Humans!
(Now, what did you expect me to call you? You call us cats, it’s only fair that we call you humans, no?)
Anyways, it was brought to my attention that a number of humans don’t have Photoshop (which is totally ok, because it’s not very cheap, I know, you can get loads of cat’s food for that kind money…).
Also, I was led to believe that many humans, who don’t have Photoshop, would still like to take advantage of beautiful Silvia’s Photoshop brushes.
Many humans would like to use it as .png files for their scrap booking, digital stamping, photo albuming, graphics designing and web producing, even Power Point presenting projects.
And that is not all. Apparently, a number of humans already have Windows 7, and good old abrViewer, reportedly, does not work under Windows 7.
So, how do we convert these beautiful Silvia’s Photoshop brushes to PNG files – I hear you ask?
Piece of cake.
Here is what to do:
1. Make sure have the latest version of GIMP
2. Copy the great bsilvia Photoshop brush by pressing Ctrl+C on it
3. Paste that brush into the GIMP brushes folder (In Windows it is C:\Program Files\GIMP-2.0\share\gimp\2.0\brushes)
However, to make sure, of if you are using Mac (lucky you!) you can check the GIMP brushes folder in GIMP, by clicking on Edit -> Preferences -> Folders -> Brushes
Photoshop brushes to PNG files using GIMP
4. Start GIMP and open a new file (make it as big as you would like your PNG file to be, I made it 4inx4in at 200dpt for printing)
Open a new file in GIMP
5. Make sure you are working on a transparent layer (that’s if you want to have transparent PNG file in the end)
Placing a Photoshop brush in GIMP
Place the brush on the transparent layer (actually delete the background layer should you have one)
7. Save this file as PNG
Saving Photoshop brush as PNG file
That’s it.
Now, you have a beautiful PNG file created from beautiful bsilvia’s Photoshop brush.
Meow!
Meoki
Popularity: 1% [?]
Gang,
Before I start - Yes, there is a freebie too down below in this post :)
As most of you already know, so far I was creating Photoshop brushes, vectors, backgrounds, textures, scrapbook kits, greeting cards and other designers little helpers to make sure you have fun working on your commercial and non-commercial projects in Photoshop.
And I intend to continue to do so in the future.
Having said that, ladies and gentleman, it is my great pleasure (and honor) today (gee … I’m so excited! It took me a while to create these and I am so happy with the results!!!) please let me to present you the latest product from my little factory of magic
Special Text Effexts for Photoshop
(8 stunning effects)
Simply the best, quickest and the funniest way to create special text effects in Photoshop.
1. “Baby” Photoshop text effect
2. “Colorful” Photoshop text effect
3. “Golden” Photoshop text effect
4. “Grunge” Photoshop text effect
5. “Metal” Photoshop text effect
6. “Snow” Photoshop text effect
7. “Space” Photoshop text effect
8. “Water” Photoshop text effect
And, as always, I had to make sure you’ll be able to start working with them in no time, so I prepared a short video tutorial which will show you how to use Photoshop text effect pack.
All PSD files in the box are in 3600×3600 pix (12×12 inches) @300 dpi, which means the text effects are print ready so you can use them not just for web but also for your print projects.
Do I need to mention that they are ok for commercial use too? Well, yes they are. By all means, use them in your commercial projects.
This PSD files are fully editable in Photoshop CS4 and newer versions (CS5 of course). I am not sure if they work with CS, CS2 or CS3 this still needs to be tested out. However, if you have some of these versions just get the freebie and test before you buy the full package.
Of course, should you run into any issues using it please email me or post a comment so I can help you out!
Now, as I said, one of the text effects presented in this post is a FREEBIE.
But I won’t tell you which one – hehehe! (??? I see some question marks over there …:))
You will have to find the freebie yourself. Link is in this post, but it’s hidden.
What!? I had to make you do something for a freebie innit? :))
Anyways, I am sure you found the freebie download link in no time.
Now, as far as the fonts are concerned, you can use these effects with any fonts.
Some of the fonts I used are free like Deftone Stylus from dafont.com, some aren’t. Here is the list in case you were wondering about the names of fonts used in the pack (as I said you are not limited when it comes to fonts, just use any font you like):
- Deftone Stylus
- Curetana
- Pt Banana Split
- Elephant
- Segoe
- Distro Black
- Stencil Std
- Air Conditioner
- Times New Roman
To get get the full package, 8 stunning Photoshop text effects, web and print ready with commercial license included and have fun making crazy effects in Photoshop in no time – just click on the box or “Buy it now” button. The price is only $6.00 and fun, including great results, is guaranteed :)
$6.00 is pizza (or maybe even two, depending on the pizza place, size and ingredients), you eat pizza, get fat and you know what happens to pizza next. This package won’t make you fat (guaranteed)! It will bring fun, it will stay with you forever, you will learn something new with it, you’ll make useful stuff which others will like and it can also help you make some money.
:)
And, of course, I am always here should you need any help or support.
Love,
Silvia
P.S.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against pizza. I just hate it that it makes me fat.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Gang,
One of the basic rules of good behavior is: Make promises! And the second one is: Keep promises!
Yesterday, I promised you a tutorial on creating a “bokeh” effect so you can make images like the one below.
[video filename=http://graphics-illustrations.com/videos/howtousebokehbrushesvid.swf height=600 width=800 title="bokehtutorial" vid_image=http://graphics-illustrations.com/videos/bokehvideoplay.jpg /]
Now, as you noticed, for this purpose I used Valentine’s Bokeh, Photoshop brushes set.
Valentine’s Bokeh Photoshop brushes set comes as a free bonus to the unique PREMIUM Photoshop brushes package called “Sweet Love” that will save you time, improve your designs and help you earn $$$ with your work. How? Let me tell you.
Sweet love consists of:
 |
 |
| Photoshop Brushes: Valentine’s (21+21) Second Edition + 21 PNG files $9.99 value |
Hearts Photoshop Brushes Set (32) $9,99 value |
| PREVIEW | PREVIEW |
 |
 |
| Circled hearts, Photoshop brushes set (40+40), $9,99 value |
Scrapbook Kit: Pink Valentine 2009 (21) $4,99 value |
| PREVIEW | PREVIEW |
And, of course, “Valentine’s Bokeh” PS Brushes (14)
 |
| Valentine’s Bokeh, Photoshop brushes set (14) FREE BONUS! |
| PREVIEW |
Total value: $34,96
And the above price is crossed over because I’ve put all these products into
SWEET LOVE – PREMIUM package
Package that will:
- Speed up your Valentine’s/Love/Wedding related projects and save some 70-90% of your time!
- Make it easy for you to create superb graphics for all purposes!
- Use your creations for commercial purposes so it will help you earn money!
Sweet love, PREMIUM PACKAGE will do all that!
On the top of it, it will NOT cost you $34,94.
Oh, no! It will be yours for $29,97 only AND you’ll get Valentine’s Bokeh Photoshop brushes set for FREE!
So, what do you think?
Guys! I’m sure you can recognize a good opportunity when you see it, and you’ll be glad you took this one.
- It will save you time,
- It will help you grow as a designer
- It will open a whole new horizon in your Photoshop endeavors
- It will help you achieve more in your commercial projects
How do I know? Well, don’t just take my experience or my word for it – Take a look at what others have to say about my products -> .
Nuff said. No need to spend too many words. I strogly believe in my products, they proved to be of a enormeous help for graphic designers of all profiles over and over again.
So, do the right thing.
Love ya’ all, hug and kiss first person you see after reading this, stay well and have fun creating.
Yours,
Silvia
Popularity: 2% [?]
Guys,
I received sooo many questions about using Photoshop brushes with Photoshop Elements that I just had to go and make a video tutorials on that topic.
Now, I need to add that I’m totally not surprised that Photoshop elements is so popular these days. It is a great piece of software and unless you are a heavy duty designer pro it will do just fine for all the usual bitmap editing tasks.
It even imports my Canon 5D RAW file format which I can not do with my Photoshop CS4.
I prepared four video tutorials on how to use my Photoshop Brushes and PNG files in Photoshop Elements 8.0.
First video will show you how to work with Photoshop brushes (<- 800+ Photoshop brushes MEGA SET on this link) in Photoshop Elements and this time I used Hearts (grungy) Photoshop Brushes set:
Second video is showing the easy way to work with PNG files in Photoshop Elements, and in this one I used my Tattoo PNG files from Tattoo Photoshop Brushes second edition set. This one I did together with my hubby. He did the narration:
Third video will show you how to create photo masks in Photoshop Elements (ver. 8.0) using my Christmas Photo Masks PNG files (free for GBG members, and if you are not the member you can join here):
And fourth video will also show you how to create photo masks in Photoshop Elements (ver. 8.0) using the same Christmas Photo Masks PNG files but in a different way:
I hope you’ll like the videos. I did not record audio because I’m a shy person, but all that matters is there. Just follow what I do and you’ll be just fine.
OK. That’s all for now, thank you for your supportive emails and your comments on GI Facebook fan page! I love you all!
Silvia
P.S.
If you are looking for some real cool Valentine’s Day Photoshop brushes look no further, click here ->
Popularity: 1% [?]
It’s early morning and it snows. It is a beautiful sight as I’m standing by the window witnessing this silent transformation of the landscape – from gray to white.
Mr. Alfons is dazzled too. He sees the snow for the firs time in his life and demands to go to the balcony and examine this new phenomenon.
Mr. Alfons on snow
It’s five days till Christmas and although the forecast foresees warming in the next few days ,I’m still dreaming of the white Christmas, just like Frank Sinatra. And, well, most of us.
So, let’s use this moment of the inspiration and imagine how cool would it be if we make one snowflake just to honor this beautiful morning. By the way, did you know that no two snowflakes are alike?
There is, probably, a dozen of ways on how to make a snowflake, but, in this post I will show you how I do it and I will explain why I do it this way.
The whole process starts in Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW! depending on your personal preference. The shape of the snowflake can be done in any vector editing software. Unfortunately, Photoshop is (still) unsuitable for the complex shape creation.
So, here is what we will do.
- I will show you how to create a snowflake in CorelDraw
- Then we will transform that snowflake into Photoshop
- And in the end we will create a HiQuality snowflake Photoshop brush
1. Creating a snowflake in CorelDraw
1. Creating a snowflake brush in Adobe Photoshop
Have fun creating!
Silvia
P.S.: If you don’t use CorelDraw here’s the Snowflake.EPS file for you to download –>>
P.P.S.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Guys,
I don’ know if you heard about the Russian Lomo Compact Camera and the Lomography artistic movement since 1991, but personally I love Lomo and in this tutorial I will show you how to do it. To find out more about lomo go to – What is Lomography? page.
As I said, I love that lomo-look, and many of my photos are over-saturated, burnt and have too much contrast. But, since late ’90s I didn’t use my analog cameras that much. I love them and I really like the feeling when using mechanic instruments and winding my negative films, then smell of the chemicals in the darkroom :)
Although this hobby is really time consuming, there is still a way to lomoise photos in a fast and easy way.
Let me show you, here is what photos looked like before using “lomoising” technique and after using that technique.
First image is taken with Fish eye lens in our old apartment, year ago using one strobe light and a soft-box. (What is soft-box?) On second image I got more “dramatic” look using digital lomo technique. Oh, and yes – that’s my sister :)
Also, I used Swirls Butterflies, Photoshop brushes set (20+20) from Graphics-Illustrations.Com Shop for $9.99
Set contains 40 butterflies made of swirls – 20 original in maximum brush size and 20 in small sizes (approx. 500 pixels). This Photoshop brushes set is compatible with Photoshop 7.0, CS, CS2, CS3 and CS4.
Click here for preview:
Second one is a photo of a butterfly taken in a natural light (butterfly takes a break on my red bag), and you can see that color really stands out and the yellow background looks like a flames.
Here I used Photoshop Brush – Floral DUO (62) from Graphics-Illustrations.Com Shop available for $9.9 only.
Set of 62 unique brushes for Photoshop. There is a perfect fit pair brush for each of the brushes in the set. Compatible with Photoshop 7.0, CS, CS2, CS3, CS4 and CS5.
Click here for preview:
Third sample is a photo taken during a photo session for my friend which is a hosiery manufacturer.
To decorate this image I used Photoshop Brushes – Floral Shapes (37) from Graphics-Illustrations.Com Shop available for $9.9 only – 37 High-Resolution Photoshop brushes
Compatible with Photoshop 7.0 up to CS4 & Commercial license
Click here for preview:
There is an extra promo gift that comes with the Floral Photoshop Brushes set (37): Scrapbook kit Grunge Love !
Fourth sample is pampas grass detail, photo taken in a natural light. In this case I got more dramatic look using digital lomo technique.
For image decoration I used Lightworks Photoshop Brushes set (61) from Graphics-Illustrations.Com Shop available for $9.99 only.
Set of 61 high resolution brushes compatible with Photoshop 7.0, CS, CS2, CS3, CS4 and CS5.
Click here for preview:
And finally, a portrait of my friend Iva. Here you can see same photo before and after “lomoising”. First, the photo before “lomoising”. This one is used on my Photoshop Video Tutorial: “How to Create Lomo Look in Photoshop”.
And here’s the Iva after “lomoising” :)
And finally, here’s Iva after adding 7 Lucky Swirled Snowflakes Photoshop brushes set – latest Photoshop brushes set available for GBG members only in December 2009 GBG eZine! And if you are not the member – click here and join GBG – it’s free!
So, if you’d like to try out lomo on some of your own photos, here is a video tutorial on how to do it:
Important notice: You will note that the video has no sound. This is because I am kind of a shy person and just can’t speak in public. Making a tutorial and speaking at the same time is kind of a speaking in public and I just can’t do it.
Now, for the same reason, I’m looking for someone to help me out. I’m making these tutorials for free, so I can’t offer you much, but if you are the kind of person that has no problem recording a tutorial text and wouldn’t mind getting some PREMIUM brushes or anything else from my little store of wonders for a little favor – let me know. I can send you the text that needs to be recorded and – voila! We have a tutorial with sound and you get some PREMIUM brushes. If you’re interested please send me an email to info(at)graphics-illustrations.com.
Until then, just follow what I do on the screen, make sure to do what I do and everything should be just fine.
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial.
Have fun creating!
Silvia
Popularity: 2% [?]
This video tutorial is created in Photoshop CS4.
I am not sure since which Photoshop version is the command Edit -> Transform -> Warp available, but I believe it was since the CS2. Although all of my Photoshop brushes are compatibly for all versions of Photoshop since 7.0 up to the latest one CS4, this time I prepared a tutorial for a bit newer versions.
Important: before starting workin on the image you opened in Photoshop, unlock the background Layer. The one where image is on. Here is how to do it:
OK. Enough talking, here’s the video:
And don’t forget! Out litlle Christmas Graphics Competition is still open!
All entries are published on our Facebook fun page and the best ones will be published on this post, so that your work will be seen by 400o visitors of this site – every day!
Also, although the big discount on 800+ Photoshop brushes MEGA SET is finished, don’t despair, because all new buyers who send me the receipt number to info (at) graphics-illustrations.com will receive a special Christmas gift!
I won’t tell you what it is, because I want to keep it a surprise, but, believe me, you will not be dissapointed. Find out more about 800+ Photoshop brushes MEGA SET here ->
Popularity: 2% [?]
Gang!
A big SORRY goes to all of you Illustrator fans. Why? You know why! Because it’s been too long since I posted a Illustrator freebie on my blog.
Anyways, this day has come and today I am proud and happy to offer you my latest creation Adobe Illustrator Christmas & New Year Symbols set. These symbols are compatibile with: Adobe Illustrator CS, CS2, CS3, CS4 and CS5.
This is what the symbols you are about to download look like:
Then, here is a short video on how to use Illustrator symbols:
Here is the download link:
[ DOWNLOAD ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CHRISTMAS SYMBOLS --> ] Sorry, 5 days subscription free download offer expired. Download is now available after joining GBG. Please read about our free download policy and join our GBG for more free downloads. Thanks!
And here is the message from our sponsor (and that would be me) and a great discount too:
(I’ve said so much about this set in my previous posts that all know what a great deal this is set is!)
Now, what else is going on?
Very IMPORTANT (even if it is at the end of the post it is still very important:
Don’t forget – our Christmas Graphics Contest is still open!
So, if you have a good Christmas graphics idea – don’t just let it hang out in your head doing nothing!
Put it on your digital canvas and send it over! Or even if you think that your idea is not so good – send it anyway. I bet it’s good!
Also, you just might be the lucky winner of our brand new product – Video Photo Album!
And even if you don’t win, you still won! You won the fun of creating graphics (and that’s what we’re here for in’nit?) and you won the attention and the hearts of thousands of visitors of our Facebook fan page and this blog who will enjoy your work!
P.S.:
Christmas & New Year Card Design Template created with these Illustrator symbols is available for download at my blogffiliate.com (dimensions are 5×7 inches at 300 dpi – print ready) –> DOWNLOAD HERE
Popularity: 5% [?]
OK. As I promised in my previous post, today I will show you how to display your work on Zazzle and give yourself a chance to sell some of your work done with my Photoshop brushes.
So, dimensions of our Christmas Party Invitation were 5.25” x 5.25” which is 2550 x 2550 pixels. It is important to start the document in proper dimensions. If we don’t do that – later on the things might get complicated.
Here are some explanations that you know before starting your own designs (explanation from Zazzle):
“Bleed” is a printing term used to indicate the area that will be trimmed off after the job is printed and cut down to the finished size. This ensures that the design is printed to the full edge of the product. Our paper products contain a Safe Area and a Bleed Area. Always make sure any important parts of your design fall inside the Safe Area, and that your design background fully extends through the Bleed Area. Whatever is in the Bleed Area will get trimmed off, leaving your design printed all the way up to the Product Edge.
Zazzle supports images in JPEG, PNG, PDF, and Adobe Illustrator (AI) formats – so, if you are working with transparent images PNG, PDF i AI formats will be the formats of your choice.
So, let’s roll the sleeves and start having fun! :)
Once you start a new project on Zazzle you will be offered several templates to start with.
A well done wizard will guide you through the creating process:
Pick the invitation size:
And add images. Basically, images are front and back size of our invitation in .jpg format.
So, let’s select “My computer” option …
And upload our invitation.
Not much to do from this point on. Here is the preview of the front side:
Now, let’s pick the back side:
And add the back side of our invitation:
Voila!
Now it is only a matter of posting our invitation in our store and making it available for purchase:
Of course, we will need to add some details to to, like entering a Title, Subtitle and the Description of our product:
That’s it! We’re done! Time for a cup of tea … or coffee!
Or, even better – make another product! Make a mug, or T-Shirt, or baseball hat, badge …. etc … etc …
It was pretty simple and fast – you will agree! I hope you like the idea and I hope you see, once again, on this example, how Photoshop brushes can be of a great help when it comes to speeding things up or bridging the creativity gaps we all run into from time to time.
OK. That’s it for today. Have a great weekend and have fun creating!
Hugs,
Silvia
Popularity: 1% [?]
Create unique Christmas Party Invitations for your friends and family or start a new job and earn some extra money. Here goes another short tutorial where I’m trying to prove, one more time, how easy, fast and fun it can be to use Photoshop brushes.
I this little tutorial I will show you how to use your passion and love for visual arts, turn your creative juices into something new and surprise your friends and/or family. In part two of this tutorial I will show you how to upload your Christmas Party Invitation to Zazzle and try to make some extra $$ with it!
And it will be fun!
So, for starters, let’s what we’ll need. Uhmmm … first we will need some nice, fancy-schmancy holiday font. You might have some already, but I always like to explore new stuff and I just ain’t gonna miss the opportunity to visit my favorite fonts places: www.dafont.com.
For this little occasion of ours - I picked this Santa’s Sleigh typography.
After downloading and installing the font (I hope you know how to do that, if not here is the hint: put them into Fonts folder :), we are going to open our good old Photoshop and create 5,25″x5,25″ document at 300 dpi. These dimensions (especially the dpi) are required by zazzle.com, so we’ll stick to it.
In this case I will load my favorite Christmas Photoshop Brushes set (55 brushes) (available in my shop for only $9,99), or you can use FREE LITE version (7 brushes) from GBG download area.If you are a GBG member you already have the download link and if you’re not – now here is a great opportunity! Become a GBG member and get access to 80+ Photoshop brushes sets including the FREE LITE Christmas Photoshop brushes set and FREE LITE Snowflakes Photoshop brushes set!
Press F5 to display Photoshop brushes window, load them and press B to activate Brush tool.
Because our Christmas Party Invitation has front and back side, we are going to organize our work in two Layer Groups, first Layer Group will be used for the front side of the invitation and the second Layer Group (which we will create on a later stage) will be used for the back side.
Now, let’s use some brushes! Press B to activate Brush tool, set foreground color to some light gray and simply add the brushes to our canvas.
Now, let’s add some snow!
Let’s add a new Layer (we are going to need it later) pick the snowflake brush and bit lighter gray color. Play with the brush settings as demonstrated below: adjust Shape Dynamics, Scattering for dispersion and Other Dynamics for the various tones of gray color and Spacing to adjust space between the snowflakes.
Now, just a few strokes with our brush on the canvas and voila! It’s snowing!
Now add desired text using Santa’s Sleigh font (downloaded from www.dafont.com).
And the front side of our invitation is over!
Now, let’s do some work on the back of the invitation. Create a new Layer Group and duplicate the layer with the snowflakes only.
On the back of the invitation type RSVP and make a dashed line with the Text tool (T). Spacing between the characters should be set at 100 (or more).
We are done :) Now print this card on your printer or use your local printing company or create account on zazzle.com.
That was simple, easy and fast, wasn’t it!
In the next tutorial I will show you how to make this invitation available for sale.
Whatever you do, do not forget: Have Fun Creating!
S :)
PS:
Of course, if you don’t feel like doing the whole thing by yourself, just DOWNLOAD this Christmas Party Invitation template in psd format HERE –>>
Sorry, 5 days subscription free download offer expired. Download is now available after joining GBG. Please read about our free download policy and join our GBG for more free downloads. Thanks!
Note: Santa’s Sleigh font is not included in the download (you will have to download it from www.dafont.com!)
And yes, you can sell stuff that you created with my Photoshop brushes! That’s because all of my Photoshop brushes come with a CU which stands for Commercial Use License, meaning you can create stuff with my brushes and sell it. So, get more great brushes from my Photoshop brushes shop and start creating ->
Orrrr … you can get all of my Photoshop brushes for 1/2 price! Find out more ->
Popularity: 4% [?]
Two weeks ago, I had this idea to create a unique envelope for my sisters-in-law birthday. But, in the meantime, she left for vacation and now she’s enjoying Californian hotels :)
So, I still have a chance to make a unique envelope for her birthday and it will wait for her when she’s back!
So, you guessed, today’s “download and print” freebie is - envelope template.
The original size of this envelope template is 8″x5″ on the 12″x12″ paper size, but you can print it on any size (like I did) just use “fit to paper” option on your Print window. For this envelope design I used Swirled Floral Photoshop Edges Brushes set and Floral Shapes Photoshop Brushes set. Both available in our little shop.
Now, take a look at my short photo story on how to make an envelope. It’s fun and easy so, enjoy!
1. Print the envelope template and cut out the envelope shape. I used fancy-edge scissors just to cover my possible cutting mistakes :)
2. Fold the paper carefully and try to match (as much as you can) the illustrations on the bottom flap and top flap of the envelope. Apply 1/4″ wide double-sided tape along the side edges of the back, starting below the curves.
3. That’s it! This is the Back side of the envelope. The flaps are designed to match one another!
4. And the front side of the envelope with the place where you can write your loved one name :)
Download this envelope template design here, buy Swirled Floral Edges Photoshop Brushes set or buy Floral Shapes Photoshop Brushes set and the most important thing: have fun creating!
Silvia
P.S.
And if you are looking for the ULTIMATE solution to your graphic design and similar headaches check out the one and only 800+ Photoshop brushes MEGA SET ->
Popularity: 2% [?]
