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Showing posts from January, 2015

How to Install and Use Illustrator Brushes

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What are Brushes and Brush Libraries? Brushes are Illustrator presets that are applied to the stroke of a shape or path. The stroke is the outline of a shape or path, and simply put, brushes are a great way to jazz up the stroke. A set of brushes or other presets in Illustrator is called a library. Here's a guide to getting your new brushes up and running. How to Install Brushes Unpack your Brush Library Unzip your new product files and locate the brush library. Brush libraries end in .ai (which is the extension for any Adobe Illustrator file) so it might be a little tricky to figure out which one is a brush library. Often, sellers name the file descriptively (with “library” in the file name) so it's easy to find. Once you've got a good idea where the brush library is, head on into Illustrator to install it. Installing the Brush Library There are a number of ways to install brush libraries. Here is one easy way. Simply go to Window > Brush Libraries >

How to Install and Use Photoshop Styles

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What are Photoshop layer styles? Photoshop layer styles are just about what you would expect given the name. They are style effects that alter the appearance of a layer. Typically layer styles are used for text effects, but they can be used on images, backgrounds, and any other layer. You will probably be most familiar with these in the form of the preset layers available in Photoshop, such as Drop Shadow, Stroke, Inner Glow, etc. Why are Photoshop layer styles useful? Photoshop layer styles make it incredibly simple to apply one or many different effects to your designs. When applied, a layer style are linked to all the contents of a layer -- so when you move or edit that particular layer, your styles are still applied to the modified contents. The versatility of such a tool allows for tons of experimentation as you can easily switch between styles, apply different styles to different layers, and shift all of your contents around without affecting the styles. Basically this t

How to Install and Use Photoshop Brushes

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What are Photoshop brushes? At its most basic, the Photoshop brush tool is used for drawing lines and shapes in any color on a layer in your document using strokes. After selecting a brush, you can draw simply by clicking the left mouse button a single time, or by holding it down and dragging your cursor around the page to create multiple marks with a single stroke. Why are Photoshop brushes useful? Despite the term "brush," you can use brushes for much more than just replicating physical media like paints. In fact, brushes can be used for everything from textures and patterns to lighting. The ease of use and versatility of this tool make it a handy resource for both the novice and the expert designer to add depth to your projects. Installing Brushes Much like installing actions, installing brushes is a very easy process. Follow these simple steps: 1. If you don't have any brushes, grab a set from the great selection available on Iam Designer . 2. Downloa

How to Install and Use Photoshop Actions

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What are Photoshop actions? Photoshop actions come in the .ATN file format and put simply, actions are a series of steps that have been recorded by their creator. This sequence of steps can then be reapplied at any time, which allows you to recreate the end result without having to go through each individual step every time. Think of them as short cuts. Why are Photoshop actions useful? Actions are great because they not only save time, but they significantly speed up your workflow. When you install a professional action in Photoshop, you are essentially getting the expertise of the person that created the action right on your computer. You can bypass hours of frustration and instead have fun playing around with different looks at the click of a button. For the novice, the ease of use and instant gratification of actions can be an important step in learning to embrace Photoshop. And if you're interested in learning more, you can always dig into the individual layers of th