Vector Christmas Trees

A collection of three abstract Christmas Trees by mariannasm. The illustrations are in Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw file formats. Perfect for designing a Christmas card or a wallpaper...

To use the resource first, you need to expand the .zip file. Download

Hugo Create

HUGO Fragrances invites emerging talents from all-over the world to participate in HUGO Create, a creative contest. HUGO Create is open to graphic design, illustration and photography. 

The main aim of the HUGO Create design challenge is to stir up creativity and to create a high-profile platform for emerging talents. More

Spanner Brushes for Adobe Illustrator

A collection of spanner brushes for Adobe Illustrator from r2010. Perfect for creating abstract vector backgrounds, patterns swatches or custom decoration of your vector artwork. 

Download Click on the image below for detailed preview.

Retro Colors

An inspirational color palette that I found while researching retro color themes for a project that I'm currently working on. The palette is available for download here. Just have in mind that you need to register a ColourLovers.com account in order to access the download links.

Intro to Gradients in Adobe Illustrator CS3

An eye-opening video that might be helpful for Adobe Illustrator beginners. It explores the use of linear and radial gradient in Adobe Illustrator CS3...

Random Tips: Dragging and dropping around the new panels can get kind of confusing. Make sure you always have your objects properly selected. When you create multiple color gradients save them as swatches, it is a big time saver.
Basic Gradients in Illustrator from Tom on Vimeo.

Anatomic Heart Vector Illsutration in EPS

A detailed anatomic heart vector illustration from ChaosIndustry.

If you are planning on using this resource as a design element, you can get some great effects by playing with scale. A lot of tiny details can be noticed in outline mode (Cmd+Y Adobe Illustrator)...

The artwork is saved in EPS file format, you can use any vector compatible program to modify the file. Download

31 Vector Coffee Cups

A set of 31 cute vector coffee cups in EPS and PDF file formats from DragonArt. Each cup has aunique style but you are not restricted to applying your own style...

The pack may be helpful if you are designing a coffee shop menu, designing a cafeteria scene in Flash or use them as web icons. It's all up to you.

Download 4.56 MB

Random Vectors #02

A must-have vector set from YSR1. The pack contains around 80 vector illustrations. Inside you can find, heraldic symbols, laurel leaves, girl illustrations, a security camera, birds, skylines and many more...

Perfect for logo design brainstorming. The artwork is saved in Adobe Illustrator file format. Download

Celtic Pattern Brush for Adobe Illustrator

Pattern brush for Adobe Illustrator from Shurakai-Zero. This brush pack includes corner pieces, mid-sections, corners and end-sections. You might find it useful for creating an epic / historical atmosphere...

To use, load the AI file in Adobe Illustrator and bring up the brushes pallette Window>Brushes). Download

Trends in Logo Design for 2008

Since it is almost the end of the year (2008), I thought that posting a summarizing logo trend link is not a bad idea. The article is from LogoOrange.com - a great source of inspiration and identity design tips...

"Logos are the ultimate mark of distinction and everyone loves them. We see logos everyday - on the highways, on consumer goods, on the Web and in the institutions and organizations we support.

Read about the different types of logo designs here and learn what principles and techniques are used to create them. Discover what the future holds for logo design! " Article & Gallery

Character Design with Adobe Illustrator

A comperhensive character design tutorial from our favorite digital illustration tutorial source Computer Arts Magazine.

"Illustrator James Jarvis explains how he designed his new vinyl toy, and then turned him into a Computer Arts Projects cover star.

In the following tutorial I reveal all about the processes I go through when developing a character, from initial idea to finished product – a vinyl figure and an illustration.

I started to design toys completely by accident; it was never a planned career move. In 1998 the opportunity arose to make a figure based on one of my characters as a promotional item for a fashion company, Silas. The toy proved popular so we made another a year later, and everything snowballed from there. " Full tutorial and source files

Vector Shopping Carts

A set of ten shopping cart illustrations in vector format. You might use them for designing a logo or a web icon...

To use, load open PDF file with Adobe Illustrator select all, and ungroup (Object>Ungroup).Free for personal and commercial use. Download

Corrosion by Concept-B

by Concept-B

Adobe Illustrator CS34

Adobe Illustrator CS4 review by Ben Long, Macworld.

"If you're someone who started out with Adobe Illustrator back when it was called Illustrator 88, then you've seen lots of changes over 20 years. Illustrator is one of a handful of powerful vector drawing products aimed at graphic artists and illustrators, and it's always been elegant and production-ready. Even if Adobe has sometimes been slow to add cool new features, you could always count on Illustrator's stability and its color and output engines to perform well in a professional production environment.

Illustrator, as a high-end professional app, doesn't really have any competition on the Mac anymore (CorelDraw is Windows-only), which might explain why Adobe is only now getting around to adding some features that the program has needed for years. If you're a Mac user who needs a vector-based drawing tool, Illustrator is the biggest and best player around, and the new CS4 version is a solid, impressive upgrade that adds some cool new tools" Full review

'Vector Art' on Twitter

This blog has launched a new Twitter feed, which is mostly used for posting new blog posting notifications and other digital illustration related links as well. If you don't feel shy and already have a Twitter account, feel free to follow the link below.

http://twitter.com/vectorart
Related posts: Vector Art @ Facebook

Food Vector Pack in EPS

Here we have a great design resource from Chapolito.com. A collection of food illustrations in vector (EPS) fromat. Inside the .zip archive you will also find a free seamless pattern... that could be used as a web or a desktop background.

The pack is useful for food menu or party invitation design. Scroll down for preview. Download

Swirly Trees Vector Pack

A collection of seven swirly tree illustrations. You can use them for creating a spooky atmosphere in your composition, design a cartoon landscape or other kind of decoration...

To use, load the PDF file with Adobe Illustrator. Free for personal and commercial use. Download

Custom Drawing Brushes for Adobe Illustrator

A collection of 11 art brushes for Adobe Illustrator from ManiacResources . You can use them for applying scratchy/grungy effects on your vector paths...

To use, expand the ZIP archive, load the "Custom Drawing Brushes 1.ai" file in Adobe Illustrator and bring up the Brushes panel (Windo Brushes or F5).

This vector resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Download

Distortion of Type

"Organic digital effects are hugely popular at the moment, so it’s a good time to dig out Illustrator’s Distort tools and use them to add an unusual dimension to your work. Martin Fewell reveals how .

Illustrator’s Distort tools have been around since the application’s tenth incarnation. Located underneath the Scale tool in the Tools bar, there are seven Distort tools to choose from – simply hold down your mouse to reveal them and then tear them off the main Tools palette for easy access." Full tutorial and source files Computer Arts Magazine

Adobe Illustrator Pen Tool Basics Tutorial

An image tutorial by JoeArtist92 explaining the basics of the Pen Tool in Adobe Illustrator. Many beginner digital illustrators get scared when they face the pen tool for first time, while actually the pen tool is quite intuitive once you get the basics...

The tutorial explains the usage of the pen tool, the add anchor point tool, the delete anchor point tool and the convert tool. Once you get confortable with the feature, you should also have a look at another Adobe Illustrator Pen Tool Tips posting.

Creating Fonts with Adobe Illustrator CS3

Here we have a great video tutorial from GoMedia, that explains how you can use Adobe Illustrator for designing your own Typeface.

The video also stresses on using pathfinders to merge your shapes...



Tutorial: Creating fonts in Illustrator and Fontlab - Part 1 from Go Media on Vimeo.

Floral Pattern for Adobe Illustrator

A free Pattern Swatch for Adobe Illustrator from inferlogic. To change the color of the swatch you have to: Select a part of a leaf with the selection tool and choose Select>Same>Fill Color or select the background and change its fill color. Download Note: To use, you need to decompress the *.rar Archive with WinRar or StuffIt (MacOS).

Anchor Illustration

A free anchor illustration in vector format by Johnny Sputnik. You can use it for logo design brainstorming or a starting point of a design project...

You can easily customize shape, shades, colors and gradients by loading the PDF file with Adobe Illustrator.
Download

Late by lerms

by lerms

Holiday Card Project 08

"This year marks deviantART's fifth annual Holiday Card Project! With the goal of bringing a little cheer to patients in the hospital during the holiday season, the Holiday Card Project connects deviants from all around the world and applies their tremendous artistic abilities in designing and creating get well holiday cards.
Last year the Project received well over 1300 holiday cards sent in by more than 750 deviants from 50 different countries/political regions. The cards were then divvied up and distributed in-person by dA members at the UCI Medical Center in Orange, California. Extra cards were given to various hospitals in the U.S. and abroad for their staff to hand out to patients.
The idea behind the Holiday Card Project is to simply try and do something nice for others. However, if that isn't enough incentive, every deviant who submits a card will be given a free one-month subscription to deviantART, as well as being entered into a drawing for additional prizes."
Please read the following text for more information on the Holiday Card Project.

Vector Fists Illustrations

A collection of five vector fist symbols for Adobe Illustrator. You can use the resource for designing a poster, logo icon etc...

To use, open the PDF filw with Adobe Illustrator. Free for personal and commercial use. Download

Mind Mapping

A great article from Digital Arts Magazine about how to deal with mental blocks and creativity frustrations.

"Break down creative blocks, develop visual solutions and discover ideas that push the boundaries of design by mastering mind mapping." Full Article

Clockwork Vectors

A set of 12 vector clockwork shapes for Adobe Illustrator. The pack could be useful for decoration, designing seamless patterns or animating a clockwork mechanism in Adobe Flash.

To use, open the PDF file with Adobe Illustrator. Free for personal and commercial use. Download

Speed Tracing with Adobe Illustrator

Manga Studio 4

Smith Micro Software, Inc. Consumer Group today announced the immediate availability of Manga Studio™ Debut 4 and Manga Studio EX 4 for Windows, the world's leading manga and comic art software used by artists and hobbyists to create professional, ready-to-publish comics and print cartoons from start to finish.

"The global manga phenomenon is growing rapidly and today thousands of manga artists around the world delve into a wide range of subjects, including comedy, action, sports, business and romance," said Sarina DuPont, Product Manager for Smith Micro Software. "Manga Studio has become one of the world's most popular comic solutions because it saves artists time and resources, while offering users powerful tools to enhance their creativity." Read More Designer Today

Background Design with Adobe Illustrator

A useful tutorial for Adobe Illustrator that shows a step by step process of composing an abstract background in vector format using the gradients and blends. Full tutorial by NDesign Studio

Vector Grunge Brush Pack for Adobe Illustrator

A collection of six art brushes for Adobe Illustrator from ClickPopMedia. You might find use of them if you need to splatter some grungy shapes in your composition...

To use, expand the ZIP archive, load the "brushes1.ai" file in Adobe Illustrator and bring up the Brushes panel (Windo Brushes or F5).

This vector resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Download

20 Exceptional Websites for Learning Adobe Illustrator

"Adobe Illustrator is the industry-standard when it comes to scalable vector artwork. As a designer, Illustrator is the right tool for graphics that need to be scaled. A prime example are logos which often need to be adapted for small mediums such as business cards, larger mediums like billboard signs, and converted to grayscale or black and white for mediums such as newspapers." Link

Gradients through text in Adobe Illustrator CS3

Another informative video tutorial for Adobe Illustrator CS3. Here you will learn how to apply linear and radial gradients on type elements using vector clipping masks...



from skratch.hedgehogmedia.co.uk on Vimeo.

Women T-Shirt Template (Vector)

A free V Neck t-shirt template for Illustrator from inferlogic. It could be used for all sorts of T-Shirt design projects...

The template contains a front illustration, which can be easily customzied. To use open the PDF file with Adobe Illustrator. Free for personal and commercial use. Download

Vector Stars

A set of 62 vector star symbols for Adobe Illustrator from darkdesign1200. You can use them for designing an icon, logo brainstorming or decorating you design concept.

To use, open the PDF file with Adobe Illustrator and bring up the Symbols Palette (Window>Symbols). Download

Typography Trends

"Design is about communication, and the written word – whether printed, hand-written or electronic – is a key part of this. Learning to work creatively and effectively with type is a crucial skill for graphic designers to master: while informed and imaginative font selection, placement and treatment can all work wonders in getting your message across, ill-considered use of type can drown out a message and damage the effectiveness of your design."

Full Article Digital Arts Magazine

Pen Tool Vector Stock

A free vector stock from FirGel. The pack contains random vector illustration the of the pen tool, a vector path, anchor points, and anchor point handles that you see in the image below...

To use, decompress the *.rar file with WinRar or StuffIt (Mac OS) and open with Adobe Illustrator. Download

Drawing Vector Characters with Adobe Illustrator Tutorial

"Characters can add a recognisable face to your work. But how do you go from a sketch to the finished product? Peskimo talk through their process.

Character design is such a wide and varied subject that the specifics of each character’s process and gestation are unlikely to be the same for everyone...
However, some of the core principals, especially in the early stages of development, are key to creating a well-executed and memorable character." Full tutorial and support files Computer Arts Magazine

Rays Of Light Symbols for Adobe Illustrator

A free vector pack of Illustrator Symbols from darkdesign1209. The set contains 9 different geometrical shapes, ideal for background design and positive-negative space experiments...

Note: To use, load the PDF file in Adobe Illustrator (File>Open do not use the click and drag method) and then open the Symbols Window. Download

New York Times grabs 2 AIGA Awards for Magazine Covers

Category: Editorial design - The New York Times Magazine, The Middle Ages Issue - cover and pages 68–69, 76–77.

Category: Editorial design - The New York Times Magazine, The Ideas Issue – cover and pages 50–51, 70–71

via MedDesign

Victorian Symbols for Adobe Illustrator

A set of 20 decorational symbols in Victorian style. You can use them for decorating your design composition or creating a seamless floral pattern...

To use, load the PDF in Adobe Illustrator (Use the "File>Open" method, not Click+Drag) and bring up the Symbols palette (Window>Symbols).Special Thanks darkdesign1902. Download

Transparency in Adobe Illustrator * Tutotial

A comprehensive Illustrator tutorial from Digital Arts Magazine. Learn how to draw a vector glass of wine using transparency, blending modes and gradients."Illustrator allows you to create art of all varieties, from the highly stylized to the photorealistic. Here, digital design expert James Arnott shows how to make an impressively realistic and convincing wine glass using the software.
The tutorial gives you the tools to master transparency and translucency in Illustrator, including a step-by-step guide on using the transparency palette, blending modes and black-and-white gradients.Pair this with some smart use of the Gaussian blur and you’ve got the tools to add some touches of realism to any image." Full Tutorial

Feather Symbols for Adobe Illustrator

A set of 14 vector feather symbols for Adobe Illustrator. You can use them for decorating your concept or for designing a pattern ...

To use, load the PDF file in Adobe Illustrator (use the "File>Open" method, not click+drag) and bring up the brushes palette Symbols Palette (Window>Symbols). Download

The resource has been made availabe by darkdesign1209 & mourtisada. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Design a single color T-shirt Tutorial

"Creating single-colour T-shirts saves time and money without compromising creativity, as Olly Moss explains।Every designer wants to make a T-shirt at some point. The versatility of the medium allows for any style – there’s always a niche to fill and something that hasn’t already been done. " Full tutorial and support files Computer Arts Magazine

Speed Ilustration

Process as Drawing - 12 from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

After The Rain by bboypion

by bboypion

How to manage your fonts ?

"Digital font technology has come of age. After nearly three decades of research and development, many of the problems caused by software bugs and platform incompatibility have been resolved, and the frustrations of limited character sets and typographic control have been largely overcome. At long last, designers have access to refined file formats and easy-to-use management systems and, with the introduction of OpenType, digital typography has become a pleasure..." Full Article Computer Arts Magazine

Halftone Patterns #2 for Adobe Illustrator

Another set of halftone patterns from sembetu. This pack contains 8 different patterns created in Adobe Illustrator. Appropriate for masking, creating grunge effects or vector halftone saturation. Download