tripwire magazine

In this article tripwire magazine presents a very large collection of Photoshop actions. A Photoshop action is a series of tasks that you play back on a single file or a batch of files. Actions can make nearly any change to an image and examples could be changing the image size, adding new layers, appling filters, saving files in a specific format etc.

Actions can include stops to allow user to give input. This could be to let users perform tasks that cannot be recorded or where it is part of the Action design to ajust a parameter for a filter. Actions are stored in <file name>.atn files and can easily be loaded into the Actions floating palette.

This article provides a large list of ready to use Actions but you can also use them to be inspired to record your own, customize existing (just double click on sub tasks), and batch-process actions, and you can manage groups of actions by working with action sets. Looking into how great actions apply superior effects is a very good way to learn new tricks.

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JavaScript frameworks like jQuery, prototype (and script.aculo.us), Dojo and mootools have become very popular because they are making the creation of dynamic effects much easier without using fx. flash. jQuery has become one of the most used JavaScript libraries today and can be found in the core of popular products like Wordpress and Drupal. The community is providing a huge amount of free plugins making it possible to find good solutions to nearny any need you may have. This article will introduce you to more than 35 jQuery plugins providing enhancements to how you can display images on your web pages. This is essential for creating dynamic state of the art web solutions. Lets get started!

By the way. tripwire magazine have provides several articles covering javascript frameworks that I will recommend you take a look at:

• 95+ Exceptionally Useful jQuery Plugins, Tutorials and Cheat Sheets
• 60+ Must Have jQuery Toolbox
• 150 Worth Knowing Web Developer Tools and Techniques

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With Photoshop, a few 3D skills and some creativity you can create amazing text effects that are useful in may types of design. In this post tripwire magazine have collected all the best tutorials to help you learn creating awesome 3D text effects. There are several different types of effects each showcased with the expected result you will be able produce when following the tutorials. Hopefully you can find some new tricks to learn or just be inspired.

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Designs doesn’t have to be clean and beautiful all the time – it is just to boring don’t you think? In some cases rough and hard or old and worn out look fits the purpuse or the target group better and then Grunge style Fonts comes in really handy. Grunge Fonts can probably mean different things to different people but really Grunge means dirt (besides being a really interesting music style from the 90’s) and that is just what Grunge Fonts is all about. Good Grunge Fonts are normally wrecked, cut in pieces, hammered etc. and they just look like time and weather have worn them out.

Besides providing a list of some of the best Grunge Fonts available for free this article also showcase some of the fonts and gives examples of how they can be used. This is pure inspiration and a source of ideas if you’re looking for that as well.

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Icons are images specifically designed to deliver a message and good Icons are simply awesome to for that purpose. For that reason Icons can be really handsome when you’re designing a web site or a blog and can kick start or support the creative process. There are thousands of free Icons available which is very good but it can be hard to find the Icon Sets suitable for use in web design. This article gives you one of the largest compilations of Free Icon Resources and Icon Sets aimed for use in web design. Please let me know if any Resources or Icon packs that should have been included are missing. Always make sure you read the license before using any Icons as this may change rapidly.

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For quite some time companies and governments have been working hard to make daily life things available as digital services in whatever way possible to speed processes up and cut costs. At the same time most communication takes place on digital channels by sending emails, chatting, electronic orders, paying online, doing banking online…well almost anything goes on the line today. Sending a good old snail mail letter is still possible but not that popular really. Even on vacations we are not offline and stick to digital channels, keep the blog updated with “near real time images and stories. Just ask yourself – when is the last time you send or received a postcard, a letter…? This is because of we have netbooks and handheld gadgets going with us anywhere and most hotels, restaurants, public places, people we visit etc. have internet (or if not we can just sneak online using bluetooth and our mobile phone if it is not already integrated into the netbook…). The advantages that computers give us is obvious but the complete turnaround that have happened over just a few years makes real life stuff like fx. hand written text catch most peoples attention (even though it is presented on a computer screen). Hand writing is something we all know very well and have been working hard to learn in school, it may bring up emotions, memories, images that a plain verdana or times roman can’t compete with. While hand written fonts may be very useful to achieve certain design goals they are not to be applied in any case. Long text and difficult to read text are examples where hand written fonts may be painful for the reader. For headers and short notes hand written fonts may be very useful.

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Since you are here reading this article you may know it already. Drupal is a CMS – Content Management System. Content managed in Drupal is called a node. A node is the smallest chunk of information in Drupal, and typically it is representing a web page like the one you are reading just now (but OK I’m using Wordpress).You can create nearly any type of web site with Drupal like fx. Personal website, Company website, a Weblog etc. It all come down to the content you put in and the look and feel you decide to use. Look and feel on a Drupal site is controlled by themes and there are plenty to choose from – even free high quality ones.

Drupal large supporting community is producing lots of free Themes and modules that Drupal users should be aware of to be able to pick out just the ones they need. Unfortunately in my opinion the Drupal.org site is not that user friendly and it can be hard to browse through the many Themes maintained at the site as there are no lists with preview images of the Themes. This article is the ultimate Drupal Theme Collection with large sceenshots giving you an oppertunity to quickly get an overview of what themes are available for Drupal. There are still some new themes to be added and they will soon, keep an eye on this resource!

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Logos are visual images of the brands they represent. Having the right logo that delivers THE MESSAGE and that people recognize is really important. Good Logos are not easy to create or get hold of at all as it requres great knowledge of the business domain and target group to do it right. Logos must be relevant, timeless and perfectly aligned with the strategy and the products and or services offered.

In this article you will find a huge collection of Tutorials, Logo Inspirations and Online Tools and services that you may use to develop your brand and create the perfect Logo. This is an update of 80+ Logo Designers Huge Essential Toolbox and I’m planning to update now and then as I stuble upon new interesting resources. Please share if your favorite tuts in a comment.

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Readers at tripwire magazine daily submit links and short descriptions to highly relevant and worth investigating articles. User links are normally JUST PUBLISHED articles and have gone through a check to be relevant for designers and developers. This is a round-up providing latest user links submitted on tripwire magazine. See all user submitted links here

A great thanks to anyone contributing!

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Images and photos are essential elements and building for creating great designs. Getting access to highest quality unique photographic material can be quite costly unless you’re taking the pictures yourself. Fortunately there are other options because some photographers believe it makes sense to share their creative work for free. Quite a number of websites provide services to creative photographers that allow them to participate in communities and share, get rates etc. This article provides an collection of the best websites where you can get quality images and photos for free. If I missed some web sites that deserve to be features please let me know.
Some of the sites included in the list offer free stock photos only for personal use, All photos are the property of their respective authors check their policy before using their collection.

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