Category Archives: Tutorials

Simple Text in Maya

Posted on October 8, 2008 by Matt

There are times when you just want to whip out some simple 3D text for an animation or print ad. Nothing too fancy, but definitely more advanced that Illustrator’s 3D can handle. It probably doesn’t take a crazy big application … Continue reading →

Posted in Motion/3D, Motion/3D, Tutorials | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Naming Your Layers in After Effects CS3

Posted on October 7, 2008 by Matt

I got an email from a reader asking how to rename your layers in After Effects. It brought back bad memories of clicking around forever trying to figure this out. It seems to be one of those things that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Motion/3D, Motion/3D, Tutorials | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

How to Create a Gradient Background Fill With ActionScript

Posted on October 3, 2008 by Matt

“But, I can do that without code.” This is true. Creating a gradient is a somewhat mundane task that is found in almost every graphics program on the market. Flash is no exception. So why would you want to create … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash/AS, Flash/ActionScript, Tutorials | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Creating Apple’s Chrome Logo

Posted on September 30, 2008 by Matt

If you’ve been to my site before you’ve probably seen me take this approach to various desktop and iPhone wallpapers. The look was originally inspired by Apple’s “chrome” version of their logo. This technique seems to work best with simple … Continue reading →

Posted in Photoshop, Photoshop, Tutorials | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

How to Start Building a Class Library in Flash

Posted on September 19, 2008 by Matt

Hopefully if you’re reading this you’re at the stage where you’ve begun to use and understand OOP (Object Oriented Programming) as it relates to Flash. OOP sort of existed in Actionscript 2, but it’s really off to the the races … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash/AS, Flash/ActionScript, Tutorials | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

How to Bump Map in Photoshop (CS3)

Posted on September 17, 2008 by Matt

I got a few emails asking me how I created the leather for the Pac-10 iPhone Wallpaper or if I just used an image from a car interior or something. I created the whole thing in Photoshop and figured that … Continue reading →

Posted in Photoshop, Photoshop | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

How to Reset Browser Default Styling

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Matt

First, what is browser default styling and why do I want to reset it? Let me tell you. Just like people, all browsers think they know what’s best for them. (Aside from OJ Simpson who obviously has no clue how … Continue reading →

Posted in CSS, Web Development | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

How To Install a Custom Google Search in WordPress

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Matt

Why use Google as a search engine? Short answer…because it’s Google. But in reality, the WordPress search engine isn’t all that great. (Sorry WP) It does an adequate job at times, but just can’t compete with the likes of Google. … Continue reading →

Posted in WordPress, Wordpress | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Creating a Categorical Listing of Titles in WordPress

Posted on September 8, 2008 by Matt

Let’s assume you are developing your new WordPress theme and you find the need to have a categorical listing of titles for a particular category. For example, you have a category “Giant Robots” and you would like to show your … Continue reading →

Posted in WordPress, Wordpress | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

How to Define a Fill Pattern in Photoshop (CS3)

Posted on April 16, 2008 by Matt

Let’s talk about fills. You probably already know about solid fills and gradient fills in Photoshop, but it seems a far underused fill is the pattern fill. With the ability to customize and create your own fills you have an … Continue reading →

Posted in Photoshop, Photoshop | Leave a comment