DT&G is the official publication of the Design & Publishing Center, published continuously since 1990 for desktop publishing, graphic design, web design, illustration, photography and other fields in visual communications. Here's a sampling of our most popular articles over the years.
See "Favorite new books" for the latest in great books for from our favorite publishers.
Color Schemes with Accents
Industrial Design professor Christiane English uses GenoPal, demonstrating methodology for picking a neutral light color, creating close variations, adding accent, then adding shadow colors to your palette -- all in harmony -- Like a Cherry on Vanilla Ice
Morphing Images
Morphing is one of the cooler manipulations you can do with images -- changing one image into another image in a series of steps. Until now, here hasn't been much morphing for Mac users. But now, Morph Age Pro now puts face recognition to work for itelligent morphing! Very cool. Morphing Images on Leopard
Doozla makes vector drawing kid's play
They say it's a full screen vector drawing application for kids -- but I'll bet adults will like it even more! Doozla features simple free-hand drawing and color tools, webcam & tablet support, entertaining color-in templates and inspiring background images. Doozla Drawing for Kids!
Review: Cool Web 2-point-0 Clip Art
It's zippy, flippy, hippie, and trippie... you'll like Jumsoft's new collection of clip art! They say it's for Apple's Pages... but you can use it anywhere! Here are just a few examples of Cool Clip Art from Jumsoft
Light, Bright, Color, Right
... how color palette can make your vision sing, using colors to evoke a feeling, mood, sense of time or place. Let's take a look at some works of this year's Designing Women, and see how they use color to bring their visions into full light! Building Color? What's in your palette?
Alternative Vector Drawing & Painting for Mac
Once there was only one drawing and one painting program for the Mac. This month we look at several newcomers that give Mac users some exciting choices:
- ZeusDraw is a vector drawing program with great brushes and a host of other features...
- DrawIt presents an impressive assortment of professional grade vector features...
- iMaginator and Create are two powerful new publishing tools from Stone Works' and
- DropFrame is a cross-platform application that allows you to easily add a picture frame to your images.
Creating a Photo-Painting
Who else could supply the ultimate tips for using Painter than the award-winning fine artist, designer and educator Cher Threinen-Pendarvis! In this three page excerpt from Cher's latest work, we follow the works of Master Photographer and Digital Painter Michael Campbell as he creates a masterpiece painting from a photograph...
Ultimate Patterns made easy...
You'll never have to search for -- or fumble over -- patterns again -- this updated Adobe Photoshop plug-in makes the coolest patterns and textures so easy you wonder why someone didn't invent this before now. SymmetryShop is the tool that automates the creation of all types of surface designs Ultimate Patterns made easy...
High Quality Raytrace Renderer
Microspot Interiors provides interior space and modelling space in the same application with a shared library, Interiors Pro gives professionals the flexibility they need to be truly creative without the computer slowing them down. High Quality Raytrace Renderer
Painter: Photo to Woodcut
Painter is one of the premier natural medial programs, and ideal for converting that coveted vacation shot to a graphic work of art -- follow along as award-winning fine artist, designer and educator Cher Threinen-Pendarvis shows you how noted artist John Derry created his Pagoda Woodcut
Painter To Photoshop & Back Again
Many Photoshop users think the word "Corel" is a thing of the past. However, those truly in the know will say Painter does it all. We do get a lot of questions about using the two together -- so we turned to the award-winning fine artist, designer and educator Cher Threinen-Pendarvis with her excellent tips for Using Painter with Photoshop
Using gradient paragraph rules
This time, David Bergsland, resident InDesign expert, recalls one of the unique features of InDesign -- the ability to make gradient strokes -- and then puts them to work building Gradient Paragraph Rules
Review: Flash Slideshows with Pixtivity
Have you ever said something like this, "I love how they did that! I wish I knew how to create Flash slide shows but I just don't have the time to learn?" Follow along as Mim McConnell shows you how easy it really is to make cool Flash Slideshows with Pixtivity
Preparing Artwork for Printing
Rob Cubbon, graphic designer and printing expert in the UK shares these important tips for preparing your graphic arts for printing. This is a perfect print primer for beginners to intermediates in graphics-to-print activities. Preparing Artwork for Printing
Graphics: How would Andy Warhol do it
In this 9-page, 50-image seminar tutorial, investigate the style of Andy Warhol and how to utilize art methodology and Adobe Photoshop CS2 to simulate Warhol's famouse portrait style for your own projects... the perfect gift is a portrait using Photoshop in the Andy Warhol style
Type: Making Art with Dingbats
With all the cool dingbat and picture fonts available, opportunities abound for quick and easy graphic illustrations. Design & publishing expert David Bergsland walks you through each step in making Art from Dingbats
Review: Celedy Software CeledyDraw 2
Can professional Windows users in the design field exist without Adobe Illustrator? Maybe not... probably not. However, most other Windows users can indeed exist nicely without Adobe Illustrator -- here's a robust, alternative for just about anyone... CeledyDraw 2
How-To: Creating textures and backgrounds
In this tips piece, the gurus at Spiral Graphics share their secrets at generating seamless textures. Even if you don't use Spiral's Genetica software, this information will prove important for anyone who makes textures... 5 Texture Tips: the key ingredients to great textures
Seymour Chwast: icon of contemporary graphic arts
We have a short visit with Seymour Chwast during his recent visit to JMU... and take a look at some of the visual design and illustration that helped shape a generation of graphic designers ... meet the Left Handed Designer... Seymour Chwast
Graphic Design: LOGOs back to basics
Dan Antonelli is back with another thoughtful look at logo design. In this article, Dan asks if we are over-designing logos, and demonstrates a low-cost, two-color approach that takes Logo Design Back to the Basics
Feature: An effective logo is easy to grasp
Although Dan Antonelli is firmly grounded in the sign and display industry, his logos are unsurpassed, and his knowledge of pleasing clients while not compromising their identity is relentless. In this article, Dan discusses what makes a good logo, and shows some focused examples of how an effective logo is easy to grasp
Event: LETTER AS IMAGE / IMAGE AS LETTER
L.A. area designers, illustrators and typographers will be treated to this April gallery opening when six of the most influential graphic designers in the world blur the distinctions between illustration, lettering and graphic design... Letter As Image / Image As Letter
Building Colors on Uncoated Stock
Tintbooks Introduces Tintbook Uncoated -- Remember, we told you about Tintbooks last year... well, they've now completed the first comprehensive CMYK Graphic Design Tool for printing on Uncoated Paper. See the latest TINTBOOK...
Readers talk about racism in Design
An outpouring of response from DTG readers presents a wide range of Letters to the Editor regarding previous articles about Racism in Design
Beware: Racist Images in Design
Fred responds to reader complaints about the racist images found on the self promo box "Soft Soap" from last month's issue -- and opens the scope to address more important issues... Racism in Design
Slideshows in a Picture Frame
just plug in a memory card and you've got a really cool way to show your digital photos -- in their own wood picture frame complete with sound and video... Image Moments
Eye Candy 5 Plug-Ins Collection
New Photoshop plug-in from Alien Skin... Eye Candy 5: Nature includes 10 filters that beautifully render organic phenomena. The second of a three-part upgrade to Eye Candy 4000, Nature simulates fire, smoke, rust, and more. Nature includes four new filters, six totally revamped Eye Candy classics, and hundreds of one-click special effects presets. Eye Candy 5: Nature!
Designing the Holidays
Each year I like to share some of my favorite design projects perfect for holiday promotions or greetings... here are four easy techniques for your own self promotion... Unique Greetings with Fantastic Folds
Self Promotion: Soft Soap
One of the all-time best self-promotions comes from the 1970s and the Mabey Trousdell studios -- reminding us of the top four prerequisites for a squeaky clean self promotion ... SOFT SOAP Let the boys do your work!
Adobe CS2: Sharing Palettes
if you're wondering "How can I use colors in a stock photo as a shared palette across Adobe Creative Suite 2 applications?" here's good news -- the Adobe Expert Support staff shows you how all the CS2 programs can Share Color Palettes
Review: MX Kollection
Joyce Evans, Nancy Gill, Barbara O'Neal and Steven Redden review this killer Dreamweaver extension for HTML designers that want to take a plunge into database-driven development... it's the MX Kollection
Interview: Rhoda Grossman & Elements Fun
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Rhoda Grossman, the world's premier caricaturist as we talk about drawing, retouching, and her thoroughly enjoyable new book Fun with Photoshop Elements 3: Foto-Fakery for Everyone! Come along as we meet the First Lady of Art and Farce
Color Wrap: Designing with purpose
See how careful planning of the photo shoot can save money on great shots, and then how printing and folding a single sheet solution can save a ton of money. Trace a catalog project for a small business that delivers all the collateral materials they need on a very limited color printing budget... Color Wrap: Designing with purpose
When Good Color Goes Bad
Color expert Mike Davis of Colorprep knows what to do when color goes wrong... and many times it's the photographer or designer's fault! So what do you do? How do you prevent having your Good Color Go Bad
Color Photos Converted to Text
The Worlds first colour digital photo to colour text convertor is truly one of the most innovative developments in a long time! You simply must see Simon Leung's Artext Photo Converter
Fantastic Folds: Part One
Where do you look for creative ideas in crafting a unique, creative holiday greeting and promotional mailing? One of the elements of print media is folding. It comes along with the job, and if you incorporate a unique fold, your piece will be truly memorable. Here's the first part of our series on "Designing with Paper Folds"
Editors Choice: Photoshop for Right Brainers
Want to expand beyond typical tips and techniques? Tired of those "hot" tricks without a reason or purpose? Al Ward's technical expertise gives you precision training and a creative jolt in the arm that won't quit... Photoshop for Right Brainers
July: Patriotic Art & Design
This three-page essay takes a star-spangled march through the lives of noted patriotic artists and how their styles and talents served to define a people and their country; Patriotic art is a part of everyone's history. Here we glimpse just a few of the forms of Patriotic Art, then celebrate the lives and times of James Montgomery Flagg and J.C. Leyendecker
Airman Magazine: Patriotic Design
Airman Magazine takes to the skies with powerful photo journalism and commanding design styling. Take a look at this excellent lesson in putting together a magazine we can truly call Patriotic Design
Master of Color & Texture
DTG interviews Jon C. Lund creative energy behind the Spring Travelsmith catalog cover -- impressing everyone with rich colors, texture and the extraordinary style of the golden era of posters. Jon C. Lund
Graphics & Illustration
- Adobe Illustrator Page Set-up - working with pasteboard and page margins
- Tips for better Scanning - what to do to get the best result
- Getting Rid of White Backgrounds - Clipping Paths. The most frequent question we get is how to remove the white backgrounds of TIF files imported into PageMaker or Quark (An older article but still useful)
- (Find most of our Graphics articles in the Photoshop area of the site!)
- What's the best 3D program
- Getting better scan results
- Selecting the Right InkJet Papers
- Reader asks: How It Was Done? Jem stones
- Introduction to Digital Painting
- Drop Shadows in DTP Programs
- Bending Type with Vector Art
- Give it Depth: Trimetric Projection
- Illegal Colors by Sandee Cohen
- Trapping, Chokes & Spreads
- Building Background Patterns and "Filling Type"
- Visual Proofreading
- Die Cutting without Dies
- Designing for CREEP
- Easy Type Modification Tricks
- T/Maker EPS Clip Art Classics
- Really Great Food Clip Art
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