Step 1
Create a new document (Command + N). The settings I am using are show below, use whatever size and DPI you like.

Step 2

Create a new layer and fill it with an orange/brown color the hex number for mine is: af7e31. Your color may differ depending on the type of wood you are going for.

Step 3

With that layer selected go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise uses the settings below:

Step 4

Once you apply the Add Noise filter go to: Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply the setting below:

This is what the document should look like so far.

Step 5

Duplicate that layer by right clicking on it in the layer in the layers palette and selecting “duplicate layer”.

Step 6

Desaturate that new layer by going to: Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Step 7

With the desaturated layer selected go to: Filters > Artistic > Poster Edges. That layer should now look like this:

Step 8

With that layer still selected go to Select > Color Range. With the eye dropper click on a lighter grey of the pattern on the canvas. Use the settings in the image below. Hit “ok”. Press Delete to clear all the grey areas that are selected by the color range tool.

Step 9

Set the blending mode for layer to “Soft Light” and Opacity to 27%

Step 10

Apply a drop shadow to the layer using the settings below:

Step 11

With the same layer selected go to Filters > Liquify. Using the swirl tool create knots in the wood grain by holding down in one spot the slowly dragging up. Try to imagine wood you have see while you do this.

When you hit ok it should look something like this: (if it doesn’t you can always go back into Liquify and work on it more)

Step 12

With your pen tool draw a rough (carved looking) look heart or what ever shape you like.

Again, with your pen tool add and arrow across the heart.

Step 13

In the Layers Palette select all the shapes you used to make your heart and arrow. Right click on them come down to Merge Layers.

Step 14

Using the polygon lasso tool select a shape out of the middle of the heart. Press delete to clear those pixels. See below for shape and location.

Step 15

While holding down command click on the heart thumbnail. This will create a selection around the shape. Fill the selection with white.

Step 16

Set the Blending mode on the heart to Multiply. Your shape will disappear from the canvas, not worry we’ll get it back.

Step 17

With your heart shape selected add all these layers styles to the heart shape.

Step 18

Use a handwriting style font write your initials or what ever you like.

Step 19

In the layers palette right click on the Heart layer. Come down and click on “Copy Layer style”

Step 20

Select you text layer in the layers palette right click on it and come down to “Paste Layer Style”. That will apply the same engraved look to your text. It should look like this and you are done!

Please let me know if you got lost of have any questions use the comments area below.

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Step 1

Using the Shapes Tool Draw a rectangle the size of your canvas. Apply a Radial Gradient that goes from a light to dark blue-violet color. Use the Gradient tool to drag the starting point out of the top right corner.

Step 2

Click and hold on the shapes tool until all options appear. Select the Star Shape.

While dragging out the star shape repeatedly tap the up arrow to increase the number of points. Also hold down the Option key to lock the center size while the tips grow longer. Once you are happy with the shape of the star release clicking and then stretch out four opposite points to be longer than the rest. Make three copies of various sizes.

Step 3

Go to File > Place and navigate to the images you saved at the start of the tutorial. Choose from the file called sky_texture.jpg.

Step 4

Scale the image to cover the entire gradient rectangle.

Step 5

With the texture image selected, go to the Transparency Palette and set the Opacity to 70% and the blend mode to Overlay.

Step 6

Select the stars and change their color to blue so the overlay texture is more visible.

Step 7

Using the pen tool draw a shape for the first snowy slope. Apply a light grey radial gradient to the  shape.

Step 8

Draw a second slope coming in from the right and send it backwards by going to Object > Arrange > Send Backward. Draw a third wavy slope in the background and send it behind the second slope. Adjust the colors of the gradients on each so they become slightly lighter as they go into the background.

Step 9

Select all three slopes and go to Effects > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Apply the settings show below.

Step 10

With all three shapes still selected go to Effects > Distort and Transform > Roughen. Apple the settings pictured below. Now the slopes will have a layered, cut paper look.

Step 11

With all three slopes still selected copy them Edit > Copy and paste them in front Edit > Paste in front.

Step 12

Open the Pathfinder Palette and press the combine shapes button, then press Expand.

Step 13

Just like in Step 3 place the image snow_texture.jpg and scale it to cover all the slopes.

Step 14

Arrange the combined slopes shape on top of the snow_texture.jpg image layer and and with both selected go to: Object > Clipping path > Make.

In the transparency palette set the Opacity and blending mode as below.

Step 15

Draw three stacked, progressively smaller circle shapes and apply a light grey gradient to them. Next, just like steps 9 and 10 apply a drop shadow and roughen effect with the setting show below.

Step 16

Same as you did with the slopes, select all three circles, Copy and Paste them in Place. Combine the shapes with the Pathfinder palette and click Expand. Place the snow_texture.jpg and arrange the combined circles layer on top.

Step 17

With both selected go to: Object > Clipping Mask > Make. As before, set the Opacity to 70% and Blending mode to Overlay. In the layers palette select the 3 circles and adjust the gradient color to add a bit of Blue like the image below.

Step 18

Using shapes and pen tool draw all the items associated with snowmen.

Step 18

Select all of those shapes and apple the same Drop Shadow and Roughen effect we used for the Slopes and Snowman body.

Step 19

Using the pen or line tool draw sticks for arms with a light brown stroke. With all of those lines selected open the brushes palette and load the Artistic_charcoalBrushes.

Step 20

From that selection of brushes, apply a charcoal pencil brush by clicking on the preview. Click between then until you find one that looks right to you.

Step 21

For a shadow, draw a grey oval at the base of the snowman. Arrange the oval layer behind the snowman layers. Set the blend mode to multiply.

Step 22

With your pen tool draw a simple tree. Apply a radial gradient similar to the one show below.

Copy the shape and paste behind (Edit > Paste in Back). Use your arrows to move the new tree over and scale it down to appear farther away. Repeat this process until your image looks similar to the one below. Apply the same Drop Shadow and Roughen Effect that we have applied to all the shapes so far.

Step 23

Same as before select all the trees, copy and paste in front. Using the pathfinder palette combine the shapes and click expand. Place the image tree_texture.jpg. Arrange your combined tree shapes over the placed image.

Step 24

With both selected go to: Object > Clipping Mask > Make. As before set the Opacity to 70% and Blending Mode to Overlay

Step 25

With your pen tool draw a pond on the second slope. Apply a blue radial gradient.

Step 26

Apply our now familiar Drop Shadow and Roughen Effect. Next, Copy the shape and paste it in front. Place the texture image called ice_texture.jpg. Arrange the second pond shape above the image layer.

Step 27

Like in previous steps, create a clipping mask. This time set the blending mode to overlay but leave the Opacity at 100%.

Step 28

Using the Pen Tool draw a curve in the upper right hand corner.

Click and hold on the type tool in the tools palette. When the list appears select Type on Path Tool.

With that tool hover over the left side over the curve you just created and click. You can now type you message on that curved line and format the text with whatever font and size you like.

That’s it! Leave any questions or feedback in the comments area below.

Step 2:

Edit your Master Pages by double clicking on the master page thumbnails in the pages palette.

Step 3:
Once in your Master page create a text box in roughly the location you have decided your page numbers will go. Optionally you can write the word “Page” and then a space.

Step 4:
With your curser still in the text box the navigate to Type > Insert Special Character > Markers > Current Page Number

Step 5:

Format the text however you want it to look

Step 6:
Copy the page number text box and paste it in the appropriate spot on all of your Master Pages.

Step 7:
Return to your working document by double clicking on a page thumbnail.

Done:
Now a dynamically created page number will show up on all of the pages your create from your master pages.

Note: This feature is only available in versions of Illustrator CS3 and later.

Click image to enlarge

In this tutorial you will see how to remove the background of a three different types of images in photoshop. For each type of image you will learn the best tool to make the background transparent. The tools you will learn are:

• The Magic Wand Tool
• The Color Range Select Tool
• The Pen Tool

• Setting the initial view zoom level so that the client will see the entire layout without having to adjust it adjustment
• Reduce file size to make your PDF easier to email
• Duplicating and Cropping Pages

In this tutorial you will create using the:

• Shapes tool
• Blend tool
• Artwork recoloring tool (CS3 and newer only)
• Gradient tool
• Custom swatch palette

In this tutorial you will learn:

• How to save a HTML document as a Dreamweaver template
• How to set editable, repeating, and non-editable regions in the template
• How to create a new HTML webpage document from your template in Dreamweaver and Contribute
• How to set up your site in contribute
• How to edit and publish a page in contribute

You can download the website file I am using here at: http://www.freecsstemplates.org/preview/republic

• Vector Shapes
• The Pen Tool
• Layer styles: Gradient overlays, pattern overlays, inner glow, and bevel and emboss
• blending modes

As always please use the comments area below for any questions. Happy Halloween Everyone!

• Link text boxes so that text flows freely from one to the other as the content changes.
• Link existing text boxes on the same page as well as across pages in your document.
• Explain text threads
• Unlink previously linked boxes.

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