Layers Magazine Tip of the Day - Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - A Colorful Solution to a Type Area Problem
A former student, called with a question about Illustrator’s Area Type that comes up quite often. She started, "I’ve created a Text Area object by clicking and dragging with the Type tool (T). I would like to make this object into a type panel in my design with a color fill and inset text. How do I fill the Area Type object? No matter what I’ve tried, I just keep changing the Fill color of the type, not its background." I answered, "The trick is selecting the Area Type object without selecting the type that it contains. To do so, click once on the edge of this Type object with either the Direct Selection tool (A) or the Group Selection tool. Now, when you pick a fill color from the Swatches panel, it will fill the inside of the Type Area, leaving the text itself unchanged.
To inset your text from the edge of its container, Go to Type>Area Type Options and in the window that opens, increase the Inset Spacing in the Offset section, and press OK. Viola! You just created a type panel with a filled background and inset text."
Tip provided by Jeff Witchel, Adobe® Certified Training Provider.
I was stumbling through some articles on the net when I came across one written by on of the staff /writers over at GoMedia that caught my attention.
This article really explains on how much time a designer dedicates to a client when doing a special Job.
Whether it be a logo, T-Shirt Design or a Flyer no matter what it is "we designers" have to sketch up is time consuming. They First have to realize that…
1. We know how to design what they need because not only we know the programs that are needed, but we also know how to use the program(s).
2. 75% of the time we can meet deadlines. Just as long as they’re brought to us with a considerate amount of time to work on.
3. The Client also needs to know that when they bring us a job that needs to be done yesterday….they are gonna get charged extra for the job simply because we either need to push other jobs aside and do their job, and we as the designer will need to dedicate countless hours on their jobs with ump-teen (sp?) times of proofing involved.
check out the article here, down below. Your feed back here is important
Designers in the music and apparel industry are some of the most talented designers around. I’m willing to bet there isn’t a sector of graphic design that allows more creativity and more artistic freedom. Despite the amazing talent and style, the “scene” suffers from a few fatal flaws that need to be remedied. If you’re a designer and your client base consists mostly of bands and clothing companies (myself included) then you need to read this.
I’ve interviewed eight of the premier designers in the music and apparel industry. Each designer had lots to say about the subject and spoke from their own experiences as well as what they observe in the design community. I’ve compiled a list of 15 mistakes and summarized the key points for each. I decided to split this into 3 posts because there is just so much information to take in. Parts 2 and 3 will be available soon.
A popular style that has been around now for a couple of years in graphic design is grunge. A touch of grunge can easily be added to your artwork with a set of custom brushes. Once you create your set of brushes, you can save them and call them up at any time to achieve the grunge style. In this tutorial, we’ll use both Photoshop and Illustrator to create the brushes, and then you’ll learn how to apply the brushes in Photoshop.
In previous tips, we’ve told you that you can scale grouped text and images together by holding the Cmd/Ctrl+Shift key and then dragging. But grouping can be awkward, as objects all move to the same layer. Fortunately, you can resize multiple objects without grouping them. Select all the objects and switch to the Free Transform tool in InDesign’s toolbar. Then simply drag on a corner of the selection and hold the Shift key to constrain the proportions. Your objects scale together without being grouped.
Okay, since I’m going post happy here let me start up a topic that we mainly deal with on an everyday basis. Considering that we’re soon to get CS4…and god knows that we aren’t even done learning every little nook and cranny in CS3 yet, lets look and see the benefits in the upgrades while we’re on the move to the next level…err…release.
Tell me…or should I say "Tell Us" what Adobe programs you use on the day to day basis. • What do you hate or love about this/these programs you use everyday? • What do you look forward to in the next versions? • What can you use that hasn’t been implemented in your version? • How can you get work done faster with these improvement(s)
By doing this we will be helping all the people like ourselves improve at work. Create a steady workflow. Possibly do things better with a open mind and learn to appreciate the upgrades as they come from the labs of the creators.
I am one that can’t wait to get my hands on the new software once it arrives. I’ve come to learn that waiting a little while until the upgrade is finally ready/complete is the way to go…just incase of any glitches…you know . Lets all give each other some help here…lets all be heard. You never know!
Here is a very interesting video on Adobe Lightroom explaining how to properly import and export your images from Lightroom. Video done by: Matt Kloskowski over at LR Killer Tips website
All credits to Matt Kloskowski from Lightroom Killer Tips & NAPP
Tip provided by Jeff Witchel, Adobe® Certified Training Provider
Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip – Reapplying a Selection Command
I just made a selection in a complex design, by first selecting an object Filled with a certain color and going to the Select menu>Same>Fill.
All objects that share that same Fill color with the original are now selected. I change the Fill color of all these selected objects, and click another object in my design. Is there a quick way to reapply this same selection command using my newly selected object without another visit to the Select menu. Yes! Simply press Command+6 (Control+6 on PC) and the last selection command will be repeated using the currently selected object. So all objects that share the same Fill color with the newly selected object will be selected in an instant.
Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Can You Scale to a Precise Percentage in the Transform Panel?
If you open your Transform panel (Window>Transform) and take a long hard look, do you see a way to Scale a selected object to a precise percentage? I asked this question in an advanced Illustrator class and all of the artists agreed it’s just not possible. There are Rotate and Shear fields in the panel but no Scale field to type in a percentage. One artist added that you could click on the Link icon next the Width and Height field to keep any change in proportion.
Then if want to make the object 50% of it original size, for instance, you just add "/2" after either measurement and press the Return (Enter) key to divide the sizes in half. But there’s no place enter a percentage. I answered, "You got really close, but you’re afraid to try the impossible." With an object selected and the Width linked to the Height in the Transform panel, I highlighted the Width field and replaced the measurement with 50% and pressed my Return (Enter) key. The results got a mixture of oohs and ahhs from my students." What’s the moral of the story? Try the impossible and you could be pleasantly surprised.
Tip provided by Jeff Witchel, Adobe® Certified Training Provider.
In previous tips, we’ve told you that you can scale grouped text and images together by holding the Cmd/Ctrl+Shift key and then dragging. But grouping can be awkward, as objects all move to the same layer. 
If you open your Transform panel (Window>Transform) and take a long hard look, do you see a way to Scale a selected object to a precise percentage? 
