When you are lighting your patio the exact opposite thing you need to do is to be stumbling over electrical lines and attempting to put lights close to an outlet to connect them to. Assuming, notwithstanding, you ran with solar lights you wouldn’t have this issue.
Solar lights take their power from the sun, store it in inside batteries and afterward sparkle splendidly all through the dull night. With such a large number of choices, you can have solar lights for security and to decorate your home, all in the meantime and all with bring down power costs while being ecologically inviting. It’s a win.
On the off chance that you have ventures in the yard you might need to utilize lights that will enlighten those means when its dull. This will wipe out searching for the means and lessen mischances. They are pretty accents to your means as well and obviously arrive in an assortment of shapes and hues.
Similarly for a pathway. Enlightening it during the evening removes the mystery from the condition and takes into consideration a beautiful sparkle other than. Way lights can be low to the ground or can be on sticks to make a lovely emphasize to the sides of the way itself. They too arrive in an assortment of shapes and hues to be the ideal expansion to your arranging.
Did you realize that the banner code proposes that you light your banner around evening time? Never fear, there is a solar light only for that reason and now the banner will never look better against the dull sky.
You invest a great deal of energy and cash on your finishing so why not indicate it off around evening time too? There are a wide range of solar spotlights available that will consequently sparkle on your ideal arranging or delightful tree around evening time. You can likewise actualize arranging lights into the finishing itself for complements consistently, day or night.
Decks look so happy and summery when they have lights on them. Presently you can get solar string lights to give your deck that awesome light and comfortable feel, and they likewise come in all the prominent shapes and hues.
Joining South Florida’s lush, green canopy of real trees are a new crop of solar trees. These “trees” have blue trunks and bear no fruit, but supply clean energy to whoever needs it.
If you’re at the beach and your phone starts to die, you can charge it right here using Solar Power.
Here’s how the solar trees work: Each solar tree comes with 2 solar powered panels up top. Some of that energy collected is powering the grid of the community, and to a nearby box that send electricity to plugs where phones or compuers can be charged.
China’s first domestically designed large solar-powered unmanned plane reached above 20,000 meters in altitude on its test flight in the country’s northwest regions recently.
The drone was developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), it’s developers kept the exact size of the drone as a secret, but it is believed to be about 14 meters long with a 45 meter wingspan according to earlier prototypes.
Custom Elements Everywhere is a site created by Rob Dodson. It displays the results of a set of tests that check JS frameworks that use Custom Elements and Shadow DOM for interoperability issues.
It could look like a report card at first glance, but the description at the top of the site nicely sums up the goal of comparing frameworks:
This project runs a suite of tests against each framework to identify interoperability issues, and highlight potential fixes already implemented in other frameworks. If frameworks agree on how they will communicate with Custom Elements, it makes developers’ jobs easier; they can author their elements to meet these expectations.
Nice! Consensus and consistency are exactly what Custom Elements needs in light of the official spec being in working draft and the surge in JS frameworks using them.
To celebrate ten years of Envato Tuts+, we’re giving away this essential pack of Photoshop brushes! Learn how to create your own, and find more inspiration from our trusted tutorials.
10 Essential Brushes You Should Own
Do you love Photoshop brushes? So do we! Create magical paintings and manipulations with incredible, high-resolution brushes. In this collection of essentials, I’ll show you various basic and texture-based brushes every designer should own.
How to Create Custom Photoshop Brushes
To build the ultimate toolkit, you’ll need amazing Photoshop brushes. They’re super easy to make, and you’ll be glad you made them in the long run.
Here is the method I’ll be using to create most of these brushes. Feel free to leave any questions for more clarification.
I’ll try not to play favorites here, but after painting for nearly ten years, I generally stick with a basic round brush. Here’s the reason:
1 Round Brush = Many, Many Brushes
You see, the Round Brush stands alone. It’s the first brush you’ll get to know and the one you’ll never put down. But you also won’t want to! You can use it for photo editing, painting, calligraphy, and so many other cool projects.
Here are a few examples of the type of magic you can make with a round brush:
The standard Round Brush features 100% Hardness, which usually stumps people in the beginning. It can feel very reminiscent of Microsoft Paint (RIP), but it doesn’t have to.
Instead, take advantage of learning about Brush Opacity and pen pressure sensitivity. If you have a graphics tablet, you’ll be blown away by the amount of options and flexibility available.
I, for example, like to have at least one Photoshop Round Brush with 100% Hardness and no extra pressure settings. A blunt brush that reminds me to think about crisp details often.
Simple brushes like this are made using the Create New Brush option.
But like many people, I like having choices.
So I’ll show you two examples of how to work with this brush with different settings. Bring up the Brush panel (F5). Now go to Shape Dynamics. Change the brush Control to Pen Pressure.
For sketches, comics, and general inking, use this brush.
For soft, atmospheric effects, and general blending, you can try this brush below. All you have to do is lower the Hardness to 0% and set the Transfer to Pen Pressure.
Don’t worry, you won’t have to remember these settings—I’ve included them as bonuses with our pack!
Still having trouble with the basics? Here are a few more tips!
Vary the Brush Opacity often.
Use 50–100% Hardness to create crisp, clean details.
Use 0–50%Hardness for general blending and shading.
If you’re pressing too hard on the tablet, then the Opacity is too low.
2. Grunge Brushes
Despite all of the minimalism we see, grunge brushes are here to stay. Just like round brushes, they hold an important place in our essential brush kit.
So what can you use them for?
Just about anything. Grunge brushes are so varied in texture, style, and overall complexity that you can use them for a variety of projects. Check these out, for instance:
Grunge brushes are usually made from texture stocks. Some of the more common ones come from paper, stone, and glass images.
So for the next brush in our pack, I’ll create one using this paper image. Feel free to play with Adjustment Layers for more variation.
Subtle textures are more flexible, so a simple grain like this is multipurpose for any creative need. You can also try out more images for incredible effects.
Though still considered grunge, drip and splatter brushes are next up on the list for basic Photoshop essentials.
Horror, retro, and antique design are all amazing styles creatives love. And although these brushes seem mostly gruesome, drip and splatter textures are actually a natural part of weather and erosion.
Here are two completely different results using drip and splatter elements:
This splatter was created using the bristles of a paint brush to flick paint onto paper. If you need some ideas for how to use this brush, consider trying it out on an explosive effect. Or add more debris to a post-apocalyptic scene with just a few clicks.
Learn how to create Gothic photo manipulations with blood and splatter. Give this fun tutorial a try:
Great for designers, matte painters, and photo manipulators, smoke and fire brushes create realistic, fiery details with fantastic atmosphere.
To create a Smoke Brush specifically, you’ll need a high-resolution image first. I’ll be using this smoke image from Envato Elements. Hold Control-I to Invert the image.
Then use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and go to Edit > Define Brush Preset to create your new brush.
It’s that simple! Gather dozens of smoke images to create your own smoke brush set!
6. Geometric Brushes
Going all the way back to the Egyptians, geometric design has always been a huge part of art and creativity. And you can explore elegant designs with various minimal shapes.
Get started with a photo effect for more experience with geometric elements. Try out this fun Photoshop tutorial to learn how:
When it comes to creating the actual brush, keep it simple sweetheart! Here I used Photoshop’s ShapeTool to create a multipurpose circular brush.
This brush can be used to create awesome tube designs or texture for clothing and metal. Keep the Brush Opacity between 70–100% to accentuate the pattern, or at low levels like 1–20% for a bit of grunge.
7. Art Brushes
Whenever you want to feel like Da Vinci, just open Adobe Photoshop. You too can feel like your favorite traditional artists, even with digital software.
Art brushes are used to create beautiful artistic effects. They simulate traditional art strokes and are used in collaboration with normal round brushes. Check out these tutorials for more painting inspiration:
The best way to create these brushes is to go back to the basics.
Use a simple brush along with acrylic paint to paint several brush strokes. Scan them into your computer or just take a quick picture with an iPhone.
Here I’ve created two different brushes made from the same paint stroke. The first is the original paint texture, and the second mimics the actual art form. Experiment with both to find the style you like.
8. Star Brushes
Another popular trend highlights the spectacular outer space. Star brushes allow artists to paint dozens of tiny star dots in fewer steps.
Want to see them in effect? Master beautiful star and flare light effects with these tutorials:
Select the Brush Tool (B) and use a Hard Round Brush at 100% Opacity to create many small dots on your canvas. Then use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) to follow the same steps as before to create your custom brush.
Add small clusters of stars to your landscape paintings for realistic night-time environments.
9. Realistic Hair Brushes
Google recently told me that our hair contains 100,000 hair follicles. 100,000!
Will you be painting them all by hand? I certainly won’t!
Use hair brushes to make the process easier! Yes, it’s true! You can paint dozens of hair strands with a single brush stroke. Learn how to paint realistic hair from these tutorials:
To create a Photoshop hair brush, the process is pretty simple. Use the Brush Tool (B) again, at full Hardness and Opacity.
Paint four black dots in a row. Capture these dots as a custom brush. Then enable Pen Pressure under the Shape Dynamics and Transfer settings for a fluid result.
Use this efficient hair brush to save valuable time!
10. Nature Brushes
Build a forest without ever drawing a single tree. Nature brushes are essential for a fast painting workflow.
And the best types of brushes are usually in the form of a silhouette. These brushes can be used to paint background bushes, flowers, and more. Learn how to work with natural brushes with these tutorials:
For this brush, I used this 3D object from Envato Elements. After downloading the tree at the angle you prefer, pass it through the Threshold filter at a high level. Enjoy a clean silhouette effect that can help you overcome depth of field issues.
Nature brushes can also be made from high-quality stocks! Check out this video to create a custom leaf brush set:
Every week, we’ll give you an overview of the best deals for designers, make sure you don’t miss any by subscribing to our deals feed. You can also follow the recently launched website Type Deals if you are looking for free fonts or font deals.
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In today’s tutorial we’re going to learn how to create a set of messenger stickers to share on our chat apps. We will use basic Adobe Illustratorgeometric
shapes and tools, grasping some quick, useful tips along the way.
I have roughly sketched out the concept that we will be creating: the numbers from 10 to 1 in various balloon forms and fireworks. If you’re looking to speed up your workflow or buy similar illustrations, you can always head over to GraphicRiver to buy graphics to decorate the pack.
Let’s start popping with our balloon countdown!
Tutorial Assets
In order to complete this tutorial, you’ll need the following:
Let’s set up
a New Document (File > New or Command-N)
using the following settings:
Name: Celebration_Countdown
Width: 512
px
Height: 512
px
Units: Pixels
Number
of Artboards: 11
Color Mode: RGB
Click Create
2. How to Illustrate the Balloon Shapes & Numbers
Step 1
Begin by typing in the countdown numbers, 10 to 1.
Open the Character panel: Window > Type > Character (Command-T). Select the Type Tool from the Tools panel. Choose a bubble-like font; for example, I usedSniglet. Set
the stroke color to null, with black fill color.
From the Character panel, set the font size to 215 pt, and type onto each Artboard the corresponding countdown number, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and leave the last artboard empty.
Step 2
Let’s begin drawing our balloon shapes.
First you need to transform all the type into objects. To do so, Select > All (Command-A), to select all the numbers. Next, Type > Create Outline, to turn the numbers into objects.
Step 3
From the Tools panel, select the Pen Tool (P), and set
the stroke color to black, with no fill color. Draw in all the balloon shapes freehand except the circular ones, for which you can use the Ellipse Tool (L).
Then from each artboard select the elements, expand them gradually to fit within the artboard space, and rotate them slightly to create a floating illusion.
Step 4
Next, take the Selection Tool (V), select all the black filled numbers, and Shift-X as a shortcut to swap fill with stroke color.
Then select the balloon shapes and Object > Path > Offset Path. Set Offset at -13px and Joins: Round, then OK.
Object > Ungroup (Command-Shift-G),to ungroup them from one another.
Step 5
Select the Pen Tool (P), from the Tools panel, keeping
the black stroke color, with no fill. Draw the inner balloon highlight and shadow areas.
Step 6
We need to put in the balloon strings.
Start by opening the Brushes panel: Window > Brushes. Then from the panel menu: Open Brush Library > Show Calligraphic Brushes > Artistic > Artistic_Calligraphic library.
Choose the 10pt Calligraphic Brush, from the Artistic_Calligraphic library. Then select the Paintbrush Tool (B), with a black stroke, no fill, and draw the balloon strings for each balloon.
File > Save (Command-S).
3. How to Color & Add Effects
Step 1
Let’s color!
First, give the following colors to the inner, outer and balloon knots:
Make sure to change the stacking arrangement of your objects as you move along.
To Arrange top or bottom in position: Object >
Arrange > Bring to Front(Shift-Command-]) or Object > Arrange >
Send to Back(Shift-Command-[).
To Arrange one step front or back: Object > Arrange > Send Backward(Command-[) or Forward
(Command‑]). Object > Arrange > Bring Forward.
Give the fireworks red and yellow colors.
Step 2
Next, let’s add gradient color to the numbers.
Open the Gradient panel: Window > Gradient. Apply the following gradients:
Yellow: #FFDC0D to #FFBC00 set at -90° angle
Red: #F63536 to #E01C1D set at -90° angle
Green: #71BA0B to #5F9B00 set at -90° angle
Step 3
Next, let’s add some highlights.
Open the Transparency panel: Window > Transparency. Take the Selection Tool (V) and select all the balloon highlights. Remove the black stroke color, and select Fill (X).
Then from the Transparency panel, set Blending Mode to Screen. On the Gradient panel, choose a white fill for the left gradient slider, and set an Opacity of 80%, fixed at a -45° angle.
Afterwards, choose a white fill on the right gradient slider, and set its Opacity to 0%.
Step 4
Then move on to placing the shadow gradients.
Start with the shadow area of the pink: Take the Selection Tool (V) and select all the balloon shadow areas. Remove the black stroke color, and select Fill (X). Choose Blending Mode: Multiply,from the Transparency panel.
Then on the Gradient panel, choose a dark pink color fill on the left gradient slider, and set Opacity: 80%, at a 120° angle. On the right gradient slider, keep it white and set Opacity at 8%.
Repeat the same steps for the other shadows, except match the dark color gradient slider with the respective colors, so dark red slider with red, dark green on green balloons, etc.
Step 5
After, with the Selection Tool (V), select each balloon string and give it a stroke color of your choice. Make sure all are sent back: Object > Arrange >
Send to Back(Shift-Command-[).
Step 6
Let’s add some shine.
From the Tools panel, under the PaintbrushTool (B) dropdown, select the Blob BrushTool (Shift-B). Select a white fill.
Then choose a Blob Brush Tool size by holding the left square bracket key ([) to decrease and the right square bracket (]) to enlarge the brush size, to draw some shine blobs on the balloons.
Step 7
Afterwards, add highlights to the numbers.
Use the Blob BrushTool (Shift-B), but instead of a white fill use light color tones, and apply Screen: Blending Mode from the Transparency panel.
Step 8
Let’s draw some confetti!
Draw the confetti using the Paintbrush Tool (B). Use the 5pt Oval brushfrom the Artistic_Calligraphic library and use a 2-3pt Stroke Weight.
Try drawing confetti swirls with different colors and stroke weights.
Step 9
Add more confetti using the EllipseTool (L), StarTool and RectangleTool (M), and use different colors and shape sizes. Note: Don’t draw tiny elements.
Then Arrange to the front or back: Object >
Arrange > Bring to Front(Shift-Command-]) or Object > Arrange >
Send to Back(Shift-Command-[).
Looking colorful!
Step 10
Next, we need the numbers to pop out a bit.
Use the SelectionTool (V) to select the numbers inside the balloons: 10, 9, 7, 5, 4, 3, and 1. Duplicate the selection by Shift-Option-Dragging slightly lower.
Give the selection a yellowish gold color #CCB842. Then set the Blending mode to Multiply, from the Transparency panel.
You will need to Arrange one step back: Object > Arrange > Send Backward(Command-[.
Step 11
Finally, use the SelectionTool (V) to Group (Command-G) each balloon with its respective parts, center it on the artboard, scale it, and modify anything you find misfitting.
File > Save (Command-S).
4. How to Export & Share
Step 1
Once you’ve finalized the artwork, you need to Export your files.
File > Export > Export As, and select a location for the file. Make sure to choose a PNG format, and select Use Artboardsto Export.
Set the PNG Options settings:
Resolution: Screen (72 ppi)
Background Color: Transparent
OK
Step 2
Now that you have created your sticker set, it’s time to upload it.
Head over to Sticker Market, and Register yourself a Creators Account, and wait to get verified. This is a relatively quick process, compared to other sites. Once you are verified, fill in your details.
Follow the sticker upload Guidelines. Upload the set, fill in the description, price and tags, and Save.
Step 3
On the next page, select the type of Action and Emotion for each sticker. Fill in the details and Save for submission.
Wait for approval, and your stickers will be ready for the public to purchase.
If you thought CSS Grid solves issues where overflowed content escaping the confines of a horizontal layout, then think again. Dave Rupert writes up two ways he unintentionally broke outside the grid and how he wrangled things back into place.
As a Front-End developer nothing bothers me more than seeing an unexpected horizontal scrollbar on a website. While building out a checkout layout with CSS Grid I was surprised to find something mysterious was breaking the container. I thought Grid sort of auto-solved sizing.
Eventually I found two ways to break CSS Grid. As it would happen, I was doing both in the same layout.
Turns out these special cases boil down to:
Using overflow-x on an grid element
Using grid on form controls (or, more specifically, replaced elements)
Dave’s solution is a set of CSS rules affectionately named Fit Grid, which is a helper class that effectively removes and replaces the automated min-width: auto property assigned to grid items. This is a super helpful resource, though he admits it toes the line of „Clearfix 2.0” territory.
