Creative Notes

Add, remove, and replace PDF pages

Pariah S. Burke — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0800

Pariah Burke walks you through the process of adding, removing, and replacing pages in complex Acrobat Pro PDF files.

Fonts in the wild

Jay J. Nelson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

You don't have to be a font designer to enjoy identifying fonts in public places. Jay Nelson walks you through exploring fonts wherever you are.

Photoshop tip: Global Light

Pariah S. Burke — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

What is the Global Light setting and when should you use it?

Integrate your iWeb site with Facebook

Adam Berenstain — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Here's a few tips on bringing iWeb and Facebook together.

Creating a favicon for your Web site

Chris McVeigh — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:30:00 -0800

Go to any major Web site, and you’ll almost certainly see an icon to the left of the address in your browser. This tiny image is called a favicon (or Favorites Icon), and with a little effort, you can create one of your own.

Self-promotional sites with iWeb

Adam Berenstain — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:30:00 -0700

Pulling together a self-promotional Web site can be complex. Using iWeb for the task can make your job easier.

Maximize your iMovie editing space

Jeff Carlson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:30:00 -0700

The designers of iMovie have included several options for maximizing the editing environment for any screen size. Whether you want to focus on your project instead of your video library, or just want to recover some elbow room while editing, the following techniques will help.

Pro Applications Update tackles Final Cut Studio

Philip Michaels — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:33:00 -0700

Pro Applications Update 2009-01, released by Apple Thursday, includes updates for Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Color, Motion, and Compressor.

Scary fonts

Jay J. Nelson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:00:00 -0700

Planning a Halloween party or celebration? Or just sending a card? Here are places where you can find some original fonts for the occasion.

Sharing home movies with iWeb

Adam Berenstain — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0700

The My Albums templates in iWeb aren’t just for pictures––they can hold videos, too. Here’s how to use them to organize your movies in one convenient place online.

Cartoon you: Photoshop gradients for monotone or duotone effects

Pariah S. Burke — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:30:00 -0700

Here's how to use Photoshop's gradients to create an elegant duotone avatar for social networking Web sites or chat clients.

Design basics: The alignment analysis

Lesa Snider — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

You don't need a degree in graphic design to create great-looking documents. You just have to follow a few simple rules. Today we learn about alignment.

Cartoon you: Quick avatars with Photoshop filters and effects

Pariah S. Burke — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:45:00 -0700

How to use Photoshop filters to build creative avatars for social networking and Web sites and chat clients.

Xinet unveils updated asset management tools

Jackie Dove — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:47:00 -0700

Xinet released new versions of its digital asset management and video asset management systems.

Cartoon you: Illustrator’s Live Trace converts your photo into a drawing

Pariah S. Burke — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Illustrator's Live Trace feature is the subject of our fourth article on how to create your own avatar portrait for social networking Web sites and instant messengers.

Adios Script: a smart font

Jay J. Nelson — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Our font of the month, Adios Script, exemplifies OpenType functionality.

Cartoon you: Your portrait in Illustrator

Pariah S. Burke — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:30:00 -0700

Use Illustrator's Pen tool to whip up a quick avatar self-portrait for social networking web sites and chat clients.

Autodesk opens design software to Mac via Parallels

Philip Michaels — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:24:00 -0700

In addition to the native Mac software it already offers, Autodesk says its Windows offerings will now run on Parallels Desktop, as it makes Parallels its preferred virtualization software.

Wacom releases new Bamboo tablet line

Jackie Dove — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:00:00 -0700

Wacom's new line of tablets sports a streamlined design and multi-touch gestures, and eliminates the mouse.

State of the art: Blu-ray on the Mac

James Galbraith — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:00:00 -0700

It may have beaten out HD-DVD in the bloody battle to be the high definition optical drive standard, but in the roughly year and a half since the format wars ended, Blu-ray DVD has yet to gain any real traction in the desktop computer realm. That should change in the near future.

Apple updates Logic Pro, Logic Express

Philip Michaels — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:06:00 -0700

Logic Pro 9.0.1. and Logic Express 9.0.1 both improve stability of the music creation applications while tackling bugs and adding other enhancements.

New GarageBand Lessons include Rush, John Legend

Dan Moren — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:23:00 -0700

Apple's added a trio of new artist lessons to its Garage Band Lesson Store, including a pair by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson.

Make your iPhone video pop

John Brandon — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:30:00 -0700

How to shoot crisp and colorful video on your iPhone without the typical jerky-camera look.

Cartoon You: More easy avatars

Pariah S. Burke — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Part two of our series on how to create cool characters for your social networks and IM clients.

Organize Your iMovie Video Library

Jeff Carlson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:00:00 -0700

To deal with the glut of video that quickly accumulates in the Event Library, iMovie includes features for marking favorite footage and rejecting (and hiding) sections to reduce the clutter, and applying keywords to find related video.

Adobe to buy Omniture for $1.8 billion

Elizabeth Montalbano — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:47:00 -0700

Adobe has agreed to buy Web analytics company Omniture for $1.8 billion in cash.

MOTU releases Digital Performer 7

Jackie Dove — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:55:00 -0700

Mark of the Unicorn has released Digital Performer 7, an upgrade to its audio workstation software, featuring a variety of additions and productivity enhancements, including a new suite of modeled guitar effects plug-ins.

Cartoon You: Creating easy avatars

Pariah S. Burke — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Part one of our Easy Avatars series on how to create cool characters for your social networks and IM clients.

Coloring with Adobe Kuler

James Dempsey — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:30:00 -0700

The use of color is generally one of the most important aspects of any design. But not all designers are blessed with the ability to create color combinations that work well together. Most of us know a great color-combo when we see one, but couldn't create one if our lives depended on it. This is where Kuler can help.

Producing the Macworld Podcast

Christopher Breen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:30:00 -0700

A step-by-step look at how we create the Macworld Podcast.

Opinion: What can the new Stylus Pro 3880 do for you?

Rick LePage — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0700

What can photo pros take away from Epson's upgraded printer?

Opinion: Should creatives upgrade to Snow Leopard?

James Dempsey — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:30:00 -0700

Designer James Dempsey ponders whether the creative community will benefit from upgrading to Snow Leopard.

Native Instruments announces new versions of its core products

Jonathan Seff — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:06:00 -0700

Native Instruments will ship new versions of Kontakt, Absynth, Guitar Rig Pro, and Komplete in October.

Design basics—the proximity principle

Lesa Snider — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:30:00 -0700

When it comes to designing pleasing ads, brochures, and flyers, space matters.

Adobe acquires Web platform builder

Paul Krill — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:09:00 -0700

Adobe Systems has acquired Business Catalyst, which provides a platform for Web professionals to build online businesses.

Recording your song on an iPhone

John Brandon — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:30:00 -0700

As an amateur musician, I’m always looking for ways to get a song from my head into my computer. With Sonoma Wire Works FourTrack, it’s easy to compose an entire song, record the basic parts, and then export the audio to your Mac for further editing.

Opinion: iMovie needs to open up to developers

Jonathan Seff — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:30:00 -0700

Prior to iMovie '08, developers could create plug-ins that added new titles, transitions, and effects to the software. Apple needs to bring that ability back.