From Sketch to Vector Illustration

For those of you without good sketching ability – please don’t jump ship just yet! I will also discuss a number of tips and techniques to using your pen tool that applies to ALL vector artists – so keep reading. You’ll still learn a thing or two. And who knows – maybe you try to sketch something anyway.

I am going to meander a bit between different sketches, but here is one example of a vector illustration that was based off of a sketch.

8 Simple Steps to Set Yourself Up on Social Media

Freelancers new to flying solo can be overwhelmed by the mass of marketing opportunities on the web. And while social media is a great way to promote your business, it can be enormously time consuming.

Like any marketing activity, it takes time to build up your brand, but there is no need for promotional work to distract you from your core business. With careful planning, some quality writing and a time limit on your efforts, you can soon have a strong reputation across a large network of potential clients and promoters.

Setting up an online brand can be done quickly by following these simple steps…

10 Online HTML5 Tools For Web Designers

If you haven’t heard, HTML5 is taking the web by storm! It is currently being enhanced by experts to provide us Web Designers & Developers with awesome new revolutionary web page features!

HTML5 Background Information

For those of you who are new to HTML5, here is some quick background information to get you up to speed.

• HTML5 is the new language for presenting content on the Internet (at the time of writing this article it is still in beta but soon to be released in 2012).
• HTML5 brings new features making it easy to incorporate video, audio, fonts, drag & drop, web graphics & animations into your web pages.
• HTML5 is backwards compatible to don’t worry about your old designs in HTML 4 or XHML1 they will work just the same!
• jQuery has started killing Flash, HTML5 will finish it off for sure.

7 Photoshop tips for designing clean and modern websites

Clean, elegant, and beautiful web design is often a matter of personal perspective. I look at hundreds of websites every week, and several of them stand out to me, but not all of them are necessarily effective.

Too often designers boil a concept down too far, producing a final design that is nothing more than text and a grid. While these minimal designs have their aesthetic appeal, particularly when paired with excellent typography, they risk falling short of notice.

Personal opinions aside, there are certain features of a design that allow it to be proudly labeled as clean or modern and enhance its usability and likability on a universal level. Simplicity is not a design trend, but rather an attribute of good design.

Photoshop grants us a versatile set of tools for creating depth and interest, and invites us to integrate subtle detail where we would leave a blank space. You need only a handful of these tools to infuse the qualities of modern design into a layout. By mastering them, you can create clean designs that express functionality clearly and effectively.

10 Top Tips to Top Google SEO Rankings (Try saying that 10 times fast!)

Top ranking in Google search isn’t a simple task, there is a huge competition out there you should be aware of some tips to impress the Google bot. I know there are tons of methods available on internet but I would recommend you to go with a simple and short 10 methods to rank top on Google. If you really serious about your business or website or blog, then you should follow each and every step to achieve your rankings.

So let’s start this 10 methods of coaster ride, remember each and every bit of information or method is clearly explained with descriptive words, so let’s start our journey to rank top on Google SEO rankings.

10 Important Factors To Consider Before Choosing A Web Host

Like most things, making a decision on which web hosting company to choose can be tough. With all the companies out there each promising to have 99% uptime, unlimited resources, and knowledgeable support, there has to be a way to cut through the jargon and make an informed decision. Right?

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This guide will help you make that decision by showing you how to compare apples to apples. By understanding what hosting companies mean by what they say, you’ll be able to decide which hosting company and package best suits your needs.