I love geckos. I first set eyes on them in the 1980s, while visiting my mother and father in their Florida home. We were sitting at the pool, and a … [Read More...] about Accepting What Is: Lessons from a Gecko
How to Create Masks in Illustrator
Called Clipping Paths in Illustrator, masks are shapes that are used to hide areas of color or images. The portion of color or image that lies within the shape of the mask is visible. Designers create masks to clip images and insert images inside text. The benefit of masks is that they are non-destructive. The hidden areas are still in the file (they haven't been deleted) and you can easily edit them. Four Ways to Make a Mask 1 - Mask Button This is an easy way to mask an image with a … [Read more...] about How to Create Masks in Illustrator
Image Captions in WordPress
Shortly after writing an article about Adding Images to WordPress Pages and Posts, I received an inquiry about how to add captions to images. Captions are the small text that appears underneath pictures. They often contain brief descriptions and copyright information. You can add captions to individual images or to multiple images. Captions for Individual Images Sometimes you'll realize that a caption is needed for an image after you've written a post or created a page. Go to the post or … [Read more...] about Image Captions in WordPress
How to Create a MailChimp RSS Campaign
MailChimp is a great tool for managing email subscriptions and marketing campaigns. It is free to use, up to 2,000 subscribers. I use it to send out notices about my recent work, upcoming events, and new blog posts. One of MailChimp's wonderful features is the ability to create RSS campaigns that automatically send email notices to your blog subscribers when a new post is written. I'll walk you through the steps of creating and sending an RSS campaign. Create a Campaign Log into MailChimp … [Read more...] about How to Create a MailChimp RSS Campaign
WordPress Pages vs. Posts
WordPress newbies often misunderstand the differences between pages and posts. If you use WordPress solely as a website platform, without a blog, then the confusion might be heightened, and for good reason! Let's compare pages and posts, so you can see how they differ. Pages These are the regular, static pages of your website. The content doesn't change, unless you edit the page. Typical pages are: ABOUT, CONTACT, SERVICES, RESOURCES, etc. Individual pages can be added to the navigation … [Read more...] about WordPress Pages vs. Posts
Logging into WordPress and Viewing the Back End
All websites have a front end and a back end. The front end is what is viewed by visitors, where we see the results of what happens on the back end. The back end is hidden from visitors, and only viewable to those who can either log into the site (as in WordPress and other content-management systems) or have access to the files used for building the site. Login Page In order to login to your WordPress site, you must navigate to the login page. To get to that page, you can usually add /login or … [Read more...] about Logging into WordPress and Viewing the Back End
Create an Illustrator File with Bleeds
Adobe Illustrator is primarily a drawing tool for vector art. But, you can also use it as a layout program, and there will be times when you need to include bleeds if the final piece is going to be printed. Posters, magazine covers, business cards, and postcards are some of the 1- or 2-sided layouts you can create in Illustrator. If the project has more than 2 sides or pages, then I recommend using InDesign. Creating a file with bleeds in Illustrator is actually pretty similar to what you do … [Read more...] about Create an Illustrator File with Bleeds
Changing Image Opacity in Photoshop
There are times when you need to ghost back an image so that text can be read when placed on top of it or perhaps even another image can be seen below it. Reducing the opacity moves the image in a 2-dimensional space to the middle-ground or background. It also increases the transparency and enables us to see what lies underneath. There are a couple of simple ways to reduce opacity in Photoshop and the steps are outlined below. Option #1 - Opacity Setting Open the file in Photoshop. Make … [Read more...] about Changing Image Opacity in Photoshop
Create a Seamless Pattern in Adobe Illustrator
I love patterns! There are so many applications for them: website backgrounds and headers, books, posters, CD packages, wrapping paper, iPhone cases, fabric, and more. It's fun making them, too. My tool of choice is Adobe Illustrator and here's how I do it. Create a new document. The dimensions should be square. I usually make mine 600 x 600 pixels. The edges represent the seam. Place your objects around the edges of the square so that part of the object is visible inside the square and … [Read more...] about Create a Seamless Pattern in Adobe Illustrator
Placing a Logo in a Genesis WordPress Header
I use the Genesis framework for the bulk of websites I build in WordPress. The reasons are many, but quite simply Genesis rocks! Fundamentally solid with clean code, it's highly customizable and it has a generous, active, knowledgeable support community. In some cases, depending on the theme, uploading an logo to a Genesis header can be a really simple process. In other cases, it's still simple, but a few additional steps are required. I'll show you both scenarios. NOTE: Be sure to back up … [Read more...] about Placing a Logo in a Genesis WordPress Header
Distracted Driving Project 2016
Our first project for my Graphic Design 2 class last semester (fall 2016) was a Distracted Driving Campaign. This is a subject that touches all of us, and I was really impressed with the students' level of commitment and analytical thought in tackling the project. We had good discussions about our own experiences and all of the ways a person could be distracted while driving. Foremost on our list was texting and use of a cell phone. Also included on our list: drinking, drugs, too much talking, … [Read more...] about Distracted Driving Project 2016
Journey to South Africa – Week 2
The first part of our 2-week journey to South Africa was spent doing volunteer work at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Daktari Bush School. We then entered "safari mode" and went to Kruger National Park. These pictures are accompanied by brief narratives that describe what we experienced. Day 9 - Oct. 21, 2016 Daktari Bush School to Olifants River, South Africa Our final morning at Daktari was quite moving. Each student had written a list of "promises" and, one by one, stood … [Read more...] about Journey to South Africa – Week 2
Journey to South Africa – Week 1
In Oct. 2016, I went on an incredible 2-week journey to South Africa!! The words to fully describe the experience spill out in pictures. It was a trip of a lifetime, organized and facilitated by Shayne Traviss (of VividLife) and Dawid De Wet (of Toerboer). Day 1 - Oct. 13, 2016 Johannesburg, South Africa Our flight out of Boston was the morning of Oct. 12. We flew to Atlanta, had an 8 hour layover there, then caught our flight to Johannesburg. There was an unexpected delay with the "Joburg" … [Read more...] about Journey to South Africa – Week 1
Saving a File From JPG to PNG
JPGs and PNGs are both compressed file formats. I tend to use each of them exclusively for the web. But there are occasions when you might need to send a high-resolution JPG to a someone who will convert it to a TIFF, PDF, or PSD format for print purposes. Digital cameras, for instance, save the file in JPG format. JPGs are terrific for continuous tone images, such as photographs of people, places, and things, as well as scans of artwork. The images have a full range of color or shades of … [Read more...] about Saving a File From JPG to PNG
Why Does It Take So Long to Finish a Painting?
People ask me all the time, "How long does it take you to do a painting?" It depends. I rarely finish a painting the same day I start it. Usually, it takes 2-3 sittings before I experience that definitive moment of "it's done." Each sitting is approximately 3 hours. If the painting is small, I may be able to finish within 2 hours. Larger paintings take me longer. But, size isn't the only factor. I'm thinking about all of this right now, because I finished a painting this summer that I started … [Read more...] about Why Does It Take So Long to Finish a Painting?