Hey everyone! I’m back with the second half of this two part series about using Photoshop as a means of extracting a subject from its background, and am very sorry that it took this long to get it done. In Part 1, we undertook a basic review of what channels are, and how they work. If you haven’t read that article already, I suggest that you review it before proceeding here.

There was plenty of good stuff to see and learn on the interwebs this month. Here is the trail I trekked through and the result is a list of the best articles, tutorials, inspiration and more from the design community for March 2010.

You hear all the time if you are a freelancer, that you are essentially the business. Not only are you all aspects of it, but you are also the face behind it. But how much of that face is actually yours, and how much of it is a sort of compromised professional persona that may not be a fully representative of you?

Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities is a book that explores logos and branding identity through the eyes of David Airey.

UPrinting and MyInkBlog are teaming up again to bring you another awesome giveaway. This time we are giving away 500 trifold brochures to 2 lucky winners. The brochures will be 8.5×11 on glossy paper with 4-color printing on both sides. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only, free shipping within US only

This is part 4 of the Design Toolbox Series where I interview top designers about what tools they use to help them create their art. This series was largely inspired by Grace Smith’s “Show Me Your Dock Series.” It’s my hope that you can gain insight into what other designer’s are using, and hopefully find some new apps/tools to check out.

In this photo manipulation tutorial we are going to digitally create a dream land using Photoshop. Along the way we will analyze lighting, incorporate a shattering effect, and use some brush tool properties.

MediaLoot is a brand new online toolbox of premium design resources. It’s a subscription based site that offers designers awesome icons, Photoshop brushes, textures, vectors, print templates, and more.

Facebook, your parents are now on it, and maybe even your grandparents too! Proving to have staying power, Facebook towers over the demise, and eroding of previous contender Myspace. Facebook has many interactive features, and various functions we can all take advantage of.

I was definitely preoccupied this month with the MyInkBlog redesign, so this MyInkTrail is shorter than usual. Nonetheless, I did stumble into some great stuff. Here are the best articles, tutorials, inspiration and more from the design community for February 2010.

In this post we are going to take a look at the fine art of brainstorming. Analyzing the ways and means that some of us use to get those clouds rolling in, and the storms raging relentlessly inside our heads.

The icon designer need not be weighed down by the contents of his or her toolkit. A combination of three or four good-quality tools is sufficient for producing sleek, polished and professional icons that will help users navigate their way around computers and the web.