How-to’s and tutorials on Adobe Illustrator

Free Cartoon Icon – Meet Chubbs

Say hello to Chubbs!

Chubbs can be a lovable little boy, an officer of the law, a 1970′s prom date, or a ghetto-fabulous teenager! All Chubbs’ costumes are available in transparent PNG files at 512 x 512

Get Chubbs 01 (182) Get Chubbs 02 (187) Get Chubbs 03 (185) Get Chubbs 04 (177)

If you like Chubbs, please ReTweet this – Thanks!

Illustrator CS4 Q&A Round One

I have noticed that my post a while ago about how frustrating CS4 can be has been one of my most popular articles to date. I took this as you folks have some questions about CS4 and Illustrator in general.

mmRecently, with the help of Media Militia, I put out a call for your questions to be answered here. I’d like to personally thank everyone who sent in an email with questions. If you have a question that you’d like me to answer then send me a note; I’m happy to add you to the list for Round Two in the future

Illustrator CS4 Questions/Answers Round One

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2 simple ways to reduce filesize in your Illustrator art

Here are 2 simple ways you can dramatically reduce filesize of your Illustrator production files:

Step one:

Before exporting your Illustrator file to another more universal format (such as EPS), or even if you are sharing the .ai file you can remove unused swatches, brushes etc from your document; these unused components add to the size of your document!

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Create Pattern Text in Illustrator CS3

I wanted to write out a quick tutorial on how to create dynamic pattern text using Illustrator CS3.

This will really just cover how to add a pattern to the text, without much fuss or sweat; I did notice that the pattern I chose turned out to not work great in this instance, so be careful on the pattern you choose beforehand to make sure it will tile well (within text).

Okay, let’s get started: First off head over to a really kool site Patternwall.com to find a good tilable pattern.

patternwall.com screenshot

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Illustrator Dynamic Camouflage Text

I have some dynamic text for you to download; with a choice of 5 different camouflage patterns. These can be typed into any words/sentences you need – using any font you want! I made these in Arial Black since most people will have that font by default, but feel free to play with the fonts/sizing/offsets to get the just-right look you need.
dynamic_camo_text

Download Dynamic Camo Text (2471)

Freebie: Set of 15 Geometric Illustrator Brushes

orkron_brush-set-02_screenI had so much fun making my last set of Illustrator Brushes that I wanted to try something new! These are 15 geometric (squares, rectangles, circles) brushes.

I’ve added a quick little fun “drawing” using the supplied brushes.

I hope you can find these useful.

orkron_brush-set-02_render

Installation:

  1. Download the brush set after the jump
  2. Unzip the .ai file
  3. Browse to your Illustrator Presets/Brushes folder
  4. Copy Orkron_brush-set-02.ai to this folder
  5. Reload Illustrator if already open
  6. Click Window->Brush Libraries->Orkron_brush-set-02
  7. Enjoy!

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