Drawing Vector Images

Digital photographs are bitmap images made up of thousands and thousands of pixels while vector graphics, even if based on a photo, are drawn with lots of lines (& math) in an illustration program such as CorelDRAW or Adobe Illustrator. Often, you can tell the difference by sight because vectors tend to be slightly artificial, just a touch too perfect to be pixels.

But sometimes it's hard to tell. Take a look at these people pictures drawn in CorelDRAW posted at Designbeep. On a few of them, at first glance you might mistake it for a photograph.That's some serious vector work.

The Language of Curves - from About.com Graphics Software, you'll find explanations for paths, nodes, handles, splines, and Bezier curves including detailed illustrations which can be really helpful if you've never worked with vector paths and curves.The Anatomy of a Vector Illustration - at Mike's Sketchpad a vector illustration of a bird is dissected to show the objects, curves, and points. The article includes tables comparing certain vector elements from CorelDRAW, ?Illustrator, FreeHand, and Canvas.Vector Drawing Tutorials - learn how to use CorelDRAW, Illustrator, and other vector drawing programs.

In addition to being the right tool for vector drawing and logo design, illustration programs can often double as page layout programs for projects that don't involve tons of text and lots of pages (that is, not for books and newsletters usually). You can design your ads, business cards, posters, and simple brochures in an illustration program.

If you don't have the time, patience, or skill to draw your own you can get some free vectors to use in your projects. Here's a random sampling of the many vector art sites out there to get you started.

Vectorious.net sells vector art but they also have freebie vectors in their Vector art blog where you'll also find tutorials, tips, and collections of inspiring vector illustrations.FreeVectors.net showcases free downloads of vector art from a variety of authors for personal use and some are also licensed for commercial use or have creative commons licensing.Vecteezy has free vector illustrations, icons, and patterns from many authors. Some will be personal use only but others have more liberal licensing.

What software do you use for vector artwork? Do you use illustration software for page layout projects too? Share with us in the comments.

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Stick Figures

Awhile back in the forum Imjumper wrote, "I am looking for some software that has a wide variety of stick figure people~I have Art Explosion 600k and it has some but I am looking for something with a large selection. Know of anything?" Tell us in the comments. Browse these stick figure images I've found or learn how to draw your own in the tutorials.

Drawings of Stick Figures

If you're looking for images related to stick figures, here's what I've found (for free and for purchase). Includes collections, individual images, and dingbat fonts. Not all are strictly stick figures but they come close.

ScreenBeans Clip Art from A Bit Better are a cross between stick figures and cartoon silhouettes and available in Windows and Mac packages and a lot of different themes.FreeVectors.net turns up a lot of people silhouettes. Not exactly stick figures but might work for you.deviantART has all kinds of images of stick figures, including animations. You'll need to check the terms of usage on each one.Flickr turns up a lot of pictures of signs and some drawings when you search for 'stick figure.'Fontspace has some stick figure dingbat fonts. MyFonts sells P22 Frau Jenson People.ClipArtOf has individual royalty-free Stick Figure Clip Art & Illustrations for varying prices.Hand Drawn Stick Figure War Brushes are for use in Photoshop (no commercial use though).

Sure, just about anyone can draw a stick figure (maybe) -- I drew the stick figure above. But here's how to draw good stick figures.

How to Draw Stick Figures shows you the basics and several styles of stick figures (not all stick figures are the same!).This How to Draw Stick Figures tutorial goes into details on proportion and balance.In Stick Figure Tutorial you have to at least know how to draw a line and a circle, goes through various body parts and poses. It concludes by telling us "You'll need about 10 years until you can finally draw stick figures realistically."

Updated March 2011

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Proofreading Marks

Three important rules of desktop publishing are: 1. Proofread, 2. Proofread, 3. Proofread. But once you've proofread the material how do you indicate the needed changes? You don't have to be a professional proofreader to benefit from the use of standard editors' marks and proofreading marks.

Proofreaders' proofreading marks are a combination of symbols and short notations used to mark up both draft documents and typeset pages. Markup may occur at two different stages: when copyediting material (editors' marks) before typesetting when proofreading typeset materials (proofreaders' marks).

The symbols are virtually identical but may be used slightly differently depending on the material.

Why to Use Proofreading Marks
Just because most of your work is done on the computer doesn't mean marking up a hard copy is obsolete. There are some types of errors that only become obvious when seen in print. Don't rely solely on what you see on-screen.

Proofreaders' proofreading marks provide consistency and help to avoid miscommunication. Whether sharing work with others or proofing your own work, proper use of proofreaders' marks saves time and frustration. "Whether you are communicating with your own reader or with the client, standard proof symbols offer a graphic system adapted to saying much in small spaces, with precise, determinable meanings and relatively little ambiguity in use. I suggest they are indispensable." Max Field"When you edit your own work, use them. If you just make chicken scratches all over your copy, then go back to it a day or two later, you'll find yourself saying 'what did I mean when I wrote that?' If you ever find yourself working with a copywriter, your copywriter will use them, and you had better understand what they intend for you to do to change the copy." Valerie Martin Stuart

How to Use Proofreaders' Proofreading Marks
There's no need to memorize every one of the dozens of symbols used in proofreading. You'll become familiar with the most frequently used symbols quickly enough. Keep a chart handy for everything else.(See the sidebar for several different charts of proofreaders' marks.) At the copyediting stage text is often double-spaced, leaving plenty of room for inserting editors' marks and notations within the text. At this stage most markup will indicate additions and deletions due to grammar, spelling, and style. In single-spaced or typeset material use carets, circles and other simple marks in the text to indicate a problem. Place proofreaders' marks and notations in the margin adjacent to each line of marked up text to indicate what to do. Markup at this stage indicates typesetting errors such as transposed characters, incorrect fonts, improper indentation or text spacing, widows and orphans, or missing design elements.

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Fifties Color Palettes - Atomic Age 1950s Color Combinations

Atomic Age Color Combinations
Color Palettes with CMYK Formulas

These Atomic Age era color palettes are quite bright compared to earlier browns, grays, and more subdued combinations. Not as vivid and eye-popping as what was to come in the Sixties, this era still had its share of bright pinks, seafoam green, and chartreuse. Reds leaned toward orange or pink while blues were closer to cyan.

C100Y100K50 | K40 | C10M25Y80 | C40K100 | White
A dark green pairs with the neutrals of gray, black, and white and a lovely harvest gold.

C80M100Y100K15 | M60Y80K10 | M35Y100 | M15Y35K25 | C40K100
A warm, earthy color palette with golden yellow and a touch of taupe.

M100Y100 | M20Y100 | C40K100 | White
Vivid red, bright yellow, and black.

Two shades of blue-green, a red, a brown, plus a dash of black and white.

C12M95Y60 | C75M6Y20 | C4M5Y2 | C40K100
The palest pink stands in for white in this palette with a definite 50s flavor as seen in the pinkish red and bright light blue.

M40Y10 | C50Y10 | C40K100
Another red/blue/black look uses light red (pink) and light blue as highlights and accents with lots of black.

M75Y100 | C22M30Y55K5 | C15M70Y75K20 | White | C40K100
A warmer color palette of browns and orange with black and white.

C10Y100K15 | C50Y100K20 | C10M100Y80 | C40K100 | White
This isn't a Christmas red and green - there's decidedly yellow tinge to those greens.

Color Meanings and Mixing Colors
Discover the cultural meanings for these colors and more ways to mix and match colors.

More Color Palettes
Explore more color palettes to evoke a certain mood or make a color statement.

Use Swatch Books
Use PANTONE Color Guides to get just the right shades for your color palettes and to find CMYK-PMS color equivalents.

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