2004 | CreativePro Network

Heavy Metal Madness: The End of Design as We Know It

Readers of my columns may think I’m hopelessly stuck in the past, clinging to an era when type was set without letter spacing, and constructing pages was a mechanical art. Not so, I promise, though I have always preferred processes I could see with my eyes and touch with my hands. The digital age turned […]

Photoshop How-To: Editing a Drop Shadow

Sometimes a drop shadow needs to fall on only part of the layer or layers below. Perhaps the shadow should fall on the content of the layer immediately below, but not the layer below that. You’ll need to convert the drop shadow layer effect to a layer of its own, then edit that layer. In […]

Framed and Exposed: Rightly Writing Copyright

As anyone who’s ever illegally downloaded an MP3 file already knows, stealing a digital asset is really easy. With Web-based digital images it’s even easier. Whether your work is delivered on-line or via physical prints, it’s worth taking a few extra steps to help protect your rights as a creator. In theory, copyright itself is […]

Flash How-To: Creating Animation in Flash MX 2004

This story is taken from “Teach Yourself Visually Flash MX 2004.” To buy this book click here. Flash animations add pizzazz to Web sites. They can be used to demonstrate a technique, showcase a product in action, or simply provide movement and, well, “flash” to an otherwise staid site. But if you’ve been immersed in […]

Bit by Bit: Forget Cue Cards, Make a Teleprompter!

It was Thursday evening and I needed a teleprompter. I was making a video about panoramic photography, and for the scenes where I speak directly into the camera I looked like a cross-eyed newscaster. While trying to read cue cards on a stand in front of the camera, my eyes were cast downward, and that […]

Photoshop How-To: Using Adjustment Layers

This story is taken from Real World Adobe Photoshop CS. Very few of us shoot the perfect photograph right off the bat. Even traditional photographers employ a variety of techniques in the darkroom to improve their images. That’s why Photoshop includes tools for dodging and burning as well as applying level and curve adjustments. These […]

Creative Thinking in Photoshop: Using NeatImage to Remove Noise in Digital Photos

In an ideal world, we all would replace our digital necessities and toys at least once a year. Digital cameras should be updated annually, of course, if only to keep up with the technology. But unfortunately, some of us fall behind by a year or more, and as a result are stuck with yesterday’s cutting-edge […]

The Art of Business: Good News and Bad from the Tax Man

The clock is quickly expiring on the 2004 tax year, and, as always, December is a good time to make a few strategic moves to lower your tax burden. Here are a few new IRS regulations (and a few venerable ones) worth considering as the year comes to a close. New Regulations Here are a […]

Creative Fuel for the Holidays: It's in the Cards

Every year about this time I pick a fight with myself. As the days shorten and darkness lingers like an unwelcome, whiny relative who won’t go home, my thoughts turn to a single question: “When am I going to get busy making Christmas cards?” The fight breaks out soon after that as I find myself […]