Illustrator has a Rounded Rectangle tool, but you don’t have to settle with the default corner radius. In fact, you can specify the exact size of the rounded rectangle before you create it. Instead of clicking and dragging on the artboard to draw the rounded rectangle, click on the artboard to display the Rounded Rectangle…
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If you need both a color and a grayscale version of your layout, you don’t necessarily need to create two different versions. Instead, design your layout in color and then export a copy as grayscale as needed. To do this, choose File > Export. In the Export dialog box, navigate to where you want to…
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Adjustment layers come in handy for applying different image effects without altering the actual image. But, by default, adjustment layers affect all the layers beneath them. If you want your adjustment layer to affect just the one layer directly beneath it, you need to clip the adjustment layer to the image layer. To do this,…
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When you’re scaling vector artwork in Illustrator, there are a number of variables to consider: the artwork, the stroke, and any effects you apply. For example, if you scale a shape with a 2 pt stroke down to 25 percent of its original size, do you want the stroke to remain at 2 pt, or…
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Whether you’re creating picture boxes or different filled shapes for design elements in your layouts, there’s a good chance you’ll change your mind and want to change the shape at some point in the design process. After all, a good designer rarely goes with his first design! Not to worry, InDesign makes it easy to…
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Adobe Creative Cloud gives you the flexibility to log into your account from different computers, and by syncing your settings you can be sure to have all of your custom settings available no matter which workstation you are on, and no matter which Creative Cloud app you are using. To take full advantage of all…
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There are a number of ways to convert a color image to black and white in Photoshop. While some of these require a little bit of time and fine-tuning, there is at least one way that is super fast and produces great results: The Black and White adjustment. First, open a color image. Click on…
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Not sure what colors to use for text and other secondary design elements in your layout? Turn to the Color Theme tool for help. New to InDesign CC 2014, the Color Theme tool allows you to grab a sampling of colors from your layout so you can create a color theme from which to base…
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Learning keyboard shortcuts is one way to improve your efficiency when working in Quark. But sometimes learning these shortcuts can make you feel like your fingers are playing a game of Twister on the keyboard! Here’s a super simple stroke that you can put to use right away. When you have multiple items selected and…
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Whether you have just a few spreads or a lengthy layout, you’ll need to navigate through your Quark pages quickly. The easiest way to move around without using the scroll bars or having to select the page you want to preview in the Pages palette is to use the Hand tool to navigate. Press and…
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If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to give your image a new look, try adjusting the color scheme by matching its colors to that of a different photo. You’ll need to open two photos, the one you want to change and the one whose color scheme you want to apply. Make the…
DetailsWhen you create a new document, Photoshop gives it a white background by default. But that’s not your only option! In the New Document dialog box (File > New), click on the Background Contents pop-up menu and choose either White, Background Color, Transparent, or Other (which opens the Color Picker) to select a different option.…
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When you select text with the Type tool and choose Type > Create Outlines, you transform the selection into editable paths. Converting text to outlines enables you to manipulate the individual letter shapes, as well as use them as frames, and it eliminates the need for the font. The only downfall is that once you…
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Page guides and the Align panel (Window > Align) are two fantastic resources for helping you align and distribute page elements. But if you’ve ever tried to align page elements to a guide, you may have been disappointed when the guide moved to align with the selected objects instead of remaining stationary. There is a…
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There are a multitude of Preferences settings that control how Quark behaves, and oftentimes you’ll want to customize these settings to suit your personal preference, no pun intended! But did you know you can set the preferences to affect the entire application or just one single file? It all depends on when you set the…
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