Some of the following sites have inspired me to alter the way I create my work while others have simply reinforced my current process. Personally, I prefer to illustrate traditionally, but I have tinkered a bit with digital practices. I will share some of the traditional art techniques with you at a later date.
The following is a brief list of some of the digital tutorials I have found useful and/or impressive:
Computer Arts is an excellent resource for, of course, computer artists. Check out their extensive list of tutorials for all types of design software.
Layers Magazine is a site aimed towards users of Adobe Design Software. Loaded with information, the site boasts tutorials for Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and more!
Worth1000.com offers great tutorials on Photoshop, inlcuding lighting techniques, creating clouds, and other Photoshop tweaks by award winning professionals.
MyInkBlog is another handy resource. Andrew Houle offers some very nice tutorials. He says they are mainly for graphic designers and web designers, but I have found that many of the tutorials are also excellent for digital illustrators. I particularly enjoyed his tutorial on creating swirls and flourishes. Thanks for giving back, Andrew!
psHero.com offers Photoshop tutorials that are really quite cool. Plus, Hero is quite a handsome surfer guy!
Northlite Designs out of Minnesota has a short, very helpful tutorial on creating tiling patterns in Illustrator. As illustrators, we know that patterns can be challenging, so thanks Northlite! There is also an extensive list of other online tutorials at Northlite. Check it out here.
And for those of you who are in love with Illustrator, aivault.com offers some amazing tutorials on vector graphics as well as a few freebies. Asmaa started out as a traditional artist, but her artistic path lead her to her computer. She offers tutorials that can help the Adobe Illustrator Beginner to the Intermediate User, including tutorials that address swatches, patterns, and brushes – all of the fun stuff Illustrators love!
If you have any other favorite sites, let us know about them!
