Hello and welcome all to the MabsArts blog. Today we will be discussing some Tips, Tricks and a Tutorial for all the awesome Adobe programs that MabsArts uses.
I’ve never written this kind of post, but like Justin Bieber once said “Never say Never.”
Do I feel bad for using that line, a bit… A bit, honestly, a bit. Moving on.
Like the Beatles said “I get high with a little help from my friends.” I will be sharing some of my accumulated knowledge over the 10+ years of running MabsArts. Let’s get started.
Photoshop Tips:
1- Actions:
Holy shit! Actions! This is one of honestly the best tools ever created for the graphic designer and illustrator out there.
Ex. You need to format 200 10″x 11″ jpg images? Just format one, record that action, and bulk play.
Work done in 10 minutes instead of 2 hours!
2- Sync your Tablet to Each Individual Program:
This tip works for any program that supports the hot-keys on your tablet. Do it. Not having to search for the Ctrl-Z key every time you need to undo, can help you create work more efficiently.
3- Size does matter:
Save all of your work at high resolutions 300dpi or more, is a standard in the industry. This will benefit you whether you are posting online or in print-format. Keeps the quality crisp and sharp.
Illustrator Tricks:
1- Illustrator is a money machine!
Do you know what a vector is? A vector is a mathematically rendered image that can be scaled up or down infinitely. Do you know what that means? That means you can literally sell any sort of merchandise and advertisement off just one image. That is literally a gold mine.
2- Point by Point:
Creating art point by point, or pixel by pixel is a very relaxing way to create art, as it’s quite a long task that can allow you for a meditative pause to your sketching daily habits. On top of that, it makes really sharp work, an outline created using the Illustrator Point by Point Technique can look sharper than any pen outline in the market.
3- Industry Standard:
Now a days if the client doesn’t benefit from a vector, it’s a miracle. The vector is the way to go, whether you are doing graphic design, websites, merchandise or even animation. The ability to instantly re-size at will, is huge for clients. Be sure to include this very valuable resource into your pricing.
Flash Tutorial (Creating an Animated Avatar)
Check out this tutorial video I put together where you can see a timelapse of the full process to create the animation, in it you will find a couple of tips, some notes and some back story to the whole work. I hope you enjoy it.
If you’d rather see the process without the talking part. Check out this speed-paint version. With music from the awesome DJ GIO (https://soundcloud.com/2400GIO)
Here’s the finished avatar:
Let us know what you think of this in the comment section below.
With love,
Antonio (MabsArts)
MabsArts 