out an SVG icon that my edges get misshapen and do not look like what I have designed; Example: Smooth edges are exported as sharp.

Thanks!


texts: Inverted colour-erase in GIMP (or extract specifc hue)

texts:
I have the below image that I would like to remove the background from. As well as some text grinning through from the back of the page, there are some vestiges of the paper colour (yellowish) and quite a bit of compression damage.

Removing the (very light) yellow bits is fairly easy with "colour erase", but the text showing though is giving me some trouble. I'd like to avoid laborious chasing of all of it with the erase tool.

It seems to me that because the wanted image has a very specific property (it's basically all one dull-red hue), it should be possible, somehow, to extract only that hue to a separate layer, or erase everything else from the image - kind of a reverse color-erase.

However, I'm drawing a blank on the way to do this. How to use the knowledge of the mono-hue image nature to good advantage in background erasure (and/or foreground extraction)?


texts: Inkscape/svg: convert embedded images to external linked files

texts:
I have a .svg with embedded images (which was imported from a .pdf).
I'd like to convert all the embedded images to external linked files.


texts: Reuse guide/lines from background image for perspective view/3D cube in Inkscape?

texts:
Let's say I have a screenshot of the Blender default cube as a background in Inkscape, and I would like to reconstruct this cube as the perspective view 3D cube in Inskcape.
I am already aware, that I can draw lines tracing the outline of the background image 3D cube, and then do Object/Objects to Guidelines to create "vanishing point" kind of guidelines - as a rough example:

However, is there a way to somehow "automatically" apply these traced guidelines, to become the guidelines of the perspective view 3D cube in Inskcape, such that the perspective view 3D cube (Shift+F4) in Inkscape reconstructs the background image cube?


texts: Blending two lines in Illustrator gives me holes

texts:
When I try to blend two lines, I keep getting holes in parts of the blend.
I have gotten the advice to increase the number of steps an make the number of points the same but with the same result (the lower image has 300 steps, with 8 points on each path)

Anyone an idea on how I can solve this?

edit: few more details:

both lines have a stroke of 1 px, no fill
the upper blend has 50 steps (not sure about the number of path points though)
the lower blend has 300 steps and 8 points in each path


texts: Is there a way to make all layers visible in Photoshop? Is there a quick way to do this, for example, short key or script?


texts: Is Flash really considered to be a graphics program?

texts:
Adobe Flash was initially a graphics program, but with the growth of the Flash platform and the rise in popularity of Flash games on the web, is Flash still relevant as graphics tool? Why?

(I'm not looking for a description of Flash. I know what it is.)


texts: Why does InDesign only return the field name when I data merge multiple records on a master page?

texts:
I'm trying to data merge multiple records on a page. The single record per page works fine.

But when I try for multiple records through the master page I get this:

Why is InDesign displaying the field name instead the values I expect, when I try to data merge on a master page?


texts: How to make parts of shapes in an area a different colour

texts:
I am trying to make the lines in this image of a lighter tone when they are in the box, similar to:

For example, on the green arrow at top left, before the arrowhead the shaft has a slightly darker green streak. I am aiming for an effect like this.

I understand there are other questions like this but they don't seem to work in the latest version of PS.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Stucturing information on this trade show banner

texts:
Problem

I'm working on a new banner for a trade show. I want it to fulfill two aims:

communicate to the passerby the benefits of using the service (its a platform that lets people build applications without writing code)
get them excited for the service and give them an avenue to get in touch.

The visible area of the graphic on these stands is 800mm (width) x 2000mm (height). I've completed the top part, and was wondering how to structure the bottom part. Ideally I want a quick 1,2,3 process for using the platform followed by social media, email and website links... along with the company logo. Open to any suggestions.

I'm an avid graphic designer and currently struggling with how to structure these last two sections. Would appreciate any guidance.

A quick legend:

The red area is bleed (10mm)
The bleed area extends 10mm beyond the edge of your
finished document. Colours and images must extend
beyond the edge of the document to prevent unwanted
white borders around the edge of your finished document.
Note that this ‘bleed’ will be trimmed during the finishing
process so ensure that no important details are set up to
print in this area

The yellow area is a safe area (10mm)
it is recommended that your artwork is at least 10mm
from the edge of the page if it is not meant to bleed off.
Printed borders placed too close to the edge of a page
may look uneven when the job is trimmed.

Artwork:

Thanks for your time.


texts: How do I make a drop shadow with a halftone effect?

texts:
I have already tried doing with Drop Shadow settings and i could only produce a black smudged shadow, not the spotted one. Look at this text. Can you see that spotted shadow behind the text? I want to know how to do that.

Is it related with brushes? Or something in the drop shadow? Or maybe something else? Please Help Me.

Also, does someone know the font name?


texts: How can I export a PDF from InDesign with Javascript?

texts:
I want to find a script (preferably Javascript) and all it needs to do is export a PDF to a specific folder that I can set the path for in the script.

Does anyone know of a script that might have most of that functionality that I can then take and just edit it so that it has the PDF settings I want and I can input the file path I need?


texts:
I have a set of Photoshop files which consist of a base image with a series of layers with colored overlays. The overlays are labeled using the layer names.

My task is to get these overlays as SVG paths, somehow preserving the labels. (If I can preserve the fill colors as well, that would be cool, but we can define arbitrary fill colors if needed.)

So far we have tried exporting the layers as Illustrator paths, and then exporting to SVG from Illustrator. This gets us reasonable SVG paths, but (a) we lose the labels, and (b) if a layer has more than one discrete section in its overlay, it is separated into several paths.

Is there a way to get these layers into SVG while retaining the labels? Or should we do our Export > Illustrator > SVG  route on a layer-by-layer basis?

We're working with CS5, if that's important.

ETA to answerers: We've long since finished this project and delivered the job, so I can't accept an answer, but feel free to pitch in your potential solutions for others.


texts: Same procedure for each image in Photoshop: how to speed up the production?

texts:
Id' like to know if exists a way to speed up the production in Photoshop in the following case:
I have several images and I have to apply for each one of them the same adjustment. Doing it manually is very time consuming.
So, is there a way to automatize this process?


texts: Is there any design documentation for GUI element sizes in mobile devices?

texts:
I know it depends on the device but I am having a hard time locating GUI element sizes in regards to browsers, keyboards, etc. etc. for Apple and Android devices.  I have searched through Apple's developer documentation but nothing related to size and I am new to Android design so I am unfamiliar with any documentation that would mention anything.

So my question is:
Does a document or site exist that indicate what keyboards, browsers, and the like use in pixel dimension size for devices?

Keyboard example for iPad landscape:


texts: How can I identify what font was used in a Photoshop layer when the font is not installed on my computer?

texts:
So I created a layout for a website a while back and now am getting back to the project.  The issue is I have a small logo designed and I am trying to recreate the logo at a much larger resolution.

The issue is I needed a spade (of hearts, spades, clubs, diamonds) for the logo and ended up using a text spade.  It's a special character (♠) and as such a lot of fonts don't include it.  So I am getting a little error in the list of layers:

I feel like in the past whenever this happened I would click on it to select the layer the font drop down would show "[Font Name]" instead of "Font Name" where the square brackets would represent that the font wasn't found — maybe I'm crazy but I feel like I've had that happen before.  In this case the font is showing "Lucida Sans" which is a font that lacks the spade character.

When I try to edit the text I get this error:

… and when I click OK the spade disappears and shows that default Windows square for character not found.

Is there any way for me to figure out what font was originally used?


texts: How to create a bookmark that is a URL in InDesign?

texts: In InDesign, how do I create a bookmark (i.e., a bookmark that will be exported to a PDF file) that is a hyperlink to a URL?


texts: Not fond of time related pricing - what's a better way?

texts:
I'm still struggling with pricing. How does one best calculate flat rates for commercial design or illustration work?
I don't like the hourly rate thing. I just can't seem to properly gauge the amount of time I put into a project. Especially if I'm working several projects at once. And even if I did actually clock myself while working solely on one project, this doesn't account for the amount of time I spend thinking about the project and continuing the design process in my head even while doing other unrelated tasks (like folding socks, cooking dinner) so I feel that it is not fully representative of the amount of thought and effort put into a project as well.
Hourly rates also don't account for the actual value of the project or its continued use over time as a representation of a brand or product. But it's impossible to truly determine the full scope of the art's value. It's not exactly easy to quiz a business on their numbers nor is it always trustworthy as any numbers they provide could be inaccurate.
I've done some googling on pricing and price models but nothing feels especially helpful. I have a BFA and this subject was only slightly grazed upon in my classes leaving me feeling even less confident in my pricing. It feels too abstract. Is it really an arbitrary, anything goes kind of thing?
If you have any personal experiences that could be helpful or know of any good resources or online classes available for specifically this aspect of art marketing, please let me know.


texts: When I cut a layer using marquee tool, I get blur edges to cut side. How do I get sharp edges after cut?

texts:
I am using rectangular marquee tool to cut a portion of the layer in photoshop cs5, but after cutting, the edges are not sharp, I get blur edges.

how can I get sharp edges?


texts: I'm launching a clothing company soon, and I have a design in illustrator that I must send to my screen printer. I am mainly an artist, so I drew the design. But I feel like the file is very sloppily formatted and the printer needs better to print. For example, the design has a finger over lips. I drew the lips first, then the finger on top, leaving the lips under it. Is there a way to simply combine alike colors as one object, but have them still stay in the correct placement behind/in front of things.  Thanks!


texts: How to force Illustrator CS6 to work in whole pixels and fix fractional points?

texts:
I've been using Illustrator to make a UI and as I learn how to use this software, the points of the shapes I made keep getting to fractions of a pixel. I have a great many points now and I'd rather not stop working every now and then to make sure every pixel is aligned to a whole value.

Is there a way to force Illustrator to only place points on whole values?
Is there a way to clean up existing points to round them to a whole value?


texts: How would I replicate this long shadow image?

texts:
I've recently got into that "hipster" trend of long shadowing.  I have seen this example quite a lot, and have tried replicating it myself.  No efforts have been successful though.  And even the close ones seemed like to much work for that effect.

Main issue i'm having are the middle green triangles, and their shadows down.  If you notice they fold over the background circle, which is another issue of mine.

How can I replicate this technique as accurately as the image?


texts: How do I achieve this sponge/paint texture?

texts:
I'm trying to find an filter/texture I can use to make the same effect. Am currently using Adobe Illustrator and GIMP.

Thanks in advance!


texts: How to make an an old photo look perfect and natural

texts:
I have a very very old photo of a person that I want to color it and make it natural. First of all I used a fft action to remove bubble algorithm of the photo. Then I tried to make that photo colored but it not seem very natural and nice. What extra works can I do to have a beautiful photo.

Original photo

After using fft action

Brushing colors in a separated layer

Make that layer multiply, fill 70%. I did the same work for hair, eyes, etc.


texts: Need help figuring out how to blow up photo for extremely large mural

texts:
I'm working on an exhibit design and I'm trying to work out how to blow up this photo to fit a very large wall.
The photograph is:
19.28 x 12.87 in, 22.3 MP, and 300dpi
The wall is:
13 ft by 31ft
Can anyone help me figure this out? I'm trying to look up how to do this and the only tutorials i'm finding are for small accent walls or prints. I have no idea how to even do the math for this. The photo needs to be pretty good quality because people are going to be walking right up to it, like seeing it within 3 feet of their face.
edit: I need to know how the math works for calulating this, in addition to the correct dpi from this viewing distance.


texts: Why isn't Blending Mode: Difference inverting colors?

texts:
I have one document that has rectangular shapes on top of a clipped rasterized image, and while changing the Blending Mode of the shape to Difference, the colors underneath get inverted. Although, I'm running into an issue. I have a second document that is a different size (generated by dragging a .jpg to open a new document with the .jpg), I copied the shapes from the first document to the second, and the invert effect from the blending mode no longer inverts... Not sure why this is happening. I would like to have the same effect across both documents, I'm just very unsure why I can't get the second document to have the same invert effect...

Thanks in advance. I can provide any documentation or screenshots if needed.


texts: Layers referencing in Photoshop CS5 (12)?

texts: I have two layers L1 and L2. I want to make layer L3 to copy L1 and L2 every time when they modifed. L3 may contains some filtering and every time when I modify L1 or L2 my L3 must recopy modified layer and reassign it's filtering to new image. How to make it in photoshop CS 5?


texts: Can the RGB Colour Space recreate all colours within the CMYK Colour Space?

texts:
The obvious answer, to me, is that the RGB Colour Space is capable of reproducing the CMYK Colours; for the simple fact that the CMYK Colour Space is fully consumed within the RGB Colour Space as follows:

As is often the case, many online resources has presented various pieces of conflicting information that claims the contrary.

My goal is to create a series of Printed materials that are also shared online, where the colours are all consistent with each other.  My logical assumption being that if I use RGB Colours, within the CMYK Colour Space, then both online and offline variants will be consistent with their colours.

Is anyone able to shed any additional light, on this matter?


texts: Is there software specialized in "puppet warp" animation?

texts:
Photoshop CS5 comes with a feature called Puppet Warp.

I find it specially useful for a certain animation I'm making. Normally, I duplicate the layer, use puppet warp, done. Then duplicate again, and so on...

This is a bit frustrating because I have to re-create the pins for every frame (and you can't undo when you move a pin modifying the mesh, I think).

That's a shame, because this tool is great for my project.

I wonder if there is any other software specialized in puppet warp animation? Or, is there a way to not have to re-create the pins for every frame in Photoshop CS5?


texts: GIF with Transparency Gradient (Photoshop)

texts:
I have an interesting issue that I never had a problem doing in the past. Any help would be greatly appreciated! :)
It seems that since my Photoshop CC updated to 22.0.1, I am unable to export one of my PSD files into a GIF and still maintain the the gradient's transparency. I don't know what setting/feature changed. I have reset my settings to default. I didn't use anything custom when exporting in the past, just the presets for GIF that are listed in the Export for Web (Legacy) tool.

The image on the left is the GIF file (lls_gc.gif) that has the working transparency. I can put that image on any background and it works perfectly, example below. The image one the right is the result I'm getting now.

Anyone know how to export to GIF while maintaining the transparency of the gradient?
As for the PSD file, there are two layers: one being the Y and the other being a transparent layer with a circle shape with the blending options on using the Gradient tool.


texts: how do I get the effects shown in this image, does it have something to do with dodge and burn?


texts: What symbols have been used to represent planets (in the solar system, or other)

texts:
The Wikipedia page on gender
 states that the male and female symbols are symbols for the planets Venus and Mars. I wonder whether other planets in the solar system or other also have planet symbols.

Gender symbols intertwined:

The red (left) is the female Venus symbol. The blue (right) represents the male Mars symbol.


texts: Music Player on Website that continues playing between pages

texts: I know that having a music player on a website isn't necessary nowadays. But I have a client that really wants one on their website. The problem is making the music player play constantly (the user can control it) between pages without it reloading when you click a link. I would like to achieve this without the website being entirely built in Flash. Thanks!


texts: MAYA: Mirror image creates line at the center of my object

texts:
I'm trying to learn modeling in Maya at Digital-tutors and I'm stuck at one point. I'm modeling an aircraft and made half of it and then mirror imaged.

In the tutorial there is no problem, but with mine there is a line at the center of the plane and when I do some changes like extrude, that line is opening.


texts: How to replicate tissue pattern using swatches in Illustrator?

texts:
Using swatches in Illustrator I want to replicate this pattern:

I think to use swatches is the fastest way to replicate this pattern. But I can't get it done right. Firstly I drew those little ellipses and copied them to get this pattern:

Secondly I applied clipping mask to it and dragged the result into swatches panel.

Then I drew a rectangle and clicked on the swatch I have just created. The rectangle wasn't filled completely with dots, here is what I've got:

Please help me create that pattern using swatches.


texts: How To Achieve This 3D-ish, bubble-ish Look

texts:
I have been searching all over to find a tutorial (for Photoshop or Illustrator) to create something with this look:

I would like to be able to achieve this with different textures (wood, stone, glass, etc.)


texts:
I have two shape paths and I want to combine them into a single path, but after trying all options in the pathfinder tab, I haven't achieved the desired result. All of them just delete the line.

Here're the shapes.

And these are their layers.

How do I combine them into a single path so that I could align, move and reshape it as if it were a continuous shape?

Edit 1

The expand button seems to be disabled.


texts:
Aligning vertical centers:

Aligning horizontal centers:

How to align the boxes so that the space between them would be equal?


texts: Removing background and put object in 255 white background

texts:
I want to create an Amazon listing and I'm trying to get a white background behind my object. I bought some softboxes and white backdrop and acrylic white platform and got this shot:

But I realized the background on Amazon is coming out as grey since the background isn't 255 white. I then switched out the white for a blue backdrop and got this:

This allows me to make a better quick selection on my object without mixing up my background with it, but my selection still looks terrible. How do I do this nicely and correctly?


texts:
I often get pdfs from engineering firms that are only 80 or 90 MBs and can contain up to 24 sheets of 36" x 24" drawings and they will print out very sharp.  But when I scan 1 drawing in Photoshop and save it as a Photoshop pdf file, it can end up as 50 MB for only an 11 x 17" drawing.

How can I scan an original pencil-on-paper drawing in Photoshop and have it stay very sharp, but end up with an e-mailable file size?


texts: How to compensate for printing on shipping containers?

texts:
I'm preparing some print materials for a new office for the company I'm working in.  One piece of the materials is a huge logo printed out on a shipping container-like, ribbed sheet metal.

It sort-of looks like this:

My question is, is it enough just to stretch the print to compensate for the ribs, or can I do anything else to improve this?


texts: How can I achieve this glowing effect on my images?

texts: I've looked around for tutorials but I'm not quite sure how it's achieved. Thanks for any help!


texts:
I want to generate "pseudo-random" organic looking blobs in SVG (without JavaScript).
I was wondering if this could be done solely in SVG, using filters (like feTurbulence and feDisplacementMap), but still have a smooth finish. The "seed" could then determine the shape of the blob. I could both determine the shape, keep it "determistic" (the seed would be fixed) and get different blobs.
I was able to get circles to not be so "round" with the said filters, but it is anything but smooth or blob-looking.
<svg width="800" height="800" viewBox="0 0 220 220" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
  <defs>
    <filter id="displacementFilter">
      <feTurbulence type="turbulence" baseFrequency="0.05" numOctaves="2" result="turbulence" seed="2"/>
      <feDisplacementMap in2="turbulence" in="SourceGraphic" scale="5" xChannelSelector="R" yChannelSelector="G"/>
    </filter>
  </defs>
  <circle cx="100" cy="100" r="100" style="filter: url(#displacementFilter)"/>
</svg>


texts: Is there a way to "Reset the bounding box" in Adobe InDesign?

texts:
Is there a way to "Reset the bounding box" in Adobe InDesign, like in Adobe Illustrator?

*This is a very important feature in here because sometimes rotated objects need get a linear-basic space, mostly when they're in-line.

Any script would be appreciated! ;)


texts: Identify 19th century font with italic uppercase N with ball serifs

texts: I'm trying to identify a typeface from an 1800s book.  It has a strange shape to the uppercase N (and also to the A) with a ball serif where I wouldn't have expected one.  Does anyone know a font similar to this?


texts: Photoshop: why won't layer styles render correctly?

texts:
Been trying to search for an answer online for quite a while now but can't seem to find anything new. I'm familiar with layer styles and I've been merging them down to rasterize a layer, but for some reason none of this logic seems to be of any help with this particular case; Although a familiar concept, I must admit that I have never used layer styles to this degree, so the amount of variables is what gets me lost.
Photoshop CS4 Extended, Mac OS. Image dimensions 4000x4500px at 300dpi.
I was practicing with layer styles, mostly creating layers with flat single-colored areas of shape and experimenting with the settings.
I ended up creating several layer copies with the same blobs, setting layer Fill to 0%, then applying different styles to them to create whatever is visible. Some style settings cause the blob to expand over the original shape's dimensions which I don't want, which calls out for a layer mask. But if you apply a mask directly to the layer, the style itself is affected by the mask boundaries, not just what you see, as would happen in case of normal pixels. As a workaround, most styled layers had to be placed into folders, and the mask stencil applied on the folder instead of layers. Actual layer fill set to 0% is because I was working with glassy objects and I wanted to focus fully on what the styles alone do.
All looks nice when the .PSD is open in Photoshop, but from there on, nothing seems to work. The image always ends up looking completely different when trying to export it into flat form. Especially light effects like bevel just seem to get baked to the image as full-on burnt white, even though the light that I'm seeing in Photoshop is subtle, three-dimensional, graded and translucent. Layer>Rasterize is greyed out.
These are all of the things that result into an incorrect rendition:

Max quality .jpg
.png
Finder thumbnail of the very same .psd
file that looks good when open in Photoshop
Merge visible
Merge layers
Flatten image
Convert to smart object
Merge down, when the layer below the selected styled layer is empty and unstyled
Happens in both cases, when the background is
transparent, and when it's filled with 100% opaque pixels.

I had to take screen captures to get the image to compare.
Left: Every time a render, this happens. This example is without a background.
Right: In Photoshop, the item floating half over opaque pixels and half transparency.


texts: I have created and finished editing my image in illustrator. It is a background of a flag with some shapes on it. How do I make it one image so the shapes aren't separate from the flag and I can move it around the screen?


texts: How to make a fill or stroke change its color when the swatch used for it changes?

texts:
New to Illustrator, and perhaps I am misunderstanding the purpose of a "swatch".

e.g. My understanding was that if you were doing a 4-color design, and one of those "colors" corresponded to some sort of ink out of RGB/CMYK space (maybe a metallic paint of some kind), the strokes and fills would be tied to the swatch instead of some capture of the color.

Yet when I use a swatch to pick stroke or fill colors for shapes in my drawing, and then edit the color of that swatch... the swatch color changes, but the colors in the drawing remain the same.

Is there a way to have the strokes and fills remember the swatch, so that when the swatch is edited their color will update to reflect the change?


texts: Photoshop union shapes doesn't show up for SVGs

texts: I have two shapes that I unioned together in Photoshop to create this red outline. When I export as an SVG, it exports the red outline as two separate shapes. Flattening or rasterizing the outline causes the SVG to treat the outline and the image as one whole image. Is there any way to get around this? I need the red outline to be an SVG and the image could be svg, png, anything.


texts: Exclude selected images from compression on PDF export from inDesign

texts:
Ive got a multi page brochure which is mostly made up of jpeg photographs. On the last page Ive got some logos which are black and white PNG files (in an ideal world these would be vectors, but i only have them as PNGs, although they are nominally black and white, they are are not greyscale and actually CMYK).

When i export the PDF using the "high quality" preset the logos get compressed and can look blurry.

If i turn off the image compression the logos do not look blurey but the outputted PDF is hige as non of the other images are compressed.

As the logos are not greyscale i can not just turn off compression for greyscale images.

My current work around for this is to export the brochure pages 1-50, using the high quality pre set. Then export pages 51-52 (the logo pages) using the high quality preset without compression. I then combine these using acrobat.

Is there a simpler way i could do this so that the logos dont get compressed in the first place ?

Im running the latest version of inDesign CC on a mac 10.13.x


texts: Can I salvage a 5GB Illustrator file made up of all raster images?

texts:
I have a single Illustrator file that's about 5GB big.  It's a composite of hundreds of 2-5 megapixel camera images that we imported over time.

The file will not open on my computer anymore and I cannot perform any functions on it.  Is there a way to salvage the file?  I would happy to "shrink" all the raster images and the whole canvas size down, but I don't know how to do that w/out being able to open the file in Illustrator!


texts: Link a layer with a shape/vector mask in Photoshop

texts:
Simple question that I can't find the answer to.

I have a layer with a photo that I got off the internet. I want this layer to have rounded corners. So I draw a rectangle with rounded corners in photoshop. Just like the color is linked to the vector mask (that is the rounded corner rectangle), I would think I can link the layer to the vector mask. However, after all my research I cannot find how. Can anybody help link a layer to a vector mask/shape?


texts: Inkscape - Why when I delete a node in Inkscape it becomes a straight line?

texts:
Long story short. Why when I delete a node in Inkscape it becomes a straight line?
It used to be automatically curved. I miss this function very much.


texts: I need a font like this but don't know which terms to look for

texts:
I have an idea for a logo, and an idea of what the font should look like. However, I don't know how to go about describing that to find a font.
I know that the lines of the S should be parallel as well as a few other features, but don't know how I'd translate that into a search. The usual parameters of font categorisation don't cover this.
Attached a drawing of what I'm thinking, so if anyone happens to know a similar font to get me going that would be great (it should be heavier than this but this shape).


texts: Why do [ and ] shortcuts to increase brush size not work consistently?

texts:
So I can increase the size of the blob brush and eraser tool with [ and ], but the same shortcut doesn't seem to work consistently with the brush tool. It works with the three small "standard" brushes, as well as the calligraphic brushes. It doesn't show an increased stroke size, but the brush itself is affected.

It doesn't work at all with Watercolor brushes.

Is there a reason for this or is this simply a bug?

Is there another way to quickly adjust brush sizes for all brushes other than changing the value in the command bar manually each time? In Photoshop it can be done by Alt-Right Click-Drag, but in Illustrator this seems to be something else entirely (creating a closed shape I think).


texts: How do I make these paths have the same vector?

texts: I'm trying to draw another shape to go with this heart, and I want the line on which the anchor is selected to have exactly the same curvature as the corresponding length on the heart. Is this possible, or is the only way to eyeball it?


texts: How do I make this complex illustration into a single object (compount path)

texts:
I have a complex file containing large number of black and white shapes, which make up buildings. I would like to get a single black shape - exactly the one I see in preview mode.
Here is a file showing part of a building in outline mode - so you can see what the building is made of.

Now here is the file in preview mode - this is what I would like to have.

(I need to cut this from vinyl with a vinyl cutter, so I need an exact outline of where to cut)
Pathfinder - Unite does not work, as I will end up only with the outline of the building and all the details disappear.
If some knows the answer...It would be so much appreciated! Many thanks!
Sylvia


texts: Standard Size for a 'Save the date' card for a formal event

texts:
I'm designing a "save the date" invitation card for a formal event and I'm really confused as to what are the standard sizes in the US as I'm not a US native.

I also wanted to ask that as I am using an image (jpeg) for the background,  will it be better if I use Photoshop or Illustrator?

The card is a single sided card not a folded one. Please advise the standard size to use for printing. Any other advise is also welcome.


texts: Removing a color override from a paragraph style in Adobe Indesign

texts: I accidentally specified a color to a paragraph style, which is based on some other. How do I clear this color override, so that I can use the color of the base paragraph?


texts: illustrator - applying image to an arc I drew with pen tool

texts:
I draw this arc using pen tool in illustrator

Now I want to apply an image to the pen tool. So I click on "draw inside" then File -> Place, select an image and paste it onto the arc.

Above is what I see.    I want to apply image to the arc itself (black line), not to the space above it... how to fix this problem?

Thanks in advance!


texts: How to split an icon into 3 different objects?

texts:
I have converted the following image using trace bitmap, to a vector.

Now what i want to is break this object in such a way that the 2 hands and the circle are separate paths, so in total 3 paths. I need this as i want to move the hands around a little bit, so far what i have done is , converted the object to a path using path -> object to path , after this i tried many options like the node tool , then select all nodes and break apart but i am getting weird results.

So far when i select all the nodes , my object looks like so:

So how exactly do i go about splitting this path into 3 different objects(I am not sure i am phrasing this right) ?


texts: What things should I consider when using my own custom fonts on a client's project?

texts: When creating printed media for a corporation/legal entity, what exactly should I consider when using my own, personally created and designed, fonts?


texts: Exporting from Principle App; an interactive animation without the need for the Principle App?

texts:
I came across a very adorable interactive character animation made in Principle app. I realise it might not be the best platform to do something like this in, but since I own Principle and no other animating software I'd like to do it here anyway.

When I'm done, I'd like to show this to the world, preferably with interactive features like the demo. I'd like to upload this somewhere and still keep the interactive features, kind of like 'good old' flash did.

How would I best go about this?
Is HTML/CSS the way to go? jQuery? Are there other options?


texts: Does it break copyright to create derivatives of a font?

texts:
Linotte Heavy and Gotham Rounded Bold are almost alike. In fact, Linotte Heavy looks like it is derived from Gotham Rounded.

If I were to customise the glyphs of Gotham Rounded/Linotte Heavy to suit my requirements, what would the implications be with regards to copyright? Surely, if I were to do the same and it had visible differences on some glyphs, I could create a font influenced by the above two fonts? I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on the issue.


texts: Pages moved from second document won't face each other as spread

texts: I've combined several documents, all of which have spreads, but where the two sets of pages meet, the first and last pages remain as singles instead of combining as a spread. There's no ability to drag them together, so I'm a bit stumped.


texts: Inkscape convert Text Path to 'simpler' path?

texts:
I need to convert simple letters that are paths in Inkscape to even simpler primitive object,, in this case letter K from 12 nodes to path with 6 nodes,,

I don't think that this is simple task and that it's doable inside Inkscape interface, but if anyone has some ideas or suggestions how to approach this please share, ,thanks


texts: Pencil tool randomly changes color from foreground to background in Photoshop

texts:
Out of nowhere my pencil tool has been randomly changing color to that of my bg color even when it's not selected. Pressure sensitivity isn't the case, or brush options, I've reset the brush preset, and even the CTRL-ALT-SHIFT open photoshop method.

Here are an assortment of brush strokes, at random they turn into the background color. This only happens to my pencil tool, the brush tool works just fine


texts: Print Question about Spot Color vs CMYK Process with Outer-Glow in Illustrator

texts:
Ok, I know this has been discussed before but I'm hopping to get an answer that touches more on the print methodology rather than the quirkiness of Illustrator when it comes to Spot Color representation.
I am preparing a playing card design (in Illustrator) to be printed by the US Playing Card Company.  The card back design is supposed to be a single color over white cardstock.  I originally worked up the design in CMYK using Pantone's CMYK formula for PMS 280c.  There are gradients and outer glow effects applied to some of the vector elements in the image that are intended to just fade from the color itself to the cardstock which is essentially a white background.
At a certain point I decided it would probably be a good idea to do the design in an actual Pantone Spot Ink for color consistency in the event an additional run of the cards was ever printed.  So I added a new swatch from the "Color Books-Pantone Solid Coated" and assigned it to all the elements in my design.  I then realized that the Illustrator default when choosing from "Pantone Solid Coated" is set to "Process Color" instead of "Spot Color"...not sure why but that is beside the point.
Once I edited the swatch to be a true Spot color, all of the outer glow effects stopped displaying properly.  Image #1 is CMYK and shows what I want it to look like when printed.  Image #2 shows what happened when I switched everything over to the Spot Color Swatch. Image #3 is marked up to show what I am talking about.
The shadows in white areas of the design nearly disappeared ...whereas shadows in the darker areas turn to a hazy white that is not correct.  If Illustrator is capable of showing it correctly in CMYK why can't it show correctly with a spot color?  A Spot color would be applied to the card stock using a single plate just like any of the 4 colors plates in the CMYK process so I don't understand why it can't display the raster effects properly.

I realize part of this just has to do with how Illustrator displays Spot Colors over light or dark backgrounds.  But my question is actually about what happens on the printer's end.  US Playing Card Co. uses a fully digital process "Computer to Plate".  How do I make sure the raster effects and gradients will be processed correctly for the single color plate.  I want them to just be halftone dots amongst solids all on the same plate.
Is there a work around for this?  One idea I had was to just set the file up as CMYK and do the design all in black. This allows for the gradients and outer glows to display properly.  That way when they do Computer to Plate it would only spit out one press plate for the black "K" channel with halftones incorporated.  Could they not just then run PMS 280c ink on that plate instead of black process ink?


texts: I have an icon that looks like it was shrunk from a larger image.  How can I easily clean up the text to make it look sharper?


texts:
I would like to create a really simple timeline image.

I just want something which is a line, with dots at various dates along it, with test describing each stage.

Is there any tool which easily creates something like this? Ideally allowing you to download as a JPEG etc.


texts:
I'm early(ish) in the process of designing a font, and need some advice.

All the vertical terminals (excluding top/bottom of stems) end with a cut at a specific angle. This is consistent throughout the font. The only place this doesn't seem to work is in the lower case 'a' and 'e':

I'm not sure why but the 'a' and 'e' here just don't feel right. It feels a bit unnatural and awkward. If I flip the angle of the cut, it - in my opinion - looks a lot better. It looks more natural and flows easier:

My only problem with this is my near OCD-like need for consistency. The angled terminals are now consistent across the entire font except for 2 lower case letters! So...

Am I missing something obvious with the lower case 'a' & 'e' that will make the angled terminals work the way i want?

Is my solution ok (and the problem is just that strangely over-rational corner of my brain), or is there a better solution?


texts: Sans-Serif font suggestions for small (11pt), bold, uppercase heading text

texts:
I need some suggestions for a sans-serif font to use as a Heading/Label. I'm looking at small 11pt text, which is all uppercase and bold.

I'm writing my app using WPF on Windows XP and none of the fonts I've chosen so far look slick/smooth.

I've tried Gill Sans MT and Franklin Gothic Demi Cond so far.


texts: Photoshop Artboard has a weird 1px line around?

texts: Can anyone tell me why artboard in Photoshop be bounded by a 1px line. How I can fix this? Thank you.


texts: Indesign: exporting multiple certificates, each with a different name, into separate files

texts:
I'm looking for efficient way of importing the 1000+ individual names into an InDesign document then exporting out as an individual PDFs (a 1000 page pdf wont work). One name per page.

I have created an InDesign A4 sized certificate that will be used for 1000+ names.

I'm not sure if running a script or ifs there is a batch option already in InDesign that could handle this sort of task.

I have done a certificates before (60+ names). I just made a master page and made the 'name area' editable region. This way I had to copy/paste, export each PDF per name. It took a while.


texts: How can I align layer to center of canvas in Photoshop

texts:
Using CS6. My canvas is larger than my layer, and I would like to position the Layer in the middle of the Canvas.
I have the "Snap To" options in the view menu set to all three: Guides, Layers, Document Bounds.
Yet when I move the position of the layer, it doesn't "Snap" anywhere.
When I click the "Layer" menu, the "Align" submenu is greyed out.
How do I align my layer in the middle of the Canvas?