Make a Suggestion for a Tutorial or Article

Aug

written by: Andrew Houle // stored in: Site News

In an effort to further develop MyInkBlog into a thriving design community I would like to open up this post’s comments for your ideas and brainstorming. I would love to hear what you think would make a great tutorial or article.

Do you have an idea for a tutorial, or have you seen an effect that you’d like to learn how it’s created? Drop me a comment below. I promise to be responsive, and try my hardest to give you a post about it. I can’t guarantee that I can help with every topic, but I’d love to try.

About Andrew Houle

Andrew is the originator and primary contributer for this blog. He is a web and graphic designer with a passion for helping aspiring designers develop their skills.

Have your say! 17 responses thus far.

zoe Says:
August 5th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

I have searched everywhere but have not found satisfactory photoshop tutorials for:
a) planet-making
b) swirls and swooshes with the pen tool (in photoshop)
c) realistic explosions.
Just a few ideas!
Andrew Houle Says:
August 5th, 2008 at 10:45 pm

Zoe,
Awesome ideas! Thank you so much for contributing them. I will definitely try to touch on all three at some point. I’m really excited about this suggestion box. Keep the ideas coming!
Andrew Houle Says:
August 10th, 2008 at 10:44 am

Zoe,
Smashing Magazine just wrote a post perfectly applicable to what you want to learn about. It links to 50 Photoshop tutorials for sky and space effects. I’m flattered to say two of which were from MyInkBlog. You should definitely check them out, as a bunch are on planet making and realistic explosions. Here’s the link: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/08/07/50-photoshop-tutorials-for-sky-and-space-effects/.

I am also just finishing up a swirls and swooshes tut that should be up this week. Unfortunately I had a tough time creating the look in photoshop. Illustrator is much better suited for this sort of work. The tut itself will be done in both, but I think you could do it all within photoshop, it’s just that you’d have to exclusively use the pen tool.

I look forward to getting more suggestions. They can be so helpful!
tripdragon Says:
August 11th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

BIG Crazy text typography. Like those seen in articles like ilovetypography http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/25/breathtaking-typographic-posters/

I know how to do it. Create outlines in illustrator. But I seek tips on using text the most that you can before creating outlines. Err just more info in the design process would be awesomes!
Andrew Houle Says:
August 11th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

trip,
Great idea, I love those posters! Now let’s see if I can write a good tut on the subject
Andrew Houle Says:
August 14th, 2008 at 5:36 pm

trip,
Thanks again for the suggestion. Check out the tutorial I came up with here: http://www.myinkblog.com/2008/08/14/big-typography-snowboarding-poster/
Tarains Says:
August 20th, 2008 at 9:27 am

Maybe creating a textured icon? These shiny glass ones like:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3104/44681445tn5.png
are rather boring, but these ones:
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6866/81700203bf3.png
look great, so a tutorial concerning making a clear, ‘textured’ icon from a photo - that would be interesting
Andrew Houle Says:
August 20th, 2008 at 11:59 am

Tarains, Great! Thanks for the suggestion… I’ll give it a shot. Keep an eye out for a textured icon tut soon.
Andrew Houle Says:
August 25th, 2008 at 4:30 pm

Tarains, thanks again for the suggestion. The tutorial that resulted is now complete… Check it out here: http://www.myinkblog.com/2008/08/25/create-a-textured-journal-icon/
Caroline Says:
August 26th, 2008 at 5:44 pm

Hi - some fantastic tutorials here - thanks - learning so much Please could I ask for a simple way to write text that fits around shapes? People shrug and say - vectors and pen tool but I can’t work it out Thanks
Andrew Houle Says:
August 26th, 2008 at 10:27 pm

Hi Caroline, Thank you for the suggestion! I could definitely write something up about that. I’ll let you know when I finish it.
Andrew Houle Says:
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:37 pm

Caroline, the suggestion worked out wonderfully. Here’s the tutorial that resulted: http://www.myinkblog.com/2008/09/02/design-a-grungy-circular-logo/ I hope you enjoy it.
David Says:
September 15th, 2008 at 10:03 pm

Hey - like the tut’s keep them coming!! What about a tutorial on fairly realistic product rendering - like a cell phone face. Industrial designers do them to quickly visualize a product without having to go into CAD. Just a thought - Thanks!
Andrew Houle Says:
September 15th, 2008 at 10:09 pm

Hi David, thanks for the suggestion, I’ll look into it. Seems like a good idea, although I’ve seen a bunch already written on this.
kippy Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 6:32 am

Hi, I’m really enjoying and learning from your tutorials. Thanks.
I’m in need of a Photoshop/Illustrator routine in which I take photos of fruit or vegetables and make them look like they are inside of a plastic bag. I’ve been playing around with texture effects, but haven’t come up with a satisfactory routine. Can you help? Thanks a million.
Andrew Houle Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 5:28 pm

@kippy I wasn’t sure how that would come out at first, but I’m really liking what I came up with! I’ll let you know when the tutorial is finished
Andrew Houle Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 8:29 am

@kippy The tutorial you suggested is up and live. Design a Realistic Sandwich Bag, check it out here: http://www.myinkblog.com/2008/11/10/design-a-realistic-sandwich-bag/